Mont Blanc: The Trois Monts Traverse
A Brief History of Alpinism
A climber on the Arête du Diable in the Rhône Alps of Chamonix. Photo: Zeb Blais ~ A Brief History of Alpinism Rhône Alps | Chamonix, France Where did alpinism originate? Spoiler alert: it's the Alps. The French Alps to...
Understanding Mixed Climbing: A Complete Guide to Mixed Climbing Grades
Pushing grades of mixed climbing in the alpine in New Zealand. Photo: NZ Alpine Team David Vuono/Climbing Magazine ~. What is Mixed Climbing? Mixed climbing is climbing that involves both rock and ice. Mixed climbs are...
Understanding Ice Climbing: A Complete Guide to Ice Climbing Grades
A climber enjoying a (mostly) frozen waterfall in Cody, Wyoming. Photo: Zeb Blais ~ Ice is an ephemeral medium, so ice climbing grades can vary widely from the grades given for the climb and the actual...
Climbing the Normal Route on Gran Paradiso
The Ultimate Guide to Climbing Grades
Mt Blanc Gouter Route Summit
Temple Crag: Classic High Sierra Alpine Climbing
Mt Shuksan Fisher Chimneys: Small Mountain, Big Punch
Summit on Mount Rainier
Tocllaraju: Our Final Climb in the Cordillera Blanca
The Ishinca Traverse: Peak 3 of 4, Cordillera Blanca
The Ishinca Valley: Urus Este, Nevado Ishinca and Tocllaraju
Success on 17,913' Yanapacha - Cordillera Blanca, Peru
Our Teams are Acclimatizing in the Cordillera Blanca, Peru
Blackbird Peru Teams Have Made It To The Cordillera Blanca!
Blackbird Teams Land in Peru!
2022-06-15 Today our team arrived safely in Lima, Peru for this year’s Cordillera Blanca climbing trip. We’re attempting to climb 4 peaks, up to 6,000m, over the next couple weeks including Yanapacha, Ishinca, Urus Este and Tocllaraju. The climbs involve glacier travel, steep snow, steep ice and moderate rock climbing at high altitude and they’re all located in one of the world’s most magnificent ranges: Peru's Cordillera Blanca.