Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
India, Himachal Pradesh, Gangotri, Shivling (6,543m), North Face and Northwest Ridge

Shivling (6,543m), north face and northwest ridge. Well-acclimatized after their second ascent of Muztagh Ata’s southeast ridge, reported elsewhere in this Journal, Kazuya Hiraide (26) and Kei Taniguchi (33) arrived in Delhi on September 19 and by...


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
Asia, India, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarankhand (Formerly Uttaranchal) Garhwal, Arwa Tower (6,352m), North Face, Lightning Strike

Arwa Tower (6,352m), north face, Lightning Strike. From May 31 to June 8, the team of Denis Burdet, Thomas Senf, and Stephan Siegrist made the first ascent of the north face of Arwa Tower (6,352m), via the route Lightning Strike (900m, VI M5 5.9 A...


Notes AAJ
Accidents in 1947

ON 4 October 1947 the Council voted to form a committee to be called the Safety Committee of the American Alpine Club. Its purpose is to investigate climbing accidents and to formulate a program of prevention for the future. It has been the initia...


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
Asia, Pakistan, K2 Ascents, Attempts and Tragedy

K2 Ascents, Attempts and Tragedy. A large number of expeditions was active this year on K2. An expedition of Spanish Basques led by Juan Oiarzabal established Base Camp at 4950 meters at the foot of the mountain. They climbed the route pioneered b...


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
North America, United States, Washington, Silver Star Mountain, Gato Negro

Silver Star Mountain, Gato Negro. On June 21, 2001 Larry Goldie and Scott Johnston, both of Mazama, WA, established a probable new route on the west face of Silver Star Mountain near Washington Pass in the North Cascades. The climb follows the lin...


Accident Reports ANAM
Fall on Rock, Climbing Unroped, Stranded, Inexperience, Vermont, Smugglers Notch

FALL ON ROCK, CLIMBING UNROPED, STRANDED, INEXPERIENCEVermont, Smugglers NotchOn August 1, 1980, two young men (ages 18 and 20) were climbing with no equipment on a face in Smugglers Notch. One of them fell while trying to descend to the other, wh...


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
Asia, Tibet, Northwest Tibet, Lungkar Shan, Tachab Kangri (6,704m), Attempt

Lungkar Shan, Tachab Kangri (6,704m), attempt. In August we visited the northern end of the Lungkar Shan in northwest Tibet.Our peak, Tachab Kangri, lies southeast of Marme village and Tsa Tso lake. Marme lies roughly 60km southwest of the county ...


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
North America, United States, Utah, Crow's Head Spires

Crow’s Head Spires. The Crow’s Head Spires, 250-foot towers of Wingate sandstone atop a Chinle sandstone base between Dead Horse Point State Park and the Island in the Sky of Canyonlands National Park, were climbed by Steve Wood, Robert Warren and...


Accident Reports ANAM
Frostbite, Bad Weather, Failure to Check Feet — Alaska, Mount McKinley

FROSTBITE, BAD WEATHER, FAILURE TO CHECK FEETAlaska, Mount McKinleyOn Jiily 3, 1982, Miri Ercolani of Italy flew into the Southeast Fork of the Kahiltna Glacier (2000 meters) to start her solo climb on the West Buttress of Mount McKinley.After rea...


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
Asia, Pakistan, Gasherbrum II, Attempt

Gasherbrum II, Attempt. The seven member New England Expedition Team consisted of Maury McKinney, Brad White, Joe Lenteni, A.J. LaFleur, Tom Pollard, Bill Cialdea, and was led by Rick Wilcox. The expedition was the first of the 1996 season. We est...


Notes AAJ
Alaska Range, Geographical Note

Geographical note: While the well-known peaks in Denali National Park are often called “The Alaska Range,” these peaks form just one part of the immense Alaska Range, which contains many significant subranges, including the Hayes and Delta ranges,...


Accident Reports ANAM
Slip—River Crossing, Inadequate Belay, Inexperience — British Columbia, Purcell Mountains, Bugaboo Creek

SLIP—RIVER CROSSING, INADEQUATE BELAY, INEXPERIENCEBritish Columbia, Purcell Mountains, Bugaboo CreekAbout noon on August 23, 1983, two climbers from Ontario (ages 19 and 17), were attempting to cross swollen Bugaboo Creek near Boulder Camp. Peter...


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
Asia, India, Ladakh-Kashmir, Nun

Nun. Our original objective was the unclimbed 5000-foot-high west face of Nun (7135 meters, 23,410 feet). After a two-day bus trip from Srinagar to Tangol in the upper Suru valley, on September 4 we started with 20 porters and arrived the next day...


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
North America, Canada, Kluane National Park and Reserve, Summary

Kluane National Park and Reserve, summary. Kluane’s icefields saw the least number of visitors in many years, with 50 people participating in 15 mountaineering expeditions, accounting for 1,017 person-days. The Mt. Logan massif saw only 11 parties...


Accident Reports ANAM
Fall on Ice, Alberta, Jasper National Park, Mount Kerkeslin, Kerkeslin Falls

FALL ON ICEAlberta, Jasper National Park, Mount Kerkeslin, Kerkeslin FallsOn December 30, a party of two was climbing Kerkeslin Falls (III, 3), a moderate waterfall ice route in Jasper National Park. The leader was ascending the third and final pi...


Notes AAJ
Asia, Nepal, Himalayan Winter Climbing

Himalayan Winter Climbing. The strongest winds generally come from the west and south. Route selection should consider this because jet-stream winds can stop movement altogether. The height of the mountain is more critical in winter because winds ...


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
North America, United States, Alaska, McKinley Climbed by a 12-Year-Old

McKinley Climbed by a 12-Year-Old. Taras Genet, 12-year-old son of Kathy Sullivan and the late Ray Genet, climbed on July 21 to the summit of McKinley via the West Buttress. He is probably the youngest person to do so. The group of seven was guide...


Accident Reports ANAM
Falling Rock, Poor Position — Wyoming, Tetons

FALLING ROCK, POOR POSITIONWyoming, TetonsDick Arneson (age unknown) and Nelson Lichtenstein (39) were approaching the Southwest Ridge of Symmetry Spire at 1100 on August 14, 1984. Arneson had just reached the base of the ridge when he dislodged a...


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
Asia, India–Garhwal, Shivling

Shivling. A British-American expedition was composed of British Geoffrey Hornby, leader, David Crowther and Colin Foord and Americans Thomas George Norris, Stephen John Ruoss and Robert Yee. They placed Base Camp at Tapovan on July 30, Advance Bas...


Climbs And Expeditions AAJ
Asia, Russia, Caucasus, Yarydag, Northwest Face, New Route

Yarydag, Northwest Face, New Route. Shkhelda lies in the heart of the Caucasus; Yarydag (3925m) is the easternmost point. On the northwest face of Yarydag, Andrey Andreev, Alexei Krivitsky, Sergey Voronin, and I established the new route, Northern...