Activity in Yosemite Valley. On the free climbing scene, this year’s big news was the third free ascent, in July, of the Salathé Wall by Thomas Huber, accompanied by fellow German Anderl Heiss. Huber led all the cruxes, including the difficult 19t...
CONRAD KAIN1883-1934In the little village of Nasswald, Lower Austria, not far from Vienna, Conrad Kain was born on August 10th, 1883. His death occurred in hospital at Cranbrook, British Columbia, on February 2, 1934. These dates bound the life-sp...
EVELYN RUNNETTE1904-1984The first time I met Evelyn Runnette she was hanging upside down in a tree—caught by her skis—on Berthoud Pass, Colorado. Her deep love of mountains led her into many activities; she skied, she climbed, she trekked, she boa...
Picacho, in California about twenty miles north of Yuma, Arizona, offers an interesting rock climb. On December 1st, 1933, John Poindexter and Glen Dawson made a new route directly up from the “crevice” near the regular route. Nearby, there are se...
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the Teton Range was a dynamic training ground for American alpinists. The creation of the Climbers Ranch pulled climbers out of the crowded tourist campgrounds and created a competitive scene similar to that foun...
La Strada e Questa, by Adolfo Balliano and Irene Affentranger. Bologna: Edizioni Alfa, 1957. 195 pages; 16 ills.; paperbound. Price 1300 lire (approx. $2.10).This series of fifteen essays is written from an unusual angle. It draws attention to the...
FALL ON ROCK, EQUIPMENT FAILURE DUE TO MIS-USEWest Virginia, New River Gorge, KaymoorOn June 12 Karen Feher (33) and her partner were climbing Rico Suave (5.10a). Upon reaching the anchor, she clipped in. Her setup: She had two thin dyneema slings...
Arwa SpireSpicy granite on pointed peaks—two amazing routes on the stunning north faces of Arwa Spire’s main and west peaks, in India’s Garhwal Himalaya.By Stephan HarveyThe graceful, sky-scraping granite monoliths known as Arwa Tower and Arwa Spi...
Farol East, solo first ascent; spire below K7 West, first ascent. Louis-Philippe Ménard and I had big plans for the Charakusa Valley, but LP was injured when we attempted the south buttress of Farol Central during acclimatization, and he had to de...
Spitsbergen. The two German climbers, R. Eidenschink and K. Schmitt, spent the months of July and August in Spitsbergen and are understood to have made some eleven new climbs.K. A. H.
Traverse of the Mitre (East-West). On July 19, 1944, Peter Vallance and the writer made the ascent to the Mitre by the usual route, climbing unroped. Time from A.C.C. Camp,, 2 h. 55 m.We started descending by the large couloir to the S. to a point...
Himal Chuli Attempt. An expedition of five South Koreans led by Jeong Deuk-Chai failed on October 4 at 7450 meters to complete the ascent of Himal Chuli (7893 meters, 25,896 feet) by its south ridge to the southwest face.Elizabeth Hawley
Arctic Crossing: A Journey Through the Northwest Passage and Inuit Culture. Jonathan Waterman. New York: Alfred Knopf, 2001. 360 pages, 85 black-and-white illustrations, 8 pages color, endpaper maps, hardcover. $29.95.Arctic Crossing chronicles Jo...
Why I Climb: Personal Insights of Top Climbers. Steve Gardiner. Stackpole Books, Harrisburg, PA, 1990. 130 pages, 27 black-and-white illustrations. Paperback, $12.95.Steve Gardiner, bravely reaching for the impossible, has created an entertaining ...
FALL ON ROCK WHILE SETTING UP RAPPELOregon, Rocky ButteOn February 24, Allison O’Grady (21), a Pacific University junior, fell from the top of Rocky Butte as she and a companion were setting up a rappel so they could descend their climb of the but...
Unnamed Peak, North Face, Ritacuba Group, Cordillera Oriental. Venezuelans Ricardo Hansen and I climbed on December 26, 1980 for the first time the steep north face of the sharp ice peak immediately south of Alto Ritacuba. Probable height is 5200 ...
Paria Point, Blitzkrieg. Established in May by Jason Stevens and Jared Nielson, Blitzkrieg (IV 5.9+ A2+/C2+) is an excellent Zion route with a moderate approach and excellent solitude. No other climbers and only a few hikers were encountered durin...
STRANDED, EXCEEDING ABILITIES, INADEQUATE EQUIPMENTColorado, Rocky Mountain National Park, Longs PeakOn July 25, at 0100, David Gallegos and his brother George (26) left from Covenant Height's Camp to climb Kiener's Route (III, AI1, 5.4) on the Ea...
Pabuk Kang, first known attempt. Two Japanese, led by the explorer-mountaineer Tamotsu Ohnishi, who specializes in visiting remote areas along Nepal’s border with Tibet, planned to try the south side of Pabuk Kang [6,244m; just east of the Pabuk L...
Diran, North Ridge. Our 11-man expedition placed Base Camp on the Minipin Glacier at 3400 meters on June 11. We crossed the Minipin Glacier to the foot of the north ridge, establishing Camps I and II at 3800 and 4600 meters on June 14 and 20. Camp...