Climb of a Lifetime

This morning I was putting away my rock rack in the garage when I noticed that one of my ice axes was lying on the floor. Both of my children appeared to still be intact and they both were each carrying around their favorite toys (an Ariel mermaid doll and a Thomas the train engine). In other words, there had been no viscous ice axe attacks so that one might have the other's favorite toy...

The mystery was fleeting, but the idea of a blog wasn't. That ice axe lying on the floor reminded me that one question regularly arises when we are getting ready to go into the field. How do I attach my ice axe to my backpack?

Most backpacks have two loops that hang down off the back of the pack. To attach the ice axe, one must slide the shaft down into one of the loops with the pick facing in toward the center of the pack.


After the axe has been dropped down into the loop, rotate the spike up toward the top of the pack. Usually there is some kind of strap or buckle that can be fastened over the shaft so that the axe stays in place. The Black Diamond pack in the following picture has a special cord with a toggle to hold the axe in place.


After I took these pictures I found a nice hole in the backyard. It looked a little bit like somebody had been using a hoe to scrape up the grass. I immediately knew better. To me, it looked like an adze had been been at work.

After discovering that, I decided that it would probably be best if two little kids were not playing with an ice axe. There will be time enough for that when they're older...

--Jason D. Martin

--This week the American Alpine Institute was honored by the men's interest website Made Man as one of the five top climbing schools in America. To read the article, click here.


--The American Alpine Institute is currently running a climbing photography contest. The winner will get a $200 credit to use in our equipment shop or on a course, in addition to seeing the winning photo on the cover of our 2011 catalog. To learn more, click here.

Northwest:

--The official search for missing 35-year-old hiker Tyler Wright has ended without success, but the family’s search continues. The 35-year-old Vancouver hiker went missing on what was supposed to have been a six-day, solo hike from north of Squamish to Coquitlam on Aug. 10. Throughout a 12-day search and rescue mission RCMP called “one of B.C.’s largest,” evidence was found of his journey. But SAR and Provincial Emergency Program managers along with RCMP decided to suspend the mission yesterday evening after the final day revealed no trace of Wright. To read more, click here.

--A Bend woman who was knocked unconscious but survived a 70-foot fall from a trail at Smith Rock was the focus of a four-hour rescue, and was in good condition Thursday at a Redmond hospital, officials said.Deschutes County 911 got a call around 7:10 p.m. Wednesday that a climber had fallen from a trail on the east side of Smith Rock State Park, said sheriff’s Sgt. Scott Shelton. To read more, click here.

--Investigators recovered two bodies on Mount Hood and Friday morning, the medical examiner confirmed that they were Anthony Vietti and his climbing companion, Katie Nolan. Many of the same expert climbers who searched for the pair last year were among those who recovered the bodies on Thursday. They said it was a very emotional day for all of them. The bodies were found at the 9,700-level of Reid Headwall and it appeared that the two climbers had fallen down a steep slope. Climbers at the scene Thursday said the two were still roped together and located only about two feet apart. To read more, click here.

--A Snohomish man accidentally shot himself in his left buttock Saturday when he put a handgun in his back pocket. Darrel Elam, 52, was preparing to go hiking on Blewett Pass and had moved his 40-caliber Smith & Wesson handgun from its holster to his back pocket to see if that position would be more comfortable for walking, said Jerry Moore, chief of administration for the Chelan County Sheriff’s Office. The gun discharged and shot down his left buttock and left leg, coming to rest just above his knee. To read more, click here.


--The Washington Climbers Coalition has purchased one of the state's most-famous rock climbing venues, the Lower Town Wall in Index. Matt Perkins, secretary of the coalition, said the climbing group purchased the wall for $115,000 from a private landowner, Patricia Murphy. The group is trying to raise $300,000 for other additions to the wall, including parking, bathrooms and a walkway over railroad tracks. "Climbers have been working for more than 15 years to buy the Lower Town Wall," said Darryl Cramer, a WCC board member and guidebook author who has climbed the wall for nearly 30 years. "We've pulled it off and ensured that the Lower Town Wall will remain open to climbing forever." To read more, click here.

Sierra:

--Well known climber, BASE jumper and extremely friendly guy, Ammon McNeely was tazered for BASE jumping in Yosemite. It appears that he finished his jump, landed safely and then was tazed on the back of the neck by rangers who did not identify themselves. Ammon was released the following day. To see aFacebook page about this, click here. To see the Supertopo thread, click here. To hear a radio interview with Ammon about the incident, click here. He talks about the tazor incident at approximately the 17 minute mark. Ammon has consistently been one of the best athletes to work with at the annual Red Rock Rendezvous which AAI helps to support.

--With information obtained from a joint investigation with the Forest Service and the Mariposa County Sheriff’s Office, Yosemite National Park rangers raided a large marijuana cultivation site in El Portal early on the morning of August 24th and seized 3,657 plants. The site was on land in both Yosemite National Park and the Sierra National Forest. The park worked with Mariposa County Sheriff’s Office deputies and detectives, an officer from Mariposa County Probation, and park rangers from Point Reyes National Seashore. The total estimated worth of the seized marijuana is $14.6 million. To read more, click here.

Desert Southwest:

--Fire crews have fully contained the three-day old Keys Fire that burned 110 acres in the Joshua Tree National Park. Park officials announced the containment Sunday. Many crews had been sent back to their home stations while a few remained to check for hot spots, Park officials said. The fire began about 2:30 p.m. Thursday, when lightning struck the ground igniting trees and dry brush near Keys View, a busy park viewpoint at the 5,000 foot elevation, said Pat Pilcher, Park Ranger. To read more, click here.

--A wildfire is currently burning in Zion National Park. The Subway Fire, now estimated at 77 acres, is located on a plateau between Russell Gulch and Wildcat Canyon, approximately 5 miles south of Lava Point, in the northern portion of the park. At this time the fire is not posing any threats to park resources or adjoining private lands or structures. The wildfire was started by lightning on August 18 and has shown little activity until yesterday’s gusty winds caused the fire to make a run to the northeast. A sizeable column of smoke could be seen some distance from the park. To read more, click here.
Himalaya:

--The government of Nepal Friday came out strongly in support of an embattled South Korean, whose claim to be the first woman to have tamed all the 14 highest peaks in the world is now being doubted by her own country's top climbing body. After enduring a similar dispute in April, 44-year-old Oh Eun-Sun Friday faced the resurrection of the same doubts about her feat with the Korean Alpine Federation doubting whether she had really reached the top of Mt Kangchenjunga in 2009, her 10th scalp in an extraordinary climbing career started in 1997. To read more, click here.

Notes from All Over:

--Benjamin Russell Hebb loved music, fine teas and cooking — but he loved nothing more than rock climbing. Hebb died doing just that, after a fall from a ledge on Longs Peak. Rangers in Rocky Mountain National Park witnessed Hebb's 800-foot fall about 8 a.m. Friday. He was climbing the North Chimney Route from Broadway Ledge to Mills Glacier. To read more, click here.

--After 21 years buried under ice and snow at the foot of the Snow Dome in the Canadian Rockies, the body of American William Holland was found this month perfectly preserved in his full climbing gear, spiked boots on his feet and rope slung over his shoulder. Holland went missing after an ascent of Slipstream, a classic ice line. Apparently the climber was on the summit and probing around for a descent route when a cornice he was standing on collapsed. To read more, click here.

--The wife of a Calgary scientist seriously injured in a 60-foot fall while climbing near Banff is crediting his partner with saving the man from further harm. Jonathan Lytton, a professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at the University of Calgary, was climbing Saturday on Cascade Mountain in Banff National Park with colleague Don Welsh, an associate professor of physiology and pharmacology at U of C, when Lytton fell around noon. To read more, click here.

--Jenn Fields at the Colorado Daily has an interesting and fun outlook on outdoor adventure sports. She regularly writes comically about outdoor issues with your significant other. On Tuesday, she wrote an extremely entertaining article on crying in the outdoors. In other words, it's the moment that a person has a complete meltdown, and in yet other words, it's the moment that guys will never speak of again. And the moment that hardcore women know it's not a good idea to bring up, lest they undermine their significant other's manhood. To read the article, click here.

--Bruce Miller and Chris Weidner spent nine days on Longs Peak on the Diamond face between July 27 and August 26, establishing a 5.12 new free route that has yet to be named. To read more, click here.

--The Boulder County sheriff's department and area SWAT teams will get help from the Colorado National Guard to remove marijuana plants and dismantle a suspected illegal growing operation in the mountains north of Boulder. Two National Guard helicopters will haul the marijuana Wednesday from two sites found near the town of Raymond. Authorities say the plants and equipment used to grow them will be destroyed. To read more, click here.

--Engineers in France have started work to drain an immense lake that has built up under an Alpine glacier on Mont Blanc, an attempt to prevent a repeat of a flood that killed 175 people more than 100 years ago. Specialists are drilling into the glacier as part of preparations to slowly pump out the 65,000 cubic meters (2,275,000 cubic feet) of liquid believed trapped beneath the Tete Rousse glacier, the mayor of the Alpine town of Saint-Gervais-les-Bains said Wednesday. The amount of water is equivalent to about 26 Olympic-sized swimming poo To read more, click here.

--Municipalities in Yamanashi Prefecture adjacent to Mt. Fuji are considering charging visitors who climb the mountain to help cover the costs of such things as first-aid facilities, mountain toilet maintenance and garbage disposal. More and more people are trekking up Mt. Fuji every year. According to the Yamanashi and Shizuoka prefectural governments, from 2000 to 2006 about 200,000 people climbed Mt. Fuji each year. However, in 2007 the total jumped to 350,000 and in 2008 a whopping 430,000 people trekked up the famous mountain. To read more, click here.

NORTHWEST:


--This is by far the best Mt Baker ice climbing trip report of the season. Glacier sharks are real, you know.

--Ski conditions on the Helm Glacier (BC) can be found here. New snow found up top. (The author has a good point - is this the start of the new season or the end of this season?)

-- Trail Closure: Construction will close North Fork Sauk Trail #649 Aug. 31 through noon Sept. 3 at Mackinaw Shelter, milepost 5, to the Pacific Crest Trail junction at milepost 9. Hikers can access Glacier Peak Wilderness from the North Fork Skykomish Trail #1051. Call Darrington Ranger District for more information at 360-436-1155.

--Forecast for the West Slope of the Cascades.

--Forecast for the East Slope of the Cascades.

--Webcam for Leavenworth and the Stuart Range.

--Forecast for Mount Rainier.-- Route and Conditions Report from Mt. Baker Rangers: Mount Baker Climbing Blog.

--Forest Service Road Report for Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest.

--Mount Saint Helens, Mount Adams conditions and recreation report.

--Webcams for Mount Rainier National Park, North Cascades National Park, Leavenworth.

--An up-to-date ski and snow report for the Northwest may be found here.

--Up-to-date Pacific Northwest ice conditions may be found here.

--For up-to-date avalanche and weather reports in the Eastern Sierra, click here.

--Webcams for Bishop, June Lake, Mammoth Mountain, Mono Lake, Tioga Pass.

ALPS:

--Chamonix and Mont Blanc Regional Forecasts may be found here.

--Webcams for Chamonix Valley, Zermatt and the Matterhorn.

RED ROCK CANYON:

--Forecast and average temperatures for Red Rock Canyon.

--Webcam for Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area.--The late exit and overnight permit number for Red Rock Canyon is 702-515-5050. If there is any chance that you will be inside the park after closing, be sure to call this number so that you don't get a ticket.--The entrance to the scenic drive had a parking area for those who wanted to carpool up until approximately April of 2009. That lot has now become employee parking and people who want to carpool are required to park at the lot outside the Scenic Drive exit.

--The scenic drive currently opens its gates at 6 in the morning.

JOSHUA TREE:

-- Some campgrounds will close for the summer season. See here for more info.

--Forecast and average temperatures for Joshua Tree National Park.

--Webcam for Joshua Tree National Park.

ALASKA RANGE:

-- For the most current updates on Alaska, please see our Dispatch Blog.

--Forecast for Denali.

AAI Guide Alasdair Turner just returned from an incredibly unusual trip. Alasdair was hired to do the rope work for a study on golden eagles. Following is a blog he originally posted on his personal blog last month...
_________________________________________________

I just got back from a week of working with WA Dept of Fish and Wildlife. The work was some of the more interesting that I have done this summer. I spent the week collecting prey remains from from golden eagle nests in an attempt to identify what the eagles are eating. Eagles will put their nests on cliff faces often in caves to protect them from the weather. Getting to many of these nests was pretty challenging and each presented a unique problem. Some nests have no overhead anchors and very loose rock making for difficult climbing conditions. Once at each nest I would collect any pellets and any remains of prey that were in the nest.

Me sitting in a particularly challenging nest.

I found all sorts of animal parts in the nests including deer faun legs, coyote skulls, lots of marmot skulls, game bird legs, raptor skull, and snake parts. From a non-biologist perspective it appears that eagles will eat anything available and are pretty good hunters.

One of the last nests we did still had a chick in it. Soon after this photo was shot the bird fledged and made a remarkably graceful first flight out of the nest and down to the valley below.


The bird was captured, banded and fitted with a GPS tracking device.

Banding the bird. This is the business end of an eagle. The talons are the main danger in dealing with eagles.

Adding the band.

The eagle with the GPS tracker.

And a couple of eagle portraits.


The eagle then had to be returned to the nest. This involved wading across a creek, hiking up a hill, climbing down to the nest and putting the bird in.

In this photo I am standing in the nest so I can put the bird back. After grabbing the bird I put it in the nest and quickly climbed out. The bird stayed and we left. (WDFW photo)

--Alasdair Turner, Instructor and Guide

When I first started mountaineering it became clear to me that there were two things I needed to be successful. And no, I'm not talking about a lighter ice axe or more breathable clothing.

Nope. What I need were legs and lungs.

I realized that I needed to be able to walk uphill forever. And I realized that I needed to be able to breathe while I walked uphill forever.

The problem is that nobody can really walk uphill forever. Going up into the sky on a snowy peak really works the quads. Tired quads, plus walking uphill early in the morning, plus altitude, equals tired lungs.

There is a simplistic trick that can help you to preserve both your legs and your lungs. The Mountaineer's Rest Step is a technique that slows you down a bit -- which helps you keep your breath -- and allows you a micro-rest on every step. In the simplest terms, all that you have to do is lock your knee on every step. Locking your knee allows your body to rest on your skeletal system instead of on your muscles.

The Rest Step definitely slows you down. Some might say that this is far from ideal when trying to cover a lot of ground, but the reality is that slow and steady wins the race. It's always better to go slower and take less breaks than to go fast and have to stop a lot.

The Rest Step is a key mountaineering technique. On long summit days it doesn't get any better than taking a mini-rest with every step.

--Jason D. Martin

-- Sept 2 -- Aspen, CO -- Deep Water Solo Film Showing

--Sept 12 -- Bishop, CA --John Cyril Fischer Celebration

-- Sept 16 -- Salt Lake City, UT -- HERA Foundation Climb4Life

-- Sept 18 -- Pocatello, ID -- Pocatello Pump, Idaho State University

-- Sept 19-20 -- Bidsboro, PA -- 3rd Annual Clean and Climb

-- Sept 19 -- Index, WA -- WCC Index Purchase Celebration

-- Sept 25 -- Salt Lake City, UT -- Adopt-a-Crag American Fork

-- Sept 25 -- Indian Creek, UT -- SushiFest

-- Oct 2 -- Boone, NC -- Trip Crown Bouldering Comp

-- Oct 7-9 -- Seattle, WA -- Mountainfilm Tour

-- Oct 8-10 -- Red River Gorge, KY -- Rocktoberfest 2010

-- Oct 8-10 -- San Luis Obispo, CA -- Pine Mountain Pull Down

-- Oct 10-12 -- Golden, CO -- Craggin Classic

-- Oct 14 -- San Diego, CA -- Allied Climbers Annual Fundraiser

--Oct 24-26 -- Joshua Tree, CA -- ClimbSmart

--Oct 24-26 -- New River Gorge, WV -- Warrior's Way SPORT Camp

--Oct 29-Nov -- Southwest various locations -- Chris Sharma Slideshow Tour

--Oct 30-Nov -- Banff, Canada -- Banff Mountian Film Fest

--Oct 30-Nov 7 -- Italy -- International Mountain Summit Festival

The American Alpine Institute is currently looking for a photo to be featured on the cover of our upcoming 2011 catalog. We would like a photo that signifies what the American Alpine Institute is all about; namely working, teaching, and playing in the beautiful mountain ranges around the world. This is a chance for you to show off your artistic side and submit a few photos to be considered for our catalog cover. We are really leaving it up to you to decide what you would like to see on the cover! Runners up will be used on the inside.


What’s in it for you? Well, besides the opportunity for the fame and glory that comes with photo credit in a very public and widely distributed place, the winner will receive a $200 credit on any of our programs or on gear at the Equipment Shop at AAI. The top six shots for the inside will receive $25 credit each. Please submit your photos no later than September 10th.

Email your photos with your name and where the shot was taken to: andrew@aai.cc

Please submit photos that are no larger than 4mb, however if your photo is selected, we will need a full size copy that can be printed at 300 dpi. Essentially, the photo would need to be more than 8.2 Mega pixels (3350x2382) and could be printed at 300 dpi at a size of 8.5" x 11". Smaller sizes are OK for inside the catalog.

We look forward to seeing your stunning mountain photography soon. Best of luck!

-Andrew Yasso, Program Coordinator

Northwest:

--Search and Rescue crews have now covered the entire length of the Boise Creek Trail near Squamish, where missing hiker Tyler Wright was last seen, with no sign of him. It’s been 12 days since the 35-year-old Vancouver resident took off for a 50-kilometre hike starting 35 kilometres up the MacMillan Bloedel Forest Service Road on route to Pitt Lake, Coquitlam Lake or Indian Arm. To read more, click here and here.

--The Clackamas County Sheriff's Search and Rescue team will ascend Mount Hood in the near future to recover human remains that may be those of a Longview climber who died there in December. Clackamas County Sheriff's spokesman Jim Strovink said Monday the remains have not been positively identified, but the family of Anthony Vietti of Longview believes they could be his. Vietti, 25, climbed Mount Hood Dec. 11 with two friends, Katie Nolan and Luke Gulberg. They reached the summit but didn't return. Gulberg, 26, of Des Moines, Wash., was found dead of hypothermia the next day. No trace was found of Vietti or Nolan, 29, of Portland. To read more, click here and here.

--A husband and wife were rescued on Friday about 1,000 feet below the Mt. Adams summit, a point they reached only to get stuck late Thursday on their way down when terrain turned icy, authorities said. At about 10:42 p.m., crews were called on to rescue the husband and wife who were stranded by bad weather and dealing with medical complications, according to emergency police scanners monitored at The Columbian. A search and rescue official said Thursday night the twosome was poorly equipped, cold and likely dehydrated. To read more, click here.


--AAI guide and photographer Alasdair Turner had an interesting assignment last week. Through a series of fortunate events, he was hired by the Washington State Democratic Party to photograph President Obama when he visited Seattle. To see a photo essay of Alasdair's work, click here.

Sierra:

--A hiker in the Horsehoe Lake are above Mammoth made a grim discovery over the weekend. The Mono Sheriff's Office reports that a hiker on the trail that circles around Horseshoe Lake came across the body of 78-year-old Real Balthazar of Mammoth Lakes. The Sheriff's Department said that the hiker found Mr. Balthazar lying in the middle of the trail. When Mr. Balthazar did not respond, the hhiker returned to his vehicle and called 911. The man also let Forest Service personnel in the area know of the incident. To read more, click here.

--The iconic Sierra climber Peter Croft and Matt Ciancio recently linked four major lines on the Incredible Hulk, a 1,200 foot granite peak in the Sierras, in a day. The speed of their ascent is amazing and is even more amazing when you consider that the approach takes a half a day. To read more, click here.

--From the Boston Globe to the New York Times, ABC, NBC, CBS and the Animal Planet - Steve Searles of Mammoth Lakes tops celebrity status with his unique brand of bear management. In his home town, it's not that simple. A recent Mammoth Wildlife Committee meeting once more revealed the schisms in agency perception of bear control. Mammoth Mayor Skip Harvey, who sits on the committee, has hope that all parties will find ways to work around each other's requirements. Mammoth politicians acknowledge Searles, who claims large popular support in town. At this week's Wildife Committee meeting, Fish and Game's Tim Taylor talked about bear population studies. Taylor did not give up information about Fish and Game's past destruction of bears, as requested. To read more, click here.

--Two rock climbers, trapped by the El Monte fire near El Capitan Reservoir east of Lakeside, California, were rescued by a helicopter that could not land at their location, but hovered close enough that the climbers could step into the helicopter. To read more, click here.

Desert Southwest:

--A tip from an observant forest ranger led to the arrest of an Arizona prison escapee and his alleged accomplice who had been on the run since last month, authorities said late Thursday. John McCluskey and Casslyn Mae Welch were arrested at a campground on the edge of Apache and Sitgreaves National Forests in Springerville, Arizona, according to U.S. Marshal David Gonzales. To read more, click here.

--Two people were hospitalized in critical condition Wednesday after an early-morning motorcycle crash in Joshua Tree National Park, a California Highway Patrol spokesman said. The crash on Keys View Road just north of Juniper Flats Road was reported to the highway patrol about 3:15 a.m., according to a CHP dispatch system. To read more, click here.

Alaska:

--Colin Haily and Mike Schaefer recently completed an amazing Alaskan traverse. The pair linked every peak in the Devil's Thumb massif, including the summits of the Witches Tits, Cat's Ears Spires, and the Devil's Thumb itself. To read more, click here.


--In mid-May Renan Ozturk, Zack Smith and Freddie Wilkinson attempted to complete a traverse of the entire Moose's Tooth massif. They completed a new route on the south face of the Moose's Tooth, but ultimately failed in their traverse. To read more, click here.

Himalaya:

--On the soft snow above Everest Base Camp at 17,400 feet, Chad Kellogg is trudging uphill in trail-running shoes. Attempting to reach the summit of the world's highest mountain alone, without oxygen, and in record time, Kellogg is on a mission both physical and intensely personal. But it's not going well. Abnormally high temperatures this spring afternoon have turned the snow to slush, and for every step he takes forward, Kellogg is sliding half a step back. Most of the 140 climbers attempting the summit had left in the crisp early morning, wearing heavy plastic climbing boots with crampons. But if Kellogg was going to beat the speed record, he needed to avoid the crowds and go it alone. To read more, click here.

Notes from All Over:

--A man who was found dead this afternoon about a quarter-mile up Red Rock Trail at Settlers Park in west Boulder likely committed suicide, according to Boulder County sheriff's officials. Cmdr. Rick Brough said the man, 43, likely died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The victim's name was not immediately released. Boulder County sheriff's deputies and Rocky Mountain Rescue volunteers were still at the scene about 5 p.m, and had closed the trail. To read more, click here.

--An experienced climber and Boulder water rights lawyer was seriously injured in the Indian Peaks Wilderness Area west of Brainard Lake on Saturday morning and rescued via helicopter after a lengthy search of the area. Glenn Porzak, 64, was flown to St. Anthony's Central Hospital in Denver. He was in the surgical intensive care unit on Sunday, but the hospital would not provide information on his condition. To read more, click here.

--Rescuers last week brought a 17-year-old climber to safety off Huntington Ravine on New Hampshire's Mount Washington.Fish and Game Department officials said Sean McCarthy, of Exeter, N.H., was rock climbing in the Central Gulley of Huntington Ravine on Thursday morning when he fell. He came to rest about two-thirds of the way up the headwall and is believed to be seriously injured, officials said. To read more, click here.

--By this time, everybody and their grandmother knows the Aron Ralston story. That is the story of the young man who got his arm pinned behind a boulder in the Canyonlands and was forced to cut it off with a pocket knife. And perhaps some of you were aware that the academy award winning director Danny Boyle of Slumdog Millionaire fame was directing actor James Franco in a screen version of it. But I bet you didn't know that James Franco made an appearance at AAI Guide Kurt Hick's wedding last week. Yup, the actor is going out with Kurt's wife's sister...so take that Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon. In any case, the trailer to the new film can be viewed below:



--Chad Kellogg and Dylan Johnson recently abandoned plans to climb All Along the Watchtower, a famous Grade VI on the west face of North Howser Tower in the Bugaboos of British Columbia to pluck a new line out nearby. The Simulator (5.11 C2, 19 pitches, 3,000') climbs the Southwest face of the peak. To read more, click here.

--The national parks’ history is full of examples of misguided visitors feeding bears, putting children on buffalos for photos and dipping into geysers despite signs warning of scalding temperatures. But today, as an ever more wired and interconnected public visits the parks in rising numbers — July was a record month for visitors at Yellowstone — rangers say that technology often figures into such mishaps. People with cellphones call rangers from mountaintops to request refreshments or a guide; in Jackson Hole, Wyo., one lost hiker even asked for hot chocolate. A French teenager was injured after plunging 75 feet this month from the South Rim of the Grand Canyon when he backed up while taking pictures. And last fall, a group of hikers in the canyon called in rescue helicopters three times by pressing the emergency button on their satellite location device. When rangers arrived the second time, the hikers explained that their water supply “tasted salty.” To read more, click here.