Inside Alpinist 62 are more than 114 pages of words and images that examine both historical and modern mountaineering from a wide range of perspectives. You’ll find the first part of a two-part series on the climbing history of Nanda Devi, Nanda Devi East and Nanda Kot. Within this first part, American alpinist and author Pete Takeda examines the complex interweaving of international mountaineering, local traditions and global politics that helped shape travel and exploration in the Garhwal Himalaya of India, from centuries’ old religious pilgrimages to climbs of the 1930s. (The years 1940 to 2018 will be covered in the second part, appearing in Alpinist 63.) Paula Wright, Julia Pulwicki and Stewart Weaver also provide accounts of a few early mountaineering expeditions to the region.
In addition, you’ll get a chance to learn more about the prolific career of Japanese alpinist Yasushi Yamanoi, known for alpine-style first ascents on some of the world’s highest and most challenging peaks—as told by Indian climber and liaison officer Sartaj Ghuman. Anindya Mukherjee, another mountaineer from India, recounts some of his expeditions, often accompanied by local Lepcha residents, around the East Ridge of Kangchenjunga. Meanwhile in the US, Joe Whittle, an enrolled tribal member of the Caddo Nation and a descendent of the Delaware Nation, recounts a trip with other Native Americans to the Wal’wá·maXs (Wallowa Mountains of Oregon), as part of an exploration of ancestral connections to mountain lands. Among other articles: Lauren Smith writes of climbing and ornithology as means to seek close experiences of nature; Amanda Padoan shares stories of the great winter alpinist Muhammad Ali of Sadpara, Pakistan; Sara Aranda describes how an experience of the eclipse in the Wind River Range influenced her understanding of family, mortality and self—and much, much more….