--AAI's Director, Dunham Gooding, was recently featured in a book entitled, "Leadership Artistry Hope: A Celebration of Values." The coffee table book is a "celebration of what it means to be a leader, why artistry matters, and how hope takes shape." Twenty-three individuals were selected by the publisher. Dunham was selected for a section entitled, "Speaking for the Trees." His profile tells his story and that of the American Alpine Institute. The book is being distributed privately by the publisher.
--The New York Times ran a feature length article with a great video on Fred Beckey on Tuesday. The article and video both cover his long climbing career. To read the article and see the video, click here.
Fred and friends in Leavenworth, still getting after it!Photo Courtesy of the Jared VanderGriend Collection
Enjoying the top of a crag in LeavenworthPhoto Courtesy of the Jared VanderGriend Collection
--Dan Capellini and Rolf Larson's new route that we reported on in our conditions report last week made the Climbing magazine website. Buckshot was put up on Buck Mountain in early December. This hard new line clocks in at Grade IV WI4+ M4/5 and saw multiple attempts prior to the ascent this month. To read the Climbing magazine report, click here. To read the original trip report, click here.
--Longview Timberlands purchased more than 15,500 acres of forest tree farms in the Deming area for $48 million from Mid-Valley Resources Inc., a subsidiary of Hampton Affiliates, a large Oregon timber company, last week. The sale, filed at the Whatcom County Treasurer's Office, included 71 parcels of property. This area includes the access route from the Middle Fork Nooksack river to the Twin Sisters Mountains. It appears that while Longview Timberlands doesn't allow camping on their property, they do keep it open for public use. To read more, click here.
Sierra:
The forest fires in Los Padres National Forest collectively burned over 62,000 acres.Himalaya:
--An international research team has conducted the first detailed analysis of deaths during expeditions to the summit of Mt. Everest. They found that most deaths occur during descents from the summit and also identified factors that appear to be associated with a greater risk of death, particularly symptoms of high-altitude cerebral edema. "We know that climbing Everest is dangerous, but exactly how and why people have died had not been studied," says Paul Firth, the scientist who led the study. "It had been assumed that avalanches and falling ice – particularly in the Khumbu Icefall on the Nepal route – were the leading causes of death and that high-altitude pulmonary edema would be a common problem at such extreme altitude. But our results do not support either assumption." To read more, click here.
Notes from All Over:
--A 27 year-old woman was killed in an avalanche while skiing inbounds at Snowbird, Utah this weekend. Heather Gross, an experienced skier, was buried for more than an hour before being retrieved. She died later at the hospital. To read more and to see a video about this incident, click here.
Senator Ken SalazarCandidate for the Secretary of the Interior
--The American Alpine Club recently launched a new online resource. It is now possible to research climbs and mountains throughout the world via a search engine with access to archived American Alpine Journal material that reaches all the way back to 1929. To visit this resource, click here.
--In related news, the American Alpine Journal is seeking volunteer translators to help prepare stories for the 2009 edition. Although the editors welcome volunteers skilled in any foreign language, translators fluent in Japanese, Italian, and French are particularly needed for 2009. Native English speakers are preferred. To read more, click here.
--Sources are reporting that an undisclosed individual or corporation has made a bid on Alpinist magazine. The amount? Thirty-thousand measly dollars...or less than it costs to print a single issue of the magazine. While this may lead some loyal Alpinist readers to hope that the spectacular format of the magazine will return, it's unlikely. The price-tag is so low that the former business plan will likely be scrapped for something completely different. To read more, click here and here.--A scary thread is currently running on supertopo.com. People have been posting pictures of broken cams, bad bolts and severed ropes. To see the thread, click here.
Mark Mathews on the summit of Patagonia's Gemelo AltoPhoto by Dave Turner
--Six teams summited Patagonia's Cerro Torre in early December via the Upper-West Face. This is the route that was first sent in 1974 by Daniele Chiappa, Mario Conti, Casimiro Ferrari, and Pino Negri. Over recent years, the line fell out of favor due to the supposed ease of the infamous Compressor Route. Many now view the West Face as the more natural line. To read more, click here.
--The Access Fund continued its support of grassroots climbing advocacy and conservation projects by awarding over $11,000 during its third Climbing Preservation Grants cycle of 2008. The grants will help fund land acquisitions, trail reconstruction, and the creation of a trailhead kiosk. Presented three times annually, AF’s Climbing Preservation Grants provide financial assistance for local climber activism and protection of the climbing environment in the United States. Grants this cycle were awarded to the Western Colorado Climber's Coalition and to Utah Open Lands. To read more, click here.
--Last week, the Russian Prime minister renamed a major peak in the Caucasus, the Peak of Russian Counterintelligence Agents. The 10, 725 foot high mountain is located in the westernmost area of North Ossetia, close to the border with Georgia. To read more, click here.
