See all the photos from the event in our Media Galleries. On Thursday, December 8, Outerlocal presented “From Cleated Boots to Ski Descents: The Past, Present and Future of Teton Guiding” in Jackson, Wyoming. Over 300 climbers and skiers jammed into the cozy Snow King Lodge Room and over 400 … Read more…
In the autumn of 2008, American Alpine Journal Editor John Harlin III and the AAC organized a gathering of magazine and journal editors from around the world and dubbed the meeting the “First Editors’Summit.” Editors of print journals and websites gathered in Colorado, then Utah for climbing and discussion on … Read more…
The American Alpine Club is pleased to announce the launch of its newest informational tool: The AAC Guidebook Finder. Sponsored by Patagonia, an AAC Industry Partner, the Guidebook Finder provides a Google Maps-powered interface to make finding one of the thousands of guidebooks in the AAC Library intuitive, easy, and … Read more…
We were halfway down a steep 400’ gully on our way to Deer Creek—intending to walk downstream to the Ghosts (a selection of WI 3+/4 routes). The gully is a popular alternative to the steeper, more involved approach that can be made downstream of the routes. Ten years earlier, we … Read more…
The National Geographic Society-Waitt Grant Program recently highlighted AAC Member Alton Byers’ Glacial Lake Assessment project in Eastern Nepal’s remote Hongu Valley—within the Makalu-Barun National Park and Buffer Zone. The recently completed project is just the first phase of a multi-year campaign to assess and mitigate the dangers of glacial … Read more…
Jerry Gallwas was, with Royal Robbins and Mike Sherrick, the first to complete a Grade VI route in the United States: Half-Dome’s Regular Northwest Face (VI 5.9 A1 or 5.12). Jerry recently provided the AAC with a thorough multimedia compendium of the momentous climb. The report contains personal accounts from … Read more…
Cordillera Blanca 2011 Environmental Expedition (CBEE 2011) June 26, 2011 through the week of July 24, 2011. In June and July 2011, the Deep South Section of The American Alpine Club is spearheading an environmental mountaineering expedition to Peru’s highest mountain range. The Cordillera Blanca contains the highest concentration of mountains … Read more…
A Friday gear tip for you: on Monday, Black Diamond posted a must-read QC-Lab article on the dangers of rope wear to carabiners. Recent accidents have occurred in which the worn carabiner of a fixed draw has completely severed the rope, making this too important for any climber to ignore. … Read more…
Reality: False…only 5.5% of SAR searches resulted from climbing.” Some Thursday reading for everyone: the recent issue of the Northwest Mountaineering Journal included a special feature on the stats of climbing and SAR efforts, debunking and explaining common perceptions. The article addresses charging for rescues, how most climbers call for … Read more…
When eleven men perished on the slopes of K2 in August 2008, it was one of the deadliest single events in Himalayan climbing and made headlines around the world. Yet none of the surviving western climbers could explain precisely what happened. Their memories were self-admittedly fogged by exhaustion, hypoxia, and … Read more…
Two friends and I just completed the Haute Route ski tour from Chamonix to Zermatt, via Verbier, and we had good luck using our AAC memberships to get discounts on hut lodging. All three of us carried our member cards, mostly in case we needed to call on Global Rescue … Read more…
Of the 40,000 people who travel to 19,334-foot Kilimanjaro each year, half to three-quarters never reach the summit. Medical issues, including acute mountain sickness and gastro-intestinal problems, are at the root of many failed attempts. Hoping to address these issues and thus allow more climbers to succeed on Africa’s highest … Read more…
Altitude is a topic common to all climbers and this month we’re especially focused on it: A new exhibit, “THIN AIR – An Exhibit on Altitude and Oxygen,” just opened in the Bradford Washburn American Mountaineering Museum in Golden, CO. Click here for details on the museum exhibit and information … Read more…
In the late summer of 2006, Lizzy Scully and I were in Pakistan on a climbing trip off of the Biofo Glacier. After Lizzy sustained a debilitating injury up on the glacier we accepted our cooks offer and headed to his village/Khane, where we were greeted by some of the … Read more…
AAC member Douglas Fields, a neuroscientist from Maryland, has published a very interesting report in the October issue of Outside magazine about studies of mountaineers’ brain scans. It’s long been known that mountaineers may experience some permanent changes in their brains—and resulting loss of function—after climbing to extremely high altitudes without … Read more…
The AAC is teaming up with Erratic Rock, Leave No Trace, MSR, and Outdoor Research on a great new initiative to recycle fuel canisters in Chilean Patagonia. The program will be headquartered at Erratic Rock: the Puerto Natales–based hostel, guide service, and all-around base camp for climbers and trekkers in … Read more…
In 2007, a group of American Alpine Club women planned to travel to Pakistan to help organize and teach a Pakistani Women’s Climbing Camp, in conjunction with the Alpine Club of Pakistan (ACP). That plan was postponed in the wake of the violent siege of the Red Mosque in Islamabad … Read more…
Researcher Andrew Luks writes: About a year and a half ago, the AAC assisted our efforts to recruit subjects for a study of Raynaud’s phenomenon at high altitude by placing a post in the club’s online newsletter. I am writing to thank you for this assistance and to let you … Read more…
UIAA Safety Commission Visit Originally uploaded by American Alpine Club Library Members of the UIAA Safety Commission got a tour of the library during their 2009 annual meeting in Golden. Phil Powers, AAC Executive Director, and Gary Landeck, Library Director hold court. Jean-Franck Charlet, President of the Safety Commission, presented … Read more…
I just found this fun resource on a book-arts email list. Animated Knots! The link will live in the blog sidebar if you want to find it in the future.