Alpinist Magazine Issue 46 | Spring 2014 Back Issue

For more than 100 years, small bands of climbers have struggled through rain-soaked forests to reach the great ice and rock lines of the Darran Mountains in New Zealand And yes, even today, many of the vast walls remain largely unknown. In this issue's Mountain Profile, Paul Hersey sifts through the rich stories of this oft-forgotten range, from the early days of Maori exploration to Guy McKinnon's 2013 first ascent of the 1900-meter West Face of Tutoko. Meanwhile, in the American desert, The final words Harvey T. Carter speaks to writer Chris Van Leuven becomes a catalyst for a quest to understand how climbing prepares us for the challenges of ordinary existence, the approach of old age and the unavoidability of loss. Nick Bullock searches for lost time on the sea cliffs of North Wales; Peter Jensen-Choi looks at the origins of modern Korean alpine-style climbing; and Katie Ives touches on the fragility of fierce places.