Steve Swenson, Mark Richey and Freddie Wilkinson have made the first ascent of Saser Kangri II (24,665’), the world's second-highest unclimbed peak, according to the American Alpine Club. The mountain is in the Kashmir Region of India.

During the descent, Swenson encountered difficulty breathing. The team reached basecamp, then used a satellite phone to contact the AAC affiliate Global Rescue, as well as the high-altitude expert Dr. Brownie Schoene of Bozeman Deaconess Hospital in Great Falls, Montana. The teammates eventually decided to evacuate Swenson.

"Global Rescue worked through the night with the U.S. Embassy and the Indian Military to organize a helicopter rescue from advanced base camp at 5800 meters," according to a statement by the American Alpine Club. On Friday, August 26, Swenson reached a hospital in Leh, India, by helicopter. He has since been released.

Swenson, an engineer from Seattle and exceptionally experienced climber and mountaineer, is the current president of the American Alpine Club, while his friend and fellow veteran climber Richey, from Boston, is past president. 

A portrait with miniprofile of Swenson is currently on newsstands in Rock and Ice's special edition of  Ascent, a compendium of mountain thought and writing.

Wilkinson, of North Conway, New Hampshire, also an experienced expedition climber, is a contributor to this magazine and the author of One Mountain, Thousand Summits: The Untold Story of Tragedy
and True Heroism on K2. 

Check here for the AAC report. See photos and info from a previous attempt on Swenson's blog here.

[Above: Steve Swenson in Seattle at last year's AAC benefit dinner. Photo by John Scurlock / The American Alpine Club.]

Rock and Ice issue #196, currently on newsstands features an amazing feature story by Senior Editor Andrew Bisharat, Climbing To The Death. This article offers the inside perspective of Catalunya, Spain and the world of ridiculously hard sport climbing.

Along with the article is this enjoyable video that captures the action that took place in Spain to make this article possible.

Spring 2011 sport climbing trip to Catalunya, Spain. Please read accompanying feature, "Climbing to the Death" in Rock and Ice issue 196.
Featured Routes: El Segre (7c+), Tres Ponts; Latido del Miedo (8a), Terradets; El Fugistador (8a+), Margalef.
Video footage shot by Keith Ladzinski and Elly Stewart. Edit by Tobin Sanson.

(To watch more sport climbing videos, Click Here.)

The info section of Lucky Chance's new Facebook page contains this update from his family, now at his side in Europe:

"Lucky Chance has been in a serious accident & is currently in hospital in Europe. We have since been to see our beloved Toby.....

"Currently, Lucky is in a coma. He has sustained multiple injuries to his body; however the biggest challenge he is facing is the severe head injury that has left him with pressure on the brain.

"The next few weeks are crucial and he needs our positive thoughts and prayers. If you know Lucky then you know he is of strong mind and body. If anyone can take on this challenge he can. For the moment all we can do is play the waiting game while he fights this first hurdle in a long journey.

"We are pulling together to raise funds to help Lucky cover his enormous medical bills. Should you wish to contribute please follow [this link]: http://www.mycause.com.au/mycause/raise_money/fundraise.php?id=32146

"Lucky is an incredible human being and is known around the world by many as an inspired climber/jumper/hero! "

On the Australian climber-adventurer's website he describes himself as: "the father of optimistic enterprise and trivial agenda, my pursuits lie in the range of heights and fantasy, actualising dreams as they come my way.

"I began in the early days with climbing, a solid base that any hero of today requires. From the age of 12 to 20 there was no other life for me and no purpose more worthwhile. After falling victim to a chronic disease known as doing something too much, I had to search the murky depths of existence to find some other form of sustenance that would continue to drive my little motor for another day." BASE jumping, he writes, "is where I found myself."

The family will continue to update the Facebook page. Questions and messages are being received at: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner from Austria has made it to the summit of K2, becoming the first woman to climb all 14 of the 8,000-meter peaks without the use of supplemental oxygen. Her companions Vassiliy Pivtsov, Darek Zaluski and Maxut Zhumayev all made it to the summit shortly after Katlenbrunner. It has been almost three years since any expedition has made it to the summit of K2.

Kaltenbrunner’s blog contains a third-person report: “Gerlinde told Ralf on the radio that she would like to thank everyone, who was with her in their thoughts and who kept their fingers crossed for her climb. She would also like to thank everyone for their mental support, which she could clearly feel and which helped carry her to the summit.”

The last ascent of K2 was in 2008 when a tragic series of events took the lives of 11 climbers. In 2009 and 2010, poor weather and deep snow denied all attempts.

Kaltenbrunner and her team followed the route up the north ridge, on the Chinese side of the mountain. This route is rarely climbed because of difficult access that involves crossing the Shaksgam River, while it is also technically difficult due to its steep rocky ridge. It was first completed by a Japanese expedition in 1982. The last time it was climbed was in 2007 by a team from Kazakhstan.

Kaltenbrunner and her team now face a difficult descent after making history on one of the most notorious peaks in the world, second in height only to Everest but steeper and more difficult, with only 302 successful summits relative to a high rate of 80 fatalities.

Sources: PlanetMountain.com and K2Bottleneck.Wordpress.com

The Blue Diamond Hill area of the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, Nevada, is at risk of being developed into a housing project that would include 7,000 new housing units, light-industry, businesses and a college. On August 17 a hearing was held with the Board of County commissioners in which the proposal for the new housing project was up for approval. Even though hundreds of opponents of the proposal, including many from the climbing community, attended the hearing to voice their opinions about the detriment the project would cause to the beauty of the area, the board voted 5-2 to allow the proposal to move forward.

The project became possible only after Jim Rhodes sued the state of Nevada claiming that the local governments had unduly designated property in Red Rock Canyon under a zoning ordinance that limited development. While the county ordinance does stand, Rhodes was given the right to submit development plans that were at least 700 acres in size.

This new proposal is now underway. The only way to repeal the board’s decision is to provide substantial evidence that the project would hurt Red Rock Canyon, a difficult task, but issues such as the density of development and issues with Bureau of Land Management access could work against the proposal. See a MountainProject forum.

To find out what you can do to help, visit Save Red Rock Canyon.

To see the plans for Rhodes' development click here.

It's not that often in sport climbing that a premier, unclimbed project—thought to be a new level of difficulty for the area—is equipped, brushed and open for the taking. But such was the setting this summer in Rifle, Colorado, as a throng of gung-ho strongmen vied for the honor to be first to send the wicked-hard project dubbed "Bad Girls Club," equipped and opened to the community by Joe Kinder.

Dave Graham, Carlo Traversi, Jon Cardwell and Keller Rinaudo all put in burns sussing the moves on the mega steep 100-foot climb in the Wicked Cave. But it was a 19-year-old Matty Hong who swooped in for the first ascent on Sunday evening, August 21.

"I remember seeing Facebook posts about the climb when Carlo, Dave, and Jon were all trying it," writes Matty. "Got me really psyched. I have so many friends that climb in the canyon, the atmosphere was always good. People were psyched for me when I got close!"

Bad Girls Club is likely Rifle's first 5.14d. Comparing it to its neighboring route,  The Crew (5.14c), which he sent two years ago, Matty says Bad Girls Club is definitely a step harder.

"For a while I thought it would only be 8c+ (5.14c), not until i got to the last crux from the ground. I thought I could fall 100 times up there." This is Matty's 14th 5.14 redpoint, and the route took him about 10 days of work to send.

Matty is a Junior National Champion and has sent such difficult problems as Esperanza (V14) in Hueco. Matty is also the son of the American climbing icon and prolific first ascentionist Steve Hong. Both Matty's mother, Karin Budding, and Steve are staples of the Rifle climbing community, and both were there this weekend to witness their son's biggest FA.

Joe Kinder spent many hours in the late fall of 2010 establishing this route. However, by the time the route was ready to be climbed on, it was too cold. True to his word, Kinder, who has historically been a vocal opponent of redtagging routes, opened the line up to the community. Since the spring, Kinder has been traveling through Europe and South Africa, though he plans to return to Rifle in September with Bad Girls Club as his main objective. Last year, Kinder had an amazingly productive season, helping to nearly double the number of 5.14s in Rifle with such FAs as Caddy Whompus (5.14a), Waka Flocka (5.14b), and the link-up Waka Flocka Flame (5.14c). Despite having the biggest collection of difficult 5.13's of anywhere in the country, Rifle lacks 5.14c and 5.14d climbs—especially when compared to places like Rumney, New Hampshire. Kneebars and other beta trickery, along with a well established local "ethic" of sandbagging, keep grades lower than they would be otherwise (or elsewhere).

What makes Bad Girls Club difficult is that it is stacked with difficult boulder problems, culminating with a V-double-digit boulder problem right at the lip of the 100-foot cave. Whether the mythic 5.14d grade will hold remains to be seen. But for now, this is a proud and quick effort by one of America's up-and-coming talents. Good job, Matty!

Says Matty: "I wouldn't have been able to climb on this if it wasn't for Joe Kinder for equipping the route. I know he spent a lot of time cleaning that thing up, it was amazing how well it climbed, and awesome of him open it up for me and everyone else. I am psyched I got the FA but it feels the same as any project sent. Now on to the next one!"

Russia swept the top three spots at the Bouldering World Cup in Munich today, while Kilian Fischuber (AUT) was sixth, not his usual par, but who cared?  He had just won the overall IFSC Bouldering World Cup yet again.

One-two-three went to Russia's Dmitry Sharafutdinov, Rustam Gelmanov and Alexey Rubstov. Sharafutdinov was himself second in the overall IFSC World Cup.

Mina Markovich (SLO) scored a surprise win for women, with Julianne Wurm (GER) at her shoulder in second, and Anna Stöhr (AUT) as usual on the podium—having done what she needed to in finishing ahead of Akiyo Noguchi (JPN), who had been breathing down her neck for the overall title. Noguchi was sixth, and Stöhr won the IFSC World Cup for the season.

Team N.A. did not fare as well today as yesterday. Alex Puccio, usually a great bet for finals, was a touch out of that field of six in a tie for eighth, but solid in her third place in overall WC standings. Daniel Woods was 13th and Sean McColl, the Canadian climber who had been among six to tie for first in the men's qualifiers, finished in 19th.

Sasha DiGiulian, who had been part of a similar knot of six women to flash everything in the first round, was 15th. Next for the promising 18-year-old are the lead-climbing Youth Worlds in Imst, Austria, in a week.

In the men's overall WC standings, Woods solidly cracked the top 10 in ninth overall, and McColl logged 13th.

McColl also competes and excels in lead events, the next of which for him is September 30th in Puurs, Belgium.  (He decided not to go to China for the two lead WC comps there.) Currently in France, McColl will return to NA to compete in the lead WC in Boulder, Colorado, in October. Meanwhile, he will help coach the Canadian youth team at the World Youth Championships in Imst.

Another leading American woman climber, Alex Johnson, who did not attend Munich, notched eighth—another top 10—for the season. Angie Payne, who attended few events but made the finals at the Teva World Cup, placed 21st overall.

See all results here.

Other recent R and I articles on this event, with background,  are here and here.

Until next season, all!

The North Americans Sasha DiGiulian and Sean McColl came out on top in the first round of the Bouldering World Cup, in Munich. Click here for yesterday's preview of the event and participants.

Both DiGiulian, from Virginia, and Vancouver's McColl joined a tie for first in the qualifiers. DiGiuilan was part of a six-way tie for first among women, and her compatriot Alex Puccio, originally from Texas, was one in a four-way tie for seventh among the 36 women. Both are easily in the semifinal field of 20.

Among men, McColl also joined a six-way tie for first.  Colorado's Daniel Woods in 12th will also handily make the next round of 20 from among the 65 men.

On Sunday (August 14) DiGiulian, 18, won the lead-climbing European Youth Cup in Imst, Austria, which will also be site of (and held on the same wall as) the Youth World Cup a week from now. At that time she wrote on her blog:

"This week I will decide whether or not I will compete in the bouldering World Cup in Munich, Germany, starting Friday. It is a short time frame to be deciding but I want to see how I feel and to ensure that this weekend won’t just waste my energy for the following weekend (YWC), which I care more about." She hadn't bouldered since an Adidas Rockstars event at the end of July, she noted, though her concern was more that competitions are physically and mentally draining. "That said… I also think that competitions are fun and it would be a new and fun experience to compete in Munich." Apparently she is having fun and remembering how to boulder.

The Canadian brother-sister pair of Elise and Eric Sethna were 24th and 29th respectively in the Munich qualifiers.

See all results here.

Saturday's semifinals and finals will be streamed live on ifsc.tv: click here.

Semis for both men and women will take place in Germany at 11:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., with the finals at 6:30 p.m. Time in Europe is six hours ahead of EST, so for us the show begins early: 5:30 a.m. - 8 a.m. EST, with finals at 12:30 p.m. EST.

The Australian BASE jumper "Lucky Chance" whose video clip on the Rock and Ice Vimeo page of him walking away from a nearly 600-foot fall to the ground went viral and had 334,000 views in just a few weeks, is in critical condition after another BASE jumping accident, this time in Europe. Look for details as they are available.

Can Akiyo Noguchi come from just behind and take the crown from Anna Stöhr's head? Can the young Sasha DiGiulian repeat her golden moments at Arco—and will Daniel Woods and Alex Puccio do what we know they can?

This weekend the storied Olympic Stadium of Munich will host the Bouldering World Cup finale, with Woods, Puccio, DiGiulian, Courtney Sanders and Audrey Sniezek attending from the USA, and Sean McColl and the siblings Elise and Eric Sethna there from Canada. The event will be the central attraction of the SportScheck Outdoor Festival, and is to involve 104 athletes—72 men and 26 women—from more than 26 countries.

Amid competition fields that get harder and deeper every year, way out in front in the overall 2011 IFSC Bouldering World Cup rankings is Kilian Fischuber (AUT), age 28, with 560 points, his win over Dmitry Sharafutdinov (RUS), 24, who has 431 points, sealed early when Kilian took first in the Sheffield, England, World Cup.

The women’s overall title, however, will be decided in Munich: Anna Stöhr, 23, who won this year at the USA's home event, in Vail, is just 5 points ahead of 22-year-old Akiyo Noguchi (JPN): 634 to 629. Noguchi has four wins among 2011 events—and Stöhr also has four wins.

Alex Puccio, 22, is sitting in a podium place of third among women for the season with 498 points, and a record that includes three seconds and two thirds this year. As consistent as she is strong, Puccio made the finals in her first straight eight World Cups, winning the 2009 WC in Vail, and only finally succumbed to the usual competitor ups and downs at her ninth international comp, when she placed 10^th at Eindhoven, the Netherlands, four events ago. She logged an uncharacteristic 23^rd at the World Championships, the most recent event, in Arco, so is sure to approach Munich with a combination of extra fire and care.

Also ever a power, Daniel Woods, 22, has placed an excellent second and fourth in two of the four WC events he’s attended this season. He won the Vail World Cup in 2010, though clocking 11^th at that event this year. He has been in the top five in a full seven of the total 10 world-class events (WCs plus one Arco Rockmaster) he has attended since 2008; and, with his lowest finish being only a 13^th in Spain this year, he has never been out of the top 15.

A real spark at the event may come from Sasha DiGiulian, 18, a new star at Arco after making the finals in both lead climbing and bouldering, placing a superb second behind Stöhr in bouldering—and getting the gold for combined performance.

Sean McColl, 23, of Vancouver, another boulderer who is also an extremely strong lead climber, was 11th at Arco, and this season has placed as high as third—on the podium for the home crowd at the Canmore WC—as well as 9th, 15th and 16th at the  bouldering WCs he has attended this year.

Not in Munich due to logistics is another leading American woman, Alex Johnson, currently eighth place in the IFSC Bouldering World Rankings.

Says Johnson, “They changed the date of the comp, bumped it back two weeks, and I had already gotten my ticket home.”

Johnson, almost uncannily, placed seventh in four different events this year, a high result in world-class fields but irksome in that seventh is a hair out of the finals field, which is always six women and six men.

A few other top competitors, including Korea's Jain Kim, will also have peeled off due to the lead-climbing season.

Fischuber, who since 2004 has won 16 Bouldering World Cups, will be a five-time overall Bouldering World Cup Champion. Only 16 points behind the second-place Sharafutdinov, currently in third overall, is Guillaume Glairon Mondet (FRA) winner of two WCs this year.

To see the webcast live on ifsc.tv, click here. Highlights will be available afterwards on ifsc.tv and youtube.com/ifscchannel. Complete competition results will be constantly updated on ifsc-climbing.org, here.

According to Alex Puccio on Facebook, tomorrow’s (Friday's, August 19) qualifiers are: men 5 a.m. to 9:30 EST, women 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.

(Photos: Top: Akiyo Noguchi was first in the IFSC World Cup last year, and goes into the season finale this weekend only five points behind Anna Stöhr.  Second: It's hard to beat Kilian Fischuber, the winningest male in Bouldering WC history. Bottom: Sasha DiGiulian, left, tastes success with a second at the recent Arco World Championships. Center on podium is Anna Stöhr, and right, Julianne Wurm (GER), who came on very strong this year, making an impressive five finals fields. Wurm is sitting fifth overall in the IFSC WC rankings. All photos courtesy News Power.)