Rotpunkt

10 Minutes

Rotpunkt

Alex Megos and the advent, the agony and the art of the Redpoint.

Through failure and success, Alex Megos strives to be the best climber in the world.

Banner image – Alex sticks the iconic crux move – a dead point off a right-hand mono to a terrible pinch – on the FA of Perfecto Mundo, one of the hardest routes in the world. Photo: Ken Etzel.

Some Favourites

Home Planet Fund invests in the Sustainable Southeast Partnership, a collective of local Alaskan communities that see healthy trees as essential to their economic livelihoods. Old-growth forests keep Earth cool, naturally. Photo: Colin Arisman

Where to Find Hope on Climate

Brad Wieners

Where to Find Hope on Climate

Brad Wieners

5 Min Read

“On the first leg, I drank twelve litres of water across a baking hot day in fire ravaged bush with no canopy.” Beau takes the path less travelled, hot on the trail of a long-dead mass murderer.

A Bloody Long Run

Beau Miles

A Bloody Long Run

Beau Miles

4 Min Read

Organising a race in Utah’s Wasatch Range in the middle of winter comes with many challenges, like a course that’s buried in untracked snow.

Breaking Trail for Clean Air

Ariella Carpenter

Breaking Trail for Clean Air

Ariella Carpenter

7 Min Read

Jalpi, a Korean native seagrass, is at risk from industrialisation, urban development and an expanding fishing industry in South Korea. The grass helps restore fish stocks and fight the climate crisis. Photo: Nicole Gormley

Toward an End to Microfibre Pollution

Vincent Stanley

Toward an End to Microfibre Pollution

Vincent Stanley

4 Min Read

The Sickness – a slab-filled trail north of Pemberton, British Columbia – traces the edge of a plateau above the community of Mount Currie, the present-day seat of the Líĺwat Nation and home to most of its 2,200-plus members.

Together as One

Ryan Stuart

Together as One

Ryan Stuart

11 Min Read

Located only a few minutes from the city's centre, Cuvier is one of the oldest climbing sectors in Fontainebleau, France – the hotspot of the bouldering world.

The Gifts of the Forest

Zofia Reych

The Gifts of the Forest

Zofia Reych

8 Min Read

Make It Last

Katie Lamb

Make It Last

Katie Lamb

6 Min Read

The cinematic light of a late-summer evening illuminates a cloud of caddis flies above the riffles of the Missouri River, known for its blizzard-like insect hatches and chunky trout. Photo: Jessica McGlothlin

Dude, Where’s My Hatch?

Stephen Sautner

Dude, Where’s My Hatch?

Stephen Sautner

10 Min Read

To My Bebito

Yessenia Funes

To My Bebito

Yessenia Funes

6 Min Read

Moving toward a new day requires reflection. It requires reckoning with our failures, taking time to really listen, and honouring what we’ve missed. Patagonia. Photo: Mikey Schaefer

Our Acknowledgment

Patagonia

We’re learning how to become an antiracist company.

Our Acknowledgment

Patagonia

2 Min Read

In the mountains, as in life, someone must go first. Both as a guide and activist, Juliana García has led the way for women in the alpine. Pico de Orizaba Volcano, Mexico. Photo: Esteban Barrera

Her Place in the Mountains

Lise Josefsen Hermann

Her Place in the Mountains

Lise Josefsen Hermann

8 Min Read

Streaks of light and the suggestion of sound.

In Search of Silence

Monica Prelle

In Search of Silence

Monica Prelle

5 Min Read

Jirishanca

Josh Wharton

Jirishanca

Josh Wharton

4 Min Read

Perfectly Imperfect

Woody Woodburn

Perfectly Imperfect

Woody Woodburn

4 Min Read

After six long days in the South Chilcotin Mountains, we started our final descent back to the truck with our minds consumed by thoughts of dry clothes and cold beers.

Ultralight Foolishness

Will Cadham

Ultralight Foolishness

Will Cadham

9 Min Read

Armand engages an adult in a deep mountain discussion. Maybe he’s giving a weather report or explaining his latest salt-dough creations. What a place for the imagination of a 3-year-old to fly free.

The Charpoua Way

Floran Tomei

The Charpoua Way

Floran Tomei

5 Min Read

PFC-free gear must pass the same rigorous tests as our other apparel, both in the field and the lab. We make it rain anytime we want using the Bundesmann water permeability test, which assesses water resistance. Photo: Tim Davis

Say Goodbye to “Forever Chemicals”

Archana Ram

Say Goodbye to “Forever Chemicals”

Archana Ram

9 Min Read

Ellen Bradley and Connor Ryan bootpack up a ridge near the ski area, with the peaks of Lingít Aaní (Tlingit land) towering in the distance.

Taking the Long Way Home

Ellen Bradley & Matthew Tufts

Taking the Long Way Home

Ellen Bradley & Matthew Tufts

9 Min Read

“This is me skiing on France’s Grand Montets and using the first drone, which I don’t even remember having back in the early 1980s.* This is the only time I ever saw waves of perfect powder here.” (*Insert sarcastic wink) Photo: Gary Bigham

The Old-Fashioned Way

Layla Kerley

The Old-Fashioned Way

Layla Kerley

5 Min Read

Mina Bakhshi, Haniya Tavasoli and Sughra Yazdani check out a range of cams during a climbing ranger presentation about the evolution of climbing gear and the tools needed to climb in Yosemite National Park, California.

Afarin! Good Job!

Lauren DeLaunay Miller

Afarin! Good Job!

Lauren DeLaunay Miller

14 Min Read

Leaders can follow and followers can lead at Footprints Running Camp, a week-long program designed to reconsider the way things are done. Founder Dakota Jones calls Footprints the most meaningful thing he’s ever done. Silverton, Colorado. Photo: Max Romey

Run for Something

Meaghen Brown

Run for Something

Meaghen Brown

7 Min Read

Doing the Work

Josh Wharton

Not totally relating to some forms of climate activism, Josh Wharton found his own way to contribute.

Doing the Work

Josh Wharton

5 Min Read

Yakutat Surf Club member Jackson Wolfe stands up on his first glassy wave with surf mentor Kanaan Bausler. Yakutat, Alaska. Photo: Chelsea Jolly

Land of the Midnight Surf

Morgan Williamson

Inside Yakutat Surf Club’s budding stoke scene in Southeast Alaska.

Land of the Midnight Surf

Morgan Williamson

14 Min Read

Scientist Emilé Zynobia zips through a golden sea of coffee crops and banana trees after winding through colourfully painted neighbourhoods in Manizales, Colombia.

Over-Roasted

Lucas Isakowitz

Descending through Colombia’s coffee country, a crew of mountain bikers explores how climate change is impacting one of the world’s most cherished beverages and the lives of those who depend upon it.

Over-Roasted

Lucas Isakowitz

16 Min Read

Running the Coast

Kiko Sweeney

A family explores their relationship to running.

Running the Coast

Kiko Sweeney

6 Min Read

For the Tsleil-Waututh, paddling is not only a way of life but a sustainer of it. They have existed in relationship with the Burrard Inlet for millennia. British Columbia.

We Are the Inlet

Nikki Sanchez

The women fighting for Southern Resident orcas.

We Are the Inlet

Nikki Sanchez

9 Min Read

The Money Motive

Gerry Lopez

Gerry Lopez recalls surfing O‘ahu’s Waimea Bay for the biggest contest purse ever offered (at the time), circa 1974.

The Money Motive

Gerry Lopez

6 Min Read

The Surfer's Garden

Dave Rastovich

Dave Rastovich has lived a life connected to the ocean. He’s grown to realise that he also has a deep connection to the soil.

The Surfer's Garden

Dave Rastovich

9 Min Read

The range of the Southeastern Group of southern right whales extends from SA around to the NSW south coast, above. Photo Josh Burkinshaw

Mother Knows Best

Linley Hurrell

The fight to protect Koontapool Yakeen (Whale Dreaming)

Mother Knows Best

Linley Hurrell

8 Min Read

The oil and gas industry are aggressively expanding across Southern Sea Country. Photo Jarrah Lynch

Save Southern Sea Country

Ula Majewski

The ocean between Tasmania and Victoria, stretching west, is under threat from the offshore oil and gas industry. The communities dotted along those coasts are banding together to protect it.

Save Southern Sea Country

Ula Majewski

12 Min Read

After running past, taking shelter in and leaning on these slow breathing giants, the sawn and stripped logs just don’t have the same warmth or glory they once did. Today’s victory will be in logs conserved not cleared. Photo: Cam Suttie

Logged For A Loss

Nick Rodway

The mountain ash forests of Victoria’s Central Highlands are priceless. So why would you log them, losing millions of dollars in the process?

Logged For A Loss

Nick Rodway

7 Min Read

Located in downtown Lismore, the offices of the Koori Mail newspaper became a focal point for community-led flood relief during the catastrophic Northern River floods of early 2022.

The Story of The Koori Mail Flood Hub

Ella Noah Bancroft

"This right here, this is how we reconcile in this country."

The Story of The Koori Mail Flood Hub

Ella Noah Bancroft

9 Min Read

Matthew Trumm does ecosystem restoration work in the Camp Fire burn scar. Butte County, California.

Restoring Paradise

Joel Caldwell

A road trip through California’s worst drought in 1,200 years, and the folks working to restore broken ecosystems and rewild lost landscapes.

Restoring Paradise

Joel Caldwell

16 Min Read

The mountain ash forests of the Victorian Central Highlands have existed for millions of years. The Great Forest National Park is an idea to protect them into the future. Photo: Cam Suttie.

Imagining The Great Forest

Jock Serong

The ancient forests of Victoria’s Central Highlands are home to a myriad of natural ecosystems, all precious, all interrelated. It’s time they were all protected as one National Park.

Imagining The Great Forest

Jock Serong

12 Min Read

Life Lived Wild

Rick Ridgeway

Rolling Stone called him “the real Indiana Jones.” His new memoir reveals why our friend Rick was always a great deal more.

Life Lived Wild

Rick Ridgeway

6 Min Read

In San Vicente—a port town near Concepción in central Chile—Christopher “Caco” Clemo and Jacqueline Sangueza pick out eligible fishing nets for the net-recycling company Bureo.

Cleaning Up Chile’s Coast

Andrew O’Reilly

The South Pacific has a plastic problem. He had a truck.

Cleaning Up Chile’s Coast

Andrew O’Reilly

5 Min Read

Saturnino Ayma and his son Kenedy hold a photo from when Saturnino was better known as “El Chasqui.” Plaza de Armas, Cusco, Peru.

Chasqui of the 21st Century

Lucía Flórez

Chasqui of the 21st Century

Lucía Flórez

9 Min Read

Wild Youth!

Patagonia

An excerpt from the book Family Business by Malinda Chouinard and Jennifer Ridgeway.

Wild Youth!

Patagonia

9 Min Read

The future is grom. Ho‘okipa Beach Park, Maui, Hawai‘i.

Not Just Good Surfers, Good People

Cash Lambert

There’s more to life than three-to-the-beach, surf contest results and a clean cutback.

Not Just Good Surfers, Good People

Cash Lambert

6 Min Read

Self-Isolation, Learned from a Life at Sea

Liz Clark

Captain Liz Clark’s been self-isolating aboard her sailboat Swell since 2005; here she provides her experiences and insight for navigating isolation during a pandemic.

Self-Isolation, Learned from a Life at Sea

Liz Clark

5 Min Read

Tara Kerzhner climbs The Backbone (5.13a) of The Monkey at Oregon’s Smith Rock State Park, also known as Animal Village. Photo: Jules Jimreivat

Smith Rock Is Animal Village

Len Necefer & Tara Kerzhner

Elder Wilson Wewa tells the creation story of Animal Village. Tara Kerzhner and Len Necefer consider how these stories can reshape stewardship.

Smith Rock Is Animal Village

Len Necefer & Tara Kerzhner

15 Min Read

Lor Sabourin and Madaleine Sorkin racking up for the Incredible Hulk. Eastern Sierra, California.

Queering Climb Mentorship

Lor Sabourin & Madaleine Sorkin

A conversation between Lor Sabourin and Madaleine Sorkin.

Queering Climb Mentorship

Lor Sabourin & Madaleine Sorkin

13 Min Read

Patagonia Surf Ambassador Otto Flores walks through a palm forest post-surf on Puerto Rico’s north coast. Photo: Jeremy Koreski

Puerto Rico No Se Vende

Gabriela Aoun

Five years after Hurricane Maria, coastal land in Puerto Rico is being sold and developed at a dizzying pace. Puerto Ricans are taking the conservation fight into their own hands.

Puerto Rico No Se Vende

Gabriela Aoun

8 Min Read

Ryan Mountain Trail, Joshua Tree National Park. Twentynine Palms, California.

Home Is an Open Place

Rio Lakeshore

How the trails beneath our feet help us belong.

Home Is an Open Place

Rio Lakeshore

6 Min Read

George Lowe (left) and Joel Kauffman (right) share stories while camped beneath Palisade Crest in the Sierra Nevada, California.

Too Far, Too High

Tad McCrea

On an intergenerational new routing trip in the Sierra, Tad McCrea asks, What if your best adventure is the one you’re already on?

Too Far, Too High

Tad McCrea

7 Min Read

Clouds over the heart of Tutokanula (El Capitan). We are grateful to the original, present and eternal stewards of what is also called Yosemite National Park in California. Photo: Austin Siadak

Bring Back Clean Climbing

Mailee Hung

Fifty years ago, Yvon Chouinard, Tom Frost and Doug Robinson set down an ethic for climbing that emphasised restraint and respect for the rock. In 2022, it’s needed more than ever.

Bring Back Clean Climbing

Mailee Hung

10 Min Read

Holden Wilson (Diné) completing one of the first legs of the 227-mile run from Doko’oo’sliid (the San Francisco Peaks) to the sacred Apache land of Oak Flat.

Prayer Run for Oak Flat

Brophy Native American Club

Reflections on the 2022 Oak Flat Prayer Run, a gathering and a protest of a planned copper mine that could destroy this sacred site.

Prayer Run for Oak Flat

Brophy Native American Club

9 Min Read

Italy is preparing for the 2026 Winter Olympics by increasing ski-area infrastructure, including new lifts. But before the lifts arrive, the forest must be severed by man-made lines. The question is, how many ski lifts does Italy really need?

Lost Lines

Luca Albrisi

Following the impacts of snow sports through the mountains of Italy.

Lost Lines

Luca Albrisi

6 Min Read

Marc Chavez, left, and Reg Macarro, right, about to paddle out at a reeling left pointbreak somewhere in Michoacán, Mexico.

Point Break Medicine

Todd Prodanovich

An exchange of waves and Indigenous cultural practices on the Pacific coast of Mexico.

Point Break Medicine

Todd Prodanovich

9 Min Read

Bad River

Beau Miles

The rivers of our childhood have changed.

Bad River

Beau Miles

3 Min Read

Patagonia NZ

Rotpunkt

Alex Megos and the advent, the agony and the art of the Redpoint.

More Stories

Some Favourites

Where to Find Hope on Climate

Where to Find Hope on Climate

A Bloody Long Run

A Bloody Long Run

Breaking Trail for Clean Air

Breaking Trail for Clean Air

Toward an End to Microfibre Pollution

Toward an End to Microfibre Pollution

Together as One

Together as One

The Gifts of the Forest

The Gifts of the Forest

Make It Last

Make It Last

Dude, Where’s My Hatch?

Dude, Where’s My Hatch?

To My Bebito

To My Bebito

Our Acknowledgment

Our Acknowledgment

Her Place in the Mountains

Her Place in the Mountains

In Search of Silence

In Search of Silence

Jirishanca

Jirishanca

Perfectly Imperfect

Perfectly Imperfect

Ultralight Foolishness

Ultralight Foolishness

The Charpoua Way

The Charpoua Way

Say Goodbye to “Forever Chemicals”

Say Goodbye to “Forever Chemicals”

Taking the Long Way Home

Taking the Long Way Home

The Old-Fashioned Way

The Old-Fashioned Way

Afarin! Good Job!

Afarin! Good Job!

Run for Something

Run for Something

Doing the Work

Doing the Work

Land of the Midnight Surf

Land of the Midnight Surf

Over-Roasted

Over-Roasted

Running the Coast

Running the Coast

We Are the Inlet

We Are the Inlet

The Money Motive

The Money Motive

The Surfer's Garden

The Surfer's Garden

Mother Knows Best

Mother Knows Best

Save Southern Sea Country

Save Southern Sea Country

Logged For A Loss

Logged For A Loss

The Story of The Koori Mail Flood Hub

The Story of The Koori Mail Flood Hub

Restoring Paradise

Restoring Paradise

Imagining The Great Forest

Imagining The Great Forest

Life Lived Wild

Life Lived Wild

Cleaning Up Chile’s Coast

Cleaning Up Chile’s Coast

Chasqui of the 21st Century

Chasqui of the 21st Century

Wild Youth!