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The Mugs Stump Award is given annually to climbers attempting alpine climbing objectives that exemplify fast, light and clean tactics. The awards are a tribute to the late Mugs Stump, one of North America’s most prolific and visionary climbers, who died in a crevasse fall in Alaska in May 1992.

The Mugs Stump Award Winners for 2009 are:

• Clint Helander, the Revelation Range, Alaska; with Seth Holden. The climbers propose a trip into one of the least-explored (20 parties have visited since 1966) clusters of granite mountains in Alaska, to pursue rock, ice, and ridge-running objectives on three unclimbed massifs.
• Ryan Hokanson, the southeast face of Mount Logan, Canada; with Samuel Johnson. The two climbers will make an alpine-style bid on the unclimbed southeast face, expecting mixed ground on an exact line TBD tackling a wall two miles high, one of the largest on the planet.
• Sam Magro, north face of Broken Tooth, Alaska; with Aaron Thrasher. The climbers have spotted a diagonalling weakness on the 1,000-meter north face of Broken Tooth, climbed to half-height, with difficulties up to M6, on a previous bid but never completed.
• Jim Martinello, Mount Bute, British Columbia, Canada; with Bruce Kay and Jason Sinnes. The climbers look to pioneer a new free route on Bute’s unclimbed lower buttress (2,500 feet), and then either free the existing route on the upper west face (20 pitches; 3,000 feet) or climb a new line on the upper wall.
• Doug Chabot, Kuk Sar II, Pakistan; with Bruce Miller. The pair will attempt the sheer north face of this unclimbed 6,925-meter Karakoram peak, one that’s never been visited by climbers; the face has locally been rumored to be “impossible,” as well as up to 3,000 meters tall.
• Colin Haley, North Ridge of Latok 1, Pakistan; with Josh Wharton and Dylan Johnson. The climbers propose an attempt on this longstanding, oft-attempted (20 attempts) prize of Himalayan Mountaineering, climbed nearly to the summit in 1978. They propose beginning on snow and ice beside the ridge crest, to make quicker progress down low.
• Josh Beckner, El Lonko, Argentine Patagonia; with Dave Anderson and Jared Spaulding. The east face of the El Cap-sized, unclimbed “El Lonko,” in the back of the remote Pirate Valley, in alpine style; a secondary goal will be a new route on the North Arête of the nearby Mariposa (2,220 vertical feet), in the same style.

“Mugs approached climbing as a celebration of boldness, purity and simplicity,” says Michael Kennedy, one of the founders of the award. “This year’s teams embody the same spirit and vision that fueled Mugs's dreams.” The Mugs Stump Award helps fund small teams tackling difficult climbs in the great mountains of the world. For 2009, a total of $30,000 was awarded to the seven expeditions, all of which are encouraged to leave no trace of their passage. Applications are due December 1st each year with the awards being announced in January.

Previous year's winners are listed below: