Climbing and Outdoor News from Here and Abroad - 8/4/11

Northwest:

--Search and rescue volunteers from two counties assisted an injured hiker down the Church Mountain Trail on Friday, July 22. Ken Small, 74, of Bellingham, fell and suffered a leg injury, the Whatcom County Sheriff's Office said. A fellow hiker called 911 and volunteers from Bellingham Mountain Rescue, Skagit Mountain Rescue and Summit to Sound Search and Rescue were summoned to help. To read more, click here.

--On the afternoon of Sunday, July 24, park dispatch received an emergency personal locator beacon signal from a party climbing high on the Kautz Glacier route on Mount Rainier. After determining the location of the signal, climbing rangers from Camp Muir responded on foot to find a visitor with a probable fractured tibia/fibula. The climber was injured after hitting a rock while “glissading” down a steep snow slope.  To read more, click here.

--Rescue crews were dispatched Sunday to help a hiker who was hurt when he fell from a bridge.
About 25-30 SAR personnel responded on a report that a 25-year-old hiker had fallen or jumped off a concrete bridge into a creek and hit his head, the King County Sheriff’s Office said. To read more, click here.

A Juvenile Goat at the Base of Snow Creek Wall

Photo by Jason Martin

--Wrongful death and personal injury claims totaling $10,022,700 have been made against Olympic National Park over the death of Bob Boardman, and a full-blown lawsuit may be imminent, according to his estate's lawyer.  “We are intending to file a wrongful death suit,” personal injury lawyer John Messina of Tacoma said. Boardman was gored by a mountain goat last year, which resulted in his death. To read more, click here.

--Washington’s National Park Fund will distribute $350,000 in grants this summer to Mount Rainier, North Cascades and Olympic National Parks, following another successful fund raising year. The Fund serves as the official philanthropic partner for the three national parks located in Washington State, collaborating with them to obtain support for priority projects. To read more, click here.

 Bolts Pulled from Mount Erie

Photo by Jason Martin

--AAI guide, Scott Massey recently spent a bunch of time working at the Powerline Wall at Mount Erie to replace old bolts. The new bolts were supplied by the American Safe Climbing Association.  To see some of the bolts pulled, click here.

--Two weeks ago, the Cascade Challenge Team finished their human-powered traverse of the entire Cascade Mountain range by climbing and skiing California's Mt. Lassen. The team (three participants, one in support) biked to and climbed 14 mountains in just 43 days. To read more, click here.

-- While you may be thankful summer has finally arrived, workers at the Mt. Baker/Snoqualmie National Forest are still digging out from winter. Crews spent Wednesday carving out an area around the Heather Meadows Visitors Center near the top of the Mt. Baker Highway at about 4,000 ft. The goal is to open by this weekend.  It would be a a month late because of much greater than average snowfall. To read more, click here.

Sierra:

--The Inyo National Forest is having to take some drastic measures to balance their budget this fiscal year, and in unprecedented actions is closing some campgrounds and reducing services and interpretive programs at visitor centers in the middle of the summer, according to Forest Supervisor Ed Armenta. To read more, click here.

-- Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks have completed two successful search and rescue operations over the last week.  To read more, click here.


--The Mono County Sheriff Search and Rescue (SAR) Team responded on August 7, 2011, to a request for aid to hikers unable to cross Convict Creek. The Mono County Sheriff Search and Rescue (SAR) Team also responded to a second call on August 7, 2011, to aid an ill backpacker. To read more, click here.

Desert Southwest:

--Red Rock Canyon continues to be under threat from developers.  There are things that YOU can do about it.  To learn more, click here.

Alaska:


--Victor Martin had faced many dangerous obstacles growing up in Richmond, Calif.’s notorious Iron Triangle District, but when he traveled to Alaska on a month-long school trip and came face-to-face with an angry half-ton grizzly bear, he showed himself and his community what he was truly made of. In Alaska on a $4,000 Outdoor Leadership School scholarship, Martin, 18, was one of six young adults who were left without supervision in the wilderness for a 30-day leadership training course that was cut short by the bear attack on the 26th day. The bear mauled two of Victor’s classmates then started after him, but Victor was able to fight the grizzly off with several kicks that sent the dazed animal lumbering back off into the wild. To read more, click here.


Himalaya:


--No one has stood on top of K2 for the last two seasons.  This year may make it three.  To read more, click here.

Sir Edmund Hillary made the first ascent of Mount Everest with Tenzing Norgay in 1953.

--This isn't really in the Himalaya, but Sir Edmund Hillary was one of the most influential climbers in Himalayan history. The South Ridge of Aoraki Mt Cook will soon be named Hillary Ridge. Land Information Minister Maurice Williamson made the announcement this morning. The minister's decision confirms a recommendation by the New Zealand Geographic Board Nga Pou Taunaha o Aotearoa to alter the name South Ridge to Hillary Ridge. To read more, click here.


Notes from All Over:

--To celebrate his 50th birthday, Keith Rose had planned to scale 50 of Colorado's 14ers in a 30-day span. Rose, an experienced climber, died Monday in a fall while descending Crestone Needle in southern Colorado. To read more, click here.

--A Utah man is recovering from a near fatal fall, down an icy mountainside in Little Cottonwood Canyon. He was with a group of scouts, when he lost his footing. A video of the fall shows just how lucky Hiram Thornton is. To read more, click here.

--A woman trying to climb the Grand Teton was among those park rangers assisted Saturday in Garnet Canyon.  Heather Hanamaikai, 34, had intended to summit the Grand Teton with her party Saturday, but started feeling ill and began a retreat from the base of the headwall of the Lower Saddle.

Hanamaikai was descending on her own when an emergency room nurse hiking in the area encountered her. To read more, click here.


--Has anyone else noticed that there have been what appear to be quite a number of bear attacks this season?  Well, they noticed at the New York Times.  Last week they ran an article on changes in environment and habitat that are causing more human-bear conflicts.  To read the article, click here.


--A Texas woman says Jackson Hole Mountain Resort’s decision to open ski runs the day her husband was killed in an avalanche was so reckless that a jury should decide the case. The resort counters that 9th District Judge Timothy Day should rule against Christine Nodine and her complaint because the Wyoming Recreation Safety Act bars her lawsuit. Her husband signed a waiver when he bought a season pass that releases the resort from any liability, the company also contends.  To read more, click here.

--Recreational activities on national forests and grasslands continue to make large economic impacts on America's rural communities, contributing $14.5 billion annually to the U.S. economy.
According to the National Visitor Use Monitoring report released today by Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell, national forests attracted 170.8 million recreational visitors and sustained approximately 223,000 jobs in rural communities this past year. To read more, click here.