FALL ON ROCK, FAILURE OF PROTECTIONNew York, ShawangunksA man (30) was leading the top pitch of Horseman (5.5) when he fell about 35 meters because all the protection he had placed pulled out. A fixed pin he had clipped into held, and this saved h...

Upernivik Island, West Greenland. A University of St. Andrews, Scotland, party returned to the mountainous island of Upernivik at 71°N in the Umanak region of west Greenland (A.A.J., 1968, 16:1, p. 184). Two months were spent climbing and explorin...

Crescent Tower. First ascent, August 22nd, 1938. E. Cromwell, Miss G. Engelhard. Via a broken rock ridge extending S. E. from the head of the large gully on the face of Crescent Spire (about 20 minutes).

A.A.C., Sierra Nevada Section. The year 1967 saw our section’s membership grow from 68 to 84, probably the largest annual gain in recent years. The section served as host to the annual meeting and dinner in Berkeley. Francis P. Farquhar, who for y...

Makalu. The Mountaineering Union of Yugoslavia expedition was led by Ales Kunaver and comprised ten climbers, three scientists and one journalist. They attempted the unclimbed south face, placing Camp V at 25,750 feet on 27,825-foot Makalu. In ear...

Nilgiri South, Attempt. It was reported that Tadej Golob led a five-member Slovenian expedition that attempted the first ascent of the southwest ridge on Nilgiri South (6839m). The team followed a line up the south face to connect with the crest o...

Purbi Dunagiri Ascent and Tragedy. A 12-member team from Durgapur was led by Swapan Kumar Ghosh. After an approach from Manali, they set up Base Camp at 4400 meters on August 10. Debabrata Mukherjee and Nidhir Kumar Pal reached the summit (6489 me...

Kohe Khaen, Wakhan. The Medical School of Hiroshima University Expedition was led by Go Hirai and consisted of Isao Fujii, Katsuji Doishikawa, Hiroshi Yahata and Masakazu Yamazaki. They proceeded from Qala-i-Panja to Issik via Sust Bala and ascend...

FALL ON ROCK – RAPPEL ERROR (UNEVEN ROPES)South Dakota, Needles, Moonlight RidgeAnother climbing legend passed on today. On June 24, Paul Duval (71) died of injuries sustained when he rappelled off the end of an un-equalized rope at Moonlight Ridg...

K2, North Ridge Attempt. Our expedition, sponsored by the American Alpine Club, undertook an ascent of the north ridge of K2. The expedition consisted of two parties, a support team of eighteen “porters” and a climbing team of eight climbers: Lanc...

Little Snowpatch Spire, West Face, Bugaboos. On July 29 and 30, Steve Sheriff, Jon Turk and I climbed the west face of Little Snowpatch Spire, southwest of the Howser Spires. We climbed three pitches up the center of the face, then angled rightwar...

VARIOUS FALLS ON ROCK, PROTECTION PULLING OUT, INADEQUATE RELAYSNew York, Mohonk Preserve, ShawangunksTwenty-three climbing accidents were reported in 1991, seven of which resulted in fractures. In five cases, protection pulled out, and three acci...

Longs Peak, The Diamond. On June 2, Cameron Tague and I climbed Jack of Diamonds on Longs Peak’s Diamond in 12 hours. We feel the route is 5.9 A2+, not 5.9 A4 as stated.Doug Byerly, unaffiliated

Annapurna III (7,555m), first ascent of the southwest ridge. On November 6, Kenton Cool and Ian Parnell, both from the UK, and myself completed the first ascent of the ca 2,400m southwest ridge of Annapurna III. The route had been attempted in 199...

Ascent of McKinley, 1948. On 13 July 1948 five students from the University of Alaska, led by Walter Gonnason, climbed the S. peak of Mt. McKinley. They left Fairbanks or McKinley Park Station (the account is not clear) on June 18th, crossed to th...

Pangong Range reconnaissance; Peak 6,342m (Mt. Maan). The Pangong Range is just a one-day drive northwest from Leh, crossing Chang La (5,250m). This range includes more than 10 peaks over 6,000m, some of which are still unclimbed. The one problem ...

Chimborazo, New Route. On August 12, 1995, Fabián Marino and Raul Paz, from Ambato,opened a new route on the north side of Chimborazo (6267 m). This route runs between the Reiss and Spruce glaciers; it is only moderately difficult, but in its lowe...

K-2, The 1939 Tragedy. Andrew J. Kauffman and William L. Putnam. The Mountaineers. Seattle, 1992. 224 pages, 15 pages of black-and-white photographs. $19.95.The story of the 1939 American K-2 expedition aroused such controversy for years that many...

Changwatang (6,130m), east spur and northwest ridge. The Limi Valley, in a hidden corner of northwest Nepal, is an exotic place. It has a community comprised of three ethnic Tibetan villages—Jang, Waljie, and Til. These villages are difficult to r...

Yosemite Valley, Russian Climbing Championships. The 2000 Russian Rock Climbing Championships took place in Yosemite Valley from August 15-September 10. All participants had that time period in which to climb as many routes as they could. Two team...