December 2008 – 271

FEATURES

GALLERYHard-5.13 headpointing, seaside (and high-country) highballing, roof-crack madness, and Garhwal splendor.

COUNTRY STYLETake a trad tour with two American hardwomen in South Africa, where await lifetimes of brilliant orange, grey, and tan sandstone and quartzite.By Majka Burhardt • Photos by James Q Martin

MAINE LINERSAce climbers (but bumbly sailors) Mark Synnott and Jared Ogden search, in a 27-foot sloop, for sea cliffs along austere Downeast Maine.By Mark Synnott • Photos by Jared Ogden

ZILLERTAL 2.1Deep in the Austrian Tyrol there’s a granite wonderland — blocs, clip-ups, cracks, and walls — with generations of climbing history. Quarrying threats, however, loom just over the horizon. . . .By Justin Roth • Photos by John Evans

EVEREST: CHARADE AND FAÇADEThe climbing historian Pat Ament inks his pen and sharpens his drawing pencils, to shed light on the divine madness that is today’s Mount Everest.Story and Illustrations by Pat Ament

DEPARTMENTS

CONTRIBUTORS Dave Sheldon, Andy Mann, Jared Ogden, and John Evans

EDITORIAL “First-Ascentionist’s Burden” and the power of psychology

LETTERS

BASECAMP JUST OUT HOT FLASHES OFF THE WALL PLAYERS TEN THINGS OPEN BIVY SPORTING LIFE SUSTAINED

EQUIPMENT Twelve mid-range alpine packs — the size we all love to love — put through their paces

CLASSIC CLIMBSLiving on the Edge (II 5.10c) — exposed crimping in St. George, Utah’s red-desert heaven

TECH TIPSport: 8 smart ways to teach newbies the ropes

PERSPECTIVEDavid Ethan Graham: professional climber, loner gypsy, cult-sci-fi fanatic, laptop beat maker, nocturnal tweaker; formerly of Portland, Maine