Tahoe Turning Point (non-profit group homes for boys) is sponsoring a peak hiking contest this year. It's simple - you send them the short registration form and $40 and then go hike (or climb) peaks. Submit a photo to them of you on the top and log your climb/hike on the Peak Record.

Cindy Thaw (CMG President - Real Estate), Mt. Dana with Mono Lake in background

In November they give out prizes for: Most peaks hiked (total), highest peak, Farthest Peak from South Lake Tahoe, Most Peaks over 10,000 and Best Summit Photo. All the prizes last year were really good and useful and the $40 registration fee goes directly to fund the boy’s activities outside (like climbing gear).

To participate you just register with them and submit the fee and you are done. The peaks can be anywhere, not just around here.

For more information:

Danielle: (530) 307-8207

Email: roxnsnow@yahoo.com

Web site: http://www.tahoeturningpoint.org/

Climbing Wall Court Case

John Alcock reports the following on UKClimbing:

A man paralyzed after falling from a climbing wall will not receive a penny in compensation following an Appeal Court ruling which some may see as a blow against the "nanny state".

Gary Poppleton, who faces life in a wheelchair, claimed he was the a victim of negligence after falling from the wall at the Fort Purbrook centre, at Corsham, near Portsmouth, on February 2, 2002.

A "novice" at rock climbing, Mr Poppleton was tackling the centre's climbing wall without ropes - an activity known as "bouldering" - when he fell to the ground, breaking his neck.

Mr Poppleton, now 30, of (44) Coriander Drive, Churchdown, Gloucestershire, sued the Trustees of the Portsmouth Youth Activities Committee - the charity which runs the centre - for millions of pounds in compensation.

At the High Court in July last year, Judge Richard Foster ruled that Mr Poppleton had attempted a "dangerous and foolhardy" jumping maneuver on the climbing wall, far beyond his capabilities, and was three-quarters to blame for his own misfortune.

But he said he could claim compensation on the basis that the centre was 25% to blame, meaning he was still entitled to substantial damages, possibly running to seven figures.

The judge made his finding on the basis that the centre should have warned Mr Poppleton that thick safety matting on the floor didn't necessarily make the climbing wall safe.

However today, at London's Court of Appeal, Lord Justice May, sitting with Lord Justice Richards and Sir Paul Kennedy, said Mr Poppleton was entirely to blame for the tragedy.

"It is to my mind quite obvious that no amount of matting will avoid absolutely the risk of possibly severe injury from an awkward fall and that the possibility of an awkward fall is an obvious and inherent risk of this kind of climbing," said the judge.

"Mr Poppleton's evidence was that he did not think it was that risky, indicating he knew there was a risk."

Later in his judgment, Lord Justice May added: "There being inherent and obvious risks in the activity which Mr Poppleton was voluntarily undertaking, the law did not require the trustees to prevent him from undertaking it, nor to train him or supervise him while he did it, or see that others did so.

"If the law required training or supervision in this case, it would equally be required for a multitude of other commonplace leisure activities which nevertheless carry with them a degree of obvious inherent risk - as for instance bathing in the sea."

The judge also said that it "made no difference" that Mr Poppleton had been charged for using the climbing wall, and said that it was "plainly obvious" there was some risk of falling from the wall.

And he dismissed a cross appeal brought by Mr Poppleton's legal team, who had argued that a finding of just 25% negligence on the part of the centre was not enough, as the then 25-year-old had been given no instruction or warning about safe use of the facility, and had not been asked about his abilities as a climber.

At an April hearing, the charity's counsel, Mr William Norris QC, argued that to find the trustees liable for Mr Poppleton's injuries "would be over-regulation and what is now referred to daily as the nanny state".

Mr Norris said that it was "fundamentally absurd" to describe the crash mat as a "hidden or latent danger" which had lured Mr Poppleton into a false sense of security.

He added: "Mr Poppleton, as an adult, voluntarily accepted the risk of falling and must, like any adult, be taken to have recognised the risk - however remote that may have been - that he would suffer serious injury, even falling onto a soft surface.

"There was no sound basis upon which the judge was entitled to find that, even had some warning been given, it would have made the slightest difference...There should be no duty to explain the obvious to a consenting adult.

"There is a limit to the information and advice that you need to volunteer to an adult who does not ask for any. He was an adult, entirely free to make his own choices. He also knew perfectly well, when he chose to jump, that there was a risk of falling...He recognised the risk and chose to take it."

Mr Poppleton - who had worked for Bass brewery since he was 19 and was doing well as a "trouble shooter" taking over troublesome kitchens at pubs all over the country - had gone to the activity centre with a group of friends.

The keen cyclist, who worked out regularly with weights, was "bouldering" on the climbing wall when he fell as he attempted a challenging jump towards a grab bar, somersaulting in the air and landing on his head.

There are more comments and information by Jack Geldard on the UKClimbing website. The link is:

http://www.ukclimbing.com/news/#n44786

High Altitude Leadership

Chris Warner visited Google's Mountain View, CA headquarters to discuss his book "High Altitude Leadership: What the World's Most Forbidding Peaks Teach Us About Success." This event took place on November 19, 2008, as part of the Leading@Google series.

On July 20, 2007 twenty five climbers set out for the summit of K2. Eighteen would reach the summit. Two would die. On a mountain where one-in-seven summiters die descending, it was the most successful day in K2s epic history. Leading an international expedition, and filming it for NBC TV, Chris Warner captured the mountain, in all its brutality. Now he is bringing his Emmy nominated footage, and tales of heroism, narcissism and cowardice, to the Google community.

Chris Warner has summited five 8000 meter peaks and is one of Americas top climbers. Chris Warner is not just a climbing bum, he is the owner of the Earth Treks Climbing Centers, a mid-sized company with 175 employees and three locations. Based on Chris combination of climbing skills and entrepreneurial experience, the Earth Treks team was chosen, in 2000, to guide Leadership Development Expeditions for the Wharton School of Business. Chris writings on leadership have appeared in SmartCEO magazine, Upward Bound and his latest book, High Altitude Leadership, co-authored with Don Schminke, was published this fall by Jossey-Bass. http://www.highaltitudeleadership.com

Watch the slide show/movie here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zkC9IMQmYA

Incidents

“It is better to be careful 100 times than to get killed once.” Mark Twain

Mt. Cook – Anton Wopereis - January 1, 2008

Wed, 15 Apr 2009. The decision of an experienced mountain guide not to use a belay spike while climbing on Aoraki-Mt Cook lead to his death, a coroner has found.

Coroner Richard McElrea found Anton Francis Wopereis, 54, died when he fell near the summit of Mt Cook on New Year's Day 2008, the Timaru Herald reported.

Mr Wopereis was one of five guides leading a client on the Linda Glacier route and was the last of the group to climb the summit rocks.

At an inquest into Mr Wopereis' death last November, other guides gave evidence that the combined effect of the eight previous climbers would have weakened the surface snow. Mr Wopereis's client, Scottish climber Vicky Jack, told the coroner the accident happened as he climbed above her to attach a fresh anchor to the slope.

He fell 60m, hitting rocks on the way. Unlike guides who went ahead of him that day, Mr Wopereis' safety rope was not belayed, or fixed to the rock. Guide Dave McKinley, who climbed before Mr Wopereis, told the inquest it was not as simple as a wrong decision. He said if a client was unable to belay proficiently being held up could put the leading climber at risk. Half the time he climbed the Summit Rocks he chose to do so without being belayed. However, Mr McKinley agreed that if Mr Wopereis had been belayed it was unlikely the fall would have killed him.

Mr McElrea found that not belaying cost Mr Wopereis his life, and it could have placed his client in peril if there had not been other guiding support immediately available.

No fault lay with his client or any of the other four guides and their clients.

Eiger – March 27, 2009

Rescue workers have retrieved the body of one of two mountain climbers who froze to death on the Eiger this week after being trapped by a storm. It was the first tragedy this year on the 3,970 meter high Eiger – a mountain regarded as one of Switzerland's most dangerous and whose name, some people think, means "ogre". Poor weather thwarted the recovery of the body of the other man, who had attempted with his friend to scale the peak's notorious north face, one of the most challenging in the Alps.

The two mountaineers, who have not been named, were found frozen to death, not on the treacherous north face, but on a ridgeline leading back towards a mountain hut and the Jungfraujoch railway station, a popular tourist attraction. Both climbers were recruits on vacation from the Swiss army's mountain training centre based in Andermatt. By all accounts they were experienced and well prepared. They had almost certainly reached the summit before becoming trapped.

"But did something happen to them already on the way up the north face?" wondered Christian Brawand, president of canton Bern's mountain rescue service that was involved in the effort. "I don't think the Eiger is much more dangerous than other mountains, but like all over the Alps, the situation can change very quickly," he told swissinfo. "These two young climbers made the proper planning. We just don't know what happened. We may never get answers."

What is known is that the two men, aged 22 and 21, had set out Sunday morning. The weather had been clear that morning with cold temperatures and wind. Ueli Steck, a Swiss mountaineer who holds the speed record for climbing the north face and knows the mountain well, said the conditions that day were good enough that he, too, would have started the climb. But weather reports did show a storm was moving in.

The two climbers were tackling the face's original route, the 1,800-metre Heckmair Route, a steep and exposed line climbed by the German-Austrian team which made the first successful ascent in 1938. People in the village below said they saw lights that evening near the spot known as the Flatiron - probably the climbers making camp.

Relatives began to worry when the men did not call to check in that night. The next day they reported them missing. Word reached a mountain rescue station in Grindelwald late on Monday night, but by this time the weather had deteriorated, making a helicopter rescue impossible.

"We just couldn't reach them," Marc Ziegler, head of the Grindelwald rescue station, told swissinfo. "That is unusual but the conditions made it not possible." The men probably did the best thing they could have in such a situation and hunkered down in a snow cave or behind rocks out of the wind. They survived the night.

Early on Tuesday morning, the father of one of the climbers briefly reached his son on his mobile. "He said they had cold fingers and feet but they sounded optimistic," Ziegler said. Rescuers had time to learn where the climbers were before the signal went dead.

The rescue could then begin in earnest. But the temperature had dropped to –22 degrees with wind gusts up to 80km/h. As much as a meter of new snow choked the way to the stranded climbers.

"To go just ten meters people needed a half an hour," Ziegler said. The effort was called off later that afternoon in worsening weather. By early Wednesday morning four helicopters, including one from the Swiss army with infrared imaging capabilities, were able to fly toward the ridge and spotted the men. A doctor and a police officer dangled beneath one helicopter from a cable and were able to get within five metres of them. From what they could see, it was clear the climbers had frozen to death.

eiger routes

The Eiger has been the scene of a number of horrific dramas, which have struck the public imagination because the north face sits within easy view of villages below, allowing people to watch tragedies unfold. To date more than 60 people have died on the mountain, which can be dangerous because of loose rock and storms that gather in an instant.

Climbers have died within feet of windows cut through the rock during the building of the railway that runs through the mountain. Some corpses have been left to dangle for weeks as the terrain is often too difficult for rescuers to retrieve bodies quickly. The death of two British climbers who fell in 2000 was caught on film.

"The dangerous part about the Eiger isn't the north face," Steck told swissinfo. "There you are moving slowly, securely. It's when you get to the parts where you can walk more quickly that you will make a mistake." Janine Patitucci, a professional mountain sports photographer from Lucerne, used nearly the same decent as the ill-fated climbers after her climb up the peak a few years ago. She said the route the climbers may have been trying to go down can be worse than the way up. "It's just so exposed," she said. "In a storm it would have been terrifying."

Rescuers were hoping the weather would improve on Friday to allow them to retrieve the other body but high winds thwarted those efforts. In the meantime, friends, family and colleagues are grappling with what went wrong. "He had always talked about the mountains as 'his' mountains," the father of one of the men said. "Now the mountains have kept him." swissinfo, Tim Neville

Salt Lake City, Mt. Olympus – April 18,2009

A 49-year-old woman hiker fell 1,000 feet to her death into a snow-filled ravine on Mount Olympus, authorities said Saturday.

Karin Vandenberg, her son Cole and another 14-year-old boy slipped into the ravine, Sheriff's Lt. Don Hutson said. The two boys survived, but suffered head injuries and possible broken bones, he said. Rescuers recovered Vandenberg's body. Both teenagers were at Primary Children's Medical Center in stable condition, Hutson said.

"It was just a horrible scenario, a bad deal," he said.

Two other members of the hiking party, Steve Holding and his wife, Christine, avoided falling and were safely evacuated, but their 14-year-old son, Clayton, was one of injured teenagers. Holding is the son of billionaire Earl Holding, the owner of Sinclair Oil Corp., the Little and Grand America hotels, Sun Valley ski resort in Idaho and Utah's Snowbasin resort. Authorities insisted on evacuating the hikers by helicopter because of the threat of avalanches in warming temperatures, Hutson said.

10810794

Mount Olympus is a steep, 9,026-foot mountain just east of Salt Lake City in the Wasatch Range, which has received heavy snowfall over the past two weeks.

The five hikers were ascending the mountain a few miles below the summit when Vandenberg and the two boys fell. Hutson said some of the hikers had been using ski poles to steady themselves on the steep climb, but they didn't have ropes or crampons, which are metal spikes that clip onto boots to give traction on snow and ice.

By PAUL FOY, Associated Press Writer

Thor Peak - Kent Ashcraft – April 20, 2009

Kent Ashcraft died on Thor Peak April 22, 2009 as the result of a fall.

“This hits so hard. It's difficult to know what to write and what not. But I might as well say that Kent asked me on Tuesday about the feasibility of this east couloir route on Thor. It's the same route four of us did a year ago, but around the right side of a big chockstone, instead of the left which we had done. I told him it would probably go, but a rope was advisable.

476722146EwRXcY_fs

I exchanged several emails with Kent's wife Ilene this morning, starting with her relating the call from the CHP that he had fallen and was injured. She asked for insight on how the rescue would proceed. Then an hour and a half later to report that he had died. Barely an hour after that, she asked if I would share the funeral arrangements with this message board [Whitney Portal Store], when they had been decided. Of course, I will.

Ilene's messages and their timing speak volumes about the Ashcrafts.” Bob R.

Mt. Washington – April 11, 2009

Two climbers were involved in an avalanche accident in Tuckerman Ravine. The accident took place on a sunnier-than-expected Saturday early in the spring skiing season. The weather forecast had called for mostly cloudy skies, summit temperatures falling to 15F, and winds ranging from 25-40mph. The morning avalanche advisory discussed the snowpack staying frozen for most of the day, with the best chance of warm soft snow being on south-facing aspects. Northerly aspects were expected to remain cold and frozen through the day. DZ and TF, both athletic and experienced mountaineers, were climbing the steep snow route known as "Dodge's Drop" unroped, each with two technical ice axes and crampons. They had recently climbed Hillman’s Highway and were familiar with the terrain on the Boott Spur Ridge. The plan was to climb the route to access the hiking trails to the summit of Mt. Washington, then descend through Tuckerman Ravine.

For much of the climb, the surface conditions were refrozen springtime crust. The party reported they were enjoying the climbing conditions when on this surface. At times, they encountered small areas of newer softer snow but this surface was more difficult to climb, so they opted for the old surface when possible. Nearing the top of the climb, they encountered an isolated pocket of relatively new slab. The upper climber (DZ) reported he was unable to swing his axes through the new snow into the crust, his boots were getting full penetration when kicked into the snow, and the snow was fully supporting his weight. He stated that he decided to move left to get around the slab both for stability reasons and for the easier climbing on the crust. As he was working himself toward the edge of the slab the avalanche released.

DZ recognized what was transpiring and was able to see the fracture line propagate upwards from his feet to a point about 6-8 feet above him. The fracture then propagated outward and the slab began to slide downhill. TF was about 10 feet below and slightly to the side of DZ. He had both ice tools sunk into the snow. The initial slab, which DZ was entrained in, pulled out more snow above TF. He attempted to hold on against the force of the slab pouring over him but he was eventually pulled off his stance. Both individuals were carried downhill, and each reported being airborne at some point. DZ stated he was impressed by how much time he had during the course of the slide to figure out what to do. He said he was unsure of whether to try to self arrest or swim to stay on top. At one point he discarded one tool and attempted to self arrest with the other. He felt the pick engaging the crust, but was unable to stop himself. He also reported that during this time he saw his partner slide past him, indicating he at least managed to slow himself to some degree. The avalanche carried them over a small cliff (hence DZ reporting being airborne for "3 heartbeats") and down into a treed slope below. The compressive force of the snow impacting the slope below the cliff was quite strong; it ripped both ice axes out of TF’s hands and they both felt as though their clothes and gear were also being pulled loose. They came to rest in the trees with most of the debris though some of the debris continued to run farther downslope. Both individuals came to rest on top of the snow; no excavation was required.

The avalanche was witnessed by a crowd in the courtyard of Hermit Lake Shelter's caretaker's cabin. The commotion alerted a Snow Ranger (Jeff Lane) who saw the climbers sliding into the trees. The caretaker of the shelter site was climbing nearby in Hillman’s Highway; he established communication with the climbers who yelled to him that they were all right. The caretaker continued over to the climbers to assess their injuries more thoroughly. Meanwhile a Snow Ranger and one member of the Mount Washington Volunteer Ski Patrol headed uphill to tie in with the party. DZ suffered a small laceration on his forehead, a broken pinky finger, sprained ankle, some ligament damage in his knee, bruising on his thigh and shin, and abrasions on both elbows. The abrasions were caused by sliding on the icy crust while wearing only a synthetic t-shirt. TF reported that he lost his vision momentarily when they came to rest but regained it soon after. He also suffered multiple abrasions on both arms and hands, ligament damage in one knee, and a bruised pelvis. The climbers were escorted to the Snow Ranger cabin at Hermit Lake where they were more thoroughly assessed and treated. From here, they were transported to the parking lot in the USFS Snowcat, where they were released into their own vehicle for transportation to a local hospital.

Summary: These two climbers were incredibly fortunate. This route is generally considered “no-fall” territory due to numerous rocks, cliffs, and trees in the fall line. The total vertical drop of their fall is estimated to be around 800 feet. They managed to pass through the rocky section of the fall unscathed, with the injuries being sustained only after being carried into the trees. Ironically the avalanche which caused their fall likely helped protect them from more significant injuries as they probably rode on the debris cushion to their resting point. Falling this distance with crampons on, ice tools in hand, and going over small cliffs usually concludes much worse. That they were able to walk themselves down from an incident such as this is remarkable to say the least.

From an avalanche perspective, the climbers had chosen a reasonable route. Although Dodge’s Drop is not one of the forecasted areas on the mountain it is adjacent to Hillman’s Highway which is one the 8 forecasted slopes and gullies of Tuckerman Ravine. All 8 areas were forecasted at “Low” at the time of the accident and where heavily skied without incident. Some isolated pockets of instability did exist but between skier compaction; skiers cutting up the continuity of these pockets; and solar gain baking out any fracture propagation potential they became inconsequential by late morning. Dodge’s is a northern facing slope which makes it slow to react to sunny days as it does not receive direct solar gain. Slabs on these aspects often require higher ambient air temperatures for rapid settling compared to southern facing slopes which react very quickly to solar radiation. Using an avalanche forecast issued for an adjacent slope to your intended ascent/decent as a tool is a smart use of your available resources. In addition to the forecast discussion points however always consider how your intended route might harbor different instability issues. The slab they triggered was small and isolated; if this were in a forecasted area it would be considered an “isolated pocket.” The climbers recognized the hazard when they encountered this pocket and were attempting to mitigate it as best as they could when the fracture initiated. Many valuable lessons can be learned from this event, two are offered here as they are not uncommon occurrences on Mt. Washington. First, it’s important to recognize that “Low avalanche danger” does not mean “No avalanche danger”. Isolated pockets of instability can be present under a Low rating and you should be capable of recognizing and assessing this hazard for yourself. Second, it underscores the importance of being able to assess hazards before dropping in over the top of them. In this instance, there was at least one skier known to be hiking up Hillman’s with the intention of descending Dodge’s Drop. It’s quite likely that this skier would have triggered the pocket if the climbers had not. Whether the hazard is avalanches, crevasses, undermined snow, etc., it’s always a good idea to assess for hazards before descending from above.

Joshua Tree – Woody Stark – March 16

Rockclimbing.com Post:

I have been silent because I am still processing what happened. Moreover, Wendell told me and Tia that he would write up a report and post it. The following may fill in some details about what happened the fifteen minutes before the accident: it’s a slightly edited version of the “accident report” that I emailed Dan Messaros, Lost Horse Ranger district (NPS), on Mar 24, 9 days after the accident. (I replaced “the green-blue rope” and the “gray-red” ropes in the original report with “rope #1” and “rope #2)

Just to preface the report: I have also been silent because many of you here know Woody far better than I did: I had climbed with Woody for about 12 – 15 times: the first few times were with Woody and Blake (or others) in the ’03 to ’05 seasons, and more recently with Woody and Wendell (and Liz Ying and Tom Martin). I will post my tribute to Woody, something I did not mention at the Memorial Service, on the “Woody appreciation thread..” But this is what I sent Dan Messaros, (I apologize if it’s too terse, I was just trying to give Dan the “essentials”):

The sequence of events as I remembered:
(1) Woody lead Desperado (10a) on rope #l.

(2) I followed, trailing rope #2 for Wendell to climb. I tied a figure-8 on a bight near one end of rope #2 and clipped it with a locking ‘biner to the haul loop at the back of my BD harness (probably a Momentum)

(3) I cleaned Woody’s gear as I followed. However, there was one piece I couldn’t get out. So, I back-clipped rope #2 to it.

(4) I got to the top. I did not see how Woody was anchored in. Woody was dehydrated and wanted me to lower him ASAP. I cannot remember when I untied myself from rope #1; I might have done so as soon as I got to the top since the area of the top was pretty large and it was pretty flat. But I am sure that I untied myself from it at some point.

(5) Woody had placed two camalots in a horizontal crack at the top. (But I don’t remember anything clipped off of these two cams.) He told me to add a third piece using the gear I had cleaned. I did so, and it took me 2 -3 minutes to finalize on a placement I was completely happy with. I knew Woody wasn’t too pleased with how long it took me. Regardless, I equalized the three camalots with a green cordelette and with either a figure-eight or an overhand knot. I then clipped myself off to the equalized anchor with a sling that was girth-hitched to my harness via a locking ‘biner: this is a habit (clipping off via a sling) I developed from my sport-climbing days.
(6) Woody was busy doing something when I was fixing the anchor but I wasn’t paying attention to what he was doing. Shortly after I clipped myself into the anchor above, Woody handed me a bight (Fig-8 or overhand) or a clove-hitch that was tied/hitched on rope #2 and said something. I do not remember if he said, “Tie in” or “Clip in” or “Clip this in.” All I remember was that the following went through my head, “Woody is the quintessential trad climber and all ‘old-fashioned’ trad-climbers like to clip into the anchor via the rope because it can absorb more shock than a sling,” i.e. I interpreted that bight/hitch Woody gave me as something he wanted me to tie into the anchor with. So, I clipped this bight/hitch into the locking ‘biner I used towards the end of step (5) and removed the sling (girth-hitched to my harness) from that locking ‘biner.

(7) At this point, I thought Woody was ready to be lowered (since he has already tied himself into rope #1). So, I started to put rope #1 through my belay device (a Petzl Reverso) that I was going to lower Woody with. However, Woody wanted me to hand back all the gear I cleaned. I did so. I then proceeded to lower Woody. I remember saying, “Woody I am going to lower you very slowly as if you were down-climbing,” and Woody answered, chuckling, “Not that slow.”

(8) Regardless, I lowered Woody slowly because I want to make sure I was in control. I HATE lowering people because I only weigh 125 pounds. Anyway, the first 5 to 8 feet (when Woody was still on relatively flat ground) went OK. Then I remember being tugged very hard by Woody as I lowered him further: I pressed down with one foot (to prevent myself from being pulled further) and held very hard with my right (brake) hand to stop him from moving.

(9) Next, I remember being airborne and screaming. I remember seeing another body in the air with me and my glasses flying off me.

What happened (/what Wendell Smith and I figured out:)
(i) I was not really clipped off to the anchor. When Woody was “busy doing something” in step (6) above, he was puling all the slack (70 ft or so) on rope #2 (the trail rope) and asked Wendell to tie in.
(ii) Wendell had climbed more with Woody and knows that Woody didn’t use clove-hitches. So, when Woody handed me that bight, he might have just given it to me to clip to myself somewhere so that the trailing rope wouldn’t be flying/dangling around …

My postlude to the report:
In point (8) above, it was probably the first 10 – 20 ft (when it was still relatively flat) that the lowering went OK.
As Wendell mentioned in his report: I have forgotten most of the details about what happened immediately after I stopped falling. However, I have very bad eyesight (-8.0 Diopter, both eyes) I remember that the rope(#2)/harness was sort of pulling me away from the rock, and I was trying desperately to move (with difficulty) towards the rock. Once I finally got to the rock, I remember trying desperately to move further to the right to sink a hand jam into a crack: I remember I was freaking out because I don’t know if it was just some horn that caught the rope I was falling on …

Matt, THANK YOU for getting me down.

Al Kwok, April 8, 2009

Censored Post

Rockclimbing.com Mar 21, 2009

Very tragic all around. My deepest sympathies go out to his family and friends.

I only climbed with Woody once in 2004'ish, and please forgive my lack of tact in saying so, but with his ~50 years of experience I was pretty horrified by both the belaying skills, and gear placement skills I witnessed first hand on that occasion.

In no uncertain terms he, at more than double my age, climbed much stronger than I can, or likely ever will. I was damned impressed by that.

In cleaning the gear he placed I was very unimpressed. For example, the tipped out #2 camalot before a modest runout to the top was just a noob quality POS. Upon reaching the proud summit, I was equally disappointed in the pathetic anchor at the top, an OK nut and a ~#1.5 rigid Friend between patina plates, sticking straight out (picture perfect as to what you're not supposed to do with rigid stem cams), all just clipped into his daisy. There may have been a third piece, I don't recall. Irregardless of the individual quality of the pieces, a raggedy daisy chain is about as far from bomber as you can get when it comes to building a belay anchor. I was very, very, very happy to get up to the rap station and away from his crap anchor. Frankly I would not be surprised in the slightest were we to find out he built an anchor that failed in this case. With regard to gear and rope handling, the Woody I climbed with that one day a few years ago was a disaster waiting to happen, and we can all be happy it didn't happen sooner, and that he didn't take anyone with him in the process.

The short version of the one time I climbed with Woody:

1. We arrived at an somewhat obscure rarely traveled route to find Woody and his partner already on the route. We decided to wait for our lap, in part because we had others coming to meet us there (we were a party of 4, with #5 soon to arrive).

2. Woody was belaying his partner on the traverse 1/3 up the route, who was sketching quite a bit. We silently gestured to one another at the HUGE loop of slack woody had going, and that he was a good 15-20' back from the wall.

3. A few seconds later his partner popped, managing to pop a piece (we think he may have grabbed for it on his way down, getting the trigger bar instead of the sling, nobody was certain). The partner fell quite a ways, ending up with a broken foot (I found out it was a break a couple years later).

4. Unable to continue the lead, it was handed over to Woody. Meanwhile our fifth person was leading up the 10a face to the left. Woody cruised the route.

5. With the partner still out of action (barely able to hobble about) I volunteered to follow to clean things. My partner was officially wigged out from all we saw and no longer wanted to do the route.

6. The initial gear left by the first leader was fine, a slammer nut, and good big cams through the traverse. Upon reaching the alcove and dihedral the lead to the top I found the gear to be sparse and very badly placed.

7. Upon reaching the top I observed the shit belay anchor. I got the hell out of there to the rap station (anchors for the 10a face, which was now setup for TR).

8. At the base while waiting for Woody to rap we chatted with the partner, who was very open about how he had quit climbing with Woody for a spell because of his shit gear placements, and shit anchors. He made comments to the effect that Woody was just that way and would never change. I took it as a piece of wisdom that experience and skill are not one in the same.

My $0.02. i only climbed with him once, but based on that one route I would have never done so a second time.

I'm sure I'll get slammed, but in my opinion bad gear skills that endanger your partners are unforgivable. It's sad he died, and I am dearly praying it will turn out to be an act of god, and not an act of incompetence. None of this is meant to reflect on him as a person in a negative way, I experienced nothing to indicate he as anything but the a great (and crusty) guy.

Locker, which I've heard was Woody's main partner, admitted that the story is "true pretty much" and that he was the one injured...

Analysis of Fatal Accident in Joshua Tree

rockclimbing.com

A (perhaps unnecessary) sketch of what I understand it happened based on the reports in here and Supertopo.com. I hope I'm not too much out of line.

It's unclear, and maybe not very relevant, whether Stark (in red) belayed Kwok (in green) directly from his harness or from the anchors. I left it as a question mark.

The question is how come they went from situation B to C without noticing the potential problem. It has been already mentioned in this and ST threads that probably they both thought that Kwok was attached to the anchors. It is also unclear to me if Kwok was still tied in to the rope depicted in red, which might have reinforced his believe that he was, in fact, attached to the anchor.

Probably, being both experienced climbers, the blind confidence in each other might have played a fatal role in this accident. I tend to be less careful of the set-ups and procedures of my most experienced climbing partners, trusting that they are doing it all right. May this unfortunate accident serve as a wake up call for many experienced climbers.

gforum
Based on some messages posted after I posted mine, I'd like to add the following disclaimer.

The above diagram reflects just what I understand it happened based on the information in the ST and RC threads. In no way I claim that the depicted events are an accurate representation of what really happened.
The only purpose of the diagram was to provide a visual support of what Jay summarized in the very first post of this thread.
The fact that the human figures are standing up DOES NOT mean that I assume Kwok was standing up when belaying Stark.
The ropes are depicted in different colors for visual clarity. I DO NOT assume anything regarding the color of the ropes.

Tower Climbers Facing Charges – April 16, 2009

Man Falls 100 Feet, Breaks Leg In Butler County

BUTLER, Pa. - Charges are pending against two climbers who were rescued from a 140-foot utility tower in Butler County early Thursday morning, WTAE Channel 4's Amber Nicotra reported. Police said the structure -- an electric transformer tower -- is located on Kittanning Street just outside the city of Butler.

A friend of the climbers -- who were identified as Leonard Teuteberg and Scott Tucker -- called 911 when Tucker fell from 100 feet above the ground, Nicotra reported.

"One of the individuals had come in contact with a 25,000 volt power line which electrocuted him and caused him to fall approximately 30 feet," said Chief George Ban of the Butler City Fire Department.

After the fall, Tucker remained suspended above ground for several hours with only a climbing harness supporting his weight, Nicotra said. He reportedly suffered a broken leg and was taken to Butler Memorial Hospital.

In order to get to Tucker, rescuers had to first lower Teuteberg -- who was uninjured -- to the ground.

"There's not a lot of room on that tower to work, so we had to clear him out of the way," said South Butler Volunteer Fire Department member Bob Barbarini. Teuteberg was rescued from 100 feet above ground. He was treated at the scene. But rescuers still had to come up with a way to get Tucker down.

"We devised a plan to get the guy in the center over to the edge so we could lower him down on the outside of the tower, said South Butler Volunteer Fire Department member Justin Simmons. Tucker was said to be in pain, but alert.

"He indicated they were just out goofing around, so I think next time they should look to goof around on the ground, not 100 feet in the air," said Ban.

Authorities from Butler County Tactical Rescue told Nicotra heavy fog and cold presented significant problems for rescuers. Police have not said exactly what charges will be filed against the men, both of whom are believed to be in their mid-20s.

The Dalles, Oregon – Tony & Laura Silva – April 6, 2009

Detective Tony (T.C.) Silva was climbing with members of his family, including his sister in-law Laura Dyal-Silva, when something happened that caused the pair to fall about 35 feet from the top of a rock wall around 12:45 p.m.

Rock climbers who were there at the time of the accident said it wasn't clear whether the two were looking for a route or setting up gear. At the time of the fall, both climbers were wearing harnesses but did not have helmets on, witnesses said.

About 80 climbers were in the area at the time, including a basic-climbing class from the Mazamas mountaineering club. Several Mazamas members provided aid to the two fallen climbers until emergency medical personnel arrived, witnesses said.

T.C. died at the scene. Laura was carried down a rocky trail and taken by Life Flight from the scene but died later from her injuries, LeDuc said. Her husband, who is T.C.'s brother, was also at the climbing area, but he was not injured.

"T.C. Silva was an eight-year veteran of the police department. He was currently assigned as a detective within the East Multnomah County Gang Enforcement Team, and had also served as a SWAT member, field training officer and a self defense instructor," LeDuc said. He was survived by his wife Rebecca, and his sons Riley and Tony Jr. III.

Laura, 26, was the daughter of Richard and Janelle Dyal of Sandy, where she grew up. She was survived by her husband, Bobby. Laura's grandfather was also killed in a freak accident 18 months ago while cutting trees. Horsethief Butte lies just east of The Dalles and across the Columbia River from Oregon.

Banff National Park - April 12, 2009

BANFF, Alta. - A 21-year-old rock climber from Edmonton is recovering in hospital after he fell almost ten metres while climbing at Banff National Park.

Aaron Beardmore, a Mountain Safety programs specialist, says the man fell after he broke a foothold Saturday while climbing in the Ghost River Wilderness area.

The man was able to alert authorities using an emergency signal from his GPS locator.

Rescue crews say the tool allowed them to pinpoint his exact location and phone an emergency contact, who told them what he was doing.

The man was airlifted by STARS air ambulance to a Calgary hospital where he was listed in non-life threatening condition Sunday. By THE CANADIAN PRESS

Eldorado Canyon – Scott Bennett – April 13, 2009

Beautiful day out in Eldo today, we were psyched to be out and getting after it. The destination: West Ridge, the Sidewall area, my favorite cragging hangout in the canyon. After warming up on Court Jester, I felt ready to get back on my goal: the Unbroken Chain-False Prophet link-up. I had tried it once about a month back, and was lucky enough to on sight the first half (Unbroken Chain), before falling on the False Prophet crux.

You know how sometimes, when a good football team gets upset by a lesser opponent, they say that the good team was overlooking the "powder-puff" team, perhaps anticipating a tough matchup the next week? Well, the crux of the pitch is up high, and I got caught looking ahead...

106404935_826337

I fell about 20-25' up when my foot unexpectedly slipped. I felt the normal acceleration, and then the comforting deceleration of the rope coming taught. Then, the feeling I had been fearing: the sudden pop of the flake blowing, the flake that contained my only gear. I landed on the thankfully flat, but painfully solid rock. I hit on my back, and immediately I knew I was hurt. I tried to remain still while spewing a string of curses, which probably didn't reassure my partner Dave. Having luckily avoided hitting my head in the fall (yes, I had a helmet), I was quickly able to inventory the damage: scraped elbows, bruised heel, a tweaked wrist, and a disturbingly painful back. After much lying down and nervous discussion, I decided to test out my back and sit up. Painful, but not devastating.

About an hour later, feeling better now, and relieved at the arrival of my friends Matt and Zach, we started down the hill. It took a while, but we made it, including the crux river crossing at the end (sorry you had to get wet, Dave). A trip to the clinic for some x-rays revealed no broken bones, despite a really painful wrist and nagging back pain.

So, why am I posting this?

-First, to send out a HUGE thanks to my friends Dave Russel, Matt Lloyd, and Zach Durbin. Y'all's cheerfulness and confidence definitely helped me out, not to mention all the help getting my broke ass down the hill.

-Second, to remind us that climbing is dangerous, and falling on dangerous routes has consequences.

-Third, Unbroken chain is probably harder now, since that flake was a really great hold. I guess it was always a dangerous route, but now more obviously so.

-Finally, the biggest lesson I'm taking from it so far is to place tons of gear! There's no good gear on that part of the route, but there were some small rps (most likely jingus) that I skipped. There's also some jiggery with a cam in the sidewall corner (on a giant sling) that I used on my first attempt, although that probably wouldn't have helped. Regardless, taking the time to work that extra piece might someday be useful.

So, climb safe folks, I should be back out there in a few weeks. -Scott Bennett

Alaska - Chugach – Joe Butler, April 10, 2009

His best friend's life hanging in the balance, 24-year-old Greg Nappi skied through the chill darkness along Eklutna Lake on Thursday night and into the morning Friday as if his own life depended on getting help.

Only hours earlier, Nappi and Joe Butler had been enjoying the start of a spring ice-climb on the west face of The Mitre, a 6,551-foot peak that rises above Eklutna Glacier in Chugach State Park. For the two men, the climb was to be one of their last together before they headed off to work as guides for the climbing season on Mount McKinley.

Then Butler slipped, a miscue that sent him tumbling and skidding more than 1,000 feet. How it happened still isn't clear. Details remained sketchy Friday afternoon. Nappi, when reached by telephone, said he was more interested in sleeping than in talking.

"I managed to save my best friend's life," he said, "(but) I haven't slept in over 30 hours." What information was available came from Ian Thomas, a Chugach park ranger who was aboard an Alaska State Troopers helicopter that battled 50 mph winds and blowing snow to reach the 28-year-old Butler Friday morning.

Thomas got a call from troopers shortly after Nappi kicked in the door of the vacant Eklutna Campground ranger station at about 5 a.m. to use the telephone. The climber called trooper dispatchers and told them help was needed to save Butler, who had been critically injured in the fall shortly before noon Thursday. Within hours, a rescue was under way.

By Friday afternoon, Butler was in surgery at Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage. Among other injuries, he reportedly suffered a broken femur -- the big bone in the leg -- and a broken collarbone.

That he survived, Thomas attributed to a climbing helmet, which protected his head in the fall; luck; and the heroic efforts of a trusted climbing partner.

For the first seven hours immediately after the accident, Thomas said, Nappi engaged in a demanding one-man rescue effort. He climbed down to Butler, assessed his injuries and stabilized his friend as best he could. Then he went several miles back to the park's Serenity Falls hut, got a sled, sleeping bags and a tent, returned to Butler, lowered him in the sled to a place where a helicopter could land just above the Eklutna Glacier, put up the tent, and put his injured friend inside wrapped in two sleeping bags.

Having by that point done all one man could do at the scene, Nappi went for help. It was near 6 p.m., and he'd already been through an exhausting ordeal, Thomas said, but still Nappi pushed on along the 13-mile trail that winds and rolls from the hut to the campground at the north end of Eklutna Lake.

All night he trudged along the trail in his heavy telemark ski gear wishing he could travel faster. By daylight, his efforts were paying off. The trooper helicopter touched down near Butler's tent around 8 a.m. Thomas found Butler inside and in pain, but conscious.

"Joe told me that he took a 1,200-foot fall on less than vertical terrain," Thomas said. "I was glad to hear him respond (to me). He's a good friend of mine. I went to school with him at Alaska Pacific University.''

Like so many in Alaska, Thomas, Butler and Nappi were drawn here for the adventure. While Thomas got a job as a state park ranger, Butler and Nappi ended up doing odd jobs and working as climbing guides for Mountain Trip on 20,320-foot McKinley and later for the Talkeetna-based Alaska Mountaineering School.

School founder Colby Coombs Friday described both men as strong, hard-working, fun-loving and safety conscious. Butler was slated to lead a group of soldiers from North Carolina onto McKinley later this month to aid them in preparing for high-altitude assignments in Afghanistan. "He's a good guy, strong as an ox,'' said Coombs, who was among many wishing Butler a full recovery from his injuries. "Both these guys are really good guys,'' Coombs said, "and hard climbers."

Butler lives in Anchorage with his wife, Amara Liggett. When he isn't guiding in Alaska or climbing in the Andes or Himalayas, he works as rigger and a safety consultant on Alaska film productions.

When Nappi isn't climbing or skiing in Turnagain Pass, he makes his home in Hope, the tiny community at the end of a dead-end road across Turnagain Arm from Anchorage. Summers, Nappi noted on the Mountain Trip Web site, are "spent in the Alaska Range or pounding nails to help make the dreams happen.''

Butler and Nappi were near the base of a route called Frears Tears below The Mitre when Butler slipped and started sliding down the mountain. Thomas said it appears the two climbers were just at the point where the real climbing starts, and because of that had yet to put in any ice screws for protection.

Troopers reported Butler fell about 100 feet down a near-vertical, frozen waterfall before sliding another 800 feet or more down a hillside.

The Mitre is a popular climbing destination to the west of towering Bashful and Baleful peaks back in the Eklutna Valley, upstream from Eklutna Lake to the east of the Eklutna Glacier. Festooned with ice falls, The Mitre draws climbers looking to tackle a variety of established routes on its west face. One of the reasons the Serenity Falls hut was built was to provide shelter for climbers in the area.

Anchorage Daily News, By Craig Medred, cmedred@adn.com, April 10th, 2009

Dhaulagiri – Piotr Morawski – April 8, 2009

(MountEverest.net) The world climbing community has lost yet another of its rising stars: this morning Polish Piotr Morawski - one of the great "Two Peters" - perished in a crevasse on Dhaulagiri. 20090408xwpmorawskiplace At 8.40 am local time this morning, Polish Piotr Morawski fell to his death in a crevasse while returning from C2. At only 33, Piotr had summited six 8000ers, and made the first winter summit on Shisha Pangma (together with Simone Moro in January, 2005).

Part of Piotr Pustelnik's Himalayan Trilogy team and teaming up with regular mate Peter Hamor; Piotr Morawski was climbing Dhaulagiri as a preparatory ascent before attempting to open a new route on Manaslu’s west face. Read more in a previous story published earlier today on Mounteverest.net.

Ryszard Gajewski, member in the Tatra's Rescuers Association team (also attempting Dhaulagiri) reported further details on Piotr’s accident from BC:

Morawski fell in a 20 meter-deep crevasse at 5,760m - just 80 meters below C1. He was on his way down from C2, together with Slovak Peter Hamor and Justyna Szczepieniec.

As the accident took place at 8.40am, local time, a group of fellow Polish climbers - Mazik (expedition Doctor), Pawlikowski and Witkowski - belonging to the Tatra Rescuers Association was on their way to C1. Together with Hamor, they got Morawski out of the crevasse, after which Dr. Mazik could only confirm Piotr’s death.

Vail – Chris Boratenski – March 30, 2009

Chris Boratenski was suspended 72 feet above the ground when he felt a pop. A second later, he felt another pop. Then he went into a freefall. He watched the rope that was supposed to be supporting him coil like a snake at his side as he fell.

"The only thing that went through my mind was envisioning my wife and my son, who just turned a year old two days ago," Boratenski said last week. "I just said, 'I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I wasn't going to be there for him.'"

Boratenski, 31, of Evergreen, and two friends were climbing the Designator, a massive, vertical ice formation that hugs a cliff near East Vail, on March 21. As Boratenski will readily admit, his own mistake caused the accident.

boratenskiclimb

This photo shows Chris Boratenski climbing the designator ice feature March 21 in East Vail. Boratenski would later free-fall 72 feet after an anchor broke. (Courtesy vaildaily.com)

He was the first one up that morning, using a technique called "lead climbing" to ascend the ice. At the top, he prepared a rope for a different technique called "top-roping," in which a rope runs from a person at the bottom, through an anchor at the top, and then back down to the climber.

At the top, Boratenski found nylon cords as well as a metal carabineer. He used the nylon instead of the metal as an anchor; something he now knows was a terrible mistake. "It was a major oversight on my part in that friction caused when rappelling off the top rope is going to burn through those anchors," Boratenski said.

His two friends both used the rig to climb up and down the Designator. By the time it was Boratenski's turn again, the nylon was primed to snap. This is exactly what happened. He doesn't remember the impact.

Based on photos, he and his partners later calculated that the free-fall was 72 feet to the nearly-flat ground below. His friends told him that he landed on his back and tumbled another 30 feet. Apparently, he slowly began to regain consciousness about 30 seconds after impact.

It took rescuers 30 minutes to reach him, and two and a half hours to get him down to the ambulance.

Boratenski said he didn't expect to survive the fall. He came away with nine broken vertebrae, a broken rib, a collapsed lung, lacerations to his face and a broken nose. He was released from Vail Valley Medical Center on Wednesday. Doctors believe he'll make a full recovery, though he'll have to spend eight weeks in a back brace.

"I consider myself extremely lucky," he said. "I'm so thankful that it was me that fell. I can't even fathom if I was the one to set those anchors and (his climbing partners) Oscar or Charlotte ... ," Boratenski said, his voice halting with emotion. "If those guys had been ... ."

Boratenski said he's been ice climbing since 1999 and has done big climbs in Ouray and Banff, Alberta. He's done much more difficult climbs than the one in Vail that almost took his life, he said. "That very well could have been a big part of the problem, that I was overconfident and too comfortable in my surroundings up there," he said.

He said he plans to ice climb again. "I can't blame ice climbing for what happened up there," said Boratenski, who works as a mobile technology consultant. "All I can blame is my own lack of oversight in taking the right precautions and doing the right things.

Classifieds

Cho Oyu Expedition

I am organizing a guided expedition to climb Cho Oyu in September 2009. To see the details on this trip, and others, check out this link: www.questropix.com

Cho Oyu

Here is my e-mail address: saransubba@hotmail.com. Regards, Saran Subba

Yosemite Lodging – Han’s Base Camp

Stay at the home of the Hans Florine who, together with Yuji Hirayama, holds the Speed Climb World Record for climbing The Nose of Yosemite’s El Capitan in two hours thirty-seven minutes on October 12, 2008. Hans's base camp is in the heart of Yosemite National park. - eight miles from the scenic Rostrum overlook and Badger Pass ski resort, eleven miles from the Wawona Tunnel overlook, thirteen miles to El Capitan Meadow, twenty two miles from the Mariposa Giant Sequoia Grove, 14 miles from the Wawona stables, restaurant, and golf course. There are three bedrooms and two bathrooms.

Hans Prices start at just $160 a night for a room with up to three people, with a two night minimum stay. Peak and holiday rates are higher. For all the details see this link:

http://www.hansbasecamp.com/

Journal Information

Published by the “California Mountaineering Group”

Library of Congress: “Journal of Mountaineering”

ISSN: 1948-9110 (print), 1948-9129 (online)

Subscribe (join this group): http://groups.yahoo.com/group/JMTN/

Submissions: JMTN-owner@yahoogroups.com

Back Issues: www.journalofmountaineering.com

Disclaimer:

The Journal disclaims all responsibility or liability and does not guarantee, warrant, lend credibility, or endorse any product, service, or information mentioned; reader beware.