Rewind the Climb

The First Ascent of Mt. Vinson

A Story from the AAC Archives

by Grey Satterfield

When inspiration for our next climbing trip strikes, we’re flooded with options to seek out every last possible detail. We pour over guidebooks with full-page spreads of color topos. We log on to Mountain Project and read about every route on the cliff. We find YouTube videos with move-by-move beta of the routes and boulders we want to try. Then we hop on Google Maps and get to-the-minute estimates of how long it will take to get there. We whip out our phone and get a hyper-detailed forecast with temps, wind speed, humidity, and anything else we’d ever care to know about the weather.

By the time we arrive, there’s no mystery. We’ve discovered everything there is to know.

That wasn’t always the case. In 1966 the American Alpine Club sent ten American climbers into the heart of the unknown: Antarctica. Read the full story here and explore photos and artifacts from the expedition.

Protecting Pine Mountain

A Story from the AAC Policy Team

by Chris Morissette

PC: AAC member Nate Ptacek

Only an hour and a half drive from the coast, Pine Mountain is one of a few remaining sky islands in California, a unique geological formation that consists of isolated mountains surrounded by radically different lowland environments. At an elevation of 7,000’, it is one of the best summer bouldering, hiking, and camping destinations almost anywhere in central and southern California. However, its under attack. The Reyes Peak Forest Health and Fuels Reduction Project is the United States Forest Service’s (USFS) plan to cut trees and clear chaparral across 755 acres on the Pine Mountain ridgeline. This story covers why logging on Pine Mountain would be a disaster for the ecology of this area, why the area is so culturally important for climbers and local Tribes, and the legal action that the AAC is taking to address this.

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Update on Pine Mountain Litigation

We are disappointed to learn that a federal judge in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California ruled against protecting a 755 acre tract of land on the top of Pine Mountain and Reyes Peak in the Los Padres National Forest area. The AAC, Los Padres ForestWatch, Keep Sespe Wild Committee, and Earth Island Institute—collectively represented by the Environmental Defense Center—joined up with the Center for Biological Diversity, California Chaparral Institute, and Patagonia Works—represented by the Center for Biological Diversity. Together, we filed a lawsuit in 2022 to halt a controversial logging and vegetation clearing project (The Reyes Peak Forest Health and Fuels Reduction Project) the U.S. Forest approved nearly two-years ago. The area, enjoyed by climbers, hikers, bikers and other outdoor enthusiasts, is one of the few remaining "sky islands" in California. The lawsuit alleged violations of NEPA, Roadless Area Conservation Rule, Endangered Species Act, and the National Forest Management Act. The AAC is working with their partners in the litigation and their legal team to determine next steps.

The Ultimate Freelancer

Member Spotlight: Lauren DeLaunay Miller

by Hannah Provost

AAC member Drew Smith

Many of our members have a unique relationship with the Club, finding their niche and contributing in their own way. Lauren DeLaunay Miller describes her role with the AAC as “the ultimate freelancer position.” Lauren’s contributions to the Club seem endless: she was a sound engineer and editor for The Cutting Edge Podcast and the American Alpine Club Podcast, the California editor for the American Alpine Journal and Accidents in North American Climbing, and an event coordinator for the Bishop Highball Craggin’ Classic. In addition, she’s spent three summers working for Yosemite Search and Rescue (YOSAR) and is the editor of the newly released anthology Valley of Giants: Stories from Women at the Heart of Yosemite Climbing. We sat down to talk with Lauren about her time at YOSAR, her book, and the story behind her love of the AAC.

The Foundation of Our Progress

Volunteer Spotlight: BIPOC Initiatives at AAC Twin Cities

by Rodel Querubin

PC: AAC member Rodel Querubin

One of our dedicated volunteers from the AAC Twin Cities Chapter, Rodel Querubin reflects on his incredible success in building an (ever growing) BIPOC climbing community there, as well as lessons learned from the process of growing his initiative. Querubin’s analysis of the intentional and thoughtful programming that the Twin Cities Chapter has rolled out over the last few years is an informative roadmap for the climbing world as we work toward being the most inclusive community we can be.

It's All Water

A Story from Climb United

by Holly Yu Tung Chen

PC: AAC member Lam Thuy Vo

In 2020, a web developer named Melissa Utomo was thrust into the spotlight when her work to eliminate oppressive and racist route names became a hotly debated topic in the climbing community. That same summer, Climb United’s very first project was the Route Name Task Force (RNTF), designed to facilitate the conversation about oppressive vs. offensive route names amongst the thought leaders on this topic and guidebook authors and first ascentionists. In this article, Holly Yu Tung Chen interviews the key players, takes the pulse on where oppressive route naming is now, and how leaders like Utomo are going even further than route naming, and creating opportunities for more women and BIPOC climbers to route develop and first ascent on their own terms.

Prophecies Foretold

A Story from the AAC Grant Archives

by Hannah Provost

Mad Sorkin frees the crux pitch above the clouds. PC: AAC member Emily Stifler Wolfe

In 1963, rock climbing legends Jim McCarthy, Royal Robbins, Layton Kor, and Dick McCracken did the first ascent of Mt. Proboscis in the Cirque of the Unclimables. In 2010, a team of female climbers, including Madaleine Sorkin, Emily Stifler Wolfe, and Lorna Illingworth, were determined to climb the route free. The intertwining of these two expeditions reveals much contrast in the climbing styles and practices of each unique time, but also how climbing can help you speak across a ripple in time.

Getting Sh*t Done

Developer Spotlight: Jeff Jackson

By Hannah Provost

PC: AAC member Drew Sulock

Jeff Jackson is not only an incredibly prolific route developer, he is also the developer of some key iconic routes, includes El Sendero Luminoso, in El Portero Chico. But route development goes beyond just climbing for Jackson. It’s about intimacy. Jackson loves the whole process, from the moment when climbers stand in awe of unclimbed rock faces to the point where a crag is fully developed with public access. Dive into this developer spotlight to learn more about Jeff Jackson, his philosophy of route development, and why climbers are particularly well suited to getting our voices and priorities heard.

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Guidebook X

The AAC’s Guidebook is our annual storytelling publication, capturing the stories of the people and issues that are at the forefront of the climbing communities mind. AAC members receive a print copy annually.

In this issue, we feature the filmography of up-and-coming director Marie-Louise Nkashama, explore the prolific history of route developer Jeff Jackson, investigate how groups on the ground are making climbing more inclusive, and highlight the story of an AAC volunteer who has given so much back to the community through YOSAR and storytelling.

Our feature articles do a deep dive into the AAC’s work to protect Pine Mountain, CA, from deforestation; retell the story of cutting-edge expeditions to Proboscis; highlight the intricacies of the conversation around oppressive and offensive route naming; and reminisce about the first successful climbing expedition to the Antarctic.

From cutting-edge climbing stories, to public lands, inclusive climbing community, and just plain cool climbers, you can find the breadth of the climbing community in these pages.