By Melissa Arnot We came to Mexico with simple goals. We wanted to climb, strengthen our partnership for the long expedition we have ahead, and re-engage in a medium of climbing that we have both taken a break from.

By Melissa Arnot On our fifth day in Mexico, Dave and I were joined by Salvador, a friend who guides in Mexico City. Being a team of three is different; it changes how we climb, how we delegate responsibility.

By Melissa Arnot One hundred feet off the ground, my hands are sore, and my arms so fatigued I can hardly hold onto the steep wall. I know that I have only two options: stay where I am and get so tired I fall, or reach for the next series of strenuous moves.

By Melissa Arnot Melissa Arnot and Dave Morton are on a two-week trip to the famous climbing area El Potrero Chico, Mexico, with the goal of climbing single and multi-pitch rock climbs to prepare for their upcoming climb of Makalu—the world’s fifth-highest mountain

Melissa Arnot and Dave Morton departed the US for a two-week trip to the famous climbing area El Potrero Chico, Mexico, with the goal of climbing single and multi-pitch rock climbs to prepare for their upcoming climb of Makalu—the world’s fifth-highest mountain, just 14 miles away from Everest.

On Feb. 15, Melissa Arnot and Dave Morton departed the U.S. for a two-week trip to the famous climbing area El Potrero Chico, Mexico, with the goal of climbing single and multi-pitch rock climbs to prepare for their upcoming climb of Makalu—the world’s fifth-highest mountain

Last summer, Dave Morton set out with Adam Knoff to reach the summit of Pakistan’s K2 unsupported and without oxygen, using one of the peak’s most difficult routes. During the 40-day expedition, both climbers were put to the test on one of the world’s most dangerous mountains.