Climbing and Outdoor News from Here and Abroad - 7/9/20

Northwest:

--Global News is reporting that, "an injured mountain climber and their party were forced to spend a night in the Tantalus Range before rescue crews could get to them this weekend. Squamish Search and Rescue search manager Landon James told Global News the group had been climbing on Mt. Dione Saturday when one member fell about 20 metres (65 feet)." To read more, click here.

Squamish Peregrin Closure Area

--From the Squamish Access Society: 

A falcon nest site is suspected near the Memorial Ledge. 

To protect Peregrine Falcons the climbing routes within areas circled in red are closed.

Closed routes include Memorial Crack, Memorial Ledge, Karen’s Math and the top of Long Time No See (pitches 8 and 9 and the top of pitch 7). Finish Long Time No See in the trees above the rappel route. Rappel after climbing North Apron routes if possible, but if you do decide to walk to Broadway Ledge to descend, do so quickly and use caution. Broadway Ledge can also be accessed via Desert Dyke (#37 in photo).

Use caution in areas adjacent to the closure, and if you encounter a falcon keep your distance. If birds appear agitated, leave the area as soon as possible.

The closure will be lifted when the juveniles leave the area, which should occur by the end of July.

--The National Parks Conservation Association and many others are reporting on the end of the grizzly reintroduction program in the North Cascades. "Statement by Rob Smith, Northwest Regional Director for the National Parks Conservation Association: 'Grizzlies have been an integral part of the North Cascades ecosystem for 20,000 years but are now one of the most threatened populations in North America. This purely political decision ignores science, Park Service recommendations and overwhelming public support and instead threatens the very survival of one of the nation’s most famous wild creatures. This enormously disappointing decision is the latest flip-flop away from conservation by this administration, which under Secretary Ryan Zinke supported grizzly recovery efforts. We will continue to work with community members to advocate for the reintroduction of grizzly bears.'" To read more, click here.

Sierra:

--Mark Powell, an early Yosemite climber, has died at the age of 91. Mark teamed up with Warren Harding for some of the early explorations of Yosemite's most storied route on El Capitan, The Nose (5.9, C2, VI). To read more, click here.

--From Yosemite National Park's Instagram page:  "Know before you go! Remember, Yosemite is temporarily requiring all visitors to have a reservation to drive in or through the park. For more information on what kind of reservations will permit you entry, visit go.nps.gov/reserve."

--Brandon Adams and Roger Putnam crushed the Mescalito speed record on El Cap. They climbed the line 13 hours and 46 minutes, shaving nearly ten hours off the old record. To read more, click here.

--Group campgrounds in the Inyo National Forest will remain closed for the time being. To read more, click here.

Colorado and Utah:

--Rock and Ice is reporting that Annie Weinmann, a 28-year old data engineer, just completed the fastest known women's car-to-car ascent of the First Flatiron. She completed her round-trip in 43-minutes and 20-seconds. To read more, click here.

Notes from All Over:

--A climber was injured in a fall near the coast in San Bernardino County in the Crestline area. To read more, click here.

--The longtime editor and chief of Rock and Ice is stepping down. Duane Raleigh approved the publication of an article about the route name changes in Ten Sleep. Raleigh admits that he had a history of naming routes with racist language. The Ten Sleep article does not mention racism as part of the problem. Raleigh chose to step aside from his role at the magazine to provide opportunities for new leadership. Raleigh's letter about his actions and why he's resigning can be found, here. 

--On a related note, it is now possible to flag discriminatory names on MountainProject.

--Melanin Base Camp has a post up entitled, "How MountainProject Stole from a Woman of Color and Spent Years Defending Hate Speech in the Climbing Community." The piece recounts what lead up to MountainProject's policy change. To read the post, click here.

--The Climbing Grief Fund from the American Alpine Club is open to donations. If you dontate $15 or more, you'll have immediate access to the film, "A Thousand Ways to Kiss the Ground," about loss in the climbing community. To donate and see the film, click here. Check out the trailer, below:

--In the midst of the pandemic, with many public lands closed, a few people have finished the Appalachian Trail. But the question that some are asking, is at what cost? Outside has a great piece on an unusual year for thru-hikers.

--There is a software update available for the BCA Tracker 2 avalanche transceiver. To read more, click here.

--The New York Times is reporting that, "two of the nation’s largest utility companies announced on Sunday that they had canceled the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, which would have carried natural gas across the Appalachian Trail, as delays and rising costs threatened the viability of the project." To read more, click here.

--NPR is reporting that Ashima Shiraishi, the 19-year old world-class rock climber that became famous when she was very young, has written a children's book. To read more, click here. 

--Rock and Ice is reporting that, "in South Carolina, while crags were closing left and right, an initiative by the Carolina Climbers Coalition to put out-of-work climbers back to work fixing trails has taken off." To read more, click here.

--Climbing is reporting that, "Walltopia—a climbing wall manufacturer—has designed and constructed the world’s tallest climbing wall, located on the side of CopenHill, a recently opened waste-to-energy plant in Copenhagen, Denmark. The 80-meter artificial climbing wall has five routes with ranging difficulty, each broken down into four 20-meter pitches." To read more, click here.