Climbing and Outdoor News from Here and Abroad - 2/2/12

Northwest:

--A lost snowboarder was found alive and well Sunday morning, January 29, after he spent the night in a snow cave on Mount Shuksan. Jakub Cink, 23, of the Czech Republic, was reported missing about 5 p.m. Saturday, three hours after he was last seen on the slopes of the Mount Baker Ski Area, said Whatcom County Sheriff's Deputy George Ratayczak.  To read more, click here.

--A Washington state man who mistakenly skied well outside the the boundary of Oregon's Mount Bachleor contacted the ski patrol with his handheld radio Tuesday afternoon, prompting a four-hour search and rescue effort that found him safe and sound at the Nordic ski shelter, officials said. To read more, click here.

--Nick Meyers, a seasoned veteran ranger on Mount Shasta has moved into the lead climbing ranger role on the volcano. To read about Nick, click here.

--The battle over snowmobiles in wilderness areas is a non-stop war between the National Forest and motorized recreationalists.  The Wenatchee-World has posted a great article on the situation.  To read it, click here.

Read more here: http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2012/01/30/2371844/snowboarder-survives-night-in.html#storylink=cpy

Sierra:


--Supertopo.com has posted an excellent wrap-up of all the major rockfall incidents in Yosemite in 2011. To see the post, click here.

--With over 1,200 people a day making their way up to the top of Yosemite's Half Dome via the "trail'" it shouldn't be a surprise to anyone that there is a strong possibility that the numbers of climbers will begin to be regulated.  To read more, click here.

--The state of Utah has been waiting for quite a long time for the federal funds needed to complete a much celebrated swap of recreational lands near Moab in exchange for energy swaths in the Uinta Basin. As a result state school trust officials plan to start paying appraisers themselves in order to seal the deal. The Utah Recreational Land Exchange Act of 2009 authorized a trade of 45,000 acres of state lands for some 36,000 acres of oil and gas-rich land in eastern Utah. However,  the BLM has not yet produced its half of the appraisal funds needed to complete the transaction. To read more, click here.

Desert Southwest:

--A red Jeep owned by UNLV senior history major Ron Kirk was found on Jan. 23 at Calico Basin at the Red Rock National Conservation Area. Kirk has been missing since Jan. 16. Officials say the Jeep had been at the site since Jan. 20. The last known communication from Kirk was a text message sent to his cousin on Jan. 16 that stated that he was going out for a hike. To read more, click here.

Ben and Ruth in Tuscon

--AAI Guide Ben Traxler and former AAI Program Coordinator Ruth Hennings become engaged over the weekend.  Ben asked Ruth to marry him while rock climbing in Tuscon...and she said yes!  The couple has not yet decided on a date, but it is possible that it will happen next Fall. Everybody here at AAI would like to wish them congratulations!

-- Zion National Park Superintendent Jock Whitworth announced the completion of the environmental analysis for the rehabilitation of the Kolob Terrace Road and the signing of the finding of no significant impact by the National Park Service intermountain regional director. This approval followed a 30-day public review of the environmental assessment that analyzed the impacts of the rehabilitation and resurfacing project. The project will begin when funding becomes available. To read more, click here.

Notes from All Over:

--Police have identified the victim of a Utah backcountry avalanche as a 24-year-old man from the Salt Lake City area. Unified Police Lt. Justin Hoyal says snowboarder Alecsander Barton triggered the avalanche Saturday after he started to descend Kessler Peak into Big Cottonwood Canyon near Salt Lake City.  To read more, click here.

--Pennsylvania State police are investigating the death of a skier who reportedly left a trail and hit his head on some rocks at Seven Springs Mountain Resort in southwestern Pennsylvania. Troopers from the Somerset barracks say 36-year-old David McClelland, of Coraopolis, was knocked unconscious and could not be revived after crashing shortly after 6pm on Monday. To read more, click here.

Cerro Torre

Photo from Wikipedia

--Jason Kruk wrote an articulate defense of his and his partner's decision to remove the bolts from the Southeast Ridge of Cerro Torre.  This is a very sensitive subject for many in the climbing community and whether it was right or wrong to do this, his article give us a good idea as to why they did it.  To read the article, click here.


--A U.S. Forest Service review of two recent inbounds avalanche deaths at Colorado ski areas will be aimed at determining whether the resorts followed all required snow safety procedures required under their permits, and whether any changes are needed, according to Eagle/Holy Cross district ranger Dave Neely. Christopher Norris, 28, of Evergreen was killed by a slide Sunday afternoon (Jan. 22) on the Mary Jane side of Winter Park Resort, and 13-year-old Taft Conlin of Eagle died the same day in avalanche on a closed slope at Vail Mountain. To read more, click here.

--The Copp-Dash Inspire Award is currently accepting applications from January 1, 2012 through February 29, 2012 for small climbing teams attempting fast and light alpine climbing objectives with a desire to creatively document and share their experience. The award was established in memory of American climbers Jonny Copp and Micah Dash, who were killed in an avalanche in China in May 2009 along with filmmaker Wade Johnson. To read more, click here.

--The Polartec and American Alpine Club climbing grants have been awarded.  To read the list of winners and descriptions of their objectives, click here.

--The American Alpine Club Annual Benefit Dinner is slated for March 2 and 3.  To learn more, or to attend, click here.

--Mark Richey, a New England based climber, is slated to be honored with the Robert and Miriam Underhill Award, the American Alpine Club's award for lifetime achievement, at the club's benefit dinner on March 3rd. To read more, click here.

--Speaking of the AAC, they are currently seeking a new Senior Editor for the American Alpine Journal. To learn more about the job, click here.

--Robert Paragot has been recognized by the Pilolets d'Or awards committee. He will be the fourth recipient of their lifetime achievement award.  To read more, click here.

--There's a great article on the HuffingtonPost News Blog this week which asks the question, "who gets injured more? Skiers or Snowboarders?" The research seems to point to young inexperienced female snowboarders.  To read more, click here.

--So if you ever said to yourself, "yes. I'd love to be in a climbing horror film," then you should probably click here.

--Occasionally people ask us if we have access to a place that could make a "summit flag" for them. In other words, they want a flag with a logo or a company on it to bring up to the top of a mountain.  We recently became aware of a company that does exactly that. To learn more, click here. 

--A Montara man walking two lapdogs off leash was hit with tazer by a National Park Service ranger after allegedly giving a false name and trying to walk away, authorities said. The park ranger encountered Gary Hesterberg with his small dogs Sunday afternoon at Rancho Corral de Tierra, which was recently incorporated into San Francisco's Golden Gate National Recreation Area, said Howard Levitt, a spokesman for the park service. To read more, click here.