The Cutting Edge

In August, Rachel Pearce braved the famed Indian Face on the north side of Wales’ highest peak, completing the first female ascent of this masterpiece of runout traditional climbing. First climbed by Johnny Dawes in 1986, the U.K.’s first E9 (E9 6c or 5.12+ X) has held its reputation as a fearsome benchmark for the past four decades. With sparse protection and continuously thin, off-vertical climbing along its 150-foot length, the storied route has only seen 10 ascents, the latest being Pearce’s. Cutting Edge host Jim Aikman sits down with Pearce to get into her climbing history and love affair with the route—and why she thinks no women had led this "no falls climb" until now. He also talks to Johnny Dawes about the influence of Indian Face on hard, heady British climbing and the shift—beginning in the 1980s—to the “headpoint” style of rehearsing dangerous routes prior to a lead attempt. Also joining Aikman is American Climbing Journal Editor Matt Samet, a sometime headpointer who's dabbled with the style himself in Colorado and has tracked its evolution from E9 up to the current standard of E12 (very serious 5.14+). It’s a style of climbing that’s definitely not for everyone, which might just be what makes it so fascinating. This episode of the Cutting Edge is sponsored by Feathered Friends, makers of exceptionally lightweight, warm, and packable down gear for more than 50 years. Photo of Rachel Pearce by Alex Riley.

On February 11, Erwan Legrand—only 17 at the time, and barefoot!—took down one of the longest-standing open projects in the world: Le Bombé Bleu at Buoux, France. Bolted on the La Plage sector in 1991 by Marc Le Menestrel, the 100-foot route features a notoriously difficult precision dyno on its blue-streaked bulge, followed by ferocious tugging on tiny pockets, all clocking in at a lofty 5.15b. Famously, Le Menestrel had opened the route to the community as long as it was left in its natural state, a vision of what climbing might someday become and a challenge for future generations. Thirty-five years later, Legrand—the son of legendary French climber François Legrand—met that challenge with style. Join host Jim Aikman as he talks with Erwan Legrand about his remarkable barefoot redpoint, as well as U.K. icon Ben Moon—one of the route’s early suitors—and American Climbing Journal Editor Matt Samet, who interviewed Legrand about Le Bombé Bleu for the 2027 ACJ. Photo by Fred Ripert.

The east face of the Central Tower in Chile's Torres del Paine is one of the great walls of the world. The first route up the face, climbed in 1973 and 1974 by a South African team, had only been freed twice. In February, Belgian Siebe Vanhee (a veteran of two other free ascents on the Central Tower) and American Tommy Caldwell (a newcomer to Torres del Paine but not to Patagonia) completed the third free ascent in remarkable style. On their third attempt, the two climbers raced up the 1,200-meter 5.12 route in exactly 24 hours—in an area where most big-wall ascents take weeks. Host Jim Aikman interviewed both climbers, as well as American Ben Ditto, who was on the first free ascent of the South African Route back in 2009. It's an episode about risk, the ups and downs of multiple efforts on a serious objective, and a partnership that perfectly balances the strengths of two amazing climbers.

One of the highlights of last fall's Nepal season was the first ascent of 7,468-meter Jannu East by French climbers Nicolas Jean and Benjamin Védrines, on their second attempt in two years. In this special episode of the Cutting Edge, Ben Védrines shares the full story of his two expeditions to Jannu, the physical and mental preparation, a "warm up" first ascent on 6,800-meter Anidesh Chuli, and the rapid ascent of Jannu East itself. American alpinist Steve House, a leading protagonist of single-push alpine ascents in the early 2000s and a top coach today, gives his perspective on the training and psychological aspects behind the French climbs. American Alpine Journal editor Dougald MacDonald unpacks the history of climbing on Jannu. There's a lot to share, so we're offering a special extended episode....enjoy!

Last summer, the Women's Young Alpinist Team of the Swiss Alpine Club journeyed to East Greenland—without ever boarding a plane—and they climbed six long new rock routes, four of them in a fjord never that had never been visited by climbers. Team leader Caro North is our main guest this episode, describing the logistical difficulties of organizing such a complex exploratory trip, especially with a team of expedition novices. Just getting there and back involved trains, ferries, cars, and a voyage by sail. Yet even though she was the most experienced climber in the group, Caro deliberately stepped back from the decision-making, letting the young team members plan and lead their routes—a rewarding tactic for Caro, but also one with some emotional challenges. To round out this episode, host Jim Aikman interviewed American Mike Libecki, who has done more exploratory rock climbing in East Greenland than anyone alive, including all of the early climbs in the second fjord the Swiss team visited. Enjoy!

On September 7, Colin Haley reached the summit of Cerro Torre all alone. This was the first winter solo of Patagonia's stunning granite needle—and the culmination of a nearly 20-year dream for the American climber. In this episode, Jim Aikman shares an in-depth interview with Haley, along with commentary by Kelly Cordes (who completed a new route with Haley on the first of his ten trips up Cerro Torre, back in 2007) and Dougald MacDonald, editor of the American Alpine Journal. It's a story of patience, perseverance, and genuine mastery in high-level alpine climbing.

On their second attempt in two years, in April 2025, Anna Pfaff and Andres Marin completed a direct new route up the south face of Mt. Providence in the Alaska Range, this time with Tad McCrea as their climbing partner. The nearly 1,000-meter climb had difficulties on rock, ice and snow. For Pfaff, who lost six toes to frostbite on a nearby mountain in 2022, the summit was a form of redemption. And on Mt. Providence, all three climbers found large doses of good fortune and serendipity. Host Jim Aikman interviewed each of the climbers to capture this compelling story of the power of friendship, belief and kismet in the Alaska Range.

In September, three young American climbers—August Franzen, Dane Steadman, and Cody Winckler—completed the first ascent of Yashkuk Sar I in northwest Pakistan. The 2,000-meter north pillar took five days to climb and descend, with challenges including precarious bivouacs, avalanches that forced them to find a new route in the middle of the climb, and crux mixed climbing at over 6,200 meters. For this episode, host Jim Aikman conducted an extensive interview with Wyoming climber Dane Steadman about this impressive ascent. Plus, alpinists Kelly Cordes and Graham Zimmerman, along with AAJ editor Dougald MacDonald, offer their perspectives on the unique challenges and attractions of climbing in the Karakoram.

Born and raised in the heart of the Pyrenees, Kilian Jornet is the GOAT of mountain running and skimo, and he’s an accomplished climber too. This past summer, Jornet used his extraordinary fitness and deep reservoir of mountain skills and savvy to tackle one of the greatest challenges of the Alps: a traverse of all 82 of the range’s 4,000-meter peaks, solely by foot and bike. The fastest previous time for this link-up was 60 days. Jornet did it in 19. Cutting Edge host Jim Aikman interviewed Kilian Jornet about his “Alpine Connections” project—the preparation, the physiological and psychological challenges, and the real dangers of covering hundreds of kilometers of serious alpine terrain at speed, often alone. For context on the history of grand Alpine enchainments and commentary on Jornet’s latest feat, Jim spoke with Colin Haley, elite climber and Chamonix resident; Buzz Burrell, one of the originators of the Fastest Known Time (FKT) movement; and Dougald MacDonald, editor of the American Alpine Journal. Is it mountaineering? Is it running? Whatever you think of a feat like this, it’s undeniably at the cutting edge.

For our final episode of the 2023 season, we’re heading to Kishtwar in northern India, an area of very dramatic granite peaks, most of which have only been climbed by one or two routes. One of these mountains is White Sapphire, a peak of 6,040 meters or just under 20,000 feet, that had only been climbed twice. Pete Takeda, the interviewer for this episode, had shared photos of an unclimbed big wall on White Sapphire with a young friend named Christian Black. In time, Christian recruited his friends Hayden Wyatt and Vitaliy Musiyenko as partners. They won a grant from the American Alpine Club, and in September they all headed to India. Two of the three climbers had never been to the Himalaya, and this interview captures their wide-eyed enthusiasm, as well as their ability to go with the flow—a critical element for success in the Greater Ranges. And success they had, with a challenging new route up White Sapphire from the north: Brilliant Blue (850m, AI3, 80°, M7+). The Cutting Edge is presented by Hilleberg the Tentmaker (hilleberg.com), with additional support from Blue Ice and Bivouac Coffee. This podcast is produced by the American Alpine Club.

In late September, Connor Herson and Fan Yang free climbed Hairline on the east face of Mt. Whitney, the highest peak in the Lower 48. Hairline is a very steep, 13-pitch route originally climbed in 1987. The 55-meter crux pitch went at 5.13+ or 8b, at over 13,000 feet in elevation. The two other hard pitches go at 5.12 and 5.13-. Connor climbed 5.14c/8c+ at age 14 and became famous at 15 for free climbing the Nose of El Cap. He’s now 20 and a student at Stanford University. At age 36, Fan is also a 5.14 climber, and he’s an M.D., an engineer, and a researcher in the field of artificial intelligence applied to medicine. He first tried Hairline in 2019 (and freed the crux pitch), but COVID and then difficulty finding partners kept him off the route for several years. Connor and Fan had never really climbed together when they teamed up for Hairline, but their partnership clicked. After a couple of days of preparation on the route, they sent all the key pitches in one day with no falls. From their high point, they downclimbed the East Face Route to camp, then scrambled back up the next morning to finish the easy final pitches to the summit of Mt. Whitney. AAJ assistant editor Michael Levy interviewed the two about their climb.

Sarah McNair-Landry and Erik Boomer only started climbing a few years ago, and their technical level maxes out around 5.11. Yet their extended, multi-sport expeditions all over Baffin Island are without a doubt cutting edge. This year, they made three separate trips: one for climbing, skiing, and kiting on Baffin Island’s remote east coast; one to explore a new zone of beautiful walls near Baffin’s southern tip; and a third to fulfill the dream that got them into climbing in the first place: climbing the mighty peak of Mt. Asgard. (They climbed it twice.) Chris Kalman spoke with Sarah and Erik about this year’s adventures and about their unique and enviable role in the modern exploration of Baffin Island. The Cutting Edge is presented by Hilleberg the Tentmaker, with additional support from Blue Ice and Bivouac Coffee. This podcast is hosted and produced by Dougald MacDonald, editor of the American Alpine Journal, and is published by the American Alpine Club.

In July 2023, four climbers from New England—Will Carey, Taki Miyamoto, Ray Rice, and Mark Richey—completed what just might be the longest pure rock climb in Africa. Their 800-meter route climbs straight up the middle of the upper face of Chambe, a huge granite monolith in Malawi. For this episode, AAJ assistant editor Michael Levy (who climbed on Chambe himself for several weeks in July 2022) spoke with Will and Mark about their adventures. Although both climbers have done many new routes (Mark is a two-time Piolets d'Or winner for his first ascents in the Karakoram), ground-up bolting a huge, exotic rock face was an entirely new experience. The Cutting Edge is presented by Hilleberg the Tentmaker, with additional support from Bivouac Coffee. This podcast is produced by the American Alpine Club.