Northwest:
--Northwest climber and guide Paul Bailey was recently injured in a climbing accident in Australia. It appears that Bailey took a leader-fall, broke both wrists and suffered some head injuries. The most current information on this accident indicates that this incident may have been due to bolt failure. To read more about the accident, click here and here.
--A Bend woman on a hike to summit the South and Middle Sisters in Oregon became lost after nightfall Saturday, prompting an all-night search on foot, by horseback and by air. She turned up Sunday morning, having walked some 25 miles - cold, hungry and tired, but otherwise alright, authorities said. To read more, click here and here.
--Two members of Congress from Washington State have introduced a bill that would make permanent the 2001 Roadless Areas rule that has been tied up in legal wrangling since 2001. Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Rep. Jay Inslee (D-WA) introduced the legislation that would ban almost all road construction on 58 million acres of roadless national forests. The House bill has 152 co-sponsors while the Senate bill has 25 co-sponsors. To read more, click here.
Sierra:
--Even as the severe winds and cold hit the Eastern Sierra, a 73 year old man from the state of Washington went missing. The man reportedly planned to climb Mt. Whitney in a day trip on Sunday. Family reported that he did not return. Tuesday morning, members of the Inyo Search and Rescue Team gathered to go look for the man. To read more, click here.
--Several Ranger districts in the Eastern Sierra have scheduled prescribed burns during the upcoming fall and winter months to reduce hazardous fuel buildup and to improve the condition of wild habitats. The Sierra Journal has inquired about the impacts of these fires to local climbing areas. To read more, click here.
Notes from All Over:
--A 19-year-old folk singer from Toronto has died after being attacked by two coyotes in Cape Breton Highlands National Park. Taylor Mitchell died overnight at the QEII Health Sciences Centre in Halifax. Mitchell was hiking on the Skyline Trail when she was attacked Tuesday afternoon. She was taken to the hospital in Cheticamp, then airlifted to Halifax in critical condition. To read more, click here.
--Gunks rock climbing enthusiasts asked the New York state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation Thursday to extend climbing to a larger section of cliff face under the Minnewaska State Park Preserve master plan. To read more, click here and for an Access Fund action alert on this subject, click here.
--Climbing magazine posted a great article written by an amputee on techniques for adaptive climbing. To read the article, click here.
--Nature reporter Anjali Nayar hiked for 21 days in Northern Bhutan to find out how this tiny Himalayan nation is dealing with rapidly melting glaciers. Watch the audio slideshow of the trip below:
