Climbing and Outdoor News from Here and Abroad - 5/19/16

Important Recall Notices:

--WARNING: Petzl has reported that a third party has been selling "modified" Petzl ASPIR harnesses on ebay. These harnesses have been modified in a way that makes them EXTREMELY DANGEROUS. If you own a Petzl ASPIR harness, click here to learn more.

--Black Diamond Equipment has issued another recall. They are recalling the Easy Rider and Iron Cruiser Via Ferrata lanyard sets, Index Ascenders, Camalots and Camalot Ultralights. This is in addition to previously announced recalls of select carabiners and nylon runners. To learn more and to see if your equipment has been affected by this recall, click here.

Northwest:

--A 50-year-old female climber was killed after slipping at the Bob's Wall area in Leavenworth. It appears that the woman was transitioning from one climb to another after a light rain. Zulfiya Dokukina fell 80-feet. To read more, click here.

--A team has been combing Snoqualmie Pass searching for the body of a skier who went missing five months ago. To read more, click here.

--U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists reported earlier this month that more than 100 small earthquakes have shaken beneath infamous Mount St. Helens in southern Washington State since mid-March. While scientists do not believe that the group of seismic events introduces any immediate danger to the Pacific Northwest (PNW), the weeks long shaking is bringing a renewed focus to the volcano danger that looms in the region. To read more, click here.

--A comprehensive package of proposals to increase water supply in the Icicle Creek Basin through water-storage automation in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness and aggressive conservation was available for public comment through May 11. If implemented in full, the plan will support area population growth while also supplying fish and irrigators with the water they need through 2050. To read more, click here.

Desert Southwest:

--In early April, the Access Fund sponsored the Future of Fixed Anchors II conference. The Access Fund has just posted the proceedings. They can be read, here.

Notes from All Over:

--Emergency responders rescued a man Tuesday night in Ontario who got stuck after partially climbing the wall of the Niagara Gorge. Rescuers rappelled down the gorge wall near Thompson’s Point, south of the Whirlpool Rapids Bridge, after receiving a call at about 7:25 p.m. about a distraught male, the Niagara Parks Police said. To read more, click here.

--The concept that National Parks are "America's Best Idea" is flawed. This strategy to promote the parks may actually be turning away diverse populations. To read more, click here.

--This is weird: Father-and-son tourists were ticketed and forced to release a baby bison they'd wrangled into the back of their SUV at Yellowstone National Park because they thought it was cold. The problem is that when the calf was returned to the herd, the mother rejected it and the calf was euthanized. To read more, click here.

--And this is weirder: A missing hiker was found alive and tied to a tree Thursday afternoon off a trail along the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina, according to a report. Rescuers began a search for the 64-year-old woman on Thursday afternoon when her friend called 911. The woman was found about an hour later and tied to a tree near Craggy Gardens Visitor Center in Buncombe County. National Park Service Rangers are investigating the incident as an assault. Investigators say it was believed to be an isolated incident. To read more, click here.

--In an insane decision, oil exploration is going to be allowed in Big Cypress National Park. To read more, click here.