Climbing and Outdoor News from Here and Abroad - 5/28/15

Northwest:

--It appears that a permit is required by climbers hoping to access the Twin Sister range via the logging roads. To read more, click here.

--Law enforcement officers uncovered seven storage containers of stolen goods in Olympic National Forest on May 22, after convicted bank robber Bradley Steven Robinett revealed its location as part of a plea deal. To read more, click here.

--There will be an Adopt-a-Crag event at Exit 38 on June 20th. To read more, click here.

--When some local snowboarders took over a closed Stevens Pass Ski Resort, they had the opportunity to build something awesome. Check out their video below:



--Wildfires in the U.S. have gotten bigger, more frequent and more expensive to fight in recent years. But every dollar spent fighting fires means less money for preventing them, or at least making them less destructive. Over time, climate change and the sprawl of new homes and developments throughout the West have pushed the U.S. Forest Service to devote more and more resources to fire suppression. Over the past 20 years, the agency has more than tripled the share of its budget spent fighting fires. To read more, click here.

Sierra:

--The prolific climber, wingsuit BASE jumper and high line slackliner, Dean Potter was killed with Graham Hunt in a BASE jumping accident in Yosemite last week. The climbing websites are currently filled with articles about Potter and the accident. Here are a few that stand out: Dean Potter's Final Flight: One Risk Too Many, The Other Man: Graham Hunt, Poet of Light and Air: Dean Potter, and finally, Climbing magazine put up five short films that feature Dean Potter.

Desert Southwest:

--A 23-year-old man died Thursday afternoon after suffering a head injury while climbing near Big Cave in Green Canyon in Utah's Cache County. To read more, click here.

--A rock climber was rescued Monday after he fell about 40 feet down and landed on his back at Windy Point on Arizona's Mount Lemmon. To read more, click here.

Colorado:

--The New York City doctor being sued over an alleged ski collision on Aspen Mountain involving her and another woman who died filed a motion this month that says the victim’s boyfriend caused the crash. Virginia Chen is the defendant in a lawsuit brought by the estate of Natalie Egleston, the Pennsylvania resident who died of her injuries from the Feb. 4, 2013, accident. In a motion filed May 13, Chen wants a judge to allow Ron Konsza, also a Pennsylvania resident, to be designated as a nonparty to the lawsuit. To read more, click here.

Alaska:

--AAI Denali Team 2 summited yesterday with all members. This was the first team to summit the mountain this season! AAI Denali Team 3 is preparing to move to Camp 3 at 14,200'. To learn more about the AAI Denali expeditions, check out our dispatch blog.

--Two American climbers have made an ascent of a Grade III, WI 4 climb on the Stikine Ice Cap in Alaska. To read more, click here.

Notes from All Over:

--The glaciers surrounding Mount Everest may be all but gone by the end of this century
The Himalayan region is particularly susceptible to climate change, a new study finds. To read more, click here.

--A year or so ago, a harness simply fell apart. Black Diamond did some experiments on the harness to understand why. They finished with an excellent article on chemicals and climbing gear. To read the article, click here.