--Stella Keane, 53, of Ketchum, Idaho, was killed around noon Friday when she was caught in a snow slide while backcountry skiing in the area near Gladiator Peak, also known as Mushroom Ridge. The area is just north of Galena Lodge. Blaine County Coroner Russ Mikel confirmed the fatality Friday evening. Keane was apparently dug free from avalanche debris shortly after the slide occurred, but that injuries she sustained while caught in the avalanche were enough to take her life. Another skier, a male, was recovered alive with serious injuries sustained in the slide, including a broken leg.An avalanche Friday, March 6, claimed the life of a backcountry skier and left another with serious injuries. To read more, click here.
Kurt Hicks climbing steep ice on Colfax Peak, next to Mount BakerPhoto by Dylan Taylor
--Blanchard Mountain, found just outside of Bellingham, towers more than 2,200 feet above Samish Bay -- along with adjacent Chuckanut Mountain it's the only place where the Cascade Range touches the tidelands. This unique mountain range and major recreation is home to a number of trail systems and lakes. Unfortunately it appears that Blanchard Mountain's landscape will soon be dramatically altered by logging approved and managed by the Washington Department of Natural Resources. Recent reports indicate that there is active logging currently on the flanks of the mountain. To read more, click here and here.
Sierra:
--A series of unconfirmed reports indicate that an individual fell from upper Yosemite Falls on Monday and was killed. It appears that the person was a hiker, but it is not clear whether it was an accident or a suicide. To read the speculation, click here.
--The tale of the extensive search for millionaire aviator Steve Fossett and the Mammoth resident who found the wreckage over a year later is well known in the Eastern Sierra. A year and a half after the crash, questions on the cause of the accident and the short term survival of Fossett remain unanswered. Investigators have not yet issued a final determination on what caused the crash, but a new report from the National Transportation Safety Board describes weird wind conditions on September 3, 2007, the day of the accident. To read more, click here.
Montrose County Search and Rescue Climbs Lee ViningPhoto by Mark Grundon
Notes from All Over:
--AAI Guide Andrew Wexler wrote a fantastic and incredibly funny article about the trials and tribulations of guiding in South America. To read the article, click here.
--A massive ice climb was recently completed by a series of separate teams on a massive Norwegian cliff. Parties took advantage of freezing temperatures and ephemeral ice to put up a number of lines on the 3000 foot wall. To read more, click here.
The Piolet d' Or (The Golden Ice Axe)From First Ascent Press
--Six climbs have been nominated for the prestigious Piolet d' Or, or the golden ice axe award that will be presented in Chamonix, France by the Groupe de Haute Montagne in April. The climbs that were nominated include the following:
- Solo new route on the east face of Cerro Escudo in Chile by American Dave Turner.
- Enchainment of two hard routes on Denali (6,194m) in Alaska by Fumitaka Ichimura, Yusuke Sato, and Katsutaka Yokoyama.
- New route on the north face of 6,931-meter Kalanka in India, by Fumitaka Ichimura, Yusuke Sato, and Kazuki Amano.
- First ascent of the southeast face of 7,756-meter Kamet in India, by Kazuya Hiraide and Kei Taniguchi.
- New route on the south face of Nuptse (7,861m) in Nepal, by Stéphane Benoist and Patrice Glairon Rappaz.
- New route on the north face of Tengkampoche (6,500m) in Nepal, by Simon Anthamatten and Ueli Steck.
