Climbing and Outdoor News from Here and Abroad - 6/11/15

Northwest:

--A 66-year-old Idaho climber who died on Mount Hoodlast week suffered blunt-force chest trauma in a fall, according to autopsy results released Monday. Ward Milo Maxfield of Paul, Idaho, was injured Thursday when he tumbled an estimated 400 feet while climbing the Hogsback route. To read more, click here.

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

Sierra:

--The drought had a major impact on some of Tahoe's biggest ski resorts last winter. According to the latest earnings report released by Vail Resorts, Tahoe area ski areas Heavenly Mountain, Northstar California, and Kirkwood mountain collectively saw a 33.1 percent drop in skier vists for three months ended April 30, compared to the same period last year. To read more, click here.

--A hiker who died near Shepherd Pass was recovered this week. To read more, click here.

Desert Southwest:

--The Search and Rescue Ropes Team in Iron County responded to a popular hiking destination just outside of Cedar City Monday evening after receiving a frantic call for help.
Police say that when they arrived they learned that a 19-year-old man was rock climbing with friends when he fell about 30 feet. To read more, click here.

--The Las Vegas Valley added two new rock climbing gyms in the past nine months, doubling the number of local indoor climbing centers and signaling increased interest in a sport helped by Red Rock Canyon’s popularity. Origin Climbing &Fitness, which holds a grand opening at its Henderson facility June 20, joins Refuge Climbing & Fitness, which opened on Valley View Boulevard in October as the new kids on the climbing block. To read more, click here.

Colorado:

--Sales of Epic Passes have reached record levels for Vail Resorts, enabling the Colorado-based resort company to withstand a decline in visitation and dry winter conditions at its ski resorts in California and Utah. Lift revenue at Vail's nine U.S. mountain resorts climbed 13.2 percent to $285.2 million for the three months through April, driven largely by a 21 percent increase in season pass sales for the company's third quarter. Pass sales through May 26 for the 2015-16 ski season were up 12 percent in units and 20 percent in dollars when compared with the same period in 2014. To read more, click here.

Alaska:

--AAI Denali Team 4 is currently on their way down the mountain. AAI Team 5 is at high camp and AAI Team 6 is at Camp 1. To read more dispatches, click here.

--Hansjorg Auer and Michael Mayr recently made the first ascent of a climb they called Sugar Man (M7, 85-degrees, A1, 2,500'). The route climbs a 7,500-foot peak they named Mt. Reaper. To read more, click here.

Notes from All Over:

--Eleven people have died after a powerful earthquake struck a Southeast Asian mountain. "Sad Day! I have just announced the recovery of 9 (additional) bodies by rescue teams," Malaysia's tourism minister Masidi Manjun said on Twitter. "Trying to get helis to bring them down. Fatalities to date: 11." Mountain guides have helped 167 climbers to safety after the quake stranded them atop Kinabalu, one of Southeast Asia's tallest peaks, according to the official Twitter account of the Malaysia Fire and Rescue. To read more, click here.

--In a related report, Malaysian authorities have arrested a European man for allegedly stripping naked and urinating on Mount Kinabalu prior to a deadly earthquake, reports said. To read more, click here.

--A skier wearing a GoPro fell into a crevasse this week in Switzerland. He dropped about twenty feet before stopping. In the video you can see him putting an ice screw into the wall to keep from dropping further. After about thirty minutes a guide arrived and dropped a rope down to pull him out. The skier was uninjured but was transferred to a hospital anyway. The video can be seen below:



--A Utah Department of Public Safety helicopter rescued a stranded hiker from atop a cliff in Little Cottonwood Canyon early Tuesday morning. To read more, click here.

--There are already more than 1000 hikers on the Pacific Crest Trail this year. Many of them have read Cheryl Strayed's book entitled Wild or have seen the Reese Witherspoon film. They're call it the Wild effect. To read more, click here.

--Unfortunately, like other law enforcement agencies, there are just some people who should not be given policing powers. This includes some law enforcement rangers. To read more, click here.

--AAI guide and writer Shelby Carpenter has a new article out about how drones can help detect wildfires. Check it out, here.

--Has the last person trekked to the North Pole?