Climbing and Outdoor News from Here and Abroad - 6/13/19

Northwest:

--A team of four was rescued off of Mt. Rainier last week. To read more, click here.

--An Oregon-based Bigfoot researcher put a lot of faith in a hair and skin sample he found almost 40-years ago. A DNA report finally came back...and he found himself -- once again -- disappointed by the results. To read more, click here.

--The Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival World Tour will take place at the Pickford in Bellingham on June 24th. To read more, click here.

Sierra:

--The Sierra Wave is reporting that, "the Alabama Hills can be viewed from two different perspectives. For indigenous people and other locals, the Hills are a special place of beauty, a piece of art that took the earth eons to craft. For a growing number of visitors, it’s a unique place to come and play. The issue facing the Bureau of Land Management and stakeholders is developing a management plan that, according to BLM Bishop Field Manager Steve Nelson, balances use and conservation." To read more, click here.

Southwest:

--The Los Angeles Times is reporting that, "An abandoned iron mine on the doorstep of Joshua Tree National Park could be repurposed as a massive hydroelectric power plant under a bill with bipartisan support in the state Legislature." To read more, click here.

Colorado and Utah:

--ABC 4 is reporting that, "An injured climber was rescued after a fall on the West Slabs area of Mount Olympus. The Salt Lake County Search and Rescue team said they got a call at 6 p.m. reporting an injured climber in a steep, narrow section at the bottom of the West Slabs." To read more, click here.

--The American Alpine Institute is part of this. From SWS News: "The massive collaborative effort to eliminate single-use plastic from Outdoor Retailer continues to gain steam, with less than two weeks until show time. Of the 200+ members of the Plastic Impact Alliance about 120 of them are exhibitors at OR and will be hosting in-booth water stations where attendees can stop and refill their bottles." To read more, click here.

Notes from All Over:

--This isn't a very fun story from Anchorage Daily News. "Alaska’s glaciers are melting so fast they’re making sea levels rise — and creating a new tourism market even as warming trends make it increasingly difficult to access vanishing ice." To read more, click here.

--Outside has broken down the best park in every state, and they prioritized the lack of crowds. Check it out!

--Climate change is causing human waste to melt out of the glacier on Denali. Gross. To read more, click here.

--This is cool. From the Veteran's Administration: "Many Veterans, with a service connected disability rating, are entering Federal parks for free with the Lifetime National Parks Access Pass from the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service. Good for entry into 400+ National Parks and over 2,000 recreation sites across the country, the Lifetime Access Pass is another way a grateful nation says thank you for the service and sacrifices of Veterans with disabilities." To read more, click here.

--The Ministry of Tourism in Nepal is helping climbers fake summit claims on Mt. Everest. To read more, click here.

Is this thing really "worth" $1500? Probably not...

--Yeah, so there's a $1500 chalk bag out there. To read more, click here.

--There's a new four pitch 5.6 above Banff. Check it out!

--New BD Z4 Cams...? Yes, please.

Route Profile: Mount Elbrus

Elbrus - 18,510 ft (5633 m)

Elbrus rising up from the surrounding valley.
AAI Collection.

Mount Elbrus is a giant, dormant volcano which separates Europe from Asia in the Caucasus mountain range of Russia. It is also one of the famous Seven Summits. While the mountain is heavily glaciated, the moderate angle of its slopes make the climb suitable for people with basic alpine skills and an interest in high altitude climbing. Any expedition to Elbrus will aim for an ascent of the peak and the trip can be greatly enhanced by adding short and quick side trips. In-depth looks into the cultural and architectural wonders of this ancient country will make for many great stories and photos for you to bring home.

A great way to begin the trip is in St. Petersburg and then return home via Moscow with itinerary highlights that include visits to museums, art galleries and major architectural attractions. After exploring St. Petersburg, you will fly south to Mineral Vody on the edge of the Caucasus. A short drive to the beautiful tree covered valleys brings you into the mountains themselves. Based from charming hotels in the Baksan valley, the next few days are filled with acclimatization hikes, good food and pleasant surroundings to help you fully appreciate the region.

After several days, you move into the high mountain huts for more training followed by the ascent itself. On the slopes of Elbrus, you will stay in barrels huts at 12,800 feet and continue to acclimate for a couple more days. As a proven ascent program, several contingency days are built into an itinerary to allow for inclement weather and assures a very high chance of success.

Enjoying the sunset from Camp 1.
Photo courtesy Adventure Consultants.

Summit day begins before sunrise as with a climb up moderate snow slopes towards the east summit. Approaching the saddle between the east and higher west peak, you can see the remnants of a derelict hut not able to withstand the elements at this altitude. The final push brings climbers onto the summit ridge with a tremendous sight of hundreds of peaks throughout the Caucasus. Slowly turning in a full circle, you can see wooded valleys merging into mountains of rock and snow, all with early morning light glimmering off the Black Sea. The visual rewards are well earned for reaching the highest point in Europe and for climbing one of the Seven Summits!

Stunning views of the Caucasus range as climbers
move on the slopes of Elbrus.
AAI Collection.

Staying in hotels, lodges and huts avoids the need for tents so you can simply bring along a sleeping bag and your climbing gear and enjoy the climb! Attaining a relatively high elevation at 5633m or 18,510 feet, Elbrus certainly demands respect for its altitude and a deliberate focus on climbing high each day and sleeping low to facilitates effective acclimatization. As with any foray to high altitude, it is imperative that expedition members are fit, strong and in good health.

Success on reaching the highest point in Europe!
Photo courtesy Adventure Consultants.

Looking to add more adventure into your trip? Climbing Elbrus and Kilimanjaro in the same month is a great way to experience two of the Seven Summits. Being acclimated after the first mountain makes it much easier to make a summit attempt on the second mountain. Contact our office for more details!

See y'all in the mountains soon!

--

Dylan Cembalski

Alaska Programs and 7 Summits Coordinator

AAI Guide

Climbing and Outdoor News from Here and Abroad - 6/6/19

Northwest:

--There was a fatality due to rockfall on Mt. Rainier's Liberty Ridge last week. Gripped is reporting that, "One climber was killed and two were injured when a rockfall occurred on Mount Rainier. Three other climbers were also caught in the rockfall, but weren’t injured. Mount Rainier National Park spokesman Kevin Bacher said the injured climbers were evacuated in a helicopter." To read more, click here.

Oregon's Smith Rock State Park

--A climber in Smith Rock suffered a 20-foot fall that resulted in injury on Saturday. A multi-agency response was required to evacuate the 20-year old woman. To read more, click here.

Sierra:

--The Supertopo forum -- which is very California oriented, but covers other places as well -- shut down on June 1st. The forum will be read only now. To read more, click here.

Colorado and Utah:

--Fox 31 is reporting that, "a climber fell 30 feet near the area of the Royal Arch Trail at the Flatirons Saturday afternoon." To read more, click here.

Notes from All Over:

--A climber was injured last week at Connecticut's Ragged Mountain. To read more, click here.

--A climber was injured last week at Carderock in Maryland. To read more, click here.

--CNN is reporting that, "climbers scaling Europe's highest peak, Mont Blanc, without having booked a room in one of its shelters could face two years in prison and a €300,000 ($335,000) fine under new rules to limit overcrowding." To read more, click here.

--Canada's Ontario Alliance for Climbers just hosted a "Spring Fling" where they mentored climbers and taught people how to clean graffiti from the rocks. To read more, click here.

--Climbers should really respect the wishes of native peoples in regard to climbing on Wyoming's Devil's Tower. Climbing magazine is reporting that, "in 1995, the National Park Service instituted a voluntary climbing closure of Devils Tower during the month of June, the most sacred month for native ceremonies. The closure was enacted to set aside time for tribes to conduct ceremonies without interruption from climbers. It was instituted after extensive collaboration with the tribes and the climbing community, and it reflects a compromise that balances the needs of both communities. The closure was purposefully designed to be voluntary, in part to allow climbers the opportunity to show their respect to the Native American tribes that hold the tower sacred." To read more, click here.

--There's already smoke in Alberta's Bow Valley from wildfires...

Crevasse Falls - Do Knots Work to Decrease Fall Potential?

In 2012, the French National Mountain Guide School (ENSA) began to research how knots in climbing ropes decrease the impact of a fall on a climber. Guides have been testing this for years in unscientific ways and have always come up with the same result. Mostly it works.

The difference between a guide does in a training and what ENSA did is that ENSA took a scientific approach to the question. They used a load cell to measure the force...and what they found wasn't terribly surprising. Knots do help...

Check out the following video for more:



In review, they found that bulky knots are better. They recommend that you use a figure-eight on a bight rethreaded through itself. Most American guides have been using butterfly knots, but this video may have a long term impact on that methodology.

They found that in icy conditions, knots don't help that much.

And they recommended the following distances for rope between knots:

It should be noted that they style in which you elect to haul someone out of a crevasse may be determined by whether or not you have knots in your system. If you intend to use prusiks and a single haul system, knots may hinder these things. It's important to make sure you have a plan for extraction (a drop loop works well) if you put knots in your rope.

--Jason D. Martin

Cleaning a Sport Anchor

There are a lot of ways to deal with a sport anchor. Jullie Ellison at Climbing magazine hosts the following video where a very simple and relatively safe way to do this is discussed.

It should be noted that climbing is not "safe" and if a mistake is made in this system, the results could be catastrophic.




Steps to Cleaning a Sport Anchor:

1) Once you reach the anchor, clip two draws into the anchor. Ideally, the gates of the draws are facing away from one another.

2) Clip the rope through one draw and clip the second draw directly into the belay loop. The belayer should keep you on belay the whole time.

3) Pull slack between yourself and the draw that the rope is running through and then tie an overhand or an eight.

3) Clip the loop in the overhand or the eight to your harness with a locker. This will allow you to have redundancy while transitioning.

4) Untie the figure eight that is tied into your harness and run it through the chains.

5) Retye the figure eight into your harness. Double and triple check that this has been done the right way.

6) Remove locking carabiner and knot.

7) Test the system by weighting the knot on the belayer before unclipping yourself from the draw.

8) Clean the draws and then lower to the ground...

Addditional Note:

There are a lot of ways to do this. Some people lower from the anchor, while others rappel. It's important to tell your belayer while you're still on the ground what your plan is; and if you plan to lower, there is never any reason to ask the belayer to take you off belay. There are several accidents a year due to miscommunication surrounding anchor cleaning...

--Jason D. Martin

Training Drills - Footwork

The Climbing Movement Essential Training Series on Youtube is kind of awesome. The series is composed of a number of well produced videos that focus on different aspects of training for climbing.

They always say "use your feet." And indeed, it's pretty common for people to come off because they aren't using their feet. This video shows several drills that one can use to increase the precision and efficacy of their footwork.

--Jason D. Martin

Film Review: Third Man on the Mountain

There really haven't been that many movies made about mountain guides. I mean, there have been some...

Sanaa Lathan plays a world class guide in Alien vs. Predator...and she clearly demonstrates that bloodthirsty extraterrestrials are no match for an experienced mountain guide. I would tend to concur.

Robin Tunney plays a mountain guide on K2 in the worst best climbing movie of all time, Vertical Limit. We all learned a valuable lesson about guides in that movie, the lesson that it's important to bring nitroglycerin on any and all mountain expeditions.

And then there's Third Man on the Mountain.

You'd be forgiven if you didn't know this 1959 Disney film. But you're probably aware of the Matterhorn ride in Disneyland. This film was the inspiration for that ride. And it's no wonder, because the iconic mountain plays a central role in the film, as an infamous peak known as the Citadel.

Third Man on the Mountain is a beautiful film set high in the Alps during the golden age of alpinism. In other words, it was a time when guides and their charges worked together to develop new lines on unclimbed peaks. 

Disney promotes the film with the following plot synopsis:

Rudi Matt, a young kitchen worker, is determined to conquer the Citadel – the jagged, snowcapped peak that claimed his father's life. Encouraged by both a famed English climber and the youth's devoted girlfriend, Rudi goes through a grueling training period before he is ready to face the incredible dangers of the killer mountain.

What they don't say in this short synopsis is that the character Rudi Matt is the son of a mountain guide. And they don't say that the young man has a great desire to become a guide himself...



There is a great deal of climbing in the film that doesn't seem realistic, but it can be forgiven. Why? Because the heart of the film is in the right place. It's a coming of age story about a climber who wants to make the mountains a permanent part of his life. It's the story of an imposing route that that young man looks at every day. And it's ultimately the story of the young man's journey to the mountain.

Most of us can relate to this story.

It's sometimes difficult for those of us who are used to high end special effects to watch older films. It's usually obvious when they shift from scenes that were shot on location to scenes that were shot in a studio. Occasionally you can tell that you're looking at a matte painting... But the story is so nicely portrayed that I was able to suspend my disbelief and live in the moment throughout the film.

Of particular note, Gaston Rebufatt directed the second unit film crew for all the mountain and climbing shots. Rebufatt was the French guide who wrote the iconic book, Starlight and Storm, and participated in the first ascent of Annapurna.

Third Man on the Mountain was based on the 1954 young adult novel Banner in the Sky by James Ramsey Ulmann. This award winning book was republished in 1988 by Harper Teen and is apparently used as a middle and high school reading assignment.

Though I haven't read Banner in the Sky, I'm glad to know that this story is being read and even taught to young adults. It's likely that most students have the opportunity to watch the film after they've completed the book. It's good to know that this film has a life somewhere... It deserves it. It really does...

--Jason D. Martin