Shortly after 11 A.M. on April 24, 1985, Reinhold Messner battled his way up the last few steps to the summit ridge of Annapurna. High winds and heavy fog had rolled in as he and his climbing partner, fellow Italian Hans Kammerlander, reached the upper slopes of the 26,545-foot Himalayan peak. 鈥淎gain and again I felt the chunks of snow on my face, whipped up by the gale,鈥� Messner later wrote, in a book about the climb. Both men were exhausted. They had been climbing for three days. But they were on the cusp of making history with yet another incredible first: an alpine-style ascent of the mountain鈥檚 previously unclimbed 4,000-meter northwest face鈥攐ver 13,000 feet of near vertical rock and ice鈥攚ithout supplementary oxygen.

At the age of 40, Messner was already a legend. In 1978, he鈥檇 made the first ascent of Everest without oxygen. Two years later, he鈥檇 repeated the feat solo, catapulting himself to a whole new level of mainstream fame. The summit of Annapurna would take him one step closer to an achievement that would cement his legacy鈥攐ne he鈥檇 been chasing for years. This was his 11th summit above 26,247 feet, or 8,000 meters; the 11th mountain on which he鈥檇 entered the 鈥淒eath Zone,鈥� where oxygen pressure drops so low, no human can survive for long.

There are 14 such peaks on the planet鈥攌nown as the 8,000ers. Within a month, accompanied again by Kammerlander, Messner had climbed Dhaulagiri, his 12th. The following year, he reached the top of Makalu and finally, on October 16, 1986, Lhotse, becoming the first person on the planet to summit all 14.

Or at least that鈥檚 what he thought.

Since 2019, a series of revelations published on the website 8000ers.com has called into question various historic summit claims in the Himalayas. By cross-referencing 21st-century topographical data with the mass of summit photos now readily available online, a dedicated group of volunteer researchers, led by the site鈥檚 founder, Eberhard Jurgalski, has revealed that many climbers actually stopped short of the true peaks. Dhaulagiri, Manaslu, and Annapurna鈥攖he world鈥檚 7th, 8th, and 10th highest mountains respectively鈥攚ere particularly problematic, the research revealed. Thousands of mountaineers had missed the true summit of Manaslu, dozens had turned around before the top of Dhaulagiri, and only about half of those who claimed to have climbed Annapurna had actually stood on the highest point of its long summit ridge. Among those who鈥檇 stopped short of Annapurna鈥檚 actual peak, they discovered, was Reinhold Messner.

Initially, Messner鈥檚 public response to this news was measured. His own account of the climb had proved a key piece of evidence, after all. In his 2000 book Annapurna, he鈥檇 written that he and Kammerlander could see their base camp from the top. But this, according to the researchers, was impossible given the climbers鈥� locations, leaving them to conclude that the Italian pair had stopped at a high point called the Ridge Junction, 215 feet and 16 vertical feet short of the true summit. In a 2021 interview with The New York Times, Messner acknowledged the possibility that he may have made a mistake. 鈥淚f they say maybe on Annapurna I got five meters below the summit, somewhere on this long ridge, I feel totally OK,鈥� he said.

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Max Lowe has overcooked the short ribs. He announces this before I鈥檝e taken my first bite. 鈥淪orry, I forgot to turn the oven down,鈥� he says glumly. I鈥檓 sitting at a table in Max鈥檚 backyard in Bozeman, Montana, at the house he shares with his fianc茅e, a sunshiny nurse named Lia Argyrakis. Max鈥檚 mom, Jennifer Lowe-Anker, has arrived for dinner carrying salad in a wooden bowl.

Jenni, now in her late sixties, is an artist with a long, gray braid and a thing for wildflowers. She lives across the street in the same craftsman where Max grew up. The room where she paints bright, textured canvases of bears and honeybees was Max鈥檚 childhood bedroom. It has robin鈥檚-egg blue walls and a tiny twin bed that鈥檚 hard to believe could ever have fit Max, who at six feet five inches is towering over the table.

Max and Lia鈥檚 yard is leafy and lush, dotted with flowers and wooden fairy houses left over from the previous owner. Jenni points out bleeding hearts, catmint, and lupines, while Max serves us heaping plates of mushroom larb with fresh mint, steamed rice flecked with sesame seeds, saut茅ed Broccolini, and those slow-cooked short ribs, a touch on the tough side but soaked in a pleasing gingery soy marinade. Max loves to cook, but I鈥檓 not here to talk about food.

Max, who鈥檚 34, works as a freelance filmmaker, mostly directing documentaries that sit either squarely in or adjacent to the adventure world. He has directed shorts on polar bears in the Arctic, migratory raptors in the West, U.S. Army vets going back to Iraq for a ski expedition, and the quirky culture of slacklining.

In fall 2021, Max debuted his biggest and most personal project to date: Torn, a feature-length documentary about his family鈥檚 legendary past and his place in it. As the story goes, Max鈥檚 father, Alex Lowe, was one of the most decorated climbers of his era, with notable first ascents from the Himalayas to Antarctica. On October 5, 1999, Alex, then 40, died, along with cameraman David Bridges, in an avalanche on the south face of 26,335-foot Shishapangma in Tibet. Their bodies were not recovered at the time of the accident.

Alex left behind his wife, Jenni, and their three boys: Max, then ten, Sam, seven, and Isaac, three. After his death, Jenni grew close to Alex鈥檚 best friend and climbing partner, alpinist Conrad Anker, who had narrowly survived the Shishapangma avalanche. Jenni and Anker married two years later, and Anker later adopted her three sons as his own. Anker and Jenni have been married for 22 years now. These days, when Max and his brothers talk about their dad, it鈥檚 not Alex they鈥檙e referring to, it鈥檚 Anker.

This oft repeated tale of love and loss in the mountains has shaped Max鈥檚 life. Torn told the story from a new vantage: that of a son. It is to date his most significant work, a defining project that introduced Max Lowe to the world.

Torn was brilliantly crafted and critically acclaimed. National Geographic commissioned the film with a $1.4 million budget, and it received a standing ovation when it premiered at the Telluride Film Festival. It won an award for best feature at Canada鈥檚 Banff Centre Mountain Film Festival, and grand prize at the Kendal Mountain Festival in England.

But Max doesn鈥檛 want to hang his hat on Torn. He鈥檚 not going to let this singular drama define him any longer. The real question is: Can he apply the raw talent on display in that film to stories other than his own?

This fall, Max is finishing up a 38-minute documentary called Camp Courage, about a Ukrainian woman in her sixties named Olga who accompanies her 13-year-old granddaughter, Milana, to a rock-climbing camp in the Austrian Alps after they were made refugees by the war. It was acquired by Netflix as a stand-alone short, and is set for release in 2024. Max is also in the process of directing a new feature-length film about nurses and the health care industry, a project that stars Lia.

At dinner, Jenni talks proudly of her three sons, now men in their twenties and thirties, all of them lanky as basketball players. (Anker has gone for dinner at Sam and his wife鈥檚 house down the street.)

鈥淒o you worry that Max won鈥檛 find another story like Torn?鈥� I ask Jenni.

鈥淣o,鈥� she says flatly. 鈥淚f you watch his other films, you can see he has this capacity to connect in a real way with people that a lot of directors don鈥檛. That鈥檚 his superpower. Max can get into people鈥檚 heads and hearts. It takes an introspective person to do that.鈥�

There鈥檚 a scene in Torn where Max interrogates his mom about falling in love with Anker so soon after Alex died. It鈥檚 tense to watch, and it strips away any sense that Max is going to be delicate or easy on his subjects. 鈥淚 was surprised, and thought, How dare you ask me that?鈥� Jenni says. 鈥淏ut I was able to answer because I鈥檓 just as forthright as he is.鈥�

Max isn鈥檛 making traditional, big-action adventure films, the kind where a climber is dangling off a cliff set to suspenseful music and you鈥檙e not sure if he鈥檒l live or die. His films are the opposite. They鈥檙e set in the outdoors, but the action isn鈥檛 outside: it鈥檚 within.

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The Mont Blanc massif looms large over the Chamonix valley. The summit, Western Europe鈥檚 tallest, reaches 15,777 feet above sea level, and the mountain鈥檚 shoulders sprawl into Switzerland, Italy, and France. Mont Blanc鈥檚 snowcapped ridge dominates the skyline of its surrounding towns and villages, capturing the imaginations of many mountain athletes.

鈥淟iving in Chamonix, you鈥檙e looking at Mont Blanc all the time. It鈥檚 such an emblematic summit,鈥� says Hillary Gerardi, a professional mountain runner for Black Diamond, who grew up in the U.S. but lives in Chamonix, France.

Gerardi, 35, has long been big in the skyrunning scene, with wins at the 2021 Marathon du Mont-Blanc 90K, 2018 Tromso Skyrace, and 2018 Skyrunner World Series. Her mountain movement isn鈥檛 limited to running, though. Gerardi set the first and Fastest Known Time (FKT) on the Chamonix to Zermatt Haute Route Ski Traverse in 2021.

Mountain Movement

Gerardi鈥檚 love for exceptionally difficult mountain travel was forged in New Hampshire, where she worked in Appalachian Mountain Club huts and spent summers traversing the rocky and rooty Appalachian Trail (AT). After graduating from Middlebury College, she and her now husband Brad Carlson moved to the French Alps to flesh out her alpine skill set with technical climbing and ski mountaineering. At her European racing debut, she won a 12-pound leg of prosciutto.

Gerardi has been competing internationally for years and found herself increasingly drawn to the legendarily fast times on her hometown peak. Trail legends Kilian Jornet and Emelie Forsberg () previously held the Mont Blanc FKTs, and the stout times and multidisciplinary skill set required made the challenge even more alluring for Gerardi.

, author of , and a close friend of Gerardi鈥檚, who also fell in love with running on the AT before moving to explore new heights in Chamonix, says her achievement is extraordinary, even in a community of athletes know for their outlier achievements.

RELATED: Hiking the Tour du Mont Blanc: A Beginner鈥檚 Guide

鈥淢ont Blanc is the highest summit in Western Europe, and it鈥檚 technically challenging. It鈥檚 about as iconic a peak as you can get. The FKT is one that also breaks down walls between mountaineering and trail running, so it鈥檚 both creative and difficult to accomplish鈥攜ou need a wide range of skill sets. To break Forsberg鈥檚 record, Hillary needed to be damn fast and strong and technically at the top of her game. It鈥檚 the purest definition of badass that I have seen in quite some time,鈥� says Mayer.

鈥淔or the trail running community, this route is one that merges all kinds of challenges. You shouldn鈥檛 go near it without being a strong technical climber. It鈥檚 an FKT that combines a wide range of skills and disciplines. This is a multidimensional FKT,鈥� he adds.

After ascending the peak with training partner Mimmi Kotka last season, the seed of the FKT was planted: Gerardi was determined to go for it. She was motivated by having a fast time to beat and challenged by the demanding and ever-changing conditions on the mountain.

Conditions and a Changing Climate

The section of the mountain known as “The Junction” is a labyrinth of treacherous crevasses that had become more difficult after a two-year drought on the mountain. Gerardi began to question if an FKT was in reach, not just for herself, but for anyone.

鈥淚 started to wonder: seriously, are these records ever going to be repeatable? Is anyone going to be able to go for them again?鈥� says Gerardi. But, heavy snow in March and April of 2023 improved conditions, and the route started to seem more attainable.

After stepping back somewhat from alpine climbing after an accident in the mountains 11 years ago, Gerardi had begun to rekindle her love for the discipline that would be essential for the FKT, where she would take the more technical North Ridge route, rather than the route taken by Jornet and Forsberg when they set their respective FKTs (for mountain FKTs that don鈥檛 otherwise specify a certain route, athletes can choose whatever line feels most efficient and safe to them).

RELATED: A Legendary Alpinist, a French Mayor, and the Melting Glaciers on Mont Blanc

Her training included big days out and lots of vert, coupled with strength training that focused on eccentric loading to prepare her legs for the punishing descents on ice, snow, and technical trails. Gerardi got on the mountain as much as possible, acclimating to the thin air and steep terrain. In addition, she worked on mountaineering-specific skills like glacier travel, crampon-ing, and crevasse rescue skills to mitigate risk in the uncertain terrain.

She also honed her gear, shaving grams off everything she could. Gerardi wanted to involve as many women from the Chamonix community as possible, too, aiming for an all-female ascent with a rotation of different partners for the different segments of the FKT, depending on the partner鈥檚 skill set.

Gerardi gave herself a two-month window, an almost absurd amount of time to optimize for, but necessary because of the increased instability of weather related to climate change. Leading up to the big day, Gerardi obsessively checked mountain forecasts and collated information from mountain guides and hut caretakers from around the valley to find the best window for the attempt. She needed the perfect confluence of factors to come together: cold enough up high for the snow to be stable, with warmer temperatures down low to allow the snow to soften from ice and absorb impact.

Finally, on June 17, a weather window opened, and Gerardi was ready.

Setting the FKT

Even with a good window of opportunity, Gerardi and her team were met with extremely windy and cold conditions on Mont Blanc.

鈥淚t was so cold that all my water froze,鈥� says Gerardi. 鈥淚t was really challenging to eat enough and drink enough.鈥� Things started to improve as Gerardi crested the North Ridge right around sunrise, and her movement became more confident and efficient.听鈥淭he sunrise was absolutely stellar.鈥�

On the descent, the snow didn鈥檛 soften as Gerardi had hoped and planned, as she aimed for a refreeze so that she could glissade down and save her legs for the later on-trail descent.

鈥淲hen I got back down to The Junction, the snow was hard, and frozen suncups, where I twisted my ankle a couple of times, and let out several f-bombs,鈥� says Gerardi. (Suncups are bowl-shaped depressions in the snow鈥檚 surface that form a tough-to-traverse honeycomb pattern).

Friend and fellow skyrunner Meg Mackenzie was waiting just on the other side of the glacier with running shoes, ready to pace, and that helped boost Gerardi鈥檚 spirit after the low moment trying to move efficiently through the suncupped snow. Gerardi says the relationships she forged with other women were a highlight of the attempt.

鈥淭here were just like a whole bunch of really great gals who have all been super supportive in wanting to help and interested in the project and sort of getting my eyes opened a little bit more into all of these strong badass women who are around here in the Alps,鈥� says Gerardi.

, Gerardi had lowered Forsberg鈥檚 FKT by 26 minutes.

Running to Raise Awareness

Half of all mountain glaciers could disappear by 2100, according to , but it鈥檚 not just the mountain鈥檚 signature dressing that鈥檚 threatened. Permafrost, typically found above 8,000 feet, runs deep into cracks in the rock, helping stabilize them. Rising temperatures cause the permafrost to thaw, creating instability in the mountain鈥檚 face, and making it more prone to rockfall and slides. In the last few years, the number of rockfall events in the Alps has increased as temperatures rise, making mountain travel riskier.

Gerardi, who used to work at the Research Center for Alpine Ecosystems (CREA Mont-Blanc), is well aware of the perils that climate change brings to her beloved mountains.

鈥淚 felt torn about going for the record because in some ways, it’s going to encourage more people to do Mont Blanc. And Mont Blanc, especially by the regular route, has become objectively more dangerous with time because of climate change. There’s a lot more rockfall, especially in the Go没ter couloir, also known as the couloir of death,鈥� says Gerardi.

Of the approximately 20,000 people who ascend the massif each year, the majority traverse this couloir, The tricky traverse has gotten worse as freeze-thaw cycles associated with climate change destabilize rocks, causing more frequent falls. Now, .

鈥� with freeze-thaw cycles tied to climate change. and the phenomena will continue to be less predictable and more deadly as global temperatures increase.

鈥淭hen, I thought that because it’s such a well-known and emblematic summit, it would be an opportunity to kind of call people’s attention to some of the changes we’re seeing.鈥�

Living in Mont Blanc鈥檚 shadow, the changes are impossible to ignore. Glaciers that used to spill down and fill entire couloirs have now been reduced to ruddy, blunted snowfields. Some, like the famous .

鈥淭hese are things that you can鈥檛 not see when you鈥檙e here,鈥� says Gerardi. 鈥淕lacier melt, water availability, rock fall, serac fall. It鈥檚 been my desire to call attention to these issues through talking about this route.鈥�

The Future Climate of Mountain Travel Is Unstable

Mountaineers in the Anthropocene have had to add increasing patience to their toolset. Weather windows are less reliable and people looking for optimal conditions have to be more patient and flexible. Scientists and mountain athletes alike have increasingly been raising the alarm of what rising temperatures mean in some of Earth鈥檚 most extreme environments.

鈥淭he Alps, in a lot of ways, are on the front lines, canaries in the coal mine of climate change because it really is warming twice as fast as most of the rest of the Northern Hemisphere,鈥� says Gerardi. 鈥淲e’re seeing changes at an incredible speed. You have to keep in mind when you鈥檙e doing a route like this that there are going to be a lot of things that are not in your control.鈥�

That loss of control is something Gerardi thinks about frequently with her partner Brad Carlson, who is a mountain guide and researcher in alpine ecology.

鈥淲e often talk about how can we still see value in getting out in the mountains when it’s not necessarily based on specific summits or objectives. I think that’s something that people who want to be in the alpine should definitely understand, that maybe you shouldn’t be wedded to a specific route.鈥�

Gerardi sits with a certain level of discomfort, as someone who loves the mountains but desperately wants to bring attention to the impacts that climate change has on them. She is an athlete and human who is inextricably tied to the systems hastening their demise.

鈥淚 can鈥檛 not care about issues around climate change,鈥� says Gerardi. 鈥淭he big challenge for me is this tension that exists between being an athlete who wants to compete internationally, and who gets sponsored by brands who want to sell things.鈥�

Mayer says she has continually used her platform as a professional athlete to draw attention to the issues that matter to her.

鈥淲hen I first got to know her, she was just coming onto the international trail running and Skyrunning scene. So there was a natural period of getting your feet on the ground and learning the lay of the land. Once she was established, she clearly saw the opportunity to use her platform to create change,鈥� says Mayer. 鈥淎nd no one I know walks the walk more than Gerardi. She bikes to work, takes the train, organizes friends to carpool if there鈥檚 a long drive involved, and does it all without being preachy. In that sense, she鈥檚 a wonderful role model for a way of behaving we all need to emulate.鈥�

Encountering Climate Change from Every Angle

Since becoming a full-time athlete, Gerardi has been able to get more involved in bringing attention to climate issues, giving her time to the environmental working group for and volunteering for a citizen science effort to study air pollution in the Chamonix valley. Gerardi likes to push the brands she works with on their environmental practices. She has also been involved in the development of recycled shoes, discussions around the durability of gear, and sustainability of brands. She says she鈥檚 determined to encounter the challenge of climate change from every angle.

鈥淚t鈥檚 important to take into account systemic and individual actions,鈥� says Gerardi. 鈥淚’m not really an either-or person. I am neither going to shame people for taking a plane, nor am I going to say we are absolved of all responsibility because it is the fault of ExxonMobil.”

For her contribution, she鈥檚 more focused on solutions. 鈥淲e need to normalize talking about this and normalize finding solutions,鈥� says Gerardi. 鈥淲e can all be imperfect advocates, but we all need to do something.鈥�

Mayer thinks Gerardi鈥檚 qualities make her an ideal candidate to bring attention to a changing climate. 鈥淚 am not sure I know anyone who is as smart and determined as Hillary. She is a force of nature, and when she gets a plan in her mind and believes she can accomplish it, all the obstacles are systematically knocked aside, one by one,鈥� says Mayer. It鈥檚 an amazing thing to watch and a lesson for anyone paying attention. There鈥檚 a persistence that leaves you shaking your head in awe.鈥�

For now, Gerardi is focused on keeping her adventures local and enjoying her accomplishment.

鈥淲hat has been so rewarding with my FKT has been to, as my husband likes to call it, cultivate my garden. It’s my local mountain and I get to look up at it and, you know, sort of beam with pride,鈥� says Gerardi. But, those who know her say she probably won鈥檛 sit still for long.

鈥淲atch this space. She did the Mont Blanc FKT with such style and elegance, you might think that鈥檚 a crowning achievement of her outdoors career. And for a lot of people, it would be. But she鈥檚 not tapering,鈥� says Mayer. 鈥淭here鈥檚 much more to come. And whatever comes next, it鈥檚 going to leave you shaking your head thinking, 鈥楧amn, that is pretty badass!鈥欌��

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For outdoor photographer and alpinist , being outside isn’t only a part of his job; it’s one of the key things that keeps him going each day. Hesser struggles with depression, which has been more difficult for him to navigate than many of his toughest assignments and expeditions. In a new film from Mountain Hardwear, Chains of Habit, Hesser shares his story鈥攊ncluding how recreating in the outdoors has helped him overcome his most challenging days鈥攊n the hopes of destigmatizing the conversation surrounding mental health.

Chains of Habit was produced by Hesser and , directed by , and edited by . The director of photography was , with photography by and drone work by .

The post An Outdoor Photographer Opens Up About His Struggle with Depression appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

After the death of the great ski mountaineer Hilaree Nelson, many of us are鈥攁gain鈥攃ontemplating the balance we try to strike as adventure-loving outdoors people who are also parents. Pursuing the activities we love, which are sometimes dangerous, can feel at odds with our dedication to our children.

Outdoor mothers, of which I am one, navigate a third pressure, which often feels unfair: a harsh double standard that society holds for us, while adventurous fathers seem to be largely immune. The discourse around Nelson鈥檚 death has reminded me of one of the saddest stories I ever had to cover, 27 years ago.

In 1995 the British alpinist Alison Hargreaves died at age 33, her children tiny: the boy, Tom, only six and Kate age four. The detail that kept me awake the night that, at a trade show in Las Vegas, I found out about Alison鈥檚 death was of how she would slip out of the house for trips without saying goodbye, because Kate always cried. Alison dearly loved her children and missed them terribly in the mountains, to the point where she almost packed up and left on K2 when the year鈥檚 season, her last, stretched out interminably. She summited and then died on the descent, probably blown off her feet.

But she wanted to climb K2, shared purposefulness and sometimes obsessiveness with many a great climber, and felt that climbing the world鈥檚 second-highest peak would cement her career as a professional mountaineer, then an emerging concept. Alison had already soloed six faces in the Alps in a season, her family camped out in a car below; and had climbed Mount Everest alone, unsupported, and without oxygen, finishing feeling not wasted or even merely solid: 鈥淚 felt great,鈥� she told me. At the top she wept with joy. She hoped to become the first woman to climb the world鈥檚 three highest mountains, including the 28,169-foot Kanchenjunga, without supplemental oxygen.

I spoke to Alison on the phone in 1995, after Everest, having in autumn of 1994 traveled to her home country, England, to interview her for a long profile in Climbing magazine.

It has sometimes seemed as if nearly a generation of British male alpinists ahead of Hargreaves had been wiped out. One prominent climber from the era, Brian Hall, notes that he tied in with 24 friends, of whom seven鈥攊ncluding Joe Tasker, Alex MacIntyre, Al Rouse, and Pete Thexton鈥攚ere killed in the mountains. The sweeping losses gave him the impetus to write his new memoir, and also gave him the title, when a line in a file of magazine obituaries caught his eye: 鈥淭he generation that climbed themselves to extinction,鈥� as he recalls in the book. 鈥淭hat was my generation.鈥� The book is divided into 11 chapters, each for a lost friend.

Many of these climbers were in their early 30s and not yet married or in longterm relationships, but among those memorialized are Rouse, who died on K2 in 1986, leaving a pregnant partner, and Paul Nunn, who had two daughters when he was killed in the Karakoram in 1995. The revered alpinist Doug Scott, another survivor of the era (though since lost to natural causes), was a father, as was Sir Christian Bonington, a few years older than Doug (Chris Bonington, who was knighted, is thankfully still with us). Doug, who was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (one rank below a knight) by the Queen, said he accepted the possibility of death every time he left on an expedition.

Yet Alison鈥檚 death was the one that brought the issue of parenting and risk taking into mainstream conversation.

During Alison鈥檚 lifetime a columnist in the Times of London lambasted her 鈥渞eality-denying self-centredness.鈥�

That was while she was still alive. After her death, it seemed open season.

In fairness, some of the attention may have been tied to Alison鈥檚 decision to reference her children as part of her public persona. She had begun doing lectures, still mostly to outdoor groups (at least before Everest), and having a family was one of her themes: 鈥淚 have a much broader appeal because I am a woman and I have got the children,鈥� she said.

But life is complicated, and Alison too accepted a partial double standard. 听I have always been sure it is no accident that the great movie Saving Private Ryan shows two dying soldiers calling for their mothers. 鈥淚t is different,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 think the mother is more important to the child than the father. It鈥檚 a terrible thing to say, but you carried the child, you bore it. A father can make up for things, but can鈥檛 bridge the gap.鈥�

Hilaree Nelson was part of, and instrumental to, a change in how women athletes who had children were viewed. She has written that at the time of her pregnancies, they were considered in the same vein as injuries. Then, in 2012, she climbed Lhotse and Everest in a 24-hour push, and her career took off.

鈥�国产吃瓜黑料 did a full feature on me, 鈥�Mother on the Mountain,鈥欌�� she wrote on this website. 鈥淭here was for sure some negative feedback, 鈥楬ow on earth can you do this and be a mother?鈥� But the overwhelming response was incredibly supportive. I feel like that story played a role in changing the way media and brands looked at women in the mountains. 鈥�

鈥淭here was so much amazing support for me. Compared to 15 years earlier, British climber Alison Hargreaves had two kids and died coming down from K2. She was totally vilified for climbing Everest and other big mountains while being a mother. I was lucky to be part of the change.鈥�

Now here we are again. From two posts in The Washington Post comments section, below an account of Hilaree鈥檚 life and death:

鈥淎nd now two children without a mother. Sad.鈥�

Wrote another:

鈥淚t鈥檚 鈥� possible her children would have preferred that she be a teacher or accountant or something and be alive to hold her grandchildren.

鈥淗er life, her choice; no one is saying any differently. But stop trying to spin it to be something other than the utterly selfish and self-gratifying choice that it was.鈥�

When the pro skier Cody Townsend posted a heartfelt tribute on Facebook, saying what Hilaree had meant to him as a role model and person, most comments were loving and supportive, yet a commenter wrote that Hilaree 鈥渟elfishly subordinated her love of adventure ahead of her family and kids. What a shame and a waste.鈥� The commenter was properly eviscerated by a woman who wrote, 鈥淚s that what you say when other mountaineers and athletes pass away? Or just because she鈥檚 a woman so her place is in the kitchen? Also you used the word subordinated wrong and your sentence makes no grammatical sense in addition to being completely asinine.鈥�

Another of the commenters in The Washington Post wrote: 鈥淚 too blame north face, they should perhaps not sponsor parents with children.鈥� Now we鈥檙e getting ridiculous.

You get the idea, and the criticism is mostly from non-climbers and non-mountain people. But as someone who has monitored mountain literature for a long time, I can attest that such widespread criticisms do not follow father alpinists. Let鈥檚 go back to the last century. Ernest Shackleton, admired as one of the greatest and most spirited explorers of all time, had three children (I鈥檝e only just learned that) when he sailed away, again and again, eventually dying of a heart attack in the Antarctic at age 47. The leading climber Dave Cheesmond had a daughter when he was killed, along with my friend Catherine Freer, on the Hummingbird Ridge, Mount Logan, 1987.

John Roskelley. George Lowe, his cousin Jeff Lowe: all did significant climbs as parents (all thankfully coming out unscathed).

I remember thinking after Alison鈥檚 death, If you鈥檙e going to criticize her, then you鈥檇 have to be prepared to criticize Alex Lowe, brilliant climber and father of three, if something were to happen to him; never dreaming that his death was on the horizon. We all reacted with pure heartbreak and still mourn him.

Alex had worried about it. He told me in an interview that he wasn鈥檛 fooling himself: 鈥淚 know what kind of devastation I would leave behind.鈥� And in fact he seemed to be winding it down when he died in an avalanche on Shishapangma in 1999 at age 40, along with Dave Bridges. What about Doug Coombs, who died ski mountaineering near La Grave, France, trying to rescue a friend who had washed down an icy cliff? He left a child and unadulterated sorrow. Please, put your emotions to concern and sympathy for Hilaree鈥檚 two sons and her life partner, Jim Morrison. And all bereft family and friends.

Had Alison, Rob Slater, and the four others lost on K2 in 1995 returned safely, they would have been feted as heroes. Instead the world suffered their loss, and some judged. In the profile of Alison, which came out posthumously, I wrote that the tragedy was especially painful to women climbers, many of whom were trying to sort out dueling obligations to self and family. 鈥淲e felt for her, trying to pursue those dreams. Some thought of those kids and wondered, well, had she been selfish? But we cannot judge that, not unless we are prepared to judge the entire pantheon of lost climber fathers.鈥� Or risk-taking fathers. How many of the men in the Everest disaster of 1996 had children or pregnant partners? Plenty. But observers view women鈥檚 deaths differently.

Brian Hall, author of High Risk, emails: 鈥淪ad as it was, Hilaree鈥檚 death follows a long list of mountaineers who have perished in the mountains. … Whether she had children or not, it was her personal choice. She must have gained huge satisfaction attempting adventurous projects. This time it did not work out.

鈥淚 was once a mad keen skier with an appreciation of extreme mountain skiing. When I heard that Hilaree had skied the Lhotse Couloir [in 2018, with Jim Morrison], I was absolutely astounded. Respect. She leaves a legacy that can never be taken out of mountaineering and culture.鈥�

Most climbers will live to see their children grow up. We can all only draw our own lines in the sand, and manage risk carefully, vigilantly. Even so, much is prone to luck. I nearly met disaster in the relatively safe genre of sport climbing, on a sunny September day about ten years ago, when a non-climber knocked down a mega rock that bounded toward my friend and me. I wasn鈥檛 even climbing, but sitting on a rock eating a sandwich. I jumped up, cowered against the cliff and behind a tiny tree; saw the spinning disk come right at me. It hit the wall and tree鈥攚丑颈肠丑, believe me, has never been the same鈥攁nd split into three pieces, one of which caught me in the chest, spun me around, and knocked me 20-plus feet down the gully. The rock was 40 pounds; it鈥檚 still there. My two boys were teens, as are Hilaree鈥檚.

I met Hilaree many times through her work as a (volunteer) board member for the American Alpine Club, where she took her service seriously, and I always very much liked and respected her for her warmth and thoughtfulness as well as strength. Hilaree was 鈥渦napologetic,鈥� to quote her close friend and mentee Emily Harrington (now expecting a baby) about adventuring, and she encouraged other women to be themselves.

Caroline George, a mother and international alpine guide (technical coordinator for the 鈥�100% Women Peak Challenge鈥� that put 80 women atop the 4,164-meter Breithorn this past year and 700 total women on all 48 of Switzerland鈥檚 4000-meter peaks last year, all safely), posted this on Facebook, crediting Hilaree for legitimizing her life choices. See the last line:

鈥淚 have infinite gratitude for her journey on this planet and for the legacy she leaves. A father who falls in a crevasse, well he was out there living his dream. A mother who falls in the mountains will be judged a lot harsher. 鈥� She gifted me these words when 鈥� I was [seeking] my path as a mother: 鈥楢s for not seeing your little girl grow up鈥攊t won鈥檛 be because of what you do or don鈥檛 do in the mountains. It would only be because death is part of life.鈥欌��

Alison Osius is a senior editor at听国产吃瓜黑料 and was the first woman president of the American Alpine Club. She is the mother of two sons.听

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Not so long ago, the headline 鈥淒irtbag Rock Climbers Walk Down the Red Carpet to Accept Their Academy Award鈥� would have seemed like an oxymoron鈥攁 violation of the very laws of nature.

But in 2019 it happened: light stopped being the fastest thing in the universe, up became down, and a little rock-climbing film听called Free Solo won the Best Documentary Oscar. Sure enough, a bunch of climbers, who once were only recognized at dusty Camp 4 picnic tables in Yosemite Valley, strutted up onto that rarified stage. They even appeared to have showered.

The trajectory of the climbing-film canon tracks right alongside the progression of the sport itself鈥攆rom the speed-metal-fueled flicks of the early nineties, to Hollywood鈥檚 extravagant mountaineering hyperboles of the 2000s, to the recent gripping v茅rit茅 films showing the world鈥檚 best athletes laying their actual lives on the line.

Whether the below films are all 鈥済reat鈥� by today鈥檚听standards is beside the point鈥攖hough great they all are in their own ways. They are mandatory viewing for anyone who calls themselves a climber. Watch them, quote them, be inspired by them, and, as Anderl Meier of The Eiger Sanction says, together 鈥渨e shall continue with style.鈥� Here are the 20 best climbing films ever.

20. North Face (2010)

Climbing the North Face of the Eiger in the Swiss Alps was one of the first 鈥渓ast great problems鈥� of mountaineering. It gained its fearsome reputation after various attempts resulted in climbers dying in horrible and gruesome ways. 听(Nordwand, as it鈥檚 titled in German) dramatizes one of these horrific failures: the 1936 disaster in which Andreas Hinterstoisser, Toni Kurz, Willy Angerer, and Edi Rainer all perished. This subtitled German-language film veers from some of the historical facts but hews closely to the most haunting details from the tragedy, including a depiction of poor, doomed Kurz dangling for an eternity with thousands of feet of air beneath him, yet too far away from the mountainside to get himself back onto firm ground. The political subplots involving the Nazi regime鈥檚 ambitions around the first ascent of the Eiger鈥檚 鈥淢urder Wall鈥� slow the film down some, but hang in there鈥攚ith all due respect to Herr Kurz鈥攆or some thrilling climbing drama.

Watch North Face

19. Sherpa (2015)

Mount Everest was the stage for two major films released in 2015. Everest, featuring Jake Gyllenhaal, Josh Brolin, and Keira Knightley, is a dramatization of the infamous 1996 tragedy documented in Jon Krakauer鈥檚 iconic book . But it is the other Everest film released that year, Sherpa, that delivers a better depiction of the tensions and dangers on the mountain today. Following the 2013 鈥淓verest Brawl鈥� that broke out after an unfortunate confrontation between a Sherpa rope-fixing team and three European hotshots, including the late Ueli Steck, Sherpa director Jennifer Peedom went to the peak in 2014 with the idea of doing a documentary on the Indigenous听porters. That year, 16 Sherpas died in an avalanche while working to fix ropes and ladders across the dangerous Khumbu Icefall. The resulting film is richly textured, centering on a group of people who too often have been left out of the spotlight on the world鈥檚 tallest mountain. If you鈥檙e going to watch one thing about Everest, make it this.

Watch Sherpa听

18. Rampage (1999)

Go to any bouldering area in California today, where hordes of pad-carrying, tune-bumping young guns session five-star sickness, and it鈥檚 nearly impossible to imagine a time when most climbers didn鈥檛 take bouldering seriously, deriding it as 鈥減ractice climbing.鈥� Films like , though, helped usher in the bouldering revolution, opening up the sport to a wider and more youthful听demographic. Rampage is the story of the then 18-year-old Chris Sharma, now considered one of the best rock climbers in history, and his charismatic, strong friend Obe Carrion, taking a road trip to some classic blocks around the West. Sharma slaps his way up dozens of first ascents of now iconic problems, demonstrating in the process why bouldering would be here to stay.

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17. Masters of Stone I (1991)

The videos were the first serialized climbing films. Eric Perlman (and also, originally, Mike Hatchett) directed a total of six Masters of Stone films over roughly two decades, beginning in 1991. But the first four, all released in the nineties, best represent the Masters of Stone brand of hardcore, heavy-metal-fueled extreme-sports action. These early works featured the day鈥檚 top brass, including Ron Kauk, Boone Speed, John Bachar, and, perhaps most memorably, Dan Osman. The latter performs some outrageous rope jumps and beautiful free solos, plus one in which he launches a totally reckless all-points-off dyno 400 feet up a wall. Choosing a favorite among the group is tough, but my vote goes to the OG: .

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16. Cliffhanger (1993)

set the bar for contrived absurdity deliciously high. The characters of this fictional action flick are frequently shown free-soloing while wearing harnesses and full racks of climbing gear, for example. The film鈥檚 greatest gift to climbers, however, is the concept of a bolt gun, which shoots a bolt and hanger into the rock with a simple pull of the trigger. But peering behind the scenes of Cliffhanger, one finds legit authenticity: the climbing writer John Long inspired the concept, and none other than Wolfgang G眉llich, perhaps the best climber in the world at the time, was Sylvester Stallone鈥檚 stunt double. (Stallone reportedly admitted to a fear of heights.) Then, after G眉llich died in a car accident in 1992, Ron Kauk stepped in to finish the film鈥檚 stunts.

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15. Vertical Limit (2000)

The first time climbers watch , they laugh so hard that they start to cry. The Hollywood film is primarily set on K2, where everyone becomes an amphetamine junkie and then starts killing each other over the scarce supply of 鈥渄ex.鈥� But the opening scene, shot in Monument Valley, Arizona, is the best part. The two main characters, siblings Peter and Annie, are climbing with their father when a separate rope team above fully detaches from the wall. Right before they听swing down, Peter shouts, for no reason, 鈥淲e got amateurs at 12 o鈥檆lock, check your safety!鈥� Then the dad blows a whistle (huh?). The falling climbers proceed to hit the lower team and shear bolts out of the rock, leaving everyone dangling from a single cam. This forces Peter to dramatically cut the cord, which kills his father. As you wipe away the tears (of laughter), you think, That鈥檚 not how this works. That鈥檚 not how any of this works.

Watch Vertical Limit

14. The Eiger Sanction (1975)

the climbing scenes in some of the 鈥渕ost realistic in all of Hollywood climbing.鈥� And while the plot of this spy thriller doesn鈥檛 make sense, and the 1970s-era sexism and racism will make you cringe, the climbing scenes, at least, have stood the test of time. Desert-tower climbing aficionados in particular will appreciate the rare footage of Clint Eastwood sending the Totem Pole鈥攃onsidered the tallest, skinniest spire in the world鈥攊n Monument Valley. The film crew obtained permission to climb this striking, slender monolith听from the Navajo Council, with the agreement that they鈥檇 clean听all pitons left behind by prior climbers. Eastwood鈥檚 is considered the last legal ascent of this rare and beautiful tower. The beer that he and George Kennedy drink on top in the film must have tasted especially good.

Watch The Eiger Sanction

13. Dosage: Volume II (2003)

, from director Josh Lowell at Big Up听Productions, was post鈥�Masters of Stone and pre鈥�. Between 2001 and 2008, the Dosage series released five DVD volumes that featured some of the most memorable short films, or 鈥渄oses,鈥� of climbing in that era. Check out Dosage: Volume V to see Beth Rodden听nail the first ascent of Meltdown (5.14c), arguably the hardest rock climb ever established by a woman. And Chris Sharma sends the first ascent of Realization (now called Biographie) in Dosage: Volume I. The deep-water-soloing segment in Majorca听with Klem Loskott in Dosage: Volume II, however, is a personal favorite that inspired me to take .

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12. Torn (2022)

It鈥檚 hard to call Torn, directed by Max Lowe, a climbing film, yet it deserves its place on this list because it does a better job than any others here in capturing the emotional carnage wrought by a loved one鈥檚 death. Max鈥檚 father, Alex Lowe, was killed during an avalanche on Tibet鈥檚 Shishapangma in 1999, while his climbing partner, Conrad Anker, survived. Alex was considered the best all-around climber in the world, and stories of his legendary stoke and superhuman feats imbued him with hero status. His death left the climbing world reeling鈥攁nd three young boys without a dad. Now an adult, Max set out to create a documentary about the loss of his father, whose remains were found in a glacier in 2016. In the process, he discovers that it鈥檚 a path to healing.

Watch Torn

11. King Lines (2007)

Produced by Sender Films and Big Up Productions, was one of the first high-quality, feature-length climbing films to break out of the short-form dosage mold, raising the bar for climbing storytelling to something beyond mere climbing porn. King Lines is a profile of Chris Sharma, who spent at least two decades of his career widely being called the world鈥檚 best rock climber. This film centers on Sharma鈥檚 quest to establish the hardest deep-water solo in the world, on Es Pontas, an offshore arch in Majorca.

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10. Hard Grit (1998)

The sound of a heartbeat opens the documentary , as we see a climber making his way up a plug of gritstone in the Peak District of England. The heartbeat quickens as he inches higher, entering the no-fall zone well above his last piece of gear. He lurches toward a hold but comes up short. He screams and takes a massive fall, nearly hitting the ground but instead crashing into the wall and breaking his leg. For this scene鈥攁nd many that are very funny, thanks to some wonderful self-deprecating British humor鈥�Hard Grit remains a timeless classic. It captures how many of the best and most important early rock climbers in the UK, from Jerry Moffatt and Ben Moon to Leo Houlding and Johnny Dawes, dealt with fear, and it shows why taking risks is important.

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9. Progression (2009)

When the feature-length film came out in the late aughts, climbing was on the brink of changing in a big way. Viral media bonanzas that swept the country, like the one surrounding the first Dawn Wall free ascent听to climbing鈥檚 Olympic debut听to the climbing-gym revolution, were right on the horizon. This film, about a series of climbers pushing the sport to the next level, seems especially prescient in hindsight. Progression features the first look at Tommy Caldwell鈥檚 vision for the Dawn Wall, for example, as well as Kevin Jorgeson鈥檚 big media debut as a high-ball boulderer; that these two would eventually team up to tackle the Dawn Wall is, perhaps in a small way, the result of this film. With footage of Chris Sharma sending the world鈥檚 first 5.15b, and a young Adam Ondra promising to one day take that torch, Progression lives up to its name in every sense.

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8. 14 Peaks听(2021)

The film is about one of the most impressive mountaineering feats of the century: Nirmal Purja鈥檚 ascent of all 14 of the world鈥檚 8,000-meter peaks in only seven months. The previous record was seven years. Purja is an utterly riveting character: charismatic, confident (sometimes even cocky), and fiercely committed to his very dangerous quest. The documentary is beautifully shot and displays some high-quality Himalayan footage, but the tender humanity in the contrast between Purja鈥檚听immense ambition and willingness to risk himself and his ailing mother鈥檚 mortality back home is what elevates the film.

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7. Valley Uprising (2014)

They say that Yosemite is the center of the rock-climbing universe, and culturally speaking, it鈥檚 hard to argue otherwise. In the 1970s, the park鈥檚 Camp 4 campground was home to a band of rock-climbing hippies called the Stonemasters, which included Ron Kauk, John Bachar, Lynn Hill, John Long, Dean Fidelman, and others. They weren鈥檛 just pushing the limits and establishing big new routes, they were defining a kind of counterculture, dirtbag way of life that was more than an aesthetic. Their commitment to renouncing the creature comforts of mainstream society in order to party, do drugs, live free, and climb as much as possible persists in climbing today. The era is immortalized (albeit through a nostalgic lens) in Sender Films鈥� second feature, . The documentary captures the essence of climbing鈥檚 bohemian background, and in doing so, it illuminates where the climbing lifestyle is going next.

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6. Reel Rock 7 (2012)

The is climbing鈥檚 annual movie celebration, premiering memorable, riveting, and well-told climbing stories. There鈥檚 always at least one outstanding work each year, alongside others that are merely great. Reel Rock 15鈥檚 Black Ice comes to mind for its affecting portrait of a group of Memphis, Tennessee, climbers who try ice climbing for the first time. So does Reel Rock 12鈥檚 Break on Through, which documents Margo Hayes鈥檚 journey in becoming the first woman to climb a 5.15. And who doesn鈥檛 love听Reel Rock 11鈥檚听,听about Sean Villanueva O鈥橠riscoll, Ben Ditto, and brothers Nico and Olivier Favresse鈥檚 sea-faring big-wall adventure? But if I had to choose just one year to watch, I鈥檇 have to go with ;听it captures the near Shakespearean drama of Chris Sharma and Adam Ondra鈥檚 battle to be first to climb La Dura Dura (5.15c), presents parts of the Meru Shark鈥檚 Fin saga (see below), and highlights the 鈥淲ide Boyz鈥濃�擳om Randall and Pete Whittaker, two brilliant trad climbers from the UK鈥攄oing a 5.14 offwidth in America, as well as Alex Honnold covering more vertical terrain in Yosemite in a single day than anyone in history.

Watch all the Reel Rock films

5. The Alpinist (2021)

Marc-Andr茅 Leclerc was one of the most enigmatic and boldest climbers of his generation. The Canadian, known for his mop of curly hair and goofy grin, completed unbelievable solos in the big mountains of Patagonia and the Canadian Rockies鈥攁nd yet few knew much about who Leclerc really was. In , the Sender Films team attempts to capture the real person behind these daring feats,听a difficult task not just because Leclerc proved to be elusive, but because he died during the film鈥檚 production. In 2018, he and his partner, Ryan Johnson, went missing in Alaska and were presumed buried in an avalanche on their descent. While The Alpinist features some of the most gripping free-solo footage you鈥檒l ever see, the documentary鈥檚 true success is rendering a complete portrait of a talented young man whose life was cut short.

Watch The Alpinist

4. Meru (2015)

The Shark鈥檚 Fin, or central peak of Mount Meru,听in the Himalayas, has been an object of true obsession among elite alpinists around the world. For decades, many have tried and failed to reach the top of this big wall, which sits at nearly 21,000 feet. is the definitive feature film documenting Conrad Anker, Jimmy Chin, and Renan Ozturk鈥檚 eventual first ascent. Their achievement was years in the making and included the heartbreak of just missing the summit in 2008, as well as Ozturk鈥檚 subsequent recovery from a broken back in a ski accident. The married couple Chin and Elizabeth 鈥淐hai鈥� Vasarhelyi鈥檚 directorial debut captures the maniacal commitment that is sometimes required to achieve really hard routes, and it speaks to the lengths to which climbers will go to get to the top.

Watch Meru

3. Touching the Void 听(2003)

, written by Joe Simpson, is perhaps the best mountaineering book ever, as the events it describes defy belief. In 1985, disaster struck while Simpson and his climbing partner, Simon Yates, descended from the summit of 20,814-foot Siula Grande, in Peru. After Simpson fell down a cliff and broke his leg, Yates was faced with the horrible decision of cutting the rope, knowing it would kill Simpson but that otherwise both would die. Yates agonized but ultimately did what needed to be done to save himself. Amazingly, Simpson was mangled but not killed by his fall into the crevasse. With two broken legs, he actually crawled out of it听and off the mountain鈥攂ut barely survived.听 honors the book with remarkable fidelity and a quality of filmmaking that quite possibly remains unmatched in any climbing film before or since.

Watch Touching the Void

2. The Dawn Wall (2017)

The Dawn Wall was , marking 2015 as the year the once fringe sport finally gained mainstream awareness and interest. So much coverage and attention were paid to Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson鈥檚 first free ascent of this route on El Capitan that it seemed unlikely a subsequent film could ever impress hardcore climbers who were sick of hearing about it. And yet 鈥攚丑颈肠丑 explores Caldwell鈥檚 incredible life story, from being kidnapped by Islamic terrorists in Kyrgzstan, to cutting his finger off with a table saw, to his painful divorce from fellow pro climber Beth Rodden鈥攎anaged to surpass everyone鈥檚 expectations for how rich and rewarding a climbing film could be.

Watch The Dawn Wall

1. Free Solo (2018)

Of course听听is number one on this list鈥攊t鈥檚 the only climbing film to win an Oscar. It dissects Alex Honnold鈥檚 completion of the first free solo of El Capitan, a goal he鈥檇 been working toward for a decade, building up his skill, confidence, and uncanny ability to turn off the part of the brain that should feel very, very afraid. I consider Honnold鈥檚 achievement not only the greatest climb of all time but perhaps . Directors Jimmy Chin and Chai Vasarhelyi could have filmed Honnold鈥檚 four-hour solo with a handheld iPhone from the Yosemite Valley floor, and it still would鈥檝e had me gripped. Instead, the awesome top-down footage that Chin and his team captured of Honnold performing hard, scary moves without a rope, 3,000 feet up America鈥檚 biggest monolith, is just spectacular, palm-sweating, adrenaline-inducing goodness. Beyond the climbing footage, Free Solo听seriously attempts to answer the question of why climbers are compelled to risk it all for such an elusive reward; it turns out, that answer can鈥檛 really be put into words, not even by Honnold himself, but must be experienced directly and viscerally, with听your heart racing at the airy sweep of exposure beneath your feet. Free Solo helps viewers experience a taste of what that鈥檚 like. And for that reason, it鈥檚 everything a climbing film should be.

Watch Free Solo

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K2, the second-highest peak in the world, has remained relatively free of the commercial circus common on Mount Everest, but this year the number of climbers ballooned. Thus far in 2022, some 200 people reached the 28,251-foot summit, including a record-setting 145 people on a single day. Prior to this year, only about 300 people had summited the mountain, ever. This week we saw reports of another Everest-like occurrence on the mountain: heaps of trash.

A few days ago Nimsdai Foundation posted at camp two (21,980鈥�). As dramatic strings play in the background, the camera pans across the steep snow slope to reveal dozens of flattened and shredded tents, ropes, pickets, and oxygen canisters. Nirmal Purja, who famously set the speed record for the world鈥檚 14 highest peaks, led a team on the mountain this season and reported that he almost threw up from the smell. Among the refuse left behind is human waste, which doesn鈥檛 decompose at altitude and creates serious health risks, since climbers need to melt snow for drinking water.

鈥淭he rubbish on K2 at camp two was so bad this year,鈥� Nims posted. 鈥淩otting food and human waste, old tents, and ropes cascading down the mountainside.鈥� American climber Sarah Strattan. 鈥淐amps one and two on K2 are disgusting. Waste from past and present expeditions has piled up everywhere鈥nd you camp right on top of it,鈥� she wrote.

The issue of trash on the world鈥檚 highest peaks isn鈥檛 new. Everest often gets referred to as the world鈥檚 highest landfill, and 国产吃瓜黑料 has reported on the trash (and bodies) piling up every year. But the issue has historically been associated more strongly with Everest, in large part because of the huge crowds. The recent video was particularly jarring because K2 is climbed by far fewer people, because it is more technical and dangerous. Prior to this year, for every four climbers attempting the peak, one would die.
In response to the uproar following his by-then viral trash video, Purja added that the litter shouldn鈥檛 necessarily be perceived as malice. 鈥淚f a climber is ill or struggling, they need to get down the mountains [sic] asap鈥攖hey may die if they stay to pick up their gear,鈥� . 鈥淥bviously, those climbers that can bring down rubbish, 100 percent should.鈥�

But that explanation can鈥檛 account for the entirety of the problem. Eric Gilbertson, an independent climber who summited without using supplemental oxygen, compared the situation to nearby Broad Peak in a post on : 鈥淚 was surprised how much trash was in this camp given that the camps on Broad were generally clean. Both peaks had a similar number of climbers registered for permits and [camp one and camp two] on Broad were also small. The only difference I can think of is K2 has almost exclusively guided groups while Broad had a high percentage of independent groups. Perhaps independent groups clean up after themselves better and don鈥檛 leave old tents on the mountain? I鈥檓 not sure.鈥�

Gilbertson might be onto something with that analysis. Adrian Ballinger, a professional climber, IFMGA guide, and owner of Alpenglow Expeditions, which leads trips on peaks from Everest to Aconcagua, weighed in: 鈥淚 think the problem is inexperienced people led by inexperienced high-altitude workers led by inexperienced or unethical expedition leaders.”

In order to offer expedition climbs to clients at a lower price, some operators will opt not to hire Sherpa or high-altitude workers to pack out trash and gear. 鈥淐ompanies have told me that the reason they don鈥檛 bring things like tents down, is they can buy new tents from China that are cheaper than paying Sherpa to go up and do extra rotations and bring their equipment down,鈥� Ballinger says.

Once that trash is on the mountain for a season of melt-freeze cycles, it becomes embedded into the ice and is incredibly difficult to chop out and remove.

As the waste problems have increased, so too have removal efforts. In 2019, cleanup crews hauled some 24,000 pounds of trash off of Mount Everest. Purja is currently raising money to pay for a team of Sherpa to deep clean both Everest and K2 by removing trash and old, dangerous ropes.

But while cleanup expeditions are productive, the culture of climbing these peaks has to shift in order to effect meaningful change. Ballinger ran a clean-up on Ama Dablam in 2010, but felt that it actually gave companies permission to do less. 鈥淯ntil we change the culture, a cleanup expedition just encourages poor behavior,鈥� says Ballinger. Two years after the big clean, the trash problem on Ama Dablam was worse than it had ever been before.

Ballinger believes that the movement toward a better mountain experience has to come from the operators, and that clients have to demand it. Many companies, both local and Western operators, pay their support staff to clean up their expedition鈥檚 trash. By choosing to climb with these outfitters, prospective clients can support these ethical practices with their wallets.

鈥淚f you鈥檙e leaving an 8,000-meter peak as a client feeling a little dirty inside about what might have happened on your trip, whether that’s frostbite on your Sherpa or the fact that you left all your poop at camp two鈥攚ho wants that?鈥� says Ballinger. 鈥淣one of us are going to be proud of climbing these peaks anymore.鈥�

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This week, host Elizabeth Hightower Allen spoke with author Silvia Vasquez-Lavado about her memoir ,听the Book Club’s May pick. On the one hand, the books is about Vasquez-Lavado journey to become the first Peruvian woman to summit Everest (and the first queer woman to climb the Seven Summits), but as Allen wrote in her review for 国产吃瓜黑料, 鈥渋t鈥檚 a lot more鈥攁 story about surviving abuse, moving through addiction, and coming to terms with the shadows in all of our lives.鈥�

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At 5:38 p.m. on January 26, 72 cell phones from (PMR) and 67 from the听 mountain rescue team rattled and hummed. 鈥淔allen climber, Devils Kitchen,鈥� read the messages. I cringed with consternation and frustration. Someone was in trouble again on the mountain, and my evening, night鈥檚 sleep, and next day of work would be trashed.

The most popular route up Oregon鈥檚 Mount Hood, an 11,249-foot active volcano, passes by two giant cavities that exhaust lethal sulfur dioxide and hydrogen sulfide. The Devils Kitchen fumarole sits just climber鈥檚 right of Hogsback, a steep snow ridge that runs from 10,500 feet up to the Pearly Gates, the final chute to the summit. The Hot Rocks fumarole, where the heat from the earth never allows snow to accumulate, is just climber鈥檚 left. On a clear, windless day your eyes water and your nose stings from the sulfur that wafts across the flank of the most frequented area鈥攃ollectively called the South Side Routes鈥攐n one of the most climbed glaciated peaks in America.

The mountain rescue teams were notified that 28-year-old , descending Hogsback late in the day, attempted to snowboard the steep icy slope, lost an edge, and careened into Devils Kitchen. He landed 30 feet deep on sandpapery andesite. His injuries were severe.

With Stevens in the hole and his two partners perched nearby, the temperature plummeted, the wind picked up, and darkness fell. This is going to be complicated鈥攁nd take all night, I thought. I hope we can get there in time.

I鈥檓 a mountain rescue doctor with both PMR and Crag Rats, and this year has been one of the busiest and earliest alpine rescue seasons ever鈥攁nd I鈥檝e been involved in search and rescue on the mountain since 1998. Normally, we have a few alpine missions every year, mostly during the main volcano-climbing season, from April to July. To date, we鈥檝e had eight missions in the alpine, including a multiday, multiagency search for a missing snowboarder who was found dead after three days. So why the increase in accidents? My colleagues and I can鈥檛 help but wonder what鈥檚 happening on our mountain.

Following the alert about Stevens, two dozen rescue mountaineers abandoned family dinners, unopened books, and Netflix shows to head to the high alpine, just as we have done for decades. Crag Rats was established in 1926, and PMR鈥檚 predecessor, Mountain Rescue Council of Oregon, formed in 1955. We are all volunteers, on call every day and every night. We are skilled in cliff, crevasse, and avalanche rescue and accredited by the national .

Our teams climbed into the night, hauling 600-foot ropes, two-foot aluminum pickets, ice screws, progress-capture pulleys, a Sked litter, a vacuum mattress, and dozens of carabiners. PMR rescue leader Jan Roethle rappelled into the fumarole wearing a gas monitor and respirator to ward off the toxic fumes. Once the patient was stabilized and hoisted out, he had to be lowered 4,000 feet down Palmer Glacier to Timberline Lodge at 6,000 feet, which serves as the hub of the South Side Routes. To accomplish that safely, we used the Hogsback Kit, a specialized system employing a superstrong, 200-meter-long, six-millimeter-diameter rope. Finally, at 3:54 a.m., I sent the stand-down text. Mission complete. By then I was too amped to return to bed, so I made a pot of strong coffee and sat down at my laptop to work鈥攂y day, I鈥檓 a clinic, emergency, and ski- resort doctor for the Providence Hood River Memorial Hospital and also serve as our county鈥檚 public health officer and medical examiner.

The rescue season on Mount Hood began just four days before Stevens鈥檚 fall, on January 22. At 9:50 a.m. a distress call came in from , 27, who was on the summit having equipment trouble and couldn鈥檛 get down unaided. A few hours after wrapping up the Moses mission, PMR was called to rescue a climber who missed Timberline Lodge on the descent. Then on January 29, a snowshoer slid 1,000 feet, sustained injuries, and needed to be carried out in a litter.

With four missions in a week, the rescue season started abruptly and exhaustingly. And it didn鈥檛 let up.

Mount Hood has had natural hazards since long before it was on August 8, 1854, by Oregonian editor Thomas Dryer and his friends. Chunks of ice, rime, and andesite peel off cliff bands and pelt climbers, especially in warm conditions. Steep icy slopes lead to all too common uncontrolled falls, which have accounted for . Rock-hard glacier-ice globules, ranging from golf ball to basketball size, can cause lethal ski crashes, as happened to my friend and colleague in 2020. Big holes鈥攃revasses, bergschrunds, glide cracks, and fumaroles鈥攑resent more risks. (Please understand the difference if you plan to climb.) The fumaroles remained open all winter this year due to unusually low snowpack and high temperatures. Avalanches are a frequent issue too. I鈥檝e personally witnessed skier-triggered slides on many popular ski routes on the peak.

Weather presents another major problem: Mount Hood is a solo stratovolcano plopped in a maritime climate with a prominence of 7,706 feet above an endless sea of Douglas fir. The monolith collects weather like a magnet. When marine air blows in from the Pacific Ocean, it can ramp into a storm as quick as a flash flood. In a Ping-Pong-ball whiteout, climbers often get caught in the on the South Side Routes鈥攖hey erroneously downclimb the fall line, which leads them to a sheer cliff, instead of following the subtle and awkward sidehill back to Timberline Lodge.

But these omnipresent hazards don鈥檛 solely account for the uptick in rescues. A combination of human factors has us grabbing our rescue packs and heading into the alpine more than ever.

First: a heap of people are climbing, skiing, snowshoeing, and even snow running Mount Hood. The Forest Service issues up to for Mount Hood every year, reportedly more than any other glaciated peak in the U.S. But the number of climbers is likely higher, according to Heather Ibsen, public affairs officer for the USFS, since the wilderness permit is voluntary and not every climber obtains one.

The traffic can be attributed in part to the volcano鈥檚 proximity to Portland, an outdoorsy metro of 2.5 million people just one and a half hours away, and to excellent access: you can drive up to Timberline Lodge, about halfway up the mountain.

In recent years, the crowds grew so much that made the difficult decision to stop guiding on weekends, says co-owner Cliff Agocs, even though weekends are 鈥渢he heart of the outdoor recreation business.鈥� Traditionally, guides would determine the safety of a summit attempt based on objective hazards like rockfall, icefall, and weather. But that changed a few years ago, because crowds of people of varied abilities on the common routes make the ascent too dangerous.

A second contributor: climbers, skiers, and snowshoers now flock to the peak year-round, instead of primarily during the traditional spring-summer volcano-climbing season. ski-patrol director Libby Koroch says now people climb the peak whenever a good weather window presents itself, all winter long. Climbers face bigger risks in winter with weather, avalanches, and snow conditions鈥攁nd rescuers now face a much longer season.

Third, many climbers are unprepared. 鈥淧eople get blindsided. The resort is nearby so they don鈥檛 take into account that this is a wilderness,鈥� says Koroch. 鈥淚t鈥檚 nice that people are outside, but they rely heavily on rescue crews.鈥� On climber Moses鈥檚 rescue from the summit, equipment failure was part of the problem. Crag Rats Leif Bergstrom remarks, 鈥淚t鈥檚 important to have mountaineering boots, crampons, and an ice ax and know how to use them.鈥�

I summited Mount Hood six times during the pandemic, and once in the Timberline Lodge parking lot I spied a man wearing tights, running shoes, microspikes (low-profile traction cleats designed to fit over normal shoes), and a ten-liter running vest. He held a tiny aluminum ice ax.

鈥淕oing for the summit?鈥� I asked.

鈥淵es,鈥� he said, eying my jacket bedecked with mountain rescue patches, 鈥渂ut I鈥檒l turn around at the Pearly Gates if it looks too difficult.鈥� A cerulean sky and stable snowpack made it a good summit day: I topped out and skied Old Chute. I later connected with the runner, who鈥檇 turned around shy of Pearly Gates, a 600-vertical-foot, 50-degree ice chute usually requiring front-pointing in boot crampons and grappling with one or two ice axes.

Finally, modern technology plays a role in accidents too. 鈥淪ocial media has made climbing more dangerous for some and safer for others,鈥� says Jess Joyner, marketing director at , a longstanding Portland gear store that regularly provides public education and partners with PMR. A plethora of information exists for trip planning, including real-time telemetry for snowfall, temperature, and wind. But trip reports on social media may be inaccurate, misrepresentative, or inconsistent. For example, recent posts describing the Pearly Gates from group downplay the technical aspects: 鈥淔un menageries of ice鈥� and 鈥淒id my first climb in running shoes and microspikes.鈥�

Some people just don鈥檛 seek out the correct information, says Koroch. They call the Timberline Ski Patrol for climbing-conditions info instead of going directly to well-established websites like or the .

Plus, the internet can influence risk tolerance. 鈥淭he glamor of social media posts encourages some to take risks they may not be ready for,鈥� says Joyner.

As a rescue mountaineer, I want climbers to know a few things. First, the demand on volunteer rescuers is immense. In addition to having careers, family, and recreation pursuits of our own, we also need to sleep, eat, and attend to other tasks of physical and mental recovery after a mission. Just managing gear鈥攃leaning, drying, repairing, and repacking鈥攊s a huge task. This year, we have repaired a broken carbon-fiber handle on our $5,000 Akja sled, retired two ropes after exposure to hydrogen sulfide, and lost an $800 200-meter rope on the glacier.

In addition to managing the complexities of our 501(c)(3) nonprofits, we need to constantly train in high-angle, crevasse, avalanche, and fumarole rescue. And we also train in risk management. 鈥淏y nature, the men and women who volunteer for this service are deeply committed to saving lives,鈥� says PMR rescue leader Mark Morford. 鈥淥ngoing training involves techniques to minimize those risks and make well-reasoned decisions.鈥�

We rely on climbers to help mitigate risks. PMR promotes safety with educational materials like , , and posts on and . 鈥淚t seems that by being more active in social media, PMR created a solid presence in the forefront of people鈥檚 minds, and many use the posts as a tool in decision-making,鈥� says PMR public education chair Mari Feher.

Obtaining proper equipment, skills, and instruction is vital. One can take a mountaineering course with climbing clubs like Portland鈥檚 , established in 1894 on the summit of Mount Hood. Or hire a certified guide like Agocs from .

And know that at some point soon, Mount Hood will likely have a climbing permit system that may limit numbers. Similar systems are in place already on Mount St. Helens, Mount Adams, and Mount Rainier. A draft proposal for Mount Hood is in the works, says Heather Ibsen, public affairs officer for the USFS.

Finally, climbers should understand rescue is neither automatic nor instant. Even rescues that seem straightforward involve planning, effort, and risk.

As we start the main spring-summer volcano mountain, we will inevitably see more climbers on Mount Hood. When things go poorly, the men and women from PMR and Crag Rats will be ready to respond, just as we have been for decades. Despite mountain rescue鈥檚 challenges, it鈥檚 tremendously rewarding. The esprit de corps is unrivaled.

鈥淢ountain rescue is both an honor and a privilege,鈥� says PMR rescue leader Paige Baugher. 鈥淭he inconveniences are less consequential to me than making a positive impact on the lives of those in my community.鈥�

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has been held in the heart of the San Juan Mountains every Memorial Day weekend for 44 years. The festival brings together athletes, filmmakers, and cinephiles to the picturesque town of Telluride, Colorado, to watch hundreds of the year鈥檚 best adventure films and attend talks with movers and shakers in the outdoor world (in 2019, once such conversation ), often around themes of social and environmental justice. This year, from May 26 to 30, the event is making its long-awaited return to full in-person screenings after going virtual for two years. (You can .) In-person festival attendees can expect talks, presentations, and about everything from adventure in the Greater Ranges to illegal wildlife trafficking. If you can鈥檛 make it all the way to Telluride, don鈥檛 worry: the festival will move online from May 31 to June 7 for those who want to watch from vans and couches near and far. Later this year, for the Mountainfilm World Tour, coming to a town near you with a selection of highlights from the festival.

Here are the four feature films we鈥檙e most excited about.

The Territory

The Territory, which took home at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, follows the Indigenous Uru-eu-wau-wau people in the Brazilian Amazon as they fight to protect their land鈥斺�渁n island of rainforest surrounded by farms鈥濃�攁gainst rapid deforestation at the hand of illegal logging and farming.

In the 1980s, the Brazilian government first contacted the Uru-eu-wau-wau, who live on a reservation in the state of Rond么nia. Since then, their population, once in the thousands, has dwindled to fewer than 200. Director Alex Pritz tells the story of this fight through footage captured over three years and embeds with both the invaders and the Uru-eu-wau-wau so viewers can get to know both groups. We watch as the Uru-eu-wau-wau take weapons into the forest to look for invaders and as the farmers, who are looking to clear the land to build their homes, burn down swaths of forest. The film, shot by Pritz and co-cinematographer Tangae Uru-eu-wau-wau, a member of the tribe, is both visually beautiful and critically important. The race to protect the rainforest and the existence of this tribe is ongoing and urgent.

The Sanctity of Space

The Sanctity of Space, the highly anticipated film by Renan Ozturk (Meru, Sherpa, Into the Mind) delivers more of the stunning high-altitude cinematography we鈥檝e come to expect from him. Ozturk and co-director Freddie Wilkinson, a professional climber and guide, set out with fellow climber Zach Smith to attempt the difficult Moose鈥檚 Tooth Traverse in the Alaska Range, which had never been done before. 鈥淭here are certain skylines wilder and far more beautiful than the sum of their parts,鈥澨� of one of their attempts. 鈥淭he Fitz Roy massif in Patagonia, the Aiguilles of Chamonix, and the Trango group in Pakistan. These are places where each mountain seems positioned to complement the next, the ridges and couloirs folding against each other in harmony as if one peak cannot exist without its neighbors. The Mooses Tooth massif in Alaska鈥檚 Ruth Gorge forms another such skyline.鈥�

The climb was inspired by a single black-and-white photo taken by the late aerial photographer and mountaineer Bradford Washburn, which captivated Wilkinson. The film chronicles the team鈥檚 various attempts over several years to complete the route, and the near misses, accidents, and deaths of friends they experience along the way. It also highlights Washburn鈥檚 legacy in the world of alpinism. The mountaineer, cartographer, and photographer was known for his first ascent of the West Buttress of Denali in 1951 (the current trade route to the summit) and taking photos of the Alaska Range while leaning out the window of a small plane, holding a huge, heavy camera. The Sanctity of Space taps into one of the core reasons we love adventure films: to witness a difficult feat up close and follow along as the subjects go after dreams they can no longer ignore.

Learning to Drown听

Learning to Drown profiles pro snowboarder Jess Kimura鈥檚 journey to build a successful career鈥攊ncluding her many brutal crashes as she works out various tricks鈥攁nd follows her through the grief that ensues when she falls in love with and then loses her partner, Mark Dickson, in an accident. Just as Kimura was hitting her professional stride鈥攇etting segments in predominantly male snowboard movies, winning a silver medal at the 2013 X Games, and creating her own all-female films鈥擠ickson was hit by a car while out riding his dirt bike.

In the film, Kimura is both subject and guide, sharing her path as she works through her pain, navigates the turbulence of grief, and adjusts to a life without her partner. It鈥檚 messy, raw, and honest. Like the film Torn (which 国产吃瓜黑料 has previously covered and is also showing at Mountainfilm this year), Learning to Drown doesn鈥檛 shy away from being vulnerable while confronting deep loss and grief. Kimura, unstoppable on a snowboard, has an intense fear of water. Through making herself learn to surf, she discovers that she can handle her biggest fears and her deepest grief and learns to adjust to a new life without Dickson. Director Ben Knight (Denali, DamNation) brings his usual level of sincerity and tenderness to this carefully crafted story.

Tigre Gente

Tigre Gente shines a light on the global jaguar trade by following two people engaged in fights on separate continents to protect the threatened species before it鈥檚 too late. Marcos Uzquiano, director of the Madidi National Park in Bolivia, launches an investigation of illegal hunting in his rich and biodiverse park, chasing poachers with his fellow rangers. Meanwhile, in Hong Kong, investigative journalist Laurel Chor is following a parallel thread, working to uncover the pervasive wildlife trade in China. Their paths cross when Uzquiano discovers the illegal hunters in Bolivia are selling the jaguars for parts to Chinese smugglers who are working to meet a rising demand for jaguar teeth in Asia. Directed by Elizabeth Unger, a National Geographic explorer and documentary filmmaker, Tigre Gente boasts incredible access to Uzquiano and Chor鈥檚 efforts and to beautiful landscape shots. The result is a dramatic, high-stakes story.

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