The sun’s last rays glance across the underside of a cloud-swept November sky as it sets south of the La Sal Mountains’ pointed peaks. The light, poking through a swath of blue above the horizon, sets the cloud bellies on fire, creating a tapestry of orange and gold and pale gray, and bathing Lost World…
Note from the editor of the Valley of Giants book, Lauren DeLaunay Miller: A book about the women of Yosemite would not be complete without Beth Rodden. From teen comp phenom to freeing El Cap, Beth’s name was synonymous with hard climbing for over a decade. In many ways, her first ascent of Meltdown, one…
Erosion [i roh zhun] The process by which the surface of the Earth is gradually worn away by the action of water, glaciers, wind, waves, etc. The gradual destruction or diminution of something. This sport we call climbing is built upon layers of paradox: Creation on the brink of destruction. Pleasure through pain. Finding life…
It’s a dingy bar. Dark and musty. Where, I’m not exactly sure, but there is a feeling of sadness that radiates on every level. The light trickling through dusty, half-drawn shades is not telling of any particular time of day, perhaps evening. Weak rays of sunlight barely cut through the haze that lingers at the…
by Pat Ament (note the full version of this piece was published in Volume 17, which is now available in print.) Banner photo by the author. Ascetic solitude is difficult. You withdraw from the world to get a clearer glimpse of who you are, what you are doing, and where life is taking you. The…
This is part 2 of Pat Ament’s essay, published in Volume 17. If you missed part 1, you can read it here. If you enjoyed this story please subscribe, it’s what keeps the zine dream alive! Banner photo of Pratt by Glen Denny. The psychic storm of the 1960s included the beautiful revelations and also…
The teenage Federale slings his machine gun over his shoulder and bends toward my bag. Cocaine? he asks. Marijuana? I have a stash of weed stuffed in an ibuprofen container in the outside zipper of my backpack. No, I say. Josh stands behind me. He doesn’t know about the stash. This? the youth asks. He…
“Think we could throw a haul bag out of an airplane? That would make the approach really easy.” Kennan was looking at me and Jeff with a twinkle in his eye, and unsure if he was serious, I asked, “Can you even open a plane door in flight, and if you could, wouldn’t it destabilize…