We made it a photo essay. Hope you enjoy.

This is the SH58 crevasse. There’s a permanent bridge put up just like those ladders in Everest.

The lonely road to advanced base camp.

Bronco building a snow cave for us to sleep in.

Paying respect to the fallen that have braved this ruthless ascent too.

Strange animal tracks. Like a yeti in a wheel chair or something.

Our Sherpas taking the sharp end and blazing the trail for us.

A little bit of technical rock to cross before getting back on the ice as we near the summit.

THE SUMMIT!!!

Unfortunately the summit registry was closed and I didn’t think anyone will believe that we made it there. That’s what the photo evidence is for. FUCK THAT. negative.

Tonight you all tip your glasses to the Alpine sector and all those involved. They climb that shit so we don’t have to.

Issue five of Alpinist

Okay so by now everyone has seen or heard that Alpinist is shutting down. There are people mourning it’s demise like a great fallen American hero. There are people who are pissed off that such a thing could actually happen. I borrowed some jewels from the mountain project thread:

“I feel….betrayed and……bewildered. This news saddens me to no end. I’ll have to invite that skanky whore “Climbing” back into my house, to defile my bed. Say it isn’t so. My one true love, “Alpinist”, gone. I shall cherish your back….issues.”

“too sad to comprehend”

My opinion? “EH.”

I don’t know why everyone is crying and whining about this. Was Alpinist REALLY that good. It was a big thick glossy book you bought for near $15 four times a year. It’s no wonder they folded really. When you charge that much for a magazine, less people will buy it. Advertisers want MORE people to buy it so they will see their ads.  Alpinist didn’t have hardly any ads in it. That’s one vicious circle. Mags really dont’ make any money on subscriptions. Especially not 9,000 which is all they had. And  especially not when the only people who subscribe are assholes that write highhorse bullshit about abstract intangible undefinable ideas about the “purity” of climbing on message boards that only serves as vain attempts to negate the accomplishments of climbers who will always be 20 steps ahead of anything they ever did. I hate those people.  All the money that gets made at magazines is from advertisers, not subscribers, because magazines are incredibly expensive to print. One like Alpinist I’m certain, would be staggering in cost to get printed.

I don’t mean to sound like a jerk, but certainly someone could see this coming. Maybe Marc Ewing did and that’s why he cut out (oh and he’s not going to pay your subscription money back, don’t be a silly idiot and think that he would or even SHOULD). The dude did just lose his warehouse less than a year ago because some dude drove a forklift into a gas line and managed to set fire to all their back issues, apparel and other products.

It just seemed like they were down on their luck a little bit anyway. I’m actually surprised they lasted THIS long. By every account I’ve heard, they have always been on the fritz. Whether that’s accurate or not, I’m not entirely sure. Point is. It was a magazine. A magazine that everyone SAID was awesome but never bought. It’s your fault they closed, they even said this in their farewell letter, “We folded because there weren’t enough of you, but for our nearly 9,000 subscribers,” but who cares. It wasn’t some shining beacon of climbing awesomeness. It was just a magazine with pictures of guys suffering in the snow. And you all know my opinion on alpine climbing.

Maybe someone who has some serious business savvy will buy it and revamp it and make it profitable. By then it will probably have changed too much and everyone will be crying about how it’s not as good as it was.

This post is getting very ranty. I’m sorry.

In close. Get over it. If you are over it. Help others get over it. Show them a copy of Rock and Ice or Gripped or something and say deal with it. Such is life. Besides that mag sucked. Did I say that?