Craig Luebben

Climbing Mag Editor Craig Luebben , 49, was killed by falling ice on Mount Torment in Washington’s Cascades August 9, 2009. The Fort Collins/Denver, Colo, mountain guide was climbing with Willie Benegas in preps for an Alpine Guide certification. Willie has reportedly been airlifted from the area with injuries. The accident happened early Sunday morning on Mount Torment in the North Cascades, near Marblemount. Kelly Bush, the district ranger with North Cascades National Park search and rescue, said the two climbers had crossed the upper part of the Taboo Glacier, with Luebben leading. A chunk of ice fell beneath him and he fell about ... Read Full Story

(K2Climb.net/MountEverest.net) ExplorersWeb is undergoing a major overhaul, but here go some of the main headlines from the past weekend, with several more updates to be posted tomorrow. K2 is over and few attempts are ongoing on the remaining peaks. There’s no further news from the situation on Latok 1 at this point. Unfortunately, the mountaineering world lost three prominent climbers through the weekend. American Climbing editor killed Climbing Mag Editor Craig Luebben , 49, was killed by falling ice on Mount Torment in Washington’s Cascades August 9, 2009. The Fort Collins/Denver, Colo, mountain guide was climbing with Willie Benegas in preps for an Alpine ... Read Full Story

Except for a single Spanish summit, K2 remained unclimbed this year. Too much snow, too dangerous conditions – the peak pushed climbers back until all chances were out. Other Pakistan peaks showed little success as well. The season’s biggest sad event hit last Saturday, when a call went out for Oscar Perez seriously injured on Latok II. That black weekend, one by one reports trickled in from around the world about perished climbers. At least good news arrived this Sunday about jailed Iranian K2 summiteer Kazem Faridian; and out on the Indian Ocean – Sarah Outen made it against the odds. Latok rescue attempt ... Read Full Story

The guiding community lost an inspirational member this week. On Sunday, August 9th, Craig Luebben was killed in an accident in the North Cascades National Park while preparing for a guide exam. There are many conflicting reports about what actually happened. The information I've placed here is second hand and shouldn't be taken as the final word, but it's the best that we have. Craig and Willie Benegas were training for an American Mountain Guides Association exam on the Torment-Forbidden Traverse in the North Cascades National Park. This particular traverse has become a popular objective on guide exams. The mile-long ridge requires an extremely ... Read Full Story

Craig Leubben (craigleubben.com) Craig Luebben was a well-known mountain and rock climber. He passed away on August 9, 2009 after being hit by falling ice while climbing Mount Torment in the Cascade Mountains. He was 49 years old. Also injured was his partner, Willie Benegas. From a post on the Mountain Project forums by Eli Helmuth: Craig Luebben died yesterday, August 9th, while climbing on Mount Torment in the Cascade Range of Washington. He was hit by a naturally released chunk of ice/snow on the route. His partner, Himalayan alpinist Willie Benegas was injured in the ice fall, but was able to contact authorities ... Read Full Story