Climbing and Outdoor News from Here and Abroad - 2/15/18

Northwest:

--A climber on Mt. Hood suffered a 100-foot fall on Tuesday. Nearby parties performed CPR on the climber, but he was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital after being airlifted off the peak. To read more, click here.

--A new three-pitch WI 3 climb was completed in Squamish last week. Check it out!

Sierra:

--The iconic rock climber, Jim Bridwell, has passed away. There have been reports for weeks about "The Bird's" deteriorating condition. News of his death on Monday is just starting to trickle onto the internet. We will link profiles about his life to our news blog next week.

--Squaw Valley has installed batteries developed by Tesla to decrease it's greenhouse gas output. To read more, click here.

Desert Southwest:

--The Mercury News and many others are reporting that, "Three people died and four were rushed to a Nevada hospital with life-threatening injuries after a tour helicopter crashed into a section of the Grand Canyon on Saturday evening. The incident occurred around 5:20 p.m. on the land of the Hualapai Nation near Quartermaster Canyon, Hualapai Nation Police Chief Francis Bradley told the Associated Press." To read more, click here.

--The Desert Sun is reporting that, "The California desert is the latest target of Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke's campaign to promote resource extraction on public lands across the West. Zinke's Interior Department said this week it would allow mining on 1.3 million acres, or more than 2,000 square miles, across the California desert, reversing an Obama-era effort to protect those lands. Vast swaths of Utah's Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments were similarly opened to mining this month, following President Trump's decision to dramatically reduce the size of those monuments." To read more, click here.

--The annual Red Rock Rendezvous is slated to take place in Las Vegas from March 16-19, 2018. This is one of the biggest climbing festivals in the country...and one of the most fun. The American Alpine Institute works with Mountain Gear to put on the festival every year and many AAI guides will be on hand for both instruction, as well as for hanging out at the evening parties. You might also consider booking a guide before or after the program, or even participating in an additional climbing class. To read more, click here.

Notes from All Over:

--Wisconsin's Journal Sentinel is reporting that, "Authorities have identified the 37-year-old Waukesha man who died as the result of a skiing accident on Saturday, Feb. 3, in Dane County. Jonathan Allen was skiing at the Tyrol Basin Ski and Snowboard Area north of Mt. Horeb when he struck a tree 'at a high rate of speed,' according to a Monday morning news release issued by the Dane County Sheriff's Department." To read more, click here.

--Outside magazine has some ideas about Leave No Trace. This series of ethics could use some updating to deal with a few 21st century LNT problems. To read more, click here.

--The Salt Lake Tribune is reporting that, "President Donald Trump’s spending plan proposes an $18 billion fund to help rebuild national parks and wildlife refuges and boost the Native American education system but also would deliver a severe cut to the Interior Department’s overall budget and add new authority to sell off some public lands." To read more, click here.

--Ponzi schemes are not just a New York phenomenon. Ariel Quiros, the owner of Vermont's Jay Peak Ski Resort, built such a scheme by swindling money out of foreign investors through a program meant to provide them US residence for making investments in the United States. To read more, click here.

--And finally, the organizers of the Olympics won't let skiing robots enter the events...yet. So, a few engineers decided to run their own robot ski Olympics. Check it out, below: