Northwest:
--The body of a missing Seattle mountain climber, the son of famed boxing promoter Bob Arum, has been found in the North Cascade mountains. Searchers on Friday spotted the body of the 49-year-old Seattle environmental attorney and avid outdoorsman John Arum on a rugged, hard to get to mountainside location five days after searchers began looking for him, according to a North Cascades National Park spokesman. To read more, click here. To see a thread on a forum about Arum, click here.
--The Squamish Access Society is beginning a major rebolting effort in Squamish. They have already completed the rebolting of eight classic lines and will be working on many more in the coming weeks and months. To read more, click here.
Sierra:
--In late August, Yosemite Search and Rescue completed an amazing rescue of a Korean climber on the Nose. After the climber pulled a block off that crushed his legs, YOSAR lowered two medics to the man and then short-hauled him off the wall. To read more, click here.
Desert Southwest:
--Many climbers spend a great deal of time in the kitschy little town of Springdale, Utah, just outside of Zion National Park. The town currently has a great deal of charm, partly because a town ordinance doesn't allow for franchise establishments. A handful of local business men are suing the town to allow a change in the ordinance. To read more, click here.
Alaska:
--AAI guides Dylan Taylor and Danny Uhlmann joined former AAI guide Joe Stock for a ski trip into the Wrangle St. Elias Mountains in the Spring. Following the trip, Joe had the opportunity to do a report for Alaska Public Radio. To hear the report, click here.
--In early June, Doug Piehl and Erik Peterson made two first ascents of peaks in Alaska's Brooks Range. In a tremendously long 34 hours, the pair climbed an unnamed 7,191-foot peak as well as the 7,529-foot Peak 2240. To read more, click here.
--The Alaska Section of the AAC is celebrating the summer of 2010 by building a new hut on the edge of the Snowbird glacier. Located in the Hatcher Pass area, the original hut (at right) was purchased in 2005 from a private party. This hut has been an important haven for hikers, climbers and backcountry skiers in an area known for unpredictable weather. The original structure is now over 30 years old and showing signs of wear. The roof has experienced a partial collapse from heavy snow load. The deck is unfinished and rickety and the entire structure shifts and groans when the occupants walk about inside. Section Co-Chairs, Harry Hunt and James Brady have led the charge by actively fundraising for the last four years to fund the new hut construction. To read more, click here and here.
Notes from All Over:
--Peak Pobeda, a 24,406-foot mountain on the Kyrgyzstan-China border, claimed three lives in late August. Three Russians succumbed to the weather during a week-long storm. Many others suffered hypothermia and frostbite. To read more, click here.
--On the occasion of World Environment Day (June 5), the UIAA highlighted its commitment by announcing plans for a Mountain Protection label. The UIAA wants to make it easier for mountaineers to minimise their impact on the environment. For this reason the international federation is preparing the launch of a certification scheme. It foresees a label being awarded to tour operators and mountain recreation organisations which commit themselves to acting according to high mountain protection standards. To read more, click here.
--The man accused of burglarizing Mountain Outfitters in Breckenridge, Colorado three times earlier this year has accepted a plea bargain with the District Attorney's office and awaits sentencing. Jason Roger Oberg, who was 23 when the events occurred, was arrested in March early one morning near the scenes of burglaries at both Primo Outdoors and Mountain Outfitters in downtown Breckenridge. He was taken to a local hospital after he ran from police and had a violent encounter with a sheriff's office canine. To read more, click here.
--National Public Radio ran a story on Friday about the impacts of the recession on the outdoor industry. It appears that it has had little impact on the industry as a whole. To read or listen to the story, click here.
--A veteran skyscraper climber who scaled a 60-story residential building in downtown San Francisco late Monday unfurled an American flag at the top and was promptly arrested, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. The 54-year-old climber, Dan Goodwin, of North Lake Tahoe, who is known as SpiderDan, also claims to have conquered Chicago's Sears Tower. To read more, click here.
