American Alpine Club Grants
The American Alpine Club provides resources for climbers and explorers to attempt new challenges, conduct scientific research, and conserve mountain environments. The AAC gives out more than $35,000 annually, although the size and number of awards vary from year to year. In 2006, the Zack Martin Breaking Barriers Grant was awarded for the first time; this grant goes to an expedition that combines a serious climbing objective with a humanitarian mission. For more information on all the grant programs, please visit www.americanalpineclub.org.
Grant recipients’ original objectives are reported below; in some cases, they may have decided to attempt other objectives. Expeditions labeled with an asterisk (*) are reported in this Journal.
LYMAN SPITZER CUTTING EDGE AWARDS (2006)
Mike Libecki, Salt Lake City, Utah*
Attempts on new routes in remote valleys in Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan $2,500
Will Mayo, Northfield, Vermont*
Attempt on new line on the south face of Mt. Foraker in Alaska $1,500
Mike Schaefer, Snohomish, Washington*
Attempt on the direct east face of Uli Biaho in Pakistan $5,000
Josh Wharton, Rifle, Colorado*
Attempt on the north ridge of Shingu Charpa in Pakistan $3,000
MOUNTAIN FELLOWSHIP AWARDS (FALL 2005)
Michael Buchanan, Salt Lake City, Utah
Attempts on new routes on Peak 11,300' and the northwest face of the Rooster Comb, Alaska $800 (John R. Hudson Fund)
Adam Fruh and Aaron Thrasher, Bozeman, Montana
Attempt on the south face of Kichatna Spire, Alaska $900 each
MOUNTAIN FELLOWSHIP AWARDS (SPRING 2006)
Alison Criscitiello (Winchester, MA) and Jessica Drees (Seattle, WA)
Climb the three highest peaks in Ecuador $500 each (REI Challenge Fund)
Elena Mihaly and Jeremy Roop, Colorado Springs, Colorado
Attempt on a new route in the Cirque of the Unclimbables, Northwest Territories, Canada $800 each (REI Challenge Fund)
Mark Thomas, Berkeley, California
Attempt on a new route on Peak 11,300' and ice lines on the northwest shoulder of the Rooster Comb in Alaska $700 (Boyd Everett Jr. Fund)
Tim Tormey, Fort Collins, Colorado
Attempt to link the North and South Howser Towers in Canada's Bugaboos in a push $800 (REI Challenge Fund)
Dave Turner, Sacramento, California*
Major objectives in the Cordillera Blanca of Peru and Paine region of Patagonia $600 (Rick Mosher Fund)
2006 RESEARCH GRANTS
The Arthur K. Gilkey Memorial Research Fund, the William Putnam Research Fund, and the Bedayn Research Fund
Tana Beus, Bellingham, Washington
Decline of mountain goats in their historic range in the North Cascades $400
Keith Bosak, Boone, North Carolina
Mountain tourism, information technologies, and womens empowerment in the Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve, Garhwal Himalaya, India $500
Monica Bruckner, Bozeman, Montana
Biochemical changes in alpine catchments in response to glacial retreat $1,000
Teresa Chuang, Berkeley, California
Species shift as a result of climate change in the Sierra Nevada $1,000
Adam French, Missoula, Montana
Analyzing local livelihood needs and crafting strategies for community-managed protected areas in the Cordillera Huayhuash of Peru $500
Jason Gulley, Richmond, Kentucky
Subglacial and englacial conduits of the Matanuska Glacier, Alaska $500
Micah Jessup, Blacksburg, Virginia
Updated high-resolution map of the Everest region $1,000
Sarah Laxton, Cincinnati, Ohio
Reconstruction of late Holocene glacier activity in the Lahul and Garhwal Himalaya, India $1,000
Koren Nydick, Silverton, Colorado
Alpine plants in the San Juan Mountains of southern Colorado and their response to climate change $600
Kurt Refsnider, Madison, Wisconsin
Glacial and paleoclimate history of the Sangre de Cristo Range, Colorado $600
Clint Rogers, Piedmont, California
Subsistence trade in the borderlands of Nepal-Tibet $1,000
ZACK MARTIN BREAKING BARRIERS GRANT (2006)
Adam French, Missoula, Montana
Attempt on the east ridge of Huantsan in Peru’s Cordillera Blanca and construction of a composting toilet in the Ishinca Valley in Huascarán National Park $2,500