--It appears that a small group of climbers were fined for trespassing at the Iron Mountain Crag, near Portland. There is little information available about why this happened. To read more, click here.
-- If you have not yet heard there has been talk of the beautiful and steep walls of Index becoming a quarry. Luckily though Washington Climbers Coalition (WCC) has been working hard to block the granite from being quarried and keep the cliffs open to climbers. WCC has now been given the option to purchase the intended quarry site and is working to raise the money so that climbers will be able to scale the index walls forever. To read more about the WCC and their attempt to secure the land click here.
Sierra:--What started as an offshoot of the successful partnership between the Wounded Warriors program and Disabled Sports Eastern Sierra, has grown in a new effort by Craig Knoche and other Eastern Sierra volunteers who are working to help rehabilitate injured veterans of the Iraqi and Afghan wars by climbing all the 14,000 foot peaks in California. To read more, click here.
Himalaya:
--It appears that conflicts between expeditions on Nanga Parbat may have led to a fatality. It appears that a team cleaned a fixed line without the consent of the other teams on the mountain at the spot where a Korean woman was killed. It is common for expeditions from different countries to work together to fix lines on extreme peaks like Nanga Parbat. To read more, click here. Here's the original report on the fatality.
Notes from All Over:
--Ten climbers have died on two mountains in northern Japan, police said Friday. Eight of the climbers who died on Mount Tomuraushi were in a group organized by a tourist company, according to Yuji Kikuchi, a spokesman for Hokkaido police. A ninth man was climbing alone. One more climber died on Mount Biei, Kikuchi said. To read more, click here.
Mount Washington-- A Massachusetts teenager who spent three nights alone on Mount Washington in April after he sprained an ankle and veered off marked trails has been fined more than $25,000 for the cost of his rescue. Scott Mason had been praised for utilizing his Eagle Scout skills — sleeping in the crevice of a boulder and jump-starting fires with hand sanitzer gel. But authorities say he wasn't prepared for the conditions he encountered and shouldn't have set out on such an ambitious hike. To read more, click here.
--A British Teenager who was found dehydrated and freezing after 12 wintry days lost in Australia's wilderness said he wrote farewell notes to his family and expected to die of starvation. Nineteen year-old Jamie Neale told Australia's "60 Minutes" that we was a "total idiot" to venture into the wilderness 60 miles west of Sydney. To read more, click here.
--Last week a piece of legislation entitled the U.S. OUTDOOR Act was introduced in both the House and the Senate. The U.S. Optimal Use of Trade to Develop Outerwear and Outdoor Recreation (OUTDOOR) Act incorporates three critical components: 1) it creates unique classifications specific to recreation performance outerwear - high-tech apparel, designed especially for outdoor recreation such as hiking, biking, skiing, hunting, fishing, mountaineering and other recreational activities - in the U.S. Harminized Tariff Schedule; (2) it eliminates the diproportinately high tariffs on these products while preserving the competitiveness of U.S. based manufacturing; and 3) it supports U.S. jobs and technologies focused on sustainable, eco-friendly apparel supply chains. To read more, click here.
--Jeff Lowe was made an honourary member of the American Alpine Club on July 19th in Ogden, Utah. The criteria for the award are climbing achievments, contributions to the climbing community and vision. To read more, click here.
--A small crew of climbers took on a new 1,000 foot route on a Norwegian beach. Mike Brumbaugh, Ari Menitove, Andrew Burr, Brian Heppner and Rob Pizem climbed Man Hands (IV 5.11) after spending a significant amount of time cleaning the first three pitches. To read more, click here.
--The Reel Rock Tour climbing film contest has an August 1st deadline. Winners of the competition will have their films shown in over 100 cities throughout the world. To read more about Reel Rock and the competition, click here.
--The New York Times ran an editorial on Thursday which opposed the closing of state parks in California in order to help close the budget deficit. The premise of the article was that the parks provide cheap recreation and that closing them and then reopening them in the future could be far more expensive than just leaving them open. To read the editorial, click here.
--The 2009 AAI Guides Choice Awards are in and this years winning products are awesome. To read about the selected products and why they rock so hard check out Tuesday July 20th's Blog.
--Jeff Lowe was made an honourary member of the American Alpine Club on July 19th in Ogden, Utah. The criteria for the award are climbing achievments, contributions to the climbing community and vision. To read more, click here.
--A small crew of climbers took on a new 1,000 foot route on a Norwegian beach. Mike Brumbaugh, Ari Menitove, Andrew Burr, Brian Heppner and Rob Pizem climbed Man Hands (IV 5.11) after spending a significant amount of time cleaning the first three pitches. To read more, click here.
--The Reel Rock Tour climbing film contest has an August 1st deadline. Winners of the competition will have their films shown in over 100 cities throughout the world. To read more about Reel Rock and the competition, click here.
--The New York Times ran an editorial on Thursday which opposed the closing of state parks in California in order to help close the budget deficit. The premise of the article was that the parks provide cheap recreation and that closing them and then reopening them in the future could be far more expensive than just leaving them open. To read the editorial, click here.
--The 2009 AAI Guides Choice Awards are in and this years winning products are awesome. To read about the selected products and why they rock so hard check out Tuesday July 20th's Blog.
