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 Former Olympian Carl Swenson Wins First Annual Kismet Cliff Run
North Conway native Carl Swenson, a nordic ski Olympian, made it a memorable first ever Kismet Cliff Run as the winner of what more than one competitor commented is destined to become a classic race in northern New England. For the fifty Kismet Cliff Run participants, Sunday, September 20th was a perfect early fall day in the White Mountains of New Hampshire.
 Help Reopen Williamson Rock
Since 2004, the Angeles National Forest has banned climbing at Williamson Rock due to conflicts with critical habitat of the endangered Mountain Yellow Legged Frog. Now, after much work by the Friends of Williamson Rock and the Access Fund urging the Angeles National Forest to study alternate approach trails to Williamson, the Forest Service has issued a proposal that would reopen many of Williamson’s climbs while also protecting sensitive wildlife habitat.
 Pictures from Space: the Final Photos from Washburn's Expedition Camera
Come see a presentation by Astronaut John Grunsfeld, "The Hubble Repairman" on September 30, 2009, at the American Mountaineering Center - Grunsfeld, an avid climber, snapped the final photos that will ever be taken with the late-Washburn's famous expedition camera, a 1929 Zeiss Maximar B 4x5.
 Ride and Shine: Rags of Riches and a Trailside Chalet
September 2009 - It's early, cold for a summer morning
in Durango. Nobody is awake yet,
at least anyone I know. Like a kid
sneaking out to play, I pull gear out
of my bike/bathroom/periodical research
library and into my kitchen to start dressing
in sweat-starched, salty clothing. My black baggy shorts, though fashioned
casually not to scream "biker geek,"
look and feel like they are made of cardboard.
Broken zippers and an ex-girlfriend
on-the-fly-stitch-job remind me that I'm
in need of a new pair.
 Propelled by Desire
September 2009 - This is the story of what really happened to my propeller. In preface: I know by now that I don’t mix well with mechanical devices, especially when there are so many more “natural” means of propulsion available. I should never have bought one. A motorboat, that is. Everyone told me so . . .
 Blood, Sweat and Gear
September 2009 - Traveling alone at 16, I found
myself in Colorado. It was 1998, and
I was sporting Chacos, which was
quite a feat for a Midwestern teen
(one who is particularly fond of such puns).
A month later, I returned home a drastically
changed not-a-girl-not-yet-a-woman.
During my 23-day tryst with the state, I
had seen a woman behind the wheel of
a Jeep — no doors, no top (on the car,
however she was clothed (to an extent) in
cutoffs and a wife-beater).
 2010 MUGS STUMP AWARD OPENS FOR APPLICATIONS OCTOBER 1, 2009
18th annual alpine climbing award opens grant cycle to small climbing teams with fast and light alpine objectives - Established in 1993 to honor the late alpinist Mugs Stump, the Mugs Stump Award annually awards grants to a select number of individuals and teams whose proposed climbs present an outstanding challenge - a first ascent, significant repeat, or first alpine-style ascent - with special emphasis placed on climbers leaving no trace of their passage.
 First Ever Time Trial of Leadville's Mineral Trail
The 2nd annual "Blaze the Belt" was held in Leadville on September 13th, 2009, in the true essence of Colorado weather. It rained, it snowed, and the sun shown down on over 30 contestants in perhaps the "highest" down hill race to hit North America. The course twists through the Frisbee Golf Course of Leadville for about 6.5 miles down the Mineral Belt Bike Path.
 BetaCreator - New Tool for Making Perfect Climbing Topos
A Provo, Utah climber / programmer has designed a free tool for the easy creation of route lines on photos. The program works much like a simplified photo editing program but with tools specifically designed for creating topos for climbing routes. BetaCreator Is both PC and Mac compatible.
 Mike the Headless Chicken Rides to Hole in the Rock
August 2009 - Mike the Headless Chicken
is an embodiment of the
desire to live. Anybody who
hasn’t spent much time in
western Colorado’s Grand Valley may not
have heard the tale of Mike the Headless
Chicken. But the story goes that in the
1940s, a Fruita man, doubtless looking forward
to a supper of white meat, lopped off the head of a chicken. But damn if he
didn’t fail in his attempt to send the bird
to fowl heaven. The chicken kept on clucking,
scratching ground and doing whatever
it is chickens do, minus most of his head,
of course.
 Letter to Lizard
August 2009 - A fine sun-drenched
Sunday morn. Hi Lizard, I was doing the dishes in the kitchen
and was suddenly struck with the thoughts
that will fill this letter to none other than
you, my dear. As a creative-brained individual,
I have found there are certain activities
that provoke the artistic juices, and
doing the dishes in morning sunlight is
certainly one of them for me.
 Dirty Fingernails
August 2009 - Back in the day . . . back in the
day. Actually I remember THE day.
The day mountain biking started
for me and the other wrenches in
the back of the bike shop. We unloaded
a bunch of bike boxes off the UPS truck,
rochambeauing to see who got to assemble
the nice ones and who had to agonize over
the P.O.S. cheap bikes. These bikes were
barely put together and took a lot more adjustments,
swearing and busted knuckles.
 DISABLED BUT NOT DEFEATED
By Edward Grondin / www.camppatriot.org - Camp Patriot’s 3rd Annual Summit to Mt. Rainier - Injury is the soldiers worst nightmare, whether it be a combat injury from an improvised explosive device, small arms fire or a accident during a training exercise, it impacts all soldiers.
 The 25,000 Dollar Question: What's the Price of Adventure?
It’s fair to say Scott Mason bit off a little more than he could chew. In April, the Eagle Scout embarked on an ambitious one day traverse of the northern Presidential range in New Hampshire’s White Mountains. Early into his hike, he twisted an ankle, but chose to continue. A few miles later, Mason re-considered and opted for a quicker route back to the road, only to find the trail blocked by numerous streams swollen by spring snow melt.
 Donkey in Training
July 2009 - No one can say for sure what it is exactly that draws us mountain folk together. Surely, Myers Briggs forgot a category when classifying we the people. In the quaint, rugged hideaways we call home, anything goes. And that's the way we like it. Rules? We don't need no stinkin' rules. Behavior that would generally be considered ludicrous, rowdy or dare I say flashy is par for the course.
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