In early April 2019, Luka Lindič and Ines Papert teamed up with Brette Harrington to climb a major new route in the Canadian Rockies: the complete east face of Mt. Fay. Chris Kalman spoke with them about this wild new line, along with the paradoxical allure of these complex and dangerous mountains.

The Cutting Edge is presented by Hilleberg the Tentmaker, with additional support for this episode from Black Diamond Equipment. This podcast is produced by the American Alpine Club.

In October, Jerome Sullivan and two friends succeeded on the south pillar of Cerro San Lorenzo, perhaps the most difficult unclimbed summit in Patagonia. It was a "terrible" climb, but a truly grand adventure, Jerome says. In episode 18 of the Cutting Edge, Jerome and Chris Kalman tell us all about it.

The Cutting Edge is presented by Hilleberg the Tentmaker. This podcast is produced by the American Alpine Club.

The Patagonia season has just come to a close, and so we asked the experts, Rolando Garibotti and Kelly Cordes, to go beyond the headlines and talk in depth about a wild new route, a ground-breaking, no-rope solo climb of Fitz Roy, and a series of very bad accidents and rescues. What's it all mean? Find out in this episode's deep dive into all things Patagonia.

The Cutting Edge is presented by Hilleberg the Tentmaker. This podcast is produced by the American Alpine Club. Photo courtesy of Rolando Garibotti.

Scott Coldiron is that rare and lucky climber who gets to discover and develop an entirely new area: the massive ice and mixed climbs of the Cabinet Mountains in Montana. After a few years of under-the-radar development, 2018 and 2019 have been the biggest years yet on the Thunderdome cliffs and the alpine climbs nearby. AAJ editor Andy Anderson gets the full story.

The Cutting Edge is presented by Hilleberg the Tentmaker (hilleberg.com). This podcast is produced by the American Alpine Club.

In mid-November, Chris Wright and Graham Zimmerman spent three days on a new route up Mt. Macdonald, high over Rogers Pass in British Columbia. Just getting onto the mountain required years of waiting for the exact right set of circumstances to line up. In this episode, you'll hear about this wild new route, the tactics and gear required, and the two climbers' strong partnership, which will take them back to Pakistan this summer for a second attempt at one of the world's great unclimbed peaks.

The Cutting Edge is presented by Hilleberg the Tentmaker (www.hilleberg.com). This podcast is produced by the American Alpine Club.

In late September, Hilaree Nelson and Jim Morrison completed the first ski descent of Lhotse, the fourth-highest mountain in the world. Their route was the stunning Lhotse Couloir, a plumb line from the summit down ontto the vast Lhotse Face, right next to Everest. In this episode, Hilaree talks in depth about their preparation and how they made this impressive descent.

The Cutting Edge is presented by Hilleberg the Tentmaker. This podcast is produced by the American Alpine Club.

Photo by Nick Kalisz / The North Face

Austrian climber Hansjörg Auer pulled off a rare feat in July: a solo new route on a 7,000-meter peak in the Karakoram. In this episode, Hansjörg talks about his new route on Lupghar Sar West, the pleasures and perils of soloing big mountains, and that terrifying rappel video that went viral last winter.

The Cutting Edge is presented by Hilleberg the Tentmaker. This podcast is produced by the American Alpine Club.

After Brette Harrington's partner, Marc-André Leclerc, disappeared during a climb on Mendenhall Tower in Alaska in March, along with Ryan Johnson, Brette felt compelled to return to the Juneau Icefield in southeast Alaska repeatedly last summer and climbed numerous new routes in the Mendenhall Towers and elsewhere. In September, she and Gabe Hayden completed a difficult first ascent on the rarely climbed Devil's Paw. In this episode, Brette talks with Chris Kalman about this new route and also how her climbs above the Juneau Icefield have helped her through such a difficult time.

The Cutting Edge is presented by Hilleberg the Tentmaker, with additional support for this episode from Julbo Eyewear. This podcast is produced by the American Alpine Club.

On August 9, four decades years after the first ascent of Latok I in Pakistan, Aleš Česen and Luka Stražar from Slovenia, along with Tom Livingstone from the U.K., completed the second ascent of this stunning peak (and the first ever from the north side). We spoke with Luka and Tom to get the full story, including their take on the great north ridge of Latok I.

The Cutting Edge is made possible by Hilleberg the Tentmaker. This podcast is produced by the American Alpine Club.

In early June, Colin Haley set a new speed record for the Cassin Ridge on North America's highest peak, soloing the 8,000-foot route in a little over eight hours. In this episode, Colin chats with Andy Anderson about the new record on Denali, his previous speed solos of Mt. Foraker and Mt. Hunter, and the future of climbing in the Central Alaska Range.

The Cutting Edge podcast is made possible by Hilleberg the Tentmaker and is produced by the American Alpine Club.