In June 2025, Ethan Berman, Sebastian Pelletti and Maarten van Haeren spent ten days climbing and descending the enormous Southeast Pillar of 7,388-meter Ultar Sar in Pakistan—a route that had defied attempts for more than 30 years. Armed with knowledge gained from their expedition to the same peak in 2024—and blessed with a lengthy weather window that arrived just as they completed acclimatization—the trio quickly reached a point higher than any prior team, climbing mostly at night. They then tackled the crux pillar at the top of the route over the next two and a half days and summited on day six out of base camp. The descent of the pillar required more than 70 rappels.
To learn all about this landmark climb and the history of this difficult and dangerous mountain, Cutting Edge host Jim Aikman spoke with Ethan Berman and Maarten van Haeren, as well as Karakoram expert Steve Swenson and American Alpine Journal Editor Dougald MacDonald.
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In June 2025, Ethan Berman, Sebastian Pelletti and Maarten van Haeren spent ten days climbing and descending the enormous Southeast Pillar of 7,388-meter Ultar Sar in Pakistan—a route that had defied attempts for more than 30 years. Armed with knowledge gained from their expedition to the same peak in 2024—and blessed with a lengthy weather window that arrived just as they completed acclimatization—the trio quickly reached a point higher than any prior team, climbing mostly at night. They then tackled the crux pillar at the top of the route over the next two and a half days and summited on day six out of base camp. The descent of the pillar required more than 70 rappels.
To learn all about this landmark climb and the history of this difficult and dangerous mountain, Cutting Edge host Jim Aikman spoke with Ethan Berman and Maarten van Haeren, as well as Karakoram expert Steve Swenson and American Alpine Journal Editor Dougald MacDonald.
Born and raised in the heart of the Pyrenees, Kilian Jornet is the GOAT of mountain running and skimo, and he’s an accomplished climber too. This past summer, Jornet used his extraordinary fitness and deep reservoir of mountain skills and savvy to tackle one of the greatest challenges of the Alps: a traverse of all 82 of the range’s 4,000-meter peaks, solely by foot and bike. The fastest previous time for this link-up was 60 days. Jornet did it in 19.
Cutting Edge host Jim Aikman interviewed Kilian Jornet about his “Alpine Connections” project—the preparation, the physiological and psychological challenges, and the real dangers of covering hundreds of kilometers of serious alpine terrain at speed, often alone. For context on the history of grand Alpine enchainments and commentary on Jornet’s latest feat, Jim spoke with Colin Haley, elite climber and Chamonix resident; Buzz Burrell, one of the originators of the Fastest Known Time (FKT) movement; and Dougald MacDonald, editor of the American Alpine Journal.
Is it mountaineering? Is it running? Whatever you think of a feat like this, it’s undeniably at the cutting edge.
The Cutting Edge
In June 2025, Ethan Berman, Sebastian Pelletti and Maarten van Haeren spent ten days climbing and descending the enormous Southeast Pillar of 7,388-meter Ultar Sar in Pakistan—a route that had defied attempts for more than 30 years. Armed with knowledge gained from their expedition to the same peak in 2024—and blessed with a lengthy weather window that arrived just as they completed acclimatization—the trio quickly reached a point higher than any prior team, climbing mostly at night. They then tackled the crux pillar at the top of the route over the next two and a half days and summited on day six out of base camp. The descent of the pillar required more than 70 rappels.
To learn all about this landmark climb and the history of this difficult and dangerous mountain, Cutting Edge host Jim Aikman spoke with Ethan Berman and Maarten van Haeren, as well as Karakoram expert Steve Swenson and American Alpine Journal Editor Dougald MacDonald.
