First, Do A Little Less Harm: "As Mark Jenkins knows, wilderness first aid can hurt. (Just ask his patients.) So he finally did what everyone should do: he took a class from real experts." [more inside]
posted by the man of twists and turns on Apr 17, 2012 - 48 comments

John Cunningham Climbing Ben Nevis, 1976 (slyt, 8:09)
posted by villanelles at dawn on Sep 11, 2011 - 16 comments

The North Face of the Eiger has claimed the lives of at least 64 climbers attempting it since 1935. The first succesful attempt in 1938 took a team of four 3 and a half days. The first succesful solo climb in 1963 took 18 hours. In 2008, Swiss Climber Ueli Steck broke his own record by 1hr7, soloing the face in 2hr47.33. Watch him.
posted by protorp on Feb 20, 2011 - 46 comments

A few days ago on K2 in the Pakistani Karakoram mountains an icefall trapped climbers more than 8 kilometres above sea level. Eleven died, from the cold and lack of oxygen, from falling or being hit by debris. The expedition website of Nicholas Rice provides an intimate and compelling account of the entire season of activity on K2 and neighbouring Broad Peak.
posted by Flashman on Aug 6, 2008 - 19 comments

Ed Viesturs summits all 14 mountains over 8000m After 16 years of trying, Ed Viesturs has become the first American to summit all mountains over 8000m (the "Eight-thousanders"). This, in itself, is an amazing achievement; however, even more remarkably, all of Viesturs climbs were done without supplemental oxygen (facilitated, in part, by his genetic abnormalities).

The Eight-thousanders were first climbed in 1986 by Reinhold Messner. Since then, only 12 other people have accomplished the same.
posted by Elpoca on May 12, 2005 - 27 comments

The Savage Mountain Amongst peaks over 20,000 feet, K2 is the hardest and most dangerous. Edurne Pasadan became the 6th woman to summit on July 29th, but can she survive the curse of the women who climb K2 ? K2's danger and challenge has attracted a wide assortment of characters, ranging from the bizarre Aleister Crowley to the glamourous Araceli Segarra . The deadly toll continues. Two Russian climbers are missing on the mountain. Read a history of 50 years of K2 summits, and accounts of another ascent here.
posted by F4B2 on Aug 8, 2004 - 5 comments