“The candle is burning down now and I must stop.” Those were among the final words of Sir George Mallory, the most infamous casualty of those who have died trying to summit the world’s highest mountain. This year marks the 100th anniversary of his death on Mount Everest in 1924. His alma mater, Magdalene College, is marking the centennial by digitizing his final letters for the first time. These handwritten artifacts offer a haunting glimpse into the private life of a British mountaineer who ventured into the high-altitude “Death Zone” before anyone knew if reaching the 29,000-foot peak was h ..read more

Polar explorer Lonnie Dupre has spent the last four-and-a-half decades forging uncharted paths. In 2001, he and John Hoelscher completed the world’s first and only non-motorized circumnavigation of Greenland, covering 6,500 miles on dog sled and kayak. In 2022, Dupre returned to the country to film Amka, a documentary focused on his unique relationship with the Polar Inuit community that will appear on the U.S. film festival circuit in spring and summer of 2024. Throughout Dupre’s decades of polar adventures, he has put gear to the ultimate tests and taken stock of textile evolutions first-ha ..read more

Evolv caters to mid-level rock jocks with its V6 rock shoe, straddling the vast ability levels between beginner and advanced. The shoe has attributes that can carry a rock climber moving beyond the lowest grades but not yet ready for super-tight, downturned, soft, and relatively unstructured shoes that heavily seasoned climbers tend to prefer. I tested the Evolv V6 for a month of solid training on my home boards and local gyms. I also attempted boulder problems at my limit on limestone my home in Central Texas. Both the standard fit and the low-volume versions of the Evolv V6 were in play. In ..read more

National Parks Week starts on Saturday, April 20, this year, and entrance fees to all National Parks will be waived. With more than 400 National Parks across all 50 states, there are plenty of opportunities to take advantage of that free pass. And that is just to kick things off. The week-long holiday extends to April 28. Every day is themed and will offer opportunities for engagement, education, and volunteering. Annually, National Parks Week is held around Earth Day — this year on Monday, April 22. It’s a celebration organized by the National Park Service (NPS) to celebrate our vast system ..read more

The Samaya ULTRA35 is an ultralight minimalist alpine pack with the added bling of Dyneema. On paper, it checks all the boxes for a high-performance alpinist. But it comes at a price — an MSRP of $440 for a pack of this volume is a big ask. I tested the pack over a week of backcountry, multipitch ice climbing in Alaska in February. Our team approached by skiing to the approach slope, and then cramponing or kick-stepping up to reach the route. Each mission was a day mission, so overnight gear was never necessary. In short: The Samaya ULTRA35 is a high-end pack for alpine missions when every gr ..read more

When Mike Call started his third documentary for Black Diamond, he knew he needed to make a tribute to Maria Cranor. Though she’s not well-known outside of the climbing community, it’s impossible to understate the impact she made on the sport. For most, Cranor is remembered as the creative genius who helped co-found Black Diamond. When Yvon Chouinard’s climbing hardware company, Chouinard Equipment, declared bankruptcy in 1989, Cranor and Peter Metcalf decided to rebuild it. What they made became Black Diamond, a company that laid major groundwork for climbing’s eventual break into mainstream ..read more

Make some room, friends: There’s a new storyteller coming to the mic. Two of mountaineering’s most adventurous climbers, Adrian Ballinger and Sam Kieckhefer, have launched a new podcast about “navigating the highest altitudes from a guide’s perspective.” The Duffel Shuffle debuts on Tuesday, April 2, and promises plenty of alpine sport insight, from tips about dealing with extreme terrain to current news in skiing and climbing. The first season includes some of the best mountain athletes around, with the inaugural episode featuring climbing rock star Emily Harrington. Subsequent episodes will ..read more

The Associated Press on March 27 reported Lou Whittaker’s passing. According to Rainier Mountaineering Inc., the Pacific Northwest guide company he founded in 1969, it occurred peacefully at home on March 24. Whittaker was 95. Whittaker began climbing in the 1940s with his twin brother, Jim, who earned fame as the first American to summit Mt. Everest in 1963. Lou Whittaker himself claimed an American superlative on the world’s highest peak, leading the first American ascent of the Everest North Col in 1984. Born and raised in Seattle, Whittaker gained most of his renown as a Mt. Rainier climb ..read more

The original version of this article was published on ExplorersWeb. Reinhold Messner has finally received the second boot of his younger brother Gunther, who died in 1970 on Nanga Parbat. For many mountaineers, it serves as a reminder of the inherent dangers of the so-called “Killer Mountain.” For Reinhold, it’s a message Gunther sent from beyond the grave to confirm his brother’s innocence. For decades, Reinhold was accused of abandoning his brother to reach Nanga Parbat’s summit. The legendary climber always said they were separated by an avalanche during their descent. When one of Gunther ..read more

The Edelrid Rage ice axe got a much-awaited makeover after more than a decade on European shelves. I was keen to try the new version, which is available in the U.S., on a recent trip to Alaska. The tools certainly look the part, with eye-catching green anodization and very ergonomic-looking handles. But looks don’t matter when you’re high above terra firma, gripped out of your mind, with forearms ablaze. Ice axes need to perform as expected while climbing. There is little room for unexpected or sub-par performance, especially on the sharp end. So, I’m very particular about how ice axes feel a ..read more