Northwest:
--Two women who became lost while snowshoeing near Heather Meadows at Mount Baker on Saturday, December 10th, were rescued later that night. To read more,
click here.--The family of an 11-year-old Lake Stevens girl who was killed after being struck by a boulder of ice in the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest last year is suing the U.S. Forest Service. The suit filed this week alleges that signs at the popular Big Four Ice Caves fail to adequately warn visitors about the potential danger from the kind of ice avalanche that killed Grace Tam on July 31st, 2010. According to the suit, the Forest Service failed to maintain danger signs warning people of the risks of collapsing ice, snow and unstable caves along the trail to the caves. To read more,
click here.
--State lawmakers are asking for a delay in layoffs of park rangers. The Parks and Recreation Commission recently notified one-hundred and sixty employees that their jobs are under threat due to lower-than-expected revenue from the new $30 Discover parking pass for state lands. Should the change take place, many of the state park employees will become seasonal five-months-a-year employees. To read more,
click here.
Sierra:--A little boy is in critical condition Monday after falling 60 feet from a chair lift Sunday. It happened around 11:15 a.m. at the Sugar Bowl Ski Resort where the 7-year-old member of the Sugar Bowl Ski Team was training. The child was riding with two other young skiers when he fell 60 feet from the Mt.Lincoln chair lift onto a hard-packed surface. To read more,
click here.
--Steve “Shipoopoi” Schneider, a well-known Yosemite climber recently confessed to a "climbing crime" committed thirty years ago. Schneider was responsible for chopping the bolts of Wings of Steel (a route on El Capitan) and defecating on the first ascentionists ropes. The reason? Valley locals didn't think that up and comers like Richard Jensen and Mark Smith should have had the honor of creating a first ascent on the big stone because they hadn't put in much valley time. To read the confession,
click here.
Desert Southwest:--Park rangers responded this week to assist an injured rock climber in the Saddle Rock area of Joshua Tree National Park on Friday. William Becher, 65, fell 30-feet in a climbing accident and sustained injuries to his lower extremities. Mr. Becher was flown by Mercy Air to Desert Regional Hospital in Palm Springs for treatment of his injuries. National Park Service rangers were notified of the accident at approximately noon on Friday. Ten members of the park’s Joshua Tree Search-and-Rescue (JOSAR) team responded to the incident. To read more,
click here and
here.
--
The governors of Arizona, South Dakota, Washington and Utah recently convened at the Yucca Valley Community Center to discuss the value of the recreational economy, national parks, wildlands and tourism. The day before, the National Park Service held a public symposium about the economic value of Joshua Tree National Park. These events were special not only because they attracted significant media coverage and engaged four very powerful western governors, but also because they focused on an often overlooked, but potent source of revenue: recreational tourism.To read more, click here.--A Utah Park ranger who narrowly escaped death after surviving a November 19th, 2010, shooting at a trailhead near Moab is ready to return to work. Brody Young, who was shot nine times by a man he approached about camping illegally, has recovered from his injuries enough to return to the job, Deena Loyola, a spokeswoman for Utah State Parks, has confirmed. To read more,
click here.
Himalaya:--Apa Sherpa, the Nepalese climber who has reached the summit of
Mount Everest a record 21 times, announced this week that he plans to embark on a grueling 1,060-mile traverse across the Himalayas. The 51-year-old climber, dubbed "Super Sherpa", will set off next month on the 120-day walk with fellow climber Dawa Steven Sherpa in an attempt raise awareness of climate change. To read more,
click here.
--Reaching the summit of K2 in the summer is one of mountaineering's most difficult and deadly challenges. Now, a team of Russians is attempting what no other has yet achieved: scaling the world's second tallest mountain in the winter. To read more,
click here.
Reddomain - Photo by Andy Bourne
--
A Chinese team composed of Yan DongDong and Zhou Peng established three new routes in the Minya Konka Range of China's Sichuan Province. The pair climbed the north face of Reddomain (20,052'), the west face of Jiazi (21,161') and the south face of Xiao Gongga (19,448'). The second ascent of Reddomain was made during an American Alpine Institute expedition to the region. To read more,
click here.
Notes from All Over:--Bonnie Prudden, a leading Gunks rock climber from the 1940s and 1950s, died on December 11th at the age of 97. To read more,
click here.
--An 18-year-old climber was airlifted to St. Anthony Central hospital after suffering head and leg injuries during a 30-foot fall in Colorado's Eldorado State Park on Saturday afternoon. The climber, identified as Dalton Jones, was climbing a route called Rewritten on Redgarden Wall when his rope became snagged. Jones rappelled down to try and free his rope when he rapelled off the rope ends, falling around 30-feet to the ground. To read more,
click here.
--Our own little Andrew Yasso, AAI guide and Alaska Programs Coordinator, has grown up. His picture ice climbing somehow made its way onto billboards all over Michigan and Wisconsin. While many AAI guides have graced the pages of Climbing, Rock and Ice, Outside, Backpacker, and even newspapers like the New York Times, it is our sincere belief that none of our guides have ever made it to the status of billboard model. Way to go Andrew!
--In a repeat of last year, it appears that weather will delay the start of Lonnie Dupre’s bid to become the first solo climber to summit North America’s highest mountain during the month of January. Dupre had hoped to
Denali Basecamp yesterday. To read more,
click here.
--Consider making an end of the year contribution to the American Safe Climbing Association. To check out all the good that they do for all of us,
click here.
--The engineers at Black Diamond have done some interesting tests on "rope-resting." In other words, they looked at how the quality of rope elongation decreases when the rope doesn't have time to rest between falls. To read the study,
click here.
--The question is a good one: do we need more lifts to shred more pow? Some would argue yes, most who have spent time in the backcountry would argue no. But there is a movement afoot throughout the ski industry to add terrain, even though there don't seem to be more skiers. To read more,
click here.
--The first-ever Outdoor Alliance Partnership Summit kicked off on the evening of Dec. 6, at the American Mountaineering Center in Golden, CO. The two-day meeting brought together field staff and volunteers from each of the six OA groups—as well as representatives from state and federal land management agencies—to share stories of successful working relationships from around the United States. “When people think of public lands, it’s too often that they focus on the same old argument of recreation versus extraction,” says Adam Cramer, Policy Architect for OA. “This event brought leaders together to figure out how to strike the best balance of land use and protection.” To read more,
click here.
--Three women and thirty-eight days on one of the biggest walls in the world. Intrigued? To learn more,
click here.
Equipment Concerns and Recalls:--There is currently a recall underway for unmarked aluminum rappel rings. It appears that these were shipped by KONG, but there is speculation that they may have gone out with other distributors as well. The rings have fractured and failed under extremely low loads. To read more,
click here.
--There is currently a recall out for Univex Funride Ski Helmets that were sold between January 2009 and April 2011. To read more,
click here.
In this photo it is possible to see that the ice
axe's pick
A pack with an ice axe properly stowed.
