Duane Raleigh

The right helmet makes the difference between wearing and not.

Ultralight alpine harness

Check out Duane Raleigh's author page.

Check out Duane Raleigh's author page.

On February 16, Jim “The Bird” Bridwell, captain of numerous El Cap voyages of physical and psychological expansion, inventor, writer, thinker and fashion setter died of complications from hepatitis C. He was 73.

Check out Duane Raleigh's author page.

If climbing isn’t there already, it is fast approaching a perfect storm where there are more climbers than ever who know less than ever about climbing safety.

John Bachar died in 2009, at the age of 52, from a fall while free soloing. This feature was his last major interview.

The "Swiss Machine" Ueli Steck, one of the greatest alpinists of all time, has died in a fall while climbing alone on Nuptse, Nepal.

When I slipped on the Patagonia Merino Air Hoody—a wool pull over—I basked in its softness. No itchies.

Dry-tooling out sick caves grabs headlines, but the cold fact is that most climbers still only climb ice and still need ice tools. The Cassin X-Dream, which I used all last winter, hasn’t forgotten the ice climber.

Sleeping under the stars is magical except for one thing: the ground. It’s called terra “firma” because it’s hard, and you don’t have to be a princess for a pea/pinecone to give you fits all night.