Betsy White started climbing in 1955 at 17 years-old and has since traveled and climbed in over 60 countries, from the Americas to the Middle East, Europe to Africa, and beyond. She and her husband Gene explored the Pakistani ranges widely, having been stationed there in the 1960’s by the Peace Corps. In 1980, the only woman on a self-funded expedition to Makalu on the Nepal-Tibet border, White spearheaded a historic high-alpine rescue when a fellow climber fell ill with cerebral edema at 22,000ft.
A passion-project of AAC Past President Jim McCarthy and Tom Hornbein—themselves mountaineering legends by any standard—the American Alpine Club’s Legacy Series pays tribute to the visionary climbers who made the sport what it is today and stands as a commitment to securing their legacies.
Thank you for taking the time to dive into this second edition of the AAC’s quarterly Guidebook. A lot of things are changing at the AAC, and we are energized by the new opportunities that these changes afford.
Powered by the AAC’s Catalyst grant, Jessica Anaruk and Micah Tedeschi took on to the big walls of the Mendenhall Towers, seven granite towers that rise high above the surrounding Mendenhall Glacier in southeast Alaska.
In 2024, Maurice Chen and editor Dougald McDonald, worked together to produce Chinese translation of Accidents in North American Climbing. Allowing accident analysis to be more widespread.
Your guide to climbing at the New River Gorge! Find information on classic climbs, easy lodging, and rest day activities.
Funded by the American Alpine Club’s research grants, Eric Gilbertson decides to take a look at climate change and our ice-y peaks.