The 2017 Mugs Stump Award Recipients Announced

The recipients of the 2017 Mugs Stump Award were announced at the Bozeman Ice Festival. The award was created in 1993 in memory of Mugs Stump, one of North America’s most visionary climbers. In the 25 years since its inception, the Mugs Stump Award has provided more than $425,000 to small teams pursuing climbing objectives that exemplify light, fast and clean alpinism. Five teams with outstanding talent and objectives received a total of $25,000 in grants this year.

Revelation Mountains, Alaska: Clint Helander and Andres Marin will visit the remote Revelations, aiming for a direct new route on the east face of Golgotha. Helander, who made the first and only ascent of Golgotha in 2012 with Ben Trocki, attempted the line in 2015 with Marin, they were turned back by avalanche danger in the narrow cirque below the face. “We ran for our lives as our tent was picked up and moved 50 feet,” says Helander. “For a week, we fought to survive as more avalanches crossed every part of the cirque. Our bond was forever forged through that experience.”

Boone walking the fine line on the West Ridge of Mount Hunter in 2011. Mount Foraker in the background. #myoutdoorobsession #bluewaterropes #denali #climbing #climb

A photo posted by Clint Helander (@clinthelander) on Oct 1, 2016 at 7:19pm PDT

Arrigetch Peaks, Alaska: The west face of Xanadu, Adam Ferro, Vitaliy Musiyenko and Brian Prince’s objective, is perhaps the biggest unclimbed wall in the range, looked at by many by never attempted. “We are hoping to climb it in a long push, employing big wall tactics of short fixing when possible,” says Musiyenko. “Our hope is to connect natural features and free climb as much as possible.”

Zanskar, India: Alan Rousseau and Tino Villanueva will explore the Suru Valley and attempt a difficult mixed route on the north face of Rungofarka and a prominent rock buttress on the nearby northwest face of Peak 5780. Both peaks are unclimbed. “In 2009 India opened over 100 peaks for climbing after being formally closed for many years due to the armed conflict in the region,” says Rousseau. “Rungofarka and Peak 5780 are among the newly opened peaks. Reports of good rock in the Suru Valley lead me to believe we will find high quality stone on these formations.”

Probably the last alps post for a while just finished the last day of the season in Zermatt. Managed to go 4 for 4 on the matterhorn this year (Better to be lucky than good). It was an awesome and super busy first season in the alps thanks to everyone that helped me get here and everyone that helped make it great. #matterhorn #alps @mountain_madness_inc

A photo posted by Alan Rousseau (@rousseaualan) on Sep 3, 2016 at 9:21am PDT

Kishtwar, India: The Kishtwar region, also recently reopened to climbers after a 20-year hiatus, is still relatively unexplored. Sam Hennessy, Seth Timpano and Jared Vilhauer will make their second attempt on the 1,700-metre North Face of Barnaj II. The peak is an unclimbed gem, says Vilhauer, and “will provide world-class ice and mixed climbing on a big alpine face in a mystical landscape.”

Karakoram Himalaya, Pakistan: Steve Swenson, Chris Wright and Graham Zimmerman have their sights on a long and technical ridge on Muchu Chhish, the world’s second highest unclimbed peak at 7,453 metres. “The line is stunningly beautiful and safe from objective hazard, while providing a logical and challenging 3,400-metre alpine-style objective,” says Zimmerman. “We’ll be traversing a mile of ridge above 7,000 metres to reach the elusive summit of Muchu Chhish.”

The Two Shigrilas | 2 __________ Shigrila. Until we got there we really didn’t know what that meant, and in a way I still don’t. The Bara (Big) Shigri (Glacier) is right nearby, but “la” is usually a pass, and this is a mountain, so go figure. More importantly, we didn’t know which mountain it was. We knew there were two, we knew they had a number of different heights assigned to them (one right, one wrong), that they had both been called Shigrila, and that they were both unclimbed and out there somewhere. That one there though, that’s it, and that face is the line. Not what we were expecting to climb at all, but three days, two bivies, healthy doses of spice and of luck, and voila! The Southeast Face (V AI4 M5 5.8 A0). And it’s 6247m, for the record. _________ #lifepoints @cilogear_official @pickybars @americanalpine @mazamaspdx @ibexexpeditions #kulu2016 #india #aacgram #alpine #climbing #nowclimbing

A photo posted by Chris Wright (@now_climbing) on Oct 17, 2016 at 3:21pm PDT