Alpinist Magazine

Issue 89 features a story by Brendan Jones about the life of Michael Gardner, a world-renowned alpinist and extreme sports athlete. Gardner guided Jones up the Grand Teton in 2022 and the two kept in touch with plans for Jones to write a magazine profile about Gardner’s wild and unusual life. Tragically, he fell to his death and disappeared while attempting to complete the first ascent of Jannu East (7460m) in Nepal with Sam Hennessey last October. Jones’ story has become a reflection that looks into the lives of the Gardner family.

Elsewhere in the magazine, Didier Berthod writes about his life’s journey that revolved around his efforts to send Cobra Crack (5.14b) in Squamish, British Columbia, starting in 2005. The Swiss phenom was twenty-three years old at the time and had yet to be tested by deep failure and uncertainty. Plus, Mary Catherine Eden writes about growing up “land rich and money poor” with her parents and older sister in rural Kentucky, and the unlikely routes that led to her becoming one of the best crack climbers on the planet.

Meanwhile, Derek Franz writes about Séb Berthe’s free ascent of the Dawn Wall. Katie Ives, Andrew Szalay and Abbey Collins share reading recommendations. Collins interviews some of the researchers behind the new collection Other Everests. And Hannah Provost cracks open a very old book.

Robbie Phillips sails to the historic seacliffs of St. Kilda. Chris Schulte measures a day. Collins gets engaged in the Red River Gorge. Franz sends a poetry problem. Lauren Fox sees the consequences of climate change in the Himalaya close-up. Jill Wheatley finds solace in the mountains after a traumatic brain injury. Kapil Bisht celebrates Maya Sherpa’s insistence on revolting against traditional gender roles. Leo Gambella finds a bit of clarity during a cloudy day in Patagonia at the start of his career. And much, much more.