Participants between 16 and 30 years old are invited to participate in a mountaineering expedition in the Kazbek Gorge Mountains of Georgia. This event is part of the Global Youth Summit, a series of international summer climbing camps and other mountaineering events for young people that promote environmental efforts, peace and cooperation between countries.

Mt. Kazbek, which participating students will summit. Photo courtesy of Mountaineering and Climbing Association of Georgia.

This particular trip will be an eight-day mountaineering school guided by the Mountaineering and Climbing Association of Georgia, of which the highlight will be a summit of Mt. Kazbek, 5407m. Young members from all UIAA associations (AAC membership meets this requirement) are welcome to join this event. Participants under 18 must be accompanied by a leader from their own federation.

There is quite a bit of helpful trip information (costs, dates, skill requirements, travel info, etc) and contact details in the invitation, available here. If you would like to take part, you must send in the registration form (a downloadable form is available via link) before June 25th, 2010 to the following addresses: zkutch@yahoo.com or clubtravell@hotmail.com.

You can find more summer treks, climbing camps and ascents for young people on the GYS Calendar .

Longtime AAC member, Patagonia founder and pioneer of Clean Climbing efforts Yvon Chouinard is the feature of a recent video made by American Express, highlighting the ways he has taken the first step to launch major conservation efforts. AmEx has partnered with TakePart to launch the Members Project, in which everyday people can take the first and smallest of steps to enact change.

We’re proud to have members like Yvon among our ranks. Check out the video, “Take Charge: Taking the First Step to Protect Nature,” below.

A couple of days ago, we posted Cedar Wright’s video of his quick trip to the crags in Arkansas. Here’s the story to go with it – a story of great climbing and great community among the members of the Heartland section of the AAC. Enjoy, and thank you, Cedar.

I had the great pleasure last weekend of traveling to the Horseshoe Ranch in Arkansas to give a joint presentation along with Jeremy Collins, to benefit the AAC. I was a little bit dubious about the prospect for climbing in Arkansas, as I had not heard much about it, but I was pleasantly surprised to find a true sandstone frontier offering the full gamut of challenges, from Bouldering, to Sport Climbing and even some spectacular Trad-climbs. I arrived a day early to get in a little climbing with Jeremy, and by the end of the day my forearms felt like they had been beat to a pulp by a meat tenderizer, by the endless supply of steep gymnastic climbing. Between burns, I pulled out my video camera and tried to convey through moving pictures the vibe of Arkansas cragging. That evening, I edited a video to show at the presentation.

People were psyched to see their home area on the big screen, were very supportive of the AAC and just generally psyched to come together. Nearly a hundred and fifty people rallied to the show and everyone was amped for the entertainment, beer and door prizes. Jeremy showed his amazing film “Border Country” for the first time, and also shared some of his classic climbing related cartoons. Jeremy is in my opinion the single greatest climbing artist on the planet. He really is a visionary…constantly striving and breaking new ground as a climber and artist. After Jeremy, I showed my multimedia shebang, which includes several original short films and slides from all around the world, including Africa, Pakistan, Brazil, Argentina and some local adventures as well. I find events like this rejuvenating. It’s nice to know people are psyched and inspired by some of my crazy adventures, and it’s always nice to give back to the climbing community that has truly given me everything. We rallied some new members to the AAC, and showed people a good time, so I think it was a success on all accounts.

Being a member of the AAC is about taking part in something larger than your self. It’s about shared values, and shared passion. I’ve been getting my inspiration from the Journal since I knew what a climbing shoe and camalot were, so it’s always an honor to represent the AAC and I look forward to helping the club reach out to new members whenever and however I can. These are my people, this is my community.

Off Belay.

Cedar Wright.

Arkansas in a day! from Cedar Wright on Vimeo.

This past weekend, AAC members Jeremy Collins and Cedar Wright got together in Arkansas for a slideshow, beer, and general alpine hijinks with climbers near Horseshoe Canyon Ranch. From the sounds of it, the night and the climbing were both terrific.

We’ll let Cedar’s video tell the story, posted on Vertical Carnival:

Arkansas in a day! from Cedar Wright on Vimeo.

Jonny Copp. Photo courtesy of The Jonny Copp Foundation.

Hello Everyone,

We are so excited and honored to announce that the Paper Stars have finished recording “Border Country”. Jonny’s last journal entry in China was made in to a song by an amazing musician, Tres Altman. All of the proceeds from the song will benefit The Jonny Copp Foundation. Thank you Tres, we love you. Please pass the link on to anyone you think may enjoy the song. We appreciate your support.

Sincerely, The Copp Family

Here are a few words about Jonny and the song from Tres Altman:

“One cannot say enough about the legend of Jonny Copp. He was and is one of the great spirits of our time. A true friend, an adventurer, poet, musician, climber, philosopher, a pioneer in every way. He is missed daily by those who knew and loved him. It has been an honor for me to put music to the final words written in his journal. The intuitive precision of his soul, the unflinching courage to do what had to be done, to face into his dream, into the mountain that would claim his body, into the depth of the life he worked daily to create. I did not change one word of his self-titled and final poem “Border Country”, I only repeated certain lines for emphasis. I hope you will take in the magnitude of this collaboration and feel in it the respect and admiration I had and will always have for my (OUR) dearly departed friend. He is with us in spirit…always and forever.”

https://www.cdbaby.com/cd/paperstars2

If you click on the link above it will lead you to the Paper Stars Album. Click “Preview all Songs” to hear a sample of the song “Border Country” by Tres Altman.

The photos below were taken by photographer Dan Gambino at the 2010 Benefit and Awards Dinner. Check these and more photos out on our Facebook fan page as well!

Coming in right behind the first place video was Tad Hunt with “Pushing Our Limits – Indian Creek – 2009.” Congrats, Tad, and an AAC Ibex Hoody is on it’s way to you!

A little bit of info on this one, according to Tad:
This video showcases the beauty of the ‘Creek interspersed with Colin working Annunaki(*) and me working Way Rambo. Indian Creek is a great place to push our limits and get strong.

(*) – This is the correct spelling according to the plaque at the base — check out the video.

The results of the AAC video contest are in, and we’d like to offer congratulations to first-prize winner Peter Valchev, who submitted “Ice Climbing in the Ghost: Candlestick Maker and Hidden Dragon” and received over 4,000 views. Peter, an Osprey Mutant 38 pack is on it’s way to you!

Here’s a short description of the vid:

Ice climbing in the Ghost River Valley, Canada. Orient Point is a drainage that hosts several high-quality ice climbs that can be combined for a nice day. We climbed the easy approach ice and started off with a short pillar to the left of Hidden Dragon, after which we continued to Candlestick Maker, our real objective. It consists of a short & stout free standing pillar, pouring in front of a large cave. The second pitch is a longer version of the same.

This is a 3-minute compilation I made with my helmet camera to show parts of the experience. Soundtrack is “The Rapture – Sister Saviour (Blackstrobe Remix)”, Creative Commons licensed: creativecommons.org/wired/. Video created with Cinelerra for Linux. Photos & trip report: http://sightly.net/peter/trips/ghost/candlestickmaker2009/

Stay tuned for the 2nd and 3rd place finishers!

Thanks to the creative efforts of Scott Neel and many talented, comitted athletes, the AAC is proud to unveil a new trailer to share the message and heartbeat of the AAC. Let us know what you think!

Bob Craig, one of four inaugural inductees of the Hall of Mountaineering Excellence.

The American Mountaineering Museum will induct four members of its new Hall of Mountaineering Excellence in April at a celebration of the lives and achievements of American climbers Yvon Chouinard, Robert Craig, Bob Bates, and Dr. Charlie Houston. At the awards gala on April 10 in Golden, Colorado, Chouinard and Craig are expected to accept their awards in person; the family and friends of Bates and Houston, who both have passed on, will accept their awards.

The evening will be filled with stories of each mountaineer’s greatest ascents and expeditions, memories of the inductees no longer with us, as well as an appreciative look at each man’s work beyond the climbing world. In addition to being a pioneering ice and big-wall climber, Chouinard has been one of the most important outdoor equipment and clothing innovators of modern times and a leading voice of environmental activism. Bates, Craig, and Houston are perhaps best known as climbers for their roles in the dramatic K2 expedition of 1953, but each has had profound impacts outside mountaineering: Bates as a beloved educator; Craig as founder and longtime president of the Keystone Center public-policy conference center; and Houston as a doctor and medical researcher.

Tickets for the April 10 event will go on sale February 15 through the American Mountaineering Museum website and at the museum’s Base Camp Adventure Gift Shop in Golden.

The American Mountaineering Museum opened in February 2008. The new Hall of Mountaineering Excellence will be located in a rededicated space in one of the museum’s theater rooms.