Climbing out of the Comfort Zone: A Story from the Catalyst grant

Mika and Tyler descending PC: Jay Louie

Climbing is a way Jay Louie, Mika Kie Weissbuch, and Tyler Poston build strength, deal with difficulty, and rejuvenate. They climbed Castleton Tower via the North Chimney (5.9) in April 2022, thanks to the Catalyst Grant. Jay, Mika, and Tyler are members of the queer, trans, and persons of color community, with jobs in social justice fields that require significant emotional investment and labor.

"Climbing is all about community. Although you can climb on your own and grow from there, if you really want to progress, especially into more advanced climbing styles like trad, big wall, and alpine, you can't learn it alone," said Jay.

The three climbers with different skills and backgrounds came together to cultivate a safe space to pursue a desert tower climb. Dive into their story, told from three different perspectives below!

Hill to Crag

"WE'RE DOING EVERYTHING IN OUR POWER TO MAKE SURE THE AIR IS RIGHT."

The Hill to Crag series has been a remarkable success; led by our policy team and key volunteers, our Hill to Crag events have brought together local, state, and national policymakers, state offices of outdoor recreation, and AAC volunteers and staff.

The Hill to Crag events shifts the paradigm of standard advocacy meetings. Rather than visit offices on Capitol Hill or at state capitols, AAC’s Hill to Crag series brings lawmakers to our office–the great outdoors.

Below, take a deep dive into the Hill to Crag event from 2018 to now.

Help us advocate for public lands, fight climate change, and ensure equitable access to our favorite climbing areas across the country. Programs like Hill to Crag, our grassroots Climbers' Advocacy Network, Climb United, and our many other policy and community initiatives are leading the way, and they are made possible by climbers like you.

Climb United

Building community at the AAC’s Craggin Classic

United We Climb

Every Fall, the American Alpine Club hosts the Craggin Classic, a climbing festival at world-class climbing destinations in the United States. Participants dance wearing glow sticks at night and climb all day. This year the Craggin Classic held Climb United meetups at all locations, creating a safe and welcoming community for everyone.

Climb United works to uplift traditionally marginalized groups in the climbing community. Through intentional programs like the Route Naming Task Force, the Climb United Affiliate Support Network, and the Pull Focus Grant, Climb United is working towards change within the climbing community to welcome all groups. Climb United is all about gaining new perspectives from others to create a more accessible, loving, climbing community.

Take a look at the Moab, New River Gorge, Smith Rock, and Shelf Road CU meetups!

An Alaskan Dream: A Story from the Mountaineering Fellowship Fund Grant

“The remoteness, the lack of people, and the complexities all work to create an atmosphere of real adventure...The 60-degree terrain had my heart racing and coated with the perfect snow; it made for a moment I could only dream of. I stopped to hammer in a picket 30 meters up and then again at the end of the rope, where I took a seat and belayed. Glory!”

Tanner Josey's dream of an Alaskan adventure turned into a reality in May of 2021. Josey attempted to climb Mount Foraker, the third highest peak in the United States.

Dive into the details and epic photos of his trip report and be transported into the Alaska Range. Face avalanche danger, navigate crevasses, and ascend steep snow slopes alongside Josey.

A Second Chance: A Story from the McNeill Nott Award

"We established a camp at 4600m and decided our best ascent option would be to use a gully on the west side of the peak to gain access to the south ridge. Leaving camp at 3 am, the gully proved to be reasonably pleasant second and easy third-class terrain. Unfortunately, by the time we reached the base of the south ridge at 9 am, a storm had moved in.

Not having access to weather forecasts at base camp, we were limited to a forecast we had received just before leaving the village several days ago, thanks to a cell phone tower constructed there two years ago. Based on that, clear skies were expected for the next two days, so we decided to dig in under a boulder and see what happened.”

Tess Smith and Alan Goldbetter set out to summit Mount Starikatchan, an unclimbed peak in India in 2022 after attempting it in 2019. Smith received the McNeill Nott award, this past year, helping to make their trip possible. Immerse yourself in Smith’s trip report and these stunning photos of India’s Zanskar Range.

The Denali Damsels

Photo courtesy of Arlene Blum.

In 1970, Grace Hoeman, Margaret Young, Dana Isherwood, Arlene Blum, Margaret Clark, and Faye Kerr, set out on a journey to be the first-all female team to ascend and summit Denali. Although the sport had seen its small share of women climbers, climbing was traditionally a man’s sport, and many men of the time were content to keep it that way. Although the intention of the expedition was not to create a women’s liberation, their journey would push the door open for future female climber’s everywhere.

Explore this exhibit to learn about the expedition, the women who shaped it, and experience artifacts from the expedition, thanks to the AAC Library.

*This story is best told with the help of vibrant and dynamic photography. Dive into this Spark Exhibit to see these photos come alive alongside this story.

Join Us! We're Hiring

We're Hiring for our Policy and Climb United departments, and we couldn't be more excited.

People—climbers—are our lifeblood.

And climbers have an intimate relationship with the land we recreate on. You can't disentangle the climber from the climbing.

With that understanding in mind, we're linking and expanding our DEI work and policy work so that these initiatives work in tandem. Moving forward, Climb United and our Policy team will be working hand in hand to accomplish the AAC's advocacy and equity objectives.

Learn more about the team, how to apply, and our vision:

A Day of Climbing: Climb United Highlights A Day of Climbing for 5 Climbers Across the Country

Climb United is about bringing us all together, through the thing that unites us: our passion for climbing. In many ways, fully sharing our passion for climbing requires us to break down the barriers that make it harder for some individuals and communities to access climbing. In other instances, it means highlighting that we are all climbers. But even as we are all climbers, we each experience climbing, and any given climbing day, in our own way.

Below, dive into a day of climbing, with our friends Eddie, Genevive, Mario, Sonya, and Rodel.

From Ocean to Peak: A Story from the Live Your Dream Grant

Sinclair is a dramatic, 6,800-ft granite peak rising above the Lynn Canal, across the water from Haines, AK. Reaching the top involves kayaking across the canal, landing on the beach by Yaldagalga Creek, bushwhacking to the back of the valley, and scrambling to the ridge where the technical climbing begins.

In this exhibit, Ceri Godinez shares the story of her ascent of Sinclair through the Live Your Dream Grant. The epic pictures will have you begging to climb it yourself.

The Live Your Dream Grant is powered by The North Face.

Overarching Community: A Story from the Live Your Dream Grant

Adapted from the 2019 Live Your Dream Grant trip report by James Xu.

In November 2019, a team of Americans and Canadians, including AAC Member and Live Your Dream Grant recipient, James Xu, met up with a team of Chinese highliners and embarked on a trip to the Getu River village, located in the province of Guizhou, China. Located south of the provincial capital of Guiyang, it is home to the ethnic Miao Chinese and large karst-limestone mountains with massive caves carved out by ancient rivers. This beautiful rural region of China experienced a boom in climbing development in 2011 with the Petzl Roctrip, and since then has seen more development catering to climbers and tourists. The team’s goal was to connect with the Chinese highline community and to rig an aesthetic line in the Great Arch and another highline between the CMDI Wall and Pussa Yan, as well as climb around the area.

Explore the exhibit below to get a taste of James’ epic trip.

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You can experience James’ trip in video form thanks to Canadian-Chinese slackliner Gerald Situ, who captured a beautiful snapshot of the experience.

The Live Your Dream Grant is powered by The North Face.

Myths of the Alpine: An Interview with Author Katie Ives

Katie Ives, Editor in Chief at Alpinist, just published her first book, Imaginary Peaks: The Riesenstein Hoax and Other Mountain Dreams. The AAC sat down with Katie Ives to explore her journey as a writer, her connection to climbing, and the inspiration for her book.

Explore the exhibit below that includes highlights from our interview and assets from the AAC Library that supplement Ives’ book.

*This story is best told with the help of vibrant and dynamic photography. Dive into this Spark Exhibit to see these photos come alive alongside this story.

Together We Expand: A Story from the McNeill-Nott Grant

Jewell Lund and Chantel Astorga are known for their impressive ascent of the Denali Diamond (7,800’, WI5+ 5.9 A3 or M6 A1/ M7) on the southwest face of Denali in 2015. According to the AAJ, this was the seventh reported ascent of the route and the first time it had been climbed by an all-female team.

A look into the vault of AAC-grant-funded trip reports reveals that Jewell and Chantel’s partnership was truly cemented in 2014, a year prior to the Denali Diamond, thanks to the AAC’s McNeill-Nott Award and their ascent of Polarchrome (5.7 A1) on Mt. Huntington in the Alaska Range.

This is the story of their Polarchrome adventure.

*This story is best told with the help of vibrant and dynamic photography. Dive into this Spark Exhibit to see these photos come alive alongside this story.

All the Sweeter: A Story from the Jones Backcountry Adventure Grant

A misty morning bike ride to camp. The remains of an earlier avalanche to keep you on your toes. The whisper of a rogue bear roaming the Park...

Backcountry snowboarding in Glacier National Park never felt so good.

In 2018, amateur splitboarders Jaimie Vincent and team members Kaitlyn, Bryant, and Amanda were able to tour Glacier National Park (GNP) via bike and splitboard, thanks to the Jones Live Like Liz Award. Explore epic images and a thoughtful retelling of their adventure below.

*This story is best told with the help of vibrant and dynamic photography. Dive into this Spark Exhibit to see these photos come alive alongside this story.

Whiskey-Fueled Hopes: A Story from the TINCUP Partner in Adventure Grant

Our adventure partners are our life-savers, our hype-men, our drinking partners, our mentors and educators. We share rain-soaked tents with them, laugh with them, and trade epic stories with them. Our partners in adventure make it all happen.

Thanks to the Partner in Adventure Grant, sponsored by TINCUP Mountain Whiskey, Jamie and Sam made the adventure happen. The two joined forces to take a ski mountaineering course on Mt. Baker, and though there was plenty of learning happening, shenanigans also ensued.

Explore the exhibit below to experience the shenanigans for yourself!

*This story is best told with the help of vibrant and dynamic photography. Dive into this Spark Exhibit to see these photos come alive alongside this story.

The First Ascent of Link Sar: A Story from the Cutting Edge Grant

Photo by AAC Board Member Graham Zimmerman

Link Sar is a 7,041-meter peak in the Kondus Valley of the Pakistan Karakoram, rising above the Kaberi Glacier. By the time Steve Swenson's team arrived in June 2019, at least eight previous expeditions had failed in attempts to make the first ascent of this peak. Finally, in 2019, the dream team of Steve Swenson, Mark Richey, Chris Wright, and Graham Zimmerman made the first ascent of Link Sar, partially funded by the Cutting Edge Grant.

Explore the exhibit below for a first-hand account and breathtaking pictures of the ascent.

*This story is best told with the help of vibrant and dynamic photography. Dive into this Spark Exhibit to see these photos come alive alongside this story.

The Fine Line of Insanity: Stories from the Mountaineering Fellowship Fund Grant

Mountaineering, like most disciplines of climbing, turns out to be a lot more about failing than success. The Mountaineering Fellowship Fund Grant offers opportunities for young mountaineers to cut their teeth on the extraordinary and bold limits of alpinism. But before the cutting edge can be tested, mountaineers have to come to terms with the immense amount of respect, strategy, grit, suffering, and failure that is central to this discipline. In 2013, Mountaineering Fellowship Fund Grant (MFFG) winners Zach Clanton, adventuring in the Alaska Range, and Amy Ness and Myles Moser, adventuring in Patagonia, each respectively took a long look at the “fine line of insanity” that is the flip side of the coin of adventure alpinism. On one side of the coin is the glory of exquisite rock, ice, and a clear summit. The other side is mortal danger. The cutting edge requires riding this fine line of insanity, and doing so with eyes wide open.

Explore the exhibit below to experience the fine line alongside Zach, Amy, and Myles.

*This story is best told with the help of vibrant and dynamic photography. Dive into this Spark Exhibit to see these photos come alive alongside this story.

Ripple Effects: A Story from the TINCUP Partner in Adventure Grant

Thanks to the TINCUP Partner in Adventure Grant, leadership at Chicago Adventure Therapy are making waves to increase equitable access to outdoor climbing. By putting safe rock climbing knowledge in the hands of an organization that is already getting Chicago youth outside, a simple anchor building class can have huge ripple effects that shape the future of our climbing community.

Explore this exhibit to see how the magic happened.

*This story is best told with the help of vibrant and dynamic photography. Dive into this Spark Exhibit to see these photos come alive alongside this story.

The Morning Person Who Stays Up Late: Getting to Know Nina Williams

"Highball boulder or committing to your community, it's all the same mindset," she continued. " You commit, you follow through. I left competition climbing because I recognized that I wasn’t happy. I wasn't happy because I know I have the power to make a difference, and I wasn't doing it. Yet."

Explore this exhibit to get to know the deeper side of Nina Williams, Board Member at the AAC and elite highball boulderer.

*This story is best told with the help of vibrant and dynamic photography. Dive into this Spark Exhibit to see these photos come alive alongside this story.

The Music Stopped: A Story from the Climbing Grief Fund

The Climbing Grief Grant offers financial support for individuals directly impacted by grief, loss, and/or trauma related to climbing, ski mountaineering, or alpinism.

This exhibit explores the experience of grief from a personal perspective. In this case, this exploration of grief reflects on the death of AAC employee Dillon Blanksma, after he fell from Broadway Ledge on Longs Peak. You can learn more about the Climbing Grief Fund here.

*This story is best told with the help of vibrant and dynamic photography. Dive into this Spark Exhibit to see these photos come alive alongside this story.

Climb United Timeline

When Climb United was first launching, we came up with a timeline to share with you all what we’d accomplished so far, and the vision for where we are headed. Check back at the Climb United landing page to see how we are evolving and moving forward into 2022 and beyond!