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He repeated Yma O Hyd (E10 7a) last fall using fixed pegs, but didn't clip them on his recent redpoint
The post Steve McClure Climbs North Wales Hardest Trad, Again appeared first on Gripped Magazine.

Steve McClure Climbs North Wales Hardest Trad, Again - Gripped Magazine

He repeated Yma O Hyd (E10 7a) last fall using fixed pegs, but didn't clip them on his recent redpoint

Gripped Magazine (gripped.com)

The 5.15 climber repeated one of the U.K.s most famous hard sport routes last month
The post Anak Verhoeven Climbs Rainshadow 5.14d appeared first on Gripped Magazine.

Anak Verhoeven Climbs Rainshadow 5.14d - Gripped Magazine

The 5.15 climber repeated one of the U.K.s most famous hard sport routes last month

Gripped Magazine (gripped.com)

After becoming the first woman to climb Everest unsupported and without bottled oxygen, tragedy struck on K2
The post Alison Hargreaves Made Everest History 30 Years Ago appeared first on Gripped Magazine.

Alison Hargreaves Made Everest History 30 Years Ago - Gripped Magazine

After becoming the first woman to climb Everest unsupported and without bottled oxygen, tragedy struck on K2

Gripped Magazine (gripped.com)

This is for folks visiting Yosemite who don't know about the rule, which isn't new
The post Yosemite Park Bans the Use of Bear Spray appeared first on Gripped Magazine.

Yosemite Park Bans the Use of Bear Spray - Gripped Magazine

This is for folks visiting Yosemite who don't know about the rule, which isn't new

Gripped Magazine (gripped.com)

These big Rockies climbs remain test-pieces for anyone looking to push their aid climbing skills
The post Five Unrepeated Rockies Big Wall Aid Routes appeared first on Gripped Magazine.

Five Unrepeated Rockies Big Wall Aid Routes - Gripped Magazine

These big Rockies climbs remain test-pieces for anyone looking to push their aid climbing skills

Gripped Magazine (gripped.com)

Steve has returned once again to Skyline Buttress, Gallt yr Ogof in north Wales for his latest mission – a repeat of Yma O Hyd without the pegs in Mission Impossible.

Steve McClure repeats Yma O Hyd (again) – on trad gear only | Climber Magazine

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(www.climber.co.uk)

Nearly 1,000 people have registered to climb Denali this year
The post Climbers Return to America’s Highest Peak appeared first on Gripped Magazine.

Climbers Return to America's Highest Peak - Gripped Magazine

Nearly 1,000 people have registered to climb Denali this year

Gripped Magazine (gripped.com)

Half boulder problem, half trad route, Black Mamba is a wild climb on the White Rim
The post Mary Eden Climbing 50-Metre Roof Crack appeared first on Gripped Magazine.

Mary Eden Climbing 50-Metre Roof Crack - Gripped Magazine

Half boulder problem, half trad route, Black Mamba is a wild climb on the White Rim

Gripped Magazine (gripped.com)

This week's Friday Night Video is a holy quest. We join Sir William Bosi in his crusade to tick Excalibur, Stefano Ghisolfi's 9b+ near Arco, Italy.

Attention Required! | Cloudflare

(www.ukclimbing.com)

1. A thing done; a deed.
2. A written ordinance of Congress, or another legislative body; a statute.
3. A main division of a play, ballet, or opera.
4. A play for theater, radio, or television.
5. An enticing, emotional, or unexpected series of events or set of circumstances.
   EXPLORE, in the waning days of the 118th Congress, met every definition of the words “drama” and “act” as it made its way into becoming law. As I sat at my computer watching Senator Joe Manchin ask for unanimous consent of the bill on the Senate floor, it was not lost on me that years of work, by hundreds of organizations, teetered on the edge of achievement. And it passed in a most glorious fashion. But let me back up just a bit...
   Not too long ago, in early December of 2024, the AAC policy team traveled to Washington, DC, and met up with the Access Fund and American Mountain Guides Association (AMGA). The mission was clear—examine and pursue all avenues to get the EXPLORE Act passed. At that time, attachment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) was still on the table, as was the possibility of being bundled in with the Continuing Resolution (CR) to keep the government funded. Additionally, there was the less probable route of the bill going “stand-alone” for a unanimous consent vote on the Senate floor, but we sensed that there wasn’t enough floor time, especially given the need to end the lame-duck session of Congress, and the condition that a unanimous consent vote had to actually be unanimous without a single dissenting vote.
   It was an all-hands-on-deck moment for recreation-based organizations—Outdoor Alliance, Outdoor Recreation Roundtable, Surfrider, The Mountaineers, IMBA, Outdoor Industry Association, organizations representing hunting and fishing interests and RV interests, and many, many more orgs, all working simultaneously in an effort to see this historic recreation bill package passed.
   Our small team focused a lot of effort on speaking with the bipartisan group of 16 senators that submitted a joint letter to the Secretaries of Agriculture and the Interior expressing the appropriateness of fixed anchors in Wilderness and wanting a report on the status of the agencies’ respective proposed fixed anchor regulations. The Protecting America’s Rock Climbing (PARC) Act, a component of the EXPLORE Act that serves to recognize recreational climbing (including the use, placement, and maintenance of fixed anchors) as an appropriate use within the National Wilderness Preservation System, further emphasized the intent of those senators, and of Congress more broadly, to preserve the historical and well-precedented practice of fixed anchor utilization in Wilderness.
   It is no secret that the waning days of the 118th Congress were fairly chaotic. Characterized by the forthcoming change of administrations, few clear “unified” priorities, and the pending departure of several longtime members of Congress, the landscape was hard to navigate. We left DC understanding the potential pathways to passage of EXPLORE, but still not certain which vehicle would get it across the finish line. The following week we saw it miss the cut for the NDAA Manager’s Amendment and concentrated on advocating for its inclusion in the CR. As the days drew closer to a potential government shutdown, we came to understand that the CR was likely going to be relatively tight compared to previous iterations, and would probably not allow for bills such as EXPLORE to ride on it. The CR was out for us. That is when we heard that Senator Joe Manchin (I-WV) was considering introducing EXPLORE as a stand-alone bill.
   This was INCREDIBLE news. However, we had some concerns as we knew that the Senate was working off of the House-passed version, which had been passed via unanimous consent (UC) in April of 2024, stewarded by Rep. Bruce Westerman (R-AR). We understood that the Senate wanted the House to address some issues in the bill, but that would require the bill to be sent back to the House for consideration and a vote...which would require time. And there wasn’t any.
   On the morning of December 19, we heard that Senator Manchin was planning to introduce the House version of EXPLORE on the Senate floor for a UC vote. For those tuning into the live broadcast, we had no idea what time the possible introduction would occur. It was observable that Senator Manchin was talking to a group of senators and then left the floor. A few hours later Senator Manchin appeared and presented the EXPLORE Act for consideration via a U...

Guidebook XIV—Policy Spotlight — American Alpine Club

EXPLORE—An Act and The Act By AAC Advocacy Director Byron Harvison Photos by AAC member Kennedy Carey

American Alpine Club (americanalpineclub.org)

How would you describe the scope of the work that goes into making the American Alpine Journal (AAJ)?

Dougald MacDonald: Producing the AA J is a year-round effort that involves literally hundreds of people. The actual “staff” of the AAJ (who are all part-timers and volunteers) includes more than 15 people, and each year we work with roughly 300 individual climbers and photographers to share their stories.
The book goes to press in late April, so the peak of the cycle is in March and April. But the work on the following year’s edition starts immediately, plus we prepare and upload online stories all year round. AND we produce The Cutting Edge podcast and the monthly Line newsletter.

What’s the history of the AAJ? How has it changed over the years?

DM: The AAJ is coming up on its 100th birthday, and unsurprisingly it has changed quite a lot over the years. It started out as much more of a Club publication, telling the stories of AAC members’ adventures. In the 1950s, with the rise of Himalayan climbing, the book started to become much more international. But it was really Ad Carter—who edited the AAJ for 35 years, starting in the 1960s—who created the wide-ranging, international publication it is today. We no longer focus mostly on the activities of AAC members—though we’re very happy to tell those stories when we can—but instead try to document all significant long routes and mountain exploration anywhere in the world, by climbers from every country.
For both the AAJ and Accidents in North American Climbing (ANAC), the most significant changes of the last 10 to 15 years have been 1) the introduction of color photography throughout both books and 2) the launch of the searchable online database of every AAJ and ANAC article ever published.

What’s an example of a unique challenge the editors have to deal with when making the AAJ?

DM: One challenge is that we come out so long after many of the climbs actually happened. So, readers may have seen something about any given climb several times, in news reports and social media posts and even video productions. But the AAJ has never been in the breaking news business. Instead, we aim to provide perspective and context. Perspective in that we don’t have any vested interest that might slant a story one way or another, and context on the history and geography that helps readers really understand the significance of a climb, how it relates to what’s been done before, and what other opportunities might be out there. Another big challenge is language barriers, since we work with people from all over the world. We’re fortunate to work in English, which so many people around the world use these days. We also use skilled translators for some stories, and online translation tools have improved dramatically in recent years. But there’s still a lot of back-and-forth with authors to ensure we’re getting everything just right.

What’s an example report that was really exciting for you to edit from the last few years?

DM: For me, personally, the coolest stories are the ones that teach me about an area of the world—or a moment in climbing history—that I knew nothing about before starting to work on a story. In the upcoming book, for example, we have stories about winter climbing in Greece (who knew?) and a mountain range in Venezuela that’s gorgeous and has peaks over 16,000 feet. Unfortunately, that range is rapidly losing its snow cover and its small glaciers. AAJ senior editor Lindsay Griffin, who is editing the story, did some cool climbs in the range in 1985, and the difference between his photos and those from today is shocking.

Are there any big differences in process between making the AAJ and ANAC?

DM: The biggest differences are just the scale and scope of the two books: The AAJ is a nearly 400-page book that tries to cover the entir...

Guidebook XIV—An Interview with Dougald MacDonald — American Alpine Club

How would you describe the scope of the work that goes into making the American Alpine Journal ( AAJ )? Dougald MacDonald: Producing the AA J is a year-round effort that involves literally hundreds of people. The actual “staff” of the AAJ (who are all part-timers and volunteers) includes

American Alpine Club (americanalpineclub.org)

Versace V13 is the Czech climber's latest hard bouldering first-go ascent
The post Adam Ondra Flashes a Jimmy Webb V13 appeared first on Gripped Magazine.

Adam Ondra Flashes a Jimmy Webb V13 - Gripped Magazine

Versace V13 is the Czech climber's latest hard bouldering first-go ascent

Gripped Magazine (gripped.com)

The sit start to Hide and Sick V14 is Austria's hardest boulder problem
The post Nicolai Užnik Sending Mount Doom V17 appeared first on Gripped Magazine.

Nicolai Užnik Sending Mount Doom V17 - Gripped Magazine

The sit start to Hide and Sick V14 is Austria's hardest boulder problem

Gripped Magazine (gripped.com)