Trip Reports

• Splitter Cracks And Stellar Weather
  February 2010 - Argentina » El Cajón de Arenales

  Ryan Huetter, winner of a 2009 Mountain Fellowship from the AAC, reports on a new route in El Cajón de Arenales in Argentina.

  During the long weeks since I climbed the North Tower of Paine, waiting in vain for the right day to climb the Central Tower, much time was spent fantasizing about warm-weather routes and creating the ultimate Top 10 climbs for the coming season. But when the opportunity came to return to El ...

• Second Ascent On Central Tower Of Paine
  February 2010 - Chile » Torres del Paine

  AAC member and Mountain Fellowship recipient Walker Mackey reports on his alpine-style ascent of the Kearney-Knight Route (850m, 5.10 A3) on the Central Tower of Paine in February 2010, possibly only the second ascent of this route. Mackey has now climbed all three of the Torres del Paine.

  I had reached the point where I no longer cared about climbing the Central Tower. My motivation was gone, and I was thinking I would change my ticket ...

• Research Report (2006): Ice Age Glaciers And Precipitation Patterns In The Sangre De Cristo Mountains
  January 2010 - United States » Sangre de Cristo Mountains

  Kurt Refsnider, an AAC member and recipient of one of the club’s Research Grants in 2006, has had a paper on his research project published in the journal Boreas (October 2009). Refsnider, a scientist at the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research in Boulder, Colorado, investigated the influence of different moisture sources on glaciers in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of Colorado during the peak of the last ice age. The AAC grant, along with ...

• Research Report (2009): Alpine Meadows In Washington State
  December 2009 - United States » Cascades

  Kevin Ford, recipient of a 2009 AAC Research Grant, has completed the first year of his research on the alpine meadows of Mt. Rainier National Park. Ford is modeling the effects of climate change on the size and location of alpine habitat in the park.

  To read his first-year report, click on the PDF link above.

   

• Spitzer Expedition To China Frustrated By Permit Problems
  October 2009 - China » Siguniang National Park

  Pat Goodman, winner of a 2009 Lyman Spitzer Cutting-Edge Award, reports below on his trip to China with Dave Sharratt and the frustrating permit situation that developed:

  The five Chinese men and women stood confident, and in an odd way I felt some condescension from them. Four of the five were dressed similarly: red Ozark Gore-Tex jackets and black rain pants. The oldest man of the group had on a white, button-down shirt, black tie, black ...

• Climbing And Environmental Work In Peru
  October 2009 - Peru » Cordillera Blanca

  A Brief Summary of the trip:

  "After 10 months of planning and research to visit Peru, my six-week climbing and environmental research blitz in Peru came to an end November 2, 2009 with a 30-hour trip back home to Atlanta, Georgia. What struck me most after this visit was how beautiful these mountains are and that they have a great potential for vast and varied climbing. I was also struck by how wonderful and hospitable the ...

• Mega-Adventure In Malawi
  September 2009 - Malawi » Mulanje Massif

  Joe Forrester and Jeremy Roop traveled to Malawi in autumn of 2009, backed by a Mountain Fellowship Award from the AAC. Here is Forrester's report about their successful trip .

  In late September 2009, Jeremy Roop and I headed to Malawi. Situated south of Tanzania and west of Mozambique, Malawi is a small country in southern Africa, most famous for the lake that bears the country’s name. A year earlier, Jeremy and I had stumbled across ...

• Sandbagged In Pakistan
  September 2009 - Pakistan » Nangma Valley

  By Clint Estes, winner of a 2009 Zack Martin Breaking Barriers Grant

  “Not even the American ambassador to Pakistan is getting past these gates. Closed means closed!”

  Those are the words that welcomed us to the Kondus Valley of Pakistan…or just short of it. Months earlier, Matt Hepp and I had begun our adventure by applying for a “special permit” to explore unclimbed granite towers within the disputed territory of northern Pakistan. The Kondus Valley is located ...

• Research Report (2009): Frogs At 17,000 Feet
  August 2009 - Peru » Cordillera Vilcanota

  Tracie Seimon, Ph.D., was one of two recipients of the inaugural Nikwax Bellwether Grants, cosponsored by the American Alpine Club. These new grants support scientific research documenting the effects of climate change on alpine environments.

  Seimon and a small team traveled to the Cordillera Vilcanota in southern Peru in late July to continue research on vegetation and amphibian life near the retreating Quelccaya Ice Cap. In these high-altitude wetlands, the team has documented frogs ...

• Alpine Apprenticeship In The Bugaboos
  August 2009 - Canada » Bugaboos

  Aaron Jones, recipient of an AAC Mountain Fellowship for young climbers, describes his August 2009 trip to the Bugaboos in Canada.

  I left Salt Lake City for Calgary, Alberta, on July 28. I had intended to go on this trip solo but was able to convince my best friend, Dave Turner, to come along at the last minute. This turned out to be crucial, given the amount of glacier travel required and the state of the ...