This past Fall, we at the Club decided to give away $1,000 in gear to one lucky Member. When all the new memberships were in, we gathered a big stack of forms and slips of paper with current members that had emailed us their entries, and tossed them off the … Read more…
AAC Friend Abbey Smith sat down to talk to Emily Harrington about competition jitters, and how a winning comp climber overcame her frustrations with the sport to become a winning comp climber again—only this time on ice! I was born and raised in Boulder, CO. I began climbing in the … Read more…
Perhaps the most significant ascent by Americans in 2011 was Saser Kangri II (7518 meters) in India’s Eastern Karakoram. In August, Mark Ritchie (Past AAC President), Steve Swenson (Current AAC President) and AAC member Freddie Wilkinson climbed the Southwest face for the first ascent of the second highest unclimbed peak … Read more…
Last summer Boston native Mark Richey led an expedition to the remote peaks of the Indian Karakoram—an expedition capped by the coveted first ascent of Saser Kangri II. The story of their expedition provides more than a glimpse into the future of exploratory alpinism. It highlights the powerful tradition long exemplified by … Read more…
I asked Andrew—a longtime Member of the Club—to write us on his use of the Library’s Guidebook Finder web-tool. His blog (The Suburban Mountaineer) frequently veers into very interesting literary territory and has great commentary on climbing and alpinism—both contemporary and historical—and I wanted his thoughts on the tool. My assumption … Read more…
The American Alpine Club’s Selection Committee recently selected its delegates for the upcoming Winter Meet held January 22-29, 2012. The BMC International Winter Meet hosts an annual week-long gathering for 40 international guests from about 25 countries. The meet showcases the full delights of Scottish winter climbing—scotch, haggis, and rime-crusted world-class … Read more…
We’d be remiss if we didn’t comment on the historic climb completed by AAC Member (and 2011 Bates Award Winner) Hayden Kennedy, along with his partner Jason Kruk. Hayden and Kruk, though details are still fuzzy, have apparently completed the first “fair means” ascent of Cerro Torre’s Southeast Ridge. This … Read more…
A couple of weeks ago, we posted an interview with Renan Ozturk. When we spoke with him, he sent us a link to this video about his, Zack Smith’s, and Freddie Wilkinson’s attempt(s) on Alaska’s gnarly Tooth Traverse. We thought it relevant to post it here for your enjoyment. Here’s … Read more…
In the two days since Jack Roberts’ death from a long fall at Bridalveil Falls near Telluride, CO, several touching articles have been posted online. One of the most poignant can be found on Climbing‘s website, written by Editor Dougald MacDonald. Though we were not close enough to offer such … Read more…
One of our Members emailed us about his and his partner’s recent trip to Rocky Mountain National Park. Some horrific wind event made their day much longer. Read about it (and other reports) on our Trip Reports page. If you’re a Member, submit your own! Or just email info@americanalpineclub.org and … Read more…
Renan Ozturk. Climber, artist, filmmaker, dirtbag, and ground-up success story. 2011 was a year of high highs and low lows for Ozturk, a longtime AAC Member and The North Face Team Member. Not only did he suffer from a near fatal ski accident while on location in the Tetons, he … Read more…
It’s hard to explain why we fall in love with rocks and risk our lives for the chance to climb to the summit—especially in a place as rugged, remote, and politically unstable as Kyrgyzstan. During the summers of 1999 and 2000, violent political insurgencies erupted along the southern borders in … Read more…
Longtime AAC Member and multiple Research Grant awardee Jon Kedrowski spoke with us about alpine research in the American West, what climbing goals mean to him, and his most recent project—bivying on the summit of each of Colorado’s 14,000′ peaks over the span of 95 days. Patience is truly a … Read more…
In June and July 2011, the Deep South Section of The American Alpine Club spearheaded an environmental mountaineering expedition to Peru’s highest mountain range. The Cordillera Blanca contains the highest concentration of mountains higher than 6,000 meters (19,685 ft.) in the Western Hemisphere, as well as the highest mountains in the Tropics. Section … Read more…
Have you ever wanted to somehow combine your love of climbing and your desire to protect the environment—and actually get paid for it, rather than living in a van and leeching off your quickly diminishing savings? Well, you’re in luck! The American Alpine Club has just announced three new position … Read more…
Can’t make it to Boulder for the IFSC World Cup Climbing Comp this weekend? Stay tuned to the action by following the Club on Twitter (@americanalpine). Information & Marketing Director Erik Lambert will be tweeting all the details from the event on Sunday night! The Club is a World Cup … Read more…
With the Boulder World Cup approaching fast and The American Alpine Club an IFSC World Cup Partner, our rockstar-intern Ben Mitchell-Lewis caught up with Jeff Lowe, famed alpinist and organizer of the original World Cup events held in the United States. Jeff is a wealth of information on the subject, … Read more…
More than 200 climbers from over 13 different countries flocked to Salt Lake City this past weekend to celebrate climbing at the AAC’s 2nd Annual Craggin’ Classic. With extraordinary help from the Salt Lake Climber’s Alliance and AAC industry partners, the rotating annual event dove into the deep community of … Read more…