Accident Reports AAJ
Upper Darcha Valley, Goat Peak, South Ridge India, Himachal Pradesh

On September 4 an Indian expedition made the second ascent of Goat Peak via the complete south ridge. The 10-member expedition, under Dipankar Ghosh, had planned to attempt both Peak 6,115m and Peak 6,125m on the Indian Survey map, unaware that th...

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| Published 2015 | Author Lindsay Griffin


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
Gompe Tokpo Glacier, Peaks T19 and T20, Attempt India, Zanskar

A student team from Nippon University Alpine Club reached the col between T19 (6,162m) and T20 (6,157m), on the north side of the Gompe Tokpu. However, they were unable to ascend either ridge above the col (ca 5,600m). There is no evidence of eith...

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| Published 2015 | Author Kimikazu Sakamoto


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
Pangong Range, Kakstet Kangri, First Winter Ascent India, Ladakh

Kakstet Kangri (6,561m) is an attractive mountain on the south bank of the Pangong Tso and is named after Kakstet village, from which it can easily be seen. It was climbed on September 3, 2001, by 11 young members of the Eighth Mountain Division o...

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| Published 2015 | Author Lindsay Griffin


Accident Reports ANAM
Slip on Rock – No Rope or Anchor Colorado, Rocky Mountain National Park, Lumpy Ridge, Batman Rock

Rocky Mountain National Park rangers were notified by climbers that a man fell from the summit of Batman Rock to the base around 6:15 p.m. on September 19. The 24-year-old Vancouver, British Columbia, man was hiking and scouting climbing routes. H...

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| Published 2015


Accident Reports ANAM
Fall During Approach – Off-Route Colorado, Boulder, Skunk Canyon

On November 8, my wife Becky (age 45) and I (Dave, age 35) were approaching the Angels Way route on Ridge Three in the Flatirons near Boulder. The weather forecast for the day was optimal, with highs in the lower 60s and no precipitation expected....

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| Published 2015 | Author Dave Barnard


Accident Reports ANAM
Lost – Inexperience, Exhaustion, Climbing Alone California, Mt. Shasta, Avalanche Gulch

On February 16, at 7 a.m., lead ranger Nick Meyers received a call from the Siskiyou County SAR coordinator about a lost climber on Shasta. A solo, male climber, 37 years of age, with little to no experience, had attempted to climb the Avalanche G...

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| Published 2015


Accident Reports ANAM
Fall on Rock – Free-Solo Climbing Colorado, Boulder, Gregory Flatironette

On September 27, two hikers found the body of Angus Moloney (22) near the trail at the base of a rock formation called the Gregory Flatironette (a.k.a. the Fifth Pinnacle) in Boulder’s Open Space and Mountain Parks. Moloney, originally from New Yo...

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| Published 2015


Accident Reports ANAM
River Crossing – Fatigue Alaska, Brooks Range, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Four friends—Dave, Edward, Greg, and Jill—planned to attempt Mt. Itso (8,975 feet) in the Brooks Range. The group flew to the upper Jago River landing site and crossed the river without incident. After five days of strenuous effort, via two differ...

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| Published 2015 | Author Dick Dorworth


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
Triangle Peak, West Face, Possible First Ascent Alaska, Alaska Range, Delta Mountains

In April 2015, Bryan Sehmel and I climbed the west face of Triangle Peak in the Delta Mountains, an eastern subrange of the Alaska Range. Triangle Peak (7,100') is typically accessed from the Castner Glacier and climbed via the moderate north ridg...

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| Published 2015 | Author Jason Shorey


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
Asperity Mountain, Southwest Face, Happy Trio Canada, British Columbia, Coast Mountains, Waddington Range

While I was taking my ACMG apprentice alpine guide exam, Craig McGee, one of my instructors, told me about the Waddington Range. “It’s amazing,” he explained. “Like Chamonix, but ten times as big. Also, there is still a lot of potential for first ...

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| Published 2016 | Author Takeshi Tani


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
Chhogo Valley, T16, South Summit, Southwest Face; T13, Northwest Ridge, Attempt India, Zanskar

Working with a report in the Japanese Alpine News by Kimikazu Sakamoto and some Google Earth imagery, but with limited information on the peaks we hoped to climb, we decided to plan a low-budget summer expedition to the Zanskar Range. Sakamoto’s r...

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| Published 2016 | Author Cosmin Andron


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
Otis Peak, South Face Spires, Many New Routes Colorado, Front Range, Rocky Mountain National Park

Otis Peak is a 12,486’ mountain along the Continental Divide with a broad south face that hosts a plethora of spires along its east to west axis. After climbing Zowie, a tower at the eastern end of Otis Peak, I spotted some uncharted terrain to th...

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| Published N/A | Author Cory Fleagle


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
The Guardian, North and Northeast Faces, Possible New Routes Colorado, San Juan Mountains

Early on July 3, Jay Bachhuber, Michael Crouch, Jeff Woodward, and I forded the Rio Grande in a Toyota Tacoma and drove to the Hunchback Pass trailhead. Our party of four approached the Guardian (13,617’) that morning, crossing Vallecito Creek by ...

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| Published 2015 | Author Ben Chapman


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
Dog Tooth Peak, South Face of Eastern Summit, Lady and the Tramps Wyoming, Wind River Range

It is impossible to shiver through a belay on the north face of the Monolith and not notice the sunny, warm south face of Dog Tooth Peak across the canyon. It is also impossible to ignore the line that splits the middle of Dog Tooth Peak’s souther...

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| Published 2015 | Author Sam Lightner Jr.


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
Fremont Peak, West Face, They Live Wyoming, Wind River Range

Our time was running out. Mark Evans, Oli Shaw, and I had already bailed from high on Fremont Peak’s west face—twice. On our first magnificent failure, in September 2014, we nearly froze to the wall (see AAJ 2015). The second was a week ago, from ...

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| Published 2015 | Author Shingo Ohkawa


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
Agujas del Sosneado, Torre Blanca de Ectelion, Jumanji Argentina-Chile, Central Andes

On March 23, Argentine climbers Charly Contartese, Esteban Degregori, and Juancho Torres opened a new route in the granite towers known as Agujas del Sosneado, on Torre Blanca de Ectelion. This is the second route on the tower and is located left ...

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| Published 2015 | Author Marcelo Scanu


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
Torres del Brujo, Cerro Alto de los Arrieros Argentina-Chile, Central Andes

In October, Ricardo Hernandez and I traveled to the Torres del Brujo (a.k.a. Sierra del Brujo), in the VI region of Chile. We started up the University Glacier until the point where it intersects the Mañke Glacier—a two-day approach. It took one a...

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| Published 2015 | Author Elvis Acevedo


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
Cerro Tito, East Face Argentina-Chile, Central Andes

On January 10, 2016, Argentine climbers Lissandro Arelovich and Glauco Muratti ascended an unclimbed 4,905m peak above Quebrada Potrero Escondido. They departed on January 7 from Punta de Vacas, making three camps west of the peak before beginning...

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| Published 2016 | Author Marcelo Scanu


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
Cerro Colorado and Cresta Escondida Argentina-Chile, Central Andes

On November 14, Argentines Adrían Petrocelli and Ramiro Casas departed from Punta de Vacas, trekked along Quebrada Tupungato, and camped in Quebrada Potrero Escondido at ca 4,100m. The next day they continued to the foot of unclimbed Cerro Colorad...

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| Published 2015 | Author Marcelo Scanu


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
Mt. Parofes and Other Volcano Ascents Argentina-Chile, Northern Andes

Mt. Parofes is a 5,845m volcano that rises between Pissis and Bonete in Argentina’s La Rioja Province. It was said to be the highest unclimbed American summit, until Máximo Kausch (Argentina), Jovany Blume, and Pedro Hauck (both Brazil) ascended i...

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| Published 2015 | Author Marcelo Scanu