FALL ON ROCK, EXCEEDING ABILITIESWashington, North Cascades, Liberty BellOn August 14, Stim Bullit (75) and I (47) were climbing the third pitch (I led the first two pitches)—a crack above a ledge. Stim got to the crux of the 5.8 crack, couldn’t f...
Cerro Stanhardt, Tomahawk and Exocet, Ascents. The Bridwell-Smith route Exocet on the southeast face of Cerro Stanhardt remains the most popular venue on this tower, and the 1995- ’96 season was no different. However, despite many attempts, it is ...
Rajuntay, West Face and Other Climbs. E. López and A. Tordoya, of the Club Andino Peruano, made the first ascent of Rajuntay (5477 meters, 17,970 feet) in the local winter or rainy season (April 20, 1980). They climbed the east face, experiencing ...
VARIOUS FALLS ON ROCK and INADEQUATE PROTECTION, RAPPELERROR, DISLODGED ROCKNew York, Mohonk Preserve, ShawangunksOf the sixteen accidents related to climbing in this popular, easily accessed area, we have a typical profile for the majority of cas...
Mystery Towers, Various Ascents. In March, in the remote Mystery Towers just east of Fisher Towers, Keith Reynolds and Alan Stevenson climbed The Fortress (5.8 A3, five pitches) on Kitty Litter Wall. The route ascends the south-facing buttress adj...
Washington, Big Four Mt. On June 5, a large group (8 or 9) made up of several parties climbed Big Four Mt. The majority of the climbers were experienced mountaineers, and the climb was made by several routes. Climbing conditions were hazardous due...
On June 12, 1980, David Swarbrick (19) was leading the first pitch of Direct South Face (5.10) and was approximately 40 feet up when he fell. As he was more than 20 feet above his last protection, he hit the ground. He suffered lacerations and c...
Annapurna I, South Face, Attempt. Mountaineers from Ekaterinburg, Russia, headed by S. Efimov, tried to climb Annapurna I (8091 m) from the south by Bonington’s route but owing to very bad weather only two of its members, Yuri Ermachek and Alexey ...
Quebec, Laurentians, Weir Cliff. On 7 April a group of climbers includ- ing John Brown (28) was climbing on Weir Cliff, the route was the Yellow line Alpine grade 4 with move of 5th. Conditions: Cliff shedding patches of winter ice; weather mild. ...
The Incredible Hulk, free routes. On July 3, Peter Croft, Dave Nettle, and Greg Epperson established Airstream (V 5.13), considered the most difficult free climb in the High Sierra. In August, Croft returned to the Incredible Hulk with Andrew Stev...
FALL ON ICE, INADEQUATE PROTECTIONOntario, Dundas, Webster’s FallsOn January 31, 1982, Harry Fletcher (32) and Doris Ullman (29) were ice climbing on Webster’s Falls. Fletcher, who was leading, had reached a point about one meter below the top of ...
Midway Mountain, East Ridge, South Face. This route starts 30 feet right of a prominent right-facing dihedral. The first pitch is the crux, with 5.7 stemming and jam cracks to a belay slab. The next two pitches wander up and slightly left to the e...
FALL ON ROCK, CLIMBING ALONE AND UNROPEDAlberta, Kananaskis Country, Mount LoretteOn July 15, a 23-year-old man, who had set out on a solo climb of Mount Lorette’s South Ridge (5.6), failed to return home as expected. He left a note describing the...
Cascade Section. On February 3 Section members were invited to see a slideshow, The Chola Shan Expedition and Mountaineering in China, at the Mountaineers Clubhouse. Two AAC Cascade members, Tina Nef and Bruce Frank were a part of this six-person ...
Makalu Attempt. Four Japanese, led by Masaaki Fukushima, attempted the original route on Makalu via the Makalu col. Hitoshi Saito and Hiroshi Tsuchiya twice reached the site for Camp III at 22,000 feet, on September 22 and 23, but never occupied t...
Kangchenjunga Central Attempt. Spaniard Juan Cruz Colinas, Gopal Gu- rung and Ang Tshering Sherpa reached 6200 meters from October 9 to 12, but then heavy snowfall brought snow too deep for climbing. Supplies and time became exhausted before the s...
Ama Dablam Attempt. A British-American expedition led by Englishman William O’Connor had hoped to climb Ama Dablam’s normal route, the south ridge. They were defeated by the heavy snowfall of October 18 to 20. All five members reached the high poi...
JOSEPH COOKE SMITH 1863–1942Joseph Cooke Smith died at Vevey, Switzerland, on June 9th, 1942. Born in Providence, R. I., March 1st, 1863, he was graduated from M. I. T. in 1888; was later employed by the Union Cotton Co. as a chemist; sent abroad ...
Dronning Maud Land, Various Ascents. Mikel Zabalaza, Ferrán Latorre and I spent a month on the Fenristunga Glacier at the base of Ulvetanna in Queen Maud Land. We flew in from Cape Town to Blue-1 on January 6 and landed in Base Camp on January 8, ...
Dhaulagiri Attempt. A nine-man Japanese expedition led by Masakatsu Nakamura attempted the normal northeast ridge of Dhaulagiri. Strong winds and deep soft snow defeated the first summit attack on May 10 when Haruo Mizukoshi, Seiichi Sekiya, Ang P...