Club Activities AAJ
The Friends of the Western Mountains

The Friends of the Western Mountains is an informal organization, founded in 1926, to stimulate greater interest in and appreciation of the scenic beauty of the mountain regions of the western United States. Members receive a yearly series of pict...


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
North America, United States, Wyoming—Wind Rivers, Fremont Peak

Fremont Peak. The usual route on Fremont Peak starts from a high col on the southwest buttress which separates the drainage of the lakes below (west of) Indian Pass from that of the main Titcomb Valley. Several hundred feet east of this col is a p...


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
Asia, CIS, Mount Elbrus, Lower Dongasorun, North Face Ascent and Descent by Snowboard

Mount Elbrus, Lower Dongasorun, North Face Ascent and Descent by Snowboard. In mid-May our Russian guide Misha (who was along as much for his mastery of the language as his knowledge of Elbrus), Wade McKay, and I made an ascent of Lower Dongasorun...


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
North America, United States, Alaska, Ice Climbing Near Valdez

Ice Climbing Near Valdez. An explosion of activity in climbing new routes resulted from good ice conditions and increasing interest by locals and visitors, stimulated by the preparation of a guidebook to the area. Starting in early November, by th...


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
South America, Bolivia, Illimani

Illimani. A traverse of the three peaks of Illimani was made by three Argentines of the Club Andino de Mendoza, Guillermo Vieiro, Ulises Sila Vitale, Rafael Juarey, together with Ernesto Sánchez, a member of the Club Andino Boliviano. Climbing the...


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
North America, United States, Alaska, Denali National Park, Mt. McKinley, West Buttress, Patience for Purity

Mt. McKinley, West Buttress, Patience for Purity. On June 12 and 13 Robert Adams and I climbed a new 3,500' route (Patience for Purity, Alaska Grade IV, 5.9 AI85°) on the western end of the west buttress of Denali. After an eight-day storm, which ...


Accident Reports ANAM
Fall on Rock, Climbing Unroped, Exhaustion, Washington, Mount Index

FALL ON ROCK, CLIMBING UNROPED, EXHAUSTIONWashington, Mount IndexMichael Welch (28), a Seattle climber, died January 11, 1981, in a fall from a rock wall near Index, Snohomish County authorities said.Welch was climbing without ropes with his older...


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
Asia, India—Kashmir and Ladakh, Nun

Nun. Eighteen of a 27-man team of the Indian Border Security Force, led by Lieutenant Colonel Prithipal Singh Cheema reached the top of Nun (23,410 feet) in two waves on June 25 and 27 via the north ridge. Six of them skied down the northeast face...


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
Asia, Nepal, Manaslu, Ascents and Tragedies

Manaslu, Ascents and Tragedies. Peter Sperka, an experienced mountaineer and ski alpinist from the High Tatras, organized the Slovak expedition to Manaslu (8163m). They had bad weather and conditions. In spite of this, they pitched Camp III at 740...


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
North America, United States, Washington-Cascades, Lichtenberg Mountain, Northeast Ridge

Lichtenberg Mountain, Northeast Ridge. With mountain bikes offering quick access, Jens Kuljurgis and I made a one-day excursion of this climb. The route began on the west comer of the ridge, where we encountered an awkward (narrow) body jam in hal...


Accident Tables ANAM
Reported Mountaineering Accidents, Table I

TABLE I Reported Mountaineering AccidentsYearNumber of Accidents Reported U.S.A.-CAN.Total Number of Persons Involved U.S.A.-CAN.InjuredU.S.A.-CAN.KilledU.S.A.-CAN.19511421103195229321713195324271412195431413181955343929131956467151181957455328181...


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
North America, United States, Alaska, P 6486

P 6486. On April 29 Marty Corcoran and I snowshoed from the Glenn Highway 10 miles up still frozen Granite Creek. After checking out the peaks up one of the east forks of Granite Creek, on May 3 I soloed P 6486 for a first ascent.Larry Swanson, Mo...


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
Asia, India, Nilkantha, Garhwal

Nilkantha, Garhwal. An Indian expedition finally succeeded in climbing beautiful 21,640-foot Nilkantha, which had repulsed seven previous attempts, including Willi Unsoeld’s try in 1949. (A.A.J., 1956, 10:1, pp. 75-80.) The expedition was under th...


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
South America, Argentine Patagonia, Cerro Standhardt, Northwest Ridge, Aguja Innominata, Corallo Route, and Cerro Torre, Compressor Route

Cerro Standhardt, Northwest Ridge, Aguja Innominata, Corallo Route, and Cerro Torre, Compressor Route. Timothy O’Neill and Nathan Martin climbed the Corallo Route (V 5.11) on Innominata on January 12 with Bruno Sourzac; the Northwest Ridge (V 5.11...


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
North America, Canada, Coast Range, Nusatsum, Bella Coota Region

Nusatsum, Bella Coola Region, Coast Range. In June Ed McClanahan and 1 made a new route on Nusatsum. (First ascent, 1952, by W. and D. Long, R. Skinner.) We ascended the 6500-foot-high north couloir, 4000 feet of it ice with a tricky little icefal...


Accident Reports ANAM
New Hampshire, Joe English Hill

New Hampshire, Joe English Hill. On 16 April, a New England College instructor (Mr. Dan H. Allen), three students and one non-student were climbing together at Joe English Hill in New Boston, New Hampshire. The three students were ascending one of...


Accident Reports ANAM
Hypothermia, Heart Failure, Baffin Island, Auyuittuq National Park

HYPOTHERMIA, HEART FAILUREBaffin Island, Auyuittuq National ParkOn August 25, 1985, a man (42) was hiking alone. What transpired during the day is not known, but when he arrived at Overlord Campground in the evening, he was wet, shivering, and had...


Book Reviews AAJ
Land of Tempest: Travels in Patagonia

Land of Tempest: Travels in Patagonia, 1958-1962, by Eric Shipton. 224 pages, 1 colored frontispiece, 24 black & white pictures, 3 maps. New York: E. P. Dutton, 1963. Price $5.95.This is a fascinating account of exploratory mountaineering in P...


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
North America, United States, California—Yosemite, Wawona Dome, West Face

Wawona Dome. West Face. In full view of the Yosemite south entrance highway, close to Wawona Village, the dome’s face had no true routes. On October 14, 1970, Larry Moore, Bob Romanowitz, and I started up the obvious chimney in mid-face. Despite g...


Book Reviews AAJ
A Climber's Guide to the Rocky Mountains of Canada

A Climber’s Guide to the Rocky Mountains of Canada, by J. Monroe Thorington. Sixth edition, with the collaboration of William Lowell Putnam, xx + 381 pages, one route diagram and a four-page key map of the 1:50,000 quadrangles. New York: American ...