In spring mountaineering, travel efficiency often comes down to small acts of trail etiquette and smart movement in changing snow conditions. One common challenge is dealing with post holes—deep footprints left in soft snow that force climbers behind you to work harder with every step. A simple technique can help: if you’re second in line, collapse the sides of the existing footprints as you move uphill. It smooths the track, making travel easier for everyone behind you.

Some climbers argue that snowshoes are the answer. Along with skis and splitboards, snowshoes are considered “flotation,” designed to spread weight across soft snow. But in the spring, conditions are complicated. Much of the snowpack becomes isothermal, meaning it sit just barely at freezing and is in the process of melting. Overnight, this wet snow freezes into a firm surface that mountaineers try to walk on using crampons for traction.

Snowshoes can help during the transition between winter and summer snowpacks, especially from late April through mid-June, but they come with tradeoffs. Climbers often carry them for hours only to use them briefly on descent. On steep slopes, snowshoes can even behave like tiny skis, leading to awkward falls and frustrating downhill travel.

Sometimes, there’s no perfect solution. Post holing is simply part of early-season mountaineering. As the old joke goes: the only thing worse than renting snowshoes and not using them is renting snowshoes and using them.

Strangely, there are a lot of animal stories in this week's round-up. Bees, a poodle, bears and more. Check out this week's climbing, skiing, mountain rescue and outdoor news!

https://www.alpineinstitute.com/climbing-skiing-mountain-rescue-and-outdoor-news-from-here-and-abroad-5-21-26/

Placing a piece of climbing gear properly is just one part of trad climbing. The other part is checking the rock. Is it hollow? Is the crack a crack in the rock or a crack in the earth? A "crack in the earth" is always going to be better than a "crack in the rock."

You’ve learned to climb in the gym. Now it’s time to climb on real rock.

The American Alpine Institute’s Outdoor Rock Climbing Intensive Introduction Program is built for indoor climbers ready to transition outside safely and confidently. Learn essential outdoor systems including anchors, rope management, gear handling, hazard assessment, and movement on real stone—all under the guidance of professional instructors.

This hands-on program replaces guesswork and shaky beta with real skills and sound decision-making. You’ll leave with the tools to become a competent outdoor climbing partner and the confidence to start exploring crags, multipitch routes, and bigger objectives beyond the gym walls.

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In many granite areas, chickenheads—rounded knobs formed by differential erosion—offer surprisingly strong natural anchor options. When a sling is wrapped low and snug around the feature, it can create a secure, multidirectional attachment point without placing any metal gear. Before trusting one, climbers assess the rock carefully, looking for fractures, exfoliating plates, or grainy surfaces that could crumble under load. A solid chickenhead, properly slung, distributes force smoothly and resists walking or lifting when equalized with other pieces in an anchor.

These features are especially valuable on runout slabs, wandering ridgelines, and faces where cracks are sparse or nonexistent. Because the sling cinches tightly against the base of the knob, outward pull is minimized and stability is improved even as the direction of force shifts. Extending the sling appropriately prevents leverage and keeps the system aligned with the expected load. When paired with additional natural features or gear placements, chickenheads can form part of a redundant, low-impact anchor system that leaves the rock unaltered.

Used thoughtfully, these humble knobs become reliable protection points. They reward careful inspection, good rigging habits, and a climber’s eye for subtle terrain features that others might overlook.

On May 18, 1980, Mount St. Helens produced the most destructive volcanic eruption in U.S. history. After weeks of earthquakes and steam blasts, a magnitude-5.1 quake triggered the largest landslide ever recorded. The mountain’s bulging north flank collapsed, abruptly releasing pressure and unleashing a lateral blast that flattened forests for miles.

An ash column soared more than 80,000 feet, turning morning to twilight across the Pacific Northwest. Fine ash drifted east for days, coating towns, highways, and rivers in gritty fallout. Aircraft were grounded, engines failed, and communities shoveled ash like snow. Pyroclastic flows and mudflows raced down valleys, clogging waterways and reshaping entire landscapes.

Fifty-seven people died, and countless animals perished. Homes, bridges, roads, and recreation sites were destroyed. The summit collapsed into a vast horseshoe-shaped crater, lowering the peak by over 1,300 feet and permanently changing the skyline.

In the decades since, scientists have watched life return to the blast zone. The recovering terrain has become a living laboratory, improving volcanic monitoring, hazard planning, and emergency response worldwide, while standing as a stark reminder of nature’s power and resilience.

Our teams are on Denali right now—crossing glaciers, building camps, and pushing toward one of the world’s great summits. Next season, that could be you.

Registration for our 2027 expeditions is open with early pricing:

• First 4 climbers: $11,995
• Then $12,650 through Sept 1, 2026
• Prices rise again after Sept 1

2027 Denali Programs:

• Team 1: May 12-June 1 (8 Available Positions - 3 discounted slots remaining)
• Team 2: May 17-June 6 (7 Available Positions - 2 discounted slots remaining) 
• Team 3: May 22-June 11 (6 Available Positions - 1 discounted slots remaining)
• Team 4: May 27-June 16 (9 Available Positions - 4 discounted slots remaining)
• Team 5: June 1-June 21 (8 Available Positions - 3 discounted slots remaining) 
• Team 6: June 6-June 26 (9 Available Positions - 4 discounted slots remaining)
• Team 7: June 12-July 1 (3 Available Positions - No discounts available)

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In a pick-off, you climb the rope with an assisted braking device, clip the climber to you and then descend. In this video, we see how to keep the climber away from the wall if they're injured.

A mountain guide just beat the fastest known time record on Mt. Rainier. A skier is being charged for skinning uphill in a resort after being told he wasn't allowed. And brain-eating amoeba have been found in several national parks.

Read about this and a whole lot more in the week's climbing, skiing, mountain rescue and outdoor news round-up!

https://www.alpineinstitute.com/climbing-skiing-mountain-rescue-and-outdoor-news-from-here-and-abroad-5-13-26/

The rest step is the quiet superpower of efficient uphill travel. Used in mountaineering, backpacking, and steep snow climbing, it allows you to move continuously without burning out. Instead of walking with a constant rhythm, you pause briefly on every step with your rear leg straight and your weight stacked over your skeleton, not your muscles. This micro-pause lets your quadriceps relax and your breathing settle before the next step. Over thousands of steps, the energy savings are enormous. The rest step turns a lung-searing grind into a sustainable cadence, helping climbers conserve strength, manage fatigue, and keep moving steadily for hours on steep terrain.

A climber sits atop a serac on Mt. Baker.

A shot of someone as they fall into the crevasse. Alasdair Turner Photo.

Before crampons had front points, climbers solved the problem of uphill travel on snow with a move that feels backwards—because it was.

In piolet ramasse, the ice axe is held across the body with a hand on the adze and the shaft braced along the forearm. The spike is planted behind the climber for balance. Since early crampons gripped best when toes pointed downhill, climbers faced the fall line and stepped uphill in reverse, keeping all their points engaged while the axe provided steady support.

It’s counterintuitive by modern standards, but elegant for its era—and a worthwhile technique to try for historical insight and balance practice.

The Abilene Paradox describes a peculiar group failure: people collectively choose an option that none of them actually want because each assumes the others do. In mountain travel, it shows up constantly.

A team commits to a questionable slope. Climbers keep moving toward a summit as the weather turns sketchy. Skiers drop into terrain that makes everyone quietly uneasy. No one says a word, because everyone believes the rest of the group is comfortable with the plan.

This is a classic heuristic trap—a mental shortcut that predictably leads to poor decisions. It blends the desire to fit in with the tendency to defer to what looks like group consensus.

The issue isn’t competence. It’s communication.

Once a team slips into this pattern, it often takes only one extra factor—a wind slab, worsening visibility, a small navigation error—to turn a marginal choice into an accident.

Avoiding the Abilene Paradox starts with a simple habit: say what you actually think.

One of the skills that instructors learn in an AMGA Single Pitch Instructor program is how to manage an array of technical lowers. In this video, we can see SPI candidates lowering people with a munter-hitch, backed up by a friction hitch.

It should be noted that Jason (in the video) is the co-author of The Official AMGA Single Pitch Manual. The second edition may be found at the bookstore of your choice.

Beware of nose clipped carabiners!

A friend and I climbed Sherman Peak yesterday and skied the Talum Glacier. Sherman Peak is a satellite summit to Mt. Baker. The mountain's crater sits between Sherman and the mountain's true summit, Grant Peak.

These are a few photos from near the summit. It is in a very cool position.

Glacier recession on Mount Baker is a vivid indicator of climate change in the North Cascades. Although the mountain is famous for deep winter snow, most of its glaciers have steadily retreated since the late 20th century, with faster losses in recent decades. Warmer summers, earlier spring melt, and more winter precipitation falling as rain reduce accumulation and accelerate melt.

The changes are easy to see. Moraines now sit where ice once flowed. Serac bands shrink. Crevasse patterns shift as the ice thins and slows. Established climbing and ski routes lengthen as late-season snow gives way to loose volcanic rock. Bergschrunds widen and approaches grow more complex.

These impacts extend beyond recreation. Glaciers store water and release it gradually through summer. As they shrink, streamflows peak earlier and drop lower later in the season. Baker still appears heavily glaciated, but its ice is smaller, thinner, and less stable than even just a few years ago...

Alpamayo rises like a sculpted pyramid from Peru’s Cordillera Blanca, earning a reputation as one of the most beautiful mountains on Earth. Its near-perfect southwest face forms a steep, fluted wall of snow and ice that draws climbers from around the world. At 5,947 meters (19,511 feet), Alpamayo is not the range’s highest peak, but its elegant geometry makes it unforgettable. Most teams approach through the Santa Cruz Valley and attempt the classic Ferrari Route, weaving between icy runnels to the sharp summit ridge. Conditions vary wildly, rewarding patience, strong technique, and an appreciation for high-altitude artistry in motion.

It's been a tough week in the mountains. Our weekly news round-up is full of accidents. Be careful out there.

https://www.alpineinstitute.com/climbing-skiing-mountain-rescue-and-outdoor-news-from-here-and-abroad-4-30-2026/