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Max Brand

@maxbrandd

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šŸ“Utah
@westonbackcountry
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Riding powder at the top of Bishorn, a Swiss 4151m peak and flying down last May. Descending the 2500 vertical meters we climbed the previous morning and day before, in just 16 minutes. The future for splitboard mountaineering with paragliding is brightšŸŒŸ Made possible with the @westonbackcountry Backwoods Splitboard. Light, hard charging, and surprisingly aerodynamic! by @maxbrandd
The Fang did not disappoint! Finally checked this 120ā€™ free hanging icicle off the bucket listšŸ¤Æ šŸŽ„ @abe.richardson by @maxbrandd
Regular Northwest Face of Half Dome, in a day. Iā€™ve looked up at this beast every single day this summer and two days ago @claytonkoob and I climbed it! An incredible experience, with a great partner and the absolute best way to end my summer in the valley. by @maxbrandd
A proper welcome to the Wasatch! Since moving to Utah two weeks ago, Iā€™ve been quite excited about all the climb and fly potential. When I met Jack on a climb, he suggested Lone Peak as my first proper flight out here. A bit extreme, but after scoping out a safe launch and landing spot, we went for it. After a 5,500ft vertical gain in the dark, we reached the Lowe Route ā€” climbing high quality cracks on a near vertical face, carrying paragliders on our backs. We topped out in the sun and glided five miles back to the cars, just in time for breakfast. by @maxbrandd
Best route in the Wasatch, turns out thereā€™s an air strip on top šŸŖ‚ Got a special relationship with this line, Iā€™ve lost track of all the times Iā€™ve climbed it. Been dreaming of flying off it since I started paragliding. Finally made it happen today with Max, our first time really roping up together and our first flight together. Off to a pretty good start Iā€™d say. by @maxbrandd
Canadaā€™s not too bad eh? by @maxbrandd
The Grand Wall 5.11a A0ā€” Climb & Fly šŸ§—šŸ»šŸŖ‚ A life goal accomplished. Ever since discovering paragliding, Iā€™ve dreamed of doing a climb-and-fly combo. The Grand Wall on the Squamish Chief was the perfect route for itā€”1,000ft of steep, exposed crack climbing up to 5.11a, followed by a paraglider launch right from the summit. We hauled a light bag with snacks and water, climbing fix-and-follow style. Austinā€™s wonderful fiancĆ©e met us at the top with Thai food and my paraglider. After waiting for a lull in the wind, I launched with the rope and gear and flew down. A perfect end to a perfect summer in Squamish. by @maxbrandd
I crawled out of the tent foggy-eyed and looked up to see a massive grizzly walking towards me, drooling. I quickly shook Mason awake, grabbed all our bear fighting paraphernalia, and like a Western standoff, stood eye to eye with this hungry creature. It batted our bear cans around and ignored our pleas to leave our beloved basecamp. After some negotiating and tense moments with fingers on the trigger, the beast finally walked away when it decided that our honey and tuna packets were inaccessible. The bear then strolled right up the path to our intended climb for the day, making it an easy decision to head back to our plane pickup location a day early. Instead of hauling our 90lb packs out in one day, we got to enjoy a slower two-day walk down. A decision well made, because we later heard the bear got into another camp and stole a bag of clothes. So somewhere out there, a grizzly may be roaming around Alaska sporting Patagoniaā€™s newest line of puffy jackets. by @maxbrandd
ā€˜Bettles Expressā€™ 5.10a R, 1,000ft ā€” First Ascent Gates of The Arctic National Park, Alaska Somewhere around 800 feet up, I found myself climbing past a stack of massive flakes that definitely werenā€™t attached to the mountain. Wet cracks, questionable gear, and absolutely no desire to pull too hard. Mason and I had originally set out to climb a route on the South Face of Parabola, but after bailing on our first attempt, I suggested we try a ramp leading into a gully between the peaks. Starting at 4pm, we simul-climbed 500ft up steep grass and 5.6R rock. I ventured around a corner into completely unseen terrain and found a splitter corner above a cave pouring with water. The climbing looked great, until I reached the death flakes. I carefully climbed past them, using face holds out left while jamming the crack to the right. Every move had to be deliberate, especially while placing gear without letting the rope pull on one of the blocks. Above the flakes, a soaking-wet, muddy hand crack led to a mantle on crumbly rock. Easily the most ā€œalpineā€ pitch of climbing Iā€™ve ever experienced. The route wasnā€™t nearly as classic as our other first ascent, but putting up a new line gave us the confidence to go after something harder in the range. A plane from Bettles, our departure ā€œtownā€ (of 40 people), flew over us at the start of the day. Bettles Express seemed fitting. @americanalpine @thenorthface_climb @cruxleyfieldgoods @alpinestartfoods @sawyerproducts @bowlandkettle @badgerbalm @merrell by @maxbrandd
ā€˜Golden Abrasionā€™ 5.11, 700ft ā€” First Ascent Gates of the Arctic National Park, Alaska After 14 days of rain and shuttling gear to basecamp, Mason and I established a ground-up first ascent on Aquarius Wall in Alaskaā€™s Arrigetch Peaks. With a rough idea of where the line would go from the ground, we climbed toward the most inspiring features and soon found a completely horizontal hand-crack roof and a perfect splitter finger crack into a hands traverse. We were both psyched to send the abrasive crux roof and complete the route in just 4.5 hours. This route was exactly what we came to Alaska forā€”a line on perfect golden granite that nobody had ever touched. Four days of climbing in twenty days. Two first ascents, two failed attempts, 250 lbs of gear hauled 70 miles through the Alaska bush, and one hell of an introduction to Alaska climbing. This expedition was made possible by the @americanalpine Mountaineering Fellowship Fund Grant and with support from: @thenorthface_climb @cruxleyfieldgoods @alpinestartfoods @sawyerproducts @bowlandkettle @badgerbalm @merrell by @maxbrandd
The day before starting the Tantalus Traverse, we each paddled across the Squamish river in the cheapest inflatable watercraft we could find. Once across, we hiked back up to where we would finish the traverse, inflated a larger two-man boat, and chucked it into the woods, hoping it would still be there and intact a few days later. While on the traverse, baking in the sun, I couldnā€™t wait to get back to the boat and enjoy a relaxing float down the river to Squamish. Our one small oversight was that the marine winds started blowing into Squamishā€™s Howe Sound around mid day. When the river met the sound and we saw sailboats and whitecaps, we knew the relaxing float was over. Trying to paddle a $13 Walmart raft upwind ā€” with 60 lbs of climbing and camping gear ā€” was no easy feat. We got plenty of confused looks from boaters and the Coast Guard as we paddled with ice axes and sleeping mats on our laps. We eventually made it to the parking lot with tired legs and thoroughly exhausted arms after what felt like an eternity of paddling against the current. Satisfied with our human-powered finish of the route, we engulfed Chimichangas and agreed to never do that ocean finish again. by @maxbrandd
The Tantalus Traverse: 25 miles and 12,000ft of vertical gain across one of the most spectacular alpine ridges Iā€™ve ever seen. Iā€™ll remember the struggle, rewarding views, continuous ridge rambling, and Mason breaking through a snow bridge simultaneously as he said, ā€œItā€™s at least five feet thickā€. Iā€™ll remember the delicious instant coffee on that third morning, and the sunset the night before ā€” even if I got zero sleep because mosquitos were attacking me relentlessly while sleeping without a tent. This choss-wrangling adventure was a perfect taste of the suffering, uncertainty, and rewards waiting for us in Alaska. July 20-July 22, 2026 by @maxbrandd

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