Climbing News from Here and Abroad -- October 16, 2008

Northwest:

--A team has been searching the south side of Mount Adams for a missing climber since Saturday. Search efforts have been focused on the South Spur, a popular non-technical route. To read more, click here.

--A team of savy web researchers and programmers put together this incredibly sobering and educational map of Mount Rainier. The map is an interactive look at the fatalities on the mountain over the years. There are certainly a number of areas where there are significant clusters of fatalities. Anybody who intends on climbing the mountain should take a look at the site. To see it, click here.


--On Friday the opening of the new Henry M. Jackson Memorial Visitor Center completed a nearly $50 million, nine-year transformation of Paradise at Mount Rainier National Park. Visitors encountered a much smaller building, but one that is more energy efficient and architecturally compatible with the alpine setting. Despite its size, however, the $22 million visitor center will be the educational and recreational focal point at the most visited destination at Mount Rainier. In a typical year, 450,000 to 500,000 people come to Paradise to see the wildflowers, take a hike, join a guided snowshoe trek, go sledding or climb the mountain. To read more, click here and here.

Sierra:

--Solo hiker Christopher Andrews, 42, did everything right. He carried a SPOT rescue locator and he cut his solo backpacking trip short because the weather didn't look good. Unfortunately, Andrews slipped while traversing over a drop. After falling he was able to engage his locator, but succumbed to the environment and his injuries. To read more, click here.

Mount Whitney Mountaineers Route in Winter Conditions
The route isn't quite there yet, but will be shortly.
(Jeremy Ellison Collection)

--Scientists have retraced the century-old steps of legendary naturalist Joseph Grinnell through Yosemite National Park. They found that most species have moved to higher, cooler elevations. Their study is published in this week's issue of the journal Science. To listen to the report on NPR, click here.

Himalaya:

--Freddie Wilkinson, Janet Bergman, Ben Ditto and Pat Goodman recently traveled to the Manikaran Spires, southeast of Manali in Himachal Pradesh of India. The primary goal of their trip was to put up a series of first ascents in the spires. After battling storms they were finally able to reach the region and the south face of Peak 5,394m (17,697'). They were able to complete one first ascent of the peak. They named their new line, Indian Beauty Queen (V+ 5.9, A0). To read more, click here.

Makalu

--Spanish mountaineer Edurne Pasaban, 35, is a mere three mountains away from being the first woman to climb all 14 8000 meter peaks. Pasaban's recent success on 8463-meter Makalu without the aid of oxygen brings the woman one step closer to being first. To read more, click here.

Notes from All Over:

--French alpinists Aymeric Clouet and Christophe Dumarest recently linked eight high and difficult peaks in the Écrins Massif in the western Alps via their north faces. The pair completed this massive enchainment in eleven days. To read more, click here.

--Italian climbers Enrico Bonino and Paolo Stroppiana opened a new route on Mont Maudit (14,649') in the Mont Blanc Massif. The new line climbs a 2000 foot series of ice gullies. Alpinist reports that Bonino said that it was "exceptionally rewarding to have found a small corner in 2008 in the Mont Blanc range to open a 700m totally independent climb". To read more, click here.