--Twenty-four year old Megan Kinsalla was killed at the base of Snoquera Falls near Crystal Mountain Ski Resort on January 31st. Kinsalla and her partner, James Susen, had just completed their descent of the route when a large piece of ice sheered off and hit them. Her partner sustained serious head injuries, but was able to walk out. To read more about this, click here and here. This accident is strangely similar to an incident in that same area twenty-five years ago. Two climbers had just finished their descent when one was killed by icefall and the other sustained head injuries. The survivor was also able to walk out and find help.
--A skier and a snowboarder were killed in separate avalanche incidents in the Whistler/Blackcomb mountain resort area. Both individuals were skiing in areas that were marked out-of-bounds. To read more, click here.
Mount Saint Helens from the AirPhoto by Monica Dayton
--Though the snow is accumulating across Washington State, it's not deep or wet enough in the mountains, forecasters say. The water content in the mountain snowpack above the Wenatchee, Entiat and Chelan valleys was 57 percent of average as of last Wednesday. To read more, click here.
--Speaking of weather in the mountains... Yesterday, massive avalanches battered the Cascade range. Indeed, one slide ripped through the Hyak Ski area taking out lifts, powerlines and even knocked a house off its foundation. To read about this, click here. To see photos, click here and here.
Sierra:
--Fifty-nine year old Geoffrey Michael Carreiro was found dead last week in the parking lot for Shady Rest Campground near Mammoth Lakes. Though a cause of death has not been determined, it appears that Carreiro was operating a snow machine before his death. To read more, click here.
Alaska:
--The new show on the Discovery channel entitled Bear Feeding Frenzy, has created a frenzy of controversy. The concept behind the series is that a reality TV show star is placed inside a plexi-glass box and a mannequin is placed next to it. The bears are then prodded to attack the dummy. This essentially trains the animals to attack people and many bear experts are up-in-arms over it. To read more, click here.
Himalaya:
--There are currently three winter ascents in progress on 8,000 meter peaks in the Himalaya. The peaks that are currently being climbed include Broad Peak (26,400'), Makalu (27,765') and Manaslu (26,781'). Teams have already experienced extreme temperatures as low as -31 degrees. To read more, click here.
--Jordi Tozas completed two bold solo ascents in Nepal in November. The Spanish climber sent vertical and mixed snow and ice on Amphu Middle (20,465') and found similar terrain on Amphu South (20,164'). Tozas used these ascents to prepare for Nuptse (25,790') and Lhotse (27,939'). To read more, click here.
Notes from All Over:
--Supertopo.com currently has a sad thread running about all the climbers who have died this year. The thread includes those who died in both climbing and non-climbing accidents as well as those who passed on due to old age or health. To read the thread, click here.
--Jetboil has recently posted a press release on a variety of climbing websites. Stoves that were shipped to U.S. retailers between July 7th and September 9th, 2008 have been recalled due to a safety concern. To learn more about this recall, click here.
--Alpinist Magazine was recently sold for 71 thousand dollars after paricipating in an online auction. According to getoutdoors.com, "that's bad news for the debt holders and/or investors given the millions that were pumped in. On the positive side, the new owners evidently plan to keep the magazine." To read more, click here.
Is a crummy day of skiing really better than a great day at the office?
--Last year, Paradox Sports took a group of amputees and paraplegics to the Ouray Ice Park where group members tried artifical limbs and adaptive climbing techniques on Ouray's ice. The program was a hit and will be repeated in 2009. The Mountain Hardware Gives Back grant was recently awarded to Paradox Sports. The company is devoted to providing equipment and opportunities to the disabled community. The recept of the gran will allow them to run their second Gimps on Ice program later this winter. To read more, click here.
Ricardo Cassin--New Hampshire politicians recently signed one of the most stringent search and rescue recuperation measures in the United States into law. The state will have the ability to determine an individual negligent and liable for search and rescue fees following an incident. Should an individual refuse to do so, the state will have the right to take away hunting, fishing and driver's licenses until the fee is covered. To read more, click here.
The Vinson MassifPhoto by Guy Cotter
--A group of climbers on Mount Vinson (16,066') barely made it out alive after being pinned down for four days without food and with dwindling fuel. The team summited the mountain and were on their way down when the storm blew in. The only thing that saved them was a hidden cache that another party left previously high on the mountain. To read more, click here.
