NORTHWEST:
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--On July 27th, Dr. Walter Lee, a 55 year-old oncologist from Eugene, Oregon, was killed on Mount Hood. Lee and his 20 year-old son were descending the Cooper Spur route when the man was struck by rockfall and thrown from his stance. To read more, click here.
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--There is a request floating around the internet for input on a new management strategy for the climbing resources in Squamish. The last series of policies were generated a decade ago. Certainly, anytime they open up a climbing management plan for revision, we as climbers risk losing access to certain crags or the use of fixed anchors or both. To read more, click here.
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SIERRA:
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--Wolverines were long thought to have disappeared in the Sierra, but an image caught on a hidden wildlife viewing camera has changed everything. On February 28th, wildlife biologists captured an image of an animal that is indisputably a wolverine. Proof of the animal's existence in the Sierra may put it on the endangered species list and have an impact on numerous land use decisions. To read more, click more.
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--There is a conversation going on at supertopo.com about the garbage at Camp 6 on the Nose of El Capitan in Yosemite. The camp is nothing more than a large ledge on a pillar. The backside of the pillar is detached and filled with years of garbage. The original poster in the supertopo thread proposes to clean out the hole and then plug it with something that looks like granite. The Nose sees thousands of ascents a year and is considered by many to be "the best" rock climb in the world. To read more, click here.
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--Three-thousand five-hundred firefighters continue to battle a blaze set by a target shooter just outside the boundaries of Yosemite National Park. Twenty-one houses have been destroyed and nearly four thousand more are under threat. The visibility in Yosemite Valley is terrible and some visitors are encountering breathing problems. To read more, click here and here and here.
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NOTES FROM ALL OVER:
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--A horrible tragedy was suffered in the Alps this week. A Dutch family of four -- all roped together -- fell, after one member stumbled and was was unable to regain his footing. The family fell nearly 1,600 feet before their bodies came to a rest. The mother was the only survivor. To read more, click here.
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--Russian climbers, Valery Babonov and Victor Afanaziev, summited Broad Peak (26,400 feet) via a new route on the northwest face on July 17, 2008. To read more, click here.
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--There have been two high profile helicopter rescues in the Karakoram in recent weeks. Italian alpinists Simon Kehrer and Walter Nones were plucked off of Nanga Parabat (25,643') last week after suffering the loss of a team member followed by an epic attempt to get off the mountain. On July 27th, a group of Austrians were rescued from Spantik (23,054') after their guide suffered a broken leg. To read more, click here.
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--In a related story, British climber Benjamin Cheek is still missing on Shimshal Whitehorn (20,679') in the Karakoram. To read more, click here.
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--It appears that for the second year in a row, the north side of Mount Everest will be closed to climbers. Chinese officials in conjunction with the Tibetan Environmental Protection Bureau indicate that they will close the north side for a "clean-up." To read more, click here.
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--Speaking of Mount Everest, this series of video podcasts of an Everest expedition is pretty cool.
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--In 1974, Frenchman Philippe Petite strung a cable between the twin towers and proceeded to walk across the void several times. A new documentary entitled "Man on a Wire" explores this daredevil's motivations. It appears that what brought him to the skyscrapers is what brings the strongest of climbers into the mountains: a need to tempt the impossible. To read more, click here.
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--Bears are seldom a real threat to human beings. Occasionally however, an incident will take place that reminds us that we are not at the top of the food chain. This was the case at a mine in a remote region of Russia last week when a pack of at least thirty hungry bears attacked and killed two guards. Understandibly, terrified miners are refusing to go back to work. To read more, click here.
