--The third edition of Fred Beckey's tome, Cascade Alpine Guide: Climbing and High Routes -- Rainy Pass to Fraser River (often called the red book) has recently made its way onto store shelves. This new book features a variety of routes and photos by AAI guides. Many of the approaches and route descriptions have been updated. To purchase the book, click here.
--The Wenatchee River Ranger District is proposing to build approximately seven miles of new non-motorized recreation trails and a trailhead/parking area near Leavenworth Ski Hill at Leavenworth, Washington. An interdisciplinary team of resource specialists will analyze the environmental effects of this proposal and any alternative actions that may be developed. To learn more, click here.
--Anacortes Police Chief Bonnie Bowers says she's disgusted by the most recent case of a deer killed by an arrow in a city neighborhood. In this case the body was left; the buck's antlers sawed off. In recent months, three deer have been killed illegally in the city limits. The first, shot with a gun, was found in late September. The other two were killed with arrows, the most recent found last Friday. To read more, click here.
Desert Southwest:
--There is a very cool photo essay of Joshua Tree from the sky running on supertopo.com. David Weese took these photos by attaching a digital camera attached to a kite. To see the photo essay, click here. To see some other cool climbing photos taken by kite, check this and this out.
Joshua Tree's Intersection RockPhoto (taken by kite) by David Weese
--Officials with Sequoia Kings Canyon National Park need help finding the owner of a mysterious campsite found in the backcountry November 30th. The campsite seems to have much of the gear and food supplies still in it. No identification from the person who set up the camp has been found. Park Officials don’t know if the owner of the gear abandoned the camp or ran into trouble in the wilderness. To read more, click here.
--The Inyo Supervisors have scheduled a public meeting in Lone Pine to discuss the possibility of additional Wilderness Designations in southern Inyo County. A group called the California Wilderness Coalition has approached Senator Dianne Feinstein’s office with a request for additional Wilderness in southern Inyo County. It appears that most of the newly proposed Wilderness areas are near historic or active mining areas. To read more, click here.
Himalayas:
--The Hindu-Kush-Himalayan region in South Asia has remained a nagging gap in the global climate change knowledge bank. In the absence of field studies and adequate data, the impact of global warming in the area stretching from Afghanistan in the west to Burma in the east is largely unknown. In effect, there has been virtually no climate change adaptation plan for the zone, which is ecologically hypersensitive, yet a vital natural service provider. Millions of people in the region, most of them poor ones who would be hardest hit by climate change, rely on these natural systems including river waters and forests. To read more, click here.
Notes from All Over:
--Noted Skier Bill Briggs recently became the first true ski mountaineer to be inducted into the National Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame. The former mountain guide made the first ski descent of the Grand Teton in 1971. To read about Briggs' life, click here. To read about his induction into the National Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame, click here.
The steep summit ridge of Mount Cook--In a situation reminiscent of the December 2006 tragedy on Mount Hood, a pair of Japanese climbers were pinned down in a snow cave on New Zealand's Mount Cook for six days last week. Hideaki Nara and his companion, Kiyoshi Ikenouchi were forced to "dig-in" high on the mountain with nothing more than a pen and a small knife. Tragically, after days of being stranded, Ikenouchi died just hours before they were rescued. To read more, click here.
--Through years of testing and product development, backcountry skiing bindings have progressed from simple cable bindings to engineered machines that represent state-of-art materials science and mechanicals. A new online collection of backcountry skiing bindings covers the full historical range of modern bindings, with emphasis on "randonnee" bindings that latch down at the heel for downhill mode, yet allow a free lifting heel for touring and climbing. This very cool online museum may be found here.
--For the first time in 25 years, people will be able to carry loaded, concealed weapons in national parks and wildlife refuges under a new rule recently approved by the Federal Government. An Interior Department rule issued Friday allows an individual to carry a loaded weapon in some national parks and wildlife refuges — but only if the person has a permit for a concealed weapon, and if the state where the park or refuge is located also allows loaded firearms in parks. To read more, click here.
Just wait until the Campground Hosts monitor their campers with silenced weapons!There will never again be a problem with large bonfires or loud music after 10 pm.
--Sometime down the road when we need a few good men to protect our National Parks, it will probably look something like this:
--AAI senior guide Dylan Taylor is spending the Austral summer in Antarctica working with the scientists at McMurdo Station. Dylan is a phenomenal photographer and runs a blog that is populated by spectacular photos of the people and the landscape down south. Following are a few of our favorite photos from his last email to the office.
Seal Surfacing Part IPhoto by Dylan Taylor
Desolate WorldPhoto by Dylan Taylor
Seal Surfacing Part IIPhoto by Dylan Taylor
