The Prescription—November 2022

The Ice Climbing Atlas Project

Avalanche Observations from Popular Ice Climbs in the Canadian Rockies

Our friends in the Canadian Rockies take avalanches seriously. The terrain is big, cold, and snowy. The Rockies are also a popular ice climbing venue that holds a vast trove of some of the best ice in the world. However, those who want to climb cascades, gullies, smears, and drips in this region must pay heed to the perils of avalanches. Fortunately, Avalanche Canada, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to public avalanche safety that issues daily avalanche forecasts throughout the winter and provides avalanche awareness and education programs, recently started the Ice Climbing Atlas Project.

Rogan’s Gully has a roadside location and moderate climbing, making it a popular outing. As shown, though, once in the gully it’s near impossible to get out of harm’s way should something come down. Photo: Avalanche Canada/Grant Statham

The Ice Climbing Atlas Project started through an ongoing collaboration between Avalanche Canada, their ambassador Sarah Hueniken, and Grant Statham, a visitor safety specialist for Banff National Park. Hueniken and Statham are among the most experienced ice climbers in the range and are also certified guides. The atlas is intended to provide an overview of historical avalanche observations from popular ice climbs in the Rockies. According to the website, this work in progress will be regularly updated as information on climbs gets collected.

The Ice Climbing Atlas Project provides an Avalanche Terrain Exposure Scale (ATES) rating for eight very popular ice climbs. According to Parks Canada, the ATES categorizes avalanche terrain based on unchanging characteristics. By using the ATES, climbers will get a sense of the type of avalanche terrain threatening their proposed route and its approach.

The Ice Climbing Atlas merges graphics with actual route photos to illustrate avalanche hazards. Photo: Avalanche Canada/Grant Statham

Cascade Waterfall is close to the road, moderate in grade, and sits in the sun. It has also seen many unfortunate avalanches originating from terrain above it. Photo: Avalanche Canada/Grant Statham

Cascade Waterfall avalanche accidents from the ANAC archive: Report 1; Report 2

The atlas also provides other crucial information for each climbing route. This includes data on how often these routes get climbed; information on the frequency of avalanches; analyses regarding the time of year and frequency of climbing; presence of avalanche debris; graphical representation of the avalanche start zones and run-outs; and reports of actual avalanches/accidents.

As noted on the site: Avalanche observations are collected through surveys of local climbers conducted by Sarah Hueniken. Our hope is that by sharing historical data, climbers can better understand the avalanche hazard that exists on these popular climbs. We strongly encourage all ice climbers to always carry avalanche safety gear—transceiver, probe, and shovel.

The Ice Climbing Atlas Project points the way to the future. Hopefully, an organization in the United States will eventually create something along these same lines.

---

Join the Club—United We Climb.

Get Accidents Sent to You Annually

Partner-level members receive the Accidents in North American Climbing book every year. Detailing the most noteworthy climbing and skiing accidents each year, climbers, rangers, rescue professionals, and editors analyze what went wrong, so you can learn from others’ mistakes.

Rescue & Medical Expense Coverage

Climbing can be a risky pursuit, but one worth the price of admission. Partner-level members receive $7,500 in rescue services and $5,000 in emergency medical expense coverage. Looking for deeper coverage? Sign up for Leader-level and receive $300k in rescue services.

---

FALL AND SPRING AVALANCHES IN THE CANADIAN ROCKIES: THE EDITOR’S STORY

In the Rockies, winter is not the only season in which avalanches pose a climbing hazard. It can snow during any month of the year, so fall, spring, and even summer can be hazardous for climbers.

Avalanches in the Rockies can be huge and often follow the climber’s line of ascent. Photo: Wikimedia Commons/David Wilson

In September 1997, my climbing partner and I drove up to Canada with an eye on alpine routes. Conditions were typically mercurial—one day an alpine rock route would be dry, and the next morning it would be covered with verglas. On another day, a different route would be filled with blue ice, and on the next it would be flushed by an avalanche every 15 minutes, spawned on the slopes far above the climbing route. We always erred on the side of safety, waiting for days on end after storms before venturing onto a climb. Even approaches could be perilous.

The next spring we drove up and met the one and only Jeff Lowe, intent on doing a new route above the Icefields Parkway. Sure enough some storms rolled through, costing us several days. Lowe was on a tight schedule and departed while the remaining two of us decided to scope out a route on a big mountain that was fairly close to the road.

To get a better view, we pulled off the highway and skied across a lake and into the forest on the far side. There, below an open slope—read: avalanche path—we pulled out the binoculars to scope out the climb. The route we had in mind followed a large gully that cut across the face before joining a couloir leading to the crux rock band below the summit. The sky was clear blue, the temperatures were cold, and the air still. After ten minutes of observation, we turned our backs to ski down in search of a different perspective.

Rockies ice climbing is world class but comes with a host of big-mountain hazards. Photo: Wikimedia Commons/Dwayne Reilander

Above we heard a faint crack and turned to watch as a puff of powder snow in the upper couloir wafted down. It grew larger and larger. It was a beautiful sight as the cloud billowed and slowly descended the gully. After a few moments we could hear a dull roar growing louder and louder. We turned to each other and wordlessly asked, “How big is this?” The cloud grew bigger and bigger and closer and closer. We began skiing faster and faster away from the face. I looked over my shoulder and saw to my horror that as the cloud struck the lower slopes it neither slowed nor dissipated.

At this point we were skiing as fast as we could. Behind us, we could sense the pressure change as the avalanche pushed the air in its path. I glanced over my shoulder again. The cloud engulfed us and we crouched in a dark, seething mass of crystals that pelted us with little bullets of ice. After several long moments the roaring subsided and light penetrated the darkness. We shook the snow off our jackets and stood laughing with relief at what had been a very close call.

The Rockies holds a vast range of elevations, exposure, rock quality, and climbing styles each with its own set of complexities. I have climbed in the Canadian Rockies on over a dozen occasions and I still feel like I have so much to learn. For a reasonably simple explanation of the Rockies climbing seasons with general seasonal avalanche information, see Will Gadd’s webpage on Rockies climbing seasons.

---

Shop the ANAC Collection

---

The Sharp End · Ep 82 - Impaled On Mt Rainier

The Sharp End: Impaled on Mt. Rainer

Mountaineering holds a host of hazards besides avalanches. Freezing cold, high winds, and falling rocks can plague any ascent, but what happens when a climber falls and gets skewered by his own ice axe? A climber named Aavron was on Mt. Rainier when he fell, pulling his climbing partner down a slippery slope with him. During the fall, he was impaled by his ice axe. Listen to this episode of the Sharp End Podcast to hear what happened and what Aavron learned from his accident.

---

The Prescription Newsletter is published monthly by the American Alpine Club.

---

Sign Up for AAC Emails

Loving Our People

Color the Wasatch Joins Climb United's Affiliate Support Network

“I solve problems for a living. Like math theorems. And climbing is a physical interpretation of that. You're solving these puzzles, but you get this body therapy in the meantime, and I really felt like it made me feel strong, right? The fears that you can overcome when climbing are kind of incredible. It's like a mind test on like seven different levels. So of course, with me being an overachiever, and very into puzzles, I just fell in love with it very quickly.”

-Priyam Patel, Founder of CTW

Throughout [Priyam's] career she has done a lot of advocacy for diversity in math and STEM, but she kept waiting for someone else to take up the helm and create an affinity space for climbers in Salt Lake. Priyam was thinking: “I might not be the best climber. I might not be a pro, I might not be super embedded and entrenched in the community. But if I don't do this, who's gonna do it?” Priyam realized, if she needed BIPOC community in climbing this bad, there were surely many other climbers out there who did too. There was no time to waste.

Continue reading below!

---

Finding Home

Queer Climbing Collective Joins Climb United's Affiliate Support Network

Elli Jahangiri’s entrance into climbing was as seamless as it gets. Friends lent her shoes and other gear, got her free day passes, mentored her in climbing movement, and brought her climbing outdoors. While Elli had few barriers to accessing climbing, she couldn't help but notice the barriers faced by climbers all around her. She was the anomalee. She had a seamless experience, but that was not the experience for nearly everyone else around her—especially her fellow queer, POC, and BIPOC climbing friends. Her brain got to working. How could she change that?

It started as a lot of things do with millennials...Elli created a group chat called “Queer Climbing Collective Board Members” as a joke with her friends. It was just a dream though. Just a joke. Soon, she made a logo...because why not dream more? Then it felt too real not to.

The official affinity group Queer Climbing Collective(QCC) started with weekly meet-ups at Mesa Rim, a gym in San Diego. Soon, queer climbers in other states latched on to the idea and wanted to start their own chapters in other parts of the country.

Continue reading below!

---

PROTECT: Vote the Crag this November

We’re sending it to the polls this midterm election….are you? In this mini-episode of the podcast, we sat down with the AAC’s Policy Director to discuss voting in the midterms this November, including important issues for climbers to consider, like public lands bills, climate change legislation, and judicial appointees. We keep it short and sweet since we know it can be overwhelming. So sit tight for the quick hits!

---

American Alpine Club Podcast · PROTECT: Vote the Crag This November

Embed Block

Add an embed URL or code. Learn more

The Prescription — October 2022

The following report will appear in the upcoming edition of Accidents in North American Climbing. The 2022 books are being prepared for shipment and will start going into the mail next week.

Stranded | Exposure and Weather

Yosemite National Park, Half Dome

Nick and Kate being hoisted to the summit of Half Dome after the storm in mid-October of 2021. Big Sandy and Thank God ledges are clearly outlined below by the plastering of fresh snow. Photo: Jack Cramer

In the evening of October 17, two climbers, Kate (28) and Nick (26), started up the Regular Northwest Face of Half Dome (23 pitches, 5.9 C2) after completing The Nose on El Capitan (31 pitches, 5.9 C2) earlier in the same day. Nick and Kate were both experienced climbers attempting a sub-24-hour link-up of the two walls. They failed to summit Half Dome when they were caught in a winter storm, five pitches from the top. 

After finishing The Nose, Kate and Nick ate lunch and started up the approach to Half Dome. The weather forecasted a 90 percent chance of precipitation around 1:30 a.m. Despite that, neither talked about rescheduling.

Kate and Nick started climbing the Northwest Face around 6 p.m. They made good progress, but around midnight they were engulfed in a winter-like storm. At this point, Nick and Kate were simul-climbing through 5.9 and 5.10 terrain, with snow and ice accumulating on ledges and in cracks. Around 12:30 a.m., they arrived at Big Sandy Ledge, atop pitch 18.

Nick and Kate are visible on a snow-covered Big Sandy Ledge in lower right. The icy Zig-Zag pitches are directly above this ledge. Photo: Jack Cramer

Nick began leading the first pitch of the “Zig-Zags” (pitch 19) with increasing difficulty. He was scraping ice out of the cracks and, at one point, slipped off a large foot ledge and fell back onto his daisy chain. Their gear was freezing solid, and Kate’s hands were losing their ability to function.  

Nick still wanted to try and summit, but Kate did not think safely continuing was possible. At this point, they had not sustained any injuries, but the pitches ahead included Thank God Ledge and multiple slab pitches, none of which is inconsequential, especially if covered with ice and snow. They called 911 at 1:50 a.m. and were told to call back at 6 a.m. In a few hours the snow stopped falling, the wind died down, and the temperature dropped. At first light, the conditions on the route were even icier. At 6 a.m., they called search and rescue back and confirmed they needed assistance.

Shortly afterward, Yosemite Search and Rescue (YOSAR) gathered for a technical rescue on Half Dome. The plan was to fly rescuers, ropes, and all necessary equipment to the summit with a helicopter and lower one member of YOSAR to Nick and Kate and then haul them up to the summit. Due to the cold conditions, the helicopter got delayed because the rotors needed to de-ice.

Nick and Kate huddling for warmth on snow-covered Big Sandy Ledge. Photo: Jack Cramer

Later that morning, conditions allowed the helicopter to fly. A rescuer was lowered to Nick and Kate, carrying jackets and warm beverages. Once the rescuer attached to Kate and Nick, two teams on top raised the climbers to the summit. Miraculously, neither Kate nor Nick sustained any cold-related injuries.

ANALYSIS

Heed the forecast. Severe storms can roll through Yosemite any month of the year, but early spring and late fall often catch climbers unaware. In this case, the team saw a forecast for the Valley floor (4,000 feet elevation) with precipitation starting at 1:30 a.m., and they were surprised when the storm started two hours earlier. The conditions on Half Dome (8,846 feet) were unsurprisingly much more intense and severe. 

Nick and Kate on the summit of Half Dome. Photographer Jack Cramer reported that the pair recovered and successfully completed The Nose/Half Dome link-up in spring 2022. Photo: Jack Cramer

Don’t allow the goal to blind your judgment. The link-up of Half Dome and El Capitan in under 24 hours is an admirable goal for any Valley climber. After a season of training and a plan set in motion, it can be tough to decide to bail, especially given that the climbers had completed El Capitan and were “on track” for a sub-24-hour time. They ignored a known weather risk to complete their goal. 

Communicate openly with your partner. Many accidents and rescues can be avoided with better communication. Any reservations or concerns should be immediately communicated. Especially with disappointment on the line, it can be challenging to start the conversation. Partners, particularly new partners, should regularly check in and practice their communication like other climbing skills. Sure, one partner might be disappointed at first, but if it means not having to spend the night in a winter storm or worse, it might be worth it.

Although they discussed the weather, there was no conversation about a worst-case scenario. The climbers didn’t discuss the possibility of not making it to the top nor what the upper pitches would be like in a storm. The final pitch of the Regular Northwest Face is slab climbing with limited opportunities to aid. There should always be a conversation about how to retreat if there is no real possibility of going up.

Pack the proper layers. If you know there is a chance of precipitation, you should pack suitable layers. Kate and Nick both had warm gloves (Kate was not initially wearing them), base layers, and hardshell jackets. However, neither had hardshell pants, and they felt like that was a major mistake. Both Kate and Nick have experience with ice/mixed climbing in winter conditions and thought they could have possibly self-rescued the following morning with the appropriate layers.

A National Park Service rescue helicopter departs the sunny Valley floor on the way to the snowy and frozen summit of Half Dome. Photo: Jack Cramer

Know when to call for a rescue (and have the ability to communicate). It’s tough to know when the right time is. Ultimately, Kate decided they should call for help when she felt like she could not safely use her hands. The need for a rescue became more apparent when they were rappelling back down to Big Sandy after attempting the Zig-Zags. The ropes were extremely icy, making the rappel dangerous. They rappelled with Grigris and used slings as “third-hand” backup prusiks, and did not feel it was safe to try and retreat further. There were legitimate concerns that if they attempted to continue upward, Kate and/or Nick could have gotten injured; this would have made the situation much worse and the rescue more complex.

They only carried one cell phone with them, and fortunately they were able to make a phone call to 911. To communicate with YOSAR, they kept the phone off when not in use and kept the phone next to their bodies to keep it warm and preserve the battery. (Source: Yosemite National Park Climbing Rangers.)

This report is adapted from a story at Yosemite Climbing Information, published by Yosemite rangers. 

SEASONAL HAZARDS: THE EDITOR’S STORY

The shoulder-season months of March/April and October/November can be perilous in Yosemite. After a long winter spent indoors, clear and sunny weather in early spring can lure climbers onto the walls. In fall, peak fitness honed over summer, combined with seemingly endless weeks of perfect weather, can tempt climbers to squeeze in one last end-of-the-season send.  

As the old saying goes, “Good judgment comes from bad experience.” Take it from Pete Takeda, editor of ANAC:

“I spent seven years living in Yosemite. Over that period, I climbed many big walls and suffered more than a few bad-weather epics. One instance stands out. 

“I was coming off a long winter and was itching to get on a wall. So in early April, my partner and I launched up an El Cap route called Lost World, foolishly ignoring a storm forecast. There was no internet back then, but the San Francisco Chronicle, delivered to the Valley on a daily basis, had a generally solid forecast printed in plain black and white on the front page. After two days of climbing, a storm clobbered us above the point of no return, and we spent the next three days soaked to the bone. My shelter was a thin sleeping bag and a leaky bivy sack. On day one of the storm, we foolishly declined an NPS rescue.

On day two I became concerned about hypothermia and asked my partner, ‘Are we going to make it?’ He was a veteran survivor of epics on walls and big mountains. His reply was frightening. ‘How the f*** should I know?’ 

“Day three dawned with sleet, but by noon the sun had peeked out. We jumped into action, climbing for our lives, and barely summited during a few hours of good weather. I’d lost ten pounds and acquired a case of trench foot. Had we had another day of bad weather I might not be sharing this tale.”

---

FROM THE ACCIDENTS VAULT: HALF DOME STORIES

These three rescues involved legendary climbers caught in storms on Half Dome:

In 1968, Warren Harding and Galen Rowell got caught in a storm on a new route.

On 27 October Warren Harding (44) and Galen Rowell (28) began an ascent on the unclimbed South Face of Half Dome. It was late in the year, but the weather looked good for the future and they both had equipment in the experimental stages, namely a single suspension bivouac hammock and shelter which would feasibly protect them from the weather in case a storm did break….

In 1986, Steve Bosque, Mike Corbett, and John Middendorf were trapped by an epic storm on the South Face.

(The trio) had been climbing the South Face route on Half Dome since March 4… McDevitt (a Search and Rescue team member) reported by radio that he had attempted to contact the climbers with a loudspeaker and that they had yelled that they needed to be rescued… McDevitt reported blizzard conditions in Little Yosemite Valley with heavy snowfall and strong winds…. 

Scenes from the 1986 South Face epic. Photos: John Middendorf Collection. Read Middendorf’s harrowing personal account here.

In 1975, budding young Stonemasters Dave Diegelman and Bill Price were rescued from the Regular North Face.

Dave Diegelman (17) and Bill Brice (17) had been climbing for the full day of August 19, 1975, on Half Dome’s Regular North (sic) Face, VI 5.8, A3. It started to rain moderately hard at 3 p.m. The climbers continued on for one more hour to reach the bivouac ledge (13th pitch). The rain continued all night and was accompanied by freezing temperatures…. 

---

American Alpine Club Podcast · EDUCATE: Trends in Climbing Accidents, with Pete Takeda

EDUCATE: Trends in Climbing Accidents, with Pete Takeda

In this episode, we sat down with Pete to talk about the process of selecting the stories and analysis for the "Accidents" publication each year, trends in climbing accidents that Pete has noticed through his work—including many that the climbing world has been ignoring for far too long—and the bravery of submitting a report in a world that loves to critique.

---

American Alpine Club Podcast · EDUCATE: Inside the Life of Search and Rescue Teams

EDUCATE: Inside the Life of Search and Rescue Teams

In this episode of the podcast, we talk to Grant Kleeves, a volunteer with Ouray Mountain Rescue, one of the winning SAR teams for last year’s Rocky Talkie SAR Award. We talk to Grant about some of the operational and logistical challenges that SAR teams face, and he walks us through the decision making process for a particular rescue Ouray Mountain Rescue did in 2021. You might note that we don’t describe what caused the accident, or analyze the accident either. And this is on purpose. Most of the time, SAR teams get a call for services without much context, and they must make decisions based on what they know. The story that Grant shares with us reflects that tricky reality.

---

The Prescription Newsletter is published monthly by the American Alpine Club.

The Line — October 2022

THE RUBBERNECKER

Over the last two summers, Nathan Hadley and partners established two very hard new free climbs on the southeast face of South Early Winters Spire, near Washington Pass in the North Cascades. The harder of the routes, which Hadley sent on August 22 this year, is Rubbernecker, a seven-pitch, mixed bolt and gear route with three 5.13 pitches (including a 13+ traditionally protected crack) and a 5.14- bolted pitch. Ace photographer Jeremiah Watt shot Hadley on the route and graciously allowed us to share some images from Rubbernecker here.

Nathan Hadley on pitch two (5.13) of Rubbernecker. The full route is only 600 feet high but packs a wallop.

Powerful laybacking on the steep, clean rock of South Early Winters' southeast face (pitch two of Rubbernecker).

Pitch four (5.13+ trad). On Hadley’s ground-up free ascent, the 0.2-size cam he is placing in this shot fell down the wall. This nearly ending Hadley’s attempt, as it was the only pro he had for this section. A rigid-stem cam, circa 2000, from a nearby anchor saved the day. He sent on his next go.

The last hard move on the 5.13 final pitch of Rubbernecker. The pocketed wall that starts this pitch was the initial objective of the entire route; the pitch continues with a wild traverse across a rail and ends with this splitter crack.

Rubbernecker on the left and Backseat Driver on the right, both established in the last two years. The two routes are just left of The Passenger, a well-known classic of this face.

Hadley’s report for AAJ 2023 and more Jeremiah Watt photos are available now at our website. The Rubbernecker? Hadley explains: “I named the route because of the way I and others always stare up at the Washington Pass spires from our car windows.”

---

CHILEAN GOLD

In the last few years, Sebastian Pelletti has been contributing fascinating AAJ reports from South America, often from little known peaks and ranges. Pelletti, whose mother is Australian and father is Argentinean, first visited Chilean Patagonia in 2015 and fell in love with the small towns and easy access to wild mountains. “During the pandemic, I built a little cabin on the outskirts of Puerto Natales, from where I’m based most of the year,” he says. In his work as a guide and during his free time, he scouts new lines on lesser known walls of Torres del Paine National Park, as well as the surrounding fjordlands. Here are highlights of three reports from AAJ 2022, describing climbs with a variety of South American partners—Pelletti’s full reports are all at the AAJ website.

Grupo La Paz

Grupo La Paz from the north. The full traverse went from right to left. Photo by Hector Diaz.

Pelletti and friends made two trips from Puerto Natales in 2021 and 2022 to a “mystical looking group of three rock towers situated in the southern Cordillera Riesco. The towers are seldom seen, and we had only a few photographs for reference.” After a six-hour boat ride across Canal Santa María, they first linked the east and central towers of the Grupo La Paz, making the first ascent of Aguja Central. Still drawn to the towers, Pelletti returned in February with two other friends and traversed the entire massif, including the western peak, first climbed by Yvon Chouinard and Jim Donini in 1988. Read the report. 

Cuerno Este

Photos: Sebastian Pelletti, Joe Feltham.

On January 8, 2022, Pelletti, Pepe Jurado (Ecuador), and Romano Marcotti (Chile) pulled off a rare feat: the first ascent of a significant summit in Torres del Paine. Cuerno Este looks like some kind of mad layer cake, with golden granite below and dark, loose metamorphic rock frosting the top. Their 600-meter route, Vacaciones Metamorficas, shared some pitches with an earlier route that didn’t quite reach the summit, and it went all free at 5.11-. Read the Cuerno Este report here.

Cerro San Luis

Bushwhacking through dense forest to reach Cerro San Luis; it took eight hours to travel five kilometers. Photo by Nicolás “Nico” Secul.

Last August, Camilo Pedreros, Nicolás “Nico” Secul (both from Chile), and Pelletti kayaked west from Estancia Perales across Fiordo Última Esperanza to reach the northern Cordón Monumento Moore. On the second day of this adventure, they bushwhacked “through very dense subpolar forest, at times progressing on our hands and knees. It took approximately eight hours to travel five kilometers to the base of the broad south face of Cerro San Luis,” their objective. The made the second known ascent of the peak and named their route Memoria Kawésqar (750m, AI4 80°), “in honor of the Kawésqar, an indigenous people who navigated these fjords by canoes thousands of years ago.” Read the report here.

Seba Pelletti is already sure to have at least one report in the 2023 AAJ: This past summer, he and friends from South America climbed several new routes in the Vampire Spires of Canada’s Northwest Territories.

---

MINI-EPIC

Prolific Sierra climbers Vitaliy Musiyenko, Brian Prince, and Brandon Thau joined forces on a new line at the Spring Lake Wall last summer. Establishing the route required two trips into the mountains (about four hours of steep hiking for each approach). For the second trip, Musiyenko writes in AAJ 2022, “I brought along a cheap backpack covered with images from the popular show Friends, which I’d bought from Walmart with the intention of using it as a lightweight haul bag. However, the pack lasted only half a pitch of hauling before exploding. All of our extra cams, headlamps, water, and food fell to the talus field. The only logical solution was for me to hike out, drive home, and grab the extra rack…and a real haul pack. I didn’t get much sleep but was back at the base of the wall at 8 o’clock the next morning.” The new route is Friends (8 pitches, 5.11b).

---

The Line is the newsletter of the American Alpine Journal (AAJ), emailed to more than 45,000 climbers each month. Find the archive of past editions here. Interested in supporting this online publication? Contact Billy Dixon for opportunities. Suggestions? Email us: [email protected].

An Alaskan Dream: A Story from the Mountaineering Fellowship Fund Grant

“The remoteness, the lack of people, and the complexities all work to create an atmosphere of real adventure...The 60-degree terrain had my heart racing and coated with the perfect snow; it made for a moment I could only dream of. I stopped to hammer in a picket 30 meters up and then again at the end of the rope, where I took a seat and belayed. Glory!”

Tanner Josey's dream of an Alaskan adventure turned into a reality in May of 2021. Josey attempted to climb Mount Foraker, the third highest peak in the United States.

Dive into the details and epic photos of his trip report and be transported into the Alaska Range. Face avalanche danger, navigate crevasses, and ascend steep snow slopes alongside Josey.

A Second Chance: A Story from the McNeill Nott Award

"We established a camp at 4600m and decided our best ascent option would be to use a gully on the west side of the peak to gain access to the south ridge. Leaving camp at 3 am, the gully proved to be reasonably pleasant second and easy third-class terrain. Unfortunately, by the time we reached the base of the south ridge at 9 am, a storm had moved in.

Not having access to weather forecasts at base camp, we were limited to a forecast we had received just before leaving the village several days ago, thanks to a cell phone tower constructed there two years ago. Based on that, clear skies were expected for the next two days, so we decided to dig in under a boulder and see what happened.”

Tess Smith and Alan Goldbetter set out to summit Mount Starikatchan, an unclimbed peak in India in 2022 after attempting it in 2019. Smith received the McNeill Nott award, this past year, helping to make their trip possible. Immerse yourself in Smith’s trip report and these stunning photos of India’s Zanskar Range.

EDUCATE: Inside the Life of Search and Rescue Teams

As mountain athletes, we know the expertise, technical knowledge, and bravery that goes into what Search and Rescue teams do—helping fellow mountain-lovers in distress. SAR work is invaluable, but it's also shrouded in mystery and can be pretty hard to talk about too, given the tragic outcomes of some rescues.

In this episode of the podcast, we talk to Grant Kleeves, a volunteer with Ouray Mountain Rescue, one of the winning SAR teams for last year’s Rocky Talkie SAR Award. We talk to Grant about some of the operational and logistical challenges that SAR teams face, and he walks us through the decision making process for a particular rescue Ouray Mountain Rescue did in 2021. You might note that we don’t describe what caused the accident, or analyze the accident either. And this is on purpose. Most of the time, SAR teams get a call for services without much context, and they must make decisions based on what they know. The story that Grant shares with us reflects that tricky reality.

American Alpine Club Podcast · EDUCATE: Inside the Life of Search and Rescue Teams

---

The AAC and Rocky Talkie are partnering once again this year to offer the Search and Rescue Award—giving a total of $36,000 to three Search and Rescue teams who responded to 2022 incidents in exceptional and inspirational ways. If you or a friend are part of a SAR team that is doing the good work out there, make sure you apply for the Award before the end of January 2023!

Summit Register 006

In this issue of Summit Register, we give you beta on voting as a climber in the 2022 midterms; the Climbing Wall Association reflects on policies and legislation impacting climbing gyms; and the AAC explores the big question: Should climbing be political?

It's In the Air: On Politics and Climbing

---

AAC member Dawn Kish

---

A Climber's Voter Guide

---

---

Vote the Crag: The Beta for the 2022 Midterm Elections

by AAC Policy Director, Taylor Luneau

---

AAC member Jeremiah Watt

---

Vote the Gym: The Climbing Wall Association Reveals the Policies that Impact Indoor Climbing

by Director of Standards and Regulatory Affairs at the Climbing Wall Association, Garnet Moore

---

AAC member and Twin Cities BIPOC Initiatives Chair Rodel Querubin

---

With Immense Sorrow, We Say Goodbye to our Dear Friend Hilaree Nelson.

With immense sorrow, we say goodbye to our dear friend and board member Hilaree Nelson.

Hilaree was a groundbreaking ski mountaineer, an inspiration to women and particularly adventurous moms, and a force among the AAC Board of Directors since her nomination in 2020. As a community, we find comfort in recognizing the number of lives she touched, the people she inspired, and the energy she carried through life. 

We also know the pain and grief felt by those closest to her, particularly her children and partner, are unbearable. Who she was as a mother, partner, and our friend are part of what inspired us all so much. In the future, we will create space to fully celebrate her profound impact on the mountain community. In the meantime, our thoughts are with her loved ones as they grieve and learn to live on in her absence.

---

“Hilaree was a beacon for our community. She led a life defined by immense grace and strength that extended far beyond the world's great ranges. Her advocacy created change, while her leadership enabled those around her to do the same. I am personally devastated to have lost her as a colleague and as a friend, and my heart goes out to her family.”

-Graham Zimmerman, AAC Board President

“Hilaree was an inspiration, a kind and humble leader, a total badass, and a genuine friend. I'm grateful to have known her, and my heart is with her family, her children, and Jim.”

-Katie Stahley, AAC Board Member

“The profound example set by Hilaree is one to which the rest of us can only aspire. Her accomplishments as an athlete shine brighter because she was a mother participating strongly in our community of climbers, skiers, and activists. Volunteering demonstrated yet another force of hers, guiding many of our compasses both in and out of the mountains. May she rest in peace.”

-Brody Leven, AAC Board Member

”Being on the board of the American Alpine Club with your heroes is always a strange experience. You go through ebbs and flows of fandom while you sit next to one of the world’s greatest climbers or most visionary alpinists. So when someone like Hilaree Nelson hops in a chair next to you, you are almost speechless. But that immediately fades away, because in minutes, she has you cracking up about the time she climbed this, or the time she skied that mountain, or the cute thing her son did the other day. She had this amazing knack of making every one of us on the AAC board remember why we were there together, why we love the wild spaces. She knew how to read a room, a person, and a line up and down a mountain. I will grieve her loss for a very, very long time. But I will forever treasure those times we laughed together, climbed together and shared in our love of the mountain community together. RIP Hilaree.”

-Jen Bruursema, AAC Board Member

---

If you need support in grieving Hilaree’s loss, or any loss such as this that happened in the mountains or because of an accident, you can find therapy, shared experiences, and financial resources here.

EDUCATE: Trends in Climbing Accidents, with Pete Takeda

EDUCATE: Trends in Climbing Accidents, with Pete Takeda

Pete Takeda might be new to editing "Accidents in North American Climbing," but he’s not new to the climbing game. With decades of experience, and through actively developing a database of all of the climbing accidents submitted to the publication for over half a century, he wields a unique level of knowledge about accident trends in climbing. In this episode, we sat down with Pete to talk about the process of selecting the stories and analysis for the "Accidents" publication each year, trends in climbing accidents that Pete has noticed through his work—including many that the climbing world has been ignoring for far too long—and the bravery of submitting a report in a world that loves to critique.

---

More Resources

The Archives of Accidents in North American Climbing

The Line — September 2022

Last spring, Mike Dunn and Arthur Herlitzka made the second known traverse of the Towers of the Virgin (going left to right in the photo) in Zion National Park. Mike Dunn

BIG YEAR FOR ZION CLIMBING

The upcoming AAJ will include eight Climbs and Expeditions reports from Zion, one of the richest years in memory for noteworthy climbs in this southwest Utah national park. Below are a few teasers—just in time for autumn Zion season.

Nat Bailey about to whip off the 5.13a R third pitch of The Crack in the Cosmic Egg. Jérôme St-Michel

The Crack in the Cosmic Egg, First Free Ascent: We loved Canadian Nat Bailey’s story about freeing this nearly 40-year-old route on the east face of Mt. Moroni. After many days of work last November, Bailey and partners went for the send, but Bailey struggled to redpoint the 5.13a R third pitch. He eventually turned over that lead to his friend Drew Marshall, giving up his dream of making a one-day free ascent. Two days later, Bailey returned and fired the pitch. “I didn’t feel euphoria so much as a sort of peaceful sadness,” he writes in the AAJ. “I’m learning that when you give something life, you inherently give it a death as well.”

Cowboy Killer, The Altar of Sacrifice: Mike Dunn, who traversed the Towers of the Virgin in the spring (see photo at top), returned in late November with Ky Hart to attempt the east face of one of the biggest towers: The Altar of Sacrifice. Their route, Cowboy Killer (VI 5.10 A4 X), was climbed over six days, with a crux headwall climbed by a “grotesque gash, with rock the consistency of a sugar cookie.”

Looking down the crux pitch of Cowboy Killer (VI 5.10 A4 X), the first route up the east face of the Altar of Sacrifice. Ky Hart

Forest Altherr on the bouldery crux of the Mo’ Splitter Pitch (5.12), the ninth pitch on Na-Gah’s Wall. Alex Parker

Na-Gah’s Wall, Oak Creek Drainage: When Forest Altherr spotted a striking splitter 1,000 feet above the ground on a wall south of Meridian Tower, he was smitten. During an attempt a week later, however, he discovered fixed gear atop the first pitch. The route had been climbed with aid in 1993 (Allen-Funsten-Rourke, 1993), he learned later, but a free ascent looked possible. After more than a year of attempts, alone and with half a dozen different partners, Altherr linked all 11 pitches free in a single day.

All eight Zion reports from the 2022 AAJ can be found by searching at publications.americanalpineclub.org.

---

BAFFIN KAYAKING AND CLIMBING

Over the last few years, Sarah McNair-Landry and Erik Boomer have been passing their summers with exploratory adventures around their home of Baffin Island, Canada, using skis, kayaks, and climbing gear. (McNair-Landry hails from Iqaluit, capital of Nunavut territory.) In 2021, the pair ventured south from the community of Clyde River to reach remote Inuksuit Fjord, rarely visited by climbers, and put up first ascents and first descents on nearby rivers. Their report for AAJ 2022 is available online, and some of their beautiful photos are highlighted below.

En Route

Erik Boomer and Sarah McNair-Landry skied and paddled 100 kilometers to reach Inuksuit Fjord, shuttling 45 days of food and equipment across the ice. Cloud-capped Nuksuklorolu Tower marks their destination at far left.

Finding a Campsite

Rain and warm weather created big puddles of water on the sea ice, and it was difficult to find a dry and strong spot to pitch the tent. The duo arrived on dry land the next day, where they set up a small base camp, and within a week the sea ice began to break up.

Nuksuklorolu Pinnacle South

The climbers summited this spire and found no evidence of prior visitors, but many of the formations in this area have been climbed before, and documentation is scarce.

Nuksuklorolu Middle

Midway through their trip, with the ice melted out of the fjord, Boomer and McNair-Landry made two attempts on possible new route up a spire first climbed in 1977. After 32 hours on wet rock, with free climbing up to 5.11, they bailed just below the top. “We were getting the adventure we wanted, but were also being humbled by the climbing in this wild place.”

Beautiful Rock

Boomer leads pitch four of Hotel Gina (320m, 6b+) on the White Wall, a climb in the Perfection Valley that was established in 2012.

First Descent

McNair-Landry paddles the first descent of a class IV rapid on the upper McBeth River.

All In

Boomer goes big on one of the 40- to 60-foot drops along Awesome River.

---

THE CUTTING EDGE: JIRISHANCA

In 2019, Vince Anderson and Josh Wharton turned back just below the summit of Jirishanca in Peru after an extremely difficult climb. In this clip from Episode 50 of the Cutting Edge podcast, Vince describes the decision to retreat. The pair returned this July to complete the route, and they tell the whole story for the podcast.

Josh Wharton (left) and Vince Anderson at base camp. Drew Smith

---

DOWNLOAD THE AAJ

The 2022 AAJ will be in the mail later this fall. In the meantime, AAC members can download the 336-page PDF of the book at the AAC website. Log in to your member profile, open the AAJ drop-down menu, and select “Download.”

DIRECT QUOTE

“This was a direttissima, but the kind where a drop of water would linger on its way down.”— Spencer Gray, channeling Emilio Comici while describing a new route on A Peak in Montana, climbed with Kate Mylan in late July of last year.

Kate Mylan leading the 11th pitch of Feefeyefoh (14 pitches, 5.11+) on A Peak. Spencer Gray

---

The Line is the newsletter of the American Alpine Journal (AAJ), emailed to more than 45,000 climbers each month. Interested in supporting this online publication? Contact Billy Dixon for opportunities. Content suggestions? Email us: [email protected].

The Prescription — September 2022

The following reports will appear in the upcoming 2022 edition of Accidents in North American Climbing.

LEADER FALL | Single Piece Pulled Out 

Eldorado Canyon State Park, Wind Tower

Tiffany Hauck just moments before slipping and falling 30 feet, directly past the belay. Photo: Mike Sutton

My partner Mike (46) and I, Tiffany Hauck (50), convened on the morning of June 13, 2021. Our sights were set on Wind Ridge (4 pitches, 5.7). We had climbed on the route a month earlier but ended up missing a good portion of the ridge. We wanted to bag the full climb.

We made good progress and were soon at the top of the second pitch, nested in a cave-like hollow. Mike had led the previous pitch and opted to wrap the rope around a single largish boulder as the only anchor in the belay. I’d led the next pitch previously and knew that once I maneuvered past the chin-up, it was gravy.

I tightened my helmet and stepped onto a nearby boulder, so I could stretch and reach a large flake, which overhangs about eight feet above the belay. I heaved myself up into a narrow hollow. I put a cam in the same crack I’d previously used and then yanked in four directions. Satisfied the cam was stable and wouldn’t walk, I clipped in, stood up, assessed my position, and made a step onto a tiny foothold—and I slipped.

My right side slammed onto a large boulder at the edge of the belay ledge and I bounced—how far out, I don’t know, as I lost sense of direction. [As Hauck fell, the sole cam she had placed as protection pulled out.] My ears filled with the sound of pro slamming into the rock and striking my helmet. I was yanked back toward the rock, then bounced briefly again before I came to a stop. [Hauck and her partner estimated the fall was around 30 feet, ending well below the belay ledge.]

Looking up at the narrow hollow crux, where two different falls in 2021 led to serious accidents. Photo: Tiffany Hauck

It took time, but I righted myself and looked up to see Mike leaning over the boulder I’d hit on the way down. The first thing I noticed was a large splatter of blood on the rock between us, but Mike quickly explained that it was his blood—he had been pulled violently across the rock when I fell. I painfully climbed back to the belay ledge, and eventually we scrambled over to the descent trail. With the help of Mike and a climber named Hillary, who had come up the route behind us, I was able to walk out under my own power.

A visit to the emergency room revealed no concussion and no broken bones. I had minor scrapes and bruises on my shins, and contusions on my hip and buttocks. That evening, my left shin swelled to twice its normal size. The contusion would take weeks to heal.

Analysis

It is hard to say for sure the cause of the cam failing. I don’t know if it’s because I put in the wrong sized cam or if I put it in a bad location. But the most likely cause is that I placed too small of a cam, or that I placed it in a flaring crack. (Source: Tiffany Hauck.)

The second-pitch belay anchor on Wind Ridge is best built with this large block, in this case using part of the lead rope to tie it off. The long sling in the foreground is clipped to a cam placed in a shallow pocket. Photo: Pete Takeda

Editor’s Note: On Wind Ridge, a fall at this point is often a ledge fall. The cracks available at this crux are flared and piton-scarred, making cam placements tricky. Often, cams placed straight into piton scars appear secure. However, when the cam is rotated downward under load, it can disengage. Also, the interior lobes, hidden from view, might not be securely engaged because of grooves inside the crack. One can easily choose to skip this pitch by traversing along the big ledge.

---

A TRAGIC ACCIDENT TWO MONTHS LATER

Wind Ridge climbs directly to the circled belay ledge atop pitch two. This was the site of both accidents reported here. At this point, climbers can either escape left or continue through an overhang. In the August 2021 incident, the two climbers fell all the way to the point marked X. Photo: Tommy Copeland 

The exact spot of Hauck’s fall was the site of an eerily similar accident two months later. On August 26, two climbers suffered a belay anchor failure and fell over 100 feet. Climber 1 was in his 20s and survived with severe injuries. Climber 2 was in his 30s. He sustained fatal injuries.  

In a Climbing magazine accident report, Climber 1 recalled using a cordelette to girth-hitch a horn in the alcove for a belay. Climber 1 began leading the third pitch and moved out of the narrow hollow (where Hauck had fallen), at which point he gave his belayer a warning and fell. 

The two climbers tumbled end over end until they stopped on a ledge with a tree above the first pitch of a route called Tagger.

Later, SAR found no evidence of an anchor at the belay ledge. Perhaps the pair were unanchored. Perhaps their gear came unclipped or broke, as can happen in severe incidents. What is certain is their anchor, assuming they had one, was insufficient.

Danger Zones

Eldorado Canyon is notorious for its heady climbing style and demanding terrain. Adventure often extends well beyond the grade of the climbing and into the realm of rock quality, gear placements, and building belay anchors. See “DANGER ZONES: ELDORADO CANYON” for more information on where and why accidents happen in Colorado's trad mecca. 

---

SAME ACCIDENT, ONLY DIFFERENT

On pitch two of the South Face of Washington Column, the leader fell 35 feet after a piece failed in a pin-scarred crack. Several of his lower pieces pulled as he fell. Photo: NPS

Piton scars infest many popular routes across North America. Back in the day, climbers hammered these tapered, nail-like spikes—often called “pins”—into cracks, using them as we now use nuts and cams. Over the years, repeated placement and removal of pitons marred these cracks with flared and irregular scars. Today, these disfigured cracks often offer passage on many moderate and popular classics. Thus, novices are often confronted with tricky protection placements.

California, Yosemite Valley
On October 7, 2016, two climbers started up the South Face of Washington Column. This popular route is a first big wall for many. On pitch two, the leader started climbing up a pin-scarred corner rated C1. Approximately 35 feet up, the piece he was standing on pulled out. The team believe that the falling leader pulled out an additional three pieces of gear during his fall, before landing on the belay ledge on his right side. When he tried to move, the injured leader experienced excruciating pain on his side and was having trouble breathing. They called 911 and YOSAR responded with an ultimately successful rescue. As with Hauck’s accident on Wind Ridge (above), the culprit was an inadequately placed cam in a piton scar. Read more on this in ANAC 2017.

See the National Park Service Accident Report for more images and details.

---

 The Prescription newsletter is published monthly by the American Alpine Club.

No Longer an Old Boys’ Club

The AAC Triangle Chapter nourishes a strong female climbing community.

PC: AAC member Anne McLaughlin

Grassroots: Unearthering the Future of Climbing

By Sierra McGivney

A woman's place is on lead. No longer is climbing “an old boys’ club.” This is true now more than ever. The future of climbing is expanding beyond traditions of the past at a rapid pace. 

In North Carolina, AAC member Anne McLaughlin created a network of women climbers aiming to empower those who identify as female. What started as a Women's Climbing Night evolved into a network of women aged 20-70 who are all bound together by their love of climbing. 

“We called ourselves women’s climbing night until this year. We realized we were more than a night, we were a network,” says McLaughlin. 

McLaughlin yearned for a women’s climbing community in North Carolina. Although North Carolina has a strong climbing community, there was not a strong female presence. 

PC: AAC member Anne McLaughlin

Oftentimes women are introduced to climbing by male partners or friends. Although there is nothing inherently wrong with this, it does reflect the reality that the majority of educators, mentors, and guides are men, positions that allow for knowledge-sharing and decision-making that shape the culture of climbing. In addition, because of societal pressures, someone who identifies as a woman may feel as though they have to prove themselves in front of a male climbing partner. When women climb with other women that pressure can often disappear, and they can focus on the climb at hand. 

Jane Harrison, a friend of McLaughlin’s had run a women’s climbing meet-up when she was living in Oregon. She approached McLaughlin about starting one in the area. Together they began to devise a plan to create a Women’s Climbing Night for their local North Carolina community.

The key was to keep the event casual and have a core group of women who attend, organize, and facilitate. Instead of having a one-off event, they opted to have a consistent two nights a month blocked off for women’s climbing. Establishing rapport and consistency with their community encourages participants to have a long-term relationship with climbing. Harrison and McLaughlin began hosting meetups at their local gym, Triangle Rock Club in January of 2018. 

“Ever since then, we've just had more and more people joining up,”  says McLaughlin. “Right now I run the email list and we have over 260 women.” 

PC: AAC member Anne McLaughlin

Cory Johnson, the AAC Triangle Chapter Co-chair, got involved quickly with the Women’s Climbing Network (WCN). She discussed with McLaughlin how the AAC could partner with them. Now, the AAC Triangle Chapter supports the WCN by providing access to their gear closet for outdoor events and promotes them on the Triangle Facebook page. Johnson encourages women who attend the Triangle Chapter skills clinics to get connected with McLaughlin. 

“So many of the women who've joined our group came to it through taking a clinic through the American Alpine Club Triangle Chapter,” says McLaughlin. 

In the North Carolina climbing community, there is a strong desire to find good consistent partnerships and mentors. By creating a strong women’s climbing community that removes hurdles like gym to crag transition, McLaughlin has provided a safe climbing environment that empowers women. 

“There is a hunger out there for women to climb with other women and learn from other women,” says McLaughlin.

---

PC: AAC member Anne McLaughlin

McLaughlin wasn’t always the strong trad crusher she is today. Her first time climbing left her disappointed and discouraged. At the time she was a graduate student at Georgia Tech and had signed up for a beginner outdoor climbing class. No prerequisite needed. The group piled into a van and drove out to Sand Rock, Alabama, a crag that McLaughlin would come to know well over the subsequent years. Sand Rock is known for its beginner-friendly toprope jug routes —full of horns, suitcase handles, and chicken heads—as well as crimpy face climbs and thin crack lines. Sport routes run parallel to difficult trad routes. There are even a couple of good bouldering problems—some even describe it as "the Southeast's most underrated bouldering area,” according to Mountain Project. 

McLaughlin was the only woman in the group on her first trip. The guides set up one of the notorious overhung juggy 5.6 climbs. The moves resembled a pull-up. Each tug upward makes the climber look and feel strong, while being a relatively easy route. But it was not “easy” for McLaughlin. She stood at the base, trying repeatedly to pull herself up with no success. She thought: I’m worse than everyone here. I’m failing. I’m just not a climber. 

Around the corner was a multitude of slab routes. Routes that might have favored McLaughlin's strengths. But McLaughlin had only been presented with one version of what climbing could be.

PC: Adriel Tomek

“Having that experience, [you realize] you have to set up people for success and play to people's strengths,” says McLaughlin. “Observe what they can do and what they are having trouble with, and tweak their opportunities to ensure they have an excellent first experience, especially outside.”

A couple of years later during an internship in Florida, McLaughlin tried climbing again. Her supervisor, Gwen Campbell, was a climber in her 50s and brought her to the local climbing gym in Orlando. Campbell was McLaughlin's biggest cheerleader. Every move McLaughlin made was followed by a cheer and shout of excitement.

 “She introduced me to climbing and I absolutely loved it,” says McLaughlin.

---

Now, McLaughlin is the cheerleader. Although education is not the point of their trips, McLaughlin gives participants an opportunity to learn. She spends the day showing anyone interested how to clean sport routes, rappel, and flake the rope. One woman, Rachel, who is primarily a gym climber, began going to their outdoor events. McLaughlin anchored into the top of a climb at Pilot Mountain while Rachel cleaned the anchor. The sun beat down on the two of them as Rachel cleaned the anchor first with McLaughlin’s instruction and then with McLaughlin just watching to make sure she was safe. 

Later McLaughlin received an email from her, explaining that she had practiced cleaning the anchor and was able to take her friends out and teach them. She had felt empowered by McLaughlin's instruction and was grateful.  

“That made my day,” McLaughlin says with a smile. 

PC: AAC member Anne McLaughlin

The goal of the WCN is to connect and empower women, arming them with knowledge so they can advocate for the climbing they want to do, and make informed and safe decisions for themselves in the mountains. Participants are encouraged to find climbing partners and friends to meet up with outside of WCN nights and events. Independence within climbing allows women to make decisions in the mountains confidently, a skill every climber should have. The network provides an environment for women of all ages to grow, learn, and connect. 

“If you see it, you can be it,” says McLaughlin. 

CLIMB: The Full Circle Everest Team Talks Joy, Partnership, and Climate Change

CLIMB: The Full Circle Everest Team Talks Joy, Partnership, and Climate Change

The Full Circle Everest team was the first all-Black team to attempt Everest, and with the majority of their team summiting, they nearly doubled the number of Black climbers who have summited the highest mountain in the world. In this episode, we sit down with three members of the team—leader and longtime climber Philip Henderson, North Face Athlete Fred Campbell, and Kenyan guide and mountaineer James “KG” Kagambi, who is the first Black African to summit Denali, Aconcagua, and now Everest. We talked about moments of joy on the mountain, what they learned working alongside their expert Sherpa team, what motivated them to join this all-Black expedition, the evidence of climate change they witnessed, the challenges of mountaineering judgment on mountains with unstable conditions, and much more.

Dive in for a dose of inspiration and insights you won’t want to miss.

Members of the Full Circle Everest team will be giving a keynote speech for the AAC’s 2023 Annual Gala. Don’t forget to save the date and join us for the biggest, and fanciest, get-together of dirtbags around.

---

Resources/ Mentions in the Episode:

Full Circle Everest

More about Fred Campbell

More about Phil Henderson

More about KG

KCC (or Khumbu Climbing Center)