Alpinist Magazine

Issue 95 features a story by historian and award-winning author Maurice Isserman. In a chapter adapted from his upcoming book, Isserman traces the threads of past and future surrounding Eric Shipton and Bill Tilman’s pivotal 1934 expedition to reach the elusive Inner Sanctuary of Nanda Devi. As humans continue to search for idyllic lands, Isserman writes, “we do so in the knowledge that somehow, just being there, we diminish them.”

Elsewhere in the magazine, Hayden Jamieson reflects on his four expeditions to Cochamó, Chile, culminating with his most recent trip, when he and his partners encountered tough questions while free climbing a 1000-meter route they renamed Peumayén. “Who does this route belong to now that our experience with it is behind us?” Jamieson reflects. “How can we become better stewards as our sport’s popularity explodes?” British aid climbing ace Oliver Tippett confronts doubts and ideals during the second ascent of an obscure route on El Capitan. And Kimberly Geil shares the stories behind photos of Paul Petzoldt’s seminal ascent of the Grand Teton as a teenager in 1924 that had been lost to time until now.

Meanwhile, Derek Franz weighs the art of progress. Franz and Sarah Boon share reading recommendations. Sofía Arredondo Lambertz interviews Ulises Fierro. Plus, Anna Piunova returns to the past on Peak Pobeda.

Tobias Albrigtsen finds clarity above the clouds in Alaska’s Delta Mountains. Justin Guarino deciphers the language of climbing. Manuel Morato road-trips through the western US from Mexico. Kazim Ali shares poetry. Les Ellison remembers an unusual adventure with Ron Olevsky in Zion on Christmas Eve in 1979. Katharine Erwin recognizes Sarah Hueniken for helping others heal after experiencing loss and trauma in the mountains. Finn Rutha captures the Milky Way and the Matterhorn. And much, much more.