Climbing and Outdoor News from Here and Abroad - 8/18/11

Northwest:

--A 16-year-old boy has died after falling 80 feet down the east side of Rocky Butte late Monday night, fire officials say. Portland firefighters say the fall at Rocky Butte Park was reported at 10:15 p.m. Crews responded to the lower area of Rocky Butte around Northeast 92nd Avenue and Skidmore Street. To read more, click here.

--A climber rescued on Mount Saint Helens last week is in fair condition, officials said Thursday.  The climber has been identified as 15-year-old Braden Crampton of Scappoose, Oregon, officials said. To read more, click here.

--There was a helicopter rescue in the Liberty Bell group over the weekend. It appears that a climber twisted his leg on the descent from the notch between Liberty Bell and Concord Tower.  A helicopter extracted the climber.  To read more and to see photos, click here.

--Jens Holstein states that, ""The Stuart Range in Central Washington is quickly becoming a Yosemite like playground with alpine flair." Alpinist online reported on two of Holstein's new lines on Mount Stuart.  To read more, click here.

Sierra:

--A teenage boy has died of head injuries five days after falling on Yosemite National Park's most popular hiking trail.  This was the fourteenth fatality inside Yosemite National Park this year, which is a record.  To read more, click here.

--The Mono County Sheriff Search and Rescue Team responded on August 12, 2011, to aid a group of three backpackers from the Nevada City area -  a father, son, and the son’s friend.  The three were backpacking near Island Pass, north of Thousand Island Lake when the son’s friend, age 12, slipped on the snow and slid into a rock. To read more, click here.

--Nobody ever said anything good about the geographical skills of politicians. According to the Sacramento Bee, California’s redistricting commission has been moving the lines of 177 districts. In the process they placed Mt. Whitney into Yosemite National Park.  Walters wrote in the Bee that the online political maps devised by the redistricting commission place Mt. Whitney right in the middle of Yosemite Valley, about 125 miles northwest of the tall peak’s real location. To read more, click here.

Desert Southwest:

A Depiction of the Proposed Project

--Yesterday, there was an important meeting on the future of Red Rock in relation to the adjacent development.  The county commissioners met amidst many protesters to give approval to the conceptual plan. They are limiting the density and the height of the project, and mandating BLM access prior to approval (this may be the death knell for this project- the county won't condone it and the BLM may not approve without county support!) To read more, click here.

--The desecration last year of prehistoric artwork at the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area sparked outrage and focused attention on the spread of graffiti throughout the Las Vegas Valley. This week, the 17-year-old youth charged with defacing the Red Rock area received his punishment behind closed doors in federal court, ending a case that rallied the community to help remove the spray-painted graffiti.  U.S. District Judge Kent Dawson on Wednesday sentenced the unidentified youth to nine months behind bars, which he already has served. The judge also placed him on nine months of supervised release and ordered him to pay $23,775 in restitution to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. To read more, click here.

--A climber suffered serious head and internal injuries and possibly a pelvic fracture in two falls totaling 140 feet on Saturday afternoon in the West Fork region of Oak Creek Canyon in Arizona.  The man, a 36-year-old, is in critical condition at John C. Lincoln North Mountain Hospital in Phoenix.  The climber was on a 350-foot rappel with friends, canyoneering. To read more, click here.

Alaska:

--The Alaskan wilderness is getting a bit crowded. Denali National Park, home to 20,320-foot-tall Mount McKinley, gets about 400,000 visitors a year, mostly between May and early September. The park has more than 6 million acres — but just one road. To read more, click here.

Himalaya:

--Pat Goodman, Matt McCormick and Will Meinen recently finished a month waiting for a weather window in Pakistan. This is the second time that McCormick has gone to Pakistan in with the hope of climbing the Southwest Pillar of K7 and this is the second time he's been skunked.  To read more, click here.

Notes from All Over:

--The American Mountain Guides Association recently awarded FiveTen with their Industry Award. This is due to FiveTen's excellent support of the guiding industry.  They absolutely deserve this award! To watch a video of Betsy Winter, executive director of the AMGA, present the award to FiveTen, click on the video below:





--While we don't usually report on bouldering, we thought it was interesting to note that like other types of climbing, there is great economic value to communities where the sport is practiced. Boulderers have "invaded the sleepy town of Clanwilliam in South Africa's remote Cederberg mountains in their hundreds, bringing an economic shot in the arm to the region 250 km (155 miles) north of Cape Town famous for producing rooibos herbal tea. They carry mattresses on their backs, and in bars they are the ones gesticulating like crazed semaphore operators." To read more, click here.

--The Access Fund is pleased to announce new additions to the Programs Team to further assist the American climbing community with access issues and stewardship projects nationwide. After ten years as Policy Director, Jason Keith is transitioning to half time work for the Access Fund as Senior Policy Advisor and initiating his own LLC, Jason Keith Consulting. With additional support from major donors, the Access Fund is fortunate to retain Jason Keith for the next two years and welcome Robert Dennis (“R.D.”) Pascoe to the team as a full-time Policy Analyst. Two other changes also mark the past month for the Access Fund: Zachary Lesch-Huie starts this fall as Affiliate Director, and Jenny Blackmore, previously Office Manager, is heading up new and ongoing stewardship programs as Stewardship Manager. To read more, click here.

--A skier's run down New Zealand's Coronet Peak on Saturday took a turn for the interesting when she lost the trail and found herself being chased by a herd of Hereford bulls. The fifty-five year-old skier, unnamed in the Otago Daily Times story on the incident, had to hike 6.2 miles over difficult terrain after taking the wrong turn. She finally managed to call the police from a farmhouse after five hours of hiking. To read more, click here.

A Proposed Ice Tower in Bozeman

--A team of Montana State University students has won a competition to design an 85-foot ice climbing tower as part of an attempt to lure the 2013 world cup of ice climbing championship to the Gallatin County Fairgrounds in Bozeman.   A team led by Michael Spencer of Willow Creek, a recent graduate of the MSU School of Architecture, with Tymer Tilton of Missoula a current architecture student, and MSU engineering student P.J. Kolnik of Helena, won the MSU-based competition to design the Bozeman Ice Tower.  To read more, click here.