Dechristo Posted July 11, 2006 Posted July 11, 2006 We lost two dear companions—Sue Nott and Karen McNeill—on Mt. Foraker early this summer. Sue was a longtime member of the Club and spoke at the 2006 annual meeting. I hope you will read below about the effort being led by Mountain Hardwear to establish a climbing grant that will help keep our memory of their wonderful spirit alive. I am writing, as I hope I will every June, from the Grand Teton Climbers’ Ranch. I am happy to report that the ranch is full (literally) with an active cadre of climbers. Opening this year was fraught with repairing winter damage, and Drew Birnbaum and a crew of 30 volunteers worked diligently to open in style for the 2006 season. Those of you who read both this E-News and the quarterly American Alpine News (AAN) should take note that, in Lloyd Athearn’s absence, the summer issue of the AAN will be late this year. On the huts and campgrounds front, I am pleased to announce that we are very close to signing a memorandum of understanding with the Mohonk Preserve and the Palisades Interstate Parkway Commission to build and operate a new campground in the Gunks. I hope to sign within a week of your receipt of this E-News. This marks the beginning of the planning process and, ideally, we should have a campground in the Gunks in the next couple of years. Respectfully yours, Phil Powers Executive Director ppowers@americanalpineclub.org # SPITZER GRANT FUNDS NEW LINE ON FORAKER Maxime Turgeon [Photo caption: Maxime Turgeon starts an extreme ice pitch on the South Face of Mt. Foraker. Eventually, he opted to go another way. Photo by Will Mayo.] Vermonter Will Mayo, who won a 2006 AAC Lyman Spitzer Climbing Award, used the funds to pioneer a partial new route on the south face of 17,400-foot Mt. Foraker in the Alaska Range with partner Maxime Turgeon of Canada. Mayo and Turgeon climbed a line to the right of the famed Infinite Spur, intersecting the French Ridge after 40 hours and about 5,000 vertical feet of difficult ice and mixed terrain. They started up the ridge toward the summit, but the weather appeared to be deteriorating and they opted to descend their line, narrowly missing disaster when a serac collapsed above them just after they reached the base. That morning, the two encountered climbers Karen McNeill and Sue Nott, on their way to attempt the Infinite Spur, and thus were the last to see the two women alive. After Mayo left for home, Turgeon went on to climb a major new route on the south face of Denali with partner Louis-Philippe Ménard. Three Spitzer-funded expeditions are headed to Asia this summer: two to Pakistan and one to Uzbekistan. For more information on the Spitzer Awards, the AAC’s biggest grants for climbing expeditions, visit http://www.americanalpineclub.org/pages/page/64. # MOUNTAIN FELLOWSHIP AWARDS ANNOUNCED The AAC has awarded Mountain Fellowship grants to eight young climbers around the United States. The Mountain Fellowship Fund encourages American climbers, age 25 years and under, to seek out climbs that might otherwise be out of reach. This spring’s grant cycle awarded $5,400 to worthy applicants: * Alison Criscitiello of Winchester, Mass., and Jessica Drees, of Seattle, Wash., received a grant from the Boyd Everett Fund to try the three highest peaks in Ecuador: Chimborazo, Cotopaxi, and Cayambe. * Asa Firestone of Boulder, Colo., will attempt a first ascent in the Pucahirca Group of Peru’s Cordillera Blanca. * Elena Mihaly and Jeremy Roop of Colorado Springs will attempt a new route on Bustle Tower in the Cirque of the Unclimbables in the Northwest Territories, Canada. Their grant was made possible by the REI Challenge Fund. * Mark Thomas of Berkeley, Calif., will attempt a new route on Peak 11,300 and explore pure ice lines on the northwest shoulder of the Rooster Comb in the Alaska Range. * Tim Tormey of Fort Collins, Colo., will attempt to link both the North and South Howser Towers in a one-day push, in addition to several other objectives in the Bugaboos of Canada. * Dave Turner of Sacramento, Calif., will attempt several major objectives in South American ranges, including the southeast face of Jirishanca, south face of Huandoy Sur, Fitz Roy, and the east face of the Central Tower of Paine. For more information regarding the AAC grant programs, visit www.americanalpineclub.org or contact Jason Manke at jmanke@americanalpineclub.org. # BECKEY CLIMBS IN CHINA Fred Beckey and his team have returned safely from China after attempting unclimbed Ja-Ra Peak in Sichuan Province. Beckey journeyed to China with a team from Through a Child’s Eyes Productions, which is making a film about the great American climber’s life; the film is being funded in part through a matching grant from Yvon Chouinard, Beckey’s old partner, with matching donations made to the AAC. The team was able to climb to the lower north summit of the mountain despite deep snow, tricky climbing conditions, and a streak of bad weather. Only 500 feet shy of the true summit, conditions deteriorated rapidly and forced them to descend. Beckey led the team from advanced base camp at over 13,200 feet and provided invaluable insight into route finding and logistics; the octogenarian climber hopes to return to the region when the mountains are in better shape. For more information on “Direct Beckey” and how to support this important film, visit: www.throughachildseyesproductions.com/Beckey.htm . # AAJ HEADS TO THE PRINTER 2006 AAJ The 524-page American Alpine Journal for 2006 has been shipped to the printer, and AAC members will receive their copies in mid-August. Feature stories include reports on the direct Rupal Face of Nanga Parbat, the north face of Cerro Torre, an in-depth survey of Alaska’s Ruth Gorge, and an introduction to the granite walls of Transbaikalia, Siberia, along with the jam-packed Climbs and Expeditions record of climbing and exploration worldwide. The AAJ and the 2006 edition of Accidents in North American Mountaineering will be mailed to AAC members who are current with their dues as of August 1. Mail those renewal notices now, or renew online with a few clicks at www.americanalpineclub.org. # NEW YORKER FEATURES “EVEREST” EVENT Luis and Friend Five AAC New York Section members volunteered as guides for an indoor climb of “Mt. Everest” at Manhattan's Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art, and this kids’ event was featured in “Talk of the Town” section of the June 26 edition of The New Yorker. Real-life Everest summiters Dan Lochner and Dan Meggitt, along with Mike Barker, Martin Torresquintero, and Mike Lederer, Everest guide Luis Benitez, and four Sherpa climbers, led a group of New York middle-schoolers up the five-story circular staircase in the museum’s rotunda, with each floor representing a different camp. A teetering pile of white-wrapped boxes stood in for the Khumbu Icefall. “Probably for the first time in the history of mountaineering, all the climbers were smaller than the Sherpas,” wrote The New Yorker’s Adam Gopnik. A Yeti appeared just after midnight, dragging all the kids out of their tents, and in the morning the whole team summited. “Everyone had a great time, although nobody got much sleep,” said New York Section chair Phil Erard. # YOUTH MEET SLATED FOR MACEDONIA An international youth meet with a focus on creating new sport routes has been scheduled for early September in the beautiful, mountainous Republic of Macedonia, just north of Greece. The meet will feature seminars, competitions, and climbs on Macedonian crags and high peaks, along with cultural opportunities and parties. The meet is September 2–10; in-country cost is 220 Euros per person. For info, email shara@mt.net.mk. # PHOTO GALLERIES FEATURED ON NEW WEBSITE AAC Photo Galleries The home page of the brand-new AAC website ( www.americanalpineclub.org) is featuring rotating galleries of photos provided by club members. Check out the superb collection of images from South Georgia Island by Jake Norton ( www.mountainworldphoto.com) that currently brightens the page. To find out how to publish your mountain photos on the AAC home page, contact Jason Manke at: jmanke@americanalpineclub.org. # AUGUST ICE CLIMBING IN CHILE Ice climbing in August? Well, it’s winter in Chile, and the Portillo Ski Resort is hosting the first annual Portillo Ice Fest August 4–6. The top men and women climbers from Chile and Argentina will be invited to South America’s oldest ski resort to compete on ice, mixed routes, and speed-climbing courses. The Portillo Ice Fest also includes clinics on the ice wall for both beginners and advanced climbers. Films from the 30th Annual Banff Mountain Film Festival will be shown, along with a night of films from the South American Mountain Film Festival. Info: www.bmff.com (in Spanish) or email to info@bmff.com. # ANNUAL MEETING VIDEO WINS AWARD Eyes Open Productions won a bronze Telly Award for production of the opening video shown at the AAC annual meeting in New Hampshire in February. Filmed on location in New Hampshire and Vermont, as well as in mountain ranges around the world, the short piece featured high-angle rock and ice climbing footage filmed by Thom Pollard, creative director of New England-based Eyes Open Productions. For the AAC Annual Meeting, Pollard also contributed a short film tribute to Bradford Washburn, legendary climber and photographer, with whom he has produced several historical adventure documentaries. The Telly Awards honor outstanding local and regional television commercials and programming, as well as the finest video and film productions. For more information, go to www.eyesopenproductions.com. # SIERRA NEVADA SECTION GATHERS AT DONNER SUMMIT Eighteen Sierra Nevada Section members and friends gathered June 23-25 for the section's Donner Summit Climb-munity. This gathering was the latest installment in a series of events intended to promote community by getting both members and non-members out climbing together. Members camped within walking distance of Donner Summit’s superb granite crags on undeveloped property owned by member Bela Vadasz, and they enjoyed a barbeque after Saturday's climbing. Campfire stories (no lies were told!) ranged from who got worked by what route to partners for Yosemite walls to helping Sherpa friends with visas. The section has planned plenty more opportunities to join the fun: * July 29–30, Tioga Pass Climb-munity: Climbing and camping with easy access to Tuolumne Meadows rock climbing and Tioga Pass area mountaineering. * August 26-27, Donner Pass Climb-munity: See above. More fun cragging. * September 23-24, Annual Pinecrest Climb-munity: Hosted by Royal and Liz Robbins, this popular event features climbing at Gianelli Edges and camping near Pinecrest Lake, about 30 miles from Sonora. For more info, contact Dave Riggs at david.riggs@schwab.com. # A FEW SPACES LEFT ON VINSON 40TH ANNIVERSARY CLIMB The 40th anniversary of the first ascent of Vinson Massif, the highest peak in Antarctica, is December 18, and Antarctic Logistics & Expeditions is organizing a special trip to celebrate. The 16,050-foot peak was pioneered by an American Alpine Club-sponsored team led by Nick Clinch. Antarctic Logistics (owner of Adventure Network International) has invited several veterans of that expedition to revisit the mountain, and is extending a discount of about 15 percent on its normal fee to all AAC members. Dates for the AAC trip are December 16–29, 2006. For details, visit http://www.adventure-network.com/display.asp? navid=1&id=51 Quote
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