Dear Members,

In 1987, after having spent several successful seasons climbing in Alaska, I had the big-headed notion that I was ready to test my skills in the greater ranges of the world. I ventured off to Pakistan, where I spent 110 days in the Karakoram Range climbing Gasherbrum II and a new route on Lukpilla Brakk above the Biafo Glacier. It was a hugely successful summer of climbing even in the face of great adversity.

At the time, I took personal credit for my success, but we were also very lucky. Most importantly, we were blessed by the aid of a few men from Baltistan. After a four-day storm that wiped out our porter rations, we were left alone in the deep snow of the Baltoro. After trying to ferry our own loads for almost a week, Ahmad Hussein and 19 men from Tisar arrived—seemingly from nowhere.

Ahmad appeared, almost miraculously, every time we faced great need that summer. He and others like him continued to help me and my teams over the next decade of visits to the Karakoram. Since that time, events like 9/11 have made the economic reality these people face ever more difficult. Now, Ahmad and many like him in other mountain regions in Pakistan need our help more than ever.

In the aftermath of this month’s earthquake in the region, death tolls have surpassed 50,000. Injuries are above 75,000—and aid is most definitely lacking. There is an estimated need of 210,000 tents and 2 million sleeping bags as winter approaches. Everybody will need a good coat.  Our president, Mark Richey, and I have spoken to many members who feel passionately that we need to help. Already our board members and past presidents have pledged over $6,000.  Wild Things, an equipment manufacture for alpinists, has committed 100 sleeping bags, and REI has sent $25,000 and 100 sleeping bags directly to Pakistan. We are in a special position to help some of the more remote mountain populations who may be overlooked in larger relief efforts

If you would like to help, please follow this link to make a Pakistan contribution online:  Pakistan Relief Fund We will work with the Alpine Club of Pakistan to move this aid to where it will be most helpful to people in the mountains.

We are all climbers. Not all of us are wealthy. But most climbers have a spare coat or two. Send your extra jackets and coats to us at the clubhouse here in Golden, and we will put them on the backs of people in the mountains of Pakistan.  The AAC’s mailing address is 710 10th Street, Suite 100, Golden, CO 80401.

Respectfully yours,

Phil Powers
Executive Director
ppowers@americanalpineclub.org

 

Phil Powers and Ahmad Hussein, 1987. (Phil Powers Collection)

 

 

AAC BACKS JOSHUA TREE CLIMBERS’ CAMPGROUND

With campsites often in short supply in popular Joshua Tree National Park, climbers have found an alternative at “The Pit,” an undeveloped lot in the town of Joshua Tree, just outside the park. Now the lot’s owner, a longtime climber, has approached the AAC for help with limited development of the land as a permanent climbers’ campsite. The AAC’s budget for fiscal 2005-06 includes funds for portable toilets, trash collection and water at the site, and groundwork is being done for a possible long-term lease to create a Joshua Tree Climbers’ Ranch—an AAC-run campsite adjacent to one of this country’s most important climbing resources. For more info or to volunteer to help, contact David Rosenstein at bagtrango@yahoo.com.

GREAT FALLS MANAGEMENT PLAN

The National Park Service (NPS) has released a draft management plan for Great Falls Park, Virginia, the best and largest climbing area within two to three hours of Washington, D.C. Great Falls has some 250 routes, from 5.0 to 5.12. Although the draft plan is vague in key details, three provisions in the NPS preferred alternative could significantly affect climbing at Great Falls:  the closure of certain unspecified areas, an ill-defined plan to install permanent anchors, and the introduction of climbing permits. Together, these measures could effectively end climbing at Great Falls at it has been practiced for generations. The NPS plan can be viewed here.

The Blue Ridge Section of the AAC is working with other climbing clubs and individual climbers in the region to coordinate responses to the draft plan. The comment period ends December 15. Climbers who have visited Great Falls or live in the region are urged to write to the NPS and to point out the importance of Great Falls as a climbing resource, as well as the potential implications of the management plan. Climbers can make comments through the NPS website listed above.

More information and updates are available at http://www.patc.net/chapters/mtn_sect/. If you comment by email to the NPS, please send a copy to greatfallsaccess@gmail.com.  

HARLIN ON THE EIGER

The North Face of the Eiger

 

Eiger climbers 1962 and 2005: Daniela Jasper, John Harlin III, Konrad Kirch and Robert Jasper (left to right). Kirch climbed the Eiger with Harlin's dad in 1962; he and Harlin are holding a gift from the Jaspers: a piece of ancient rope and a piton taken from the Eiger, with a rose on top. Photo: Lee Greenwald.

John Harlin III, editor of the American Alpine Journal, climbed the North Face of the Eiger in Switzerland in late September with Swiss residents Daniela and Robert Jasper. The three-day ascent was filmed for a new IMAX movie called The Alps: Giants of Nature, which will feature Harlin and the mountain on which his father died in 1966. Harlin has also contracted with Simon & Schuster to write a book about his long relationship with the mountain. “[Jasper] was insistent on waiting for safe conditions, and when we finally launched all the rocks were frozen in place by snow and ice, and all the icefields were snowfields, and the climb was such a pleasure that it wreaks havoc with my literary needs,” Harlin joked in an email on his way home from Switzerland. Harlin’s Eiger climb also is featured as the first installment of the new Richard Bangs Adventures series at the Yahoo website: http://adventures.yahoo.com.

Because of these demands on his time during the coming year, Harlin has drafted a team of editors to help him produce the 2006 American Alpine Journal, including Assistant Editor Kelly Cordes, who will expand his existing responsibilities with the AAJ, as well as Lindsay Griffin (non-Western Hemisphere climbs and expeditions) and Dougald MacDonald (features).

NOMINATIONS FOR AAC BOARD DUE SOON

Glenn Porzak, chair of the Nominating Committee for the AAC, asks that nominations for new members of the Board of Directors be sent to him by November 23. The AAC is seeking experienced climbers from all walks of life, but especially business people and professionals. If you’d like to serve the club, send a letter and your resume to gporzak@pbblaw.com. New directors are elected at the annual meeting in February.

MOUNTAINEERING FELLOWSHIP APPLICATIONS DUE NOV. 1ST

The Fall cycle of the AAC’s Mountaineering Fellowship Fund comes due on November 1st.  The Mountaineering Fellowship Fund grants encourage young American climbers age 25 years and under to go into remote areas and seek out climbs more difficult than they might ordinarily be able to do. Unexplored mountain ranges, unclimbed peaks, and difficult new routes will be looked upon with favor, as will any project in keeping with the charter and purpose of The American Alpine Club.

For more information please visit http://www.americanalpineclub.org/knowledge/grants.asp or email Jason Manke at Jmanke@americanalpineclub.org

BULGARIAN CLIMBING FESTIVAL

From September 21-25, the Federation of the Bulgarian Alpine Clubs (with support from the mayor and municipality of Vratsa and Vrachanski Balkan Nature Park) hosted a climbing festival in Vratsa, Bulgaria. Despite rainy weather, the festival attracted 150 climbers from around the world, including the U.S., England, Ireland, Sweden, Croatia, Macedonia, Georgia and Turkey. With support from the AAC’s Central Rockies Section, Kevin Frederick joined the festival for three days and gave a presentation highlighting inspiring places to climb in Colorado and Wyoming. Frederick reports that the festival was a great experience, and that everybody even managed to sneak in some climbing between the rain and the beer! See the winter American Alpine News for a full report.

Main wall at Vratsa. Photo courtesy of Kiril Rusev.

BOARDMAN TASKER PRIZE WINNERS

The AAC library has copies of both new winners of Britain’s Boardman Tasker Prize, an annual award for mountaineering literature in English. This year the prize was shared between Andy Cave’s Learning to Breathe and The Villain, Jim Perrin's biography of Don Whillans. The short list in this year's competition also included Richard Sale's Broad Peak, Mick Fowler's On Thin Ice, and Mountain Rescue: Chamonix–Mont Blanc by Anne Sauvy. Check out these titles and thousands of others at http://americanalpineclub.library.net/, and remember that the library will mail books to AAC members.

CLUB SEEKS MARKETING INTERN

Interested in marketing and nonprofit development? Like to hang out with climbers? The AAC is seeking an intern to assist with marketing and fundraising projects. Contact Nigel Gregory at 303-384-0110, ext. 15, or ngregory@americanalpineclub.org.

COVER IMAGE SOUGHT FOR 2006 “ACCIDENTS”

Jed Williamson, editor of Accidents in North American Mountaineering, is seeking potential cover photos for the 2006 edition. Submit a slide or jpeg to Jed Williamson, 7 River Ridge Road, Hanover, NH 03755, or jedwmsn@sover.net.

PROBLEM WITH AVALANCHE TRANSCEIVERS

Ortovox has announced that owners of its M1 and M2 avalanche transceivers purchased before August 2005 need to retrofit the transceivers with a new lid to the battery compartment, available for free from the company. Apparently, different brands of AA batteries do not have the same length, width and prominence of the positive terminal; batteries inside the transceivers may shift if the unit receives a sharp blow, causing it to shut down. To get the revamped door for a transceiver, visit http://www.ortovox.com or call 1-888-215-3131.

This problem is likely not restricted to Ortovox transceivers, reports Dale Atkins of the Colorado Avalanche Information Center. “We have reproduced this problem with other brands,” Atkins said. “A sharp rap or two of the transceiver into one's hand is usually a sufficient test to see if the batteries will shift. Do not strike a hard object as it may damage the transceiver.”

CLUB INTRODUCES ONLINE DONATIONS

It is now easier to make donations to the AAC with the introduction of the online giving program.  Please visit this link: Make a Donation or visit the AAC website to make a contribution.

COMING EVENTS

October 29-November 6
Alberta
The 2005 Banff Mountain Festivals, with explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes and climbers Marko Prezelj, Arlene Blum, Andy Cave, Steve House, and Dr. Charles Houston, and many others. For program and ticket information, see www.banffmountainfestivals.ca.

November 9
Washington
Roger Strong will show slides from the Kichatna Spires, including a new route established this year, at the Feathered Friends retail store. For complete details, see www.featheredfriends.com or phone 206-292-2210.

November 14
Washington, D.C.
The Blue Ridge Section and Potomac Mountaineering Club co-host a slideshow by climber and photographer Jimmy Chin. 7 p.m., Hearst Hall, National Cathedral School. Info: http://www.americanalpineclub.org/community/section_blue_ridge.asp

November 14
Illinois
The AAC’s Midwest Section and the Chicago Mountaineering Club host a slideshow by legendary mountaineer Fred Beckey. 8 p.m., Goose Island Brewery, 1800 N. Clybourn, Chicago. Info: cmcprograms@cmcwebsite.org.

November 15
Alaska
The Alaska section hosts Jerry Dixon as he presents a free show on Alaskan wilderness adventures at the BP Energy Center, 900 E. Benson in Anchorage, at 6:30 p.m.

November 16
Washington
Chad Kellogg will show slides of new routes in China at the Feathered Friends retail store in Seattle. Info: www.featheredfriends.com; 206-292-2210.

January 21-22
New York
Save the dates for the New York Section’s annual Adirondack Winter Outing, with ice climbing, skiing and hiking. A formal invitation will be mailed to regional members around year-end. Or, contact philiperard@nysalpineclub.org.

February 10-12
New Hampshire
The 2006 AAC Mountain Fest and annual meeting will be based at the Attitash Grand Summit Hotel, smack in the middle of the White Mountains.
Climbing clinics, camaraderie and slideshows. Confirmed speakers include Indian Himalaya climbing pioneer Harish Kapadia (Siachen Glacier and exploratory opportunities), Russian alpinist Alexander Ruchkin (Jannu’s north face and Russian climbing training programs) and Northeast local Joe Terravechia (climbing in Newfoundland). More details to be announced soon. Save the dates and stay tuned for details at http://www.americanalpineclub.org/community/events-annual.asp

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 dougald5@comcast.net.

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