Climbing and Outdoor News from Here and Abroad - 6/27/24

Northwest:

--The section of the Pacific Crest Trail that goes through Snoqualmie near Interstate 90 may be closed for short periods each day this summer due to blasting for work on a ski lift. To read more, click here.

--KTVZ is reporting that, "the snowcapped peak of Mount Rainier, which towers 4.3 kilometers (2.7 miles) above sea level in Washington state, has not produced a significant volcanic eruption in the past 1,000 years. Yet, more than Hawaii’s bubbling lava fields or Yellowstone’s sprawling supervolcano, it’s Mount Rainier that has many US volcanologists worried. 'Mount Rainier keeps me up at night because it poses such a great threat to the surrounding communities. Tacoma and South Seattle are built on 100-foot-thick (30.5-meter) ancient mudflows from eruptions of Mount Rainier,' Jess Phoenix, a volcanologist and ambassador for the Union of Concerned Scientists, said." To read more, click here.

Sierra:

--The respected big wall climber John Middendorf has died of a stroke. He was 65. Gripped has a good write-up on his legacy, here.

--Climbing is reporting on a new 17-pitch route on Keeler Needle, a 14,260-foot neighbor to Mt. Whitney called Keel Haul (V 5.13c). Read more.

Colorado and Utah:

--Fox News is reporting that, "A skier is safe thanks to the quick thinking of two off-duty ski patrol members who saved him after he fell over 1,000 feet while attempting to descend South Arapaho Peak in Colorado. On Sunday, June 16, shortly after 10:30 a.m., the Boulder County Sheriff's Office was notified of a skier who had sustained serious injuries in the area of the Skywalker Couloir on South Arapaho Peak, west of Nederland." To read more, click here.

Notes from All Over:

--Climbing is reporting on a death that took place in a rock gym: "Lee Hansche died in an accident while route setting at the Vertical Dreams climbing gym in Manchester, New Hampshire, on May 21. While the cause of the accident is unclear, Hansche, who had managed the gym for over two decades, was using the appropriate safety gear and was extremely comfortable with the rope systems involved with indoor route setting." To read more, click here.

--WABI 5 is reporting that, "A 24-year-old rock climber was rescued in Acadia National Park on Monday. It happened in an area around South Bubble Trail near Jordan Pond. According to park officials, he slid and fell about fifty feet down the rock." To read more, click here.

--CTV News is reporting that, "A skier fell about 650 metres down the side of Mount Temple after breaking through a cornice last week. Parks Canada said they were called to help on June 20. A pair of skiers had been climbing up the southwest ridge of Mount Temple, south of Lake Louise, when one fell through a cornice, an overhanging ledge or shelf of snow at the ridge of a mountain." To read more, click here.

--Teton Gravity Research is reporting that, "Lukas McClish had been lost in the Santa Cruz Mountains of California for 10 days before being rescued on June 20. When the 34-year-old hiker finally emerged from the woods, he was shirtless, scruffy, and on the brink of malnutrition. He had been surviving on berries and creek water, sleeping on damp beds of leaves, and shouting for help as he searched for a way out." To read more, click here.

--And finally, the photo above is what you get when you ask AI to teach you how to camp. Maybe hire a guide instead. This has been making its way around the internet. First seen on @tamaryellin's account on Threads, but appears to be making the rounds.

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