FALL ON ROCK, HANDHOLD PULLEDAlberta, Mount Laurie (Yamnuska)On September 17, C.H. and C.S. were climbing “Grillmair Chimney” (5.5) onMount Laurie. C.S. was leading the fourth pitch when he pulled out a rock the size of a microwave. He fell approx...

Sherpa Everest ExpeditionPeter AthansON MAY 8, THREE MEMBERS of the 1991 Sherpa Everest Expedition attained the wind-scoured summit of Mount Everest or Sagarmatha, the peak’s Nepalese name. I accompanied the trio of Sherpa mountaineers. Just one y...

Gurkarpo Ri, first known ascent. Paulo Grobel organized two commercial expeditions for Nepal’s post-monsoon season. On October 2 Grobel, two Sherpa companions, and five French clients reached the summit of Saribung (6,328m) in the Damodar Himal. T...

Sawtooth Outing of the Iowa Mountaineers. The Iowa Mountaineers of the State University of Iowa spent three weeks of August 1947 in the Sawtooth Range of Idaho. Sixty-four members participated. Base camp was on Little Redfish Lake, and high camps ...

Operation Everest IICharles S. Houston, M.D.UNFORTUNATELY SOON AFTER they left the summit and began the climb to 30,000 feet, one of the doctors collapsed; though he was quickly revived, it seemed wise to discontinue the ascent and the group turne...

P 18,500, above Thalo Glacier, Hindu Raj, Chitral. From the roadhead at Balim, Rich Davies, Rob Thomas, Steve Wrigley, Maggie Worth, Mike Morphen and I as leader walked for three days to arrive at our 12,000-foot Base Camp on Bashkargolo Chat (lak...

The Ndoto MountainsThere is a lot more to the Ndotos than the great Poi. Welcome to the lesser~known crags of Kenya s largest climbing area.Marnix BuonajutiThe Ndotos are a remote cluster of mountains in the deserts of northern Kenya. Getting ther...

Charles Snead Houston 1913–2009The wise old guru and mentor for so many of us died peacefully in his Vermont home on September 27. He was 96, the last of the Harvard Mountaineering Club Five, with Terris Moore, H. Adams Carter, Bradford Washburn, ...

Washburn In The AAJA legacy for mountaineers.Bradford Washburn’s photographs first appeared in the American Alpine Journal in 1934 (from Mt. Crillon), and they have graced nearly every edition since. His written contributions to the AAJ spanned mo...

Taku Towers, Ascents. In June, 2000, Stefan Ricci and I flew to the south side of the Taku Towers, which are located about 15 miles north of Juneau. During our stay, we managed to climb the magnificent South Ridge of the South Tower (seven pitches...

Everest Calling: Ascent of the Dark Side: The Mallory-Irvine Ridge. Lorna Siggins. Mainstream Publishing Company, Edinburgh, Scotland. 1994. 191 pages, color and black-and-white photographs. £14.99.Everest books tend to emphasize one of several th...

LOOSE ROCK CAME OFF – FAILURE TO TEST HOLDSWashington, North Cascades National Park, Sahale PeakOn June 19, a party of Everett Mountaineers selected a non-standard route up the West Face of Sahale Peak. They were within 50 feet of the 8000-foot su...

Under Pressure on the Devil’s ThumbMark BebiePut all thine eggs in one basket, and—watch that basket.—Mark TwainNUMEROUS SNOW-AND-ICE PEAKS come to mind in the 1000-mile chain of summits that make up the “panhandle” of southeast Alaska. One rock p...

Woman on the Rocks: The Mountaineering Letters of Ruth Dyar Mendenhall. Edited by Valerie Mendenhall Cohen. Bishop, CA: Spotted Dog Press, 2006.352 pages. $18.95.In 1937 two young cousins joined the Sierra Club, and so, apparently, began a lifelon...

Mt. Nevermore, The Perfect Storm. After a four-day snowy wait in Talkeetna, Paul Roderick of TAT flew Dai Lampard, Stuart McAleese, and me onto the Tatina Glacier in the Kitchatna Spires around April 27. It was Stuart’s and my third trip in three ...

FALL ON ROCK, PLACED NO PROTECTIONNew York, ShawangunksA woman (30) fell ten meters off her belay ledge on Wrist (5.6) and hurt her wrist! (Source: Brad Snyder)AnalysisSometimes safety precautions are overlooked on apparently easy routes. (Source:...

INADEQUATE EQUIPMENT, FALL ON SNOW, ACUTE MOUNTAIN SICKNESSAlaska, Mount McKinleyOn May 15, 1984, the six man Tegernseer Denali Expedition from West Germany flew into the Southeast Fork of the Kahiltna Glacier to begin their climb of the West Butt...

FALL ON ROCK, INADEQUATE PROTECTION, NO HARD HATCalifornia, Yosemite Valley, Lower Cathedral RockOn May 21, Chris Hampson (2 8) and Sibylle Hechtel (52) teamed up to climb Overhang Bypass on Lower Cathedral Rock. The route is approximately six pit...

FALL ON SNOW, UNABLE TO SELF-ARRESTWyoming, TetonsThe Koven route on Mount Owen is one of the most popular due to its easy access from the Teton Glacier. From the glacier, the route climbs over moderate terrain to the Koven Couloir, a narrow 45- t...

Jiazi Attempt, Sichuan. Applications to attempt Namcha Barwa and Minya Konka (Gongga Shan) having been declined by the Chinese Mountaineering Association, Jiazi in the Daxue Shan was accepted as an alternative. Jiazi is the same as Djaze and as Ru...