Cover: Will Sharp on the first free ascent of Peumayén, Cochamó, 2026. A few days later, Sharp returned to the wall with Mathieu Miquel and they both freed the route in a day. Hayden Jamieson

Features

Dreams and Sadness

In 1934, Eric Shipton and Bill Tilman led the first expedition to reach the elusive Inner Sanctuary of Nanda Devi. In a chapter adapted from his upcoming book, historian Maurice Isserman traces the threads of past and future. As humans continue to search for idyllic lands, he writes, “we do so in the knowledge that somehow, just being there, we diminish them.”

Peumayén: The Place of Dreams

After four expeditions to Cochamó, Chile, Hayden Jamieson sees that each trip has changed him. This past season, he and his partners encountered tough questions while free climbing a 1000-meter route they renamed Peumayén. “Who does this route belong to now that our experience with it is behind us?” Jamieson reflects. “How can we become better stewards as our sport’s popularity explodes?”

A Door in the Mountain

British aid climbing ace Oliver Tippett confronts doubts and ideals during the second ascent of an obscure route on El Capitan. “I was beginning to suspect that I was on the most sandbagged route on El Cap,” he writes. He weighs his options and even asks one of the route’s first ascensionists for permission to alter it, but there are no easy answers.

Lost and Found

In 1924, a teenage Paul Petzoldt and his friend Ralph Herron ignored a town of naysayers and climbed to the top of the Grand Teton. It was Petzoldt’s first trip to the summit, planting the seeds for his career as a mountain guide. The photos from that climb, however, were lost to time—until recently. Kimberly Geil shares them and the story of how they were found.

Departments

Sharp End

Derek Franz weighs the art of progress.

Escape Route

Derek Franz and Sarah Boon share reading recommendations. Sofía Arredondo Lambertz interviews Ulises Fierro. Plus, Anna Piunova returns to the past on Peak Pobeda.

On Belay

Tobias Albrigtsen finds clarity above the clouds in Alaska’s Delta Mountains.

The Climbing Life

Justin Guarino deciphers the language of climbing. Manuel Morato road-trips through the western US from Mexico. Kazim Ali shares poetry.

Full Value

Les Ellison remembers an unusual adventure with Ron Olevsky in Zion on Christmas Eve in 1979.

Local Hero

Katharine Erwin recognizes Sarah Hueniken for helping others heal after experiencing loss and trauma in the mountains.

Off Belay

Finn Rutha captures the Milky Way and the Matterhorn.