PC: Nelson Neirinck
The American Alpine Club and Black Diamond Equipment are pleased to announce two additional 2026 Cutting Edge Grant recipients. For more than a century, the Club has supported expeditions to remote areas featuring unexplored mountain ranges, unclimbed peaks, difficult new routes, first-free ascents, or similar world-class pursuits. The Cutting Edge Grant is made possible in part through the support of Black Diamond Equipment, a key partner in advancing cutting-edge alpinism.
The team on the summit of Mount Huntington in 2023. PC: Dane Steadman
Gharkun from the north. PC: Dane Steadman
Dane Steadman will be awarded $5,000 to attempt the north buttress of Gharkun (6,621m) in the Pakistani Karakoram, and perhaps lead the first team to its summit. Varied reports from 1976 describe an attempt by a Japanese team, with accounts split on whether they reached the true summit. Where that team approached from the east, Steadman and his team will start their ascent from the north side. Steadman will be joined by longtime friends Grant Stewart and Zac Colbran, with whom he established a new route on Mount Huntington in 2023. “This will be [our] first trip together since Huntington,” Steadman shares, “after dreaming of climbing in the Karakoram together as budding alpinists years earlier.” Steadman recently confirmed that Cody Winckler will join the team as well.
Steadman’s achievements include the first ascent of Yashkuk Sar I in the northern Karakoram from its north side, and establishing a new route on the northeast face of Pik Alpinist in Kyrgyzstan. Both endeavors were supported by Cutting Edge Grants.
Ethan and August about to take off in a Talkeetna Air Taxi turbine Otter, headed to the Kahiltna Glacier. PC: Ethan Berkeland
Ogre 1 and 2 with route lines. PC: Jesse Mease
Ethan Berkeland will be awarded $7,000 to attempt a new route on Ogre II or Baintha Brakk II (6,960m) on the Choktoi Glacier in the Panmah Muztagh, marking the peak’s second ascent. Berkeland will be joined by August Franzen and Vitaliy Musiyenko, climbing in honor of their late friend and climbing partner, Balin Miller. The expedition was originally planned with Miller, whose passing prompted the team to reassess the expedition before deciding to carry it forward. Berkeland says of the team, “We are all excited to honor Balin by attempting the objective we dreamed of together.”
Berkeland is a past recipient of the AAC Mountaineering Fellowship Fund Grant, using support from the Club to climb Alaska’s Hayes Range.
The Club’s grants program is designed to support all members in their climbing pursuits, and awarded over $87,000 in 2025 alone. Applications for the Cutting Edge Grant are accepted each year from October 1 through November 30. With questions, contact Berkeley Anderson, Director of Grants and Community Support, at [email protected].
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