A NOTE ON THIS WEEK'S NEWS:
It's not unusual for the mountains to provide both triumph and tragedy. Unfortunately, the world climbing and outdoor news this week offers a bit more tragedy than triumph. Be careful out there. Pay attention to everything. Beware of complacency. Make sure people know where you are and what you're up to. And if anybody in your party feels uneasy, pay attention to that feeling.
NORTHWEST:
--Two frost-bitten climbers were rescued yesterday morning from Camp Muir on Mount Rainier. The unidentified climbers were part of a three person team that got caught overnight near the 10,000 foot camp. Nearly two feet of snow fell on the mountain and the team experienced both white-out and blizzard conditions. One member of the party died on Tuesday evening of exposure. The other two were evacuated on Wednesday morning by an Army helicopter. To read more about this tragic event, click here and here.
--We've had some very cold and strange weather so far this season. We had snow showers as low as 2000 feet this week. And though this has caused a few of our guides and climbers to post-hole a little later than normal, such late season snow is good for our receding glaciers. Read about it here.
--The Olympic National Forest is in the process of changing their Recreation Site Management Plan. They are currently seeking public input. To read more about this, click here.
--Rocky Spencer was a cougar specialist in eastern King County. He spent his life studying cougars and bears and how they interact with the humans around them. Last Saturday in a tragic accident Spencer was killed. This story is about the man and his work with the carnivourous wildlife around us.
ALASKA:
--AAI Guides Dylan Taylor, Andrew Wexler and former AAI Guide Joe Stock got a tremendous amount of press this week for completing a 100-Mile ski traverse of the Tordrillo Mountains, a western subrange of the Alaska Range. Climbing magazine has a report on their traverse here, Alpinist has a report here, and you can read Dylan's blog about their adventure here.
--Last week we covered the wild ascents and the terrible tragedy of the Japanese Gri Gri Boys. In review, part of their strong team made a series of hard ascents throughout the Alaska Range whereas another part of their team was lost on Cassin Ridge. To read an update on their ascents and the tragedy, click here.
--AAI Team Five has moved up to Camp Four at 17,200 feet on Denali. They will be making a push for the summit within the next few days. AAI Team Six has just moved up to Camp Two at 11,000 feet and is working to move caches of gear up the mountain to establish their next camp. To read more of our trip dispatches, click here.
NOTES FROM ALL OVER:
--To raise awareness of global warming one should climb something that provides easy access to the press. Alain "Spider-Man" Roberts did just that by scaling the New York Times building last Thursday. He hung a green banner on the building which read, "Global warming kills more people than 9/11 every week." To read more about this "historic" ascent, click here and here and here.
--Note to all bounty hunters and treasure seekers, it's time to start looking for Bigfoot! Field and Stream magazine in conjunction with binocular manufacturer Bushnell are offering a one million dollar reward to anyone who is able to "provide an unaltered photograph/video, verified and substantiated by a panel of scientific experts [including a zoologist and biologist], the evidence required to prove a Sasquatch/Bigfoot/Yeti exists." To read about it, click here.
--The bodies of two hikers were found in the remote Desolation Wilderness near Lake Tahoe this week. Sheriff''s Deputies have speculated that seventy year-old Thomas Hyton had a heart-attack and passed away at an isolated campsite. His hiking companion, seventy-eight year-old Jerome Smith, apparently left the camp without a pack or sleeping bag to find help. While climbing a steep hill Smith fell. Lack of equipment and injuries likely led to the second hiker's death. To read more about this tragic event, click here.
--A strong British Team completed a new twenty pitch route on the Torres del Paine in Chile. The 2600 foot line, called The Devil Rides Out, was put up in a very tight window between severe storms. To read more, click here.
--Fifty-four year-old Chick Holtkamp cleanly climbed Pink Flamingo this spring. This route found in Indian Creek, Utah, clocks in at 5.13! Holtkamp clearly proves that 54 is the new 21. To read more about this ascent, click here.
--Important news for flatland climbers! Alpinist has an excellent article this week on training for climbing in the gym. To check it out, click here.
