Beautiful Index Granite
Photo by Jeff Taylor
--There is significant concern that the historic climbing area in the town of Index may be under threat. The landowner has made queries into the possibility of mining granite from the spectacular and scenic climbing area. To read more, click here.
--The combination of a down housing market and depressed economy have had a dire impact on Northwest logging towns. Mills are closing and people are leaving. Unemployment in some counties is near 20 percent. But the decline is being met by unlikely optimism. Some people who have long fought to clear-cut the region's slopes are trying to reposition themselves for a more environmentally friendly economy, motivated by changing political interests, the federal stimulus package and sheer desperation. To read more, click here.
Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area:
--As we have previously reported on this blog, the Red Rock Rendezvous was a smashing success. Climbers from all over the world attended the three day event and AAI guides led numerous clinics and classes. Podclimber.com has recently posted a video that shows highlights from the event and includes interviews with AAI guides Mary Harlan and Dawn Glanc. To see the video, click here.
Sierra:
--A massive rock fall event took place in Yosemite at Ahwiyah Point near Half Dome at 5:26 am on the morning of March 28th. The rock fall originated near the summit of Ahwiyah Point and fell roughly 1800 feet to the floor of Tenaya Canyon, striking ledges along the way. Debris extended well out into Tenaya Canyon, knocking down hundreds of trees and burying the southern portion of the Mirror Lake Loop Trail. Due to the fact that the event took place early in the morning there were no injuries. The impact generated ground shaking that was recorded by numerous seismometers across California, registering as the equivalent of a local magnitude 2.5 earthquake. To read more, click here.
--The latest numbers from the LA Department of Water and Power show 37.9 inches of water content at Mammoth Pass. This is the same amount of water content in the snow at this time last year and is considered 88% normal to date. Rock Creek checks in at a low 51% of normal to date, while South Lake checks in with 83% of normal to date. Big Pine Creek is 89% of normal. On the southern end of the range, the Cottonwood Lakes station checks in with 68% of normal to date. To read more, click here.
Notes from All Over:
Shane McConkey
Photo from RedBullSkiing.com
--Thirty-nine year old extreme skier Shane McConkey was killed jumping off a cliff with a parachute while filming a movie in Italy. McConkey was in Corvara, Italy, on a ski-BASE jump when he had a mid-air malfunction. Italian emergency responders arrived within minutes and pronounced him dead at the scene. To read more, click here.
--A 31-year old climber named Chris Boratenski took a 72-foot fall off the Rigid Designator (WI 5-) in Vail, Colorado. It appears that Boratenski ran his rope directly through the webbing at the top of the route. Repeated top-roping caused the webbing to break. To read more, click here.
--We've all known this for quite some time, but it appears that a new paper published by Austrian researchers proves the medicinal qualities of hiking. It's always been a given that physical activity reduces health problems, but researchers seem to have stumbled onto a number of positive physical side effects of different types of hiking. To read more, click here.
