Climb-Aid Climber Alert Network

Linked from http://www.montrosepress.com/articles/2006/12/29/local_news/3.txt --- The Fowler-Boskoff Search Committee raised funds and coordinated several teams in China to locate Fowler and Boskoff.   Search committee member Arlene Burns of Telluride Mountainfilm called the establishment of Climb-Aid the "one positive" of the ordeal.   "It takes the template for what Telluride formed from scratch and formalizes it, making it available in the future," she said. "There will be a place to go for immediate help, including a registry system for climbers to enter their itineraries and contact information. That's pretty neat."   Climb-Aid will allow climbers to maintain a database of contacts worldwide. It also aims ... Read Full Story

Linked from http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=apa2k3wEllNU&refer=us --- Missing mountaineer Charlie Fowler was found dead on a remote Chinese peak, the likely victim of an avalanche, a U.S. group organizing the search effort said today. The whereabouts of his climbing partner remain a mystery. Fowler's legs and gray boots were spotted poking through deep snow yesterday at about 17,000 feet (5,300 meters) on Genyen Peak in southwest China, the Fowler-Boskoff Search Committee said in a statement. Read Full Story

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TAKAYAMA, Gifu -- Four climbers died after being hit by an avalanche on a mountain here in the early hours of Tuesday, police said. Gifu Prefectural Police rescue workers confirmed the four dead at a nearby mountain lodge. They have been identified as Keiji Ichikawa, 51, Takeshi Nishii, 31, Koichi Echizenya, 60, and Shinichi Kanazashi, 45. At around 12:15 a.m. on Tuesday, a climber made an emergency call from his mobile phone, reporting that several people were buried under snow on Mount Yarigatake in Takayama after being hit by an avalanche. Local police said seven people from two groups were hit by the avalanche ... Read Full Story

Ask most non-climbers what they believe to be the biggest danger to a mountaineer or rock climber, and they are likely to say falling off ! But in fact, as a result of modern methods, equipment and training serious injury as a result of a long fall is actually among the least common events likely to happen to a climber. Falls do of course happen. They're more likely when climbers are fatigued, cold, dehydrated or cramped. All of these things reduce climbing efficiency. Coordination suffers, muscles become less able to maintain a solid grip,and judgment is sometimes impaired. Pulling your body up against gravity ... Read Full Story