On September 9 two experienced climbers decided to turn around before making the summit of Mt. Victoria. On their descent, the female member of the climbing team fell and slid down the northeast face for approximately 45 meters. She miraculousl...
We had four main events in 2012 and also met frequently at Cal Tech for programs such as the Reel Rock Film Festival and the Banff Film Festival tours, sponsored by the Cal Tech Alpine Club. On March 23 the section participated in a service pro...
Rangers rescued two people seriously injured in separate falling accidents in early June. The first one (not a climbing accident), on June 8, involved a 19-year old Massachusetts man who was jumping around on the rocks near the summit of Acadia...
On February 25, I (Mike Best, no age given) arrived at Rumbling Bald around 7:50 a.m. to meet John, my partner for the day. We started with Comatose (5.8), followed by an unnamed sport climb (5.9). After completing both climbs we elected to do...
On August 11 two climbers were making an attempt on the East Ridge of Mt. Temple. As the lead climber was nearing the top of the Big Step, he fell approximately three to five meters and broke his right ankle. His partner took over the lead, and...
As a part of a climbing camp set up in Icefall Brook, a party of six was traversing Division Peak near the Lyell Icefields on August 5. While descending the final peak, a member of the party was hit by rockfall on the arm and sustained a compou...
Ankle injuries were the most common reported in Muir Valley in 2012. There were six that Muir Valley Rescue volunteers responded to. Climbers were treated, transported to their cars, and directed to medical care. Many ankle injuries in this are...
On September 9, Dennis (27) and TJ (25) were trad climbing Armbuster (5.9), located in the Bird’s Nest area of Great Falls. Leading the route, TJ fell at the crux a few feet above his top piece of protection. This top piece, a nut that had he...
In 2012 the section pulled off another full slate of “Climb-munity” gatherings, which continue to be popular and well attended. These included a January ice-climbing weekend in Cold Stream Canyon, near Truckee; a May rock-climbing weekend at Pin...
A climber left Calgary on the morning of August 4, telling his wife that he was going to Castle Mountain. He did not return home that evening. Banff Dispatch was contacted the following morning by a friend of the missing climber. The friend rep...
On October 26 a man (45) with significant rock climbing and paramedic rescue experience fell from a height of about 30 feet, sustaining serious injuries. “I can’t tell you how embarrassing it is to have had such an accident,” the man reported. ...
We dedicated the summer of 2012 to designing and installing a solid-waste dehydrating system for the Snowbird Hut outhouse. Several passive systems were integrated into the outhouse design, including urine separation, passive solar, and contin...
On June 16 a man (48) started to climb a sport route called I Banged my ***** Knee. When he got about eight feet off the ground and was attempting to clip the first bolt, he fell and impacted the ground. His fractured his right tibia and fibula...
During the early afternoon of January 2, Bill McAfee (40) fell off Good Samaritans (5.9+), located on the Cereal Buttress. He had placed a solid-looking No. 3 Camalot about 10 to 12 feet into the climb. He climbed another 10 feet or so, and was...
On August 2 two climbers who were relatively inexperienced started late in the day on a route that they thought was Ballista. Ballista is a bolted sport climb on the southeast face of Tunnel Mountain. They were climbing very slowly, and at one ...
Fifteen reports from the Gunks were submitted for 2012, not including the previous incident. There was only one fatality, on April 29, when the anchor system at the top of Easy Keyhole (5.2) failed as Stephanie Prezant (22) was about to be low...
On March 31, Art Webb (51) was climbing the Piton Crack (5.7) on Skyline Wall when he took a short pendulum fall (under 10 feet) on a traversing tight hand and finger crack. The fall caused him to strike a chunk of rock on a small, jutting arêt...
On July 31 two climbers were descending the standard route on Mt. Lefroy around 6 p.m. When they were approximately halfway down the route, one of the climber’s crampons fell off. His climbing partner was 15 meters below and started to ascend...
Late in the afternoon on June 19, a man (44) was climbing a sport route named Earth Surfer (5.11d) in Muir Valley. While on lead about 50 feet up and being belayed by his 15-year-old son, he groaned and went limp as though he had passed out. ...
On July 27 a group of three climbers was descending the normal route on Mt. Lefroy after making a successful summit. One member of the party was making a short traverse over some icy rocks and slipped. He was not wearing crampons. He proceeded ...