Climbing and Outdoor News from Here and Abroad - 7/25/19

Northwest:

--Q13 Fox is reporting that. "A climber rescued from Tower Rock in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest more than 1,000 feet up was dangling in his harness for nearly 10 hours. Rescue volunteers say  it could have turned out very differently for the recreational climber." It appears that this individual was "sport rappelling." To read more, click here.

--Vista Outdoor and REI have made up. If you remember, REI dropped Camebak -- a subsidiary of Vista -- after the Parkland School Shooting. Vista has several gun and ammo type subsidiaries as well. To read more, click here.

Oregon's Smith Rock State Park

--Smith Rock is expanding! From Climbing: "Encompassing 651 acres, Smith Rock State Park is no small climbing area, and an unfolding land acquisition is about to expand the park by another 38 acres. This acquisition encompasses both sides of the Lower Gorge, a stretch of land surrounding the Crooked River adjacent to the eastern side of the park." To read more, click here.

Sierra:

--NPR and many others are reporting that, "The names of several major hotels and camp villages at Yosemite National Park in California are being restored, after a years-long trademark dispute. The Majestic Yosemite Hotel is back to its original name, The Ahwahnee. And a set of cabins that was temporarily called Half Dome Village now carries its historic name, Camp Curry." To read more, click here.

Desert Southwest:

--CBS Los Angeles is reporting that, "A large swarm of bees temporarily shut down a popular overlook point in Joshua Tree National Park. The Keys View overlook has been shut down until further notice because of “swarming bees,” according to park officials. It’s located in the Riverside County section of the park and gives visitors sweeping views of the Coachella Valley." To read more, click here.

Colorado and Utah:

--A climber was killed in Colorado's Red Rock Open Space area this week. To read more, click here.

--Out There Colorado is reporting that, "According to the Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office, a 47-year-old male climber was airlifted after tumbling 150-feet down a snowfield on Cathedral Peak near Aspen, Colorado." To read more, click here.

--Snews is reporting that, "Black Diamond laid off 70 employees last week in its manufacturing division of the Salt Lake City, Utah, headquarters, a 22 percent reduction of the Utah workforce and 53 percent of the manufacturing division. News spread quickly on Reddit. A screenshot of a Facebook post—with the original poster’s name blacked out—received nearly 450 comments. It read in part: 'Black Diamond announced to its manufacturing crew that it was being sent overseas. They’re out of a job come September.'" To read more, click here.

--Bloomberg is reporting that, "Two former Bureau of Land Management directors say plans to move the agency’s headquarters to Colorado are an early step toward abolishing the entire agency and transferring millions of acres of federal land to the states." To read more, click here.

--SGB Media is reporting that, "n the ongoing and escalating ski area arms race, Vail Resorts Inc.’s most recent move has clearly raised the stakes. The Broomfield, CO-based ski resort and real estate behemoth grew even bigger Monday morning with the (estimated) $264 million acquisition of Wildwood, MO-based Peak Resorts Inc. The purchase adds 17 ski areas to Vail’s already massive portfolio and dwarfs recent deals taking place in the rapidly evolving ski industry." To read more, click here.

Notes from All Over:

--Penn Live and others are reporting that, "Officials with the Appalachian Trail have warned hikers to be on the lookout for a Pennsylvania man who is wanted on charges that include rape. Court records show a bench warrant is out for Craig York, 35, of Tamaqua, who is facing 15 charges that include rape and involuntary indecent assault of a person under 16." To read more and to see a photo of the suspect, click here.

--Holy moley! "Climbing as a whole contributed $12,450,000,000 to the economy in 2017, with more than 87% (10.8B) coming from trips and travel. While you need some gear to take part in the sport, it’s clear that providing climbers with a place to play has a much larger ROI. You don’t have to be Yosemite; towns such as Castle Dale Utah (Joe’s Valley), Lander Wyoming and Sandrock Alabama are all benefiting from the growth of climbing." To read more, check out the State of Climbing.

--Rock and Ice is reporting on a closure in Wyoming: "The controversy surrounding manufactured routes and route-development ethics in Ten Sleep Canyon—newly reinvigorated following actions taken by 18 climbers to remove some manufactured routes on July 1 and 2—has resulted in swift action from U.S. Forest Service: Effective immediately, there is a moratorium on the development of all new routes in Ten Sleep Canyon." To read more, click here.

--Wisconsin has established an office of outdoor recreation and tourism! And so has Virginia!

--Can climbing help people become better entrepreneurs? Alex Honnold and the New Yorker wanted to find out...

Denali

--Outside magazine is reporting that, "on June 22, Clay Hughes and Cody James confirmed on Instagram that they’d summited Denali, completing an 81-day quest to climb the highest peak in North America using human power alone." To see the article, click here. It should be noted that the article says something about this being the first human powered ascent of Denali. That's incorrect.
Erden Eruç completed a round-trip human powered summit of Denali in 2003.

--Endurance Sportswire is reporting that, "the Outdoor Economy Conference will return to Western North Carolina (WNC) for a second year on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2019. After selling out in its inaugural year, the conference has doubled in size and grown in scope with the help of the new Growing Outdoors Partnership, a regional economic development initiative focused on the outdoors sector. This year’s event will be hosted at the Crowne Plaza Resort in Asheville, naturally adjacent to zip lines, mountain bike trails, and other outdoor amenities, and is poised to draw more than 500 industry influencers." To read more, click here.

--A woman tried to climb Mt. Rushmore...shoeless. To read more, click here.