--A climber was killed Tuesday on Mount Rainier when he slid into a crevasse high on the Emmons Glacier. Lee F. Adams, 52, was descending from the summit with three other climbers when the last person on the rope tripped and fell, according to a Mount Rainier National Park news release. The four were swept off their feet and, after unsuccessfully trying to stop their fall, they slid into a crevasse at 13,000 feet. To read more, click here.
--A Bothell woman died Sunday after she fell 800 feet from Mount Baring, near Stevens Pass, and her parachute failed to open. Rick Hawkins, a spokesman with the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office, said the 32-year-old woman was climbing with her husband about noon Sunday when she jumped off the mountain ahead of him. To read more, click here.
--AAI guide Lyle Haugsven had an eventful weekend. On Friday he road his bike 113 miles from Seattle to Paradise on Mount Rainier. On Saturday, he climbed from Paradise to the summit of Mount Rainier and back. And then on Sunday, he road his bike another 113 miles back to Seattle! On his facebook page, he called it Type II fun, that is something that seems really fun when it's done and over with...
--Canadian super-climber Sonnie Trotter, has taken a step back from high end 5.13 and 5.14 climbs to create what will likely become the most well-trodden route on the Stawamus Chief. The Squamish Butt Face is a three pitch 5.9 variation away from the normal Squamish Buttress route. To read more, click here.
--The most creative companies in the world understand that design is about creating experiences that consumers crave. In a new book, "Design Is How It Works: How Smart Companies Turn Products Into Icons," former Seattle Times and BusinessWeek reporter Jay Greene explains how several companies, including Kent-based REI, use design to address needs consumers never knew they had. To read about how REI has used design to get you into their store, click here.
--It’s not something you see much on YouTube… at least, not yet. A Camas, Wash., man found guilty last May of illegal off-roading on Washington State trust land, was sentenced to go on the video sharing site YouTube and apologize for damage he caused driving his Chevy 4X4 around a locked gate in Yacolt Burn State Forest. Clark County District Court Judge James Swanger gave Rickey Sharratt, age 28 at the time, a choice between 40 hours of community service on a labor crew or going on YouTube to describe his offense and the damage it caused. Sharratt chose YouTube. To read the rest of the article and to see Sharratt's video, please click here.
--An Arizona man who was rescued on Mount Hood over the weekend is in fair condition. Lucio Barajas, who apparently suffered a broken leg on Saturday, is being treated at Legacy Emanuel Medical Center. To read more, click here.
--A California family of three became stranded hiking near the summit of South Sister and called for help Friday evening, triggering a successful all-night rescue operation involving nearly three-dozen volunteers and deputies.Deschutes County 911 got a call around 6 p.m. Friday seeking help for three stranded hikers on the South Sister, just below Prouty Glacier, said Sheriff’s Search and Rescue Coordinator Sgt. Scott Shelton. To read more, click here.
--It appears that a fixed line and draws left by an individual working a project at the Skagit County Crag were stolen this week. To read more, click here.
Sierra:
The Moon over Half DomePhoto by Ansel Adams
--Rick Norsigian's hobby of picking through piles of unwanted items at garage sales in search of antiques has paid off for the Fresno, California, painter. Two small boxes he bought 10 years ago for $45 -- negotiated down from $70 -- are now estimated to be worth at least $200 million, according to a Beverly Hills art appraiser. Those boxes contained 65 glass negatives created by famed nature photographer Ansel Adams in the early period of his career. Experts believed the negatives were destroyed in a 1937 darkroom fire that destroyed 5,000 plates. To read more, click here.
--On Friday, July 16th, rangers destroyed a marijuana plantation in the park containing 8,125 plants worth an estimated $32.5 million. In the near future, trash, fertilizer, pesticides, herbicides and other hazardous materials will be removed from the site. The plot, located near an area where a large number of marijuana plants were removed on July 1st, is believed to have been planted by people with ties to a Mexican drug trafficking organization. No arrests have been made yet. An investigation is ongoing. To read more, click here.
--A wildfire is burning in the Mono Basin National Forest Scenic Area of the Inyo National Forest. It is burning in between US 395 and the north end of the Mono Craters, south of Highway 120 East. Highway 120 East is currently closed, as are Test Station Road, the day use areas at South Tufa and Navy Beach on the shores of Mono Lake. The fire is currently 1000 acres. The cause of the fire is under investigation. To read more, click here.
Desert Southwest:
--The body of a missing 17-year-old Boy Scout was found in Zion National Park on Thursday, a day after he was reported missing from a backpacking Scout group. The 12 hikers noticed Corey Buxton, of Las Vegas, was not with the group about 1 p.m. Wednesday, when they were near the Hop Valley trailhead on Kolob Terrace Road, said Ron Terry, park spokesman. To read more, click here.
--Zion National Park officials say three men who were swept away by a flash flood in a canyon were washed over a 40-foot drop and survived. Two of the three men also went over another 60-foot plunge as the water rushed through Spry Canyon on Saturday in the Utah park. To read more, click here.
--After much rigorous planning, training and implementation, the park launched its short-haul program with two missions on two consecutive days last week. On Friday, a 61-year-old man from Salt Lake City suffered an angulated ankle fracture while in the upper reaches of the Left Fork of North Creek, an area popularly known as “The Subway.” He was short-hauled out, transferred to an ambulance, and taken to Dixie Regional Medical Center in St. George, with ranger/paramedic Rob Wissinger as his attendant during the operation. The second incident is also described in the previous abstract. To read more, click here.
Himalaya:
--Not many people visit the remote Garhwal region of the Indian Himalaya, but this Spring two Portuguese climbers, Raulo Roxo and Daniela Teixeira, made the journey to the region. They climbed new lines on Parvati Parvat (20,528') and Ekdant (20,013') as well as establishing the first ascent of an unmapped peak that they called Kartik (16,781'). To read more, click here.
Notes from All Over:
The Tetons--On Wednesday, July 21st, lightning struck on the Grand in Grand Teton National Park, hitting seventeen people and killing one of them. The day after the strike, rangers recovered the body of a 21-year-old Iowa climber who was knocked off the 13,770-foot-high Grand Teton during a lightning storm. Park officials identified the victim as Brandon Oldenkamp, 21, of Sanborn, Iowa. Oldenkamp was in a climbing harness, tied to a rope and on belay when the lightning struck, park spokeswoman Jackie Skaggs said. His friends watched him disappear at a feature known as the Belly Roll on the Owen-Spalding route. To read more, click here and here and here.
--One climber has died and two others are injured after being struck by falling rocks in the southwest Colorado mountains. San Miguel County authorities say 59-year-old Peter Topp of Colorado Springs died Monday before two helicopters could reach the climbers. He was one of five people traversing the ridge between Mount Wilson and El Diente in Dolores County. To read more, click here.
--Crews rescued a woman who suffered serious injuries in a fall while climbing in Little Cottonwood Canyon on Saturday. The woman, thought to be in her early 20s, was about 30 feet up Beckey’s Wall when she fell at about 12:30 p.m., said Unified Fire Authority Capt. Clint Mecham. To read more, click here.
--Claws had been removed in the latest illegal killing of a grizzly bear in northwest Montana that's under investigation by state and federal wildlife law enforcement. "We are concerned about the claws entering the commercial market," said Kqyn Kuka, a Conrad-based game warden with Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks. To read more, click here.
--At least one bear rampaged through a campground Wednesday near Yellowstone National Park in the middle of the night, killing one person and injuring two others during a terrifying attack that forced people to hide in their cars as the animal tore through tents. Three separate attacks left a male dead and a female and another male injured at the Soda Butte campground. The female suffered severe lacerations from bites on her arms, and the surviving male was bitten on his calf. Both were hospitalized in Cody, Wyoming. To read more, click here.
--There are a number of plans that have been proposed for the extension of the Appalachian Trail across international boarders. Extending the trail into Canada makes a lot of sense, but what about extending it along it's ancient historic geographical line through Europe and Africa? That's what one group is currently proposing. To read more, click here.
--Last week the Public Lands Service Corps Act (HR 1612) was passed by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. This important piece of legislation, which already has passed the U.S. House of Representatives on March 20, 2010, would dramatically expand opportunities for young people to serve on public lands through conservation corps’ programs. To read more, click here.
--Kelly Cordes writes a great article -- after an injury of course -- about why you should wear your helmet! To read it, click here.
