The Line is the monthly newsletter of the American Alpine Journal.
ARRIGETCH ADVENTURES
The next AAJ’s Alaska section will open with a report from the Arrigetch Peaks in the Brooks Range, where Ethan Berkeland and Tristan O’Donoghue traveled with the help of an AAC Mountaineering Fellowship Fund grant for climbers 25 or younger. Their trip was plenty challenging, with a week of storms at the start. But eventually they managed a couple of new routes, including a beautiful long traverse, before packrafting out of the mountains at the end of the expedition. We only have space to publish one photo in the 2023 AAJ, so Ethan and Tristan agreed to share more of their images here. Enjoy!
WILD ALASKA
Red line shows the ascent and main descent route on Mt. Alice. Yellow line is a variation taken by one skier. Photo by Sarah Hermann.
Speaking of Alaska….. One year ago, four Alaskans took advantage of exceptional conditions to make a possible first ascent and certain first descent of a wild face in the Kenai Mountains. The west face of Mt. Alice rises about 2,500 feet above a high basin, with pitches up to 65 degrees. After a series of storms in March plastered the face in deep maritime powder, Michael Burmeister, Ryan Hokanson, Raven (Samuel) Johnson, and Ben Rininger climbed the face and successfully skied and snowboarded back down on March 21. Johnson’s report for the 2023 AAJ is available now online.
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‘ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER…’
Tackle on a new route near the Tokositna Glacier in 2009. Photo by Jay Smith.
Jack Tackle’s expeditionary climbing career spans nearly 50 years, including more than two dozen Alaska expeditions. Hear his climbing origin story and why he prefers to let his climbing do the talking in the AAC’s latest Legacy Series video (below). Then check out Jack’s beautiful AAJ 2010 article, “Catharsis,” describing an Alaskan comeback tour with longtime partner Jay Smith, following two life-threatening episodes in Jack’s life.
OVERHEARD
“Standing on the hard snow, contemplating the idea of beginning a new route at the late hour of 11:30 a.m., we were struck with ambivalence. Launching now would almost surely bring future misery; not launching now would just as surely inspire future regret. Up we went.”
The north face of Holliway Mountain, about ten miles north of Washington Pass.
Hoping to climb the first route up the north face of Holliway Mountain in the North Cascades, Rolf Larson and Eric Wehrly made a false start that cost them three hours. After retreating, they wandered along the base of the wall to search for another possible line. As predicted, starting up an unclimbed 2,000-foot alpine route at nearly noon did earn them some hardship, but they still sent. You can read Wehrly’s report for the upcoming AAJ at our website.
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The Line is the newsletter of the American Alpine Journal (AAJ), emailed to more than 75,000 climbers each month. Find the archive of past editions here. Interested in supporting this online publication? Contact Billy Dixon for opportunities. Suggestions? Email us: [email protected].