Tiny cams pulling out of cracks frequently contribute to accidents reported in these pages. Often, these cams are deformed by twisting and impact forces, leading climbers to conclude the units have “failed,” when the real culprit is almost alway...
During a stretch of good weather in March, Mike Brumbaugh and I established a new route on the red sandstone of the North Fork of Taylor Canyon, in Zion’s Kolob Canyons. I had been eyeing a potential line on a south-facing wall visible from the Ta...
On the east-facing aspect of the Monolith Cirque, the towering sub-buttresses of Dog Tooth Peak are stacked up like a row of teeth, impossible to ignore when walking in either direction along the North Fork Trail. Even though climbing history here...
A climber with less than three years of experience attempted Mother I (5.7+ wide crack) with limited appropriately sized protection, which required bumping pieces up the crack as he ascended. The climber placed cams at 10 feet, 45 feet, and 60 fee...
As she prepared to rappel the Durrance Route’s approach pitch, an experienced, 56-year-old climber decided to partially coil the ropes and carry them with her as she descended, so she could avoid knocking rocks on people below. During her rappel, ...
On the morning of August 26, I launched from the Big Sandy Trailhead to attempt a Cirque of the Towers traverse in a day. (This route links eight peaks with 5.6 to 5.8 climbing and extensive scrambling and hiking.) I had completed the traverse in ...
On August 11, at approximately 4 p.m., a woman went to the Lupine Meadows Rescue Cache to report that her friend, a 30-year-old male, was stuck on Mt. Moran and needed help. They had had been communicating by two-way family radio. With the use of ...
On August 9, at approximately 4:15 p.m., ranger Schuster received a transferred cell phone call from a climbing party on the Lower Exum Ridge of the Grand Teton. The caller stated that he was in visual and voice contact with two climbers on the Pe...
At approximately 1:18 p.m. on July 24, Teton Interagency Dispatch Center received a call from a group of 20 hikers that had summited the Middle Teton and were descending the South Fork of Garnet Canyon. The caller reported that a 25-year-old femal...
On July 23, at about 10:30 a.m., an individual high on the Grand Teton reported by cell phone that he had heard a person fall from above, hit a ledge near him, and then continue down into Valhalla Canyon near the Black Ice Couloir. Shortlytherea...
Climber 1 (24-year-old male) and Climber 2 (27-year-old female) each had been climbing for about two years. They had limited alpine experience, and this was their first climb together. On July 3 they went to Jenny Lake Ranger Station for informati...
At 7 p.m. on August 23, Jesse Grupper (age 18) was attempting an unclimbed project (now 5.13d) during the first deep water solo competition on real rock in the United States: PsicoRoc 2016 at Summersville Lake. After successfully negotiating the c...
At 4 p.m. on April 8, Connor Damato (age 21) was attempting to lead Jesus Is My License Plate (5.10d), a sport route on Long Wall. This was Damato’s first outdoor roped climbing experience and his first day of lead climbing. He and his partner had...
Just after 5 p.m. on May 12, a male climber (age 29) was attempting to lead Cottonmouth, a 5.10a sport climb at Cotton Top, a small crag on the north side of the New River Gorge. The climber moved quickly through he lower portion of the climb. Onc...
About 10 p.m. on March 26, people at Camp Muir notified rangers that two climbers had not returned from their summit bid and their gear was still in the shelter. At 9:30 a.m., Monique Richard, 41, could be heard yelling for help above Camp Muir.Af...
In the first three weeks of the summer season on Rainier, rangers performed three helicopter rescues. The first was on June 10, after two climbers spent several unplanned nights on the summit after becoming disoriented. The second rescue was June ...
About 3:30 p.m. on May 3, Ryan Kautz, 26, was rigging a rappel off Prime Rib of Goat, a multi-pitch 5.9 bolted route, with new 70-meter, 9.5mm ropes. He and his two partners had seen a storm coming in and decided to descend after climbing eight of...
On the afternoon of March 9, two climbers on the Moonlight Buttress route reported that someone had fallen from above them. Rangers investigated and located the body of a male at the base of the climb. This individual, Eric Klimt, 36, was wearing ...
On May 25, Brent Blakenburg (30), Jason Bernard (36), Sean Finnegan (27), and Daniel Coldfelter (36) were camped near the Hans Flat Ranger Station in the Maze District of Canyonlands National Park. The Maze is well known for its remote location (a...
I was on Rookie Party in Pipeline Bowl, above the Snowbird ski resort, on October 23. This is a WI4 single-pitch ice climb at about 10,500 feet. Ice conditions weren’t great, but other than messing with my head, the conditions did not play a role ...