Notes AAJ
Note on Cerro Yagán

Note on Cerro Yagán. In his account of the New Zealand 1970-1 Expedition to Tierra del Fuego (see A.A.J., 1974, p. 202) Michael Andrews says, “The peak named Cerro Yagán by Shipton and said by him to be the same as that named Luigi di Savoia by de...


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
Antarctica, Solo to the South Pole

Solo to the South Pole. Norwegian Erling Kagge set off solo from Bergkner Island on November 17, 1992 for the South Pole, dragging a 125-kilo sled. Without any resupply or other assistance he skied the 1310 kilometers to the Pole, which he reached...


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
North America, United States, Washington-Olympic Mountains, Mount Constance

Mount Constance. Jon Olson and I made the first ascent of the north face via Crystal Pass. We placed two bolts; protection was precarious. The route begins 200 yards to the north of the Red Dike route at the base of three prominent cracks, below a...


Accident Reports ANAM
Slip on Steep Snow, Climbing Alone, Climbing Unroped, Inadequate Equipment/Clothing, Colorado, Rocky Mountain National Park, Longs Peak

SLIP ON STEEP SNOW, CLIMBING ALONE, CLIMBING UNROPED, INADEQUATE EQUIPMENT/CLOTHINGColorado, Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP), Longs PeakOn July 22 at about 1300 hours a 68 year-old solo climber notified RMNP Dispatch that he had taken a 30-foo...


Accident Reports ANAM
Washington, Mt. Rainier National Park (1)

Washington, Mt. Rainier National Park (1)—On July 20, 1956 Jake Brettenback (21) fell into a crevasse at about 13,000 feet elevation while on a summit climb of Mt. Rainier. The snow bridge collapsed under his weight, and the other climber, not hav...


Book Reviews AAJ
Surviving Denali, A Study of Accidents on Mount McKinley

Surviving Denali: A Study of Accidents on Mount McKinley 1903-1990. Jonathan Waterman, with an Introduction and chapter on Mountain Medicine by Peter H. Hackett, M.D. Second Edition, Revised. American Alpine Club Press, New York, 1991. 67 pages of...


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
North America, United States, Alaska, Chigmit Mountains

Chigmit Mountains. Flying by float-plane to Chakachamna Lake on August 10 gave Mark Moderow, Margit Breski, my wife Rowi and me breath-taking views of the previously unexplored peaks of the northern Chigmit Range. Rain and alders spiced our approa...


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
Asia, India, Indian Himalaya, Overview

The online version of these reports frequently contains additional photos, maps, topos, and extended text. Please visit aaj.americanalpineclub.orgIndian Himalaya, overview. If you pardon the cliché, whenever God closes a door, he opens a window. T...


Accident Reports ANAM
Fall on Snow and Ice and No Belay – Alberta, Morraine Lake, 3-4 Couloir

FALL ON SNOW AND ICE AND NO BELAY—Alberta, Moraine Lake, 3-4 Couloir. Alison Clough and Dave Charlebois were descending the couloir from the Graham Cooper Hut on a rope at 8 a.m. on July 3, 1977 as part of a larger party. The first rope, which was...


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
North America, Greenland, West Greenland

West Greenland. The Royal Military Academy Expedition spent some six weeks in West Greenland from the end of July to early September. Its members were 2nd Lieutenant R. M. Johnston, Officer Cadets A. F. Davidson and E. C. Walshaw and myself as lea...


Accident Reports ANAM
Unknown, Climbing Unroped, Placed No Protection, Failure to Turn Back, Weather, Alaska, Mount McKinley, West Buttress

UNKNOWN, CLIMBING UNROPED, PLACED NO PROTECTION, FAILURE TO TURN BACK, WEATHER Alaska, Mount McKinley, West ButtressOn June 2, Karl Jendryschik and Jurgen Bruhm of the German expedition Saxonia 96, were separated from each other at Denali Pass. At...


Book Reviews AAJ
Herrliche Alpentiere

Herrliche Alpentiere, by Bartholme Schocher. 4 to., 134 pages, with many illustrations from photographs by the author. Zürich: Rotapfel-Verlag, 1939.The author is a professional photographer of Pontresina, who inherits from his father (an ardent h...


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
Asia, Pakistan, Baintha Brakk (Ogre) Attempt and Tragedy

Baintha Brakk (Ogre) Attempt and Tragedy. Our expedition hoped to climb the south buttress of Baintha Brakk. We were Swiss Phillip Groebke, Germans Michael Wärthl, Jochen Haase, Ansgar Baving, Florian Köfferlein and I. We got to Base Camp at 4500 ...


Accident Reports ANAM
Pulmonary Edema – Oregon, Mt. Hood

PULMONARY EDEMA—Oregon, Mt. Hood. On Saturday, June 11, a Basic Climbing Class led by Bill Davis ascended to a base camp at 8900 feet on Mt. Hood’s south side. One student, John Sargent (16) was quite long in attaining the base camp. He became nau...


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
North America, United States, Washington, Olympic Mountains, Thorson Peak, South Buttress

Thorson Peak, South Buttress. A party of eight, including Arnold Bloomer and Keith Spencer, approached the peak via the Jefferson Lake logging road early in the season. A mile above the lake the mountainside was ascended to a chute at about 4000 f...


Book Reviews AAJ
Le Ski

Le Ski, by Philippe Gaussot. 64 pages, 64 illustrations. Paris: Editions de Varenne, 1951.In this unpretentious book one finds much that is interesting about the development and methods of the French school of skiing. The pictures are exciting. On...


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
North America, United States, Washington - Cascade Mountains, Mount Baker - Park Glacier Headwall

Mount Baker-Park Glacier Headwall. On July 4-5 Norm Bodine, Jim Friar and I completed a new variation of the Cockscomb Route on the northeast face of Mount Baker, the Park Glacier Headwall. One of the standard variations of this route ascends the ...


Club Activities AAJ
A.A.C., Blue Ridge Section

A.A.C., Blue Ridge Section. Closing out the decade for the Blue Ridge Section, 1989 was another year of increased activity. It is showing reemergence as the mid Atlantic representative of the A.A.C. Meeting more often than before, the Section plan...


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
South America, Argentina, El Toro

El Toro. A most extraordinary find was made by two climbers, Erich Groch and Antonio Beorchia, when on January 28 they made what they had assumed would be the first ascent of El Toro (20,952 feet), in the Province of San Juan. On the summit they f...


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
South America, Argentina, Aconcagua, New Route

Aconcagua, New Route. Guillermo Vieiro, Edgardo Porcelana and Jorge Victor Janson made a fifth new route on Aconcagua, one that ascends south of the Glacier of the Poles. It goes up three successive glaciers and a tooth of rotten rock and finally ...