Happy Thanksgiving from the Guides and Staff of the
American Alpine Institute!
Northwest
--For the second year in a row, the American Alpine Institute will be celebrating International Mountain Day in Bellingham on December 11th. We will be offering free rock rescue seminars on the 11th, and free avalanche awareness seminars on the 2nd and the 11th. We will be selling raffle tickets at all of the events and will be raising money for the Central Asia Institute. To learn more about our International Mountain Day events, please click here.
--The Western side of the Cascades has been hit by a series of snowstorms over the last few days. And while people in Seattle are calling it Snomageddon and Snopacalypse, this pre-Thanksgiving storm has helped to ensure that all ski areas will open on time and indeed, that the North Cascades are already on track for a major snow year...
--Daily forecasts from the Northwest Weather and Avalanche Center began yesterday. To check avalanche conditions, click here.
Sierra:
--In the northern Nevada Sierra foothills, search and rescue crews continued to look for a Reno hiker missing for three days in very rough weather. An Inyo search team member joined the effort.
Corporal Terry Waterbury, Inyo Search and Rescue Co-ordinator, confirmed that one team member responded to the request for assistance. News reports from Reno said that Rick Gentry had telephoned law officers about 5pm Sunday to say he was lost and not dressed for the extreme cold. To read more, click here.
Desert Southwest
--It should be noted that this is one of the most popular weekends of the year for climbing in Smith Rock State Park, Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, and in Joshua Tree National Park. Camping is limited at each locale, so try to help your neighbors out and share your space with other climbers, You might make some new friends, or even earn yourself a beer or two for being neighborly...
John Roshalt in Red Rock Canyon
--The remains of missing climber, John "The Gambler" Roshalt, were found this week near the Prince of Darkness (IV, 5.10c) in the Black Velvet Canyon of Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. Roshalt, a professional gambler, went missing in 2005. As his vehicle was found in a casino parking lot, many believed that he was a victim of foul play. Now it appears that he may have died in a fall. It's not clear whether he was free-soloing or simply checking out some route potential. To read more, click here and here.
--It appears that late on Friday night, 40-year old Lance Leeroy Arellano shot and injured 34-year old state park ranger Brody Young near Moab, Utah. Officials say the shootout occurred after Young stopped a vehicle near the Poison Spider Mesa Trail southwest of Moab near the Colorado River. After the pair exchanged gunfire, Arellano escaped into the desert. Rangers have been scouring the red rock canyons near Moab, searching for the fugitive since the shooting. To read more, click here and here.
--Bees attacked two rock climbers Saturday afternoon as they tried to climb the north face of Camelback Mountain near Phoenix, authorities said. The Fire Department avoided a potentially dangerous and long air rescue had a separate climber not helped the two being attacked, said Captain Scott McDonald, a fire spokesman.The experienced climbers were climbing a route in Echo Canyon around 3pm when they reached the third pitch of a four-pitch climb, McDonald said. This is area is known by local climbers to have bees, including the spot where the climbers were attacked. To read more, click here.
--The following note was posted on Mountain Project in the Red Rock section:
Hi there! I dropped my camera off the fifth pitch on Cat in the Hat on Friday, November 19, 2010. Surprisingly, it landed right next to our packs at the bottom! However, unfortunately, the memory card (with about 400 photos!) and the rechargeable batteries bounced out. If ANYONE happens to see a blue SD memory card, please call/text me at 702-423-2730 or leave it at Red Rock Climbing Center on Charleston near Cimarron for me, Marija Minic.
Notes from All Over:
--Christian "Chris" Pruchnic, the Denver climber who died Saturday afternoon on the route "All Mixed Up on Thatchtop Mountain in Rocky Mountain National Park, was the chair of the Front Range Section of the American Alpine Club. On its website, the American Alpine Club describes Pruchnic, 42, as "an avid adventurer who is passionate about climbing, scuba diving and foreign travel." To read more, click here.
Great Britain's Prince William
Photo from Wikipeida
--The 2010-11 ski season’s first avalanche fatality – a ski patroller death that shut down Wolf Creek ski area Monday – highlights the high avalanche danger created by Sunday’s snowstorm and Monday’s high winds across Colorado. Several media outlets are reporting Wolf Creek has confirmed the director of the southern Colorado resort’s ski patrol died in an inbounds slide Monday, shutting the ski area down for the day. To read more, click here.
--This is an awesome page. The Extreme Ice Survey is a video documentation project that shows glacial recession by using time lapse photography. It's amazing to watch glaciers flow and move at high speed. Check it out here.
-- A Japanese quartet consisting of Mitsuru Kato, Hiroshi Matsushima, Ken Sato and Chiharu Yoshimura recently made the first ascent of Xiaqiangla (17,946') in China's Daxue Shan Range. To read more, click here.
--On November 13, Steve Ashworth and Paddy Cave completed a new line on Scotland's infamous Ben Nevis. The new route, Apache clocks in at a Scottish GradeVIII 9, 100m. To learn more about the route and the Scottish grade comparison, click here.
--It's been a spectacular early season in the Colorado Rockies. A series of bountiful storms has catapulted Colorado's ski hills deep into winter. For many resorts, this is the best opening in the past decade. "It can't get better in November," says Pedro Perez-Soler, a 76-year-old Colorado Springs skier with icicles hanging from his beard. "It's good to be alive in this kind of snow." To read more, click here.
