Climbing and Outdoor News from Here and Abroad - 12/23/10

Northwest:

--A Revelstoke man plucked from freezing water after being trapped at the bottom of a Banff-area creek remembers gasping for breath in a pocket of air under the ice, wondering if he'd ever see his loved ones again. Eric Vezeau, 42, said his rescue was, "pure damn luck."  The backcountry ski guide ventured out alone Monday onto the creek below Johnston Canyon, approximately 15 kilometres west of Banff. He was equipped with crampons and a helmet, but as he stepped off the shore and onto the frozen creek, the ice gave way and sent him into the freezing water, under the ice. To read more, click here.

--A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter flew a Southwestern Oregon Community College student to Bay Area Hospital last night after the 20-year-old man fell off a cliff near Bastendorff Beach near Coquille, Oregon. Charleston Rural Fire Protection District Chief Mick Sneddon said three young men had been climbing a cliff off Yoakum Point last week when one fell onto the rocks and into a small chasm. To read more, click here.

--Skiers in White Pass are having a hard time.  It appears that they keep getting lost beyond the bounds of the new Paradise Basin expansion.  Skiers who are lost and need to be recovered are being charged by the ski patrol for their rescues.  To read more, click here.

--An avid skier lost on Mt. Spokane this weekend overcame snow, rain, and 20-degree temperatures to survive.  Sixty-six year-old Wayne Schuh says he kept going even when he almost lost hope. 
A wrong turn led Schuh down the backside of Mt. Spokane and he found himself in a dangerous spot. After decades of skiing, Saturday was the first time he had ever been lost.

--Despite almost 300 more Squamish bear calls in 2010 than in 2009, the calls were more sightings than conflicts. “Out of over 500 calls 61 per cent were just sightings,” said local Bear Aware co-ordinator Meg Toom. “Bears walking through the street, bears walking through a yard — there was no real conflict involved.”  To read more, click here.


--The Squamish Access Society has started its winter re-bolting initiative.  If you would like to learn more or if you would like to get involved, click here.


Sierra:

--Well respected Yosemite guide Albert Nugue was killed in a traffic accident in San Jose on Sunday.  Nugue recently climbed 36 pitches in a day to celebrate his 36th birthday.  He was well known to climbers througout California and Thailand where he spent a handful of winters.  To read more, click here.  To read a profile of him, click here.

Desert Southwest:

--The weather has been crazy this week.  The Red Rock Canyon Scenic Drive has been sporadically open due to flooding.  And Zion National Park is closed until further notice.  To read about the Zion, click here.

--A 34-year veteran of the National Park Service is the newly appointed superintendent for Joshua Tree National Park, effective next month, it was announced Monday.  Mark Butler replaces Curtis Sauer, who retired in September and “has extensive experience in park management, planning, partnerships and public involvement,” said Pacific West Regional Director Chris Lehnertz.  To read more, click here.

Alaska:

Mount Hunter during the Regular Climbing Season

Photo by Jason Martin

--Mountaineer Lonnie Dupre, 49, is going to attempt a solo climb of Denali in January.  Dupre has a great deal of wilderness experience and says he understands the danger he faces on this journey, with temperatures down to 50 below and winds of 100 mph or more. “Only nine expeditions totaling sixteen people have ever reached the summit of Denali in winter,” he states on his website. “Six deaths resulted from those climbs. Only one team has ever made the summit in January, the dead of winter.  To read more, click here.

Himalaya:

--Joel Kauffman and Jarad Vilhauer climbed a beautiful ice line on the southwest face of Lobuje East (20,075') in Nepal's Khumbu Himal. Night Terror climbs a runnel of ice up an enormous corner and clocks in at WI5+ AI4 M7 85°.  To read more, click here.

 --Max Belleville, Mathiew Detrie, Mathieu Maynadier and Seb Ratel were the first to complete an ascent of Lunag II (22,408') near the Nepal-Tibet boarder.  The French team finished the mixed route on a three day stint in October.  To read more, click here.

Notes from All Over:

--A 22-year old British woman was killed in Aspen last week after skiing into a tree.  Kiera Tonish lived and worked at Aspen over the last two season.  To read more, click here.

--A skier was lucky to survive after he was caught by an avalanche on Sunday.  In Granite Canyon north of Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, a skier who left the resort boundary triggered a slide that carried him 1,000 feet. The skier — the third to cross the steep slope — was injured but not buried.  To read more, click here.

--Police have charged a man with child abuse for punching a 14-year-old girl in the face Friday on Beaver Creek Mountain in Colorado.  The Sheriff's Office gave Scott Filler, 41, of Decatur, Ga., a summons to appear in court for misdemeanor child abuse, a police spokesman said.  The 14-year-old girl from Mexico had been skiing on a beginner run with a ski school class when she swerved to avoid a skier who had fallen in front of her, the statement said. The girl bumped into a 4-year-old boy who had been skiing with his father on the same run. The boy and girl fell, the statement said.  The father of the 4-year-old boy said he thought his son had been seriously hurt and that the girl had been skiing carelessly. To read more, click here.

--The Ouray Ice Park has been closed for most of the week due to rain and warm temperatures.  They are hoping to open the canyon to limited use this weekend.  To learn more, click here.

--The American Alpine Club has purchased 40 acres of land in Fayetteville, West Virginia within walking distance of rock climbing at the New River Gorge. The AAC’s plan is to build a campground for climbers at this location.  This purchase was made possible by the generosity of AAC donors along with other financing. Notably, just over one-third of the funding was a loan from the Access Fund Land Conservation Campaign. The property was chosen by local climbers and the New River Alliance of Climbers.  To read more, click here.

--Speaking of the South... It looks like some people really want to go skiing.  On Wednesday, a young man decided to go "road skiing," that is, he decided that he wanted to be pulled on skis by a pickup truck.  Unfortunately for him, he decided to do it right in front of a Sheriff's Deputy.  To read more, click here. 

--The UK Climbing website has publicly raised doubts about a leading sponsored UK-climber may be lying about his accomplishments.  The website asked Rich Simpson a number of simple and straightforward questions about his ascents, like who belayed you, and the climber refused to comment.  Both Wild Country and Scarpa have pulled their sponsorships from the individual.  To read more, click here.

--Early this Fall, Dick Jackson, a climber, guide and paraglider, launched off the top of a peak in Western Colorado and crashed. Jackson suffered multiple injuries in his accident and is still recovering in a wheelchair.  This week the Forest Service is considering whether they will fine Jackson for violating a regulation against mechanized use in wilderness areas. The question is whether a paraglider is considered in the same light as a hang glider.  To read more, click here and here.