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K2 1938: The First American Karakoram Expedition

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History of the Grand Teton Climbers Ranch

The Grand Teton Climbers’ Ranch opened in 1970 under a Special Use Permit granted by the National Park Service to the American Alpine Club for the establishment of a "Mountain Climbing Center" in Grand Teton National Park. That original Special Use Permit specifically recognized that "mountain climbing is one of the principal visitor recreational uses in Grand Teton." The Climbers’ Ranch thus became the successor to the famous Jenny Lake climbers’ camp, which had been used by Tetons climbers from the 1950s until its closure in 1966.

The Climbers’ Ranch is located four miles inside the entrance to Grand Teton National Park at Moose, Wyoming, about 20 miles north of the town of Jackson. The ranch occupies a sanctuary at the end of a winding lane off Teton Park Road, across a bridge spanning Cottonwood Creek, and nestled against the high glacial moraine impounding Taggart and Bradley Lakes. Base altitude at the ranch is nearly 6,700 feet. Three miles north is Jenny Lake, the epicenter of the Park for both climbers and tourists, and the location of the Jenny Lake Ranger Station, at which expert information about technical climbing routes throughout the Park can be secured. The central peaks of the Teton Range, including the Grand, Middle, and South Tetons, Cloudveil Dome, Nez Perce, Mt. Owen, Teewinot, and other high alpine peaks can be approached on trails directly from the ranch. There are 10 peaks and multiple pinnacles in the Teton Range over 12,000 feet high.

In it’s original life, the Climbers’ Ranch was known as the Double Diamond Dude Ranch, which opened in 1924 and remained in operation either as a dude ranch or tourist camp through 1964, when Grand Teton National Park acquired the property. In 1985 the Taggart Lake/Beaver Creek Fire destroyed half of the original structures on the property. The ranch was resurrected through the cooperation of the Park Service and the American Alpine Club. The Ortenburger Cabin is so-­named since it is the first cabin brought to the property after the fire, through the efforts of Leigh Ortenburger, a prominent member of the AAC and author of A Climber’s Guide to the Teton Range. The Historic Lodge, constructed in the late 1920s and enlarged in 1945, originally served as the Double Diamond dining hall, and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998.

History of AAC Snowbird Hut

The AAC acquired the land use permit for the Snowbird Hut in 2006. After reviewing the state of the original ‘space dome’ structure originally constructed in (approx.) 1985 it was determined to be at the end of its useful life. Alaska Section members Harry Hunt, James Brady, Cindi Squire, Cory Hinds, and Charlie Sassara led the charge to fund and construct the building of a replacement hut. Chronological postings and pictures of the volunteer work parties that have been ongoing since July 2010.

Access to the Snowbird Hut does not afford easy access if you are unfamiliar with the approach. 

Please note that winter travel to and from the Snowbird Hut requires that you be self sufficient, and able to make your way in the backcountry (very little, if any, cell phone service). Good route finding and good weather are major considerations for this trip. If you have not been to the hut previously, please know that you could have a very difficult time finding it the first time. It is best to partner with someone who has knowledge of the area to assist in locating and accessing the hut. In the summer time, there are cairns along the way to assist with route finding.

GPS Coordinates: 61 51.506” North by 149 12.113” West

The best way to approach is from Archangel Road, starting at the Reed Lakes trailhead. Note, that in the winter, Archangel Road is closed and this adds to your approach time. Begin at the trailhead and hike up the valley to the old cabin on the main valley floor (approximately 1.25 miles). From here, head north up into the Glacier Creek valley, passing the Snowbird Mine. The pass at the head of Glacier Creek drops you on to the Snowbird Glacier.

Be advised that it is a difficult wilderness trek and the hut is hard to locate (although the new hut is more prominent on the ridge line). There have been many competent wilderness trekkers who have been benighted searching for the hut. So if you haven’t been there before it would be smart to not rely on the hut for your overnight survival. In the summer, the hike can take from 2 ½ hours to 4 hours and in winter, five to eight hours. Pollux Aviation is available for helicopter charters into the hut and can be contacted through their website, www.polluxaviation.net or by phone at (907) 746-0673

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

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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.

A Day in Climbing
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In Search of Yosemite's Heart: One Writer's Journey Into the Valley of Giants

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by Lauren DeLaunay Miller

photos by the Ellie Hawkins and Molly Higgins collections

Ellie Hawkins during an early ascent of the North America Wall, 1973, Yosemite National Park, CA. Land of the Central Sierra Miwok people. Keith Nannery.

To steal from author John Green, I fell in love with rock climbing the way you fall asleep: slowly, and then all at once. I was an indoorsy undergraduate at the University of North Carolina when I fell face-first into the world of climbing, thanks in large part to a picture in a magazine. My love for climbing has always been attached to an obsession with Yosemite, that ultimate proving ground of American rock climbers, but before I could make my way out there myself, I tried as hard as I could to connect with that world while still confined to the walls of libraries in Chapel Hill. Climbing literature was my portal, but it didn’t take long to exhaust my options. I don’t know if I could have articulated to you then why—or even that I was—searching for books written by women, but what I did know was that I was going to learn as much as I could about my heroes and try as best as I could to follow in their footsteps.

Five years after graduating, I moved into my new home in the back of Camp 4. The Yosemite Search & Rescue site has a mystical, magical air. To walk into the site is to, quite literally, walk in the footsteps of giants. I’ve climbed at a lot of American climbing destinations, from the New and Red River Gorges in the East, to Indian Creek, Joshua Tree, Red Rock Canyon, and Rocky Mountain National Park, but nowhere have I found the lore as strong as in Yosemite.

At my now-local crag, we often refer to routes as “that 10b arete” or “the 5.11 crack to the left of the 12a.” But in Yosemite, routes have names. Astroman, the Central Pillar of Frenzy, Steck-Salathé, The Nose! We know their first ascensionists, and we know their stories. And these stories get passed down, sometimes in writing but often at campfires and dinner parties, fueled by whiskey or coffee or both. So while it didn’t take long for me to realize that there was a gap between the women’s stories I was hearing and those I was reading, it did take me a few years to muster up the courage to try to close that gap myself.

The idea for the book lived quietly in my head, but as it became louder and louder, I started to shyly share it with my climbing partners. “Don’t you think it would be cool,” I’d mutter, “if there were a whole book about women climbing in Yosemite?” The more I shared my vision, the more it grew. I started scanning old climbing magazines, making lists of the women I’d need to include. Friends started sending me articles they came across, screenshots of Supertopo forums and Mountain Project threads. I spent days at the new Yosemite Climbing Association museum in Mariposa going through thousands of pages of old magazines. At first, everything was centered on building “the list,” my dream list of contributors, and eventually I thought it might just be enough to submit as a book proposal.

Ellie Hawkins gets prepped for the void on the first ascent of Dyslexia (VI 5.10d A4), completed solo, 1985. Bruce Hawkins

I’ve always been the type of person who gets stuck on an idea and can’t shake it until I’ve seen it through. When I started climbing, I gave myself five years to climb El Cap, even though at the time I barely knew how to belay. Nearly every decision I made from that moment propelled me toward my goal, and I recognized the same level of obsession once I became hooked on the idea for this book. I made my proposal and sent it off to three publishing companies. I was living in a tent cabin in Camp 4 by then, and while my own world was consumed by Yosemite, I didn’t know if my idea would resonate outside of my community. But my first conversation with Emily White at Mountaineers Books soothed my concerns, and I knew my project would be safe under her supervision. I signed on the dotted line; I had just over a year to make this thing happen.

I started with the people I knew or could get personal introductions to. I met with Babsi Zangerl in her campervan in the Valley, and she was eager to be a part of the book. That was the moment I thought that I might actually be able to pull this off. Soon, Liz Robbins called, thanks to some coaxing by Ken Yager at the Yosemite Climbing Association. I drew on all the connections I’d made through my climbing career, and every response gave me a jolt of electricity. Fourteen months later, I turned in everything I had: 38 stories, totaling over 76,000 words.

Molly Higgins and Barb Eastman atop El Cap after the first all-female ascent of The Nose, 1977. Larry Bruce

Molly Higgins leading to The Nose’s famous feature, the Great Roof. AAC member Barb Eastman

When Molly Higgins mentioned to Lauren that she had some old boxes of slides from her time in Yosemite, Lauren knew she had to see them. Prepared to see some faded, blurry images at best, she unearthed dozens of boxes—slide after slide of perfectly preserved photographs documenting some of the most courageous ascents of a generation, including images from the first all-female ascent of The Nose on El Cap in 1977. With the tremendous help of the AAC Library, Lauren organized Molly’s collection into an online exhibit which can be viewed at here.

Ellie Hawkins—the other photo contributer for this piece—might not be a household name in the world of Yosemite climbing, but she certainly should be. She’s the only woman to ever establish a Yosemite big wall first ascent completely solo, with Dyslexia (VI 5.10d A4) in the Ribbon Falls Amphitheater. The route was aptly named. Ellie battled a terrible case of dyslexia that often complicated her climbing. Despite these challenges, an early ascent of El Cap’s North America Wall (5.8 C3) and a solo of Never Never Land (5.10a) earned Ellie’s place among the Valley’s legends. Lauren was able to digitize and preserve Ellie’s collection of slides and prints as well, a few of which are featured here.

One of the greatest gifts of working on this book came in the form of a few phone conversations with Liz Robbins. Liz is the author of one of my favorite pieces in the book, a story written years ago for Alpinist magazine that tells of her experience establishing the first ascent of The Nutcracker Suite (5.8), the first route in Yosemite to be climbed entirely on clean protection. The Nutcracker, as it is commonly known today, was the first route I ever climbed in Yosemite, years before I ended up working on the Search & Rescue team. Having driven all through the night from the mountain West, across the wide open sagebrush of Nevada, up through the winding granite slabs of Tuolumne, and down, at long last, to Yosemite Valley, I woke up at dawn, claimed my spot in Camp 4, and went straight to the Manure Pile Buttress. I once read that a “classic” climb must be at least one, if not all, of these three things: aesthetically pleasing, historically significant, and full of spectacular climbing. The Nutcracker Suite has it all, and it made for an unforgettable first Yosemite experience.

Ellie Hawkins on a solo ascent of Never Never Land (5.10a), Yosemite Valley National Park, CA. Land of the Central Sierra Miwok people. Bruce Hawkins

It’s been more than five years since that first Valley climb, and when I told Liz about my experience climbing it, we realized that because of her and Royal’s decision not to place pitons, the route climbs just about the same way today as it did during her first ascent. Of course, it is greasy with chalk and rubber from thousands of ascents, but it is not scarred the way other Yosemite routes are. Where I smeared, Liz had smeared, and where I stuffed my fingers in the crack, so had she.

Barb Eastman walking out the infamous Thank God Ledge during the first all-female ascent of Half Dome’s Regular Northwest Face(5.9C1),1976. AAC member Molly Higgins

At the end of the story, Liz expresses the mental tug-of-war she often engaged in when climbing. Her doubts about her abilities echoed my own insecurities about the making of this book. Who was I to engage in such an important project? But, as did Liz, I found time and time again that I’d yet to come across the problem that demanded more of me than I could give. Of course, this book is not perfect. There are holes—gaping ones—ones that jump out at me baring teeth and ones that, surely, I will see more clearly with time. But soon we will have in our hands the stories of 38 women who have, at one time or another, found themselves at the center of Yosemite climbing. We start in 1938 and run smack into the present, and it would horrify my editor if she knew that I were still adding stories the day before my first draft was due. But just as Steck & Roper implored us to think of their 50 Classic Climbs as some classic climbs and not the classic climbs, so too do these stories tell of the experiences of some women, not the women. Because there are so many more stories, so many more voices, so many more experiences worth telling and retelling. And as Liz so eloquently writes: I’ve only just begun the excavation.

Lauren DeLaunay Miller served on the Yosemite Search & Rescue team while completing her book, Valley of Giants: Stories from Women at the Heart of Yosemite Climbing (Mountaineers Books, Spring 2022), an anthology of stories that document the history of women’s climbing in Yosemite National Park. Lauren lives in Bishop, CA where she is a founding board member of the Bishop Climbers Coalition and Coordinator for the AAC’s Bishop Highball Craggin’ Classic. She is currently pursuing her master’s degree in Journalism at the University of California in Berkeley.

Museum of Movement: A Story from the 2021 GTM

Artist Spotlight: Route Setter Aroldo Silva

by Holly Yu Tung Chen

photos by Grey Satterfield

“PAINTER. MUSICIAN. DESIGNER... PEOPLE TEND TO END THE CONVERSATION THERE. YOU’RE EITHER IN A BOX OR YOU’RE NOT, AND THAT’S IT.”
— Aroldo Silva

The boulder problem reminded Aroldo of the Florida coastline. He stepped back and spun a long steel bolt between his fingers like a pencil. Then stared down his handiwork built from bright yellow tufas. They started in the bottom corner and slithered all the way to the top of the blue and gray wall.

It was in the Sunshine State where lightning struck. A much younger Aroldo Silva found the art of route setting in a small gym built inside an old warehouse. Route setting wasn’t a paid job then. He started with some old-school wrenches and solid plastic holds. Back then, gyms stripped all the holds off the wall and cleaned them with acid and dishwasher fluid, putting them back up with a kaleidoscope of duct tape marking the path. A “choose your own adventure” to the uninitiated.

The boulder problems he puts up today are made of color-coded fiberglass; three times the size of what he used to work with in the small Florida gym and one-third the weight. Now, Aroldo is the Head Setter at Earth Treks Englewood in Colorado. It’s a full-time job.

“Jobs,” Aroldo corrected. A route setter is at once an artist, a teacher, a janitor, the customer service rep, a product manager, the curator, and the quality control team.

Aroldo studied sculpture and media in college. He focused on installation and performative art and took time to dive deep into fine arts theory. The professors Aroldo respected told him, “focus on understanding.” Once you begin to practice for mastery, you will develop your creative process. He walked away from his degree with a lot more questions than answers.

“What does being an artist mean to you?”

The tool belt on his hip jingled. Aroldo laughed with his shoulders and torso. “People like to define art with a lot of titles, don’t they? Painter. Musician. Designer. People tend to end the conversation there. You’re either in a box or you’re not, and that’s it. You’re a musician? You must make music. I don’t think it matters.” Creation needs no bounds.

He pushed up his safety goggles with a gloved hand, stepped nimbly up the ladder, and bolted a bright-yellow jib to the wall. Below him on the bouldering mat was an array of holds, neatly laid out from largest to smallest, with a handful of foot chips scattered about like seasoning.

There seems to be no line between art and climbing, with set routes akin to exhibits in a museum. A route may appeal to one, yet be detested by another. It’s all contained within the work.

Movement is Aroldo’s medium, which he uses to explore the concept of meaningful play. He understands that climbing allures because of the perfect challenge: a problem which demands both mentally and physically, yet is just attainable so long as we try hard enough.

Likewise, Aroldo believes all approaches and ideas are valid, both for the setter as well as the climber. “Your hands and your body are only so good at recreating what your mind has designed,” he said. “But you can chase them. I want to chase them. I want my setters and our climbers to chase them.” After all, it is the space between the routes which is most important—the environment where people can develop their individuality, explore alternate solutions, and flourish on the wall. To Aroldo and his team, this is facilitated through a setting philosophy: not forcing movement, but sharing it.

Earth Treks Englewood is a 53,000 square-foot canvas, with more than 200 boulder problems and sport routes available to interpret. If someone grabs a foot? Great. If someone busts a sequence? Great. Maybe it feels hard or maybe it feels weird. Maybe somebody will say, “you have to try this,” while another says, “don’t even bother.” Flash or fall, love it or hate it, they are engaging with the problem and exploring what they’re capable of. For Aroldo, this is the art of climbing.

Holly Yu Tung Chen is a freelance writer, digital marketer, and route setter at several Colorado climbing gyms—she enjoys the duality of these wildly opposing jobs. (Holly’s motto has always been: “keep it interesting.”) In 2019, she kick-started her career as an intern for the American Alpine Club producing content and working in the digital marketing space. Beyond the Club, her writing has been published by Gym Climber, Sharp End Publishing, and the Climbing Wall Association.

Veterans Day 2021: The Power of the Outdoors

You may remember AAC Volunteer Lieutenant Colonel Byron Harvison, who was a part of the first AAC Hill to Crag in 2018, bringing veterans into conversations with policy makers to advocate for public lands and conservation. This Veteran’s Day, we checked in with Lieutenant Colonel Harvison, and found that he’s thriving. Alongside his friends, fellow veterans and outdoor enthusiasts, Josh Jespersen, Dustin Kinsling, and Benjamin Davis, Byron has been using the connections he made during the 2018 Hill to Crag to create even more opportunity for veterans to utilize the outdoors as a resource for healing, focus, and new purpose. Jespersen, Kinsling, and Davis founded Veterans Outdoor Advocacy Group (VOAG) in 2019, and they are already making change happen, with even more exciting new initiatives coming down the line. 

Byron Harvison is still on active duty, assigned to State Judge Advocate for the Utah National Guard. He is a lifetime climber, skier, and biker, as well as a dad. He has been deployed multiple times in Afghanistan and Kuwait and has been a long time AAC volunteer, including holding the position of Chair for the AAC Salt Lake Chapter. 

Josh Jespersen grew up in PA as a total ski bum, but at 18 joined the military and served 6 years as a Navy SEAL in Iraq and Afghanistan. On returning home, he moved to CO and threw himself into backcountry skiing and splitboarding. He began to explore the mountains in a way he never had before. Josh started working for nonprofits that were getting veterans outside, and along the way realized that the veterans around him needed to see other veterans carving out new pathways for themselves. Josh felt called to prove that you can go out and do amazing things with your life post-service, that military service doesn’t have to be the last chapter—there are new chapters to write. He decided to push the envelope and set out to ski all of Colorado's 14ers as fast as he could, and Josh ended up setting a record, beating the old record of 361 days, by doing it in 138 days. Besides skiing all of CO 14ers in a single ski season, Josh is currently a mountain guide and avalanche educator. 

As outdoor lovers and athletes, both Byron and Josh, alongside Dustin Kingsling and Benjamin Davis, realized the importance of creating space and opportunity for veterans to utilize outdoor therapy as a resource. Veterans Outdoor Advocacy Group (VOAG) began as a lobbying organization to make that opportunity possible. In 2019, the Accelerated Recovery Veterans Outdoors Act caught Josh’s eye, and he began tracking it, but noticed that it wasn’t gaining any momentum. The bill basically mandated that the Veterans Administration (VA) study the efficacy of adjunct outdoor therapy. In effect, the outcome of this bill would mean that veterans down the line could be prescribed time outside instead of overwhelmingly relying on prescription medication to treat PTSD, drug addiction, or other challenges that many veterans face. For Josh and the others, they couldn’t be happy with looking back in 10 years and not being able to say they had done everything in their power to get this bill passed, because they each personally knew the impact and importance of the outdoors for their own wellbeing. This was a weak point in the VA that this bill could remedy. VOAG was created; and with laser focus, the team lobbied and wrote emails to representatives relentlessly, until the bill was ultimately passed in 2020.  

In 2020, VOAG also created an initiative to train veterans as hunting and fishing guides. Josh and Byron note that outdoor guiding can be a huge source of employment—beyond the value of therapy that VOAG already advocates—for vets as they transition from the military. Moving forward, VOAG is excited to advocate for greater access to AMGA training for veterans, alongside many other initiatives and issues.

This Veterans Day, VOAG is also launching a new program called “31 FOR 31.” 

The 31 FOR 31 project is meant to remember the men who died aboard a CH-47 helicopter on August 6, 2011, call sign “Extortion 17.” Thirty-one Americans and 7 Afghan Nationals were killed when the vessel was shot down in Maidan Wardak Province of Afghanistan. The tragedy resulted in the greatest individual loss of life for the US Forces during the war in Afghanistan. Over the course of 31 weeks, between 1 January, 2022 and August 6, 2022, VOAG and its coalition partners, will take 31 Veterans into the outdoors in various capacities from climbing, hiking, skiing, mountain biking, hunting, and fishing. All of these trips will focus on remembering one of the 31 Americans along with the 7 Afghans who were killed more than 10 years ago in the Hindu Kush Mountains.

For Byron, not only should the outdoors and outdoor therapy be a ready resource for veterans, but veterans are an untapped resource as stewards of the land. As someone who has always felt a calling to serve, Byron has manifested that in his military service, but also in his commitment to the outdoors and his responsibility to the places he plays in. The AAC is so grateful to have volunteers like him who are taking their commitment to climbing and its community-building potential into other spaces, widening the power and accessibility of climbing. And in the spirit of VOAG’s mission, the AAC offers a special discounted military membership for active duty, reserves, and veterans. Learn more here!


If you’d like to learn more about VOAG, check out their website here. Learn more about their new initiative “31 FOR 31” here. And check out this film, featuring Josh Jespersen, to dive deeper into what the outdoors can do for veterans.

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

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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.

Ripple Effects

*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.

The Morning Person Who Stays Up Late

*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.

The Music Stopped

*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.

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The American Alpine Club launches Climb United initiative

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The American Alpine Club (AAC) is proud to announce Climb United, a new initiative centered around convening climbers, climbing organizations, and industry brands to transform the culture around inclusivity. Current partners of the Climb United project include REI, Eddie Bauer, Mammut, The North Face, and Patagonia.

We are excited to launch the program with a draft of Principles and Guidelines for Publishing Climbing Route Names developed by the Route Name Task Force, composed of a group of publishers and climbing community members. The Guiding Principles will serve to establish an agreed-upon philosophy toward publishing climbing route names, while the Guidelines provide an evaluation and management system for addressing discriminatory route names. The AAC will host a public forum on the draft guidelines on April 21 at 6 p.m. MDT to engage the community and encourage questions and feedback. You can also provide feedback on the draft guidelines via this survey.

Participants in the working group include Alpinist Magazine, Climbing Magazine, the Climbing Zine, Gripped Magazine, Mountain Project, Mountaineers Books, Sharp End Publishing, and Wolverine Publishing.

In February of this year, the AAC surveyed climbers and found that over 82% of respondents believe it is important that the climbing community address diversity and inclusion within the sport. Additionally, over 77% of respondents believe it is important to address discriminatory route names to make climbing more welcoming to all people, regardless of race, ethnicity, national origin, age, range of abilities, sexual orientation, or gender identity.

AAC CEO Mitsu Iwasaki described the importance of the Climb United project, "Our climbing culture, which I have been a part of and contributor to for nearly 30 years, has, without mal-intent, created spaces that have been hurtful and uninviting to many. I am grateful through Climb United, we (brands, publishers, and climbers) have come together with an abundance of humility to engage in difficult and necessary conversations to evolve, elevate, and ensure a vibrant future for climbing."

The AAC recently hired Climb United Director Cody Kaemmerlen to help guide the project. Kaemmerlen shared his excitement about joining the initiative as the Climb United Director, “I’m honored to serve the climbing community that I care so deeply for and to help all folks find their way to this sport. The crags, mountains, and remote summits continue to bring me a lifetime of memories and relationships. I understand the enormity of the barriers that exist, and I’m excited to push extra hard to help break them down.”

Climbers can also follow along with Climb United’s progress via a timeline of past projects and future goals.

Learn more about Climb United at climbunited.org

New in the Library! Must-Adds to Your Reading List

Looking for a good book to read this season? Settling in for another round of Quarantine?

We have you covered. Here are some new titles that just arrived in the Library!

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“A family of climbers…”

“The Bark of the Cony is the story of one man's journey to overcome physical hardship and its resulting challenges. Before the age of four, George Nash Smith had a freak accident which impaired use of his right arm and hand. With the support of his parents and siblings he adapted to his circumstances and learned to approach life in a positive way.”

This is a delightful story of the life of a climbing father and his sons. Known as the “Climbing Smiths,” George & his four sons climbed 68 peaks over 14,000-ft in the United States in 48 days. They completed this feat in 1974.

The Bark of the Cony is an enjoyable read for all outdoor enthusiasts and has local history nuggets for Colorado history buffs like myself. You can checkout our circulating copy or grab your own by clicking this link here (all proceeds go to charity).

““The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.”
― St. Augustine”
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“…a true foray into the unknown”

An avid reader, writer, and dedicated AAC Library advocate, here is what Pete Takeda has to say about Labyrinth of Ice:

“Labyrinth of Ice is a tale that rivals Endurance as a classic of polar exploration.

Adventures like this are hard to come by these days. The expedition, led by a man of unimpeachable character named Lieutenant Adolphus W. Greely, was purely scientific and exploratory. It was not adventure for its own sake. Second, it was a true foray into the unknown.

What started as a research expedition ended in a classic struggle for survival. In a traditionally male drama of Arctic exploration, a lady plays the key role in the ultimate outcome. Levy leaves no doubt that without the stalwart persistence and in-depth knowledge of Henrietta Greely (Adolphus’ wife), the expedition was doomed to perish.

Labyrinth is also a case study in leadership. This book would be a fine candidate for a film and a wonderful addition to high school curriculums.”


Click here to see a list of NEW books in the Library!

And if you are looking to own some climbing classics, take a gander at our selection in our online store linked here.

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Joint Statement on Climbing Route Naming

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The American Alpine Club, Appalachian Mountain Club, Colorado Mountain Club, Mazamas, and The Mountaineers join with those speaking out and taking action against racist, sexist, and otherwise derogatory route names, and we welcome the conversation about how best to move forward as a community.

Historically in the U.S. climbing community, the opportunity and privilege of naming a route has been given to the first ascensionist. Naming a route is an earned honor, responsibility, and form of artistic expression. When done well, a route's name tells a story. It often cleverly captures the experience of establishing or climbing the route or a unique characteristic of the formation. At worst, a route name inscribes onto the rock an individual's prejudice, insecurity, and violence. These names deface the special places where we climb. Names like "N*****s Wall," "Case of the F*gs," and "Slant Eyes" signal that not all people are welcome, creating a hostile environment that we should not accept.

Recent movements across our nation, including Black Lives Matter, SafeOutside, and Me Too, have been a catalyst for many individuals and organizations to recognize the institutionalized and systemic oppression built into the foundation of our society.

Though not a new problem, we are grateful to Erynne Gilpin, Ashleigh Thompson, and Melissa Utomo, along with Brown Girls Climb, Melanin Base Camp, and Natives Outdoors, for bringing focus back to this problematic practice. As individuals and as a community, we must recognize that words matter. The climbing community as a whole is accountable for the language we use to identify and describe the places where we climb. We must own the toxicity in the practice of naming routes. It’s time for change.

As signers, our 5 organizations represent 150,000 members nationwide. We commit ourselves to building a more respectful community. That includes working collaboratively with climbers across the country to change names of existing routes, providing anti-racism and anti-harassment training for our members and volunteer leaders, and auditing our own publications and websites to determine a process for expunging offensive route names. These changes represent only a starting point, but they are a necessary first step toward making the climbing community more inclusive and our crags and mountains welcoming to us all.

In unity,

American Alpine Club

Appalachian Mountain Club

Colorado Mountain Club

Mazamas

The Mountaineers

Becoming Dillon: A Tribute to Dillon Blanksma and Growth Through Climbing

On July 30th, 2020, American Alpine Club employee Dillon Blanksma died after a fall from Broadway ledge below the Diamond on Longs Peak in Colorado.

In a recent phone call with Dillon's sister, Katie Joy Blanksma, it dawned on us that his feverish passion for climbing had created a feedback loop of influence on his personality and on those around him. Below, we take a deeper look at both sides to better understand the critical role that climbing played in Dillon's life and the impact that he had on his climbing community.

Becoming Dillon

*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.

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The AAC Stands in Solidarity

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Black lives matter—throughout the country and at the crag. The American Alpine Club stands in solidarity with those protesting systemic racism on the frontlines and from home. As climbers and as humans, we believe that racism has no place in our craft or our country.

The American Alpine Club is a national community of boulderers and big wallers, backcountry skiers and gym climbers, weekend warriors and armchair mountaineers. Across distance, age and gender, race and religion, political party and profession, we are united by a shared passion for climbing and a commitment to protecting the places where we climb.

What joins us is greater than what divides us. And, in this moment, we collectively grieve the killing of George Floyd and condemn the systemic racism that jeopardizes life and opportunity for black and brown people.   

The American Alpine Club stands with the countless victims of racism—George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and Christian Cooper are only recent examples. We stand with those whose lives were callously stolen and with those who have survived the odds. We stand with those who speak up for justice: in everyday life, at protests, in the halls of government, at the crag, and in the voting booth.

United we climb and united we stand.

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THE NEXT PITCH: PRACTICAL BETA ON CLIMBING IN THE COVID ERA

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Climbers across the country have set personal needs aside, cleared the crag out of concern for their community, and taken precautions to help "flatten the curve."

Thank you.

With the easing of shelter-in-place policies across the country, restrictions on access to crags are beginning to change. Deciding whether it’s appropriate to head back out to your local crag will be an important and localized decision. To help, we want to offer the following Guiding Principles on when and how to re-rack for the next pitch.

Guiding Principles:

  • Be respectful of rural gateway communities, and avoid traveling to these areas.

  • Follow federal, state, county, and city health emergency guidelines and recommendations.

  • Recreate close to home, don't travel to climb.

  • Take cues from your local land managers and climbing organizations.

  • Keep your outdoor objectives conservative. Climbing accidents will place further stress on first responders, search and rescue teams, and hospital staff.

  • Be kind, respectful, and patient with one another during this time. We all want to feel safe spending time outside; let's work together to create an environment that allows this.

Should I go climbing?

If you feel confident that you can safely climb in your area, keep the following questions in mind before heading to the crag.

Do I feel sick or have reason to believe I've recently been exposed to COVID-19?

  • Do not go climbing if you are feeling sick!

  • You may be a carrier of COVID-19 without experiencing symptoms—be sure to make decisions based on the most vulnerable members of our community.

Who should I climb with?

  • Climb with people from your own home. If you can't do this, consider climbing with just one partner.

Where should I climb?

  • Individual counties may adopt more protective standards than others—check local regulations before deciding where to travel.

  • Comply with all local climbing organization and land management guidelines.

  • Restrict your travel and climb close to home. Avoid going to vulnerable rural or gateway communities.

What should I do if I choose a crag close to home, and when I arrive, it's packed with people?

  • Have a plan B, or even plan C. If you get to the crag, and it's too crowded to maintain social distancing guidelines, head to another spot.

  • Consider the conditions of your approach—is it vulnerable to erosion or damage if you have to leave the trail to maintain six feet of distance?

What can I do when I get to the crag to protect myself, my partner, and others?

  • Keep your outdoor objectives conservative.

  • Practice frequent hand sanitation before, during, and after a session.

  • Treat the rock and gear as you would surfaces in town. 

  • Wear a mask when near others.

  • Avoid putting climbing gear in your mouth—your rope as you pull slack to clip, for example.

How else can I help?

  • Not everyone will be able to return to climbing at the same time. If you are lucky enough to have the opportunity to safely climb in your area, be considerate of those who can't.

  • Continue to practice Leave No Trace principles.

  • If you’re financially able to, support your local climbing organization.

Thank you for continuing to lead with responsible decision-making in your local climbing community.

Honest Thoughts About Therapy as a Climber

What is therapy? What is a therapist supposed to do? How do you find one? How do you know if you need one? How do you know if yours is any good? Societal stigma around mental health makes the answers to these questions difficult to find.

And yet, mental health is slowly making its way into the mainstream conversation in climbing communities. It’s coming up around death, loss, trauma, risk—all in some ways inherently tied to the particular experience of climbing. It’s also coming up around more insidious, silent struggles like body image, performance, depression, and anxiety. What’s not yet mainstream is how or when to engage in therapy, or conversations about what exactly therapy is.

I often talk with people about how to find a therapist, choose a therapist, or where to start with therapy. This list of thoughts is a summary of those conversations, with special thought given to climbers and the climbing community. I think the climbing community has an inherent advantage in addressing mental health, in that it is such a community.

I have, in no other domain of my life, walked up to a stranger and so easily become their friend. The stoke, the excitement, the welcoming energy is overwhelming. And yet, we still suffer. We suffer the same as anyone else, and in some ways, uniquely, as a result of risks we’re willing to take to experience the wild, boundless joy of climbing.

I know about the wild, boundless joy. And, as a therapist, I know about the darker, shadow-side of things. Climbers, in my experience, also have access to an extraordinary range of emotional experience—from the darkest shadows and doubts to the most profound delight. Therapy can expand and restore access to this range. It can alleviate suffering and open new mental space for connection and relationships. It can help you be more present and authentic in your life.

What is Therapy?

At its core, therapy is a relationship. The relationship can be between a therapist and a client, or a therapist and several clients in a group. It can look really different, depending on the setting and the people involved. What happens in therapy, too, can look really different. But the main idea is that through this relationship, you develop a space where you can explore yourself—your identities, experiences, and relationships—and through this exploration, grow and change. Sometimes this change is necessary because of pain or suffering, and sometimes it’s voluntary. Sometimes therapy is incited by a traumatic event or loss. Sometimes someone wants a change, or feels something is off in their relationships. Sometimes people struggle making decisions or don’t feel that they don’t know themselves. There are infinite reasons to seek therapy, and none is inappropriate or wrong.

What is a Therapist?

Think of your therapist as your mental belayer. A therapist is your partner, your supporter. Their job is to help you, and even though they’re a person in their own right, during the process of therapy, you are their focus. They can’t climb for you, or even really with you, but they can make sure you don’t fall too far. A key part of therapy is trusting your therapist, which is why choosing one matters. This doesn’t mean you’ll like them all the time, or that they’ll never disappoint you, but the strength of the therapeutic relationship is one of the strongest predictors of good outcomes. So find someone with whom you feel a genuine connection, for whatever reason that might be.

You Get to Choose Your Therapist

This may seem obvious, but it’s incredibly important, and in times of stress or pain, it’s easily overshadowed by other things. You always have agency in your own mental health. This agency begins with choosing a therapist, and continues in every session. Don’t like the way things are going? Say something. Feel uncomfortable? Mention it. This is often easier said than done because of the power dynamics in therapist/client relationships, but that’s why it’s worth reiterating. Hopefully, in an effort to address this dynamic, your therapist will ask you if it’s going okay and provide opportunities for you to give feedback. If you still feel like it’s not a good fit, find another therapist. That’s totally okay.

Read Beneath Their Profile

Therapists write blurblettes about themselves for potential clients to find, and many of them are similar. We’re all required to meet more or less the same training standards, etc., so if someone is a therapist, chances are they’re going to have a lot in common with other therapists. Except we’re all individuals, too. Search for that individuality. In what field was their undergraduate degree? Do they say anything else about themselves? Would it change something if you knew they shared some axis of your identity? Finding a provider through the Climbing Grief Fund is a great example. At baseline, you know they know something about climbing. Things like that can be important points of connection, and can help you feel safe and understood.

Ask for a Consultation

Since fit matters so much, ask to talk to several therapists in a more casual way before starting work together. It’s very often a free service and can give you a lot of information. Talking to more than one can help you start to suss out the differences if you’ve got no idea what you want in a therapist.

Think About What You Want Therapy to Be

Therapy is very rarely a back and forth exchange of sequential childhood traumas and silent, thoughtful Mhms. Sometimes it is, but often not. Therapy is collaborative and generative and exploratory. It’s about curiosity and fantasy and possibility. Thinking ahead of time about what it is you’d like to get out of therapy, even if it’s a simple or vague idea, can be useful in directing the work. Maybe you don’t want to think about ____ anymore, or you feel lonely. The answer to this question might be obvious, or it might not. Either way, it can help you in your search for a therapist, especially if you’re looking for something in particular, like someone who specializes in grief or anxiety or postpartum issues.

Be Prepared—Therapy Will be Work

Therapy, healing, progress, change, growth. However you want to think of what it is you’re working toward in therapy, it’s probably going to be hard. You may feel worse before you feel better. The most rewarding projects often progress this way, too. This is why you need your therapist to be the most psyched and supportive mental-belayer ever. In the rough moments, they’ll make sure you don’t quit.

What If I Can’t Afford It

This is a real question. Insurance and media portrayals often make access to therapy seem like a luxury, but caring for your mental health is just as important as taking care of your physical health, and there are affordable options.

If you have insurance, call and talk to someone about how your benefits apply to therapy (they often call it mental health or behavioral health). There may even be some reimbursement if your therapist is out of network.

If you don’t have insurance, many out-of-pocket providers offer sliding scale fees based on income, and some community mental health centers offer even more affordable sliding scale options. Group therapy can also be a cheaper option—it’s is a super cool, lesser-known modality of treatment where you get to do your own work supported by a group, and witness and support the work of others. Finding these resources may take some research, but they are out there.

And if it’s just financially impossible to spend any money on therapy right now, that’s okay too. Many communities offer 12 step programs. These meetings are always free and often frequent, and though the model is based on recovery from substance use, the recovery-oriented principals have been applied to lots of different mental health challenges like depression and anxiety.

I’d also still recommend thinking about what it is you want to work on, and searching for books or other free resources. The CGF has some psychoeducation here and resources here, and there are others, gathered by the practice where I work, here.

Outside of any treatment, you can take care of yourself in small, everyday ways that impact your emotional wellbeing. You can climb, eat well, and sleep. You can make small changes. You can sit in the sun, have a dance party, forgive yourself. You can do whatever moves you. You can seek out human connection that feels authentic, and ask others for help when you need it.

There is Nothing Wrong With You

For anyone seeking therapy: there is nothing wrong with you. Humans struggle. Being alive is complicated, unexpected, and sometimes painful. We are all impacted by our environment and our relationships. Feeling as though one needs help is not a sign of weakness. Vulnerability is not a sign of weakness. Thinking you might need therapy is not evidence of impairment. We all need support sometimes.

Climb Hard and Feel As Much As You Can

I sincerely believe it’s possible to do both.

Anna Kim has a Masters in Social Work from Smith College and is currently an Associate Psychotherapist at Kindman & Co. in Los Angeles, CA where she is supervised by Paul Kindman, LMFT. She’s also a climber, thru-hiker, and general adventurer—with a particular love of slab. Send her an email at [email protected]

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Give a Belay, Get a Belay

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What can 25,000 members do to support each other? How many many fellow members can we support in this time of crisis?

We’ve created a network for AAC members who are part of the at-risk population, or are currently quarantined at home due to COVID-19 illness, to get a belay (a grocery run, a pharmacy stop, etc.) from fellow members in the area with the capacity to help.

GIVE A BELAY

If you’re an AAC member who has the capacity to help, fill out this form. Spread the word—if you know someone that could use this assistance, please share the form, email address or phone number with them.

GET A BELAY

Are you an AAC member who is currently quarantined at home due to COVID-19 illness, or part of the at-risk population? Do you need help with a grocery or pharmacy run? Fill out this form, email us at [email protected], or call us at 303-384-0110 to get a belay from a fellow member.

Spread the word—if you know someone that could use this assistance, please share the form, email address or phone number with them.

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NEW! Clubhouse Live, a virtual events series

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Introducing the dynamic new events series from our couch to yours!

While we all adjust to new normals, the AAC is creating a new way to connect: Clubhouse Live, a virtual weekly gathering hosted by members of our community. It’s a chance for us to come together from our homes, to learn something new, and to meet our fellow climbers. We don’t have to share a rope to share the stoke—climb on into the Clubhouse!

Coming Up:

  • Chelsea Rude, Tuesday, March 31 at 6pm MST

  • Brette Harrington with Madaleine Sorkin + the Climbing Grief Fund, Thursday, April 9 at 6pm MST

United We Climb, Virtually