Alpinist | Winter 2018 | An Invisible Compass

Features

All from Nothing

Forty years ago, Jim Donini, Michael Kennedy, George Lowe and Jeff Lowe made an attempt on the North Ridge of Latok I that became a legend. Decades later, the peak has dominated headlines again: in July 2018, Alexander Gukov and Sergey Glazunov reached a new highpoint before an accident resulted in Glazunov's death; in early August, Aleš Česen, Luka Stražar and Tom Livingstone summited the mountain by a variation of the North Ridge; and later that month, back in Colorado, Jeff Lowe passed away, after a long struggle with illness. Herein, Livingstone, Gukov and Donini reflect on the events of this season and some of the history that continues to reverberate in the climbing world today.

The Elixir

As climbing artist Sarah Uhl paints mountains, she seeks to capture more than just their physical outlines—the essence of the wild itself.

The Secret of Silence

From the muting of opposition by the Communist regime of 1970s Poland, to the quiet of remote wild places in the Himalaya and the Arctic, Polish big-wall climber Marek Raganowicz has experienced many different varieties of silence. In 2017, during a winter expedition to the vast granite of Baffin Island, amid the intense cold and frequent solitude, he encountered his most moving experience of stillness yet.

Life Compass

In March 2018, Brette Harrington's life partner, Marc-André Leclerc, died in the Mendenhall Towers of Alaska, with Ryan Johnson. About a month later, she traveled to the Canadian Rockies to immerse herself in the wintry alpine landscapes that remind her most of him. Exploring unclimbed terrain on Mt. Blane, accompanied by Rose Pearson, she tries to reorient herself within the void of all she has lost.

Departments

Sharp End

Our editor-in-chief considers the joint legacy of Tom Frost and Jeff Lowe.

Letters

Doug Robinson continues the correspondence with Terry Gifford (begun in Alpinist 62).

On Belay

After recovering from a severe illness in the wake of the Gulf War, veteran Scott Coldiron returns to his long-abandoned climbing dreams—exploring new ice in remote parts of Montana's Cabinet Mountains Wilderness.

Tool Users

Our assistant editor examines Western mountaineers' lengthy quest for waterproof, breathable fabrics—a problem that Inuit people had solved for themselves centuries ago.

Climbing Life

Mike Getlin contemplates the history of the rock that fell on him. Kelly Sokol explores the multiple meanings of exposure. Claire Giordano paints on permits. Katherine Indermaur claws her way toward the light. Alexandra Lev learns the haunting stories behind a mysterious volume in her father's bookshelf. And the unstoppable Tami Knight presents "8000m—The Game."

Full Value

After his climbing partner nearly dies in an accident on Cerro Torre, Quentin Lindfield Roberts confronts the long journey home and the occasionally even-greater dangers of daily life.

Wired

A Navajo (Diné) climber, Len Necefer, takes a white mountaineer, Brody Leven, on a winter attempt of Sisnaajiní (Blanca Peak), one of the four major sacred peaks of Dinétah, the Diné homeland. In the process, Necefer hopes to discuss a more inclusive and effective approach to the environmental threats that all communities now face.

Local Hero

In search of more climbing stories that are about healing instead of conquest, Teresa Baker contributes her own tale of Stacy Bare.

Off Belay

Paula Wright presents "Trad Libs."