Inclined

Club Proudly Sponsors Mountainfilm in Telluride

Abbey Smith — Mon, 21 May 2012 18:48:34 +0000

During Memorial Day weekend, May 25-28, 2012, Mountainfilm will debut its 34th annual festival in Telluride, Colorado. Within this isolated box canyon, enclosed by steep forested mountains and granite cliffs, film festival attendees will roam by foot, bike, and gondola to various locations around Telluride and Mountain Village to watch compelling independent documentary films from around the world, listen to presentations by filmmakers, photographers, writers, scholars, professional athletes and environmental activists, and then engage in intimate conversations on the grassy lawns outside of the theaters. This four-day event includes 75 films, 10 world premieres, thought-provoking panel discussions and presentations, cocktail hour gallery walk, ice scream social, late night dance parties, and much more.

The American Alpine Club is proud to sponsor the Mountainfilm Commitment Grant that is dedicated to filmmakers, photographers, artists and adventurers whose projects tell the story of climbing, mountain adventure, and or mountain culture.

“The stories climbers tell influence safety, open new terrain and inspire us all,” said Alpine Club Executive Director Phil Powers. “The American Alpine Club is proud to support excellence in telling the climber’s story through a Mountainfilm Commitment Grant.”

This $5,000 grant will be awarded to Allison Otto and Carole Snow’s documentary film Keeper of the Mountains about the legendary Everest historian Elizabeth Hawley. The filmmakers are in the process of filming and interviewing the Grande Dame of the Himalayas about her unique vantage on mountaineering history as she has
helped resolve many controversies and often decided who has earned a summit in the Himalaya.

On Friday, May 25 at 8:45 pm at the Sheridan Opera House, Phil Powers and Jimmy Chin will present the Rowell Award for The Art of Adventure to photographer and alpinist Cory Richards, who was featured in the 2011 award-winning film Cold. The award honors an adventurer whose artistic passion illuminates the wild places of the
world and whose accomplishments significantly benefit both the environment and the people who inhabit these lands and regions.

AAC members Jimmy Chin and Renan Ozturk will then premiere House of Cards (still a work in progress) triumphant film about the Piolet d’Or nominated ascent of the highly technical, challenging and dangerous granite buttress, the Shark’s Fin on the northeast side of the 6,310-meter peak Meru Central in India along with Conrad Anker. Be sure to
swing by the Last Dollar Saloon for the after-party hosted by the AAC and Revo Sunglasses.

Take a free ride gondola ride to the High Camp at the Telluride Conference Center in Mountain Village to see The Old Breed, a film about AAC members Mark Richey, Steve Swenson and Freddie Wilkinson’s monumental ascent of Saser Kangri II (7518 m). Q&A afterward includes team member and former AAC President Steve Swenson. Check out more on this film on mountainfilm.org.

AAC past President Jim McCarthy will serve as a judge for the Charlie Fowler Award to determine which climbing film Charlie would have liked for this $1,000 prize. The AAC will also have a table at the Sunday Reading Frenzy, Saturday Ice Cream Social, and the Closing Picnic and Awards Ceremony on Monday in Town Park.

Don’t miss this exceptional event. Get your tickets now. AAC members receive discounted rates on Wilson and Sunshine level passes. Call or email the Club for details: 303.384.0110.

Our Members: Ted Eliason and his Rocky Mountain Rescue

Emma Walker — Thu, 17 May 2012 13:23:38 +0000

The Eliasons beheld a 6:00 a.m. sunrise over Longs Peak on the day of Ted's accident. Kendra Thompson-Eliason

When Ted Eliason fell on Longs Peak’s classic Kieners Route last August, he and his then-fiancée, Kendra Thompson-Eliason (the two have since married), weren’t sure how they were going to pay for his helicopter evacuation, which totaled around $17,000. Fortunately, the Eliasons had become AAC members in March 2011—they wanted to stay at the Grand Teton Climbers’ Ranch during an upcoming climbing trip—and his rescue was covered, in part, by the AAC’s Domestic Rescue Insurance.

Eliason was climbing what prolific guidebook author Gerry Roach describes as “the finest mountaineering route on Longs Peak and, perhaps, the finest mountaineering route in Colorado”: the Kieners Route. First ascended by guide Walter Kiener in 1924, Kieners consists of a long approach up the Mills Glacier, including a snowy hike up the Lambs Slide, and a traverse of the notorious Broadway ledge before culminating in a 5.4 (or, in icier conditions, M2) climb to the summit of Longs Peak.

Even in late summer, the Lambs Slide requires an ice axe and crampons, and though the rock on the last few hundred feet is typically stable and dry, Roach describes Kieners as “a difficult route to escape from.” Indeed, the couple found that Roach’s words rang true when Eliason began to lead the first pitch. He quickly decided the pair was off-route and that they should retrace their steps across the narrow Broadway section. As he prepared to be lowered, his most recently placed piece of pro, a blue tricam, popped out of the wall, and Eliason plummeted fifteen feet. Thompson-Eliason initially felt panicked when she saw blood running down his face, but this turned out to be the result of a gash from his sunglasses. (Both climbers were wearing helmets.) It wasn’t until he stood up that Eliason realized there was something very wrong with his right foot.

“I thought we should call a helicopter then,” Thompson-Eliason says of the moment when they realized Eliason’s foot was broken, “but he was able to get back to the Lambs Slide.” Hobbling on his broken talus bone, Eliason led the traverse back across Broadway, where they came upon a pair of climbers who had cell reception. The pair was soon met by two NPS rangers (Longs Peak is located in Rocky Mountain National Park), who accompanied them on the painstaking descent. The fall occurred around 9:30 a.m., Thompson-Eliason says, and they arrived at a flat area just above Chasm Lake at 7 p.m. (The helicopter arrived around thirty minutes later.) The Flight for Life helicopter took Eliason to St. Anthony’s Hospital in Lakewood, but Thompson-Eliason had to hike out. She arrived at the trailhead at 10 p.m. and at the hospital around midnight, making for a nearly 24-hour day for the pair, who’d left the trailhead to climb around 2:30 that morning.

“It was an ordeal,” Thompson-Eliason says of the event, “and it took a long time to get everything resolved.” Eliason needed a plate and four screws in his foot, which proved difficult because of scar tissue formed by hours of uncontrolled bleeding as he was slowly lowered down the mountain.

Membership with the AAC means up to $10,000 in rescue insurance. Half of this benefit is the Trailhead Rescue service, which is operated by Global Rescue. Climbers in distress should call 911 during an emergency taking place in the United States, then contact Global Rescue as soon as possible. (The 24-hour Global Rescue Operation Center can be reached at 1-617-459-4200.)

Eliason wasn’t rescued by Global Rescue (instead, the National Park Service took responsibility for his evacuation), but he was still eligible for coverage under the AAC’s Domestic Rescue Insurance policy. In order to qualify for this benefit, a climber must be certified—either by Global Rescue or by a licensed medical professional—to require evacuation to prevent injury or death, must be located in the United States, and must also be beyond the trailhead. (For more information on this benefit, including policy exclusions and how to submit a claim, visit americanalpineclub.org). In January—after a number of correspondences with Global Rescue—the couple received a check for $4,000 to cover the remaining costs of Eliason’s rescue.

While these benefits come standard with AAC membership, it’s important to note that medical bills are not covered by the Global Rescue benefit. AAC members are eligible to receive additional insurance coverage—including healthcare insurance—for as little as $18 per month through Adventure Advocates. More information on this service is available on americanalpineclub.org.

Eliason’s road to recovery has been a long one, thanks to the painful buildup of scar tissue in his foot. Despite the lengthy healing process, the newlyweds have kept up their fitness by climbing at the gym, and they recently put up a few pitches on Wind Ridge in Eldorado Canyon.

Our Volunteers: Marina Valenzuela Catalogs Catherine Freer’s Notes

Luke Bauer — Tue, 15 May 2012 14:49:35 +0000

The American Alpine Club has over 9,000 members worldwide and each of those members approaches climbing and time in the outdoors differently. For some it’s a career, for some a diversion, for others, an obsession. The Club’s membership spans boulderers, sport-climbers, hikers, skiers, trad-rats, scientists, big-wall aficionados, adventurers, ice-climbers, peak-baggers, explorers, and alpinists. It’s a big tent, but there are a lot of people in love with the mountains excited to fill that tent.

Telling the stories of our members is important to us because it helps the community understand who makes up that community. Member and Library volunteer Marina Valenzuela has spent hours in the library helping us catalog the thousands upon thousands of cool things that people donate to our archives. She thought that this series of notes, in particular, were really cool!

A month ago I had the rare honor of going through and cataloging the personal climbing notes of none other than Catherine Freer, generously contributed to the American Alpine Club Library by her friend Alison Osius [Also a Past President of the American Alpine Club].

While going through the small box of faded climbing guide photocopies, hand-drawn route maps, and list after list of routes that had been checked-off, I slowly learned to move through the particular geography she inhabited. I learned which were the hardest routes in the Yosemite Valley, what climbing in Joshua Tree was like, viewed pictures of the Canadian Rockies, and looked with awe at the picture of her summiting Cholatse, her dark shape dwarfed by the shimmering ice peak.

For those who have not heard of her, Freer was truly a legend in her own time. While maybe not as well-known as Messner, Breshears, or Hill; Freer stood her ground as a respected rock climber and mountaineer.

Freer started climbing in her teens, and quickly moved up the ranks. She tackled the hardest routes with an intensity noted by her peers, and constantly challenged her own abilities. Yet there was an emotional openness to her that drew people in. Fellow climbers can recall her taking the time during difficult ascents to invite fellow mountaineers to share their thoughts and feelings, laying bare her own fears of failure, even as she encouraged the team to keep going.

Scattered through her climbing logs, I found traces of this introspection, as she mused on relationships, left route sketches on the back of a poem, and added exhilarated notes on particular climbs.

It is the greatness of heart as much as the deeds that continue to inspire, as Freer died young, another adventurer lost to the mountains. At the age of 37, she and Dave Cheesmond were victims of a collapsed cornice while attempting the second ascent of the Hummingbird Range of Mount Logan. Their bodies have not been found.

In recognition of her lasting contributions to the mountaineering community, the American Alpine Club posthumously awarded her the Underhill Award in 1987.

New AAC Video Is Totally Awesome!

Luke Bauer — Mon, 14 May 2012 17:17:18 +0000

Represent the Club in Italy for the Second International Trad Climbing Meeting

Luke Bauer — Fri, 11 May 2012 16:46:29 +0000

The AAC will send two lucky members to this year’s Second International Trad Climbing Meeting organized by the Club Alpino Accademico Italiano (CAAI). The CAAI, with the sponsorship of Alpine Club of Italy, is organizing this international event—similar to the American Alpine Club’s International Climbers’ Meet—in Ceresole Reale, Orco Valley, near Torino, Italy.

The objective is to allow the communication of experiences among international climbers, promote climbing—in particular its traditional style—and showcase the Orco Valley, a gem in the climbing world, known for its historical relevance to the development of modern climbing in Italy and it’s natural beauty & stunning granite lines.

Climbers from the all over the world—sponsored by national climbing federations—will be invited, up to 2 per nation, for a maximum of 60 participants. They will be assisted by host climbers in selecting proper climbs and locations.

Climbing days will end with thematic slideshows, open to the public.

Trad climbing skills are required on most routes, though many of the face routes have fixed gear. Most of the climbs in the valley are multipitch adventures, some up to 500 meters in length, though most not exceeding 200 meters. As a minimum requirement applicant climbers should be able to lead 6b (5.10d) while placing protection.

This Meet will be held September 16 – 23, 2012. Selected Club representatives, chosen by the AAC staff, are responsible for paying airfare and a 100-Euro registration fee. The CAAI will provide food and accommodations during the Meet.

Interested? Become a member of the AAC and follow the application instructions below.

Meet Schedule:

Sunday 9/16—Climbers arrive. Opening ceremonies in Ceresole Reale in the Valle Orco at 7 p.m.

Monday 9/17—Climbing day, with an evening slideshow on historic and modern climbs in the area

Tuesday 9/18—Climbing day

Wednesday 9/19—Climbing day, with an evening slideshow

Thursday 9/20—Climbing day

Friday 9/21—Climbing day

Saturday 9/22—Climbing day and an evening party

Sunday 9/23—Closing ceremonies

Application Information:

Please send the application materials listed below to the AAC by June 7, 2012. A selection committee will choose from the applicants and contact the CAAI promptly. Final selections will be made by the CAAI and applicants will receive confirmation by the beginning of July.

The Club is hoping for one male and one female climber to represent the Club at this Meet, but final selections will be made based on who applies.

Application Deadline: June 7, 2012

Application Materials: Please submit a one-page climbing resume AND one-page cover letter detailing why YOU should represent the AAC at this event. (To take part in this event climbers MUST have substantial climbing experience. Please detail this in your application.)

As a minimum requirement applicant climbers should be able to lead 6b (5.10d) while placing protections.

Participants are asked to be equipped with personal climbing gear and sleeping bag.

Application Contact: Luke Bauer, lbauer@americanalpineclub.org

Read about our members Scott and Bayard who attended a British Mountaineering Council Winter Meet in Scotland this year.