The Five Biggest And Best Climbs Of 2012

Obviously over the holidays I took a little time off from updating the Adventure Blog, but that didn't mean I wasn't working at all. In fact, I was extremely honored to be asked to contribute a piece to Wired magazine's Extremo Files Blog sharing my pics for the five most impressive climbs of 2012.

I don't want to spoil any of my selections here, suffice to say that each of the climbs that I singled out took place far from the slopes of Everest, which is still the mountain that gets the bulk of the attention on an annual basis. Don't get me wrong, I love to follow what's happening on Everest as well, its just that there are so many climbers on that mountain these days, and very few of them are actually trying something new or pushing the boundaries of mountaineering. Many of the top climbers have taken their considerable skills elsewhere and are trying unique things on other peaks that don't draw nearly the same about of attention.

If you read my blog on a regular basis, you'll certainly have heard me mention a few of the expeditions on more than one occasion. These are the biggest and most daring climbs of last year and definitely deserve some accolades.

I want to thank Jeff Marlow for inviting me to share my list. It was fun to reflect on the mountaineering achievements of last year while putting the story together. Jeff also did a nice job of editing my original work as well. I hope you enjoy reading the story and I'd be interested in hearing your picks for the biggest climbs of last year as well. There certainly were plenty of good ones to choose from.