Alpinist
Since 2002 Alpinist has striven to push creative boundaries with everything we do, from award-winning climbing journalism and creative writing to photography and art. Now, with the Alpinist podcast, we aim to extend our conversations with climbers and community members into interviews and oral histories that will entertain and educate our listeners with everything from dramatic and humorous adventure tales to in-depth discussions of the most significant issues in the climbing world today. More at alpinist.com/podcast
- Update frequency
- every 24 days
- Average duration
- 39 minutes
- Episodes
- 71
- Years Active
- 2017 - 2025
The Adventure Gap: James Edward Mills
“If someone is raised to spend time in the outdoors it will be something that they do without question; they won’t wonder whether or not it’s something that they’re supposed to do based on their ethn…
Available Light: Jimmy Chin
After he graduated from college in 1996, Jimmy Chin hit the road, planning to climb and ski for a year before heading to grad school. Twenty-two years later, he’s still adventuring in the mountains. …
Art of Freedom: Bernadette McDonald and Voytek Kurtyka
Perhaps no other writer has explored Cold War and post-Soviet era mountaineering more than Bernadette McDonald has. In this episode, Bernadette McDonald discusses her award-winning book, Art of Freed…
Stillness and Storms: Mayan Smith-Gobat
In 2002, Mayan Smith-Gobat was in a ski accident and broke her jaw and both feet. Within a few weeks, she turned her focus to climbing and began training while her feet were still in casts. Nine year…
In the Bear's Lodge: Voices from Devils Tower
Many climbers observe the voluntary climbing ban at Bear Lodge (Devils Tower) in Wyoming during the month of June as their way to show respect for local Native American cultures. In this episode, jou…
The Climbers: Jim Herrington and Fred Beckey
In the 1990s, after more than a decade of climbing in the Sierra Nevada, Jim Herrington embarked on a journey to photograph some of the most formidable mountaineers of the past generation. In this ep…
Mountaineering and Climate Change
At altitude, many mountain communities are already experiencing the severe consequences of climate change. Climbers have reported witnessing the effects of warming temperatures as well, from receding…
Death and Climbing, Part 2
Author and mountaineer David Roberts reads his essay "Death and Climbing," which first appeared in the winter 2016 issue of Alpinist.
Death and Climbing: David Roberts
By 1965, at age 22, David Roberts had witnessed three fatal accidents in the mountains. Over 50 years since, Roberts has explored in writing what makes climbing worth the risk. In this episode, Rober…
Beyond: Conrad Anker
In November 2016, while attempting the unclimbed Lunag Ri (6907m) with David Lama, Conrad Anker suffered a heart attack and had to descend from the climb to be evacuated by helicopter from advanced b…
Mountain Lit - Tommy Caldwell and Bree Loewen
Why does story telling seem so essential to the climbing life? In this episode, we interview two climbers—Tommy Caldwell, whose recent book The Push traces his life from diapers to the Dawn Wall, and…