Everything you need to know about falling, but were afraid to ask. Falling is the opposite of climbing, which can explain why we apply every membrane between our ears toward getting up the rock, but dedicate precious little to hurtling down it.

Chasing ghosts on Hawaiian sea cliffs.

I had been in Caracas, Venezuela, for less than three hours when Alfredo turned to Cory and me, and said: “Don’t talk to anyone, don’t let anyone know that you’re foreign, and try not to be seen by anyone. Bad people live here.”

Bob Bates, expeditionary mountaineer and honorary president of the American Alpine Club, died on September 13 at the age of 96 in Exeter, New Hampshire, in a most unlikely place, his bed. He was one of the most beloved mountaineers in America.

Bob climbed in Alaska, the Yukon and the Karakoram at a time when a cell phone and a helicopter could not bail you out.

A tricky crux, a surprise pop, a very fast 15-foot descent. I was delighted to find myself dangling from my beloved little blue Metolius. But when doing a quick body inventory, I noted that my left foot was attempting an inward 180. Suddenly, explosively, it hurt like hell. My partner Peter quickly lowered me, winced, and suggested we call an ambulance.

Anyone who’s suffered through the “screaming barfies” knows how hard it is to find a good mixed-climbing glove.