Climbing and Outdoor News from Here and Abroad - 1/26/12

Northwest:

--Hope is fading for the four individuals that have been lost on Mount Rainier for twelve days. Their was a brief reprieve in the storms on Monday and searchers were out all day.  But the storms returned on Tuesday and the search has been limited since then.  To read more, click here and here.

--An Olympic National Park scientist says the park’s glaciers have shrunk by an average of 15 percent since the 1980s, with one completely disappearing. Research found that Ferry Glacier, one of the park’s 60 largest in 1982, disappeared from its rocky niche in the Bailey Range. To read more, click here.

Read more here: http://www.theolympian.com/2012/01/16/1950826/olympic-national-park.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+theolympian-Environment+(The+Olympian+-+Environment)&utm_content=Google+Reader&utm_source=Sightline+Newsletters&utm_campaign=0fcc31ca37-SightlineDaily&utm_medium=email#storylink=cpy

--National Parks Director, Jon Jarvis wrote an excellent editorial eulogizing Margaret Anderson, the ranger killed at Mount Rainier on New Year's Day. To read the editorial, click here.

--A snowmobiler caught in an avalanche on Stampede Pass, Washington, on Sunday was quickly rescued by friends who watched it happen. The entire incident was recorded by a helmet cam, attached to the helmet of the man's friend, Rick Jablinske. To read more and to see the video, click here.

The tree that came down on the AAI Office and the neighbor next door.

--Wednesday provided an interesting morning at the American Alpine Institute offices. We found that a tree had fallen and landed on both our roof and our neighbor's roof. We spent the day watching arborists and roofers work on our building.  On Tuesday night, Bellingham had sustained wind of 44 miles per hour, with gusts of 64 miles per hour.

Sierra:

--A Yosemite National Park employee has died after strong winds uprooted a huge tree that fell on his tent cabin. Park spokesman Scott Gediman says 27-year-old Ryan Hiller, of Chapel Hill, N.C., was killed Saturday by a branch from the tree. To read more, click here.

--Last week a young foreign exchange student from England was killed in a fall while climbing Cascade Falls near Lake Tahoe.  To read more, click here.

--A 34-year-old man was killed at Heavenly Mountain Resort near Lake Tahoe last week after suffering chest injuries sustained in a skiing accident, according to the El Dorado County Sheriff's Office. It appears that the man lost control and collided with a sign post.  To read more, click here.


Desert Southwest:

--Police say a fall that killed a 21-year-old Las Vegas hiker at the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area west of Las Vegas appears to have been an accident. Las Vegas police Officer Marcus Martin said Friday that investigators don't suspect foul play. To read more, click here.

--A 46-year old man is currently missing and is believed to be somewhere in Red Rock Canyon.  To read more, click here.

--A new guidebook entitled, "Utah's West Desert" has recently been released. The guidebook covers Ibex, Masada, Marjum Canyon, Oquirrh Mountains, Stansbury Mountains, Mineral Mountains, Great Basin and Pequop, Notch Peak and the House Range. To read more, click here.

Notes from All Over:

--Two skiers are dead after a difficult snow weekend in Colorado ski resorts. Authorities say a 13-year-old skier is dead after getting caught in an avalanche on Vail Mountain. A 28-year-old also died in an avalanche at Winter Park Resort. To read more, click here.

--AAI Guides Kurt Hicks and Ian McEleney wrote a short piece on moving fast in multi-pitch terrain with a team of three for Climbing magazine.  You can find their excellent article on page 69 the December/January issue #301.

--It appears that Hayden Kennedy and Jason Kruk were responsible for chopping hundreds of bolts off Cerro Tore's Compressor Route during their recent free ascent.  Simultaneously, the controversial young climber, Dave Lama, made the first free ascent of the route.  To read more, click here and here and here.

--The 2012 UIAA Ice Climbing World Cup in Saas Fee, Switzerland concluded Saturday with a second World Cup victory for Angelika Rainer of Italy this year in the Lead discipline and a dramatic display of skill and strength by Russia's Maxim Tomilov in Men's Lead. To read more, click here.

-- So there are a number of climbers in Europe right now that are pushing themselves, not on the rocks or glaciers, but on human made structures...and they're taking phenomenal photos of themselves doing it.  To read more and to see the photos, click here.


--Two energy companies are seeking permits from the National Park Service (NPS) to construct a colossal 200-foot-high, 500-kilovolt power line through the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, our country's eighth-most-visited national park. These power lines would also cross the Appalachian National Scenic Trail. To read more, click here.