The American Alpine Club

The American Alpine Club Our mission is to share and support our passion for climbing and respect for the places we climb.
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Welcome to the American Alpine Club’s online community—we are committed to providing climbers with the opportunity to engage with each other in respectful discussion and debate on our platforms. Learn more: https://americanalpineclub.org/community-guidelines

Alison Criscitiello is a little obsessed with drilling ice cores. Whether it's sea ice in polar regions, or cores from h...
08/29/2026

Alison Criscitiello is a little obsessed with drilling ice cores. Whether it's sea ice in polar regions, or cores from high-alpine areas like Mt. Logan, her work allows her to explore the history of climate and map changes in environmental contaminants over time. In addition to her work as an ice core scientist, Alison is an impressive high-altitude mountaineer who led the first all-women’s ascent of Pinnacle Peak (or Lingsarmo) in the Indian Himalaya.

In this episode of the AAC Podcast, Alison shares how her mountaineering and scientific research converged, how ice core science works and what it reveals, the urgency of drilling these cores now, and the devastation of a “melting event.”

Hear from this year's David Brower Conservation Award awardee at the link below, and come celebrate Alison at the AAC Gala this October! https://bit.ly/3U1zB9V

📷 Rebecca Haspel

The H. Adams Carter Literary Award recognizes excellence in climbing literature. This year's award goes to Geoff Powter,...
08/27/2026

The H. Adams Carter Literary Award recognizes excellence in climbing literature. This year's award goes to Geoff Powter, for his contributions to climbing writing, including his latest book "Survival is Not Assured: The Life of Climber Jim Donini," and of course his time with the Canadian Alpine Journal.

Learn more about Geoff and meet the full roster of honorees ➡️ https://bit.ly/4etjVUy

📷 Geoff Powter

"Rockies alpine choss is an acquired taste, like bitter black coffee or peaty scotch. Very few people like their first s...
08/25/2026

"Rockies alpine choss is an acquired taste, like bitter black coffee or peaty scotch. Very few people like their first sip, and many people never learn to enjoy it at all. But for the few of us who grow addicted to it, we can't live without it."—Greg Barrett, in his short Q&A "Confessions of a Choss Gobbler" with AAJ Editor Dougald MacDonald

Read Barrett's full interview, covering everything from picking a favorite route to risk assessment, in The Line 🔗 https://bit.ly/4x4pW0W

📷: Gabs Clark

The AAC and Mohonk Preserve's Samuel F. Pryor Shawangunks Campground lets you pitch your tent steps from the crag, so yo...
08/24/2026

The AAC and Mohonk Preserve's Samuel F. Pryor Shawangunks Campground lets you pitch your tent steps from the crag, so you spend more time fighting quartz conglomerate and less time fighting crowds. Like the AAC’s other five campgrounds, this refuge in the Gunks offers a close, clean, community-oriented stay while you crush your projects.

As we begin to close our busiest season of the year, we're looking forward to repairs and upgrades to make next season even better. Your generous support has already allowed us to give our shed a fresh sand and stain, refurbish the pavilion railings, and plant our annual community garden to feed our guests the best produce around. Now we're seeking support to further this site in the 2027 season.

Consider a gift to keep the Gunks campground thriving for climbers for years to come. Get the details and learn how you can support 🔗 https://bit.ly/4ckvWKp

📷 1: AAC member Jeremiah Watt
📷 2-4: AAC members Scott Martin and Saraphina Redalieu

08/22/2026

Have you seen a ram’s horn anchor in the wild, and do you know how to lower off one?

Learn best practices for lowering from ram’s horns anchors with Jason Antin, and get the full analysis on how to avoid accidents when using ram’s horn anchors 🔗 https://bit.ly/3TG6Pvn

Credits:
Pete Takeda, Editor of Accidents in North American Climbing; IFMGA/AMGA Guide Jason Antin; Producers: Shane Johnson and Sierra McGivney; Videographer: Foster Denney; Editor: Sierra McGivney

Greg Barrett, a 38-year-old software developer and aspirant alpine guide from Canmore, Alberta, is among the most active...
08/21/2026

Greg Barrett, a 38-year-old software developer and aspirant alpine guide from Canmore, Alberta, is among the most active climbers currently operating in the Canadian Rockies. Barrett and partners keep finding new lines on familiar faces, as well as striking ridges and faces that have never been touched. Almost all of them require a tolerance for—even an appreciation of—the dreaded Canadian Rockies choss.

In this month's edition of The Line, we’re sharing a report that arrived too late for the 2026 AAJ: Nick Baggaley’s story of the first ascent—with Barrett—of a huge, previously unclimbed, and very chossy ridge on a Rockies 11,000er, where the modest grade of 5.8 only tells part of the story.

Read more in Baggaley's account of establishing No Fiesta, No Siesta 🔗 https://bit.ly/3Szprg6

📷 1: Nick Baggaley
📷 2-3: Greg Barrett

“I’ll tell you what, he’s the damnedest guy I’ve ever run across... I’ve been rodeo’n’ for 50 years, and there’s a lot o...
08/18/2026

“I’ll tell you what, he’s the damnedest guy I’ve ever run across... I’ve been rodeo’n’ for 50 years, and there’s a lot of guys that fought bulls for me and I can’t remember their names. Daryl Miller, I’ll never forget. He had no fear. No matter where the cowboy was at, he’d be right on top of that bull. He had no fear, absolutely no fear. He never thought of himself at all.” - Don Jacobs, rodeo contractor, on Miller's work as a rodeo bullfighter

Daryl Miller lived a full life, with experiences rodeoing, teaching, rescuing, and mountaineering for decades across the United States. In his passing, the American Alpine Journal published a tribute to his life, written by Andy Hall.

Learn more about the richness of Miller's life, and the impact he made on everyone he crossed paths with, at the link below.

https://bit.ly/3ScfIMu

📷 Courtesy Daryl Miller Family

08/17/2026

Most climbing involves lowering, so much so that lowering has replaced rappelling as the probable leading cause of roped climbing accidents.

This month, we cover an accident in which a climber was cleaning a ram’s horn anchor and threaded the rope incorrectly, which unfortunately led to a ground fall. Fortunately, the climber survived the fall.

It may seem simple, but when using a ram’s horn anchor, thread the rope through EVERY available horn. Always weight your system before lowering, and when using open anchors, be a pro and keep it low.

Read the full analysis and the August Prescription 🔗 https://bit.ly/3TG6Pvn

Join the AAC today at the Partner level or higher, and back up your protection with up to $300k in rescue benefit and $5,000 in medical expense coverage.

Credits:
Pete Takeda, Editor of Accidents in North American Climbing; IFMGA/AMGA Guide Jason Antin; Producers: Shane Johnson and Sierra McGivney; Videographer: Foster Denney; Editor: Sierra McGivney

The Grand Teton Climbers' Ranch is where climbers gather over morning coffee, swap stories after long days in the mounta...
08/15/2026

The Grand Teton Climbers' Ranch is where climbers gather over morning coffee, swap stories after long days in the mountains, and build friendships that last well beyond a single season. It's maintained by volunteers during Work Week, staff through the high season, and the generosity of donors.

For the 18th year, the Climbers' Ranch is participating in Old Bill’s: an annual community fundraiser where every gift to the GTCR receives a partial match, helping your donation go even further. Your support makes improvements big and small possible, maintaining the site for generations of climbers to come.

Get all the details on how to help support this special site, with a limited-time match 🔗 https://bit.ly/3S1YD8c

📷 1: AAC member Jess Glassberg, Louder than 11
📷 2-4: AAC member Joel Mikle

08/13/2026

Almost every fall from an anchor is a ground fall. In this month's Prescription, we look at a 2024 accident in Mt. Diablo State Park. Here’s what we THINK happened:

A climber was cleaning an anchor that incorporated a set of ram’s horns, something she’d never seen before. Carabiners might have been blocking the fixture because, in her recollection, the links weren’t big enough to thread her rope through. She put the rope ACROSS the hardware, stood up, unclipped her PAS, sat on the rope, and fell.

Lowering hardware is either closed (rings, quicklinks, chains) or open (ram’s horns, mussy hooks, unwelded cold shuts). Ram’s horns are cheap, easy to install, and fast to use—no need to untie and retie, just thread the rope through, and then lower. But as enclosed as they look, ram’s horns are OPEN anchors. In rare cases—like standing above the anchor or threading the rope incorrectly—the rope can come out of the ram’s horns.

Read the full analysis and the August Prescription 🔗 https://bit.ly/3TG6Pvn

Join the AAC today at the Partner level or higher, and back up your protection with up to $300k in rescue benefit and $5,000 in medical expense coverage.

Credits:
Pete Takeda, Editor of Accidents in North American Climbing; IFMGA/AMGA Guide Jason Antin; Producers: Shane Johnson and Sierra McGivney; Videographer: Foster Denney; Editor: Sierra McGivney

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