Featuring a Mountain Profile of Mt. Kennedy, Mt. Hubbard and Mt. Alverstone by David Stevenson. Forming part of the boundary between Alaska and the Yukon, the St. Elias Range can seem both “remote” and nearly “empty,” as Stevenson writes. But these expanses of mountains, ice, rock and snows are layered with stories of human journeys, from the landscape tales of Indigenous Tlingit people to the adventures of generations of famous climbers—including a first ascent by the senator Robert F. Kennedy, a few years before his assassination. Anna Chiburis, Andrea Rankin, Jack Tackle and Barry Blanchard also share moments from the vast history of this intense and haunting place.

*The digital issue is a downloadable pdf

Cover: Jack Tackle before Mt. Kennedy (13,905') in the St. Elias Range, with the wall of Arctic Discipline (aka: "A Pair of Jacks," Alaska Grade VI M6 WI5+) in the shadow. He and Jack Roberts first climbed the route to the North Ridge in 1996. [Photo] Jack Roberts

Features

Mountain Profile: Mt. Hubbard, Mt. Alverstone and Mt. Kennedy

At first glance, author David Stevenson writes, parts of the St. Elias Range of Alaska can seem both "remote" and nearly "empty." But these expanses of mountains, ice, rock and snows are layered with stories of human journeys, from the landscape tales of Indigenous Tlingit people to the adventures of generations of famous climbers—including a first ascent by the senator Robert F. Kennedy, a few years before his assassination. And in the modern era, like many glaciated regions, the range has become one symbol of a growing climate crisis. For this Mountain Profile, Stevenson focuses on stories surrounding the region inside the 1968 Hubbard-Alverstone-Kennedy map directed by the great explorer Bradford Washburn. Anna Chiburis, Andrea Rankin, Jack Tackle and Barry Blanchard share moments from the vast history of this intense and haunting place.

The Shadow's Edge

After recovering from a severe childhood illness, Claire Giordano grew up to become a mountaineer and an artist, using her climbs and her paints to explore the fragility of both wild landscapes and human life. With this collection of mountain watercolors, she searches for hope in an era of melting ice, endangered glaciers and climate crises. "We walk the line between shadow and light," she writes, "and we slowly move forward."

The Rhythm of the Mountains

On March 21, 2019, Jim Reynolds became the first person to free solo both up and down Fitz Roy, a 3405-meter spire in Patagonia. In this story, Reynolds recounts the inner experience of the journey—an effort to move according to the cadence of a wild peak and to return home safely to his beloved community, family and friends.

Departments

Sharp End

A short history of un-discoveries.

Letters

Our readers write.

On Belay

Longtime Alpinist correspondent Pete Takeda returns to Québec to climb ice in Gaspésie, part of Mi'kma'ki, the ancestral homeland of Mi'kmaw people. Along the edges between coastlines, mountains, cliffs and sea, he experiences landscapes where the legends of the past and the uncertainties of the future remain in constant flux.

Tool User

Andy Selters recounts the origins and the legacy of alpinist Todd Bibler's legendary creation, the I-Tent.

Climbing Life

The intrepid Bosley Sidwell interviews one of Alex Honnold's most famous free-soloing peers: a skyscraper-climbing raccoon. Maria Anderson pens a fiction story about a mother and daughter rope team. Ed Roberson ponders the Age of the Climber. Brendan Leonard creates an epic listicle. And Ana Beatriz Cholo explains why sometimes mountains are better left unclimbed.

Full Value

Ever since he was a boy, Chip Chace had dreamed of soloing Sivanitirutinguak (Mt. Asgard). Chris Weidner recounts key moments of the late Colorado climber's life and examines what happens when the outcome of a lifelong quest proves to be entirely different than expected.

Wired

In 1913 Walter Harper, an Irish-Athabascan climber, became the first person to stand on the summit of Denali, soon joined by teammates Harry Karstens, Robert Tatum and Archdeacon Hudson Stuck. Herein, Harper's grand-niece, Jan Harper-Haines, shares a few family histories of his short, but remarkable life.

Off Belay

Mailee Hung presents Mala, a mixed material installation by Suchitra Mattai, in which the artist explores "what people choose to bring and what they take away from natural environments."