NORTHWEST:
--On Saturday a small group of strangers joined forces to search for the remains of three snowboarders that went missing near Crystal Mountain Ski Resort. The three men were swept away by an avalanche while on a backcountry snowboard tour in December. Due to deep snow and avalanche danger, body recovery efforts ceased months ago. Last week a post on turns-all-year.com resulted in the assembly of a body recovery expedition. Twelve people who only knew each other through the ski and snowboard oriented internet forum came together to find missing men. The team planned on a multi-day search effort, but found the bodies within a matter of hours. To read more, click here.
--The Squamish Mountain Festival will present a new award named for Squamish climbing pioneer Jim Baldwin to “commemorate the ground-breaking climbs of past generations while at the same time acknowledging the great climbs that are still happening out there today.” The festival will take place July 16-20th. To read more about the award, click here.
--A major tenant of Leave No Trace is to Respect Wildlife. Feeding or trying to pet wild animals often leads to the death of the animal. This week the Bellingham Herald reported on the tranqualization and removal of four black bears from the area. People gave the animals handouts until they became accustomed to humans and acted aggressively toward people if they didn't get food. To read more, click here.
ALASKA:
--AAI Guide Dawn Glanc finished her expedition to an unnamed and unclimbed peak in Alaska this week. The Big Expedition for Cancer Research ended their climb five hundred feet from the top of the mountain due to dangerous conditions. To read about their climb, click here. To read a new article about their expedition in the Bellingham Herald, click here.
--Both AAI Denali teams 7 and 8 are prepping to move to high camp at 17,000 feet. To read more of our dispatches, click here.
SIERRA:
--Nine teenagers and two adults went missing on an Outward Bound trip in the high Sierra just east of Fresno this week. Fresno County Search and Rescue teams were deployed yesterday when the Outward Bound group failed to meet an additional instructor at a predetermined meeting place. The team was outfitted with enough food and supplies to make it until June 27th. Luckily they were quickly located by Search and rescue professionals. To read more about this, click here.
NOTES FROM ALL OVER:
--An injured American hiker in the Bavarian Alps was able to signal a police helicopter with her sports bra. Twenty-four year old Jessica Bruinsma was lost for three days after being separated from her hiking companion and then suffering a fall. Bruinsma was injured and could not climb free, but she could reach a cable used by the logging company to move timber down the mountain. The young woman attached her sports bra to the cable and was thus able to attract the attention required to attain a rescue. To read more, click here.
--The Chinese are planning a major clean-up effort on the Tibetan side of Mount Everest next year. Over 40, 000 people have visited the mountain from that side and have left an estimated 120 tons of garbage. It is likely that this is a move to appease climbers who are still upset about the restrictions that were placed on the mountain due to the Olympic Torch relay that closed the Tibetan side of the mountain and placed severe restrictions on the Nepali side. To read more, click here.
--Omega Pacific has just released another warning about their link cams. If you own any of these cams, click here to see whether or not your cams have been recalled.
--Stefan Glowacz and Robert Jasper led a five man German team to a remote region on Baffin Island to put up a new 2,300 foot route. The team traveled approximately 100 miles northwest of the more commonly visited Sam Ford Fjord to potentially become the first climbers to visit the region. To read more about this ascent, click here.
--An exhibit on climbing at the Yosemite Museum just opened and will run until October 27th. The exhibit features the largest collection of Yosemite climbing photos an hardware ever assembled. To read more about this exhibit, click here.
--Bradford Washburn's camera is being launched into space. American Alpine Club member and astronaut John Grunsfeld contacted the AAC about bringing something of Washburn's into space as a remembrance to the famous mountaineering photographer and cartographer. To read more about this, click here.
