Climbing and Outdoor News from Here and Abroad - 7/2/2020

Northwest:

--The News Tribune is reporting that, "A climber missing since Friday while travelling through treacherous terrain at Mount Rainier National Park marks the third person to go missing at the Washington park in a little more than a week." To read more, click here.

--Here's an update on the missing climber. It sounds like he was a skier and was found at that bottom of Liberty Ridge on Rainier. 

--Oregon Live is reporting that a climber was rescued off Mt. Hood on Saturday.

Mt. Baker last week.
Photo by Quinn Slocum

--Artist Point will remain closed until the snow melts on its own accord. This means that there will be an extra couple miles of road walking for people to access the Lake Ann Trailhead for the Fisher Chimneys on Mt. Shuksan. To read more, click here.

--Some climbers in British Columbia are making cool climbing videos that they will provide for free to anyone taking part in an anti-discrimination movement. To learn more, click here.

Sierra:

--After an earthquake caused a rockfall event at Whitney Portal last week, the road was closed. It appears that the road has nearly been cleared and Whitney permits will be available again on July 3rd.

--Climbing is reporting that, "The Yosemite Climbing Association Museum and Gallery was set to open this spring, featuring artifacts and photographs from Yosemite’s climbing history, but was delayed due to the pandemic." To read more, click here.

Desert Southwest:

--There is a significant fire on Mt. Charleston just outside Las Vegas. It does appear that some -- if not many -- of the world class climbing crags will be affected. To read more, click here.

One of the boulders vandalized in First Creek. This is a 7-foot by 4-foot boulder.

Photo by Andrew Harris

--Several boulders were vandalized in Red Rock Canyon last week. The bulk of them were hit with spray paint, but some were hit with permanent marker. The boulders are in First Creek on the approach to the Romper Room area. It is believed that the BLM will investigate this.

--And on top of everything else, there has been an increase in poisonous snakebites in 2020. To read more, click here.

Colorado and Utah:

--The town of Breckenridge and the associated ski resort are considering a name change. The town was originally named after an individual who fought for the Confederacy. To read more, click here.

The ski industry is struggling.

--The Colorado Sun is reporting that, "the ski resort industry, reeling from early closures in March, suffered another major blow this week when President Donald Trump extended a ban on visas for immigrant workers through the end of the year.  Citing soaring unemployment, Trump’s proclamation applies to H-1B visas used by technology companies, H-2B visas and J-1 visas. The resort industry has spent years relying on visa workers, especially J-1s, many of them college students from the southern hemisphere who spend several months at resorts teaching skiing." To read more, click here.

--The New Yorker has published a piece entitled, "A Guy Named Craig May Soon Have Control Over a Large Swath of Utah." The piece is about oil leases near Moab between Canyonlands and Arches. To read it, click here.

Notes from All Over:

--USA Today is reporting that, "A California woman was gored by a bison at Yellowstone National Park after approaching too closely to try to take a photo, the second incident in less than six weeks between a visitor and one of the park’s iconic hulking animals." To read more, click here.

--Outside is reporting that, "the Appalachian Trail made it to Washington last week. On June 15, the Supreme Court took on a case about a contentious natural gas pipeline crossing the trail, United States Forest Service vs. Cowpasture River Association. On a 7-2 vote, they overturned a ruling from the Fourth Circuit court of Appeals and decided that, based on the Mineral Rights Act, which allows for government-sanctioned extraction on public land, the Forest Service could grant Dominion Energy the right to run the Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) under the Appalachian Trail in the George Washington National Forest." To read more, click here.

--There is significant concern that Canada's iconic outdoor equipment store, MEC -- Mountain Equipment Coop - will not survive the coronavirus pandemic. To read more, click here.

--Outdoor Sportswire is reporting that, "Backcountry Access, Inc. (BCA) has announced a software update specifically and exclusively for its Tracker2 avalanche transceivers. The company recommends that all Tracker2 owners take advantage of this update. This software update improves functionality during power-saving mode. After 12 hours without user input, Tracker2 enters into power-saving mode and begins emitting an audible beep every two minutes to let you know you are in lower power mode. In power-saving mode, the Tracker2 transmit pulse can vary slightly from the international standard. All avalanche transceiver brands must operate on the same international standard to ensure interoperability." To read more, click here.

--This guy took a cheese ball container off the head of a swimming bear cub...