Sierra:
--It appears that there are significant problems with bears at the base of El Capitan. Haul bags that have been cached at the base are being destroyed. There are a number of approved bear storage methods for the base of the wall. To read about them, click here.
Himalaya:
--A top mountaineer from Melbourne, Australia has died after scaling the world's fifth highest peak without oxygen. Mick Parker, 36, reached the summit of the 8462m Makalu in Nepal on May 21 and then returned to Kathmandu. He was found by his landlord in that city, and an autopsy indicated that he was suffering from the effects of high altitude pulmonary edema. It is extremely unusualy to descend to so much lower an elevation and still have the effects of HAPE. To read more, click here and for more details look here: http://tinyurl.com/m4bn68
Notes from All Over:
--For all of you out there who were upset by the fact that the frozen bigfoot found a few months ago turned out to be a fraud, something new and interesting has appeared. There was a reported sighting of the mythical lake monster that supposedly lives in Vermont's Lake Champlain last week. Thirty-seven year old Eric Olsen shot a video of the creature known as "Champ." Check out the video here to decide if it is the monster or merely a moose out for a swim...
--Bush administration officials pushed aside the National Park Service and sought to lease public lands for drilling on the boarders of Utah's most famous redrock parks during their final days in power, a special report to Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar says. Salazar was condemned by the oil industry for scrapping 77 of the leases weeks after taking office, but all of the drilling parcels had already been delayed by a federal lawsuit that still hasn't been resolved. To read more, click here.
--It is possible that the National Parks are recession proof. The Billings Gazette reports that despite the recession, Yellowstone National Park had 20 percent more visitors this year than last year. To read the article, click here.
--Free National Park Weekends. To help out the national parks this summer interior secretary Ken Salazar has announced that during the weekends of June 20 and 21, July 18 and 19, and August 15 and 16 entrance fees to 147 parks will be waived. To read more, click here.
--New Type of cloud discovered. Just when you think you have seen it all when it comes to clouds those crazy formations in sky throw a curve ball at ya. The new cloud type, called asperatus, is the first new cloud type seen since 1951. To seen some amazing photos of this new cloud, click here.
-- If you were desperate for some cash, willing to break the law, and do not climb would you be tempted into robbing a company that is named after the rare Black Diamond? Well one man in Salt Lake City was very tempted. At 3 am June 13 a man came into the Black Diamond headquarters demanding diamonds and precious metals. When told that there was nothing of the sort at Black Diamond the thief decided to take a computer and some ice screws all the while using an ice axe as his "stick em up" weapon of choice. To read more,click here.
