The Prescription - December 2020

Medical helicopter departing from the ridge below Sister Superior, above Castle Valley, Utah. Behind are the Priest, the Rectory, and Castleton Tower. Photo courtesy of Grand County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue

The Prescription - December 2020

GROUND FALL ON SISTER SUPERIOR

An accident last November on the first pitch of Jah Man (5 pitches, 5.10+), a desert tower route near Moab, Utah, was documented in the new Accidents in North American Climbing. One day later, a second helicopter rescue occurred, after a fall on the same pitch. These climbers’ online-only report is reproduced here.

On November 15, 2019, Paige (female, 20) and I (male, 24) set out to climb the ultra-classic Jah Man on Sister Superior. We made it to the base of the tower about 11 a.m. and found another party making their way to the top of the first pitch. We figured we’d eat a small lunch to allow for ample space between us.

We agreed that Paige would lead first and combine the first two guidebook pitches, concluding with a long, moderate squeeze chimney. Paige started up the opening moves, making it about 15 feet off the ground before stopping on a little ledge, preparing to make a rightward traverse to the base of the chimney. She placed a number 0.75 Camalot horizontally in some questionable rock, intending to back-clean it after making the next moves, in order to minimize rope drag. This was the only piece of gear between her and the ground.

Paige moved to the right, then returned to the ledge to re-evaluate. After repeating this a couple of times, I suggested she downclimb and have me take this pitch, as I had climbed the route a few years prior. She wanted to give it one more try before backing off. Having weighted the piece, she felt confident enough to go for it. She made some moves and then fell and swung back to the left. The cam ripped out of the wall, sending her about 20 feet to the ground.

The Sister Superior formation showing the approximate area that collapsed in January 2020. The Jah Man route began near the left edge of the yellow box. Photo courtesy of Greg Child

She was unconscious and not breathing at first. After what seemed to be forever but in reality was probably only 20 seconds, she started taking short breaths. A few minutes later, she regained consciousness. Another party at the base had cell phone service and called for a rescue. Paige was concussed and complaining of pain in her neck but was moving her hands and feet.

After an hour, a helicopter arrived, dropping off a couple EMTs. (They informed us that they had worked on an accident at the very same spot the day before—see report here.) They evaluated Paige, and she ended up feeling well enough to walk about 60 yards to the helicopter. She was flown to the hospital in Moab, where she was diagnosed with three fractures in her upper back and lower neck.

Analysis

We were planning to link the first two pitches and were more conscious of rope drag than fully protecting the first part of the pitch. We have both spent plenty of time cragging in the desert (Indian Creek, Zion, etc.), but tower climbing is different, often with more loose rock. The traverse to the squeeze chimney was known to have subpar rock and tricky protection. We should have focused more on protecting the climb properly than linking pitches. (Source: Greyson Gyllenskog.)

And as if two accidents in two days wasn’t enough….

In early January 2020, less than two months after these incidents, the start of this famous climb and the huge flake forming the squeeze chimney collapsed. The original route is no longer climbable.

THE SHARP END: A 200-FOOT TUMBLE DOWN THE NORTH CHIMNEY OF LONGS PEAK

On the morning of September 5, Annie Weinmann and her climbing partner started up the North Chimney, a broad 500-foot slot that leads climbers to the Diamond, Colorado's premier alpine wall. Annie had done the North Chimney before and was comfortable climbing the easy terrain unroped and in approach shoes. But when she got slightly off-route, a foot slip led to a terrible tumble.

In Episode 39 of The Sharp End podcast, Annie tells Ashley Saupe what caused her to slip and how she survived her 200-foot fall, plus some fascinating insights into the circumstances that brought her to this point. Listen here!

AIRBAG SAFETY CHECK

Mammut is asking owners of the Generation 3.0 avalanche airbag with Removable Airbag System (RAS) to inspect the inflation cartridge and ensure it can be screwed into place completely. This notice affects only airbags purchased during the 20/21 season. For complete information and instructions, click here.

MEET THE VOLUNTEERS

Gary O’Brien, Regional Editor for Idaho

Years volunteering with ANAC: 2

Home crags: Logan and Blacksmith Fork canyons in northern Utah; City of Rocks and Castle Rocks in Idaho.

Favorite type of climbing

I am most drawn to the alpine environment and love to climb alpine rock and snow. We also spend plenty of time trad and sport climbing. I enjoy belaying my climbing-addicted 14-year-old, who is on the verge of sending his first 5.13.

How did you first become interested in Accidents?

I have been reading them for years—as a kid, I used to pore over my father’s stash of ANAC from the 1940s, 50s, and 60s. For a decade or so, I worked as a professional ski patroller, and that experience brought into sharp relief the fine line between safe practice and serious accidents. For me, the margin between accident and prevention has always seemed a compelling part of this amazing sport.

Why do you think accident reporting is important?

Statistics don’t lie—trends are incredibly revealing of human behavior, and are underpinned by real lives lost, real lives affected. I think about this with every accident I analyze. The main thing I think we can learn and reinforce is how common and preventable so many of them are, if we take a moment to review precautions and strategy of what we’re about to do.

Personal scariest “close call”?

I’m happy to report that I’ve had very few close calls over the years, but one stands out. Years ago, I was climbing Mont Blanc by the standard route. The route crosses the Couloir du Goûter, a steep, wide gully notorious for rockfall. After reaching easier terrain on the other side, my partner and I unroped. Without warning, a barrage of huge boulders swept down and struck my partner, who disappeared over the edge and fell some 500 meters down the couloir to the Glacier de Bionnassay.

The rescue is a long story, but, in short, I was able to locate and stabilize him. A nearby guided party notified the PGHM (High Mountain Military Police). We carried my partner down the glacier in a litter, which took most of the night. He was hospitalized for weeks with multiple injuries, but eventually enjoyed a complete recovery.

Gary O’Brien’s scary experience in the Couloir du Goûter is far from an isolated incident. This broad gully, which must be crossed to reach the high hut on Mont Blanc’s most popular summit route, is one of the most dangerous passages in the Alps, with numerous injuries and a few fatalities every season. (The alternative “normal route” up Mont Blanc, starting at the Refuge des Cosmiques, also has serious objective hazards.) The Petzl Foundation sponsored research on the causes and timing of rockfall in the Couloir du Goûter during the summers of 2018 and 2019, and their informative study, published this past summer, can be downloaded here.

The research team used seismic sensors to determine the timing of rockfall events and correlate them with snow levels, temperature, and rainfall. As might be expected, rockfall was most frequent after precipitation and during the afternoons and evenings. Perhaps more surprising: Snow in the couloir did not reduce the incidence of rockfall early in the season, as melting snow appeared to destabilize the slopes. Later-season rockfall events, though less frequent, often were bigger and longer lasting.

Petzl has produced a short video that vividly highlights the dangers of the Couloir du Goûter and the research work there. Warning: This video contains very disturbing images and audio of rockfall and other incidents.  

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Share Your Story: If you’ve been involved in a climbing accident or rescue, consider sharing the lessons with other climbers. Let’s work together to reduce the number of accidents. Contact us at [email protected].

The monthly Accidents Bulletin is supported by adidas Outdoor and the members of the American Alpine Club.

The Prescription - November 2020

The adjacent article is part of the extensive avalanche coverage featured in the 2020 Accidents in North American Climbing. AAC members will receive the new book this month. The cover photo shows an avalanche on Polar Circus in Canada by Alex Ratson.

Ice Climbers & Avalanches

It’s Time to Take this risk more seriously

By Grant Statham

Every winter, ice climbers are caught—and sometimes killed—by avalanches. Even small avalanches can be deadly when they get funneled into the narrow gullies where ice climbs form. So understanding the avalanche conditions and carrying rescue gear when climbing is essential for many climbs.

Yet despite this reality, climbers have been slow to embrace basic avalanche safety practices, even when they always use avalanche gear when backcountry skiing. This contradiction makes no sense, and it’s high time for a paradigm shift.

Once you’ve determined if your ice route is formed, your next move should be to figure out whether it’s threatened by avalanches. Any steep snow slopes on the approach, the route, above the route, or on the descent have the potential to release an avalanche.

If your route is threatened by avalanches, then you need to know more. Is the climb located in a gully with avalanche start zones overhead? Will you be climbing through snow slopes above cliffs? How about the approach—will you be walking under avalanche paths or kicking steps up a 40° slope to reach the base? How hard is the route—can you climb fast or will you be exposed to avalanches for hours? What does the local avalanche forecast say? You need to answer all of these questions before going climbing.

AVALANCHE RISK

Avalanche risk in ice climbing has three main ingredients: 1) enough snow to produce an avalanche, 2) avalanche-prone terrain, and 3) climbers exposed to this hazard. Remove any one of these elements and you’ve eliminated the avalanche risk.

But while eliminating avalanche risk ensures safety, it won’t get you up the routes on your hit list that are subject to avalanche hazard. For this, you’ll need to manage the risk by assessing its individual elements and understanding how they affect you and your partner.

SNOW

The best indicator of unstable snow is avalanche activity. Both slab avalanches and sluffs are threats to ice climbers, because it doesn’t take much to knock you off your front points. If avalanches are occurring near your route, then it’s safe to assume the snow on your route is also unstable. Here are the big three factors:

(1) Precipitation: new snow and especially rain can overload the snowpack

(2) Wind can move snow at 10 times the snowfall rate and create locally deep slabs

(3) Temperature: warming trends, inversions, and temps over 0°C (32°F) produce avalanches

TERRAIN

Minimize your exposure by positioning belays out of avalanche terrain or in protected locations, moving together when you can, moving one at a time when necessary, belaying across exposed slopes, and spending no unnecessary time exposed to avalanches. These are the strategies that keep experienced climbers alive. Here are the terrain basics to keep front of mind:

(1) Slope angle: the prime angle for slab avalanches is 30° to 45°

(2) Aspect: there are big differences between routes in the shade and in the sun

(3) Elevation: snow depth increases with elevation, so be aware of conditions overhead

(4) Terrain traps: ice climbs are often in or above terrain features that increase consequences (cliffs, gullies, creeks, etc.)

PEOPLE

Debris from several slides that trapped two climbers on a route in Santaquin Canyon, Utah, in February 2019. The avalanche hazard was rated low at the elevation of the climb but more dangerous high up the mountain, where these slides originated. Read the report here.

For risk to exist, something must be “at risk,” and in climbing this is people, deliberately exposing themselves to avalanche hazard. All people are fallible, and human factors are well-recognized as a major contributor to avalanche accidents. Here are some considerations:

(1) Partners: climb with people you trust and who share your values around risk

(2) Decision-making: trust your instincts and bail if it doesn’t feel right

(3) Trophy hunting: don’t obsess over one climb; have options and let the conditions determine your route

(4) Group size and speed: keep your team small and move efficiently

PUBLIC AVALANCHE FORECASTS

An excellent source of information on local conditions is the public avalanche forecast, found at avalanche.ca in Canada and avalanche.org in the USA. Locals watch the forecast regularly to stay abreast of conditions; start checking it early to get a sense of the snowpack.

Don’t climb in avalanche terrain unless the danger rating is Low or Moderate. When it’s Considerable, avalanches are likely, so now you need to know specific details about the route and what might trigger an avalanche there. If you don’t understand this, then don’t climb there. High and Extreme are obvious—stay out of avalanche terrain.

NATURAL RELEASES AND CLIMBER TRIGGERED AVALANCHES

Many ice climbs form directly beneath large avalanche slopes. To climb these routes, you need to determine whether a natural avalanche will release while you’re there. This is difficult, but the avalanche forecast, weather forecast, and ridge-top weather stations (accessible online) will provide some of the information you need. Always remember that snow depth, wind effect, and air temperature will be much different high above your climb, so don’t be lulled into complacency by snow conditions near your route.

Climbing steep snow is usually part of ice climbing, and this can lead to triggering a slope yourself. Whenever possible, go around snow slopes or cross them as high as you can to reduce the amount of snow above you. If you have to climb directly up the middle of a big slope, the best tactic is to evaluate smaller, safer slopes of similar character to get sense of conditions. Then consider spacing out, going one at a time, or belaying, even if the slope is small but the consequences are catastrophic.

CARRY AVALANCHE RESCUE GEAR

If you’re climbing and exposed to avalanche risk, then you should use avalanche rescue gear. If someone gets buried, you have about ten minutes to find them, dig them out, and clear their airway before they asphyxiate. Each member of the team should carry an avalanche transceiver, probe, and shovel. Nobody likes extra weight, so be thoughtful about when and where you carry the gear—plan it out like you plan your rack. Do you only need it for the approach or for the whole route? Maybe take one shovel up the route instead of two. What about the descent?

Even if you’re climbing a route where you think an avalanche would be unsurvivable, somebody will still want you back, which means SAR teams will be searching for you. Wearing a transceiver and using clothing equipped with the Recco system does everyone a favor by making you searchable.

RISK AND REWARD

Good avalanche skills are part of being a solid alpinist and waterfall ice climber. While climbing a great route feels awesome, climbing it in good style and doing everything you can to reduce your risk feels even better. Adding risk without additional benefit is pointless, so learn about avalanches, carry the gear, and respond to the ever-changing conditions.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Grant Statham is an IFMGA mountain guide and avalanche forecaster based in Canmore, Alberta. He works with Parks Canada’s search and rescue and avalanche safety programs in Banff, Yoho, and Kootenay national parks.

GO DEEPER: The following webinar expands on the topics discussed above. This session was hosted by Avalanche Canada and Grant Statham and presented by Canadian guide Sarah Hueniken on November 4, 2020.

THE SHARP END: A CREVASSE FALL IN THE TETONS!

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Tyler Willis and a friend were descending from a successful ascent of Mt. Owen in Grand Teton National Park. It was late in the day when they reached the Teton Glacier, which they had crossed without a problem early that morning. Just a few steps later, Tyler plunged into a hidden crevasse, an extremely rare accident for the Tetons. By the time climbers pulled him to the surface, he was hypothermic, and it wasn't until the next day that rangers could helicopter him to safety. Hear all about it in Episode 58 of the Sharp End (link below).

An accident like this illustrates the importance of recognizing and treating the symptoms of hypothermia, which may develop even on a sunny day in August. A useful reference for climbers and clinicians alike is the Wilderness Medical Society’s updated guidelines assessment and treatment of hypothermia patients. The article and several downloadable field guides (like the one shown above) are available at this link.

AVOID INJURIES DURING WINTER TRAINING

Photo: Alton Richardson

Dr. Volker Schöffl is one of the world’s foremost authorities on climbing injuries. The German professor and physician is co-author of One Move Too Many: How to Understand the Injuries and Overuse Syndromes of Rock Climbing (Sharp End Publishing, 2016). This year, he and co-authors Dicki Korb and Patrick Matros released a new work describing complementary training to avoid injuries. The 94-page book is packed with tips and specific exercises, and it’s available as a free download! We decided to ask Schöffl for some training advice for Prescription readers.

We’re headed into winter and lots more indoor climbing. What are the most important things climbers can do to prevent injuries during the months of indoor training?

Do not overdo it early on, and build up strength gradually through the winter. Motivation is high, as everyone wants to be better next season. Don’t forget, you have to endure a couple months of training, and you should pace yourself. Increase the load gradually and this will help you to avoid overuse injuries in November.

What are the most common areas of injury for climbers heading indoors? 

This really depends on the type of training you are doing. In pure strength training, simple overload leads to finger stress and tenosynovitis (inflammation of the tendon sheath). In indoor bouldering, especially with dynamic problems, injuries from falls onto the lower extremity are most common. Overuse and over training in indoor climbing also affects the shoulders and elbows.

Any recommendations for avoiding these common injuries?

A proper warm-up will help to reduce both injury incidence and severity. Stretching itself is not ideal as a warm-up, as it reduces muscle tension (stretching is more appropriate for cool-down after a session). Warm-up should consist of some general exercise and include finger specific exercises (e.g., therapy putty, softball squeezes, or plain finger movements). You can find some examples in One Move Too Many. Climbers should also focus on adjunct compensatory training (ACT)—exercises that counteract the specific stressors of climbing. We just released our ACT program, which is a free pdf booklet, accessible through www.act.clinic. After this general warm-up phase continue into some easy climbing and gradually increase stress/difficulty to a peak approximately 30 minutes into the climbing session.

Can you tell us more about ACT and its importance for overall climbing performance?

Climbing, as with many other sports, stresses the body in uniform patterns, leading to strength in certain muscle groups and to neglect in others. These imbalances lead to posture deficiencies and poor movement patterns. ACT focuses on training the neglected muscle slings (muscle, fascia, and ligaments) and innervation patterns within their specific range of motion, building up posture and core strength as well as balancing the athletic build of the body. In order to withstand climbing specific training over time and to prevent associated injuries, the antagonists and neglected muscle groups must be addressed. This is where ACT comes into play.

MEET THE RESCUERS

Doug McCall, President of Mountain Rescue Association (MRA) and member of Seattle Mountain Rescue

Years volunteering with your team: 12

Home Crag:  Exit 38, Deception Crags/Far Side Wall

Favorite type of climbing: Single-pitch sport. The crags near me offer a wide range of grades that allow me to climb with a wide variety of people. I love bringing new people to the crag and letting them try outdoor climbing for the first time. I also love challenging myself with friends who climb above my abilities.

How did you first become interested in search and rescue?

I was a volunteer firefighter at our local department when one of the other volunteers began talking about climbing and then later about Seattle Mountain Rescue (SMR). He had been a member of SMR for about 15 to 20 years and recommended that I apply. I was excited about the opportunity to combine my passion for the outdoors with the medical skills I had learned through the fire department. I was accepted into SMR in February 2008.

Why do you think accident reporting is important?

Learning from others’ mistakes is a powerful way that humans learn from one another. While it is easy to “armchair quarterback” some scenarios, you never really know what you might do when presented with a sudden experience. Knowing what others did or didn’t do helps to frame a thought process that may help you or your climbing partner down the road.

Personal scariest “close call”?

Early in my alpine career, my climbing partner, mentor, and cousin, Doug Walker, and I were caught in a slab avalanche that swept me down a 600-foot slope and then off a 30-foot cliff. I somehow survived. The worst injury was a severe fracture around my left eye that I likely sustained from a glancing blow to a rock. While we were able to self-rescue, I have since felt compelled to try to help others during their bad day in the mountains.

Personal safety tip?

I wear a helmet when climbing. While my doctors say that I have a very thick skull, I’d rather never have to test that again. Helmets are easy and offer good protection from an unexpected slip or rock fall. Also, I always tie knots at the ends of my rope when on rappel. I’ve been on numerous recoveries where a knot would have been the difference between life and death.

What would you say to people interested in learning more about search and rescue?

I’d encourage people to find a local MRA team or a SAR team and learn more about how to become a member. MRA teams train constantly and test each other to ensure that every team can safely effect rescues in all sorts of terrain and conditions. We also operate with a safety mindset that carries over into our personal climbing.

What is your favorite thing to do when you are not climbing?

Spend time with my family. My family has been very supportive and patient with all my time spent climbing and responding to rescues. While we tend to do a lot of outdoor activities together, they have also taught me to enjoy a number of other activities. Being with family and sharing experiences with them have been the greatest joys of my life.

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Share Your Story: If you’ve been involved in a climbing accident or rescue, consider sharing the lessons learned with other climbers. Let’s work together to reduce the number of accidents. Contact us at [email protected].

The monthly Accidents Bulletin is supported by adidas Outdoor and the members of the American Alpine Club.

The Prescription - October 2020

A severe storm on the first full day of summer caught two climbers high on 14,197-foot Crestone Needle in southern Colorado. After descending the Ellingwood Ledges route for about 1,000 feet, the two spent a cold night on a tiny ledge (circled). Photo: Patrick Fiore.

The Prescription - October 2020

EPIC ON ELLINGWOOD LEDGES

STRANDED | Storm, Darkness, Inexperience

On Friday, June 21, 2019, two climbers from Kansas (ages 23 and 30) drove up to the east side of the Sangre de Cristo Range. Their goal was the Ellingwood Ledges (a.k.a. Ellingwood Arête) on the east side of Crestone Needle, one of the “Fifty Classic Climbs of North America.” The 2,000-foot route ends at the summit of the 14,197-foot peak.

The next morning, under sunny skies, they started climbing at 9 a.m. via the route’s direct start. Their iPhone weather app showed a forecast of “partly cloudy with a 20% chance of showers.” Enjoying warm weather and dry rock, the duo made good time cruising the easy 5th-class pitches at the bottom and the 3rd- and 4th-class ledges in the middle of the route. However, at the route’s crux, just a few hundred feet below the summit, the 5.7 to 5.9 cracks (depending on exact route) were filled with ice. Clad in rock shoes and with no ice axes, they couldn’t climb past the thin ribbons of ice. Meanwhile, the sky turned gray as, unbeknownst to the pair, a strong winter-like storm was barreling in from the west.

Around 4 p.m. the storm hit, with intense snow showers along with thunder and lightning. The pair put on their light fleece jackets and waterproof jackets. With visibility dropping to 30 feet, they kept trying to climb, thinking safety would be gained by going over the top and descending the standard route. (In fact, the 3rd-class normal route up and down Crestone Needle is exposed and tricky to follow, and has stranded climbers even in the best weather.) Eventually, realizing they could not go up, the pair called the Custer County Sheriff’s Office to request assistance. It was about 5:30 p.m.

Custer County Search and Rescue (CCSAR) began planning for a technical rescue. The climbers started down, building rappel anchors and occasionally downclimbing, a descent they described as “terrifying.” They made steady progress and continued to give updates to CCSAR. (Cell service is very good high on the Crestones.) At approximately 9:30 p.m. and at 13,030 feet, soaked and shivering hard, and nearly out of gear to build anchors, the pair grew concerned their fatigue could affect their safety if they continued. In a call with CCSAR, a senior member told them not to continue down if they were not completely confident in their anchors. They decided to stop and wait for morning on a snow-covered ledge about as wide as a lawn chair. 

Rescuers staging below Crestone Needle in the Sangre de Cristo Range in southern Colorado. Photo courtesy of Dale Atkins.

Given the complexity of the situation, CCSAR began planning a parallel rescue effort: one ground-based and another by helicopter hoist. Members of various other rescue teams started toward the area to help, and a line of communication was opened with the Colorado Army National Guard (COANG). 

High on the mountain, light snow continued to fall until about 1 a.m., and then, as the skies cleared, the temperature dropped into the lower 20s (F). Their sodden clothing froze hard and their joints turned stiff. They had found no gear placements, so they had no anchor. Afraid to even stand up for fear they might fall, they stayed put. The two were so miserable and scared that they each called parents and siblings to say good-bye, thinking they might die before sunrise. 

By 3 a.m., rescue teams started to arrive at CCSAR’s base in Westcliffe. An hour later, over 20 mountain rescuers from four counties were hiking toward the base of Ellingwood Ledges. All the while, CCSAR liaised with the National Guard to coordinate a helicopter extraction utilizing two Alpine Rescue Team hoist rescue technicians. Weather conditions were questionable, and it was not until well after sunrise that the helicopter mission became a “go.” After a 130-mile flight, Black Hawk 529 out of Buckley Air Force Base arrived overhead at about 9:45 a.m. and determined a hoist insert and extraction was possible.

Two rescue techs were lowered to the stranded climbers. Other than being very cold, stiff, hungry, and thirsty, the climbers were in remarkably good condition. The morning sun had thawed and dried their clothes, and warmed their spirits. The two were helped into rescue harnesses, and when the Black Hawk returned, the climbers and rescuers were hoisted two at a time and flown to CCSAR’s base in Westcliffe. By 2:45 p.m., all the ground teams had returned safely to Westcliffe, ending a 22-hour mission. 

ANALYSIS 

The two climbers were capable multi-pitch crag climbers who aspired to do their first alpine or big-mountain route. They had the skill to climb this route in summer conditions; however, the preceding winter had been one of Colorado’s snowiest in many years. Though the calendar said early summer, snow and ice on the high mountains was similar to mid-May. The arrival of the storm only worsened the situation. 

The storm had been well forecasted for the mountains, but the pair did not get the right forecast. Many phone apps present weather for nearby towns, so the climbers got the forecast for Westcliffe, located in the valley to the northeast of the mountain. Then they typed in “Crestone” and another benign forecast popped up—however, this forecast was for the hamlet of Crestone, low in a valley on the west side of the peak. Seeing two good forecasts, the climbers were confident. But there was a very different forecast for the peaks 6,000 feet higher. [Editor’s Note: 14ers.com links to NOAA spot forecasts for each of the Colorado 14ers.] 

The climbers had a good alpine rack but left nearly all of it as they rappelled and downclimbed nearly 1,000 feet of snow-covered rock and grass. In their packs they carried shell jackets, beanies, gloves, and good socks—barely enough protection. They climbed in rock shoes and carried light trail shoes for the descent. In a typical summer, these shoes would have been fine, but had they reached the summit, their descent off a very snowy and icy Broken Hand Pass would have been difficult. 

To their credit, these climbers kept their wits and survived a miserable night in a very exposed spot. They tried very hard to self-rescue and did a phenomenal job to descend as far as they did. 

The role of luck—good and bad—plays a much larger role than we often acknowledge in such situations. In the Sangre de Cristo Range, the weather cleared soon after midnight, leaving the climbers with drying conditions. Further north, in Colorado’s central and northern mountains, the storm continued all night, and upwards of two feet of snow fell. These two put themselves in a place to be lucky when they wisely decided to stop. Surviving a miserable night is always easier than surviving a fall. (Sources: Dale Atkins, Alpine Rescue Team and Colorado Hoist Rescue Team, and Jonathan Wiley and Patrick Fiore of Custer County SAR.)  

THE SHARP END: EPISODE 57

Brian Vines was a high school senior and a budding climber in the 1990s when he and some friends went to Sand Rock, Alabama, for a day of top-roping. On their last climb, a simple mistake led to a damaging ground fall. More than two decades later, Brian and hostess Ashley Saupe look back at that day for the Sharp End podcast. Brian has returned to climbing, and his 14-year-old son, J.T., now leads many of their climbs. But the lessons from that day at Sand Rock still guide their every move.

30 YEARS OF ACCIDENT DATA

The September issue of Rock and Ice features an article by AAC member Eliot Caroom presenting a unique analysis of reports in the last 30 years of ANAC (more than 2,700 accident narratives in all). Eliot created a database of keywords to examine the characteristics of accidents in ways not possible with our annual data tables. The results are very enlightening. For example, it’s well-known that many accidents happen during descents (about 32 percent in Eliot’s sample), but his method also reveals that rappel errors were a factor in 29 percent of descent accidents, and another 14 percent involved strandings. Moreover, nearly one-third of all accidents involving a rappel error led to a fatality. Eliot has offered to share his one-of-a-kind database so other researchers can mine this information. Read the story and learn more here.

TECHNIQUE TO TRY: PRE-RIGGED RAPPELS

Two rappellers ready to go. Photo courtesy of Alpine Savvy.

Pre-rigging or “stacking” rappels is a technique that is used most often by guides but it also offers multiple safety and speed benefits to any experienced climber. Pre-rigging is when each member of the climbing team attaches an extended device to the ropes at the rappel anchor before anyone begins to rappel. The technique allows everyone to check each other’s rappel setup, and it provides other safety and efficiency benefits, including the fact that only one stopper knot is needed at the end of the rappel ropes. The pros and cons of this technique are well explained in this article at Alpine Savvy.

Pre-rigging is not appropriate for every rappel, and expert instruction is recommended. Once you learn the technique, however, you may be surprised how much you like it for long series of rappels.

ROPE RECALL

Petzl is recalling a number of low-stretch kernmantle rope after a report that a defective rope was discovered earlier this year. No accidents or injuries have been reported. The recall is a follow-up to a July request for inspection issued by Petzl. The voluntary recall notice, issued by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, is dated September 30 and covers more than 15,000 ropes sold in the United States and Canada, mostly for professional access work and rigging, as well as some caving and climbing applications. The owners of ropes with certain serial numbers are asked to inspect their ropes and contact Petzl if specific problems are discovered.

MEET THE VOLUNTEERS

Lindsay Auble, Regional Editor for Kentucky, Arkansas, and Tennessee

Years volunteering with ANAC: 6 

Home crag: Red River Gorge, Kentucky

Lindsay at home in the Red. Photo: Johnny Nowell.

Favorite type of climbing: Single-pitch sport. Each season I choose a few routes to project at the very edge of my ability. I love the process of breaking down a climb and training each move. It can be frustrating at first; I can’t count the number of times I’ve said, “I can’t do that move.” But after weeks of problem-solving, training, and engraining muscle memory, the moment it comes together is that much sweeter because of every failed attempt.

How did you first become interested in Accidents? 

I started climbing outside in the Red River Gorge and was very lucky to have a strong community of climbing mentors . When I was relocated for work, I asked one of them for suggestions on how I could continue my climbing education, and he pointed me to the AAC and the Accidents publication. Now, every incident I edit is a research project. After I gather the details of the accident, I consult with experienced climbers, guides, and first responders to fully understand why it occurred. We have even set up several situations on practice anchors in the house. In the process of unpacking the “why?”, I have greatly expanded my knowledge of climbing gear and techniques.

Why do you think accident reporting is important?

For a decade, I worked as a chemical engineer, mostly with the construction industry, which is constantly working to improve safety metrics. They found that companies that continuously discuss safety incidents and near misses have significantly fewer accidents. It reminds people of the potential consequences and pulls them out of autopilot, especially when the activity is repetitive. Almost all of the climbing accidents I have analyzed have been at least partially attributable to human error.

Personal scariest “close call”?

While I’ve had an off-route moment with potential consequences that scared every molecule in my being and a low fall that resulted in an injured tailbone, I feel the scariest moments have been a bit more innocuous. Once I hung near the top of a route and then noticed that my knot had threaded only the waist loop tie-in point. I thought, “Huh, this somehow made it through all our safety checks.” Or lowering from a route and realizing that I didn’t remember cleaning it. Kind of like arriving somewhere and not remembering the drive, because you’ve done it hundreds of times. So scary!!

Personal safety tip?

After an accident that devastated our community, we are getting in the habit of weight-testing the system before leaving the ground. After our regular safety checks and stick-clipping the first bolt (a must in the Red), both climber and belayer lean back and weight the system, loading the knot and engaging the belay device. In addition to serving as a demonstrative check of the system, this method has the added bonus of tightening the knot and removing a little stretch in the rope to better protect a low fall.

What is your favorite thing to do when you are not climbing?

I’m a huge fan of puzzles and games. If there is such a thing, I might have a clinical sudoku addiction. When my boyfriend and I traveled to Las Vegas, I think we were close to splitting our time equally between climbing and the Pinball Hall of Fame—my boyfriend wins free games and then I use them up when he moves on to a different machine. In fact, we even created a game ourselves: Crag Crushers.

Share Your Story: If you’ve been involved in a climbing accident or rescue, consider sharing the lessons learned with other climbers. Let’s work together to reduce the number of accidents. Contact us at [email protected].

The monthly Accidents Bulletin is supported by adidas Outdoor and the members of the American Alpine Club.

Phil Powers: Farewell to A Visionary Leader

“I believed that with real work the AAC could not only provide membership benefits and community, but also be a positive force in the larger world. So I embarked on what has been a most fulfilling journey.”

Dive into this exhibit to learn about one of the AAC’s most influential CEOs, his legacy, and what inspired him to shape the Club the way he did.

$10,000 Awarded in Grants to Replace Aging Bolts

Photo: Craig Hoffman

The Access Fund and American Alpine Club are pleased to announce the 2019 Anchor Replacement Fund grant award recipients. This grant program addresses the growing concerns of anchor failure and the access issues that could result from these incidents. This year, we are thrilled to announce funding for ten worthy anchor replacement projects across the country.

• Wasatch and Uinta Mountains, UT - Salt Lake Climbers Alliance

• Red River Gorge, KY - Red River Gorge Fixed Gear Initiative

• Rumney, NH - Rumney Climbers Association

• Sauratown Mountain and Cooks Wall, NC - Caroline Climbers Coalition

• Obed, TN - East Tennessee Climbers’ Coalition

• New River Gorge, WV - New River Alliance of Climbers

• Boulder Canyon and Shelf Road, CO - Boulder Climbing Community

• Wet Mountains, CO - Southern Colorado Climber’s Resource and Action Group

• Tahoe Basin, CA - Tahoe Climbers Coalition

• Queen Creek Canyon, AZ - Central Arizona Bolt Replacement Program

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October 14, 2019, Golden, CO—The Access Fund and American Alpine Club are pleased to announce the 2019 Anchor Replacement Fund grant awards. Now in its fifth year, the grant program launched to address the growing concerns of anchor failure and the access issues that could result from these incidents. This year, we are thrilled to announce funding for ten worthy anchor replacement projects across the country.

Wasatch and Uinta Mountains, UT - Salt Lake Climbers Alliance

Salt Lake Climbers Alliance (SLCA) was awarded funding to replace aging hardware at crags across the region, including Maple Canyon, Little Cottonwood Canyon, American Fork Canyon, and the Uinta Mountains. Old hardware will be replaced with 1/2” stainless steel anchors using sustainable replacement techniques (hole re-use) to preserve the character of the routes and the rock. SLCA’s Wasatch Anchor Replacement Initiative is one of the leading local climbing organization-led fixed anchor replacement programs in the country.

Red River Gorge, KY - Red River Gorge Fixed Gear Initiative

Red River Gorge Fixed Gear Initiative (RRGFGI) was awarded funding to replace rusting and aging hardware on the steep sandstone cliffs throughout the region with 1/2” stainless glue-in anchors. RRGFGI is planning to replace over 300 bad bolts in 2020 and is striving to keep bad bolt reports in the region to fewer than 50 at any given time. RRGFGI works to replace aging bolts throughout the Red River Gorge region.

Rumney, NH - Rumney Climbers Association

Rumney Climbers Association was awarded funding to replace aging expansion bolts at several crags located at the popular Rumney climbing area. RCA’s efforts are widespread and ongoing, but emphasis in the coming year will be placed on updating hardware at Orange Crush, New Wave, and Bonsai with 1/2” stainless steel glue-in bolts. 

Sauratown Mountain and Cooks Wall, NC - Caroline Climbers Coalition

Carolina Climbers Coalition (CCC) was awarded funding to replace aging hardware at Cooks Wall in Hanging Mountain State Park and Sauratown Mountain. CCC’s efforts will focus on replacing old 3/8” non-stainless wedge, sleeve, and drop-in anchors with new 1/2” stainless steel hardware.

Obed, TN - East Tennessee Climbers’ Coalition

East Tennessee Climbers’ Coalition (ETCC) was awarded funding to support their goal of rebolting the entire Obed in the next five years. ETCC has replaced 1,000 aging bolts in the past 17 months with new 1/2“ stainless anchors. This grant will help facilitate their ongoing effort to replace 4,000 aging bolts in the region.

New River Gorge, WV - New River Alliance of Climbers

New River Alliance of Climbers (NRAC) was awarded funding to rebolt the popular Tattoo and Beer Walls. These areas provide the highest concentration of beginner sport routes in the New River Gorge.

Boulder Canyon and Shelf Road, CO - Boulder Climbing Community

Boulder Climbing Community (BCC) was awarded funding to rebolt Black Widow Slab in Boulder Canyon and the Darkside at Shelf Road. The BCC will purchase 200 1/2” stainless steel sleeve bolts, 160 Wave Bolts, and 40 lower-off anchor set-ups to address aging hardware at these two popular crags.

Wet Mountains, CO - Southern Colorado Climber’s Resource and Action Group

Southern Colorado Climber’s Resource and Action Group (SoCo CRAG) was awarded funding to address aging hardware at crags in the Newlin Creek area of the Wet Mountains in southern Colorado. Efforts will focus on installing new 1/2“ stainless hardware and modern hangers on routes currently equipped with homemade hangers and aging bolts.

Tahoe Basin, CA - Tahoe Climbers Coalition

Tahoe Climbers Coalition (TCC) was awarded funding to replace aging hardware around the Tahoe Basin. As a newly formed local climbing organization, TCC’s efforts will bolster ongoing replacement efforts in the region, helping to ensure climbing in the Tahoe Basin remains accessible and bad bolts are replaced in a timely manner.

Queen Creek Canyon, AZ - Central Arizona Bolt Replacement Program

Central Arizona Bolt Replacement Program (CABRP) was awarded funding to address aging hardware at The Pond in Queen Creek Canyon. CABRP will replace 720 aging, rusty bolts with new stainless steel glue-in bolts. CABRP will also replace top anchor hardware on all routes with new quick links and top anchor hooks, addressing concerns around rusty, loose, and inferior hardware at the crag.

Simul-Rappelling

It is not uncommon for rappelling climbers to commit to a simultaneous counterweight arrangement for rappelling. In this arrangement, the descending climbers can rappel simultaneously, and it is commonly referred to as simul-rappelling. When performed correctly, simul-rappelling results in a measurable efficiency, requiring less time for the two rappellers to move simultaneously than taking turns. However, the counterweight arrangement of simul-rappelling makes the climbers interdependent. If either climber loses control, makes a mistake in rigging, or if either side of the counterweighted rope is severed, both climbers suffer the consequences of the mishap/mistake.

As result, simul-rappelling is a technique that should only be selectively and carefully deployed. If not, if climbers fail to justify the technique or use it too causally, the probability of a single mistake affecting both climbers increases. Instead, the following principles can be used to justify simul-rappelling, or reject the technique when it is not justifiable, and they can provide some guidance for rigging a simul-rappel in a way that minimizes the opportunities for a catastrophic error.

1. Only the aggregated efficiencies of simul-rappelling justify the risks involved. On a single rappel, simul-rappelling may only save the team seconds, but multiple rappels can aggregate their efficiencies for a measurable benefit.

2. Simul-Rappelling magnifies the importance of best rappelling practices. Remaining secure during setup, using appropriate backups, managing the ends of the rope, and avoiding entanglements are concepts vital to all rappelling, but simul-rappelling arrangements demand that both rappellers adhere to sound fundamentals.

3. Since the risks of simul-rappelling are severe, and since efficiencies are part of what justifies the technique in the first place, the simplest setups with the fewest components are easier to double-check, easier to inspect, and harder to mistake.

Long well-bolted climbs like Space Boyz require many rappels to descend. In this kind of context, the efficiencies of simul-rappelling might justify the technique.

The rappel descents from a place like Seneca Rocks just aren’t long enough to necessitate Simul-Rappelling. It’s harder to justify such a consequential arrangement when the efficiencies don’t add up.

If a descending team decides to simul rappel, the rigging is critical. If both rappellers use an assisted braking device, like a grigri, if they enlist a knot-block at the anchor, and if they interconnect their tethers and anchor, they’ve set up a simul-rappelling rig that provides quick transitions at each anchor and provides the rappelling team with a few different kinds of backups.

Assuming a simul-rappel is justifiable, both rappellers can find efficiencies from using Assisted Braking Devices. As always, managing the ends of the rope is a wise choice.

Blocking a knot isolates at least one of the rappellers from the consequences of the counterweight arrangement.

The interconnected rappellers can give each other a backup when there is a blocked knot in the rope. Plus, the rappelling team can simply bump this anchor from one station to the next, staying connected during the entire rappel.

Trip to the Library, January 4th 2019

by Ron Funderburke, AAC Education Manager

At the top of this new year, I was doing some research on behalf of the American Mountain Guides Association. A question about the history of American guides came across my desk earlier last year, and I began making regular trips to uncover the overlooked and often sad history of American mountain guides prior to the professionalization of the trade. Many native guides were conscripted, and their local knowledge of mountain passes and mountain ways was never credited by the “pioneers” that exploited them. Anyone interested can check out the AMGA’s Guide magazine later this year for an article that summarizes my findings.  

On January 4th, I was pursuing this little mystery:

The American Alpine Club trained and certified American mountain guides? When was that? Why did they start that program? Why did the program end? Did AMGA replace this program?

To find an answer, I started with the first editions of the American Alpine Journal, and I scanned the records of all the Club’s proceedings. Proceedings include minutes from board meetings, secretary reports, and reports from gatherings and dinners. They’re pretty thorough. I came across proceedings from the mid-1930s that disclosed the emergence of American guiding services in the Tetons and Mount Rainier and findings of the AAC board that unified training and certification would be of value for aspiring professionals and for Americans that needed the services of a guide.

The proceedings detail the formation of a ‘Guides’ Committee’ and that committee began reporting regularly on its work. By 1940, the Guides’ Committee had run several trainings and certification exams, it had designed and distributed diplomas, and it had used these initial successes to begin planning more trainings around the country. The ‘Guide’s Diploma’ artifact that is pictured above is one of few remaining relics from this program.

What happened, you might ask? It’s difficult to know what would have happened to the AAC Guide Committee, and its training and certification scheme, had World War II not taken the entire climbing world in a different direction. After 1941 all proceedings of the Guides’ Committee were replaced with new and pressing work being done to support the American war effort, including the training, recruitment, and deployment of mountain soldiers. All the expertise American climbers could muster, and all the able-bodied soldiers that might have become guides, were enlisted in the war effort.

After the war, the guides program was taken up again in sporadic fits and starts, including some early versions of the American Mountain Guides Association in 1970. In each case, the proceedings document trainings and certifications in isolated regions of the country, and an ultimate inability to create a program that would have unified American professionals.

Additionally, I perused the Fuhrerbuch (guides log) of one of the first certified mountain guides in North America. Ed Feuz Sr was a certified Swiss Bergfuhrer (mountain guide), and he was recruited by the Canadian Pacific railroad to offer guided climbing at the mountain hotel and rail-stops along the track through the Canadian Rockies. Feuz had many American clients, and his careful record of their climbs is documented and archived. Near the end of his career, Feuz described how guided climbing had become unfashionable. It’s one of many clues I could find as to why the AAC guides committee only achieved sporadic success training and certifying mountain guides after World War II.

When our library professionals saw the nature of my research, they asked if I had seen the AMGA archives. As a long time professional member of the AMGA, I was intrigued to know what might be in those archives. I was not disappointed. I found reams of correspondence between the American Alpine Club, members of the AAC Guides’ Committee, guides and guide service owners, sponsors and consultants from the Alpine Club of Canada, the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides, and various representatives of European guides associations including the International Federation of Mountain Guides. I found lengthy treatises and pedagogical statements on the nature of American climbing instruction and education from the likes of Yvon Chouinard.

Together, the whole dossier chronicles a story about American guides that should resonate with any guide today. Guides had strong opinions about the standards to which they should be trained and certified. Guide services had strong opinions about how much certification schemes should cost and how relevant certifications would be to their operations. Climbers had strong opinions about the differentiation of guided ascents and non-guided ascents. Educators had strong opinions about how and why climbing instruction should distinguish itself from prevailing education systems of the times. With so many strong opinions and so many perspectives needed to create a system of professional guides education and certification, it’s no wonder the work of the AAC Guides’ Committee encountered so many obstacles. When strong personalities and strong opinions collide, consensus can be difficult to achieve.

Like many trips to the library, my quest to solve one little mystery unveiled new mysteries, and the questions I was pursuing are not generally of interest to climbers. It’s the kind of esoterica that you can’t uncover on Wikipedia. Thankfully, our library and our library professionals appreciate that little things will matter to someone, some day.  

Pitons

by Allison Albright

A set of pitons from the mid-20th century, including LEM, Charlet-Moser, Stubai and Chouinard

Pitons are one of the oldest types of rock protection and were invented by the Victorians in the late 19th century. Pitons are metal spikes which are inserted into cracks in the rock and secured by hammering them into place with a piton hammer.

Illustration of a climber using natural protection methods to rope down from Alpine Climbing on Foot and with Ski by Ernest Wedderburn, 1937

Mountaineering involved technical rock climbing only as a means to reach the top of the mountain, and not, in those days, for its own sake and by the turn of the 20th century, most mountain climbers favored “natural protection,” which was securing rope to rocks or other natural features that could be found along the route. They used pitons nearly exclusively for climbing down and only then when the route down had become unsafe due to the sun setting or ice forming on rocks.  This was especially true of UK mountaineers, who prided themselves on their ability to climb without the use of such aids.

Many mountaineers in those days believed that the use of artificial rock protection and aids, such as pitons, would lead to carelessness and were regarded as useless in the ascent of difficult routes. 

Early pitons were iron spikes and had rings attached to one end through which mountaineers would secure their rope. However, those rings sometimes bent or broke under the weight of a mountaineer. Hans Fiechtl invented the modern piton in 1910, made entirely of one piece of metal with a hole (called the eye) in one end. This reduced the number of moving parts in the tool and made them sturdier and more reliable.

Illustration of piton use and placement from the Handbook of American Mountaineering by Kenneth Henderson, 1942

“In such cases, pegs to hammer in and anchor to are a remedy for our failures, our failure to carry on, to adjust the climb to the day-length, or to watch the weather. Their use then is corrective, not auxiliary.”

— Mountain Craft by Geoffrey Winthrop Young, 1920

Angle piton with a ring

Illustration of proper piton technique from the Handbook of American Mountaineering by Kenneth Henderson, 1942

Pitons were mostly made of softer steel and iron that allowed them to conform to the shape of the crack when used, making it difficult or impossible to remove them from the rock when they were no longer needed. This method worked well in the softer rock of Europe and much of the US, and pitons were habitually left in place at the end of a climb.

However, leaving permanent marks on the landscape sat poorly with many climbers and soft pitons didn’t work well on longer routes where rock protection needed to be removed and used again. They also didn’t hold up well in the hard granite of places like the Yosemite Valley. In 1946 John Salathé, a climber and a blacksmith, used hardened steel to create pitons that could be removed from a crack and used again and again without getting bent or disfigured.

A lost arrow piton with sunburst design

The only problem with the harder pitons was that they often disfigured the rock. Since pitons are hammered into and out of rock cracks, and since the same cracks are often used over and over again, climbers were leaving their mark each time they inserted and removed a hard steel piton. The soft steel pitons weren’t much better at leaving a route unaltered, since they often had to be left in place. They can still be found in some routes.

 “There is a word for it, and the word is clean.” – Doug Robinson, The Whole Natural Art of Protection, 1972

Yvon Chouinard, who had been making pitons through his Chouinard Equipment brand for several years by then, introduced the aluminum chocks in his 1972 Chouinard Equipment/Great Pacific Iron Works catalog. The catalog included two seminal essays on clean climbing; A Word by Yvon Chouinard and Tom Frost, and The Whole Natural Art of Protection by Doug Robinson. You can read them online here. This ethos changed American climbing forever and the piton was quickly replaced by equipment that could be easily removed and reused without damaging or altering the rock, first slings, nuts and chocks and later cams.

Pitons manufactured by Yvon Chouinard, arranged in order of their evolution.

Clean climbing methods proved to be much safer and easier to use than pitons, since pounding a spike into a crack with a hammer is time and energy consuming. Pitons are still used in some places where other types of protection aren’t an option, but these situations are rare.

You can check out some examples of pitons from our archival gear collection in the slideshow below.

Knifeblade

Pitons from the 1920s

A CMI crack tack

A piton bent by use

Bolt and washer piton

A broken lost arrow

Angle piton

Knifeblade piton

Piton found in the Tetons

Home made knifeblade pitons

Chouinard angle piton

Piton hammer

Introducing: 57hours, the New Guiding App

Our Education Director Ron recently told us about two AAC members doing long-awaited work for our community: they’re streamlining both the process of hiring a guide and the process of guiding with their free new app, 57hours. If you're making a gym-to-crag transition, experiencing outdoor climbing through a professional facilitator, or hiring guides or instructors regularly, think of this as your go-to resource. AAC members, get 10% off all guiding services through 57hours with the link in your profile!

Gongga Shan (Minya Konka) 1932

by Eric Rueth

The Sikong Expedition in 1932 has to be one of the more unique mountaineering tales to have ever occurred. I and maybe others would argue that if there ever was a mountaineering expedition that should be turned into 1990’s style action-adventure movie starring Brendan Fraiser, this one would be it. There are too many interesting details to this expedition to fully capture in a blog post like this, so instead I’m going to give you a bare bones description and show you some of Terris Moore’s slides in an attempt to get you to read the American Alpine Club Journal articles about the expedition (linked below), and/or to read the entire book of the expedition (prologue through the epilogue), Men Against the Clouds. The pieces written by the expedition members themselves are really the only pieces of writing that do this expedition justice.

The Sikong Expedition consisted of four Americans, Jack Young, Terris Moore, Arthur Emmons, and Richard Burdsall. These were the four remaining members of a larger Explorers Club expedition that was meant to take place but dissolved due to various delays and complications created by global events. One of the global events was the Japanese invasion of Shanghai which led Young, Moore, Emmons, and Burdsall to briefly become a part of the American Company of the Shanghai Volunteer Corps.

After the dissolution Lamb Expedition to Northern Tibet, the first step of the newly formed Sikong Expedition was a twenty day journey up the Yangste River that featured rough waters, beautiful gorges and potential for pot shots from bandits on the river banks.

The Sikong-Szechuan region was still relatively unknown to the west and the purpose of the original expedition was to explore survey the region and gather samples of flora and fauna along with an attempt on Gongga Shan. The explorer’s spirit lived on in the Sikong Expedition. Thirty pages of appendices and one AAJ Article document their efforts. Below are two slides that not only shows the expedition doing some survey work but also shows how photographs and slides can degrade over time! If your interested in degrading photographs check out this previous library blog post.

Part of the reason for surveying the region and the mountain specifically was that at the time calculations of its height ranged anywhere from 16,500’ to 30,000’. The Sikong Expedition measured Gongga Shan’s height to be 24,891’ which is only 100’ off of the mountain’s current measured height of 24,790’.

Camp I, Nochma Peak

Cloud Camp-note avalanche track on right

Solitude

A "back and a knee": Emmons

The Hump, looking back across gap: Emmons

After weeks of acclimatization, moving supplies, and setting up camps, no high-altitude porters and with crevasse falls along the way; Moore and Burdsall attained the summit on October 28, 1932. Below are two of the dozens of photos taking while on the summit. Photographs were taken with the Chinese flag and the American flag. The American flag (48 stars) carried to the summit currently resides here at the American Alpine Club Library. Due to wind, an ice axe had to be pushed through the flags to keep them attached and flying for the summit photos.

What makes this expedition such an amazing feat is the twists and turns that take place in the story. The expedition in a sense never should have happened after the Lamb Expedition dissolved. Under normal circumstances it is likely that everyone would have headed home and planned to try again at a different time. Instead, four members remained in large part due to the Great Depression and being told that their money would fair them better in China and that there likely wouldn’t be work for them if they returned to the States. The style that the mountain was summited was more akin to modern expeditions than it was to the siege the mountain strategy that tended to be the norm for the day. Despite not receiving much plaudits at the time, Gongga Shan was the highest summit reached by Americans at the time but the expedition was able to help fill in one of the few remaining blanks on the map.

If you’re an American Alpine Club member you can checkout Men against the clouds by logging into the AAC Library Catalog.

And regardless of if you’re an AAC member, you can find AAJ articles written about the expedition by following the links below:

Terris Moore’s AAJ article about the climb

Arthur Emmon’s AAJ article about the survey work

A short article by Nick Clinch that concisely summarizes the expedition

The Andrew J. Gilmour Collection

by Allison Albright

At the American Alpine Club Library, we’re very fortunate to have quite a few collections of photographs of climbing and mountaineering from the early 20th century. One of these, a collection of roughly 3000 photographic negatives dating from 1900 to about 1930, has been digitized in its entirety and made available to everyone.

It’s a great feeling to complete a project.

We’re excited to be able to increase access to this collection through digitization, which also reduces wear and tear on the original negatives and adds an additional layer of preservation.

This collection of photos belonged to Andrew J. Gilmour, a dermatologist living and working in New York who was an avid climber and active member of the American Alpine Club during the 1920s and 1930s. He did a number of ascents in the Alps, the Canadian Rockies, the Cascades and the Western U.S., as well as Wales and the Lake District in the UK. His photos show us a lot about climbing at that time, the techniques, equipment, conditions and the people and places involved. It also provides us with a glimpse of what the world was like about 100 years ago.

We’ve gathered some of our favorite images from this collection in the slideshows below. Enjoy!

To see more of these images, check out our Andrew J. Gilmour album on Flickr.

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Climbing and Mountaineering

Photos of climbing parties and mountaineering expeditions from about 1910 to the mid 1930’s.

Climbers on Odaray Mountain

Climbers in a crack near the top of Mumm Peak, Canada

A climber on Mount Sir Donald in Glacier National Park of Canada. Note the use of hobnail boots.

A woman makes her way up a rock face

A climber in the Alps

Three men pause for refreshment while climbing in the Alps. The Matterhorn in the background.

A man making his way through a crevasse on Robson Glacier, Mount Robson

Pausing to admire the view in the Selkirks

A woman roped off and ready to climb

A mountaineer crossing on the ice

A mountaineer on a glacier

A group of climbers setting out for Mount Robson from an Alpine Club of Canada camp

A woman resting against a climbing companion

Climbing group on Resplendent Mountain in Canada

Climbing party before setting out for Mount Rainier, Washington

Climbing group on Mount Odaray

Equipment

Hobnail boots, hemp rope, canvas and silk tents and men’s and women’s climbing attire.

Hemp rope, ice axes and other gear spread out on a glacial table.

Hemp rope, ice axes and glacier goggles. These two climbers are also wearing puttees (leg wraps).

A. J. Gilmour models his sleeping bag

Ice axes and women’s pre-1925 climbing attire.

A striped canvas tent

Men’s climbing outfit.

Tricouni nails - a type of hobnails developed in the 1920’s

Hobnailed boots

Hobnails

Summits

Men and women on top

A woman summits in the Alps

The summit of Mount Sir Donald

A climbing group summiting Victoria Ridge in Alberta.

Men and women on the summit of Mount Victoria

The summit of Mount Edith Cavell

Men and women celebrating at the summit of Resplendent Mountain

A man and woman celebrating on a summit.

Men and women on the summit

Camps and Huts

Huge camps for gatherings with the Alpine Club of Canada, tents and lean-tos in the woods, Swiss Alpine Club huts - many of which are still in use today.

Dossenhütte and Gstellihorn in the background in the Swiss Alps

The steps of an Alpine hut

A hut in the Alps

A lean-to in the forest

Camp in the woods - it was common to use small trees and logs as tent poles

Camp near Cathedral Peak - the large open tent is a mess tent

A trapper’s cabin

Campers gathering in a mess tent

A camp in the Canadian Rockies

A mess tent and a large group of people around a campfire under US and Canadian flags

Morning in camp

Travel

It was harder in those days to get to some of these remote locations. There were far fewer roads, almost no highways and air travel was still in its infancy. Trains, ships and horses were commonly used.

Miss Candace Hewitt arrives in Jasper to climb Resplendent Mountain.

Before the invention of traffic lights, you might have seen men with a sign at busy intersections

The climbing party fording a river on horses, there were fewer roads and cars were less reliable, so travel by horse was common

On horseback in the Tonquin Valley, Canada

Collision between a train and a car

In the first decades of the 20th century, highways were still very new. Most long distance travel was done by train.

A photo taken from the roof of a train car

Early automobiles

Travel by airplane was uncommon before the 1930’s and only a few very wealthy people flew commercially. Most international travel was done by ship.

A crowd on Pier 59 in New York City where ships arrived or left

A cable ferry taking packages across a river

Life and Times

The world has changed a lot since 1900 - these photos illustrate just a few of the differences.

The Margate Cutting in the UK - ladies in corsets and with parasols were the norm

Turn of the last century men’s fashion

Bathing machines at Margate Beach - these carts were rolled into the sea with horses and served to allow women to preserve their modesty when swimming

No cars drive on this road, instead it’s only horse-drawn carriages at the Margate clock tower.

A man winding an armature

An epic moustache photographed through a huge spool of wire

Sledding accident

The Exposition Universelle of 1900 in Paris - very similar to a World’s Fair, but art nouveau themed.

A barbecue in Cody Wyoming

As we’ve mentioned before, women climbed in their dresses.

Places

Some gorgeous photos of some famous locations as they used to be.

A view of the Matterhorn from the Kulmhotel Gornergrat prior to observatories being installed.

Zermatt, Switzerland and the Matterhorn

The Matterhorn, photographed from the North

Mont Blanc from the Aosta Valley, Italy

A hotel in the Alps

Mount Robson

Totem poles at Hazelton, British Columbia

Old Faithful, Yellowstone WY

Check out our Flickr account for more! Or, to view all the photos, head to our archival collections site and scroll down to Collection Tree.

Suggested reading:

For details of mountaineering and climbing in the first decades of the 20th century, check out the handbook Mountain Craft by Geoffrey Winthrop Young.

For more about some of the places depicted in these photos:
Mount Rainier a Climbing Guide by Mike Gauthier
Cascades Rock the 160 Best Multipitch Climbs of all Grades by Blake Herrington
The North Cascades by William Dietrich
Mont Blanc the Finest Routes: rock, snow, ice and mixed by Philippe Batoux
Mont Blanc: 5 routes to the summit by Franȯis Damilano
Swiss Rock Granite Bregaglia: a selected rock climbing guide by Chris Mellor
Canadian Rock select climbs of the west by Kevin McLane
Sport climbs in the Canadian Rockies by John Marin and Jon Jones
Mixed Climbs in the Canadian Rockies by Sean Isaac

For more information about the person who took these photos, you can read Gilmour’s obituary in the American Alpine Journal.

The Colorado Mountains: View from the Archives

Atop Mount Audubon, circa 1916-18.

Now more accessible than ever! Thanks to a grant from the Colorado Historical Records Advisory Board, we were able to process and digitize a portion of the Colorado Mountain Club Archives.

Located in the American Mountaineering Center, the Colorado Mountain Club (CMC) Archives are maintained by the staff of the American Alpine Club (AAC) Library. From April 2017 to May 2018, with a dedicated group of enthusiastic CMC & AAC volunteers, we organized, inventoried, rehoused, and digitized much of this collection. The most painful part was organizing the huge duplicate collection of Trail & Timberline back issues and flattening summit registers. Interested in purchasing back issues of the T&T? Contact us at [email protected]. Proceeds will go towards archives maintenance.

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What's in the Colorado Mountain Club Archives?

The archives date back to before the founding of the Colorado Mountain Club in 1912. There are trip reports, photographs, lantern slides, scrapbooks, old gear, 'Save the Wildflowers' posters, and much more. Currently, most of the early trip reports (over 1,150) have been digitized and eight photo scrapbooks. We are gradually adding them to our Digital Collections website. As we create and catalog finding aids, you can find them in our catalog here.

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Putting It All Together

Having all of these records inventoried and cataloged makes it so much easier for researchers to find information. For example, you can now find photographs from the 1915 Clear Creek Outing on our Digital Collections website, with a selection seen below.

Clear Creek Outing, Aug. 9-21, 1915

Top: Camp at Clear Creek, Bottom: Mess Tent

Top right: Brook’s Tent, Bottom: Men’s Washroom

Field Day

Top: Base-ball, Bottom: Women’s tug-of-war

Top: Off to Gray’s & Torreys, Bottom: Preparing supper at temporary camp below Steven’s Mine

Left: Torrey’s Peak from Grizzly Gulch, Right: Summit of Kelso

Left: Gray’s and Torrey’s, Top right: Summit of Gray’s, and Bottom right: Torrey’s from Kelso

Gray’s from Edwards (left) and Torrey’s (right)

By searching the inventories, you can pair those photographs with the Song Book written by the Club members, the Grays and Torreys trip report and the summit registers that were signed by the CMCers when they climbed Grays and Torreys on August 20, 1915. 

It's a Long Way to Gray's and Torreys

This is a song written by a CMC member and was likely sung as they slogged up Grays and Torreys Peaks on August 20th 1915. Perhaps it was set to the music of “It’s a Long Way to Tipperary.”

Grays Peak Summit Register

Cover page, placed by Outing party on August 20, 1915.

Grays Peak page 2

Lots of people summited Grays on August 20th 1915.

Grays Peak page 3

This is the third page of the 1915 summit register. You can see there were quite a few people climbing it on August 20, 1915. The same number probably summit it today in an hour.

Trip Report - Page 1

Trip Report - Page 2

Trip Report - Page 3

Trip Report - Page 4

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There are many more great records. Feel free to drop by the library and take a look. Keep an eye on our Digital Collections website as we are constantly adding more photographs and records.

This project was supported in part by an award from the Colorado Historical Records Advisory Board, through funding from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC), National Archives Records Administration. This project would not have been possible without the volunteers that inventoried, sorted, boxed, re-foldered, and scanned. Many thanks to Donna Anderson, Karyn Bocko, Dan Cohen, RoseMary Glista, Ann Hudgins, Peter Hunkar, Mike Lovette, Jan Martel, Barbara Munson, Roxy Rogers De Sole, Linda Rogers, Lin Wareham-Morris and Pat Yingst. 

Happy Anniversary, Gasherbrum I First Ascent!

by Eric Rueth

60 years ago today, Peter Schoening and Andy Kauffman topped a rounding ridge and had nowhere higher to go. After eight hours of climbing they found themselves on the summit of Gasherbrum I and became the only Americans to make a first ascent of an 8,000-meter peak.

"On July 4 all five os us started for Camp V which we hoped to establish at the 24,000-foot col between the south summit and the main peak" (Schoening, 1959).

To celebrate the ascent we're sharing some photo's from Andy Kauffman's collection.

To add some context here is the introduction to Pete Schoening's article from the 1959 American Alpine Club Journal and a link to the full article below.

"There is something exciting about expeditions. In part it must be the uncertainty of them. Perhaps this is adventure. But for Hidden Peak there was something even more. It could be the last chance for an American first ascent of an achttausender, and it seems extremely probable that first ascents of the fourteen achttausenders will become forever historically indicative of the mountaineering activity and ability of the various areas in the world.

Whether for adventure or history or whatever other reason, the ascent of Hidden Peak still required a party, permission and assistance from Pakistan, money, equipment, and an effort to carry out the attempt. Nick Clinch was the driving force behind the 1958 American Karakoram Expedition.* He was the "Director" and organizer.

Late in November 1957, Nick received Pakistani approval through the American Embassy in Karachi. From then on events began to occur at an increasing pace. Our freighter would leave New York by the end of March. In the middle of February as the party was being completed, I became a member. Besides Nick and myself, there were Andy Kauffman, Captain S. T. H. Risvi and Captain Mohd Akram of the Pakistan Army, Tom McCormack, Bob Swift, Dr. Tom Nevison, Gil Roberts, and Dick Irvin."

Click here to read the full "Ascent of Hidden Peak" article.

The Expedition

Front, from left: Bob Swift, Tom Nevison, Dick Irvin. Back: Mohd Akram, Gil Roberts, Tas Rizvi, Pete Schoening, Nick Clinch, Andy Kauffman, Tom McCormack

1958 American Karakoram Expedition Map

Map of the trek to Gasherbrum I or Hidden peak that the seven American memebers completed on July 5th 1958.

View of Hidden Peak

One of the members of the Karakoram Expedition looking off into the distance and admiring Masherbrum. Still a month away from their objective.

Hazy Mountain Peak View

Onto the snowy ascent of Hidden Peak

The expedition had too few cigarettes to meet the required amount for the porters. A crisis was averted by trading their Camel cigarettes for local brands at a rate of 2 to 1.

Reindeer hide boots.

In this photo you can see one of the expedition’s wooden food boxes. The sides would be used to create make shift snowshoes on summit day

By Eric Rueth

AAC Creates Yosemite Timeline with NativesOutdoors

"Yosemite Valley (Ahwahnee in the language of the Ahwahnechee, who originally inhabited the area) has long been a bastion for American climbing, from the first ascent of the NW Face of Half Dome (Tissaack) to the first free solo of El Cap (Tutocanula). The AAC has been there nearly every step of the complicated (and sometimes dark) way—from guiding the establishment of the park to fighting for climbing as a legitimate use of wilderness in National Parks and advocating for the preservation and 2018 improvements to Camp 4, the iconic climbers' campground."

We've worked with NativesOutdoors to put together this resource for all things Yosemite climbing and history. Check it out below.

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