Mount Powell, East Face. Intending to climb the original route on the east face of Mount Powell, on August 28 I told my brother Glenn the first pitch was 5.8 and the rest easier. After two pitches of solid 5.8, it was obvious we were lost. I heade...
Kang Guru Attempt. Englishmen Michael Chapman and Nick Seely were attempting to climb Kang Guru via the west face to the northwest ridge. They reached a high point of 20,350 feet on April 24. They were moving up to the 21,000-foot site of their si...
Cathedral Peak, Southwest Ridge. During August a large Commonwealth team consisting of Howie Richardson, Robin Mounsey, Bob Cuthbert, Bruce McPherson and myself made the first ascent of the southwest ridge integrale of this granitic peak. Steep, e...
Meru North Tragedy. In the post-monsoon season, a three-man Japanese expedition led by Sohei Suzuki had a tragic end to their second attempt on Meru North. They had chosen a line of mixed snow and rock to the left of the original route on the nort...
Tawoche Northeast Buttress Attempt. Robin Molinatti, Pierre Fermin, Stephan Garczinski and I as leader hoped in the post-monsoon season to climb a new route, the northeast buttress of Tawoche (6501 meters, 21,327 feet). Because of bad snow conditi...
IMPROPER DECISION—FAILING TO TURN BACK, WEATHER, INADEQUATE EQUIPMENT, FAILURE TO FOLLOW ROUTEOregon, Mount HoodOn May 1, 1993, Robert McQueen (38), Lisa Padilla (42), and Lance Piatt (32) were descending Mount Hood in an intensifying storm. In th...
Shisha Pangma. A French commercial expedition made up of four men and four women was led by Jean-Pierre Bernard. Base Camp was reached on August 7. On August 25, leader Bernard, Charles Davignon, Bruno Lascoumes, Michel Monnier, Emmanuelle Jacquet...
Mount Prater, Hidden Couloir. In late September 1980, Del Johns and I approached the unclimbed east face of Mount Prater (13,329 feet) by way of Tinemaha Creek. At first it appeared the route would be all rock; however, part way up the face a deep...
Bhagirathi IV Attempt. Slovenes Matjaž Jamnik and Silvo Karo hoped to climb the west face of Bhagirathi IV. Unfortunately, during the 36 days they were in the region, only three days were without rain or snow. They made 11 attempts on the face, re...
AAC, Oregon Section. Throughout the year 2001 the Oregon Section was very active in working on matters of conservation, access, and trail building. With funding from a Lyman Spitzer grant, stairs were built and 210 feet of bouldering landing were ...
Travelers’ Medical Resource: A guide to health & safety worldwide. William W.Forgey. ICS Books, Merrillville, Indiana, 1990. 627 pages. $19.95. FarFrom Help. Peter Steele. Cloudcap, Seattle, 1990. 241 pages, illustrated.$14.95. Wilderness and ...
FALL ON SNOW, UNABLE TO SELF-ARREST, CLIMBING UNROPEDWyoming, Grand Teton National Park, TeewinotOn August 1, Pamela Foyster (36) was descending the east face of Teewinot. About 1315 she fell while plunge-stepping down the snow which leads down fr...
Climbers Guide to Smith Rock. Alan Watts. Chockstone Press, Evergreen, CO,1992. 341 pages. $19.95.This long-awaited guide goes way beyond serving as a roadmap for the more than 1000 routes at the park: it’s a riveting read, a fascinating glimpse i...
Bitterroot Mountains, Various Activity. An entry for new climbs in the Bitterroot Mountains is well overdue, since the last AAJ entry was made by Stephen Porcella five years ago. Since 1997, many significant first ascents have been established in ...
FALL ON ROCK, CLIMBING UNROPED Washington, Chair PeakOn August 28, Eric Boldes (18) fell 150 feet to his death at the 5000-foot level while climbing with a friend. They were climbing independently at the time. (Source: King County Police, Major In...
The Sentinel, Brown-Eyed Girl. In late April, a certain Montana boy (who wishes to remain anonymous) and Joel Nolte climbed a new route on the north face of the Sentinel formation, in the Court of the Patriarchs. Brown-Eyed Girl (V+ 5.8 A3+) follo...
Xiashe, north face; Peak 5,690m, northeast ridge, attempt. It was Tamotsu Nakamuras telephoto of Xiashe’s north face appearing in the AAJ that persuaded us to visit. We were looking for an objective that would require little acclimatization, was a...
Cho Oyu from Tibet in the Post-Monsoon. Cho Oyu was successfully climbed in the autumn by 35 climbers, bringing the total of foreign—or non-Sherpa—summiters to 409. All, except for the brilliant Japanese trio whose climb is recorded under the Nepa...
Hati (5,524m), first ascent. It was early May, and within minutes of embarking from the jeep in the Zhopu Pasture, David Sykes, our L.O. Lenny, and I were surrounded by local families on their annual cater pillar-fungus hunting holiday. These grou...
I screamed down to David as I desperately groped for a hold below me, trying to reverse the move I had just made.“I’m coming off!!!”The screech of my crampons against rock echoed across the ravine. I was keenly aware of the double-zero Camalot thr...