On August 15 four experienced climbers were climbing the south face of Mt. Geikie. This is a remote, alpine-style rock climb located at the western portion of the Rampart Mountains in Tonquin Valley. They were climbing roped in teams of two, bo...
On July 30, Lloyd Ramsey (70), a local climber well known to the park staff and climbing community, was found dead at the base of the Foreign Trade Zone/Bat Out of Hell area. He had fallen a distance estimated at 50 feet by authorities. He was...
The accident occurred on August 2 during a descent from the shoulder of Rambler Peak, heading toward El Piveto Mountain. This was day two of a planned six- day mountaineering traverse of the Wolf-Cervus Divide, and all members had full packs. D...
In 2012 the section enjoyed a record number of local AAC events, from informal climbing-video nights and first-aid and climbing safety classes to full-on banquets. Let it be said at the outset that all of these events were possible only throug...
On July 8, Eric Metcalf (19), Ian Rogers (19), Addison Guranious (25), and Mitchell Martishius (23) began bouldering around 11 a.m. They planned to finish the day by rappelling Sentinel Buttress, a prominent 200-foot feature near the central pa...
The Mid-Atlantic Section participated in the AAC’s 2012 membership drive at two New Jersey climbing gyms. Michael Feldman manned a table at the Gravity Vault in Chatham, while Barry Rusnock greeted climbers at the New Jersey Rock Gym in Fairfie...
On May 26, my partner Amanda (24) and I (Ryan, 20) started the day with the intent of climbing Catholic School Girls Direct (5.11), but after completing the first pitch we decided to switch to the Original Route (5.10d), which I’d done before. ...
If you mention “New York Section” in AAC circles, people will invariably associate it with our annual black-tie dinner. While the definition of “black tie” has evolved over the last 33 years to include forms of attire scarcely acceptable years a...
On April 14 I was climbing Hominey (5.8) on the Vittles Wall, a 25-foot crag near Hammond Pond. I’ve been climbing for five years, and although I have easily completed routes rated more difficult than this, I have struggled and fallen repeated...
In February our section helped the International Mountain Climbing School sponsor the 19th annual Mt. Washington Valley Ice Fest in North Conway, New Hampshire. On Friday night, Will Gadd showed his short film, “Ice Revolution.” Saturday’s apre?...
Three-hundred and thirty-seven participants were greeted with extremely mild temperatures and a lean ice year at the 2012 Michigan Ice Fest over the first weekend of February. Participants traveled from as far as Kentucky and Colorado to Muni...
Around 8:30 a.m. on July 12, one scrambler in a group of five dislocated his shoulder while climbing on Tick Ridge on Mt. Crandell. The climber did not fall and was able to reverse his moves onto lower-angle terrain, but was in a great deal of ...
This was my first year as chair after the untimely demise of the previous chair, Chris Pruchnic, in a climbing accident in Rocky Mountain National Park. Although the time and commitment of this position sometimes seem daunting, the rewards—tangi...
This incident occurred on September 18. While climbing the Directissima Route on Yamnuska, the leader pulled off a large block, hitting the belayer. The belayer was knocked unconscious for 20 to 25 seconds before becoming responsive. He was ble...
I was guiding a group at Gumbies on April 14 when a woman came up from the gully that leads down to Two Pitch Wall to tell me that Chris Bernick (37) had taken a long fall on Secret Service (5.10+)/Double Naught Spy (5.9 R), rendering him uncon...
Maria Millard (28) was climbing with friends Sigrid Coffin and John Cronin. Moments before she was going to rappel from the top of a climb, her partners recalled her saying, “I’m off belay, I’m safe.” She then fell an estimated 65 feet. Julie L...
On July 2, a party of two was off route near the fifth pitch of Bottleneck on Yamnuska. A foot slipped and the leader fell 15 to 20 meters. All of the lead gear held and stopped the fall. However, one of the party’s double ropes sustained damag...
Utah, the home of many world-class and historically important climbing areas, has finally seceded from the Northern Rockies Section and become, drumroll please, the Utah Section. In 2012 our efforts focused on conservation. On August 18 and 19,...
On July 8 a party of two was ascending the Northeast Ridge (5.6) of Ha Ling Peak. The leader climbed off route and subsequently fell 10 meters, pulling a cam in the process. Kananaskis Public Safety rescuers slung the climbers from the face and...
In our inaugural year as an independent section, we worked with Regional Coordinator Jeff Deikis to achieve a solid start. We initiated a series of communications with club members and created a Facebook presence, and on March 31 AAC members jo...