The Cutting Edge

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.

In June 2025, Ethan Berman, Sebastian Pelletti and Maarten van Haeren spent ten days climbing and descending the enormous Southeast Pillar of 7,388-meter Ultar Sar in Pakistan—a route that had defied attempts for more than 30 years. Armed with knowledge gained from their expedition to the same peak in 2024—and blessed with a lengthy weather window that arrived just as they completed acclimatization—the trio quickly reached a point higher than any prior team, climbing mostly at night. They then tackled the crux pillar at the top of the route over the next two and a half days and summited on day six out of base camp. The descent of the pillar required more than 70 rappels. To learn all about this landmark climb and the history of this difficult and dangerous mountain, Cutting Edge host Jim Aikman spoke with Ethan Berman and Maarten van Haeren, as well as Karakoram expert Steve Swenson and American Alpine Journal Editor Dougald MacDonald.

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.

Three climbers from the U.S. spent nearly two months last summer in Baffin Island's Auyuittuq National Park, and they came away with three long new routes climbed in remarkable style. The trio went ultra-light (by Baffin standards) and packed only a double set of cams, one large cam, a fistful of hooks, 30 beak pitons, and a few bolts to climb more than 10,000 vertical feet of granite. In this episode, Jim Aikman talks with ace wall climbers Brandon Adams, Miles Fullman, and Sam Stuckey to learn all about their wilderness adventures, the meaning of modern aid, and what it's like to achieve a flow state while beaking and hooking.

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.

Babsi Zangerl’s flash ascent of Free Rider on El Capitan in November—the first flash of any El Cap big-wall free route—was a highlight of the year in climbing. In this interview, the 36-year-old Austrian climber describes her preparation, fears, and the intense effort of her no-falls ascent on the 5.13a wall route. Plus, Alex Honnold and Josh Wharton share their personal perspectives on Free Rider. AAJ editor Dougald MacDonald adds context on Babsi’s historic ascent. And you'll hear Jamie Logan describe free climbing on this line way back in 1972. Photo of Babsi Zangerl high on El Cap by Miya Tsudome for Highpoint Productions.

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.

Alaska’s Great Gorge of the Ruth Glacier has captured the attention of alpinists from around the world for generations. Mt. Dickey and the other giant peaks lining the gorge have also been fertile venues for the evolution of the sport. So it was for Tom Livingstone and Gašper Pintar in the spring of 2024, when they set out for a new line up Dickey’s 5,000-foot south face. To navigate the challenges of this iconic area, they combined rock, snow, and ice techniques along with intricate route-finding and their signature British and Slovenian resilience. In this episode, Tom tells the story of their new route, and we also hear about the Ruth Glacier's place in climbing history from AAJ Editor Dougald MacDonald and veteran alpinist Freddie Wilkinson. Plus, climber and author David Roberts talks about Dickey's first wall route (climbed 50 years ago!) in audio from the AAC archive.

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.

On October 12, climbers Matt Cornell, Jackson Marvell and Alan Rousseau summited 7,710-meter Jannu, or Khumbakarna, by a new route up the north face, climbed in alpine style. Jannu’s main north face had only been climbed once, in 2004, by a 12-man team that spent nearly two months on the face and fixed over 10,000 feet of rope. The American trio carried a single lead rope and took only a modest rack and no bolt kit. Their route, Round Trip Ticket, was climbed and descended in one week. Years of preparation and innovation went into this remarkable ascent, and in this episode of the Cutting Edge, we're fortunate to hear all three climbers telling the story. The Cutting Edge is presented by Hilleberg the Tentmaker, with additional support from Bivouac Coffee and Blue Ice. This podcast is produced by the American Alpine Club.