Summit Journal

Summit Journal 324 now shipping worldwide. Subscribers, keep an eye on your mailboxes for the next few weeks 👀 Not a subscriber? Choose “Subscribe + Get Current Issue” at link in bio to nab a copy before they’re gone. We’ve sold out of every issue, and this one will be no different.

For those new here, allow us to introduce ourselves. Summit Journal is America’s original climbing magazine. We’re independent and climber-owned. Inside our print-only, subscription-only, biannual magazine, you’ll find the best longform storytelling in the climbing world, bar none. The magazine is oversized (it’s *big*) and printed on thick, beautiful paper. This thing is meant for the coffee table. To read the latest edition, Summit Journal 323, pick up a copy on our website by choosing “Subscribe + Get Current Issue.” 🎥 by @wilderoneandonly and @elstudioandres

In “Double Vision,” a photo essay in Summit Journal 323, photographer @sambie_photography explores the crags of the Caroux Massif, near Toulouse, in Southern France.“By most metrics, it is decidedly unexceptional in visual terms,” he writes in an accompanying essay. “Not a world-class climbing destination and not on most photographers’ bucket lists. But I have a particular fondness for Caroux, having grown up in its shadows. Even the scrappiest cliffs have stories to tell.” Bié “embarked on a project to unfog some of Caroux’s opaque climbing history. And to find a way to fuse the present with the past.” He amassed a trove of historic photos of Caroux’s pioneers, from the 1950s through the 1980s. “From scrapbooks and dusty trunks squirreled away in basements and attics, we found some incredible black-and-white and sepia-toned images,” he writes, “many of which had been hidden from view for decades. There was little to no identifying information accompanying many of the photos. Who was this climber soloing up a chimney with nothing but air beneath him? At which cliff and on which route was it taken? Fading memories of survivors or descendants, reversed scanned negatives, and the lack of larger landscape features in the shots made discerning such details all the more difficult. Finding out where each shot was taken became an investigation worthy of Sherlock Holmes. But even once I determined at which crag a shot might have been taken, I endeavored to go deeper: to find the exact location where each photographer had stood and to recreate their images. I had to precisely measure every spot down to the centimeter, and take photos at the same time of day they had been captured decades ago.” Summit Journal 323 is almost entirely sold out — will be gone by next week! Enjoy the full photo essay by @sambie_photography today by grabbing one of the few remaining copies. Just choose “Subscribe + Get Current Issue” at link in bio.

Tom Evans is the most prolific chronicler of climbing in Yosemite this century. Starting in 2009, Evans wrote the 𝘌𝘭𝘊𝘢𝘱 𝘙𝘦𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵 for 14 years, to the tune of nearly 1,000 posts (plus 7,000 photos). His near-daily updates during peak climbing season documented ascents in real time, including Caldwell and Jorgeson’s FA of the 𝘋𝘢𝘸𝘯 𝘞𝘢𝘭𝘭 and Honnold’s 2017 free solo climb of El Cap. In this week’s newsletter & Scree story, we feature Evans’ article from the May 1973 issue of 𝘚𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘵. On the one hand, it’s a fragmented retelling of climbing the Northwest Face of Half Dome with George Homer in 1970 (when this 2,000-foot batholith was still a frontier in the sport), but it’s also a foreshadowing of his commitment to registering the meaningful Or as he puts it, the “lingering moment[s] of hopes and dreams.” Archival photos by Graham Sanders. The black and white image is courtesy of Dean Fidelman (@pictures_of_fidelman ). It is an unpublished photo of Evans originally taken for the essay "The More Things Change" — a modern portrait of Yosemite culture — in the latest issue. Article at link in our bio.

Sean Vilanueva O'Driscoll (@seanvillanuevaodriscoll ) climbing 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘙𝘰𝘰𝘧 (7a/5.11d), Inis Mor. Aran Islands, Ireland. This shot featured in SJ 320’s Table of Contents and teased a full gallery later in the issue, titled “Inis Mor, The Otherworld of Irish Climbing.” The keen observer will also recognize the locale from the cover. / Photos by Sam Bie (@sambie_photography )

“You cannot become a human being in isolation,” argues philosopher Lars Svendsen, in his book, 𝘈 𝘗𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘰𝘱𝘩𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘓𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴. “Your connections to other people and the experiences you have with them shape your very humanity.” In the latest issue of 𝘚𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘵 𝘑𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘭, Hannah Provost explores this idea — not through the traditional tethered-by-adventure motif but by way of the surprisingly intimate affair of self-published guidebooks. Can print media be an antidote to loneliness? In this week’s Scree article (link in bio), you can read our conversation with Provost about her personal philosophy of the matter, and be sure to read “A Defense Against Loneliness” — a deep dive into the world of indie guidebooks — in SJ 324.

The late David Roberts, who served as the Rocky Mountain editor of 𝘚𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘵 in the 1960s, was considered “the dean of climbing writing.” His 26 books on the subject, including the ultra-classic 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘔𝘺 𝘍𝘦𝘢𝘳 — about the first ascent of the 𝘏𝘢𝘳𝘷𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘙𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘦 on Mt. Huntington, in the Alaska Range — plus hundreds of articles and essays, are some of the finest works of climbing literature one can read. Roberts passed away from throat cancer in 2021, at 78 years old. But not everything he wrote was published... In 𝘚𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘵 𝘑𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘭 322, we featured never-before-seen work by Roberts: poetry. Below is but one poem from the issue. “Seventeen” There were only the rocks, The sheer purple immensities Some drudge had called the Flatirons, And her on the unmowed grass Among the tombstones, while week on week I floundered from first kiss To violable touch, to the unguessed Thing itself. "This is the best thing there ever was." But she, crumpled in the dark: 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘶𝘴? You could cruise those purple slabs, And you could arrive at the blank nowhere That bled a panic ecstasy toward escape. What did I lose when I won the summit? Where was she after the last rappel? It's too long, long ago. Want to read the types of climbing stories you can’t find anywhere else? You’ll have to subscribe.

Sheridan Anderson “was one of the chief chroniclers of the foibles, vanities and pretensions of many of the stars” of Camp 4 in the ‘60s, writes Royal Robbins in his tribute to one of climbing’s iconic cartoonists and satirists. Certainly, you’ve seen Anderson’s work on the cover of 𝘚𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘵 — many of the classics are by his hand (scroll 👉 to see some). If you’re unfamiliar with his drawings around these parts, you’ve likely seen him in places like @mountaingazette , the short-lived 𝘝𝘶𝘭𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘋𝘪𝘨𝘦𝘴𝘵 (where he penned under "E. Lovejoy Wolfinger III"), in the how-to climbing books, 𝘉𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘤 𝘙𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘧𝘵 and 𝘈𝘥𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘙𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘧𝘵 by Robbins, or Sheridan’s own 𝘊𝘶𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘴 𝘊𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘬 𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘰, a classic fly-fishing primer. In today’s newsletter and Scree article, we share an article from the April 1970 issue of Summit, written by Joe Kelsey and cartooned by Sheridan. It’s about a (food) fight for an FA. You’ll see, as Robbins puts it, how “Sheridan mixed whimsey, earthy humour, and outrageous imagination.” Read the article in the link in our bio.

At the southern end of Red Rock surges a 2,000-foot Black Velvet Wall within a cul-de-sac of Jurassic sandstone peaks. On that wall is what many consider to be one of the best 5.9s in the world: Epinephrine. The Epinephrine FAA — First Anaphylactic Ascent — was a fight or flight climb by Joanne and Jorge Urioste, and we have the story. “Jorge and I set [out to try a direct Velvet Wall line] in August of 1978” amid 110-degree heat, writes Joanne of the conditions for their attempt. “We decided we’d need to ‘fix lines’ to be able to ascend them rapidly on subsequent days to reach our high points and push our route… At that time in climbing history, fixed ropes and bolts were mostly forbidden, Jorge and I knew we were breaking rules.” But that didn’t stop them. And neither did anaphylaxis. Read the story — an excerpt from Urioste’s new book, 𝘊𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘙𝘰𝘤𝘬 & 𝘋𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘳𝘦, her memoir, based on over 50 years of journal entries — in Scree (ink in bio).

ng’s artwork for 𝘚𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘵 𝘑𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘭 keeps being honored. Now in its 45th edition, the @american_illustration_winners annual awards have celebrated the best illustrators of the day. This year, Sally’s art accompanying @mikeywejchert ’s “Something Lost Behind the Ranges,” in SJ 322, were named an AI 45 Selected Winner — to appear in a gorgeous coffee table book along with all the other winners. Sally’s pieces were also nominated for the Best Still and Animated Illustrations category by the National Magazine Awards. Congratulations, Sally, on the well-deserved recognition!

This week, 𝘚𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘵 𝘑𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘭’𝘴 feed is devoted to @tylekki ’s portrayal of Patagonia, which he shares in a photo essay in the latest issue. “You have to hike for every photo. Wait for every weather window. You deal with wind and cold all the time. But the weather which sends most people home is the same weather that keeps me hooked,” says Lekki. “The clouds, the light, the drama around these peaks-every day feels unpredictable in the best way. Living here has shaped how I see photography and what I chase. E l Chaltén rewards patience and effort; that’s why I stay.” Today, we’re sharing a selection of the rare, ephemeral, and hard to get to. To see Lekki’s photos in big beautiful print, snag a copy of SJ 324 at the link in bio (choose “Subscribe + Get Current Issue”).

This week, 𝘚𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘵 𝘑𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘭’𝘴 feed is devoted to @tylekki ’s portrayal of Patagonia, which he shares in a photo essay in the latest issue. In addition to stunning landscape scenes, he has become one of the premier climbing photographers and videographers in the surrounding ranges, often using his drone to capture stunning footage that would have once seemed unfathomable. Today, we’re sharing an edit of his favorite rime ice images, featuring @fabi_buhl climbing the last pitch on the Torre Egger summit mushroom with partners @tomasodell3 @bau_grego and @pedro_odell To see Lekki’s photos in big beautiful print, snag a copy of SJ 324 at the link in bio (choose “Subscribe + Get Current Issue”).