KEVIN BEIN 1949-1988Kevin Bein, known affectionately as the “Mayor of the Gunks,” died at the age of 39 on August 1, 1988 in a rappelling accident on the Hörnli Ridge of the Matterhorn. He was climbing with his wife of twenty years, Barbara Devine...
K2 west face interview. The Russian magazine Verticalniy Mir (No. 68) interviewed K2 west face expedition leader Viktor Kozlov in September 2007, shortly after he returned to Russia from K2. Following is an excerpt.Q. How much useful information d...
Snowpatch Spire, Power of Lard. We arrived at the Bugaboo parking lot late in the afternoon of August 23 and had our first view of the Spires. The no-see-ums and black flies ate us alive, but we didn’t care. The next morning we got up early, pulle...
FALL ON ROCKMaryland, CarderockOn May 16, I was half way up Jan's Face, a climb at the north end of the Carderock Climbing Area, when we heard someone calling, in a weak voice, “HELP, I think I have broken my leg.” I called back, “We will be right...
On 30 May, 2003, the International Conservation Committee of the AAC announced that it will financially support a major new conservation initiative in Nepal’s Sagarmatha National Park, home of Mt. Everest. “Community-Based Conservation and Restora...
Mount Sir Douglas, Northeast Face, British Military Group, Rocky Mountains. On September 13 and 14 we made the first ascent of the northeast face of Mount Sir Douglas. We started up the right side of a triangular icefield that lies in the left par...
Mount McKinley, Winter Solo Ascent and Tragedy, 1984. The press reports a winter solo ascent of McKinley on February 12, 1984 by the noted Japanese climber, Naomi Uemura. He began the ascent on February 1 and climbed the West Buttress route. A gla...
FALL ON SNOW, INEXPERIENCE, INADEQUATE EQUIPMENTBritish Columbia, Coast Mountains, Mt. MurchisonEight teen-age boys, participants in a government-sponsored outdoor training course and accompanied by two adult instructors, were traversing a slope o...
Mount Vinson, New Route. Slovenian alpinists Groselj, Klemenc, Voduake, and Stipe Boi from Croatia climbed a new route on the south face of Mount Vinson. We set up our tent on the Branscomb Glacier in the Adventure Network Agency Base at 2150 mete...
New England Section. The New England Section held its 13th annual Formal Dinner in March, once again at the elegant Henderson House in Weston, MA. New Hampshire legend Steve Arsenault was our guest speaker, whose topic was “From Cathedral Ledge to...
Denali, Youngest climber to Reach the Summit. Korean climber Kim Young Sik celebrated his 12th birthday two days before he summited via the West Buttress route on June 27.Denali National Park Reports
Illampu, South Face, Yacuma and Ancohuma from the West. In May we six climbers drove over the Huallata Pass to 1000 feet below the village of Cachi- pata to the Mina Candelaria del Illampu at 10,825 feet. With the help of four porters we carried o...
Huayna Potosí. during August García, Fuentes and Barría made the first Chilean ascent of the west face of Huayna Potosí by the central route. They were three days on the face.Gastón Oyarzún, Federación de Andinismo de Chile
Kluane National Park Reserve, mountaineering summary and statistics. Mountaineering use was down by 50% in the St. Elias Ranges, with only 19 mountaineering expeditions registered. Fifty-four climbers and skiers spent 1,009 person-days in the St. ...
RAPPEL FAILURE, INADEQUATE PROTECTIONWashington, Snowqualmie PassOn March 28, 1982, Emmanuel Salazar (31) fell 25 meters when the piton to which his rappel rope was anchored pulled out. He sustained a broken leg. (Source: G. McKinney, SAR Mission ...
Gebel Gharib. Gebel Gharib (1750 meters) is the highest of the northern Red Sea hills and rises a sheer 1500 meters from the gravel plains of the western Gulf of Suez. I made the first ascent of the south buttress solo on May 7. I found a lichen-c...
STRANDED, MUSCLE STRAIN, CLIMBING ALONECalifornia, Yosemite ValleyAt 1318 on August 15, 1984, a phone call to NPS dispatch reported “calls for help” from the cliffs left (west) of Lower Yosemite Falls. Investigation revealed a stranded solo climbe...
Mt. Trinidad, Attempt, and Unnamed New Route. Lucy Regan, Brian Bigger, and James Marshall attempted the remaining natural line on Mt. Trinidad, the right-hand crack line. Regan and Bigger had attempted the route previously, reaching about one-thi...
Chablis Spire, Lichen Bouquet. The Wine Spires are a tight cluster of granite needles east of Washington Pass with sheer walls and tiny summits. During 1952 and 1953, Fred Beckey and partners scaled the four pinnacles and even today, Burgundy Spir...
VARIOUS FALLS ON SNOWCalifornia, Mount ShastaThere were seven climbing-related accidents on Mount Shasta last season, with most of them being on the Avalanche Gulch route. With a smooth snow surface, we had a few climbers who fell and tumbled 1,00...