SULAIMANIYAH, Iraq – The U.S. State Department said Friday it was investigating reports that three American tourists were detained by Iranians while hiking near Iran's border with the self-ruled Kurdish region in northern Iraq.

Two Kurdish officials said the Americans apparently were arrested after entering Iranian territory without permission.

U.S. helicopters were buzzing overhead and many U.S. Humvees had moved into the Kurdish city of Halabja to search for the Americans, said a Kurdish border force official.

According to a security official, a fourth American who stayed behind at a hotel because he was sick said the missing Americans were tourists hiking near Halabja and the border town of Ahmed Awaa.

According to this account, the four had traveled to Turkey, then entered the Kurdish region Tuesday through the Ibrahim Al-Khalil border point in Zakho. They visited the Kurdish cities of Irbil and Sulaimaniyah. The three of them took a taxi to Ahmed Awaa where they told their companion that they planned to stay at a nearby resort, the official said.

The three contacted their companion on 7/31/09 and told him "they had mistakenly entered Iranian territory and that troops surrounded them." That was the last contact with them.

State Department said the U.S. Embassy "is aware of the report and is investigating. We are using all available means to determine the facts in this case."

Iran state TV confirmed Saturday that it has detained three Americans who crossed the border from northern Iraq, saying they failed to heed warnings from Iranian guards.

Kurdish officials from northern Iraq said the three — two men and a woman — were tourists who had mistakenly crossed into Iranian territory Friday while hiking in a mountainous area near the resort town of Ahmed Awaa.

"The Iranians said they have arrested them because they entered their land without legal permission," said Qubad Talabani, the Kurdish regional government's envoy to Washington.

Iran's state owned Arabic-language al-Alam TV station cited a "well-informed source" in the Interior Ministry that the three Americans were detained Friday after crossing into Iran's Kurdistan province.

The report said the Americans were arrested after they did not heed warnings from Iranian border guards.

State Department spokesman Robert Wood said Saturday that Washington had asked the Swiss, who represent U.S. interests in Tehran, "to confirm these reports with Iranian authorities and, if true, to seek consular access" to the detained Americans.

On August 15 U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged Iran to release all Americans detained in the country, including three hikers arrested last month.

Clinton Saturday called on Iranian authorities to grant consular access to the three hikers, who were detained July 31.

Iranian television has described the three as spies who illegally entered the country.

The hikers were all "interested in Middle Eastern culture and human rights," which led them to live and study abroad.

Two of them, Shane Bauer and Joshua Fattal, 27, who both lived in an Oakland co-op, taught a student-led class at Cal that envisioned a harmonious, post-capitalist society. Sarah Shourd, Bauer's girlfriend, describes herself as a lover of "fresh broccoli, Zapatistas, and anyone who can change her mind."

Lenin Kills Climber – August 11, 2009

MINSK, BELARUS -- A massive statue of Soviet founder Vladimir Lenin collapsed on a man who was hanging from it yesterday, killing him on the spot, authorities said.

The 21-year-old man was drunk when he climbed onto the 16-foot-high plaster monument and hung from its arm, the Emergency Situations ministry said. It then broke into pieces and he was crushed.

"The monument's heavy head tumbled on him," said Nataliya Bolbas, a principal at a school facing the monument, built in the southeastern Belarus town of Uvarovichi in 1939.

President Alexander Lukashenko is a staunch admirer of the Soviet Union, and the nation still has numerous Soviet-era monuments to the revolutionary leader.

Ledged Out

Know When to Say When – Stranded Visitor Rescued from Tiny Ledge at Yosemite National Park. Posted July 21st, 2009 by Jim Burnett

Stranded visitor is plucked from the face of a cliff in Yosemite. NPS photo

Rangers at Yosemite National Park have seen plenty of visitors in perilous situations, but apparently even they were shocked when they saw the dire situation of a man stranded on a tiny ledge.

According to a park report:

Park dispatch received a cell phone call from climber Daniel Susman around 10 a.m. on Wednesday, July 15th, in which Susman reported that he’d become ledged-out while scrambling on a dome near Merced Lake and that he’d need assistance getting off the ledge. He said that he wasn’t in any immediate danger, but that he was unable to ascend or descend from his location. Such situations aren't especially uncommon, but this visitor was apparently a master at understatement.

Upon flying past, rescue personnel were shocked to discover that Susman had downplayed his predicament. They found that he was standing on minuscule ledge, clinging to the rock on a nearly vertical wall approximately 800 feet above the valley floor. Susman’s position was deemed to be too tenuous to try to retrieve him directly by short haul.

The concern was that the buffeting winds from the aircraft might dislodge Susman from his stance before he could be made secure. The pilot, Richard Shatto, and the two spotters, Jeff Pirog and Boots Davenport, had a difficult time maintaining a steady hover with the aircraft due to gusting winds. Ranger Keith Lober was short-hauled into a location 50 feet above Susman’s perch where he power drilled three anchor bolts.

Ranger Eric Gabriel was then short-hauled to the anchor station. Lober lowered Gabriel down to Susman, who was then secured in a “screamer suit;” he and Gabriel were then short-hauled off the face.

Cell phone coverage in Yosemite backcountry is generally nonexistent. Susman was incredibly lucky, as the location where he became stuck was just high enough for the cell signal to peek over the surrounding rock faces and hit the Sentinel Dome repeater, the only repeater in that area of remote wilderness.

Incidentally, Susman had sustained and recovered from two short falls just before deciding to stop and request help.

Susman is reportedly on a long-distance hike and was passing through Yosemite when he decided to try the climb. He was free-climbing, with no "protection" (i.e. ropes or anchors.)

Although it's a lot better to avoid getting into such situations in the first place, once things start to go bad, know when to say when! This one had a successful ending because the visitor followed rule #2—and a lot of things came together at the right place and right time for his sake, including a highly-skilled pilot and SAR personnel.

Comments

Anonymous (not verified)

On July 21st, 2009

what an idiot

Anonymous (not verified)

On July 21st, 2009

Once again the lives of rescue professionals put in danger by a thrill-seeking idiot. Leave him on the ledge.

Anonymous (not verified)

On July 21st, 2009

What did this bit cost the climber?

DuVal 51 (not verified)

On July 21st, 2009

They should find a way to banish this guy from the national park system. To put the rangers in that type of high percentage danger is selfish and obviously reckless. I can only hope when they got to safety that the climber was humble and embarrassed and not cocky about his foolishness. My first thought on the story was what an idiot, but somebody else beat me to that.

Anonymous (not verified)

On July 21st, 2009

I think that perhaps the guy is an idiot but it is the job of the raners to do these rescues. Just like an idiot that has a grease fire and looses his house because he just keeps throwing water... it is a firefighters job to come rescue him. They train for this and it may be dangerous but its why they do what they do. If they just wanted a job whee they sat at a desk all day then they wouldn't have choosen to be rangers.

So give it up for the heroes. Sing their praise and let the man be ... they all will have something to talk about for weeks to come now.

Bruce Gaugler

On July 21st, 2009

I think that perhaps the guy is an idiot but it is the job of the ran[g]ers to do these rescues.

I agree with this. While it is tempting to sound like others who say "leave him," as human beings we have the duty to save human life whenever we can. No matter how dumb it may be.

If they just wanted a job whe[r]e they sat at a desk all day then they wouldn't have chosen to be rangers. So give it up for the heroes.

Another good thought. The guys who do these jobs know the risks. They take them for the reason stated above and, gee, it must feel good to be a hero.

Anonymous (not verified)

On July 22nd, 2009

How many of the critics crying "idiot" are climbers? Yosemite is the cradle of American rock climbing. There is a long tradition of the sport in Yosemite. Like some other sports, confidence is everything in rock climbing. When you are confident in your abilities, you can make amazing moves. Once that confidence is shaken, such as by sustaining the two "minor" falls mentioned in the article, you're paralyzed. That he survived those falls indicates he had protection in place. That he reached a location 800 feet above the valley floor also indicates that he was an experienced climber.

Obviously, this climber erred in climbing beyond his abilities, hence his need to request rescue. Maybe he was an idiot. But I don't think anyone can make that call based on just what is in the article on this site.

Volpe (not verified)

On July 22nd, 2009

When you use tax dollars to fund rescue operations you have to rescue the idiots and the others without favor. "Can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen".

Jim Burnett

On July 22nd, 2009

Anonymous -Thanks for your comment about climbing in Yosemite. You raised some interesting questions, so I made a call to the park and got a few more details on this specific situation. I'll amend the story slightly for clarification, as described below.

The man is making a long-distance hike on the Pacific Crest Trail, so he's in good condition and has some outdoor skills. He's done a little climbing in the eastern U.S. - but apparently nothing of the caliber of Yosemite. I'd note that the definition of a "climber" is a very subjective one!

This particular situation sounds like an "impulse" activity. The man left his pack for his long-distance hike at the base of a nearly vertical wall that is about 1,000 feet high, and was free climbing with no protection; he was wearing hiking boots.

The good news? After he was rescued, the man was described as being very subdued and grateful; the reality of his close call had apparently sunk it by the time he was safely on the ground.

Given the tricky winds described in the story, I'm very thankful this situation ended safely for everyone, including the pilot and the rescuers. Those flying conditions made this rescue even riskier than usual, and was another testimony to the skills of those involved.

All of us learn by experience, so I trust this was a lesson learned by this individual. Perhaps at least a few people who heard about this incident will also think twice before attempting something similar.

http://www.nationalparkstraveler.com/2009/07/know-when-say-when-stranded-visitor-rescued-tiny-ledge-yosemite-national-park

Two Hikers Rescued

By JAMES HALPIN
jhalpin@adn.com

Published: August 24th, 2009 01:23 PM

Donald Carroll, 19, of Illinois and Jia Long He, 21, of China were lifted from the wilderness by a troopers helicopter early Monday afternoon, troopers spokeswoman Megan Peters said.

"They are alive, cold and wet," she said. Details on what happened on the hike were not immediately available.

Carroll and He had last been seen by other hikers along the trail at about 7 p.m. Friday, when they left their apparent destination -- the abandoned bus near Denali National Park and Preserve.

The "magic bus" gained notoriety after young adventurer Christopher McCandless hiked out to it and died there in an adventure documented in Sean Penn's film "Into the Wild" and Jon Krakauer's best-selling book of the same name.

In the time since, the spot has drawn adventurers attracted to the mystique of McCandless' story. But the hike, though itself not particularly challenging, can be dangerous for the unprepared -- especially crossing the Teklanika River, which often gets too high and swift to cross, said Jon Nierenberg, owner of the EarthSong Lodge, one of the last developments along the Stampede Road.

"In the middle of the summertime, it's very difficult, if not impossible, to cross," he said. "It just always seems a matter of time until someone is going to fall in that river."

When they were last seen, Carroll and He reportedly were leaving the bus for a hike to the Teklanika River before planning to return home, troopers said.

With only street clothes on and a little food, the pair appeared ill-equipped for a lengthy outing, troopers said. Witnesses reported at least one of the men was wearing tennis shoes with plastic bags over them to keep his feet dry.

They were reported missing at about 11 a.m. Saturday after they failed to show up for work at the Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge, troopers said.

Officials at the lodge did not return a call seeking comment Monday.

Find James Halpin online at adn.com/contact/jhalpin

Broad Stand, Scafell – GBR – Two for One

Bob Smith, Editor

Saturday 08 August 2009 03:22 PM GMT

A walker who fell at a Lake District accident black spot found himself dropping in on rescuers who were already tending to a man who had fallen at the same place minutes earlier.

The bizarre double accident, involving unrelated mountaineers, happened on Broad Stand, between Scafell and Scafell Pike. Both men were airlifted to hospital after treatment at the site.

Julian Carradice of the Wasdale Mountain Rescue Team said the incident was unique in his 30 years’ service in mountain rescue.

The team was called out at 3pm on Thursday to reports that a 32-year-old Penrith man had injured his arm after falling 25m (80ft) down the crag, which overlooks the col on Mickledore, between England’s highest and second-highest mountains.

Richard Warren, chairman of the Wasdale team, said: “Further information suggested that the injuries could be more severe. As the team arrived on scene a second walker fell from exactly the same place and landed amongst the rescuers. This casualty suffered almost identical injuries but received immediate first aid. None of the rescuers were injured.”

Mr Carradice said the rescuers had been attending the first casualty for only a couple of minutes when he heard a shout and the sound of the second man sliding down the rock slope. He tried to break the man’s fall, but the walker, a 43-year-old from Manchester, also injured his arm.

Both men were flown by a Sea King helicopter from RAF Boulmer to West Cumberland Hospital, Whitehaven, for further treatment. 17 rescuers were involved in the incident.

Mr Warren warned: “Broad Stand appears on maps as a short cut between Scafell and Scafell Pike but it involves a short, but treacherous descent down a rock face that has claimed many victims over the years.”

In February 2008, 49-year-old David Woodland, of Gloucestershire died in a fall on Broad Stand. The previous year, 59-year-old Ambleside man Peter Keely also suffered fatal injuries at the site.

Broad Stand figures as one of three accident blackspots on the Wasdale MRT site, along with Piers Gill and Lord’s Rake. It is also on the route of the Bob Graham Round, a 116km (72-mile) challenge in which 42 peaks are tackled within 24 hours.

Alfred Wainwright described Broad Stand in one of his Pictorial Guides to the Lakeland Fells as ‘the greatest single obstacle confronting ridge-walkers on the hills of Lakeland’.

Broad Stand, though a rock climb, is rated ‘easy’. It has one particularly awkward move, and the rock at this crux point is polished and smooth, with a 9m (30ft) immediate drop if a fall occurs. A safer route at the crux is to move in away from the exposed edge into the corner of the rock, where there is less of a drop. However, none of these are classed as suitable for walkers.

The safest route for non-climbers is a short descent from the col down the Eskdale side of Mickledore, then a short scramble up to Foxes Tarn before heading for Scafell’s summit.

Mr Carradice recently removed three badly placed climbing bolts which had mysteriously appeared on the crag. He removed them on safety grounds after consulting the mountain’s owner, the National Trust, the British Mountaineering Council and the Fell and Rock Climbing Club. The bolts were unlikely to survive the freeze-thaw of a winter and were in contravention of British climbing ethics, which seek to keep mountain crags and climbing routes free of permanent protection.

In any case, said Mr Carradice, there are far better placements on the route for natural protection.

Samuel Coleridge reputedly recorded the first recreational rock climb in the district in 1802 by descending Broad Stand by hanging from its rock and dropping on to the narrow ledge below.

M Frewin

08 August 2009 Hi may partner and I were going up Broad stand when the first accident happened, but were unaware that any one was hurt. As we were going up we heard a loud noise like thunder and then there was a rock fall. A rock as large as a man fell and split into several pieces as it crashed down the mountain side. We were far over to the left hand side, but if we had been further up the rocks would have hit us. I assume the rock fall was caused by the first person falling. We felt it was too dangerous to continue to the summit so we came down unaware that anyone was hurt. When we reached the bottom a man and his son were going to go up we warned them that there had been a rock fall, but they decided to continue up.

By: Bob Smith, Editor. Credit: grough.co.uk.

http://www.grough.co.uk/magazine/2009/08/08/second-walker-drops-in-on-rescuers-at-lakes-blackspot

Articles

Evenly Spaced Ridges and Valleys

The mathematical solution to the formation of evenly spaced ridges and valleys is now available for your calculating purposes.

www.livescience.com

For details please contact M.I.T. Earth and Planetary Surface Processes:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtXHmxPXIzE

Mountain Legacy Network

Hello Mountain Legecy Network,

Greetings from Nepal.

Its my pleasure to get connected with you. My thanks for this

opportunity goes to Seth Sicroff/ Director, Bridges-PRTD.

I would like to put forward a discussion in regard to design some

activities on sustainability models of tourism in the context of

Nepalese mountain region focusing the issues of social inequalities

with retrospect of tourism development in this region.

Basically , 3 questions are to be answered so as to regard mountain

tourism a best alternative for development,

1. Is tourism in this region Sustaineble?

2. Is it really responsible?

3. Is it possible to make it equitable?

To answer these questions,

Conducting Activities based on the sustainability models can play a

vital role while we can incorporate them in Bridge Nepal Program. We

can consider/ select the community which are far beyond the access to

the benefits of tourism in this region. This is 'working with the

voices of marginalized for sustainability of development

interventions'.

Best ,

Sundar Sharma

Response From: Seth Sicroff

Sundar-ji -

Thank you for raising an important question.

I'd like to take a stab at answering parts of the question; I'm afraid, however, that I'm not certain what exactly you are referring to, so parts of my answer are likely to be off-target with respect to your intended issue.

1. By "this region," I'm assuming you mean primarily the Solu Khumbu area, as that was the subject of your very useful MRD article [which I've linked to the resources page of BridgesNepal.com].

"Sustainable" is a buzzword that can be interpreted in many ways, none of which I'm particularly fond of. The basic point is generally that many human-impacted systems are being run in a way that (without important change) will lead to unsatisfactory conditions in the future. The concept is fine if you are referring to discrete factors such as soil condition, fuel supply, or pollution. What I object to is the rather paternalistic assumptions as to what conditions need to be sustained. Livelihoods, cultural traditions, demographics, and many other factors can and will change.

In general, I don't think tourism should be considered a sustainable industry in most locales. The factors that make it useful for the rapid propagation of wanted changes (economic opportunity, access to health services, education, and so on) are frequently self-canceling. Assets such as exotic landscape and culture, for instance, depend on isolation, lack of ethnic assimilation, disparity in host/guest standard of living, and most important, ambient poverty. At an intermediate stage of development, these assets can be eroded without loss of market, as tourists are intrigued by the paradoxical presence of pool halls, Internet cafes, chocolate croissants, and tea houses run by families who own several cars in Kathmandu and have children studying in the best schools around the world -- all in a tiny enclave surrounded by medieval living conditions.

Once a certain level of prosperity and sophistication is reached, however, the host community will probably tire of the importunities of nosy trekkers. For their part, tourists are likely to feel that the subservience level (never very high among Sherpas, anyway) is inadequate to sustain the fantasy of other-worldliness. Broader economic opportunities mean that rooms are no longer given away for a few cents (literally) just to encourage consumption of food (also extremely cheap), and newer accommodations are not much different (in facilities and pricing) from what is available in the "real world."

So, in general, tourism should be a bridge to development, not necessarily something that is to be sustained indefinitely.

On the other hand, there are places with such unique assets that tourism simply cannot die. Khumbu is probably one of those. The Sherpas will never recover their privacy -- unless the country falls prey to the sort of instability that has descended on Kashmir.

One of the least sustainable commodities, in fact, is a consensus as to what needs to be sustained. The Sherpa dialect of Tibetan is now essentially a "second language" as far as many young Sherpas are concerned, a useful "private language" for talking behind the backs of outsiders but no longer the most expressive means of communication. Television, radio, newspapers, polyglot commerce, and immigration are sure to continue the process of marginalizing Sherpa language -- and other aspects of the culture as well. Many of the more established families are now anxious to conserve what remains of the culture, and there has been talk of setting up a Sherpa-medium boarding school at Lukla. (Does anybody know what's happening with that?) Unfortunately, Lukla is probably too far down the slippery slope of assimilation. With cheap fares to Kathmandu, not to mention the huge tourist impact in Lukla itself, it will be very hard to maintain Sherpa traditions.

On the other hand, it may be argued that one of the central Sherpa traditions is an openness to change. The Tibetans who picked themselves up and emigrated from eastern Tibet some 500 years ago were self-selecting those traits that made them formidable traders and entrepreneurs. As Sherpas, they continued the tradition of innovation. Potatoes, for instance, are a comparatively recent introduction, now much more important than barley -- which would probably disappear from Sherpa areas if it were not wanted for moonshine production.

In terms of the impact of tourism on the ecosystem, there is no simple answer. As Alton Byers has shown, the Khumbu area was very early on heavily impacted (and stabilized) for the sake of animal husbandry. The rapid increase in demand for fuel when tourist arrivals skyrocketed in the seventies obviously had an impact on forests, but a greater impact was probably caused by the gazetting of the region as a park and the removal of the shingi nawa system of forest protection. Fear of deforestation itself contributed to a rush in house construction and hoarding of wood. It seems that the situation is now stabilized, primarily due to the Sherpa's own perception that forests need to be conserved. This perception has not extended to other less "charismatic" vegetation systems -- Aton has been calling for more protection, particularly, of the vegetation above the natural tree line. That kind of positive influence, of course, is typical of the back-and-forth impact of tourism. It simply doesn't make sense to look at trends at one point in the dialectic and say, "See! It's unsustainable!!!" Current practices and trends may well be unsustainable in some respects, but with an educated host community I think we can be pretty sure that the situation will not become super-critical. And that education is a direct result of tourism -- as exemplified by Ed Hillary, and the thousands of mountaineers and trekkers who have followed his lead, both in their fascination with the landscape and in their respect and friendship for the people.

More Later, Seth Sicroff

http://groups.google.com/group/MountainLegacy?hl=en

http://www.mountainlegacy.org/

Pedra do Bau, Brazil (S22 41.331 W45 39.704)

Pedra do Bau is a series of granite peaks situated about fours drive from São Paulo in the Mantiqueira hills. It is one of the most popular places to climb in the state of São Paulo, Brazil.

There are over 200 routes, from easy to hard free climbs, sport climbs and aid climbs.

A guide of the region, written by Mr. Frechou, is available in Portuguese: http://www.mountainvoices.com.br/

The topos can also be bought in Half Dome, an outdoor sports shop in downtown São Paulo. Its phone numbers are (55-11) 255-5783 and (55-11) 255-4331 and, the address is Rua Dr. Vila Nova, 321. Manual de Escaladas e Boulders - Pedra do Baú

A typical rack might consist of a set of wired nuts, a set of cams, and 8 to 10 quick draws.

Model of the Bau complex

Getting There (is not easy)

You can get to Pedra do Bau either from Campos do Jordão or from São Bento do Sapucaí.

When To Climb

The best time to climb is from May to October when there is less rain. The weather can be cool at any time given the 6,000’ elevation. Snow is rare but possible.

Lodging:

Hotels in Campos do Jordão are very expensive as it is a Brazilian tourist Mecca. For budget accommodations, and an opportunity to connect with other climbers, consider staying just outside the town of São Bento do Sapucaí, at Eliseu Frechou´s refuge: “Montanhismus”. Camping is not permitted at Pedro do Bau. São Bento do Sapucaí is a much more peaceful setting than Campos do Jordão and offers other nearby places to climb. Mr. Frechou is also an international guide and publisher of the print and online magazine “Mountain Voices.”

Route to Montanhismus above (actual) and below (North is up)

Montanhismus is located at S22 42.329 W45 45.804. Exit at Sao Bento do Sapucai and ask for directions at the entry station/portcullis. You have to go down a parallel side street and proceed through a surprisingly small tunnel (S22 41.419 W45 44.233) under the main road. After going under the road it is about 3km. If you reach 4 km you have gone too far. You will see an entrance on your left with signs through a gate and will then proceed around a lake almost back to the road again. The refuge sits on a hill above the road. A short steep driveway leads to the refuge.

I was invited to accompany two different English speaking parties on climbs when I dropped by one morning. One party was on a road trip from Argentina.

Mr. Eliseu Frechou

Mrs. Beth Frechou providing directions

Louis

“The Penguin”

Cool trailer from Sender films:

http://www.bigupproductions.com/#/vidplayer/REEL_ROCK_09_Trailer/

Mountain Information:

http://www.mountainvoices.com.br/

http://www.montanhismus.com.br

http://br.groups.yahoo.com/group/hangon

Rock Climbing Related Injuries Rise Dramatically

COLUMBUS, OH, July 21, 2009 —

In the past decade the popularity of rock climbing has dramatically increased. It has been estimated that rock climbing is now enjoyed by more than 9 million people in the U.S. each year. A new study by researchers at the Center for Injury Research and Policy of the Research Institute at the Nationwide Children’s Hospital found that as the popularity of the sport has escalated, so have the number of injuries. Study findings revealed a 63 percent increase in the number of patients that were treated in U.S. emergency departments for rock climbing-related injuries between 1990 and 2007.

The study, published in the online issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, found that over 40,000 patients were treated in U.S. emergency departments for rock climbing-related injuries between 1990 and 2007. The most common types of rock climbing-related injuries were fractures (29 percent) and sprains and strains (29 percent). Lower extremities were the most common region of the body to be injured (46 percent) while the ankle was the most common individual body part to be injured (19 percent). Climbers in the study ranged in age from 2 to 74 years, with an average age of 26 years. Climbers 20-39 years old accounted for the majority of the injuries (56 percent) while climbers 19 years and younger accounted for 30 percent. Climbers 40 years and older accounted for the remaining 14 percent. The study also found that women accounted for more than 28 percent of the injuries, a higher proportion than found in previous rock climbing studies.

Falls were the primary mechanism for injury with over three-quarters of the injuries occurring as the result of a fall. The severity of fall-related injuries correlated with the height of the fall. Patients who were injured after falling from a height over 20 feet were 10 times more likely to be hospitalized than patients who were injured falling from 20 feet or lower.

“We found that the climbers who fell from heights higher than 20 feet accounted for 70 percent of the patients there were hospitalized for a rock climbing-related injury,” explained study author Lara McKenzie, PhD, principal investigator at the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children’s Hospital and faculty member of The Ohio State University College of Medicine. “This trend, combined with the fact that rock climbers have a higher hospitalization rate than other sports and recreational injuries, demonstrates the need to increase injury prevention efforts for climbers.”

Data for this study were collected from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS), which is operated by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. The NEISS dataset provides information on consumer product-related and sports and recreation-related injuries treated in hospital emergency departments across the country.

The Center for Injury Research and Policy (CIRP) in The Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital works globally to reduce injury-related pediatric death and disabilities. With innovative research at its core, CIRP works to continually improve the scientific understanding of the epidemiology, biomechanics, prevention, acute treatment and rehabilitation of injuries. CIRP serves as a pioneer by translating cutting edge injury research into education, advocacy and advances in clinical care. In recognition of CIRP’s valuable research, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) designated the Center for Injury Research and Policy as an Injury Control Research Center in 2008. Learn more about the Center for Injury Research and Policy at www.injurycenter.org.

http://www.nationwidechildrens.org/gd/applications/controller.cfm?page=206&id=658&type=3

Moving Mountains: Journal of Sport for Development and Peace

Moving Mountains (MM) is a new journal dedicated to the United Nations theme of sport for development and peace. MM is a project of Mountain Legacy in collaboration with Himalayan Journal of Sciences (itself a project of the Himalayan Association for the Advancement of Science) and with faculty of Tribhuvan University (TU) and SUNY Cortland's Sport Management Department.

You can help!

We are looking for:

Feedback: isolated comments and suggestions, or long-term counsel

Contributions: articles, photos, letters

Reviews: specialists in a wide variety of fields

Who should collaborate on Moving Mountains?

As the name suggests, there is a great deal of work to be done. We need qualified scholars to contribute original research articles in and/or to serve as reviewers on a broad array of topics, including sport management, economics, ecology, gender issues, and development. We need sport participants to contribute personal narratives of the impact of their activities on development and peace. We are interested in accounts of failed development, marginal successes, and shining examples, and we particularly want to know about opportunities for young people to become involved as amateur or professional sport-development-peace facilitators.

Rationale

The connection between sport (or games in general) and peace is far older than the Olympics; the fact that many species engage in mock combat in order to establish dominance suggests that the connection is actually hard-wired into our genome. The perception of opportunity for economic development as a concomitant of sport is relatively recent, but certainly not original at this point. Nonetheless, as recreation becomes a more important component of the economy, opportunities are rapidly expanding. There is an increasing need for specific guidance as to how sport can be managed in a way that serves social needs beyond simple recreation.

Sport for Development and Peace is a theme that embraces an open-ended array of activities, and we do not intend at this point to narrowly circumscribe the journal's coverage. The explanations given here are provisional.

Sports may be engaged in for profit or for fun, competitively or not, in teams or individually, with or without rules. By way of illustration, we would include soccer, tennis, gymnastics, jogging, trekking, skiing, mountaineering, and some forms of dance. For reasons of personal predilection on the part of journal organizers, we would exclude hunting, fishing, bullfighting, or any other sport that injures or exploits animals.

Development simply means change due to human impact, whether beneficial or not. We are most interested in the positive impacts that sport may have on society and environment, but in order to promote the positive we will necessarily have to take note of negative development as well.

Peace is harmony among humans; it entails economic prosperity, sustainable use of resources, and equity in all opportunities.

Sport for peace and development does not necessarily mean that sport is undertaken for the purpose of achieving peace and development. Rather, the phrase focuses on the impact, whatever the intention.

As a "tool" for social engineering, sport comes into play in a variety of ways.

Sports may become a key component of the economy of a community or even an entire region. It may become the basis for tourism, both domestic and international, and therefore contribute to peace and prosperity. In the case of outdoor sports, the economic agenda may translate into an agenda of natural and even cultural conservation.

Sports events may be organized to raise funds for or promote consciousness of a given agenda. Nixon's ping-pong diplomacy, which facilitated the normalization of relations between the United States and China, is one example; another might be a local bicycle ride or walk-a-thon in support of AIDS research.

Basketball or other sport leagues may be organized in an effort to sublimate and mitigate rivalries across social divides.

Sports instruction in schools may be used as a tool of social engineering, to promote cooperation, discipline, and other desirable personal and social attributes.

Participants in certain sports (such as mountaineering, trekking, and scuba diving) may become involved in protecting the environments they enjoy and in meeting objectives of host communities. This response is particularly significant inasmuch as many sports entail direct or collateral damage to the ecosystem, erosion of traditional culture, aesthetic degradation (through accumulation of waste material), introduction of health problems, and limitations on economic opportunities (particularly those that involve extractive exploitation of natural resouces).

Moving Mountains will recognize and promote sport as a tool for positive social engineering. It will publish peer-reviewed research reports, articles, news, and columns for professionals, scholars, students, and prospective participants.

What does "Sport for Development and Peace" have to do with Mountain Legacy?

First of all, "development and peace" are goals that largely mirror those of Mountain Legacy. Sustainable development and social harmony depend on cultural and natural conservation.

Secondly, the mountain agenda cannot be separated from the larger context. Lowland population centers are the gateways to highland destinations. To the extent that economic opportunity in the mountains depends on tourism, the competitive capabilities of mountain regions depend on regional assets, including peace. Development policies are made in lowland population centers, and the willingness of planners to take highland needs into consideration depends on the awareness of highland contributions to the regional economy.

Third, the dynamics of sport impact on development and peace are similar at any elevation. While some of us are most interested in mountain sports, we can certainly learn from sports in other environments, whether scuba-diving in reefs, Olympic games in Beijing, or New York Jets summer camp in Cortland (upstate NY). Sport is global, and the value of our journal would be diminished if its scope were narrower.

Nepal provides an excellent case-study of the linkages between sport, development, and peace. Trekking is the magnet activity that drives tourism in Nepal, and tourism is the foundation of Nepal's economy. Political instability in Kathmandu has lead to guerrilla warfare in the hills, which has crippled the goose that lays all those golden eggs. Pollution, poverty, health, and gender issues (to cite just a few critical areas) all constrain peace, conservation, and future opportunities.

The Mountain Legacy agenda is in many ways exemplary of the sport-development-peace linkages outlined above. Most of the ML collaborators became interested in conservation by way of a prior interest in mountain sports. Our Bridges programs have focused on promoting trekking as a key economic activity in remote mountainous destinations. The 2010 program, while maintaining a multi-pronged, multidisciplinary agenda, will undertake feasibility studies for two new sporting events that would serve as economic catalysts and also as venues for intercultural cooperation.

HJS: A Respected Model

Moving Mountains will emulate the publication values represented by Himalayan Journal of Sciences, a respected journal since 2002.

Contact

If you are interested in participating in Moving Mountains or have any feedback, contact Mountain Legacy Projects Coordinator Seth Sicroff at sicroff@gmail.com; 511 W. Green St., Ithaca NY, 14850 USA; (607) 256-0102.

Equipment

Summer Sierra Bivy Equipment

Whether you are setting out for Whitney's Mountaineers Route in three days, all the Palisade 14ers in a week, or even hiking the entire John Muir Trail, a well thought out camping kit can save you weight and give you many comfortable nights' sleep. Allow me to outline what I carry as potential suggestions to you all.

Let's start with shelter: On my own, or where tent-sites are hard to find, I carry a bivy sack. In my case, the Montbell Breeze Dry-Tec UL Sleeping Bag Cover is minimalistic (6 oz) and just protective enough for "normal" Sierra summer weather (fully waterproof, seam sealed, as breathable as modern lightweight fabrics get, seals at the head with a drawstring).

With a partner, up above the trees with potential storms and wind, you can't go wrong with a proper tent. I've spent enough nights under a flapping tarp to be fully convinced the weight of the Black Diamond Lighthouse is totally worth it.

For sleeping bags I now have two options. I have always leaned in a rather conservative direction. I have total confidence in my 3.5 pound, 20 degree rated, lifetime warranteed (believe me, they mean it), synthetic insulated Wiggys Ultralight. Yeah, yeah, the weight purists have always scoffed, but I don't give my warmth and comfot another thought from April through October- rain, snow, bivy, tent, the Wiggy's is there for me. My first one lasted ten years, try that with your run-of-the-mill synthetic bag!

However, I'm expecting delivery any day now of a snazzy new Feathered Friends Rock Wren. It weighs just one and a half pounds, and I can get up and walk around in it, therefore saving a bit of additional weight on my "around camp" layers. Ask me in a few weeks how it works out.

For sleeping pads, I go ultra minimalist. I sleep like a rock, and therefore can get away with a Ridgerest cut to about 36 inches long. (enough to pad me shoulder to hip) I put my empty Arc Teryx Khazri 55 pack under my legs.

I use the same pack for basically all my overnight Sierra rambles, whether on skis in the winter and spring or for days and days of summer peak bagging. I chose this particular pack because I can strip the frame out of it and fold that above mentioned Ridgerest into thirds to serve in the frame's place. I hope you find some useful information here and enjoy the rest of the summer.

If you have any questions, or suggestions of your own, find Sierra Mountain Guides on Facebook and look for the "note" entitled "Sierra Summer Bivy Gear"

Thanks for reading, Jed Porter, Sierra Mountain Guides Newsletter. http://sierramtnguides.com/index.htm

Incidents

Mt. Torment, WA, USA - Craig Luebben – August 9, 2009

On Sunday, August 9, 2009, AMGA Instructor Pool member, Certified Rock Guide and former member of the AMGA Board of Directors, Craig Luebben died of injuries sustained while climbing in North Cascades National Park. Craig and Willie Benegas were climbing and training together for an upcoming AMGA Alpine Exam at the time of the incident. On the 9th the pair were attempting to climb the Torment and Forbidden Traverse, starting the traverse on the SE Face of Torrent via the Taboo Glacier. At the bergshrund, with Craig leading and Willie belaying, Craig attempted to bypass the remnant ice hanging above the bergshrund by ascending rock on the right, and then traversing left on to the ice for the exit moves.

Craig and Gulia

According to Willie, at approximately 0630 as Craig transitioned from the rock to the ice, a block of ice described as being the size of a car calved off taking Craig with it and, resulting in a 30 foot fall. While not struck by the initial block, Craig was pelted by debris as he hung from his rope. Willie managed to get Craig to his belay stance in the bergshrund, stabilize and treat his injuries, and contact rescue personnel. Despite Willie's heroic efforts and a swift response from NCNP SAR personnel, Craig succumbed to his injuries.

Willie suffered minor injuries to his leg and is expected to make a full recovery.

Having climbed since the early 80s, Luebben wrote a number of climbing-oriented books, designed the "Big Bro" wide-crack climbing protection device, and was a senior contributing editor for Climbing Magazine. http://www.craigluebben.com/

Cathedral Peak, CA, USA – Julie Perumal - July 1, 2009

Kathy and Julie arrived at the base of the route probably around 3:30 PM. I later learned that they ran into a party of 2 novice climbers that were scoping out the route for an ascent the next day. It sounds like the 2 were surprised that Julie and Kathy were starting the 700 foot route so late in the, day and decided to stay and watch.

Julie and Kathy had a light alpine rack that they had used for Matthes crest, and a ½ rope (8.1 mm) that they had doubled and therefore had 30m of rope (~100 ft) between the 2 of them as they “simul climbed”. Due to the light alpine rack, the skinny line, the late hour and the fact that Julie did not have her helmet that day (she always climbs with one but did not have one that day probably because matthes is a ridge with no rock fall – I had mentioned before I left the 2 of them that cathedral was a good one to have a helmet due to other climbers above) They weighed their options and decided that the route would be within their limits and appropriate to climb that afternoon.

The 2 of them decided that Julie would lead the whole route, as she was faster on Matthes. Julie and Kathy exchanged gear once at a bush a little below the chimney according to Kathy’s recollection. There was a team in the chimney about ¾ of the way up the route and they both decided that they would rather not do the wide crack section and would do a variation to the left of the chimney that may keep them out of the way of the other team and perhaps pass them (speculation).

Kathy was simul climbing and had cleaned 5 pieces of gear when she got to a piton that Julie had clipped a sling to. She was about to unclip the sling but waited till the slack was gone from the rope. Julie was out of sight of her and so nobody (except maybe the 2 unknown guys at the base) witnessed Julie falling so the exact height of the fall is unknown. Kathy just remembers waiting at the piton and then hearing Julie screaming as she fell…. Kathy reached for the sling on the piton and braced for a catch. The rope never came tight on her due to the fact that there is a ledge system at the base of the chimney. Julie landed about 20 feet left of the start of the chimney on the ledge and appeared initially to be unresponsive.

Kathy I’m sure had the unfortunate wave of emotions and sickening feelings that comes with being attached with a rope to a partner that has just fallen to their death. This fall must have occurred around (*** PM).

Nobody knows why Julie fell or how far she fell but since she was climbing really strong that day and because of all her experience it is probable that a hold broke off causing her to lose balance and fall. I don’t have any information about distance between gear placements but I do know there were several pieces attached to the rope between her and Kathy. Also she was wearing a backpack that now has a 90 degree bend in the aluminum stay which appears to have taken much of the force of the impact (which also saved her life)

Julie began to make moaning sounds but was still not awake. Kathy stayed put in her stance as she was no longer “on belay” due to the amount of slack in the system. The team above (Josh and Carrie? from Mammoth) were able to rappel down to the ledge and make contact with Julie – Josh was not medically trained but Carrie had taken a Wilderness First Responder course and the skills learned in that course that they used in their field treatment for Julie probably aided in her success. Julie apparently sat up and was screaming and josh was able to have her lay supine and hold c-spine and get her legs elevated for shock.

Julie’s face and head was covered in blood mostly due to a scalp laceration and she was exhibiting symptoms of a head injury. She was screaming that “she was dying” and had sever neck pain and also back tenderness which ended up being a spinal injury (T12/L1).

She sprained her ankle (which was first thought to be a break) and it looked like she may have broken 2 ribs but those appeared to be shadows in the x-rays. She also had cuts and scrapes all over her body indicating not a clean fall but rather a tumbling bouncing one.

Kathy had her cell phone and attempted to call 911 which went through (a miracle in the mountains) and was able to relay details about Julie’s accident and current condition. I am told that this whole time josh and Carrie were praying for Julie as they held her head stable and kept her warm with an emergency blanket. YOSAR was dispatched and a helicopter with a medic was sent to Cathedral peak from the Crane Flat heli pad in the park. The medic stabilized Julie to a long spine board and Julie was “short-hauled” in a litter (flown in a basket on a line under the helicopter to be “plucked off” the cliff). She was packaged into the helicopter, flown back to crane flat where she was met by a life flight helicopter for the flight to DMC in Modesto, CA.

The other 3 climbers were met by the SAR climbing team (including our good friend Ben) and they were aided in rappelling off the cliff.

Meanwhile I had been dropped off by Derek and Scott at their turnoff and was hitchhiking to go get my motorcycle in El Portal around 6 PM Derrick got the call from Kathy about the accident and they took off to look for me but never found me – I got on my bike and headed straight back the way I came to meet Julie and Kathy in Mammoth as we had planned. It was sunset when I got to the meadows and as I drove by was surprised to see Kathy’s car still at the trailhead parking.

It was not really alarming as they had started a long route pretty late in the day but I figured they would be out soon. I parked my bike and decided to hike up the trail to meet them on their way out. It is about an hour hike to the base of the cliff and it soon was getting dark and I did not have a light. I decided to go down and borrow a light and see if my friend Ben (who knows Kathy and Julie) who lives on the YOSAR site would hike in with me to meet them as I was starting to get antsy. I left a note on Kathy’s car to tell them not to leave if they got back.

I asked several people for lights including the guys at the guide service and had no luck as it was getting really dark by this point I was getting desperate and saw the flashing lights of a ranger pulling over some poor folks that were driving faster than the 25MPH speed limit through that section of park – I think I cramped his style as I pulled up my bike into is ticketing scene. When the ranger got to me I asked him if I could borrow a light and that I was concerned about my wife and her partner who were out later than expected but I explained they were both competent climbers and had headlamps and warm clothes and could probably get themselves out of a pinch but I wanted to hike in for my own sake to meet them. I told him they were climbing Cathedral peak.

To his credit he was very rangerly and straightfaced said “I don’t want to alarm you but there is currently a rescue on Cathedral peak – there were 4 climbers involved 3 are being rappelled down the face in the dark and one was flown by helicopter. – He took down my name and had me follow him to the SAR cache.

There I found out that Julie had taken a fall – she was conscious though combative and disoriented but had intact CSM’s at the point that the medic made contact with her – she was flown out to Modesto and no info was known at that point further about her condition.

I was on my motorcycle and had nothing with me I asked to use a phone – and made the phone call I never wanted to make – I was calling julie’s parents in Ohio – probably waking them up and to tell them Julie had taken a serious fall and I did not have any other info…her dad sounded awake when I called and I blurted out what had happened – he told me he knew already- Derek was able to get hold of Julies sister after not being able to find me – she called her parents and was on her way. Dr. Maguire told me that Julie had just come out of a CT scan and was stable and had no signs of serious brain injury or cord injury – his calmness and new info made me feel 100 times better and at this point I knew I just needed to get to Julie –he said Matt and Jenifer were on their way from Merced –

I got off the phone and I got on my bike not really knowing where the hospital was and as I drove through the meadows saw a 25 mph sign and looked down at my spedo and saw I was at 100…..I decided with my being so amped up to get to Julie – I would most likely also be getting a helicopter ride and probably kill myself on a corner – so I drove 10 miles in the opposite direction to get the RV and pushed that little engine so hard that when I stopped to get gas there was smoke coming out of the tires from the burning brakes on the windy park roads.

That drive was probably the worst moments dark and silent driving the motor home as fast as it would go down the road by myself with no cell reception and just my thoughts tormenting me. Nausea and head spinning – what happened to Julie – all the questions – myself to blame – if she had never met me she would never be climbing out here….

Got to reception – got directions from Matt but was lost – Zack Penrose one of my best friends woke up in the middle of the night to sit at his computer and walk me through every intersection I would pass on the way to the hospital as he listened to me fully lose it.

In the ER Jenifer was by Julie – she was laying there with many tubes and wires sticking out of her – the clothes I had seen her wearing that morning cut off and laying on the gurney and she was covered in dried blood – the ER business was mostly done – she was a stable patient –Scalp stitched, cervical spine cleared – she was still in a c collar and had a T12 Compression and L1 burst. I also got a report that she had a few broken ribs and a broken ankle - neither were the case. She recognized me but was still confused about most of the day – closed head injury (concussion)– she was not all there and kept asking questions that I did not have answers to – Jenifer and Matt had said she kept asking if she had an IV in her neck. They left to take the baby home when I got there

Julie got transported by a trauma nurse to our new home for the week – 3rd floor west wing – I stood up there all night as she went in and out of sleep – in lots of pain – no heavy pain medicine as not to mask symptoms. Clear fluids flat on her back unable to move – she was in the ICU for several days – Unstable fractures and monitoring for brain trauma symptoms. More tests scans – decisions between surgery and brace

Julie’s parents flew out, my dad drove up, I had many hard phone calls to make I tried to post info on Julies facebook account while she took a nap. Did not really leave her room for …well I am still here as she naps (Monday afternoon)

Matt printed out some of her emails – we read them to her in bed – she felt so loved – many text and phone messages.

Well this is super long so now Julie got her TLSO Brace (Thoraco-Lumbar-Sacral Orthosis) which is a 2 piece clamshell brace that she has to wear all the time – she even has to put it on lying down (which is unusual) we are hoping her fractures heal in a stable way and x-rays in the future show proper bone healing to prevent her from having surgery.

Her next several months will include a lot of pain – being in the brace at all times (except when she is supine in bed) and feeling pretty helpless. It was fun for me to just enjoy being with Julie and feeling so lucky – cutting up Jello for her – holding her bendy straw to drink – brushing her teeth for her and getting her brace on and walking her every time she needs to go to the bathroom now.

It will be still several weeks till she is more independent and guesses are a year before fully recovered…our hopes are that she will not need to be dependent on her pain meds for too long.

As far as living in a motor home well that is no longer conducive for our spine injury patient so the future is still to be determined but we will be in Tennessee this fall as planned – I will teach at the university again and Julie is hoping to be able to be working again by this fall as well

On a more practical note – Julies parents had gotten us a “catastrophe” insurance plan for Christmas.

In the end we are nothing but THANKFUL…..

To the choices and actions of Kathy and the couple from Mammoth (Josh and Carrie) providing proper field care and activating the evacuation.

To the speed of the medic and the YOSAR climbing team and the helicopter pilots, to the hospital staff here working to make Julie as comfortable as possible – to our parents for coming out to be with Julie, and matt and Jennifer for being so supportive (they brought me my first meal when I didn’t realize I needed to eat anymore) and thankful all our friends and family who have been calling to ask about Julie and give encouraging words

Most of all I am sooo thankful for Julie – she is alive, well (minus the ability to poop) and she is walking – she is not dead or paralyzed which she could easily have been.

I am so lucky to have her and realized so much that I could not live without her…..

NPS Accident report of the same incident...

July 1 – Dispatch received a cell phone call reporting that a climber had fallen on the standard Southwest Face route on Cathedral Peak. The climber, a 29-year-old woman, sustained multiple traumatic injuries and was in and out of consciousness. She’d fallen 30 to 40 feet to a large ledge while attempting a 5.7 bypass of the chimney section that most routes funnel into. Her partner was about 90 feet below. A rescue mission was immediately launched by a helitack crew in the park’s contract helicopter. Hasty and climbing teams also headed toward the scene of the accident. Aerial recon confirmed that another climber was with the woman on a large fourth class ledge three pitches from the base of the peak. A park medic was inserted onto the ledge via short haul with a litter and medical and packaging gear. The climber was packaged and short hauled off the ledge with the medic to the catch team in Tuolumne Meadows. The patient was then put inside the helicopter, flown to Crane Flat helibase, and immediately transferred to a PMI medical helicopter with flight nurses. The elapsed time from the launching of the park helicopter to the transfer of the woman to the PMI helicopter was an astounding 40 minutes. A second technical operation was conducted by the Tuolumne Meadows SAR team to help lower the patient’s partner and the climbers who assisted her.

http://www.supertopo.com/climbing/thread.html?topic_id=899201&tn=0

Mount Tomuraushi, JPN – Ten Fatalities – July 17, 2009

Japanese police investigated negligence by tour organizers after 10 senior citizen climbers died in Japan’s mountains from hypothermia.

Nine seniors died while climbing Mount Tomuraushi on Hokkaido, Japan’s main northern island. Eight were part of a tour organized by Amuse-Travel Co., while the others were climbing separately.

A 10th person died on another mountain on Hokkaido.

Police are looking into a possibility of professional negligence on the part of organizers.

Investigators believe the climbers, caught in strong winds and worn out, quickly deteriorated as chilly mountain air and rain sent their body temperatures dangerously low.

The climbers had thin rain jackets insufficient for the harsh weather.

Tour agency president Seiichi Matsushita apologized to the victims’ families, offering to “do everything our company can do,’’ but he defended his company and tour guides, saying they took sufficient safety measures.

“Nature and environment often affect mountain climbing, and we have repeatedly reminded our guides not to force their way when there is a slightest safety concern,’’ Matsushita told a televised news conference late yesterday. “I assume that the guides judged that the weather wasn’t so bad when they decided to go on.’’

Broad Peak, PAK – Cristina Castagna – July 18, 2009

01:35 am CDT Jul 20, 2009

(K2Climb.net/Madrid) The summit push launched on Broad Peak last weekend has taken Cristina Castagna’s life – the Italian climber reportedly fell to her death on Saturday, while descending back to BC together with mate Giampaolo Casarotto. No summits have been yet confirmed, while some teams report they turned back due to bad conditions.

"We were descending from C4,” Casarotto told Il Giornale di Vicenza. “She was walking 10 meters ahead of me. Suddenly, she slipped down, hit some rocks and then fell in a crevasse. When I reached her, she was gone – there was nothing I could do but crying.”

It is unclear whether Castagna and Casarotto had summited or not defore heading back on Saturday - the accident took place that day (July 18th) in the afternoon.

At just 31 years old Cristina Castagna, nicknamed “El Grio” (cricket), had previously summited Shisha’s central summit (2004), GII (2005), Dhaulagiri (2007) and Makalu (2008). This season, she and renato hoped to summit Broad Peak and then to give GI a shot.

Cristina and Giampaolo were sharing permit with Spanish Rosa Fernández and Uruguay’s Leonardo Perez. During the summit attempt, Rosa eventually turned back in bitter cold and bad conditions, her husband told local media. She also confirmed Cristina’s accident.

http://www.k2climb.net/news.php?id=18519

http://www.elgrio.net/elgrio.net/www.elgrio.net/Index.html

Latok II, PAK – Oscar Perez – August 16, 2009

(K2Climb.net) "It is with tremendous sadness that we share with you that the rescue attempt being made for Oscar Perez on Latok II has been called off," wrote Stu Remensnyder (US) and Dave Hancock (Australia) today.

"This decision was made in common agreement by the team at BC, the coordinators in Skardu and the club Pena Guara."

Also today, ExWeb's Karrar Haidri met with Spanish Sebastian Alvaro in Skardu. Seb confirmed that the team, reportedly consisting of 6 Spaniards, 3 North Americans, and 16 local high altitude/low altitude porters has been unable to locate Oscar.

Seb told Karrar he had not met Oscar Perez before, and was in Hushe with his family when he heard of the climber being stranded on Latok. According to rescuers' reports, Sebastian has since been instrumental in coordinating the local efforts.

Stu and Dave described the details leading up to the final decision to abort the efforts:

"The length of time Oscar has been trapped high on the mountain (10 days), the difficulty of the route, bad weather making conditions on the route worse, and danger to the rescuers all converge to made it clear that the only choice was to end the operation."

"The team at Latok II BC must now walk out as the weather has turned too poor for helicopters to fly. Their walk will be a somber one but we hope they know how much their efforts have meant and that they arrive in Skardu to an appreciative welcome and a well needed time of rest."

"So many people have been working hard for many days both on the scene, in the country and around the globe. These efforts are testament to care and concern Oscar engendered and we know that everything that could be done was tried on his behalf."

"Our thoughts are with Oscar's family at this time and extend our deepest condolences to them. When our team is out we will let you know and have more information as it becomes available."

Pena Guara confirmed the decision and details today, thanking all involved in the attempt, including also as a number of high rank officials in Spain including the President, and in Pakistan such as the Spanish Embassy in Islamabad, and local authorities.

A special gratitude went to the team operating in Pakistan, especially to Sebastián Álvaro, the American and Spanish alpinists, and the HAPs, "all those who, during these days, have been working to the limit of their possibilities," wrote the Club.

ExplorersWeb would like to add special thanks to Field Touring Alpine commercial outfitter, especially Stu and Fabrizio Zangrilli, who at great cost and risk attempted a rescue of a climber that was not one of their own. To the local outfitter ATP who sent out a request for help as fast as possible and was key in the huge Pakistani efforts; and of course to the Pena Guara Mountain Club, for giving all they had for a friend, in the eye of the impossible.

For 10 days, Pakistani Army Air Corps helicopters and mountain climbers of diverse nationalities tried a desperate attempt to rescue alive a climber from the unclimbed and unfixed wall of Latok 2, a massive peak of 7,125 meters in the heart of the Karakorum.

Spanish mountain climber Oscar Perez was at approximately 6,200 m of altitude with a broken leg and an arm immobilized after suffering an accident when he tried to scale it in alpine style with his companion Alvaro Novellón.

The rescue became a fight against the clock for Oscar, trapped on the wall with no tent, only a small sleeping bag to sleep in, a gas canister for making water and some basic food. The rescue went on with the uncertainty of knowing if Oscar Perez remained alive, since he did not have means to communicate with the outside world.

The attempt was finally called off today, due to the time elapsed, the failure to locate Oscar, and the difficulty of the route in combination with bad weather posing danger to the rescuers.

http://www.mounteverest.net/news.php?id=18592

Gasherbrum II, PAK – Luis M. Barbero – July 24, 2009

(K2Climb.net/Madrid) There is news on the Spanish mountaineer reported missing during a summit push on GII last Sunday. Luis M. Barbero was last seen near the summit; all searching/rescue attempts have been thwarted by bad weather and high avalanche risks since then, according to expedition mates in BC Sechu Lopez and Marta Alejandre.

On reports posted today, Marta and Sechu confirm there are no hopes left to find him alive.

0.4E4

“Facts have been extremely confusing during the last three days, since we first heard of Luis being possibly missing,” Carlos Soria’s partner Marta Alejandre added. “It’s incredible how you can be so close on the mountain and so far at the same time. Fact is, any attempt to search for him has proved impossible due to bad weather and high avalanche risk. The helicopter has been grounded until now, although we hope it will take off soon in order to search from the air along the route. After all this time though, we’ve lost all hope to find Luis alive.”

Fellow Spaniard Sechu Lopez has posted an events' timeline on his website, gathering all (few) available details since Luis set off on a summit bid last Sunday, to the current situation:

“Monday, July 20th, a large Iranian group left C3 towards GII summit – Luis and a Polish climber followed behind,” Sechu reccounted. “In the afternoon, weather conditions were tough, mostly due to wind. Apparently the group progressed at a very slow pace. At 7:30 pm the Polish climber intently asked Luis to turn back. Luis was however completely focused on the summit, which he had failed to reach one year before (missing it for just 300 meters) and continued.”

“All other members in our team were in BC by then. After dinner we heard that 14 people had summited, Luis among them. We were surprised to hear that so many people had topped out in such wind conditions, but we were happy for Luis anyway.”

“On Tuesday, July 21th, it started to snow in the morning. GII’s upper slopes were wrapped in clouds and the lower glacier was in poor conditions, so we thought all summiteers would be waiting in some higher camp for conditions to improve, before returning to BC.”

”In the afternoon, contradictory news started to pour: rumor was that there were two missing climbers - Luis might be one of them. We asked for further details. Indeed, Luis was last seen very high up on the mountain; the Polish climber had remained in C4’ location (with no tents set up) for a while waiting for him – then eventually climbed down until the next camp (C3), where he spent the night. “

“Bad weather forced everyone on the mountain down to C1. Hours went by; then days passed. Snow kept on falling – no one in C1 was able to climb back up to C2 in order to look for Luis, since loads of unstable fresh snow made the route extremely dangerous.”

“We felt powerless. There was nothing we could do but to accept the tragic turnout of events.”

“Funny enough, probably nobody summited that day,” Sechu noted. “The five Iranian climbers claim summit, although they said they had turned around 50 meters shy from the real top. We will never know whether Luis topped out, although we would like to believe he had at least his so longed-for moment of glory. None of us really got to know him well, but (I am sure) he was a good man. Good-bye, mate.”

Luis María Barbero, from Alcoy (Alicante, Spain) was sharing permit with a larger international group, comprising mostly Spaniards. However, they were not a single expedition, but several groups or independent climber sharing BC and, eventually, climbing plans on GI and GII. Veteran Carlos Soria and Marta Alejandre were also members in the team, with GI as main goal.

http://www.mounteverest.net/news.php?id=18534

K2, PAK - Michele Fait – Fredrik Ericsson’s Analysis

I guess most of you have already heard the tragic news about Micheles accident on K2. Anyway here’s some info on what happened.

Sometimes life doesn’t turn out as planned. June 23, 2009 was one of those days.

We were on our second acclimatization climb on K2. This time Michele and I were feeling much better than on our first acclimatization climb. No headaches. After spending two nights in our Camp 2 at 6350 meters we were skiing down towards Base Camp. We had passed a steep and rocky section, that I thought was the most difficult part of the ski descent, and we were out on a big open slope. It was still steep and we were skiing very slowly, speed controlling jump turns. While doing a turn Michele lost his balance and fell backwards down the slope. He was sliding and tumbling for several hundred meters. Since the slope gets less steep lower down I was sure he would stop at some point. But he never did. All I could do was to stand and watch Michele fall down the slope. In the end he fell over a rock band and disappeared into the next bowl. It was horrible to watch!

I thought that if he had survived the fall he must be severely injured so I had to get down to Michele as fast as possible. I started skiing down the slope. Since there was a rock band separating the two bowls I couldn’t ski straight down to him but had to ski down to the bottom of the mountain and then climb back up in his bowl. It took me half an hour to reach Michele. While climbing up it was all quiet, I could see the crows circling above Michele’s body. Looking at the cliffs he had fallen over I knew the chance of finding Michele alive was slim. But I never gave up the hope. Unfortunately, when I reached Michele he didn’t show any signs of life, he wasn’t breathing and had no pulse. He was dead!

Since the body was in a very dangerous spot, right below a big Serac and on an avalanche prone slope, I didn’t think much about what just had happened but started to lower Michele’s body down the slope. By traversing a bit I could get to a fairly safe line below some cliffs. I lowered Michele for about 200 meters before I came to a point where I had to traverse another big avalanche prone slope.

New expeditions had arrived in base camp the day before the accident. Among them, Fabrizio Zangrilli, Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner and David Göttler had seen Michele’s fall from BC and walked up the glacier to help. Since it was already afternoon on a warm and sunny day the snow was wet and heavy and the risk of avalanches was great. To bring Micheles body over the dangerous slope would take us quite a long time. We would spend too much time in the danger zone and therefore we decided to leave him on the mountain over night.

On the walk back to base camp it suddenly hit me what just had happened. Michele and I were skiing down the mountain of our dreams. We were smiling and having the time of our lives. In a second, tragedy hit and Michele was gone. I have never experienced anything like it. It was the worst day of my life.

The next day David, Fabrizio and his teammates helped me bring Micheles body down the last 100 meters to the glacier. We made a snow pit to store the body in while waiting for a helicopter. In the morning, two days after the accident, the helicopter arrived. Michele’s body was transported to Skardu and onwards back home to Italy.

After the accident I lost all motivation to continue climb on K2 and decided to give up and go home.

All my thoughts go to Michele’s family. I can’t imaging what it’s like to lose a son.

Michele was a good man. I will miss him.

Fredrik

http://www.fredrikericsson.com/

Gallery

X-Ray of foot in a climbing shoe. Fred Moix (http://gallery.mac.com/fmoix#100098&bgcolor=black&view=grid)

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Journal of Mountaineering - Visitor Map (August 2, 2009)

Journal Information

Published by the “California Mountaineering Group”

Library of Congress: “Journal of Mountaineering”

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

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References/Sources

Michele Fait

http://www.fredrikericsson.com/

Broad Stand

http://www.grough.co.uk/magazine/2009/08/08/second-walker-drops-in-on-rescuers-at-lakes-blackspot

Mountain Legacy

http://groups.google.com/group/MountainLegacy?hl=en

Moving Mountains

http://www.mountainlegacy.org/

Craig Luebben

http://www.craigluebben.com/