Some incredible quality and surprisingly dynamic images here. In late 2025, staff at the Alpine Club in London uncovered a large collection of photographic negatives dating from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The negatives had been stored in the club’s basement alongside mountaineering equipment and geological specimens.

Hey everyone, I'm planning on getting my first winter mountaineering boots but I'm a total rookie when it comes to winter boots. I would really appreciate it if I could get some feedback. I will list the boots before talking about the conditions in which I'm planning to climb.

I am so far torn between 3 Scarpa boots. The Zodiac Tech (either the LT or just the Zodiac Tech model), Ribelle HD and Mont Blanc GTX (not the Pro model).

I will usually use it for winter mountaineering and snow routes on peaks around 3000m to 3500m. Occasionally I might try my chances on 4000 meter ones in winter. I am also planning on doing some 5000+ summer climbs.

So here are my questions.

• Which boot should I get for these listed conditions? Are the Zodiac and Ribelle too weak for these situations?
• I am also curious as to whether the Mont Blancs would be too heavy for heights such as these? It says 2,160 grams (4.76 lbs). For comparison from what I could find the Ribelle HD is 1,390 grams (3 lb 1.0 oz) and the Zodiac is 1,360 grams (3 lb 0 oz). Will it be overkill?
• I am also planning to wear thick merino socks and I have a bit wide feet so should I size up? I'm usually wearing a 43 EU. Should I go for a 44 or 44,5 EU? I'm sure it would've been better to have my exact measurements but getting an idea is also fine by me.

Thanks for your time. Have a nice day.

Some Lines Just Keep Calling. Some projects refuse to let go. This week, Stefano Ghisolfi and Will Bosi return to Flatanger with Silence firmly back in focus, while new routes and first ascents continue to appear from the Eiger to the Karakoram.

Far from the competition wall, Thomas Huber, Miquel Mas and Víctor Sans report the likely first ascent of Biacherahi Central, and the fight to keep public lands public gathers momentum in the US.

Read the new edition of Climbers Delight.

I'm going to Georgia to climb Kazbek sometime between October 2nd and 10th. If there is a group I can join, or split the cost of a guide between 2-3 people, please send me a private message.

hi, I had a cursory search but I’m trying to find a mountaineering club in SoCal or perhaps California. I’ve had a few guided climbs and want to do some more solo stuff but am feeling like I’m missing the middle step of not having a guide to solo decision making and think having a partner or club to help would bridge that gap. any suggestions would be amazing.

im wanting to climb Whitney Mountaineers route in March. I tried it few years ago with a guide company but was unable to summit so I didn’t get to see the coloire and final 400 to be confident to do this solo. i have been trying to find Beta but no luck. ThanLa in advance.

My husband (43) has booked a guided climb of Dufourspitze (4634m) for this weekend and I only found out afterwards. I’m honestly quite worried about it and would like some opinions from people who actually know this mountain.
He is fit and generally in very good shape, but he has never climbed a 4000m peak before and doesn’t have high altitude mountaineering experience.
He has done some mountain hikes over the last few months, around one per month. For example Speer via Oberchäseren, which was around 2h45 up and 2h down, roughly 5 hours total including breaks.
But to me there seems to be a pretty huge difference between that and Dufourspitze.
What worries me most is that he has no idea how his body will react above 4000m and he doesn’t have much experience with glaciers, crampons etc.
I’m also a bit surprised that a mountain guide would take someone with no previous 4000m experience directly to Dufourspitze. But maybe this is more normal than I think?
So I’d really appreciate an honest assessment: Is this a reasonable thing to do with a professional guide if someone is fit, or is Dufourspitze a bad choice for a first 4000er?
Would you normally expect someone to do an easier 4000er first?
I’m not a mountaineer myself, so maybe I’m worrying too much. I’d just like to understand the actual risk involved.

I’m looking to do some mountaineering at the end of this October. I’ve got about 9 days off for a trip and would like to spend it with some sort of climb (experiencing a new culture would be nice as well, I’m currently on the east coast, USA). I’m relatively new to mountaineering but have some experience, so something that is a challenge but not too technical would be ideal. It seems like October isn’t the ideal time for mountaineering so I’m looking for options globally.

I’m currently looking at Pico de Orizaba (maybe Iztaccihuatl too). I’ve also heard that Cordillera Blanco is a great place as well, but I’m not sure if that be worth going if I only have 9 days to travel. Are there any October climbs that would also entail a great cultural experience?

Any suggestions or recommendations are welcome! Thanks!

Hat jemand in den nächsten 2 Wochen Zeit?

Seilschaft zu bilden?

The idea is simple: the same logic that applies to clothing should apply to hands.

• L1 (base): merino wool liner gloves for moisture management and light warmth
• L2 (mid): fleece or softshell gloves for insulation
• L3 (shell): a waterproof, breathable shell glove worn over the top when it rains or the wind picks up

Depending on conditions, I want to be able to mix and match layers without redundancy. The shell gloves need to be uninsulated (just a waterproof membrane and taped seams). 5-finger format is a hard requirement. Basically, I'm looking for the glove equivalent of what the Arc'teryx Alpha SV is to jackets, a true GTX hardshell for hands.

The closest thing I've found so far is the Hestra Storm Shell 5-finger, but it uses an HDry membrane, not GTX. I also came across the Black Diamond Waterproof Overmitts (not GTX either) and as the name says, "Overmitts" is not what I need.

Does anyone run a proper modular glove system like this? Any 5-finger shell recommendations, GTX or otherwise, that are actually available in Europe?

Thank you!

Hey, so I’m going for a 2 day round trip to dachstein glacier with my father from 4th to 5th of October. This is our first “proper glacier travel”, I do have an experience with scrambling, climbing, ferratas and high alpine traveling + beginners glacier travel and crevasse rescue course, but he is “just” a very experienced thru hiker (100km in 2 days is pretty doable for him) but he doesn’t have much experience with alpine travel, but he does bouldering. Back to the point, I have a few questions, because I want to be prepared. If someone could answer them or give me some advice I would very much appreciate it.

First I have a questions about seethalter hütte. I have booked an over night stay and everything is good, but its my first stay in a proper alpine hut and I don’t know how it is with the sleeping situation. What I mean by that is that should we take our own sleeping bags, or just the hut bags (schlafsäcke) will be enough? If anyone has a personal experience with it, please let me know.

Second is the route. What’s the best beginner route there? We don’t mind easy klettersteig (B-C), but not much exposition and as little climbing as possible. My plan is to start at the parking lot at dachstein südwandbahn and finish would be the Hoher dachstein via Edelgißhöhe, Austriascharte. But its pretty long route, so if you have in mind something that could be faster I’m all ears. I saw a video on YouTube from a group of guys and they went vis Dachsteinsudwandhutte and hunerscharte and it looked fairly easy and its the shortest way, but I have learned that what someone makes look easy can be actually pretty hard, so if you have any ideas, please let me know.

Thank you very much guys.

I was thinking to climb the Nadelhorn on wednesday… do you have insight on the glacier conditions on the alps lately? Is it ok or is it just a mess of ice and rocks?

Thanks!

Hello,

I'm looking for one do-it-all day pack around 35–45L. I'd like to use it for rock climbing/multipitch, mountaineering, and backcountry/ski touring.

Priorities are:
~40L
Ski carry
Ice axe carry
Rope carry
Helmet storage/carry
Good for technical climbing, not just hiking
Comfortable enough for heavier mountaineering loads
Affordable

What would you pick if you could only own one?

Hi all, (posed this in r/mountaineering as well but all insight is valuable)

Never posted here, but I'm starting to get really into hiking and as I am trying to travel to South America again, Ecuador stands out to me. I see Cotopaxi and instantly want to climb it. I'm 23 years old.

This would be my first real summit of a mountain. For reference, I have backpacked in Olympic National Park 43 miles in 3 days (45 minute miles with +12,000' gain and -12,500' loss in elevation). I summitted Mt. St. Helens in 3 hours. I climbed the Pedroforca twin peaks in Catalonia, hiked all over Madeira, and am consistently backpacking the Adirondacks in NY right now where I live nearby.

I really love pushing myself in regards to speed, so the PNW stats above I wanted to include for reference. None of these were challenging for me physically, although were so fun highly recommend.

Anyway, I think I can definitely handle Cotopaxi as far as what it poses physically and mentally. I enjoyed what someone in another post commented about the fact that "your average mom does it better than the people boasting about their health and strength". I have no ego about Cotopaxi I just want to do it and do it safely. And as I am looking for my next travel destination, my confidence in doing this will almost definitely have me land on Ecuador.

What would be the difference in climbing it with versus without ice axe + rope/harness experience? I have never used one, but I do use crampons frequently.

Thanks for any insight!!!

Howdy howdy you fine folks. I’m moving back to Colorado in a month from Yosemite and am looking for more climbing partners!

stoked on finding some trad, ice, and mixed partners. I’m looking to check out some lines in RMNP and make a couple trips to the Ouray Area (birdbrain anyone?)

I’m unemployed till January, so my schedule is totally open!

onsighting 5.11+ in Yose and the sierras, was leading WI5 and M5-6 in the Canadian Rockies this past winter. did a NIAD back in May and would say I generally have my shit together. I have skis, AIARE 1, glacier travel experience, and I also provide excellent belay snacks, such as dried mango, peanut butter cups, and other Trader Joe’s delights (ask if you have any dietary limitations).

Hello everyone.

My wife gave me a day out with a mountain guide in the Cervinia area for my birthday.

I already have some mountaineering experience, but I’ve never been to that area before and this is the first time I’ve hired a guide (especially as I don’t have a specific route in mind).

I was wondering if any of you have ever had a similar experience (preferably in that area), and if there’s anything you’d strongly recommend for such an outing.

Do they usually suggest a route, or can the client make suggestions too?

In that area, there’s the Breithorn; otherwise, I’d like to reach the Carrell Hut. I’ve read that the Breithorn involves ‘simple’ ice climbing (if I organise it, I could do it with some other experienced friends too). So I was looking for something a bit more challenging.

I’m not physically fit enough to tackle the ascent of the Matterhorn, nor to push myself too hard on vertical routes; something of a medium difficulty is enough for me… so I was thinking of the Carrell Hut. As far as you know, might there be other options?

I’ll ring him tomorrow to find out more; I’d like to be ready if he suggests anything.

Thank you so much for your help.

I am pursuing my diploma in mountain medicine and unfortunately, do not have any glacier activity in the state of Colorado. I have a conditional candidacy, but I need to demonstrate glacier activity\\proficiency by June 2028. This winter I’ll be getting comfortable with colouirs/basic winter navigation here in Colorado, but in June, I will be heading up to Washington state for a conference. I just don’t know if I’ll have the PTO at that time and it might be a struggle to get scheduled, though it would be much cheaper at only $1600. Alternatively, in spring of 2028 I will be rotating with a tribal health system in Alaska and I figured if I’m already up there, I could do a longer more thorough course with more flexibility to schedule it, but it costs about $4400. Anyone have experience with either of these? Did the Alaska one and wish you did something shorter or did the Mount Baker one and wished you did something longer? This is not just to do a summit or to check a box, I would like to be very proficient if I can be for decades to come. So it’s basically just a foundation for me.

Hey guys I found a good sale on some Arcteryx products. Was trying to shop for Himali but they are out of stock for all my sizes. Can I have opinions for my top layering system please?

Merino wool base
Arcteryx Kyanite Fleece
Arcteryx Cerino Down SL
Arcteryx Beta shell

The kyanite and Cerino are my interchangeable layers or if it’s very cold I can double them.

Can I have some opinions on my layer system? I just purchased 2 out of 4 of those and stuck with arcteryx since I was doing multi layers. Will this suffice in alpine conditions.

I am new to alpanism and just bought myself a arcteryx beta is that enough for the zugspitze?
Any tips would be appreciated 👍

Got this used HH hardshell for $130. It looks brand new. Was it a bargain? Any experience with this model? I think it's the Odin 9 Worlds 3.0
The inside looks inmaculate btw

Ciao everyone,

I'm looking for a versatile hardshell jacket that can handle a pretty wide range of conditions in Italy, and I could use some advice from people with similar use cases.

Where and what I climb:

• Winter: Italian Apennines (Sibillini mountains, Gran Sasso—including routes like the Direttissima on Corno Grande) and winter mountaineering in the Alps. Conditions here can get genuinely cold, windy, and heavily iced.
• Summer/Technical: High-alpine summer routes and mixed climbing (e.g., Dent du Géant / Dente del Gigante).

What I need:

• Durability: Needs to withstand rock abrasion during mixed sections and summer climbs without shredding.
• Weather protection: Fully waterproof and windproof for high-wind ridges in the Apennines.
• Mobility & Fit: Good articulation so the hem doesn't ride up when reaching high (helmet-compatible hood and harness-friendly pockets are a must).
• Breathability/Weight balance: Since I'll use it for both freezing winter slogs and colder summer alpine moments, I need something that strikes a good balance—not an ultra-light running shell, but not an overly stiff, heavy expedition tank either.

Budget/Preferences: Open to most top-tier brands (Arc'teryx, Patagonia, Mountain Hardwear, Mammut, Ortovox, etc.). Gore-Tex Pro or equivalent heavy-duty membranes are fine, as long as the cut is optimized for alpine movement.

What are your go-to jackets for this kind of dual-season (Italian winter + summer alpine) abuse? Any specific models you'd recommend?

Grazie in advance!

Tips before posting:

• Best subreddits: r/Mountaineering is great for technical gear, or r/Alpinism if you want input focused on alpine climbing.
• Key details included: Mentioning specific local routes like the Direttissima on Corno Grande and the Dent du Géant immediately gives experienced climbers a precise idea of the technical grade, exposure, and weather conditions you'll face.