Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
North America, United States, Washington—Cascades, Practice Areas

Practice Areas. Castle Rock, a popular, Gibraltar-like, 500-foot tower attached to the side of Tumwater Canyon and above the Stevens Pass Highway was the scene of several new routes, appropriately named Outer Space, Devil s Fright, and Diretissima...


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
Asia, Pakistan, Pir Peak, Winter Ascent

Pir Peak, Winter Ascent. The Alpine Club of Pakistan launched its first winter mountaineering expedition to Pir Peak (6363m) in the Shimshal Valley, Hunza. The team left Rawalpindi on February 17, 1999, for a period of 20 days. This expedition, wh...


Accident Reports ANAM
Stranded — Underestimated Route Difficulty, Poor Route Research, Alberta, Canadian Rockies, Mount Rundle

STRANDED – UNDERESTIMATED ROUTE DIFFICULTY, POOR ROUTE RESEARCHAlberta, Canadian Rockies, Mount RundleOn September 15, three climbers set out to traverse Mount Rundle in Banff National Park from south to north. They had relatively heavy overnight ...


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
Asia, Pakistan, Broad Peak

Broad Peak. Our expedition was composed of Francesc Domínguez, Lluis Vandellós, Genis Rodríguez, Manuel Belmonte, Josep Graño and I as leader. We set up Base Camp on the Godwin Austin Glacier at 4950 meters on August 10. On the 12th, we set up Cam...


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
Asia, Nepal, Everest Attempt by Austrians

Everest Attempt by Austrians. Kurt Stüwe and Sepp Hassler were to have been members of an Austrian expedition to the Tibetan side of Mount Everest, but when the permission for that was withdrawn, they applied for the South Col route. They arrived ...


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
North America, Canada, Interior Ranges, Mount Carmarthen, Southeast Buttress of Welsh Wall, North Star Area, Purcell Range

Mount Carmarthen, Southeast Buttress of Welsh Wall, North Star Area, Purcell Range. On July 3, William S. Nicolai, Patricia Johnson and I climbed this buttress from camp in the Welsh Lakes. The climb is accessible via the Centaurus Glacier in an h...


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
Asia, Kyrgyzstan, Tien Shan, At-Bashy Range and West Kokshaal-too, First Ascents

At-Bashy Range and West Kokshaal-too, first ascents. In early September an International School of Mountaineering expedition comprising Pat Littlejohn, Adrian Nelhams, Vladimir Komissarov (guides), Julian Duxfield, Peter Kemble, Nigel Kettle, Ursu...


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
Asia, Nepal, Annapurna III, Post-Monsoon Attempts

Annapurna III, Post-Monsoon Attempts. There were two unsuccessful expeditions to Annapurna III (7555 meters, 24,787 feet) after the monsoon. American William Bancroft and a companion got to 4730 meters on the southeast buttress in September 30. Ja...


Accident Reports ANAM
Loss of Control—Rappel, No Hard Hat, Wisconsin, Devil's Lake State Park

LOSS OF CONTROL—RAPPEL, NO HARD HAT Wisconsin, Devil’s Lake State ParkOn August 2, 1988, Alma Guerro (IS) received a puncture wound to the back of her head when she swung unintentionally on a rappel from East Bluff. (Source: Devil’s Lake State Par...


Book Reviews AAJ
The Mountains of Ireland

The Mountains of Ireland, by D. D. C. Pochin Mould. 156 pages, 48 photographs and 1 map. London: B. T. Batsford, Ltd., 1955. Price, 21 s.Climbers who insist on having their mountains lofty and glacier-hung will view the subject of this book with a...


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
Asia, India—Arunachal Pradesh, Gori Chen III

Gori Chen III. We more or less reached our goal, the mountain Gori Chen and the unknown Mönba mountain area, traveled by Tilman in 1939, but we did so only after four weeks of irritating and frustrating struggle with bureaucrats. Our journey to no...


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
North America, United States, California, Sierra Nevada, Mount Conness, Morning Thunder Route

Mount Conness, Morning Thunder Route. In early September Bob Locke, Bob Harrington and I hiked in from Saddlebag Lakes to a lovely plateau south of Conness’s summit where we spent the night. Leaving camp we descended a sandy gully to the base of a...


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
North America, United States, Alaska, Coastal Range, Witch's Tits, New Route

Witch’s Tits, New Route. It was reported that Randy Rackliff and Bill Belcourt climbed the 1500-foot west face of the unclimbed, outermost spire of the Witch’s Tits in about 16 pitches in one long day and night. The pair had hoped to climb the 6,5...


Accident Reports ANAM
Stranded, Darkness, Poor Planning, Colorado, Boulder Canyon, Castle Rock

STRANDED, DARKNESS, POOR PLANNINGColorado, Boulder Canyon, Castle RockOn October 24, Gary Hansen (54) and his daughter Kate (17) became stranded on Castle Rock on a ledge 200 feet up the East Face after dark as they attempted to rappel. A rescue c...


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
Asia, Pakistan, Nanga Parbat Winter Attempt, 1988-9

Nanga Parbat Winter Attempt, 1988-9. Our expedition consisted of Maciej Berbeka, Piotr Konopka, Dr. Roman Mazik, Andrzej Osika, Andrzej Samolewicz, Wtodzimierz Stoinski, Stanistaw Szczerba, Zbigniew Terlikowski and me from Poland, Krzysztof Szafra...


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
Asia, Pakistan, Broad Peak, Central Summits

Broad Peak, Central Summits. A Polish expedition from Wroclaw consisted of 15 climbers under the leadership of Janusz Ferenski. Their Base Camp was established at 16,400 feet on the Godwin Austen Glacier on June 30. The route followed the Austrian...


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
South America, Argentina, Campanile Esloveno, Northeast Face, and Torre Astilla, Catedral Group, Bariloche

Campanile Esloveno, Northeast Face, and Torre Astilla, Catedral Group, Bariloche. Dinko Bertoncelj of the Club Andino Bariloche and José Luis Fonrouge of the Centro Andino Buenos Aires made the first ascent of the northeast face of the Campanile E...


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
Asia, Tibet, Himalaya, Ngozumpa Kang II, West Face, Bearzi Death

Ngozumpa Kang II, west face, Bearzi death. Two Americans, Mike Bearzi and Bruce Miller, planned to make the first attempt on the northeast face of 7,952m (26,089') Gyachung Kang, which is on the Tibetan border between Cho Oyu and Everest. But befo...


Book Reviews AAJ
Shawangunk Rock Climbs

Shawangunk Rock Climbs. Dick Williams. The American Alpine Club Press. New York, 1991. Volume One: The Trapps. 346 pages. 55 black-and-white photos. $25.00. Volume Two: The Near Trapps. 218 pages. 28 black-and- white photos. $20.00. Volume Three: ...


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
North America, United States, Alaska, Devil's Thumb

Devil’s Thumb. In Climbing of January-February, 1978 there is the report of the first ascent of the pillar which divides the northwest face of the Devil’s Thumb, made between August 16 and 19 by Bob Plumb and David Stutzman. This Grade VI, 5.9 cli...