Madaleine Sorkin joins an Israeli-Bedouin team to make the first ascent of a big wall in Wadi Rum, Jordan -- a place known as the Valley of the Moon because of its barren lands surrounded by massive sandstone walls.
Beth Rodden and Tommy Caldwell make the first ascents of two new routes in Smith Rock, OR. Beth works and sends The Optimist (5.14b), the hardest route ever established by a woman, while Tommy opens Spank the Monkey (5.13d).
