Grosvenor is a striking mountain, an iconic pyramid with technical faces that allow no easy way up. The west face appeared to us the most impressive and technical. It rises 1,300m and is littered with ice ribbons broken by steep rock bands. ...
Fitz Roy, Super Couloir, 1980. During the 1979-1980 season, Marius Norstad and I went to Fitz Roy Park, hoping to climb both Fitz Roy and Cerro Torre. We believed it possible if we could make light, fast ascents. There are such routes on both peak...
Mount Huntington, West Face. At 6:30 p.m. on May 6, less than 24 hours after we left Colorado, Talkeetna Air Taxi deposited Dave Bangert and me on the Tokisitna Glacier below the west face of Mt. Huntington. It was bitterly cold. On May 8, we clim...
YearNumber of Accidents ReportedTotal Number of Persons InvolvedInjuredKilledUSA-CAN.USA-CAN.USA-CAN.USA-CAN.195115221131952313517131953242712121954314131819553439286195646725413195745532818195832392311195942— 256— 231— 019— 2196047— 464— 1237— 81...
The First Twenty-Seven YearsThe Safety Report of the American Alpine ClubBenjamin G. Ferris, Jr., M.D.SHORTLY AFTER WORLD WAR II, in 1947, a large number, more than 300 climbing fatalities or accidents, were reported in Europe—mainly in Switzerlan...
Eagle Rock Peak, first ascent. A man wearing a leather jacket with a bloody knife in his hands stands by the roadside, digging inside the body of a slaughtered yak. We realized we were in China.Christof Looser, Martin Ruggli, and I started out for...
K2, North Buttress via the Japanese Route, Ascent and Tragedy. The expedition was composed of Spaniards José Carlos Tamayo, Iñaki Otxoa, Juan José Ruiz, Ramón Portilla, Juan José (Juanjo) San Sebastián, Juan Ignacio (Atxo) Apellaniz and me and the...
The Pacific Crest Trailway, by Clinton C. Clarke, 126 pp.; 12 detached illustrations, 5 detached maps. Pasadena: Pacific Crest Trailway System Conference, 1945. $2.25.A description of the history, construction and location of the 2156 miles of thi...
FALL ON ICE, CLIMBING UNROPED New Hampshire, Mt. WashingtonOn January 22, 1980, John Zedick (25) was leading two friends, Brian Kring and KimAnkeny, up the Fan to climb Odell’s Gully. They had stayed at the Harvard Cabin the night before. The Fan,...
Huntington’s Phantom WallJay Smith“HEY, LADDIE. Had a look lately?”“Huh?” I moaned, as it felt as if only minutes before I had dropped off to sleep. I pulled my gloved hands out from my armpits and wiggled my cold toes. Then turning to the right, ...
ALBERT WALTER BAILEY1917-1958The many friends of Walt Bailey were greatly shocked to hear of his untimely death in Peru on June 29th. Walt was a member of the North American Andean Expedition which was attempting the ascent of Mount Alpamayo (20,0...
I really wanted this one. So far, the great mountains of Asia had largely defeated me. Six big trips over 18 years had produced two summits and plenty of abseiling practice. In the last few years I had begun to question the investment, to consider...
STANDARDS FOR PROTECTIVE HEAD GEARAnalysis of the reports of previous accidents leads to the following conclusions:Presently used hard hats (as distinct from a helmet), even though only moderately efficient, are saving lives and reducing injuries....
Names in the Gangotri Region. The glaciers of the area are often named for their appearance. “Varn,” meaning “colour of the skin or complexion,” appears in several glacier names. Raktavarn Bamak (Reddish Complexion Glacier), Swetvarn (White Comple...
Bear Tooth, Climbing Is Believing. Yusuke Sato, Fumitaka Ichimura, and I flew in to the Buckskin Glacier on April 7. Our aim was the east face of the Bear Tooth, on which we had been driven back in 2006. However, we found the face drier than two y...
North Summit (13,500 ft.), the northern summit of the South Lookout group, was attempted by Charles Kendrick, Bob Scott, and the writer. This climb failed about 30 feet from the summit because of bad weather and lack of time. The climb was difficu...
On August 12, Mikey Schaefer and I flew with Temsco Helicopters from Petersburg, Alaska, to a camp below the southeast face of Devil’s Thumb. Our objective was a complete traverse of the Devil’s Thumb massif, climbing over the summits of the Witch...
The Right Mountain: Lessons from Everest on the Real Meaning of Success. Jim Hayhurst, Sr. John Wiley & Sons, New York, 1996. 209 pages. $24.95.The Right Mountain, by Jim Hayhurst Sr., is not really about mountains or climbing them. It is a wo...
Everest, West Ridge Attempt. Bad flying weather at Lukla prevented our beginning our approach march together. Jim Bridwell, our climbing leader, with Andy Politz, Randall Grandstaff, Greg Sapp, Kevin Swigert and Fletcher Wilson, got out ahead and ...
Watkins Mountains, two possible first ascents close to Gunnsbjorns Fjeld. Named by the Vikings “Hvitserk” or “White Shirt,” Gunnbjørns Fjeld stands as the Arctic’s highest mountain. Its 3,693m summit is not technically difficult to reach, but a go...