Northwest:

--Three skiers who were out of bounds at Canada's Fernie Alpine Ski Resort survived an avalanche, say RCMP. The resort was called at 2:30 p.m. by a male skier who asked for help in rescuing his two friends. The hill then called Elk Valley RCMP, who were about to deploy with Fernie Search and Rescue, but they were called off within minutes when the group was able to get free and make it back to the resort safely. To read more, click here.

Sierra:

--For more than 35 years, Doug Nidever has lived in June Lake, offered expert climbing guiding, served on Search and Rescue and on other community projects. On Friday, Nidever suffered a stroke and heart attack at his home, according to friend Dean Rosnau. Nidever was Life Flighted out of the Eastern Sierra to Renown Medical Center in Reno where he remains in critical but stable condition. To read more, click here.

--The gangbusters snowfall this winter has tapered off but still sits above the long-term average snowpack. DWP's website shows Mammoth Pass Snowpack at 34.2 inches of water which is almost level with the wettest year on record, 1982-83 but well above the long-term average. To read more, click here.

Desert Southwest:

--Las Vegas Metro Police Search and Rescue crews found an injured hiker Friday evening who fell over fifty-feet from a hiking trail at the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area earlier in the day. To read more click here.

--The 9th Circuit on Tuesday scrapped a government plan to fast-track the construction of power lines across national parks and forests, including Joshua Tree National Park, finding that the Department of Energy ignored federal environmental laws and left states out of the decision-making process.  To read more, click here.


Himalaya:

--British alpinists Andy Houseman and Nick Bullock will attempt to climb the South Pillar of Kyashar in Nepal this Spring. It has long been one of Bullock's objectives since he visited the Hinku valley in 2008 for an attempt at Peak 41, while expedition leader Houseman failed in an attempt on the line with Tony Stone last year.  To read more, click here.

Notes from All Over:

--The Summit County coroner says a skier is dead after being found in the trees off a run at Keystone ski resort.  It appears that the skier was found at closing after they were making a final sweep.  She died of blunt force trama and was not wearing a helmet.  To read more, click here.

--A 20-year-old University of Colorado student who was injured after sliding two hundred feet while climbing the icy Mount Meeker Rocky Mountain National Park officials said Sunday. Rescuers carried Rebecca Stubbs to a waiting ambulance after dark Saturday — more than 19 hours after she and a group headed out.Rescuers carried Rebecca Stubbs to a waiting ambulance after dark Saturday — more than 19 hours after she and a group headed out. To read more, click here.

--A 28-year old backcountry skier barely escaped with his life after triggering a major avalanche in Canada's Alberta backcountry.  To read more, click here.

-- A human-triggered avalanche on Uneva Peak, near Vail Pass, on Saturday afternoon resulted in waist-deep burial and injury of a snowboarder in a party of four. The Colorado Avalanche Information Center reports that the rider was covered for about 10 seconds but swam back to the surface to avoid full burial. Vail Mountain Rescue Group responded to the incident.  To read more, click here.

--A skier lost on Camels Hump in Duxbury was rescued early Tuesday after spending about 12 hours in near-zero-degree temperatures, Vermont State Police said.Julie Smith, 23, of South Burlington called 911 at about 2:15 p.m. Monday to report she was lost, having been separated from her skiing companion at Camels Hump State Park in Duxbury, police said. The cell phone battery of her companion, Michael Biasuzzi, 25, of South Burlington, had died, Smith told police. To read more, click here.

--The National Park Service has issued a draft policy regarding the use of fixed anchors in wilderness areas. The policy accepts that fixed anchors do not necessarily impair the quality of wilderness, but it calls for each individual park to create a management plan to regulate the creation or repair of fixed anchors through permits or other forms of authorization.  To read more, click here.

--According to David Lama has abandoned his plans of hand drilling protection bolts on rappel on new free-climbing terrain on Patagonia's Cerro Torre's Headwall. To read more, click here.

--On January 30th, Kevin Mahoney and Freddie Wilkinson completed the second ascent  Endangered Species (NEI5+ M6+ R) at Poke-O-Moonshine. Once finished, they proceeded to complete a new pitch, completing a major Northeast testpiece. To read more, click here.

--Trailblazer recently posted a list of the seven best survival movies on their site. They include some great films like Alive and Into the Wild.  But they also include some very very very bad films like Cast Away and Six Days Seven Nights.  To see the full list, click here.

--All energy bars were not created the same. Wildbackpacker.com produced an interesting article this week about energy bars and how you should compare them.  To read the article, click here.

--Firefighters rescued 33 people stranded Saturday evening on the broken ski lift in Pennsylvania's Boyce Park. Emergency dispatchers said Plum firefighters were summoned about 8:15 p.m., and all skiers were rescued by 9:30 p.m. Dispatchers said no one was injured. To read more, click here.
 
--The 55-year-old man who scaled a San Francisco skyscraper will not serve jail time for the stunt. The San Francisco Chronicle reports that Daniel "Spider Dan" Goodwin was sentenced Tuesday to one hundred hours of community service and two years of probation, during which he is prohibited from climbing any more buildings in San Francisco. To read more, click here.
Manufacturer Recalls and Equipment Issues:

--Backcountry Access (BCA), the North American manufacturer of avalanche safety equipment, has just announced a recall of its latest beacon, the Tracker2. BCA representatives say they have isolated certain issues that could cause a potential malfunction in the T2 units.  To read more, click here.

--The United States Consumer Products Safety Commission announced a voluntary recall of 3,500 Avalung backpacks due to a suffocation hazard.  The backpacks, imported from China by Black Diamond Equipment, include air intake tubing that can crack at cold temperatures.  To read more, click here.
--Totem Cams sold prior to December 31st 2010 are being recalled.  The color anodizing of the cams gives them a surface hardness that may affect their holding power in certain areas of polished limestone and when the cams still retain their layer of anodizing on the area in contact with the rock.  To read more, click here and here.

--There have been some problems with Petzl ice tools.  The adjustment system of the GRIPREST (the lower hand rest at the bottom of the handle) on the 2010 NOMIC (U21 2) and ERGO (U22) in some cases may not stay fixed in the desired size position.  This issue concerns NOMIC and ERGO ice tools with serial numbers between 10208 and 10329 and all GRIPREST (U21 GR2) accessory parts. It does not concern the new QUARKs or the older versions of the NOMICs, QUARKs and QUARK ERGOs.  To read more, click here.