Weekend Warrior - Videos to get you STOKED!!

Dam Climbers....

No, I am not swearing on this blog, nor did I misspell it. Sometimes there's not much to climb where climbers live, so they have to improvise.



That video was pretty casual.  Anyone can climb a crack on a dam.  How about climbing a dam like a big wall with plastic holds?



I think these next climbers are lost...



If anyone asks, I don't want a dam. 

Have a great weekend!

--Katy Pfannenstein
Program Coordinator

Avalanche Claims Life near the Ruth Gorge

The American Alpine Institute just received this sad news from Denali National Park:

An avalanche claimed the life of a climber near the Ruth Gorge during the early morning hours of Thursday, April 28. Two climbing parties were camped overnight on the ‘Root Canal’, a glacier landing strip and camping area that lies directly south of the commonly climbed 10,300-foot peak known as the Moose’s Tooth.  A large serac, or column of ice, at the eastern end of the glacier collapsed at approximately 1:00 a.m. Thursday, shedding ice and snow onto the camp below. One male climber was fatally injured by the falling ice. His name is being withheld pending notification of next of kin.

The four surviving climbers attended to the injured climber, who was found unconscious and barely breathing immediately after the ice fall. One of the climbers called 911 via satellite phone, and National Park Service rangers were immediately notified. Weather and darkness prevented a night time rescue using military aircraft, so just after daybreak, at approximately 6:00 a.m., Denali National Park’s high altitude A-Star B3 helicopter pilot and two NPS mountaineering rangers launched out of Talkeetna en route to the accident site. Upon arrival at the scene, rangers immediately loaded the injured climber into the helicopter for transportation to an Aeromed air ambulance from Anchorage that was staged at Mile 133 on the Parks Highway, near the Mt. McKinley Princess Wilderness Lodge. During the flight the ranger/paramedic determined that the climber had died from his injuries. This was confirmed when the helicopter rendezvoused with the air ambulance.

The NPS helicopter flew the climber’s remains back to Talkeetna, and then returned to the accident site to evacuate the surviving climbers, all of whom were uninjured but had lost their climbing gear, tents, and a pair of boots in the avalanche.

Although the mountaineering season on Mt. McKinley and Mt. Foraker has only recently begun, now is the height of the spring climbing season in the Ruth Amphitheater and Ruth Gorge.  In addition to the five climbers involved in the Root Canal accident, a total of 30 other registered climbers are currently attempting various peaks in this popular backcountry area of the Alaska Range.

Film Review: The Way Back

In our culture -- the climbing and outdoor culture that is -- there is an amazing appetite for epic adventure stories.  People love films like Seven Years in Tibet, Alive, Lawrence of Arabia, or even less realistic films like Raiders of the Lost Ark or Three Kings. 

What do all of these films have in common?

In each of them there is a an epic adventure that is uniquely connected to the environment. There is often cultural conflict and usually there is extended travel by difficult means.  These types of films tend strike a cord among outdoor adventurers.  They affect us because we intentionally seek out struggle and strife in far off places.

The Way Back is an absolutely stellar adventure movie.  It is exactly the type of film that engages the outdoor adventurist the most.  The story -- inspired by a true story -- deals with an epic journey, minor cultural conflict and significant wilderness travel.

Janusz, a young Polish officer played by Jim Sturgess, is held for interrogation by the Soviet Secret Police.  When he will not admit to working as a foreign spy, they torture his wife into revealing him as such and send him to a POW camp in Siberia.  Conditions in the camp are absolutely atrocious and Janusz isn't sure that he will survive one year, much less the twenty years of his sentence.

Before long, Janusz creates alliances with a number of other prisoners including the hardened criminal Valka (Colin Farrell), Polish artist Tomasz (Alexandru Potocean), a Latvian priest Voss (Gustaf Skarsgård), a Pole suffering from night blindness Kazik (Sebastian Urzendowsky), and an accountant from Yugoslavia Zoran (Dragos Bucur). Together the ragtag crew of misfit prisoners escape the prison and lead by Janusz, they begin to travel on foot overland to freedom.  The problem and the central storyline of the movie is that true freedom is nowhere nearby.  The team must travel across Siberia, Mongolia, and Tibet to find freedom in India.  In other words, they must walk 4000 miles through the wilderness including a traverse of both the Gobi Desert and the Himalaya before they can say they truly escaped.

Director Peter Weir hasn't been heavily involved in filmmaking since his 2003 epic, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, but he clearly has a love for the adventure genre.  He is also responsible for films like The Mosquito Coast, Witness, and Gallipoli.  Additionally he has been the directoral mind behind dramas such as Dead Poet's Society and the Truman Show.

In The Way Back, one can see a director late in his career with a long filmography as a complete master of his craft. The film is never an edge of your seat thriller, but it is still hard to look away. Weir has created a beautiful adventure that inspires tension from the opening shot to the closing sequence.  This masterful storytelling combined with beautiful natural images keeps the audience thoroughly engaged with the characters throughout every second of the film.

The Way Back is a grand movie on a grand campus about grand people. It is exactly the type of film that you should put on your movies to see list right way...

Following is a trailer for The Way Back:



--Jason D. Martin

Climbing and Outdoor News from Here and Abroad - 4/28/11

Desert Southwest:

--The accident that killed 33-year old Joe Zarki in Joshua Tree National Park last week appears to have been caused by a problem with the climber's rope.  Numerous reports on the net allege that Zarki's "rope gave out" or "snapped." It's hard to tell what actually happened from the main stream media reports, but I'm sure that we'll hear more as the climbing community investigates. To read more, click here.

Himalaya:

--Central Asia Institute founder, Greg Mortenson, was admitted to the hospital last week for a heart condition.  This happened amid the flurry of negative news surrounding his charitable organization.  The Montana State Attorney General will be probing into the affairs of both Mortenson and the CAI.  To read more, click here.

--The family of famed Sherpa mountaineer Nawang Gombu says the Everest veteran has died in his Indian home at the foot of the Himalayas. He was 79.  Gombu was the youngest member of Sir Edmund Hillary's climbing team that first scaled Mount Everest in 1953, though he himself did not make it to the top until 10 years later. To read more, click here.

Notes from All Over:

--The town of Silt, Colorado is Silt is looking for whoever beheaded the mountain town's controversial naked climber, a prominent sculpture in a roundabout at 9th and Main streets. To read more, click here.

--Ski resorts throughout Colorado are looking hard at their employee safety rules and policies as the Occupational Safety and Health Administration ramps up scrutiny of the ski industry."We are doing incrementally more inspections," said OSHA's area office director John Healy. "Still, most of our activity is in response to injuries or accidents." To read more, click here.

--The Gearcaster notes that there have been some stories on using grapefruit to rappel mosquitoes and ticks.  To read more, click here.

--Guidebook authors out there beware:  "Hawaii—In his work, travel writer Andrew Doughty often deals with mosquito-infested rain forest and treacherous riptides. Recently, he had to grapple with a new career challenge: a proposed state law that would hold Hawaii guidebook writers personally liable for deaths or accidents at spots they recommend." To read more, click here.

Gear Manufacturer Recalls:

--The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with CAMP USA, has announced a voluntary recall of Photon carabiners and Photon and Mach Express quickdraws. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed. It is illegal to resell or attempt to resell a recalled consumer product. To read more, click here.

Conditions Report - April 27 2011

 NORTHWEST:

--Click here for the WDOT's Flickr site -- check out the new pictures of 20 Hwy clearing. The road is looking good!

--There is still a lot of snow on the north side of Mt. Baker. Check these pictures out from program Coordinator Andrew Yasso:

 

 Hmm...yeah.. that's the bathroom.

 

 And that's where the bridge was. Who knows if it's buried beneath the snow, or totally wiped out from recent avalanches? Probably the latter.

 The Coleman glacier on Sunday.

-- Also click here for more information on Shuksan conditions.  One claims: "Still winter up there, no matter what the calendar says."

--Attn, Washington State residents. This article claims that starting July 1st, there will be a mandatory $10 parking fee for state recreational areas. You can also purchase an annual $30 pass. 

 --Forecast for the East Slope of the Cascades.

--Forecast for the West Slope of the Cascades.

--Webcam for Leavenworth and the Stuart Range.

--Forecast for Mount Rainier.

-- Route and Conditions Report from Mt. Baker Rangers: Mount Baker Climbing Blog.

--Forest Service Road Report for Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest.

--Mount Saint Helens, Mount Adams conditions and recreation report.

--Webcams for Mount Rainier National Park, North Cascades National Park, Leavenworth.

--An up-to-date ski and snow report for the Northwest may be found here.

--Up-to-date Pacific Northwest ice conditions may be found here.

RED ROCK CANYON:

--Forecast and average temperatures for Red Rock Canyon.

--Webcam for Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area.

--The late exit and overnight permit number for Red Rock Canyon is 702-515-5050. If there is any chance that you will be inside the park after closing, be sure to call this number so that you don't get a ticket.

--The entrance to the scenic drive had a parking area for those who wanted to carpool up until approximately April of 2009. That lot has now become employee parking and people who want to carpool are required to park at the lot outside the Scenic Drive exit.

--The scenic drive currently opens its gates at 6 in the morning.

JOSHUA TREE:


--Forecast and average temperatures for Joshua Tree National Park.

--Webcam for Joshua Tree National Park.

-- As winter use in Joshua Tree is growing, camping can be difficult at times.  It is not a bad idea to come with a back-up plan if the park campgrounds are full.  Here are the NPS Campground Details. Some people like to stay at the rural campground often referred to as "The Pit."  And lastly, there is a campground available at Joshua Tree Lake.

--The Joshua Tree entrance fee is currently $15 per vehicle.  Your receipt will give you access to the park for seven days after its initial purchase.  Rangers check this receipt at each of the major access points going in and out.  Annual passes are available for $30.

SIERRA:

-- Here is an update from the NPS about Tioga Pass Road. Currently, there is no announced opening date. This is the largest snow year the park has seen since 1995 and there's over ten feet of snow is still covering the Tioga Road.

--For up-to-date avalanche and weather reports in the Eastern Sierra, click here.

--Webcams for Bishop, June Lake, Mammoth Mountain, Mono Lake, Tioga Pass.

--Permits to hike to the top of Half Dome are now required seven days per week when the cables are up. This is an interim measure to increase safety along the cables while the park develops a long-term plan to manage use on the Half Dome Trail.  A maximum of 400 permits will be issued each of these days (300 of these permits are available to day hikers).  To read more, click here.

ALASKA RANGE:

--Conditions in the range will be available as our dispatches come in. Please go to our Dispatch Blog for the most updated information.

--Attn snowmobilers: Northern Areas of Denali National Park and Preserve Closed to Snowmobile Use Due to Inadequate Snow Cover

Due to longer days and warming temperatures, Denali National Park and
Preserve Superintendent Paul Anderson has determined that there is no
longer adequate snow cover for the use of snowmobiles for traditional
activities in the 1980 additions to Denali National Park and Preserve that
are north of the Alaska Range. Those park lands that were open for
snowmobile use are now closed for the season. Snow cover in the area is
broken up with large areas of exposed vegetation, and the remaining areas
of snow are shallow.  The snow cover south of the Alaska Range is still adequate for the use ofsnowmobiles for traditional activities in the 1980 additions to Denali
National Park and Preserve, but riders should anticipate a closure in this
area soon. River corridors have open water and the snowpack is diminishing
quickly.

ALPS:

--Chamonix and Mont Blanc Regional Forecasts may be found here.

--Webcams for Chamonix Valley, Zermatt and the Matterhorn.

Using Your Rope in Anchors

It's not uncommon for us to get up to an anchor point only to find that we've left our cordellete on our partner's harness or to find that it is impossible to hear.  Most people will just deal with these problems without thinking outside-the-box.  One outside the box thought though is to use your rope for these things.

This first photo was taken in Red Rock Canyon at the start of the "Tunnel Pitch" on Tunnel Vision (III, 5.7).  If you're not familiar with this route, it is an absolutely stellar ascent.  On the fourth pitch, one has the opportunity to actually climb through the mountain in a tunnel. In other words, the route requires a bit of vertical spelunking.

The top of the third pitch, at the start of the tunnel, it is difficult to see or hear the second.  The route follows a corner and chimney system up the wall.  In order to see my climber, I built an anchor and then, using the rope, extended the anchor to the edge where it was far less difficult to see and hear.

Some might argue that this system lacks redundancy.  I'm not too worried about that as I can see the whole anchor to ensure that there is no rubbing and we never have redundancy in the rope while we're climbing with a single line...

This second picture was taken in Leavenworth, Washington on one of our AMGA Single Pitch Instructor courses.  The assignment was for the student to create a fixed line across a catwalk on the slab shown.  This particular student didn't have the webbing or the cordellete to create a perfect SRENE anchor.  Instead, he built a pre-equalized anchor with his rope. In this application, this worked really well.

In this picture, another Single Pitch Instructor candidate built a top-rope anchor, wrapping a rope around a boulder and tying it off with a double-bowline.  In order to create some flexibility in the anchor he tied an figure-eight on a bite and clove-hitched it to the line going to the edge of his top-rope anchor.

This last picture shows a close-up of the figure-eight and the clove-hitch mentioned above.

Flexibility and thinking outside the box are two major tenants of climbing efficiency.  One way to be efficient and to be flexible and to be outside-the-box is to use your rope for anchoring instead of other materials.  Your rope is always on you and as such, it definitely provides an option that really shouldn't feel like it's that far out-of-the-box...

--Jason D. Martin

Fred Beckey Documentary

In the world of American climbing, there is one name that stands above all others. And no, it's not Ed Viesters, or Steve House, or Alex Honnald, or Lynn Hill, or any one of a dozen more names. The person who stands above all others is Fred Beckey.

Fred is perhaps responsible for more first ascents than anybody in the history of the planet. The octogenarian has been climbing since he was sixteen years old and has been a force in American climbing throughout his entire life.

The Mountaineers have recently strung together a number of different films that were taken of the climber throughout his life. This amazing silent film documenting many of Fred's ascents can be seen below:



--Jason D. Martin

April and May Climbing Events

-- April 26 -- Bellingham, WA -- Enjoy and Survive the North Cascades with AAI Guide Jeff Reis  
-- April 27 -- San Fransisco, CA -- ASCA Fundraiser with Alex Honnold at Planet Granite  

-- May 6 -- Atlanta, GA -- Dirty South climbing Film Fest

-- May 21-31 -- Armenia -- Armenia First Ascent Open Festival

 -- May 27 - 29 -- Gunnison, CO -- 24 Hours of Gunnison Glory

-- May 29 -- Bellingham, WA -- Ski to Sea -- Celebrating 100 Years Since the Mt Baker Marathon!

Weekend Warrior - Videos to get you STOKED!!

Bond, James Bond.  He can ski away from bad guys, shoot them with his pole, do flips off cliffs, and land safely with his parachute.  You may remember this scene from 1977's "The Spy Who Loved Me."



Today's modern James Bond still wears yellow pants, jumps off cliffs, and uses his parachute to land safely.  But instead of outrunning bad guys, the modern James Bond outruns avalanches.



Well, not much changes over 34 years. The world is never enough!

--Pfannenstein, Katy Pfannnestein

The Group Therapy/Tunnel Vision Link-Up

Most of you are aware that I spent nine years living in Las Vegas from September through May guiding in Red Rock Canyon.  In that time I developed a series of "special" routes that I would take people on.  Often these were two popular routes combined in a way that provided some of the best climbing from both routes.

Recently I was back in Vegas working Red Rock Rendezvous, a Single Pitch Instructor course and doing some regular multi-pitch guiding.  I had the opportunity to work with a woman that I've worked with a handful of times over the years.  Toni is a great person to climb with and she has had the opportunity to sample some exciting routes with me.

Initially our plan was to climb Purblind Pillar (III, 5.8), a somewhat new route that makes its way up the Angel Food Wall.  But upon our arrival, we were surprised to find two other parties already on route.  As such we decided to change our objective.  Instead, we decided to climb the first two pitches of Group Therapy (III, 5.7) and then transition over to Tunnel Vision (III, 5.7) for the last three pitches.

I've done this combination route a number of times.  It's an absolute blast as it climbs the classic low pitches of Group Therapy and then transitions into the super-fun tunnel pitch on Tunnel Vision.

Now here's the really cool part.  Toni's husband, Roger, is an amateur photographer with a professional's eye. He rented a telephoto lens for his camera and took photos of us as we climbed the route.  Toni then took the photos and made them into a video.

That video can be found below:




--Jason D. Martin

EA for Concessioner Facility Instruction in Denali Available for Public Comment

The American Alpine Institute just received the following email from Denali National Park:

An Environmental Assessment (EA) for construction of new concessioner support facilities in the entrance area of Denali National Park is now available for public review and comment, announced Park Superintendent Paul R. Anderson. The National Park Service (NPS) is proposing to construct new permanent facilities on the Concession Land Assignment that would support the park’s current and future bus operations and services concession. The proposed new facilities include:

Maintenance shop and covered storage area for the carpenter, plumber and electrician maintenance functions, replacing the current ATCO and trailer.  Recycling center building to provide a centralized collection and processing facility for concessions and park recycled waste materials. Commissary to support food storage and assembly of the meals and beverages provided on the tour buses, and additional food storage for the employee dining room and Morino Grill. 

The project is necessary because the existing facilities are inadequately sized, dilapidated, and/or inappropriate for their functions.

The Concessions Land Assignment (CLA) is Park allocated land and facilities assigned to the concessionaire, presently Joint Venture, Incorporated, to carry out and support visitor services within the park. The CLA’s main purpose is to support/facilitate bus fleet operations and maintenance in the park. Additional buildings on the CLA include housing, dining, and recreation facilities that support concession employees. The concessionaire is required to carry out a building and utilities maintenance operation for the land assignment facilities and other directed services throughout the park.

The improvements to the concessioner facilities are based on the park’s 2001 Environmental Assessment for Construction of New Visitor Facilities in the Entrance Area of Denali National Park (2001 EA). The 2001 EA evaluated disturbing "...13 acres of mixed white spruce and  hardwood forest [aspen]vegetation and soil ...during construction of new  access roads, visitor facilities, and concessionaire facilities in the  entrance area." Approximately 11 acres of park land have been disturbed for this purpose, and this project would remove approximately 0.7 acres of forest. These structures were not specified in the 2001 EA, but are part of the general upgrades in support of the new entrance area visitor facilities.

The NPS has published an EA for this project titled “EA for Concession Facilities Construction.”  It will be available at the NPS planning web site at http://parkplanning.nps.gov on Friday, April 22. The EA analyzes the impacts of the proposed action and the no-action alternative. It was completed in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 and the regulations of the Council on Environmental Quality (40 CFR 1508.9).

Comments on the EA may be submitted through May 22, 2011, preferably via the web site at http://parkplanning.nps.gov. Alternately, comments may be mailed to: Steve Carwile, DENA Compliance Project Manager, NPS Alaska Regional Office, 240 West 5th Ave, Anchorage, AK 99501; Fax: (907) 644-3803; Email: Steve_Carwile@nps.gov.

If you have any questions about the EA or need paper copies, please call project manager Erik Hendrickson at (907) 683-9578 or Steve Carwile at (907) 644-3612.

Climbing and Outdoor News from Here and Abroad - 4/21/11

Northwest:

--A popular warming shelter burned to the ground early Saturday at the Marble Mountain Sno-Park near Mount St. Helens.  The cause is unknown and under investigation.  The structure, built about 20 years ago, is popular with snow-shoers, snowmobilers and other winter recreationists.  To read more, click here.

--K2 Skiing, Atlas, and Transworld Snowboarding joined the American Alpine Institute for a day in the backcountry.  Unfortunately, snow conditions were not optimal.  Transworld Snowboarding posted an article on the day, here. 

Sierra:

--Ticket scalping is a crass reality for the Giants, the Lakers and Lady Gaga, but here's a wave of price-gouging you may have missed: Yosemite National Park.  Campsite reservations and permits to scale Half Dome have become such hot commodities that the National Park Service is scrambling to halt the auctioning of park access to the highest bidder.  To read more, click here.

--Who says bears can't go rock climbing...? Not me.  Check them out, here.

Desert Southwest:

--A climber sustained a fatal rock-climbing in the Joshua Tree National Park on Monday. It appears that the climber took a 100-foot fall in the Hall of Horrors.  However, other reports dispute this and say he was on Saddle Rock.  To read more, click here and here and here and here.

--Two hikers who disappeared over the weekend in Zion National Park have been found safe. Evegnia Buzulukova, 25, and Jonathon Wilson, 28, were found late on Tuesday night along with several other hikers, officials said.  To read more, click here.

Alaska:

--The departure of our van from Bellingham to Talkeetna last week made it into the Alaska Daily Dispatch.  We ran a blog on Friday about the van's departure and the start of the Alaska season.  To read more, click here.

--Jeff Wyshynski was carving turns on a beautiful slope in Alaska when an avalanche struck. Like a handful of others recently, Jeff was wearing a helmet cam during his descent. The difference here was that he deployed a Backcountry Access Float 30.  This is a pack that deploys an airbag in order to keep the person on top of the snow.  Jeff deployed the bag and walked away seemingly uninjured.  To see the video, click below.  To read more, click here.



Himalaya:

--Sixty Minutes produced a piece that paints Three Cups of Tea and Stones into Schools author Greg Mortenson in a very unflattering light.  They claim that there are holes in his story and that there are other problems with the schools that he was purported to build.  There are additional financial questions.  To see the clip, click here.  To see the angry response made by the editors of Explorer's Web, click here. To read Mortensen's full response, see the Bozeman Daily Chronicle. To read a report about this in the Los Angeles Times, click here. To read the Central Asia Institute's response to this the Sixty Minutes report, click here. Outside Magazine did an extensive interview with Mortenson that can be found here.  Duane Raleigh at Rock and Ice says that if "Mortenson is the the face of corruption, the rest of us are definitely going straight to hell." To read his defense, click here.

--"The Swiss Machine," Uli Steck has soloed the 6,500-foot south face of Shishapangma (26,335') in 10.5 hours.  To read more, click here.

Notes from All Over:

--Wolf Creek Ski Area in Colorado's Summit County could be facing $12,000 in fines related to the death of Scott Kay, the area’s ski patrol director. Kay died November 22 while doing avalanche control work alone at the ski area in southwestern Colorado.  John Healy, OSHA‘s regional area director, said the agency found three serious alleged violations during its inspection at Wolf Creek.  To read more, click here.

--A 22-year-old Atlanta man walked away with minor injuries after falling thirty-feet at Looking Glass Rock, according to rescue workers. The man, who said he was an experienced rock climber, fell to a ledge that was about 80 feet from the ground at about noon Tuesday, according to Brevard Rescue Squad Assistant Chief Brian Kreigsman. To read more, click here.

--The recipients of the 2010 Piolet d'Or were announced last week in Chamonix, France.  The winners were Nicolas Favresse, Oliver Favresse. Sean Villanueva, Ben Ditto, and Bob Shepton for their ascents and exploration on the coast of Greenland.  And Katasutaka Yokoyama and Yasushi Okada for their ascent of Mount Logan's Southeast Face.  To read more, click here and here and here.

--Legendary Adirondack Pioneer Jim Goodwin died on April 7th at the age of 101.  Goodwin was well-known to the East Coast climbing community as both a prolific first ascentionist and guide.  To read more, click here and here and here.

--The 11th anniversary of Adopt a Crag was another great year with over 4,300 volunteers and 32,000 hours of work to improve and steward crags around the country. Since its inception in 1999, Adopt a Crag has been the largest climbing community volunteer initiative throughout the nation. Adopt a Crag events show land managers and the public that climbers take care of the places they climb. These stewardship efforts not only conserve our climbing areas, but also strengthen the reputation of the entire climbing community. To read more, click here.

--Committed to supporting an active, outdoor lifestyle while treading lightly on the planet, Clif Family Winery introduces the Climber Pouch, a new wine package that's portable and unbreakable. The ultra-light, go-anywhere design is shatterproof and flexible, making it a natural choice for toting to favorite locations, from the mountains to the beach. One Climber Pouch holds the equivalent of two 750 ml bottles and its resealable, one-way plastic spout keeps opened wine fresh for up to a month in the fridge. To read more, click here.

--There was a very important emergency that everyone should know about in Colorado's Aspen Ski resort.  The Onion reports on it, here.

Conditions Report -- April 20 2011

NORTHWEST:

-- A quick note from the WDOT, from last Wednesday: Wednesday weather was cooperative - overcast, a little chilly, but no new snow.  The work got started at Early Winters where the snow depth was about 4 -1/2 feet and got progressively deeper over the seven miles to the Silver Star Gate.

-- The following pictures were taken over the last weekend. The mudslide on Icicle Creek Road will not be cleared out until June. The road is close right after 8 mile campground. Photos from Jason Martin.

--Attn Mt Erie Climbers: It seems that the Peregrine Falcons on Mt. Erie might want a change of scenery.  Early indications are that the birds have mated and may be moving back near their 2009 nest site which was located in the vicinity of the Madrone Wall, Orange Wall and the Cirque.  When you are in that area we would greatly appreciate any information you could provide about falcon behavior, especially if you see them spending a lot of time on a certain ledge or perch or exhibiting territorial behavior when humans are nearby.   

- John Lunsford, Anacortes Parks and Recreation

 --Forecast for the East Slope of the Cascades.

--Forecast for the West Slope of the Cascades.

--Webcam for Leavenworth and the Stuart Range.

--Forecast for Mount Rainier.

-- Route and Conditions Report from Mt. Baker Rangers: Mount Baker Climbing Blog.

--Forest Service Road Report for Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest.

--Mount Saint Helens, Mount Adams conditions and recreation report.

--Webcams for Mount Rainier National Park, North Cascades National Park, Leavenworth.

--An up-to-date ski and snow report for the Northwest may be found here.

--Up-to-date Pacific Northwest ice conditions may be found here.

RED ROCK CANYON:

-- Our Red Rock season ends around mid-May. It just gets too hot there for most people. If you find yourself there after that, check out this thread for beta on routes in the shade, etc.  

--Forecast and average temperatures for Red Rock Canyon.

--Webcam for Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area.

--The late exit and overnight permit number for Red Rock Canyon is 702-515-5050. If there is any chance that you will be inside the park after closing, be sure to call this number so that you don't get a ticket.

--The entrance to the scenic drive had a parking area for those who wanted to carpool up until approximately April of 2009. That lot has now become employee parking and people who want to carpool are required to park at the lot outside the Scenic Drive exit.

--The scenic drive currently opens its gates at 6 in the morning.

JOSHUA TREE:


--Forecast and average temperatures for Joshua Tree National Park.

--Webcam for Joshua Tree National Park.

-- As winter use in Joshua Tree is growing, camping can be difficult at times.  It is not a bad idea to come with a back-up plan if the park campgrounds are full.  Here are the NPS Campground Details. Some people like to stay at the rural campground often referred to as "The Pit."  And lastly, there is a campground available at Joshua Tree Lake.

--The Joshua Tree entrance fee is currently $15 per vehicle.  Your receipt will give you access to the park for seven days after its initial purchase.  Rangers check this receipt at each of the major access points going in and out.  Annual passes are available for $30.

SIERRA:

--For up-to-date avalanche and weather reports in the Eastern Sierra, click here.

--Webcams for Bishop, June Lake, Mammoth Mountain, Mono Lake, Tioga Pass.

--Permits to hike to the top of Half Dome are now required seven days per week when the cables are up. This is an interim measure to increase safety along the cables while the park develops a long-term plan to manage use on the Half Dome Trail.  A maximum of 400 permits will be issued each of these days (300 of these permits are available to day hikers).  To read more, click here.

ALASKA RANGE:

--Updated from Denali NP:

Denali Park Road to Open to Mile 30 on Saturday, April 16

Favorable spring weather has helped the efforts of the National Park
Service to open the park road further west for access by park visitors. The
portion of the Denali Park Road between the Savage River (Mile 15) and the
Teklanika River Rest Area at Mile 30 will open for travel by private
vehicles at 8:00 a.m. on Saturday, April 16, weather permitting.  Weather
can change rapidly, and visitors are encouraged to call for updated road
status before traveling to the park.

Snow conditions have deteriorated, but there is still good snow for skiing
in shaded areas and on north-facing slopes. Visitors have reported
sightings of lynx, caribou, and moose along the first 15 miles of the park
road. There have been no bear sightings yet this season.

Motorists should expect to encounter snow, ice, and mud on some portions of
the road, particularly shaded areas.

--This trip report was from a couple of weeks ago, but is worth posting. Check out the second ascent of Mt Huntington via the West Face Couloir.

--Conditions in the range are not currently available.  But we are taking reservations for both Alaska Range Ascents and Denali trips.  To learn more, click here.  We will begin regular conditions reports in the Alaska Range in late April.

ALPS:

--Check out this recent Chamonix trip report. Sunny skies and ambiance.


--Chamonix and Mont Blanc Regional Forecasts may be found here.

--Webcams for Chamonix Valley, Zermatt and the Matterhorn.

The Games that Climbers Play

Yesterday, we did a Red Rock Rendezvous news round-up. But we left something out...something that was a high point for our guides at the event.  And indeed, something that will now become a part of future Red Rock Rendezvous Spring Mountain Ranch games.

On Sunday night after all of the Rendezvous participants leave the festival grounds, Mountain Gear hosts a dinner for the athletes and guides.  This is usually a pretty laid back affair where Paul Fish, the president of Mountain Gear, thanks those who helped put on the event.  But this year something happened that was a little bit different.  The usually laid back event turned into a series of competitive non-climbing climber games.

The centerpiece of the evening was a game called "Cups." In the game, a person must not allow his or her feet to pass a line, but they can crawl out from the line using wine bottles for hands.  Once they stretch out as far as they can, they place one of the two bottles upright, then using the single bottle work their way back to the line.

The goal is to place a wine bottle as far out from the line as possible.

AAI Guide Mike Pond working backwards by bouncing on the bottle after making a placement.

AAI Guide Mike Pond helps AAI Guide Mary Harlan place a bottle by holding one foot.  

This gave Mary a bit more reach than she would have had.

When we started, this game was somewhat subdued.  It was simply a matter of, how tall are you and how far can you stretch?  But as the game went on, teams got more an more creative.

In this first video, AAI senior guide trainer, Mike Powers, makes a very standard bottle placement.



In this second video, we start to see how the guides became a little more competitive and started to be a lot more creative.  Here we see AAI guide Ben Traxler with the bottles, AAI Guide Cliff Palmer is holding his legs and AAI guide Richard Riquleme climbs across Ben's back to place a bottle as far out as possible.



This last video shows the extent and creativity that our guides combined with Mountain Gear employees went to in order to place a bottle as far as was humanly possible.  In this video, Richard Riquleme, Cliff Palmer, Scott Massey, and Dana Hickenbottom, along with a Mountain Gear Employee hold another Mountain Gear Employee using sling material, while AAI guide Mary Harlan squirms across the guy in order to place a bottle waaaay out there.



This game was really fun, though it could certainly be dangerous.  After we finished we imagined what might happen if one of those bottles broke, and we didn't come up with many positive outcomes.

Next year this will become an actual competition at Red Rock Rendezvous, though they will use bowling pins instead of bottles to create a little bit wider margin of safety.  A room with thirty people in it come up with some spectacular and creative ideas.  I can't wait to see what a thousand people with dozens of different teams will come up with for this game...

--Jason D. Martin

Red Rock Rendezvous News Round-Up

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of clean climbing, it was the age of bolting debauchery, it was an epic of wind, it was an epic of calm, it was the season of sun it was the season of rain, it was the spring of Five Ten, it was the winter of Black Diamond, we had a sea of sandstone before us, we had no granite beneath us, we were all jamming direct up to heaven, we were all clipping direct the other way - in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted their type of climbing was the best, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.

When Dickens wrote that famous and very long sentence, he had no idea how appropriate it would be to 2011 in Red Rock Canyon.  And while the internet is abuzz with bolting vs. non-bolting conflicts and climbers getting on each other about route ethics, one event every year proves that climbers of all skill levels and all backgrounds can come together for a grand party.

The eighth annual Red Rock Rendezvous ran from March 18th through March 20th just outside of Las Vegas in scenic Red Rock Canyon.  This was the sixth year that the American Alpine Institute participated in the event run by the internet equipment retailer, Mountain Gear.

Red Rock Rendezvous is an AWESOME event. Most consider it to be one of the biggest and best climbing events every year.  Seventeen AAI guides participated in Red Rock Rendezvous this year and for those who had not yet participated in the event, or climbed in Red Rock Canyon, or visited Las Vegas, there was a little bit of culture shock. They realized just how spectacular the event and the place both are.

The very first day of Rendezvous is designed for beginner level climbers.  AAI guides work with anywhere from eighty to a hundred first time climbers.  We take them out into the field in groups of three to five and work with them to establish climbing movement skills, belaying skills, rappelling skills and any other skills needed to have fun outside with rocks and ropes...

AAI guide Dana Hickenbottom made his first foray into Red Rock Canyon on the beginner day.  Unlike many of our guides, Dana had never spent any time climbing or guiding in Red Rock.  As such he was shocked to find a machine gun photoshoot with a scantily clad model taking place next to the crag where he was assigned to work.  There are photoshoots in Red Rock close to the road almost every day when it is nice out.

Dana, of course, could not help but jump into the photo to get his picture with the girl and with the guns.  Both Dana and his students were able to get multiple photos and now they are stapled all over the wall behind his desk.

At the center of the event is a fairgrounds at Spring Mountain Ranch State Park.  It is there that many of the non-climbing oriented elements of the event take place. 

The Yoga Slackers Performing Feats of Flexibility and Balance at Spring Mountain Ranch

Photo by Jason Martin

The Yogaslackers combine Yoga and Slackline to create a unique form of gymnastics

Practice Aid Climbing on an Artificial Wall in Spring Mountain Ranch

Photo by Jason Martin

AAI Guide Mike Powers Teaching Rock Rescue at Spring Mountain Ranch

Photo by Jason Martin

AAI Guide Mike Pond Teaching Crevasse Rescue at Spring Mountain Ranch

Photo by Jason Martin

A First Aid Class Sponsored By TrailMed at Spring Mountain Ranch

Photo by Jason Martin

During the Rendezvous, sponsor tents surround the main event area.  It is there that we ate most of our meals and prepared for our clinics.  It is also there that many mini-clinics take place.

Our friends at Five Ten sponsored each of the AAI guides that worked the event.  We all received a pair of Chase parkour shoes. And we all had the opportunity to work in this awesome footwear over the following days of the event, testing them out on the Aztec Sandstone of Red Rock.

AAI Guides Kurt Hicks, Andy Bourne, Jason Martin and Lyle Haugsven 

trying on new shoes. Thanks Five Ten!

Photo by Ian McEleney

The Mohave Desert has two very challenging elements to it.  One of them you probably already know.  It gets very very hot in the summer, with the average temperatures hovering between 102 and 108 degrees.  The other challenging element is the wind.  Las Vegas tends to get a wind storm once every two weeks or so.  Unfortunately, one of these hurricane force storms made its way through the canyon just in time for Red Rock Rendezvous.  Following are some pictures of the damage sustained by vendor booths and tents after the fifty-mile an hour winds ravaged the area throughout the night.

 The American Alpine Institute Booth Pre-Desert Hurricane

Photo by Dyan Padagas

 The New Belgium and American Alpine Institute booths after a Windy Night

Photo by Jason Martin

  The Rendezvous Campground before the Storm

Photo by Jason Martin

Tents Crushed by the Wind the following Morning

Photo by Jason Martin

One of the Tents Crushed by the Wind and Shredded in the Barb Wire

Photo by Jason Martin

The second and third days of the event are dominated by a variety of different clinics.  Some of these clinics are run by world class climbing athletes like Beth Rodden or Peter Croft, whereas others are run by world class American Alpine Institute guides.

The clinics vary in subject matter.  Beginners work in clinics with titles like "Footwork and Techniques," or "Trad Climbing for the Chicken Hearted."  More advanced climbers tend to partake in clinics like, "Multi-Pitch Efficiency," or "Aid and Bigwall Climbing."  There are literally dozens of different clinics to choose from and those who register early get the pick of the litter.

A Climber on the Classic Sport Route, Caustic while working on skills at the Rendezvous

Photo by Jason Martin

Another major effort at Red Rock Rendezvous is to raise money for the Access Fund, the American Safe Climbing Association, the American Alpine Club, and the Las Vegas Climbers Liaison Council.  Each of these organizations has a positive impact on the lives of climbers and on the land that we spend time on.

At each Rendezvous, a local project is selected for participants to work on in order to give back to the Red Rock climbing community.  This year's project was the re-development of the trail that leads from the parking area to the Kraft Boulders bouldering area.

 

 Trail Construction Done by the Las Vegas Climber's Liasion Council (LVCLC)

Two AAI Guides, Jason Martin and Scott Massey, have served on the Board of Directors for the LVCLC

Photo by Jason Martin

On the second evening of the event there was a major dance party on stage (Spring Mountain Ranch has a summer theatre outdoor stage).  A few AAI guides like Dana Hickenbottom, Ian McEleney, Tom Kirby, Mary Harlan, Ben Traxler, Program Coordinator Dyan Padagas and former Program Coordinator Ruth Hennings were the first to take the stage and were responsible for getting that part of the party going!

I will admit that I took the following short camera videos and posted them here to show that our staff really should not pursue careers as dancers. The problem with this is that some them are surprisingly good dancers.  Unfortunately, I didn't get any video of Mary Harlan, an AAI guide and former professional dancer, but she literally put everybody else who was making an attempt to dance to shame.

The Red Rock Rendezvous is one of the highlights of my guide year.  And I would like to thank Mountain Gear for inviting the American Alpine Institute to participate once again.  We are all looking forward to another great event next spring in Red Rock Canyon!

To see literally thousands of pictures from Red Rock Rendezvous, click here.  To get updates about next year's event, join the Red Rock Rendezvous Facebook page, here.

--Jason D. Martin

April and May Climbing Events

-- April 15 - 17 -- Shenandoah, VA -- Shenandoah Rockfest 

-- April 18 -- Ellensburg, WA -- Ropeless Rodeo, Central WA University Comp

-- April 23 -- Anacortes, WA -- Dallas Kloke Memorial Workparty

-- April 26 -- Bellingham, WA -- Enjoy and Survive the North Cascades with AAI Guide Jeff Reis  

-- April 27 -- San Fransisco, CA -- ASCA Fundraiser with Alex Honnold at Planet Granite  

-- May 6 -- Atlanta, GA -- Dirty South climbing Film Fest

-- May 21-31 -- Armenia -- Armenia First Ascent Open Festival

 -- May 27 - 29 -- Gunnison, CO -- 24 Hours of Gunnison Glory

-- May 29 -- Bellingham, WA -- Ski to Sea -- Celebrating 100 Years Since the Mt Baker Marathon!

Weekend Warrior - Videos to get you STOKED!!

We all get excited when we ski sweet powder, see amazing rainbows, and so on.  But not all of us get the reaction on video.  The guys in the next two videos captured their reactions:




This next one you may have seen or have heard the reference to.  It's only been viewed 26,943,823 times on YouTube.  DOUBLE RAINBOW!  





Hopefully at least one of these videos made you crack a smile and giggle a bit! Next time you have a great reaction to something super sweet, capture it on video and send it in!

--Katy Pfannenstein
Program Coordinator

AAI Van heads to AK for Denali Season

Yesterday we said goodbye to our Alaska food purchaser and guide, Dustin Byrne, and AAI's Alaska Intern, Mary Powers.  These two individuals are headed up north for a four-plus day drive from Bellingham, WA to Talkeetna, AK (2,218 miles).  While certainly a long and arduous journey, it is through some of the most beautiful landscape that North America has to offer. 

Dustin and Mary, really looking forward to their drive.

The arrival of Dustin and Mary in Alaska means that our season up there will have officially started!  They are bringing up most of the equipment, food, and effort it takes to get our Denali season up and running smoothly.  For that reason, all of you joining us on Denali should be sending these guys positive thoughts as they make the drive!  A few of us gathered outside our shop to send them off, and give them a hard time about the drive ahead.

Just a little bit of gear packed into this red machine.

Climbing and Outdoor News from Here and Abroad - 4/14/11

Northwest:

--A 27-year-old Ephrata man was rescued by helicopter when he became stuck on the face of a cliff while hiking Wednesday in Lake Lenore Caves State Park.  The man was not hurt, but was in a position about 50 feet off the ground where he could not safely remove himself, Grant County Emergency Management officials said.  To read more, click here.

--Tears welled up in the eyes of a Pasco father last Thursday as he recalled how a family spring break trip turned to a nightmare in an instant. Just twenty-four hours earlier, the Parkers were on their way home from Seattle when they got caught in an avalanche on Interstate 90's Snoqualmie Pass. Snow slammed into their SUV, covering them with ice and glass.  To read more, click here.

--Two back-country skiers were rescued after being caught in an avalanche near the summit of Snoqualmie Mountain on Wednesday afternoon. The pair were part of a group of five skiing about 500 feet short of the summit on the south side of the mountain known as "phantom slide" when the avalanche occurred. Three were able to escape unhurt and were able to call 911. One of the injured suffered a broken leg; the other a broken knee. To read more, click here and here.

Sierra:

--For bears, spring amounts to a wake-up call. In Mammoth Lakes the alarm has sounded and the bears have gone to work to get food. Mammoth police issued a reminder that the bears are back and people need to follow the rules. The Town's Wildlife Specialist Steve Searles and the MLPD say people need to "Keep Wildlife Wild". Don't let bears grow dependent on human food. To read more, click here.

Alaska:


--The two climbers could hear the thudding from a rescue helicopter Thursday morning as it strained to reach their position, a narrow ridge about 11,000 feet up Mount Hayes.  But snow was blowing. It was the same storm that covered their tracks the day before and prevented a safe return from near the summit. It was not letting up.  So Joel Dopson prayed. To read more, click here.  There is a discussion about this particular rescue on supertopo.com

--Clint Helander and Scotty Vincik took advantage of late winter weather window to complete the first ascent of Mt. Mausolus (9,170') in Alaska's Revelation Mountains. The Revelations, a series of steep granitic mountains, are located in the southwest corner of the Alaska Range.  To read more, click here.

--There is a link on summitpost.com detailing the previous ascent as well as two others.  To read it, click here.

Notes from All Over:

--An 11-year-old from Johnscreek, Georgia, died at Colorado's Winter Park Resort on Friday, April 8, after colliding with two other skiers.  Tyler Safarriyeh was skiing on the last day of a five-day ski trip with three families from Georgia, according to Police Chief Glen Trainor of the Fraser/Winter Park Police Department. To read more, click here.

--A 22-year-old experienced rock climber from Atlanta splintered his ankle and possibly sustained back injuries after falling from North Carolina's Looking Glass Rock on Tuesday, according to SAR Personnel.  The climber fell approximately thirty feet from the rock while climbing and became stranded on a ledge 80 feet in the air. To read more, click here.

--The famous ski traverse, the Haute Route, was completed last week in a record 18 hours, 50 minutes and 29 seconds. Most parties complete the 100 plus kilometers in a week.  To read more, click here.

--Online outdoor products retailer Backcountry.com has stepped up to keep the Utah Avalanche Center providing forecasts and advisories available through the end of April.  The Park City-based company said Monday it donated $6,300 to the Friends of the Utah Avalanche Center (UAC), a nonprofit support organization for the center, which the U.S. Forest Service has run since 1980 to help protect backcountry skiers and snowmobilers from the potentially deadly danger of snowslides. To read more, click here.

--A climber on supertopo.com did a pull-test on bolts that were very close together. He found some interesting results.  To see them, click here.

--Chimbote (18,021'), the highest known unclimbed mountain in the Andes, has recently been climbed. To read about the ascent, click here.  A more in depth description of the ascent can be found here, but it is in Spanish.

Conditions Report -- April 13 2011

NORTHWEST:

--WDOT: "So, it looks like we might have the latest spring opening in 20 years. We took our annual scouting trip up the highway on Thursday, March 17, and found a whole lot of snow." Click here for Hwy 20 conditions.

-- The new bridge at the north side of Baker is gone! What happened? Click here. 

--For Frenchman Coulee/Vantage climbers: Starting this week, there will be a porta potty there, at least until the end of May. Please report any vandalism! Click here for more info. Thank you WCC.

--Mt. Baker Snoqualmie Forest reports:

Road work on the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest will hinder and block access to trails and wilderness areas this summer while workers repair damage caused by storms sweeping through the Cascades the last few years, destroying culverts, washing out roads and damaging bridges. Forest Service engineers predict they will finish most of the repairs by this fall.

The following lists the closures in major travel corridors on the forest.  Visitors can call the ranger district in the affected corridor to get the most up-to-date information before heading out to their destination.

I-90, STATE ROUTE 410
Road repairs along I-90 and SR 410 corridors in the Snoqualmie Ranger District will block access to some trails and campgrounds. Call the Snoqualmie Ranger District at 425-888-1421 for current information about closures.

Middle Fork Snoqualmie Road (Forest Service Road 56) will close July 15 through August at milepost 15, blocking access to the Dingford Creek Trailhead. Tacoma Pass Road (forest Service road 52) will close July 15 through August at milepost 2.5.

Evans Creek Road (Forest Service road 7920) will close June 15-Aug. 15, blocking access to Evans Creek Campground. Work on Cayada Road (Forest Service road 7810) July 15 until August will block access to Summit Lake Trailhead.  28 Mile Road (Forest Service road 72) is closed at the gate until Aug. 15.

US HIGHWAY 2
Road repairs in this corridor will only close low-use roads July 15 until August. Call the Skykomish Ranger District at 360-677-2243 for current information about how these closures could affect your trip.

MT. LOOP HIGHWAY, SUIATTLE ROAD
Road work along the Mt. Loop Highway and Suiattle Road corridors in the Darrington Ranger District
will block access to various destinations, including Glacier Peak Wilderness and the Pacific Crest Trail. Call the Darrington Ranger District at 360-436-1155 for current information about how trails and roads are affected.


--Thinking about heading to Leavenworth? Watch out for possible road closure due to the recent mudslides.

-- Click here for beta on the Snow Lake parking lot near Alpental. Have you had issues there with overnight car bivys?

 --Forecast for the East Slope of the Cascades.

--Forecast for the West Slope of the Cascades.

--Webcam for Leavenworth and the Stuart Range.

--Forecast for Mount Rainier.

-- Route and Conditions Report from Mt. Baker Rangers: Mount Baker Climbing Blog.

--Forest Service Road Report for Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest.

--Mount Saint Helens, Mount Adams conditions and recreation report.

--Webcams for Mount Rainier National Park, North Cascades National Park, Leavenworth.

--An up-to-date ski and snow report for the Northwest may be found here.

--Up-to-date Pacific Northwest ice conditions may be found here.


RED ROCK CANYON:

--Everyone is wondering about possible closures and national parks and entities, including us. Click here for an update from the LVCLC. Also see this Alpinist article. We'd love to hear your thoughts.

--Forecast and average temperatures for Red Rock Canyon.

--Webcam for Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area.

--The late exit and overnight permit number for Red Rock Canyon is 702-515-5050. If there is any chance that you will be inside the park after closing, be sure to call this number so that you don't get a ticket.

--The entrance to the scenic drive had a parking area for those who wanted to carpool up until approximately April of 2009. That lot has now become employee parking and people who want to carpool are required to park at the lot outside the Scenic Drive exit.

--The scenic drive currently opens its gates at 6 in the morning.

JOSHUA TREE:

Archived photo.

--What happened in Joshua Tree during the government shutdown in the 90's? Click here.

--Forecast and average temperatures for Joshua Tree National Park.

--Webcam for Joshua Tree National Park.

-- As winter use in Joshua Tree is growing, camping can be difficult at times.  It is not a bad idea to come with a back-up plan if the park campgrounds are full.  Here are the NPS Campground Details. Some people like to stay at the rural campground often referred to as "The Pit."  And lastly, there is a campground available at Joshua Tree Lake.

--The Joshua Tree entrance fee is currently $15 per vehicle.  Your receipt will give you access to the park for seven days after its initial purchase.  Rangers check this receipt at each of the major access points going in and out.  Annual passes are available for $30.

SIERRA:

--For up-to-date avalanche and weather reports in the Eastern Sierra, click here.

--Webcams for Bishop, June Lake, Mammoth Mountain, Mono Lake, Tioga Pass.

--Permits to hike to the top of Half Dome are now required seven days per week when the cables are up. This is an interim measure to increase safety along the cables while the park develops a long-term plan to manage use on the Half Dome Trail.  A maximum of 400 permits will be issued each of these days (300 of these permits are available to day hikers).  To read more, click here.

ALASKA RANGE:

--This trip report was from a couple of weeks ago, but is worth posting. Check out the second ascent of Mt Huntington via the West Face Couloir.

--Conditions in the range are not currently available.  But we are taking reservations for both Alaska Range Ascents and Denali trips.  To learn more, click here.  We will begin regular conditions reports in the Alaska Range in late April.

ALPS:

--Chamonix and Mont Blanc Regional Forecasts may be found here.

--Webcams for Chamonix Valley, Zermatt and the Matterhorn.