Climbing and Outdoor News from Here and Abroad - 11/29/18

Northwest:

--The North Cascades Highway (Highway 20) officially closed yesterday. It is closed between milepost 134 at Diablo Overlook, east of Newhalem and milepost 171 at Silver Star Creek west of Mazama. The highway typically reopens in early May. The highway usually closes once there is enough snow to warrant avalanche danger to the road around the Liberty Bell massif.

--King County is reporting that their pilot project which entailed providing transportation to trailheads was a success. "Hikers boarded Trailhead Direct for more than 10,000 round trips during the first full season of the transit-to-trails service, increasing the number of people who explored King County’s mountain forests without having to drive or park." To read more, click here.

Desert Southwest:

--There at it again. The developers continue to do whatever they can to try to develop Blue Diamond Hill across the street from Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area in Las Vegas. This world class climbing area has been under threat for nearly two decades now. A group of Clark County commissioners promised to protect the Conservation Area. It now looks like they may have reneged  on that promise. To learn more and to sign a petition to save Red Rock, click here.

 A climber on Johnny Vegas (5.7, II) in 

Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area.

--Speaking of Red Rock, it was pretty busy there over the weekend. Black Friday was Red Rock Friday for many. To read more, click here.

Notes from All Over:

-This is truly horrible. The Anchorage Daily News is reporting that, "A Whitehorse French immersion teacher and her infant are dead after a grizzly bear attack at their trapper’s cabin in a remote area of central Yukon, their bodies discovered by her partner as he returned home from a trapline." To read more, click here.

--This is spooky. A woman was ripping down the side of a Mexican volcano, sliding on her back, headfirst, when a dude tackled her to stop the fall. Had she slid into the rocks, she certainly would have been killed. To see dramatic video and to read more, click here.

--Here's a cool story about a legally blind climber from Oklahoma who has done extremely well in the world of competition climbing.

--A massive ice pillar called, The Real Big Drip, a direct ice variation to a classic line -- saw it's first ascent in Canada's Ghost River Valley recently. The 600-foot line clocks in at WI 7, M8. To read more, click here.

--Patagonia is donating the 10 million dollars they saved in President Trump's tax cuts to programs that are on the front line of fighting climate change! To read more, click here.

--Outside online is reporting on the changing image of the ski resort as large corporations buy them out. "Conglomerates aren’t killing off core skiers and riders. In fact, they’re throwing them a lifeline. Acquisitions come with downsides, of course, including overcrowding and excessive grooming. But by drastically reducing the cost of ski passes and offering some semblance of job security for locals, the corporations are giving the struggling industry a future." To read more, click here.