Climbing and Outdoor News from Here and Abroad - 9/1/16

Northwest:

--Erol Altay, a Chicago architect known for his climbing prowess, died Tuesday after an accident in the Canadian Rockies. Altay fell while soloing what was likely easier terrain on Mount Assiniboine in Kootenay National Park. It appears that one of his hold broke. To read more, click here.

--There was a massive rockfall event at the Exit 38 climbing area. Specifically this happened at the Gun Show area. It appears that multiple routes were damaged, but no one was injured. To read more, click here.

--It appears that somebody intentionally blocked a Forest Service Road near Mt. Adams, trapping several cars. To read more, click here.

Sierra:

--Things are dry in the Eastern Sierra, really dry. So dry that all it took to begin a wildfire on August 5 along the Lower Rock Creek singletrack trail north of Bishop and south of Mammoth was a mountain bike pedal cracking against a rock and sending a spark into the underbrush. To read more, click here.

--It appears that there are some people out there that are educating Pacific Crest Trail thru-hikers on current political issues and working to get them registered to vote. To read more, click here.

Desert Southwest:

--Chief Ranger Jeff Ohlfs will retire Aug. 31 after 32 years with the National Park Service, one-third of its existence. Ohlfs served at Joshua Tree National Park for 26 years. To read more, click here.

Colorado:

--After a seven-year absence, Winter Park and Amtrak are reviving weekend ski train service between the Grand County ski area and Denver’s Union Station. The Winter Park Express marks the return of the venerable ski train that ferried countless skiers between Denver and Winter between 1940 and 2009. To read more, click here.

-- A Colorado man is celebrating a record-breaking adventure in mountain climbing -- ascending 57 of Colorado’s tallest peaks in 31 days. Personal trainer Joe Grant broke the record by biking from mountain to mountain and climbing each peak with no help. To read more, click here.

Notes from All Over:

--Climbers are mobilizing in an effort to help the leading climbers Kyle Dempster and Scott Adamson, extremely experienced expeditioners from Utah who are missing on the Ogre 2 in Pakistan. To read more, click here. UPDATE: It appears that the financial goals have been met. Click here for more info.

  --A 21-year-old worker at the Yellowstone National Park plunged to her death early on Friday from the edge of a canyon while socializing with colleagues, park officials said. Estefania Liset Mosquera Alcivar, a concession employee, was with a small group of coworkers at the rim of the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone shortly after 3:15 a.m. when she fell, according to accounts by her companions, the park’s public affairs office said in a statement. To read more, click here.

--President Obama designated a large swath of Maine’s North Woods as a new national monument last Wednesday, creating what is likely to be the last large new national park ever established on the East Coast. In a statement, the White House said the move aimed to honor the National Park Service’s centennial. The move occurred almost exactly 100 years after President Woodrow Wilson established Sieur de Monts National Monument, which eventually became Maine’s sole existing national park, Acadia. To read more, click here.

--If you weren't aware, some yahoo climbed Trump Tower with suction cups a couple of weeks ago. And now the community on MountainProject.com has gone crazy making topos and routes on the tower. Check it out. On a similar note, AAI guide and administrator, Tom Kirby, spoke to Newsweek about this ascent. To see the article, click here.

--Nepal has banned an Indian couple from mountain climbing in the country for 10 years after they tried to fake a successful ascent of Mount Everest with digitally altered photographs, officials said. To read more, click here.