Josh Wharton is the most accomplished alpinist you’ve never heard of. But while he’s been quietly crushing ambitious objectives to little or no fanfare, fatherhood, and warming weather have begun to reshape the world he knew. When Wharton and his climbing partner Vince Anderson attempt to take the 2003 Italian route to the summit of Jirishanca in Peru, they’re forced to account for risk as never before. Check out Josh Wharton’s story about the ascent with photos by Drew Smith, originally published in the Spring 2023 Patagonia Journal.