Features

Kurt Albert defined free climbing and took it to the remote mountains of the world. Behind the stories of wild adventures and great deeds, there was something exemplary in the life cut short.

Todd Skinner, one of rock climbing's greatest pioneers and visionaries, is remembered.

I’m not a badass trad climber. Actually, I don’t own a single cam, tri-cam, nut tool or gear sling. My rack consists of 15 quickdraws and, when I’m pumped and cruxing, I grab them.

Michael Kennedy's firsthand account of the fabled assault on Latok I's North Ridge in 1978.

Climbers are on the front lines of witnessing climate change. We can do more to help.

Kelly Tufo and Dave Kellogg were making the final moves up a four-pitch route at Tahquitz, California, when things suddenly went awry. Seconds later, both lay dying at the base of the cliff, still roped together, one with an equalized belay sling at his waist. What could have gone so wrong?  

PRINT FEATURE: One of climbing's all-time greats, Jerry Moffatt, digs into the mindset required for success in comps and on the rock.

Monterrey, Mexico is just a waypoint for most American climbers on their way to El Potrero Chico. But for the local youth of the city---navigating a society rife with drugs, gangs and other ills---life is far more complex than scaling limestone walls.

Choruses of “tu mitani” echoed across the mountaintop. With hijabs peering out from beneath their donated helmets, the girls gazed at the crumbly limestone as though it were pristine Valley granite.

When Hawaii sent out a ballistic missile alert the author reevaluates everything. (This feature appears in Ascent 2018. Ascent is a compendium of the best climbing writing.)

The Bird looks back on growing up, the Valley and bigger things.

The untold story of the first ascent of El Cap’s most revered route.