American Alpine Institute - Climbing Blog: Climbing and Outdoor News from Here and Abroad

Northwest:

--A climber killed in a fall at a mountain in Mount Rainier National Park has been recovered. The climber fell Sunday while climbing The Chief, a peak of Sluiskin Mountain located northwest of Mount Rainier. According to the National Parks Service, the climber was part of a party of three camping and climbing in the Lake Crescent area. The climbing team gained the 7,026-foot summit, but the climber fell on the descent. To read more, click here.

--Check out the ROCK PROJECT this weekend in Index. The event is brought to you by the Access Fund. AAI Guides Mike Pond and Chad Cochran will be teaching. To learn more, click here.

--On Saturday, September 26th, there will be an event in Tacoma celebrating the life of AAI Guide Liz Daley. Liz was tragically killed in an avalanche last September. This event is a fundraiser to build a climbing park called Liz Rocks at Point Defiance Park. To read more, click here.

--It looks like many of the Pacific Northwest fire bands have been lifted. To read more, click here.

--A new route has been climbed on Mt. Triumph. To read a trip report, click here.

--The recent "renaming" of Denali has brought up several other place names that should have a conversation about naming. The most egregious places are not those that have had their native names taken away, but those that have had racist names applied to them. To read more, click here.

--Oregon’s Mt. Bachelor is facing more than $20 million in lawsuits accusing it of negligence in building its terrain park, and so far the courts have not been the resort’s favor. To read more, click here.

Sierra:

--Legendary mountain guide Bela Vadasz passed away yesterday at the age of 62. Bela was a technical director of the International Federation of Mountain Guides (IFMGA), Owner of Alpine Skills International (ASI), a fully IFMGA certified mountain guide, recipient of the American Mountain Guides Association’s Lifetime Acheivement Award, and absolute god on skis. To read more, click here.

--Hans Florine of the Bay Area has completed his 100th ascent of the Nose Route of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park. To read more, click here.

--California's snowpack was the worst it's been in 500-years. To read more, click here.

Desert Southwest:

--Four people were found dead and three people were still missing Tuesday after flash floods in Utah's Zion National Park Monday, officials said. The deaths occurred as a group was exploring Keyhole Canyon. In a community to the south of the park, flash floods Monday also killed at least 12 people. The National Park Service said 0.63 inches of rain fell over Zion National Park between 4:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. Monday, causing flooding. To read more, click here.

--The Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area Campground has reopened.

--The Los Angeles Times ran a story on the Red Rock Canyon program that AAI helped to facilitate with the Bureau of Land Management. To read the story, click here.

--In a long-sought victory, a group of preservationists has completed the acquisition of a 690-acre land parcel west of the western entrance to Joshua Tree National Park. Ten years in the making, the Joshua Tree-based Mojave Desert Land Trust — which since 2006 has purchased 54,000 acres of desert land for protection — plans to restore the property, called Quail Wash, and to donate the parcel to the national park. To read more, click here.

--Climbers universally do better at the American Ninja Warrior than non-climbers. It appears that professional climber Isaac Caldiero, recently won $100,000,000 at the event. To read more, click here. To see his final run at the event, click on the video below.

Colorado:

--Dr. Matt Davis was killed in a fall on the Crestone Needle. It appears that he unroped in a section where people commonly unrope and slipped. To read more, click here.

--Here's an interesting article about the demise of Branner Snowboards, a boutique splitboard company.

--Local Summit County resorts are putting the finishing touches on their annual round of upgrades. This year’s changes might not be as obvious to skiers and snowboarders as in 2014-15, when Arapahoe Basin Ski Area’s $2.3 million kids center became the fourth building in its base area, Breckenridge Ski Resort put in a higher-capacity Colorado Superchair and Loveland Ski Area constructed an on-mountain cabin. Vail Resorts is focused on Utah this year as it integrates the resort formerly known as Canyons into one unified Park City. Local ski area visitors can expect remodeled buildings, more snowmaking and new app features for the 2015-16 winter season.

--So there is a trail that has been closed because of too many bear selfies. In other words, some idiot takes a picture of him or herself in front of a bear. To read more, click here.

Notes from All Over:

--An accident took place in Canada near Field, but little else is known. To see the info available, click here.

--A 62-year-old man used his cellphone to call 911 after he was mauled by a bear while walking a neighbor's dog in Alaska woods, authorities said Monday. Danny High of Funny River, Alaska, was in intensive care at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. Hospital spokeswoman Susan Gregg said his family doesn't want details released about his injuries. To read more, click here.

--DMM has issued a carabiner recall. To read more, click here.

--Toronto firefighters staged a potentially dangerous rescue to save a climber who got stuck near the top of the Scarborough Bluffs. Toronto Fire Capt. Mike Strapko said the climber's brother reported the emergency around 2:13 p.m. after the man couldn't top an edge near the top of the steep cliff near the Bluffer's Park Beach. To read more, click here.

--A recent analysis of avalanche fatalities on the worlds highest peaks suggests that 75% of those fatalities were the result of poor decision making and forecasting. To read more, click here.

--If nothing is done, then by the middle of next year the world will run out of one of the safest and most effective treatments for snakebites. This could lead to tens of thousands of preventable deaths, warns the international medical organization Doctors Without Borders (MSF), which urges the global health community to take action in tackling one of the planet’s most neglected public health emergencies. To read more, click here.

--Ultramarathoner Scott Jurek will pay a $500 fine for drinking atop Mount Katahdin in Maine after his record-breaking Appalachian Trail run as part of a plea bargain in which two other citations were dismissed. District Court Judge Kevin Stitham approved the plea deal during a hearing Wednesday in Millinocket District Court. To read more, click here.

--It was announced last week that 21st Century Fox and the National Geographic Society are creating a for-profit, commercial company that will encompass all National Geographic properties, including its magazines, websites and television channels. Fox will own 73% of this new company. To read more, click here.