Climbing and Outdoor News from Here and Abroad - 8/4/16

Northwest:

--The search to find a missing climber in the Waddington Mountain Range has been suspended. Alexis Creek RCMP say search teams were unable to find 33-year-old Laurel Fan of Seattle, Washington who fell while ascending the Serra Two peak this past Sunday. Police were first notified on July 25 that Fan had fallen while ascending the mountain at an altitude of just over 3,300 metres. "Given that the fall distance exceeded several hundred feet, searchers have made the determination that there was an extreme unlikelihood of her surviving the fall," said RCMP Cpl. Dan Moskaluk in a statement. To read more, click here.

--What began as a relatively routine ascent to the top of Pigeon Spire in Bugaboo Provincial Park, quickly turned into a fight between life and death for Ryan Titchener, one of Jasper’s most experienced alpine guides. Around 8:45 a.m. on July 15, Titchener and his girlfriend, Tereza Turecká, were making their way along the west ridge of Pigeon Spire when a 300 kg boulder came lose crushing Titchener, severely injuring the 32-year-old Jasperite. To read more, click here.

--A 27-year-old Kirkland man was injured Tuesday when he fell about 200 feet while climbing at the 8,200-foot level of Mount Stuart.  Peter D. Prosch-Jensen was in satisfactory condition Wednesday morning at Central Washington Hospital.  He was lifted off the mountain about 8:15 p.m. by a helicopter from the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office, according to a news release from the Chelan County Sheriff’s Office. To read more, click here.

--A 57-year-old south-central Idaho man who slid 300 feet down an ice slope while climbing Idaho's highest peak has been rescued. Kent Blau of Declo slid on the ice on 12,667-foot Borah Peak on Sunday afternoon before stopping at a shale slide below. To read more, click here.

--Gavin Woody and Ras Vaughan just finished the Infinity Loop on Mt. Rainier. This is a double climb of the mountain with a run back to the start on the Wonderland Trail. To learn more, click here.

--A Seattle man set a new Mt. Rainier speed climb record this week. Uli Steidl posted to his Facebook page on Tuesday– and said he climbed the mountain in 4:24:30. He said the old record set in 2008 was 4:40:59. To read more, click here.

--There is currently a Kickstarter campaign going on to promote the finishing of the film "Dirtbag: The Legend of Fred Beckey." To see the extended trailer for the film, click below. To donate to the creation of the film, click here.

Sierra:

--The Inyo National Forest is expanding fire restrictions to include wilderness areas of the Inyo National Forest. Previously, certain wilderness areas had been exempted. To read more, click here.

Desert Southwest:

Colorado:

--This is insane! A couple of climbers stumbled into a hostage situation in Independence Pass last week. Their presence confused the gunman and allowed a hostage to escape and the police to move in. To read more, click here.

Notes from All Over:

--A climber who was missing for a week was discovered in Canada's Yoho National Park. The uninjured climber was found by a search helicopter a short time after a dog found his gloves. To read more, click here.

--It's official. Climbing will be in the next summer Olympics! To read more, click here.

--In March, Fabian Buhl made the first winter ascent solo of the Wetterbockwand, a 5.14 alpine rock climb in the Austrian Alps. Alpinist has an exclusive on the ascent, here.

--Ben Dare and Steve Skelton recently completed a first ascent on Peru's infamous Taulliraju mountain. To read about the ascent, click here.