--A Tacoma woman who became lost Saturday on a day hike near Lake Ingalls near Mount Stuart in Central Washington survived three nights in a series of snowstorms by wrapping herself in a plastic trash bag. Search and rescue personnel indicated that 50-year-old Natalya Manko wisely decided to return to the site where she lost her way, after failing to find a way out. To read more, click here.
--A hiker who fell and fractured both of his legs while ascending Aasgard Pass Thursday was in serious condition Saturday morning. A helicopter crew from Fairchild Air Force Base rescued Kwang R. Jang, 64, of Lacey, shortly before 10 a.m., said search and rescue personnel. To read more, click here.
--After the tragic death of a hiker in the Olympic National Forest last week where a hiker was killed by a goat, REI has put together a nice blog on how to act around mountain goats. To read the article, please click here.
Sierra:
--Three mountain climbers who had been missing for over four days on Mt. Whitney were found uninjured last Thursday and were transported to a regional Inyo County hospital for medical evaluations. The three men from Omaha -- Phillip Michael Abraham, 34; Stevan James Filips, 43; and Dale Clymens, 45 -– were found in alive and well in Mount Whitney's summit hut. In addition to the thee men, two other backcountry users were also found. To read more, click here and here.
--On October 16th, a woman fell nearly 110 feet in the Owens River Gorge. It's not clear what caused the fall or why she fell, but there was a moment where a rope snagged and helped slow her down. It appears that she suffered a broken pelvis and some fractured vertebrae. To read more, click here.
--Vail Resorts announced Monday that it has acquired Northstar-at-Tahoe Resort in North Lake Tahoe, Calif. Vail Resorts acquired the stock of the companies that operate Northstar-at-Tahoe from Booth Creek Resort Properties LLC and other sellers for $63 million. To read more, click here.
--Yosemite National Park is no longer in danger of losing its medical clinic service, officials announced last week. National Park Service staff assigned from the U.S. Public Health Service will take over the Yosemite Medical Clinic, which would have closed at the end of the year if a new provider had not been found. Doctors Medical Center in Modesto, which has operated the clinic for 15 years, will end service December 31st. To read more, click here.
--Swiss transplants, Bernd and Hjoerdis Zeugswette and their friend Greg Corliss recently completed a new route in the Mount Whitney region of the Sierra Nevada. The new route is on the Fourth Pillar of the Whitney Massif and clocks in at 5.11, A1. To read more, click here.
Desert Southwest:
--Climate Change will raise temperatures in Joshua Tree National Park and the Mojave National Preserve by about 8 degrees, pushing them well past the historic average at Death Valley by the end of the century, according to a study released Tuesday by environmental groups. The projections are in a report by the Rocky Mountain Climate Organization in Denver and the Natural Resources Defense Council in New York looking at the impact of warming on the 10 national parks in California. To read more, click here.
--The geologic beauty of Zion National Park was created by rock slides, earthquakes, landslides, flooding and debris flows. And those forces are a threat to tourists and people who live in surrounding towns and along the popular highway leading into the park. A recently completed study of the region, based on existing maps of the hazard-prone areas, will help park managers protect visitors as they plan future construction.To read more, click here.
Himalaya:
Joe Puryear
From Joe's Website
Joe grew up climbing in the Cascade Range of Washington. Joe's climbing career has taken him around the world to such places as the Nepal, China, Patagonia, Mexico, the Andes, the Alps, Africa, and the Canadian Rockies. Most recently he has been making been making first peak ascents of major Himalayan summits, with seven to his credit so far. Over the last 15 years he has also climbed extensively in Alaska and has written a guidebook to the Alaska Range called Alaska Climbing. Joe resides in Leavenworth, Washington with his wife Michelle.
--Chhewang Nima, a legendary Everest Sherpa, is still missing and feared dead in the Himalaya. On October 23rd, Nima was fixing ropes on Baruntse (23,494') for a British expedition, when an avalanche hit and caused him to fall down the north-east slope of the mountain. A renowned mountain climber, Nima was well respected in climbing circles for reaching the summit of Everest nineteen times. To read more, click here.
--The Spanish National Women's Alpine Climbing Team had a tremendously successful summer in both the West Pyrenees and the Karakoram, completing five first ascents. The expedition, which featured four of Spain's top female climbers, took a year of preparation and research before they set foot in the mountains. To read more, click here.
--Climber and Arctic explorer Eric Larsen is the first person ever to reach the North and South poles and the summit of Mount Everest in under a year. Larsen traveled to places he calls "the top, bottom and roof of the world" with the goal of boosting awareness of the impact of climate change on remote environments. To read more, click here.
Notes from All Over:
--Grand Teton National Park rangers rescued an uninjured climber last Wednesday from 12,325-foot Teewinot Peak. Eric Steinmann, 26, called a friend from the East Face of the mountain to report he was in a location where he couldn’t continue climbing without risking a fall. Rangers launched a rescue shortly thereafter. Due to the lateness of the call they used a helicopter to perform the rescue.To read more, click here.
The Tallest Climbing Wall in the World
From DVICE
--The Excalibur in Groningen, Netherlands, is likely the tallest climbing wall in the world. Though it's not easy to see in the picture, one aspect of the 121 foot wall is somewhat overhung. To read more, click here.
--Film-maker Oakley Anderson-Moore has recently finished an early edit of a film about the first real generation of American rock climbers. Anderson-Moore's film, "The Last Wild Mountain: Portrait of the American Climber" will air at the American Mountaineering Museum, in Golden, Colorado, on November 16. To read more, click here.
--For over 10 years the Winder Wildlands Alliance has been working closely with Friends of the Routt Backcountry on resolving conflicts in the Hahn's Peak Area of the Routt National Forest in Colorado. Unfortunately, the Forest Service has failed to adequately consider the impacts of a proposed snowmobile trail to the local backcountry ski community and we need your help. The Routt National Forest has issued an Environmental Analysis that ignores the impact s of snowmobiles to the environment and other recreationists. The preferred alternative would establish a new snowmobile trail through the middle of a popular and historic non-motorized ski destination. Currently there is less than thirty days to submit comments on this plan. To read more, click here.
--The Asian Piolet d'Or took place this week. The following is a roundup from the Explorer's Web:
Japanese Yasushi Okada and Katsutake Yokoyama have won the fifth "Les Piolets d’Or Asia" after their new route on Canada's Mt. Logan (5,900m), according to the decision of a jury headed by Denis Urubko. The ceremony was held in Seoul earlier today.
The first Les Piolets d’Or Asia Achievement Award was given to the late Mr. Tstuneo Hasegawa. He died in an avalanche in October 1991.
As for rock climbing, Ja-In Kim received the 'Golden Climbing Shoes', while the ‘Silver Shoes’ went to Hee-yong Park.
--In the very small world of climbing companies, lawsuits between them make big news. That's why the fact that Mad Rock filed a lawsuit against Climb X is noteworthy. To read about the specifics, click here.
--Officials say a climbing wall collapse at a northwestern Montana church camp sent eight children to area hospitals with broken bones and heavy bruising. Glacier Camp and Conference Center Interim Director Steve Edwards says the collapse occurred about 10 a.m. Saturday at the camp next to the scenic Flathead Lake near the town of Lakeside. To read more, click here.
The North Face of the Eiger
--While we don't normally cover climbing competitions, this one stood out. Chris Sharma recently won the deep-water soloing tournament on Sunday in the Basque city of Bilbao in north-central Spain. This event drew nearly 5000 spectators, which is likely the largest audience any climbing event has ever drawn. To read more, click here.
