Dear Members:

The biggest news out of Golden this month is that the AAC has hired a new Executive Director after a seven-month search. Longtime mountain guide and educator Phil Powers has agreed to take the reins at the AAC and will start full-time on May 2.

The Executive Director Search Committee, chaired by AAC Vice President Jim Ansara, examined more than 60 candidates and interviewed more than 15 people. This committee unanimously agreed that Phil Powers was the most qualified person and enthusiastically recommended that he be hired.

Phil has had an outstanding career as a manager and fund-raiser, with senior positions at the National Outdoor Leadership School and, most recently, as vice president of Naropa University. He is a part owner of Jackson Hole Mountain Guides and has worked as a guide for many years, and he has written a couple of well-regarded mountaineering handbooks. Phil has climbed everything from K2 to 5.13 sport routes, and I have little doubt that he will bring to the AAC the same determination and skill that carried him up those tough climbs.

Dougald MacDonald
E-News Editor/Interim Executive Director


[Photo] Phil Powers on the First Flatiron in Boulder, Colorado.


 AAC MOUNTAIN FEST DRAWS HUNDREDS
The 2005 AAC Mountain Fest and annual meeting drew a crowd of climbers young and old to the small mountain town of Ouray, Colorado, for late-season ice climbing, skiing, slideshows, good food, and socializing. About 125 guests participated in clinics taught by some of America’s best mountaineers, covering everything from backcountry skiing to modern mixed climbing. Forty-plus women attended the Ladies’ Basecamp Lunch, a Saturday-afternoon gathering where women shared their stories. In the afternoon and evenings, climbers watched slideshows by John Varco, Louise Thomas, Kevin Mahoney, Steve Swenson, and Greg Child. Great photos from the clinics can be seen (and purchased) at AAC member Sean Bagshaw’s web site: http://outdoorexposure.smugmug.com/gallery/426555.

During the Mountain Fest’s Friday and Saturday dinners, several climbers received awards and honorary memberships. Mark Wilford, a leading rock climber and alpinist for more than 25 years, received the club’s Robert and Miriam Underhill Award for outstanding climbing achievement. The David Brower Conservation Award went to Alaskan Steve Davis. The American Alpine Club Literary Award was given to writer John Sherman. And the Angelo Heilprin Citation for exemplary service to the AAC was awarded to Virginia Boucher, chair of the committee that oversees the club’s 20,000-volume library. The AAC also announced three new honorary members: Himalayan statistician Elizabeth Hawley, pioneering mountaineer Reinhold Messner, and renowned glaciologist Maynard Miller.

[Photo] AAC Director Conrad Anker teaching a clinic on mixed climbing at the 2005 Mountain Fest. Photo by Sean Bagshaw/OutdoorExposurePhoto.com.

THANKS FOR THE COOL POSTER
AAC member Russ Jackson, a graphic designer from Louisville, Kentucky, generously donated the superb poster design for the 2005 Mountain Fest and Annual Meeting in Ouray. Russ can be contacted at russdjack@earthlink.net.

NEW MEDICAL RESOURCE FOR MEMBERS
Geoff Tabin and Scott McIntosh of the AAC Medical Committee have spearheaded a great new benefit for AAC members. The “Medical Information” page of the AAC web site will provide informative articles on medical topics for mountain travelers. (The first two cover frostbite/hypothermia and water disinfection.) AAC members can log on to privately ask a doctor on the Medical Committee questions about climbing-related injuries or illnesses, travel to exotic locations, altitude sickness, and more. Frequently asked questions will be compiled into new articles on the page. Check it out at http://www.americanalpineclub.org/knowledge/medical.asp.

STUART’S NORTH RIDGE IN WINTER
AAC members Mark Bunker and Colin Haley took advantage of excellent conditions to make the first winter ascent of the complete North Ridge of Mount Stuart in Washington state. One of the North Cascades' great classics, the full North Ridge involves nearly 3,000 feet of superb, remote granite climbing. Bunker, 42, had attempted the winter ascent five times previously over 17 years with Don Preiss before teaming up with Haley, 20. The two tried the route once in December but retreated from halfway up in deep snow and severe weather. Earlier parties had made winter ascents of the upper half of the ridge but avoided the Great Gendarme pitches, the hardest climbing on the route.

Bunker and Haley have formed a superb partnership over the past few years, completing the first full traverse of the Southern Pickets in the Cascades in 2003, with Wayne Wallace, and the second full Waddington Traverse in British Columbia in 2004.

SEASONAL RAPTOR CLOSURES
It’s that time of year again: Nesting season for raptors means closures at many popular cliffs. To protect these birds (and to protect climber relations with land managers), make sure your favorite climb isn’t temporarily closed. For a nationwide directory of closures, visit the Access Fund web site at http://accessfund.org/access/index.php.

HIMALYAN LIBRARY RENAMED
At its March 4 meeting, the AAC Board of Directors voted unanimously to rename the club’s Himalayan collection the John M. Boyle Himalayan Library. John Boyle donated the 3,000-volume Himalayan Library to the AAC in 1997, and the club has committed to maintaining and expanding the collection in order to keep it as one of the world’s libraries of record for significant climbs in the Himalaya. The collection is housed in the Rare Books Room of the Henry S. Hall, Jr. American Alpine Club Library.

NEW DIRECTORS ELECTED
Members at the annual meeting in Colorado on March 5 elected three new Directors of the AAC: Charlotte Fox, Nancy Norris, and Ralph Tingey. Fox is a ski patroller in Colorado and has climbed three 8,000-meter peaks, as well as numerous other high mountains around the world. Norris operates a fitness company in Michigan and has climbed peaks in Europe, Asia, Africa, and North and South America. Tingey is a senior manager of the National Park Service in Alaska whose career has taken him to Grand Teton National Park and Denali National Park, and whose climbing has taken him across North America and Europe. Watch for full bios of the new directors in the spring edition of the American Alpine News.

PAPERS SOUGHT FOR RESCUE SYMPOSIUM
The International Technical Rescue Symposium (ITRS) is soliciting presentation proposals for its 2005 program. Sponsored in part by the AAC, the symposium, held Nov. 4-6 in Fort Collins, Colorado, brings together professionals from across the spectrum of rescue disciplines to share info on advances in equipment and techniques, technical problems, and issues of mutual concern. Presentation proposals may be made by submitting a one-page abstract and one-paragraph presenter bio by July 31 to Loui McCurley, 490 South Split Rock Road, Bennett, CO 80102, or email to lmccurley@pmirope.com. Final presentation papers (two to eight pages) will be due Sept. 15.

 

COMING EVENTS
March 24-26
Wyoming
The Barry Corbet Film Festival in Jackson Hole will feature ski, surf, and climbing films in the memory of the late Barry Corbet, with all proceeds donated to charity. Events are at the Pink Garter Theater in Jackson; tickets are $10. Contact: 307-734-0600, or visit http://www.alpinist.com/corbet.

April 2
Illinois
The Chicago Mountaineering Club and AAC Midwest Section host Gerry Roach’s show “Northern Heights,” a look at North America’s greatest peaks, at the Chicago Yacht Club. Raffle and silent auction. For tickets, visit www.cmcwebsite.org.

April 8
Washington
Speed climber Hans Florine gives a slideshow at the University of Washington HUB, sponsored by the AAC and the Climbing Club at the University of Washington. RSVP to climb@u.washington.edu.

April 14
Washington, D.C.
The AAC’s Blue Ridge Section and several other Washington-area groups host Hans Florine at Hearst Hall at the National Cathedral School. Info at gregoryj@mindspring.com

April 23-25
Colorado
The Boulder Adventure Film Festival and Dirt Days with films and multisport competition. See www.boulderadventurefilm.com.

April 22-23
Washington
Vertical World gym hosts 24 Hours of Climbing to benefit communities in Thailand affected by the tsunami. Teams of two to four will climb and raise money through pledges. Info: 425-649-5289.

 

E-NEWS POLICIES
In order to protect the interests of our subscribers, we have established the following E-News policies.

The AAC office in Golden is the only source of outgoing messages to subscribers; recipients cannot respond to or initiate messages to the list. The AAC will not sell member e-mail addresses to anyone for any purpose and will have no commercial advertising of any kind in E-News.

Send comments, suggestions or news items to dmacdonald@americanalpineclub.org.

If you know an AAC member who isn’t receiving the E-News, it’s probably because the AAC does not have his or her email address. New addresses or address changes should be sent to getinfo@americanalpineclub.org.

To unsubscribe please contact getinfo@americanalpineclub.org