Kingnait Fiord, Baffin Island. In August I led a small expedition to Baffin Island, and was accompanied by Caroline Cochran, Cecil Grace, Gerald McCue and Richard Kullberg. Our objective was to seek more unexplored mountains. After an attempt to r...

Gongga Shan (Minya Konka) from the South. The objective of our expedition was to find and climb a new route on the south face of Gongga Shan (24,891 feet, 7587 meters). The climbing in China consisted of Dr. Lance Owens, Henry Barber, Gary Bocarde...

8000ers, Increase of Royalty Fees. The Pakistan Ministry of Tourism announced that for the year 2000, the fee for 8000-meter peaks would be raised, from US $7,500 for five members and $700 dollars for every additional member, to US $9,000 for seve...

Cordillera Apolobamba and Illampu and Pico del Norte, Cordillera Real. To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Sektion Berlin of the Deutscher Alpenverein, an expedition was sent to Bolivia. The members were Klaus Dörschel, Werner Fiala, Jürgen ...

Eiger North Face, Switzerland. Although I remember the Editor referring to the Eiger North Face as an “attractive shooting gallery,” when I soloed it on September 7, it was frozen together nicely and therefore offered minimal rockfall. Heavy vergl...

SNAKE BITENew York, ShawangunksOn July 6,1985, a man (27) was leading Black Fly (5.5) when he was bitten by a copperhead snake. He did not fall. (Source: Tom Scheuer, Senior Ranger, Mohonk Preserve)(Editor’s Note: This is one of the few instances ...

FALL ON ROCK, FAILURE TO BACKUP ASCENDERSCalifornia, Yosemite Valley, El Capitan, Tangerine TripOn September 8, Jeff Cabral (33) fell to his death while following the fifth pitch of Tangerine Trip (Grade VI, 5.8 A2/C3) on the Southeast Face of ElC...

Huamashraju, west face. On August 4 Toma Erovnik (Slovenia) and our new Canadian friend Bruce Gordon climbed a new route on the west face of Huamashraju (5434m). They left Huaraz in the morning. After four hours of walking they reached the foot of...

Sierra Juárez, El Gran Trono Blanco, East Face. Through the eastern escarpment of Baja’s Sierra Juárez runs Cañon Tajo, largest of all the Juárez canyons. In Tajo’s upper reaches is a granite wall known as El Gran Trono Blanco, a 1600-foot high bl...

Forbidden Peak, The Forgotten Spurs, 1989. West of the northwest face of Forbidden Peak, on the divide leading to Mount Torment, are a pair of north-facing spurs long neglected by climbers. On August 26 and 27, 1989, my brother Carl and I climbed ...

Gaurishankar, South Summit. A Japanese expedition of 13, led by Michio Yuasa, climbed the previously unascended southeast ridge of the south summit of Gaurishankar. After Base Camp and Camp I were established at 4800 and 5600 meters on August 30 a...

Jirishanca, Suerte to East Buttress. During July 11-21 Italians Stefano DeLuca, Alessandro Piccini, and Paolo Stoppini (with Valerio Poggiani at base camp) established a line on the right side of the east-face rock wall, beginning just right of a ...

South Taku Tower, East Face. Daniel Reid and others made the first ascent of the difficult east face of South Taku Tower during the summer, placing no bolts and finding an F8, A4 standard. For the Juneau Icefield, the weather was quite good and al...

Vancouver Island, Mt. Bensen. On 28 November Frank Tolen (16) and five companions climbed through snow to a cabin at about 3,000 feet on Mt. Bensen. Frank stopped to change socks and shortly thereafter said he could not go any farther. The group w...

Huayna Potosi (6,088m), east face, Summit or Die. Coming up the road from tropical, mosquito-infested Zongo Valley, I saw the possibility for a new route on the east side of Huayna Potosi, far north of the normal route. In June I accessed the face...

STRANDED, COMBING ALONE, INEXPERIENCEAlberta, Rocky Mountains, Cascade MountainOn September 21, 1989, a lone scrambler started climbing up the southeast face of Cascade Mountain. The terrain is complex and is third and fourth class. He turned arou...

Those interested in the history of the exploration of the Eastern Alps will read with interest the article on “The Oetzthal Glaciers in History and Cartography before 1800” by Dr. J. M. Thorington in the Geographical Journal for March, 1930.

Gangotri I Ascent and Tragedy. A Polish women’s expedition consisted of Ewa Kalinowska, leader, Dr. Danuta Kasiura, Jolanta Patysnowska, me and one male member, Marek Bumblis. We climbed Gangotri I (6672 meters, 21,890 feet) by a new route, from t...

Gasherbrum I (Hidden Peak) Attempt. We began with the normal hassles with airlines, Pakistani bureaucrats and Balti porters. We were Ethan Van Matre, leader, Dave Bong, climbing leader, Susan Havens, Dave Schermer, Ed Holt, Don Beavon, Butch Suits...

Cerro Piergiorgio, La Ruta del Hertnano to summit ridge. In early 2007 we fixed 400m of rope up Piergiorgio’s 950m northwest face. We decided to use fixed ropes after hearing that a group of Germans climbers had tried the face with portaledges, on...