Mt. Moran, Northeast Ridge, First Descent. On May 14, I completed the first descent of Mount Moran’s classic northeast ridge, solo and on a snowboard. Hans Johnstone, Rob Haggart and I attempted the route in February but were forced to retreat due...
Denali National Park and Preserve Mountaineering Summary, 1987. For the second year in a row, a new record was set for the number of mountaineers attempting to climb Mount McKinley. Despite the increase in attempts, extended periods of poor weathe...
Numbur. A French expedition climbed Numbur by the standard southwest ridge and also carried out physiological research. They established a supply dump between Base Camp and Camp I and two high camps. A total of five of the ten French and a Sherpa ...
Chacraraju. A French expedition led by René Desmaison made a new route on Chacraraju in 1983 just to the right of the Bouchard route. They were seven days on the face and bivouacked six nights. The summit was reached by Michel Arizzi, Xavier Chapp...
Cathedral Wall, Sublime Buttress. In May Ryan Jennings and I completed the first free ascent of an unreported route we had established five years earlier on the Cathedral Wall. Climbing the tallest, cleanest piece of Cathedral Wall, this should pr...
FALL ON SNOW – FAULTY USE OF CRAMPONSWashington, North Cascades National Park, Mount ShuksanOn September 19, a group of six Seattle Mountaineers were descending the “Winnie’s Slide” section of the Fisher Chimney route on Mount Shuksan when one mem...
The Schoolhouse, East Ridge. Bill Buckingham, Karl Ross, and Walter Grove on June 17 made a new route on this pinnacle from the east. After the first pitch on the ridge, the second turned out to a pleasant jam- crack which led to the platform just...
Lobsang Spire, Attempt. Two hundred meters of hard technical climbing denied a multinational group of young climbers the second ascent of Lobsang Spire (5700 m). The group leader, James Howel (24) from Britain, and his team attempted the south fac...
Cayambe and El Obispo, North Face, 1984. The French Alpine Club’s journal La Montagne reports that on January 10, 1984 Frenchmen H. Ayasse and P. Chevalier ascended the north side of Cayambe (5789 meters, 18,993 feet) on skis. Another Frenchman, G...
FALL ON ROCK, FAILURE OF PROTECTIONNew York, ShawangunksA woman (32) received head lacerations when she fell 15 meters off of Belly Roll. Her protection pulled as she fell. (Source: Brad Snyder)AnalysisWe don’t know whether pitons or nuts were use...
Aconcagua South Face. From January 25 to 31 Leszek Cichy and I climbed the Yugoslav route on the left side of the south face of Aconcagua. Because of the lack of ice in the couloirs in the lower part, for the first 1000 meters we had to make a new...
F. I. Ski Raccs, Innsbrück: Two of our members, Messrs. Alfred Lindley and Norman Read who spent a part of the winter skiing in the Alps took part in these races. In a field of 184 entries in the Special Downhill Race held over the nine-mile-long ...
South America, Far-Flung Travels. In 1999, I did three new routes in the Condoriri Valley of Bolivia’s Cordillera Real. All three were from 1,000 to 1,300 feet long; difficulties ranged from M3 to M5 and WI3 and 75-degree snow. In Peru’s Cordiller...
Oregon, Three Sisters. On 11 August J. George Schultz (36), Robert G. Schultz (11,) Marie T. Schultz (10), Paul Schultz (8), Tommy Schultz (7), and George’s brother Robert J. Schultz (33), were at the 8,800 foot level on the Three Sisters. Robert ...
FALL ON SNOW—SKIINGBritish Columbia, Selkirk Mountains, North Alberta PeakOn August 23, 1986, a party of four experienced ski mountaineers was descending from North Alberta peak, altitude 2932 meters, 25 kilometers east of Revelstoke. They were on...
Kokopelli Spire. This intriguing spire, located across the river from Farmington, had seen several attempts before Mike Baker and I made the first ascent on February 3. Seven drilled angles were used as a bolt ladder and several pitons, ranging fr...
Kagmara Attempt, Kanjiroba Himal. Netherlanders led by Pieter de Visser attempted to climb Kagmara (5962 meters, 19,560 feet) from the Kagmara La and then along the ridge running south from the pass. Kick Kortekaas and Hans Oostindien climbed to 5...
Mount Foraker, Southeast Ridge. In mid-June Joe Davidson, Bob Fries, Jim Given, Mark Greenfield, Pippo Lionni, Eric Morgan, Frank Uher and I contemplated one of the south ridges of Mount Foraker from Base Camp in its southeast cirque. This more ea...
President’s Chair and P 10,004, Wrangell Mountains. Harold Hunt and I were flown to an unnamed glacier just north of the President’s Chair on April 21. We established Base Camp at 7600 feet near a rock island about a mile from the mountain’s north...
Institute Peak, Alaska Range, (Mount Hayes B-3 Quadrangle). One weekend, the last part of February, Chuck Deehr, Moonok Sunwoo, George Oetzel and I left Fairbanks with the temperatures at about -30°. When we arrived at the Rainbow Ridge emergency ...