Climbing News from Here and Abroad -- July 2, 2009

Northwest:

--Twenty-seven year-old Kristopher Haskins was hit by two large boulders while climbing the Sandy Glacier Headwall on Mount Hood on Sunday. The impact broke both of the young man's legs. Haskins' partner, Jim Prager, was forced to leave in order to obtain help. To read more, click here.

--A climbing ranger was injured while skiing down from Mt. Rainier's summit Wednesday afternoon. Two rangers had reached the summit earlier in the day and were skiing back down to Camp Sherman when one punched through a hole in the snow and fell 40 feet into a crevasse, said Rainier Park spokesman Lee Taylor. To read more, click here.

Perhaps trails near I-90 will be a bit safer now that target shooting will be banned in the area.

--The Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest is closing several roads along the I-90 corridor to target shooters starting July 4th weekend. The closure area encompasses the valley bottom that follows the I-90 freeway corridor from exit 38 to the top of Snoqualmie Pass. The Tinkham and Denny Creek roads are included. This closure is primarily due to the numerous close calls that have taken place over the last few years. To read more, click here.

Sierra:

El Capitan from Wikipedia

--Speed climber Holly Beck was injured this week in an attempt to climb the Nose in a day on El Capitan. It appears that she took a fall while short-fixing which resulted in a concussion and a broken arm. She was evacuated by a SAR team. To read more, click here.

--It appears that there are a couple of small fires currently burning in Yosemite National Park. The Grouse Fire (250 acres) is about seven miles southwest of Yosemite Valley and north of Glacier Point Road. The Harden Fire (111 acres) is on the north side of the park, west of Harden Lake and northwest of White Wolf. The two fires are being managed to achieve both protection and resource objectives. To read more, click here.

Alaska:

--AAI Team Six summited Denali on Sunday and flew off the mountain on Monday. AAI Team Eight is currently staging their move to 17,000 feet. To read more, click here.

Himalaya:

--Italian Michele Fait fell to his death last week while skiing down from K2's C2 on the SSE spur. Together with Fredrik Ericsson, Fait was on his second partial descent down K2's slopes, when he suddenly fell. To read more, click here.

--Seventeen year-old Johnny Strange recently became the youngest individual to complete the Seven Summits. To read about this young man's incredible accomplishment, click here.

--Speaking of age...three Americans over the age of 60 reached the summit of Mount Everest this spring. To read more, click here.

Ed Viesters High in the Mountains

--It appears that world class high altitude mountaineer Ed Viesters will be on the Colbert Report tonight. Ed was the first American to climb all 14 8000 meter peaks.

Notes from All Over:

--A 28-year-old Las Vegas woman died Thursday after falling in the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. The Clark County Coroner's Office identified the woman as Margaret Plummer, a spokeswoman for the coroner said. She died from several blunt force trauma injuries and the cause of death was an accident, the coroner concluded. To read more, click here.


--The National Park Service has announced that after six years of collaborative negotiations, they have finalized and signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Access Fund. The newly signed MOU frames a cooperative relationship between the climbing community and the National Park Service. It outlines the common interests that the parties share—such as conservation and planning—as well as how they will work together to reach common goals. To read more, click here.

--Does designating National Parks as wilderness help or hinder the prospect of winning protection for truly threatened roadless lands? Do the National Parks already have enough protection. Outdoor writer Bill Schneider of New West throws in his two cents on this politically hot topic. To read the opinion, click here.

--On June 25th a 50-year-old woman from Spain was butted and tossed in the air by a bull bison in Yellowstone National Park. The woman and her husband were using a pay phone in the Canyon lodging area with their backs to the road. According to witnesses, two bull bison walked down the road, passing within 20 feet of the couple. One of the bison left the road, walked up behind the woman and butted her into the air. To read more, click on the June 25th report, here.