Saipal Attempt. On October 24, Austrians Franz Kröll, Fritz Mross and Ang Chhepal Sherpa reached 6630 meters on the west ridge of Saipal, at a point called “Firnkopf” by Austrians in 1954. They then turned back. They estimated it would have taken ...
“Hair-raiser Buttress,” Granite Basin. Vern Clevenger and I climbed this route in June. The route ascends the only prominent, pitted buttress in the middle of the Granite Basin group. We started off some boulders slightly uphill from the low point...
Gesellschaft Alpiner Bücherfreunde. This organization, with headquarters in Munich, Theresienstrasse 78, was organized in 1928 for the purpose of producing German versions of rare and modern Alpine books for its members. The annual dues are RM. 10...
FALL ON SNOW, INADEQUATE NAVIGATION SKILLS, UNABLE TO SELF- ARREST–ICE AXES ON PACKS INSTEAD OF IN HAND, WEATHEROregon, Mount Hood, SouthsideOn Saturday February 18, a party of eight climbers departed Timberline lodge for a climb to Illumination S...
Unexplored Mountains of Wadi Rum, 1984. If Wadi Rum means anything to anyone, it probably conjures up visions of Lawrence of Arabia, for it was from there in that remote region of desert mountains that he based his raids on the Turks and Aqaba. Si...
Solimana Traverse and Coropuna, Cordillera Occidental. On June 29 Hans Dümmler, Hans Raum, Heinz Thäter and I left the Hacienda Hiatapampa on the Chuquibamba-Cotahuasi road at about 14,450 feet and that same day set up Base Camp at 16,900 feet bel...
Cerro CABA. Cerro CABA (2500 meters, 8202 feet), the highest summit of the Cordón Pico Alto, lies in the region of El Bozón on the Argentine-Chilean border. It was first climbed in 1951. Fernán González and Lucas Angelino went to Lago Puelo, cross...
FALL ON ROCK, EQUIPMENT FAILURENew MexicoRecently, an REI customer had an accident while rock climbing in which a carabiner broke. (He was not injured, fortunately.) The customer returned the carabiner to the Albuquerque store, and our testing lab...
Mount Huntington, Second Ascent of Northwest Ridge. Our team included Cindy Jones, Bob Newman, Todd Rentchler, Roger Robinson, Charlie Campbell and me. On April 5 we flew with pilot Buddy Woods, minus Campbell, who had contracted strep throat, to ...
Nun and Kun, UIAA Training Camp.The training camp organized by the UIAA was a remarkable success. A team of 28 mountaineers between the ages of 18 and 56 represented nine countries, three continents and four major religions and spoke 18 different ...
Naltar Valley, 1990. In August and September of 1990, Irish climbers Orla and Maurice Prendergast and Tomas Aylward visited the Naltar valley and climbed Snow Dome (5030 meters, 16,503 feet) by the north ridge, Sentinel (5260 meters, 17,257 feet) ...
La Reina, Cordillera de Santa Marta. With a hired Colombian boy I walked into the Santa Marta massif from Atanquez up the Donachui River. Having lost my ice axe and crampons on the way to Colombia, I had to pick a rock route, the steep southeast r...
Rock of Ages, Southeast Ridge. From well left of the col east of the peak, this route was first climbed on June 24, 1979 by George Montopoli and Tim Hogan. After some F5 rock work, the first significant pitch contained F7 and F8 face and crack cli...
Keyboard of the Winds, Various Ascents. In early July, Nigel Gregory approached me with a gleam in his eyes. “Are you up for a little new routing?” he asked. Nigel’s British upbringing made me immediately suspicious. I hesitantly said, “I don’t kn...
Hot Tuna Tower, Sargasso, Wheeler Crest. In April Tony Puppo and I climbed this route that ascends the right side of Hot Tuna Tower, following the similar but smaller dihedral to the right of Starkissed. Two pitches led to the base of the corner t...
Broad Peak, Attempts, Ascents, and Tragedy. It was reported that 28 people reached the Main Summit of Broad Peak (8047 meters) this year, all but three via the standard West Face route. A Basque and South Korean team (Juanito Oiarzabel, Um Hong-Gi...
Gastric Distress – School House Group. On a reconnaissance trip for Colorado Outward Bound School in November, 1969, Rick Medrick and I located a previously untouched climbing area eight miles southeast of Creel in southwestern Chihuahua state. Re...
Baruntse, North Ridge from the West. Baruntse (7220 meters, 23,688 feet) is strikingly situated between the Lhotse-Everest and Makalu massifs. The Eastern Sierra Himalayan Expedition was the third group to attempt the steep icy headwall which lead...
British Columbia Mountaineering Club. The club enjoyed a very active year with 80 scheduled trips, many to new areas and ranging from easy hikes and ski tours to artificial routes and expeditions. Average outing attendance was 15. Three camps were...
Mont Blanc, Brouillard Pillars, Right Pillar. The remote Brouillard Face, the face of cloud and mist, is separated from the Frêney by the Innominata Arête and consists of three granite pillars. The left or Red Pillar of Brouillard was climbed by W...