Northwest:
--The RCMP have said that three out of four skiers were buried in an avalanche near the Burnie Glacier, 30 miles southwest of Smithers B.C., on February 26th. To correct earlier reports, it was not a heliskiing incident. It was a non-guided recreational ski touring group based at a commercial hut. To read more, click here.
Sierra:
--A professional big-mountain skier participating in an international competition at Tahoe's Kirkwood Mountain Resort over the weekend died Tuesday from injuries he suffered from a bad landing after doing a back flip off a cliff. Ryan Hawks, a 25-year-old member of the Green Mountain Freeride team from Vermont, was competing in the North American Freeskiing Championships when he fell, said Michael Dalzell, a Kirkwood spokesman. To read more, click here.
Kevin Hogan showing off his Trekking Pole Skills
--AAI Guides Ian McEleney and Kevin Hogan were featured in an article in the Crescent Valley Weekly about the Los Angeles County's annual Search and Rescue ice climbing training. To see the article, click here.
--Inyo National Forest has recently selected a new Forest Supervisor. Ed Armenta fills the vacancy left by previous Forest Supervisor Jim Upchurch. Armenta currently works as the District Ranger of the Payson District of the Tonto National Forest in Arizona. Officials said of Armenta that he has been "actively engaged in EEO and Civil Rights programs and has a strong fire and fuels management background." To read more, click here.
Desert Southwest:
--The Friends of Red Rock Canyon recently received a check for $10,000, earmarked to help continue with the restoration of the Native artwork damaged by graffiti late last year. To read more, click here.
--A new study commissioned by the federal government concludes that vast regions of the California desert are prime locations for the development of utility-scale photovoltaic systems.
The report, issued by the Departments of the Interior and Energy, indicates that solar panel systems could one day cover 80 percent of the land in the Riverside East zone, between Joshua Tree National Park and the city of Blythe in the southern California desert. To read more, click here.
Notes from All Over:
--Doug Scott recently became the third climber to receive a Piolet d'Or Lifetime Contribution award. The only other climbers to receive this distinguished honor have been Walter Bonatti and Reinhold Messner. To read more, click here.
--A handful of climbing grants were awarded last week by the American Alpine Club, including the Lyman Spitzer and McNeill-Knot awards. To read about the winners, click here.
--During a prolonged period of excellent weather this winter, a number of notable ascents took place in the Alps. Dougald MacDonald has a round-up of the ascents, here.
--As more skiers and snowboarders venture through access gates from ski areas, calls for difficult-to-reach rescues are climbing. The deaths and rescue calls just outside ski-area boundaries are stirring animated discussion among all players — ski-area operators, their Forest Service landlords and local sheriffs in charge of volunteer-led rescue teams — about how to handle the powder hounds who use lifts to access unmanaged "sidecountry" terrain on the other side of ski-area boundary ropes. To read more, click here.
--On Tuesday, rescue crews recovered the body of a backcountry skier who died in and avalanche near Colorado's Snowmass last week. Snowmass resident Brandon Zukoff was killed outside the boundaries of the Snowmass Ski Area in the East Snowmass Creek backcountry, just after 4 p.m. on February 22nd, according to a news release from the Pitkin County Sheriff's Office. To read more, click here.
--A Boston woman who was participating in a ski coaching clinic in Colorado's Buttermilk Ski Area last March is suing the Aspen Skiing Company after a collision involving a SkiCo employee. Linda Whittle’s lawsuit, filed Monday in Pitkin County District Court, seeks more than $100,000. To read more, click here.
Manufacturer Recalls and Equipment Issues:
----Petzl has recently discovered Chinese counterfeit versions of the Croll, Attache, Ascension and Rescue Ptezl products. There is a significant risk that these counterfeit products could open or otherwise fail at low loads and under normal use. To read more, click here.
