RAPPEL FAILURE—INADEQUATE ANCHOR EQUIPMENT, NO HARD HATCalifornia, Yosemite Valley, El CapitanAbout 1800 on July 31, Ik Tae Choi (23) died in a fall on the East Ledges descent route on El Capitan. Choi led 5.11, A3 and had six years climbing exper...

This is the thirteenth annual report of the Safety Committee of the American Alpine Club. Only those accidents that occurred in the United States of America are included. In addition to the accidents of 1959, this report includes those reports of ...

FALL ON ROCK, INADEQUATE PROTECTIONQuébec, Mount Saint Hilaire, Dame Noire RouteOn May 31, M.L. (33), with six years of climbing experience, and C.M. were attempting Dame Noire (5.8). M.L. was leading in a dihedral, six meters above his second and...

Chamar Kang, probable first ascent. After a long trek around northern Dolpo following in the footsteps of the great Japanese explorer Ekai Kawaguchi, a seven-member Osaka Yamanokai (Osaka Alpine Club) party, led by Tamotsu Ohnishi, arrived at Tink...

Cerro Fitz Roy, Various Ascents. Italians Michele Guerrini and Diego Stefani climbed the Goretta Pillar via the Cassarotto route with the Kearney variation on November 15, 1995. It is unclear whether they merely reached the top of the pillar or co...

Colorado, Cliff near Virginia Dale. On April 23, Charles Blackmon (26), Merle Ihne (18), and five other University of Wyoming students were participating in a practice rescue and rock evacuation exercise in a granite canyon near Virginia Dale. It ...

Zion, Enchainment. It was reported that in April, Mike Pennings and Jeff Hollenbaugh linked the routes Touchstone Wall, Space Shot, Monkeyfinger Wall and Moonlight Buttress in 18 hours, free climbing through 5.11 and simul-climbing much of the ter...

A.A.C., Oregon Section. Four Section members, Arthur, Cramer, Pooley and McGown together with others, completed the final building requirements for occupancy of Mount Hood’s premier climbing-and-ski hut. Silcox Hut is now open for reservations. A ...

Two paintings by Gabriel Loppé. In the pages of the ‘Alpine Journal’ there is probably no biographical sketch more sympathetic than that of the artist, Gabriel Loppe (1825-1913), by D. W. Freshfield (A.J. 37, 334).Two of his paintings, held by the...

Mount Caubvik, Torngat Mountains, 1982. Mount Caubvik (c. 1730 meters, 5840 feet), also known as L1 and Mont d’Iberville, is the highest mountain in eastern Canada. It is located in the Torngat Mountains on the border between Quebec and the Labrad...

FALL ON ROCK, FALLING ROCK, FAILURE TO TEST HOLDS, SEVERED ROPE, NO BELAYWyoming, TetonsOn August 22, 1980, Jeffrey Burns (24) and Terence Burns (22) were attempting a climb of the north ridge of Teewinot. J. Burns led the first pitch and called t...

FALLING ROCKS – BROKE AWAY FROM ROUTESPennsylvania, Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, Mount Minsi, Mount TammanyThere were three climbing incidents reported from this area.The first report was of a fall on a route called Raptor of the S...

Everest, north side, Second Step history. A big Chinese team reported in 1960 that they had reached the top after scaling the Step by one man standing on another’s shoulders—and getting badly frostbitten in the process. At the time there was wides...

Makrong Chhish, East Ridge, Attempt. It was reported that Stephen Sustad and Simon Yates made two attempts on the east ridge of Makron Chhish in August. The first, from August 26-29 via the northeast face, was thwarted at 5400 meters by unclimbabl...

FALL ON ICE-MEDIOCRE ICE QUALITY, INADEQUATE PROTECTIONNew Hampshire, Frankenstein Cliff, PegasusOn March 14 the climber started up the lower right side of Pegasus. This was the most interesting side of the climb at this time and it had been done ...

Kikash, Huaman Hueque Group, Cordillera Huallanca, 1984 and 1986. In the Río Pativilca valley between the Cordilleras Blanca and Huayhuash is the little town of Aquia. Immediately to the east lies the Huaman Hueque group, a relatively virgin area....

AVALANCHE, WEATHERAlaska, Chugach State ParkOn January 29, 1983, Mike Miller (29), Alden Johnson (31), and Neil O’Donnell (29) of Anchorage, Alaska, were attempting a climb of South Suicide Peak when a snow storm and 20 to 40 knot winds turned the...

Aconcagua Tragedy. Shei Wada, Koichi Takeuchi and Yukinobu Koyama set off to try to make a winter ascent of the Yugoslav route on the south face of Aconcagua. They disappeared and have not been seen since September 21.

HAPEAlaska, Mount McKinley, West ButtressOn June 1, Peter Staples (48) of the “OSAT,03” expedition, suffered from High Altitude Pulmonary Edema (HAPE) while camping at the 17,200-foot camp on Mt. McKinley’s West Buttress route. Staples was assiste...

Broad Peak. Enric Pujol, Manuel Hernández, Sergio Escalera, Agustí Sanabria and I as leader left Skardu with 26 low-altitude porters on June 25 and got to Base Camp at Concordia on July 5. We made camps at 18,700, 20,675, 22,950 and 24,450 feet. I...