Accident Reports ANAM
Protection Pulled When Weighted — Fall on Rock, California, Yosemite Valley, El Capitan

PROTECTION PULLED WHEN WEIGHTED - FALL ON ROCKCalifornia, Yosemite Valley, El CapitanOn September 26, Michael Schmoelzer (52) and Ritchie Edelsbacher (44), both experienced climbers from Austria, were in their third day of an ascent of The Nose (3...


Feature Article AAJ
Ruwenzori, 1951

Ruwenzori, 1951Ray GarnerCAIRO does not seem to be a logical place to start a climbing expedition, but that is where this one began. I had just spent four and a half months travelling the length of Egypt, doing the field production for a film on t...


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
Asia, India—Eastern Karakoram, Peaks above Chong Kumdan and Aq Tash Glaciers

Peaks Above Chong Kumdan and Aq Tash Glaciers. Our members were Arun Samant, Muslim Contractor, Monesh Devjani, Vijay Kothari, Ashwin Popat and I as leader. We visited the last two major glaciers in the Eastern Karakoram and climbed peaks northeas...


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
Asia, Nepal, Pumori, Southwest Ridge

Pumori, Southwest Ridge. Our expedition was composed of Philippe and Marie Odile Bernardin, Alain Boissy, Jean Clemenson, Philippe de Nuncques, Alain Robert, Gérard Siguèle, my wife Claudine and me as leader. The southwest ridge route, which compa...


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
Asia, Pakistan, Karakoram, Charakusa Valley, K7, Attempt on Southwest Pillar; BC Tower, Possible First Ascent; Badal Wall, Attempt

K7, attempt on southwest pillar; BC Tower, possible first ascent; Badal Wall, attempt. A team of Slovak climbers visited the Charakusa Valley from June 11 to July 31. Over three days in late June, Gabriel Cmarik, Jan Sofranko, and Viliam Sujan att...


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
North America, United States, California, Sierra Nevada, Charlotte Dome, Charlotte's Web

Charlotte Dome, Charlotte’s Web. In August Dave Harden and I climbed a new line on this beautiful dome. The route begins near a solitary Jeffrey Pine located on a shoulder between a small recess on the southeast face and the large recess mentioned...


Accident Reports ANAM
Fall on Snow, Avalanche, Poor Position—Ski Mountaineering, British Columbia, Coast Mountains, Kitimat Range near Europa Lake

FALL ON SNOW, AVALANCHE, POOR POSITION—SKI MOUNTAINEERING British Columbia, Coast Mountains, Kitimat Range near Europa LakeOn May 21, 1994, five ski mountaineers were about two weeks into the traverse from Mussel Inlet to Gardner Canal. Four of th...


Accident Reports ANAM
California, Sequoia National Park

California, Sequoia National Park—On July 24, 1956 Gerry Rule (16), while climbing with a companion on a steep talus slope above Hamilton Lake, slipped and fell some 40 feet. He was pinned under a large boulder all night, until a rescue party cons...


Feature Article AAJ
Ice Climbing—Technique on the Great Faces

Ice Climbing—Technique on the Great FacesAndré Contamine, Club Alpin FranqaisTranslated by H. Adams CarterEVEN the most impassioned rock-climber can not claim the title of Mountaineer if he is not familiar with ice technique.Snow and ice, the ado...


In Memoriam AAJ
Arthur Brewster Emmons II, 1910-1962

ARTHUR BREWSTER EMMONS III 1910-1962On August 22, 1962, a few days before his 52nd birthday, Arthur B. Emmons III died of cancer in Washington, D.C. His illness had lasted six months.Climbing must have been in Art’s makeup from earliest childhood,...


Book Reviews AAJ
Undiscovered Scotland: Climbs on Rock, Snow and Ice

Undiscovered Scotland: Climbs on Rock, Snow and Ice, by W. H. Murray, viii + 232 pages, with 24 photographic illustrations and 14 maps and diagrams by Robert Anderson. London: J. M. Dent and Sons, Ltd., 1951. Price, 18/-.Those who have read Mr. Mu...


In Memoriam AAJ
Denton Fox, 1929-1988

DENTON FOX1929-1988Denton Fox was one of a small group of climbers, mostly from the Western states, who, by happenstance, found themselves attending Yale University in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Building on the skeletal remains of an organiza...


In Memoriam AAJ
Alfred Adolphe Couttet, Armand Charlet, Georges Tairraz

ALFRED ADOLPHE COUTTET ARMAND CHARLET GEORGES TAIRRAZAlfred Adolphe Couttet and Armand Charlet, two of the most distinguished guides in the history of the French Alps, died at Chamonix during the last year. Although neither was a member of the AAC...


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
Asia, India, Kumaon and Garhwal Himalaya, Nanda Devi East Attempt and Tragedy

Nanda Devi East Attempt and Tragedy. A 12-member Czech team hoped to climb this peak via the Polish 1939 route, over the Longstaff Col. The weather was continuously unstable and they reached the high point of 7100 meters. Two members suffered from...


Book Reviews AAJ
Under the Midnight Sun: The Ascent of John Denver Peak and the Search for the Northernmost Point of Land on Earth

Under the Midnight Sun: The Ascent of John Denver Peak and the Search for the Northernmost Point of Land on Earth. John Jancik, Steve Gardiner, Javana M. Richardson. Colorado: Stars End Creations, 2003. 200 pages, 126 color photos, 4 BW photos. $2...


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
North America, United States, Colorado, The Black Canyon of the Gunnison River

The Black Canyon of the Gunnison River. In the last five years the Black Canyon has become one of Colorado’s most important climbing areas. All five of the state’s Grade VI big-wall climbs are found here, as well as many Grade IV and V free climbs...


Feature Article AAJ
The First Ascent of Mount Erasmus

The First Ascent of Mount ErasmusJohn C. OberlinBACK home after vacation in the summer of 1949, I had not been too sure that I would care to pack in to Mount Erasmus.1 The 2500 feet of steep bushwhacking with heavy packs which Bob Bishop and I had...


Club Activities AAJ
Spokane Mountaineers

Spokane Mountaineers. A pilot cross-country ski race and several ski tours were 1966 winter highlights. Thirty people finished the formal climbing course with a graduation climb of Mount Hood in May. On 14 Wednesday evenings members practiced rock...


Accident Reports ANAM
Stranded, Party Separated—Off Route, Late Start, Inexperience, Wyoming, Grand Tetons, Grand Teton

STRANDED, PARTY SEPARATED—OFF ROUTE, LATE START, INEXPERIENCEWyoming, Grand Tetons, Grand TetonOn August 14 at 2230, rangers at the Lower Saddle hut were contacted by Chris Riha (39), Rosa Kanning (24), and John Murphy (23) who indicated that two ...


Feature Article AAJ
Northeast Ridge of Huayna Potosí

Northeast Ridge of Huayna PotosíRoman A. LabaAS JOHN HUDSON and I began to consider leaving Patagonia, I told him about a beautiful climb to be done in the Cordillera Real of Bolivia, a rock and ice ridge, which was the boundary between the arid a...