ADVENTURERS WANTED!

Mazama Angela Bohlke just volunteered in a project that placed cameras in the forest to search for the American Marten on the Olympic Penninsula. The project, organized by Adventurers and Scientists for Conservation, was featured on a recent OPB Earthfix program.

You can watch the segment here.

Learn more about Adventurers and Scientists for Conservation, including lots of other cool volunteer opportunities, by visiting this link.

AERIAL NW VOLCANO TOUR- WINTER CONDITIONS

Mt. Shasta

This winter, Seattle-based photography and climbing hero Steph Abegg has been collaborating with John Scurlock, the Northwest's icon of aerial mountain photography.

Together, the two have made some very impressive alpine photography flights this month.  You can continue reading this post to see a small selection of Steph's images, or you can visit Steph's blog (links below) to find some truly extraordinary collections that include both images and video.  All photos courtesy Steph Abegg.

January 19 tour of the Cascade Volcanoes! Current conditions on Rainier, Adams, Hood, Jefferson, Three Sisters, Crater Lake, Shasta, Lassen, St. Helens, and more...

January 3: The North Cascades, featuring Jack, Ballard, Azurite, Golden Horn, Tower, Logan, Goode, Buckner, Booker, Hurry-up, Johannesburg, Snowqueen, Chaval, Higgins, Whitehorse, Three Fingers, Sloan, Pugh, White Chuck

New Year's Day: West Rim of the North Cascades, with North Twin, South Twin, Three Fingers, Baring, Chimney Rock, Overcoat

BPA ALTERNATIVE MAY BE JUST AS BAD

According to a recent Scientific American article bisphenol S ("BPS"), the compound widely used to replace bisphenol A in "BPA-Free" water bottles, appears to present the same health risks as BPA.

UIAA RE-VISITS THE BOLTING BATTLE

Bolt next to a cam-friendly crack, Cerro Torre.
Photo: Rolando Garibotti

The UIAA (trans. International Mountaineering and Climbing Federation), an affiliation most famous for safety-rating climbing equipment, has issued a position paper against excessive bolting and favoring a re-assertion of "the case for adventure climbing." The paper asserts that in many climbing areas worldwide, current bolting practices now violate the ethic first championed by the UIAA in 1998 in its To Bolt or Not To Be paper.  Throughout this contoversy, the UIAA has called for respecting original methods of protection on older lines, and refraining from bolting new lines wherever natural or removable protection could be used instead.

MAZAMA JOHN FRIEH RECEIVES 2013 MUGS STUMP AWARD

Photo: alpinedave.com

Alpinist Magazine announced Sunday that Mazama member John Frieh has received a 2013 Mugs Stump Award for his second attempt on the unclimbed Middle Peak of Alaska's Saint Elias range.  This year, Frieh's team will include Colin Haley and Daniel Harro.

The Mugs Stump Award is a collaboration between Alpinist, Black Diamond Equipment, Ltd., Mountain Gear, Patagonia, Inc. and W.L. Gore & Associates, Inc., to support "small teams pursuing climbing objectives that exemplify light, fast and clean alpinism."  You will find a complete list of this year's winners at this link.

BLM LAND USE POLICY - NOW'S YOUR CHANCE TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

The Bureau of Land Management controls two and a half million acres of public land in western Oregon.

Right now, the BLM is preparing to revise its management plans for the area, and they invite you to weigh in with information about what you like to do on public lands, and where you like to do it. As the Outdoor Alliance puts it in a recent press release, "Instead of just commenting on a plan after it's written, this time we get to inform the BLM's thinking before they write the plan."

The BLM is providing a variety of ways for you to make your voice heard in the process.  Continue reading to get the details and a variety of web links to get you started.

NEW FEATURE: MAZAMAS VIDEO OF THE MONTH

The Mazama Blog celebrates the extraordinary climbing and hiking videos being made these days by club members.  If you or a Mazama you know have a video you'd like to share, submit a link to your video here along with a short description.  Each month, we will feature one video as Video of the Month.

To kick things off, check out this excellent photo compilation created by member Steve Hinkle of his recent Forbidden Peak climb.

"THE MOUNTAIN RUNNERS" -- THE STORY OF THE MOUNT BAKER MARATHON

Photo courtesy Whatcom Museum Photo Archives

The year was 1911 and Bellingham, Washington, was a sleepy little town in the shadow of Mount Baker, on the northern shores of Puget Sound. Logging and fishing were the economic mainstays but, as the leaders of the Mount Baker Club, a local business organization, saw it, the town needed something more.  Thus begins "The Toughest Race You've Ever Heard Of," a recent article in Trail Runner Magazine that tells the unlikely story of the Mount Baker Marathon: "America's first mountain adventure race."

The Mount Baker Marathon took place from 1911 to 1913, and constituted the city of Bellingham's most audacious public relations stunt in its competition for tourist dollars against the just-created Mount Rainier National Park.  It is the subject of a recent documentary, The Mountain Runners that is currently taking the film world by storm.

The Mountain Runners will be showing on January 24 at the Northwest Film Center in downtown Portland.  You can purchase tickets at their website.

MAZAMAS WINTER DISCOUNTS PILE UP AT OMC

Between Friday January 4 and Sunday January 20, Mazamas should expect a heavy accumulation of exclusive deals at Oregon Mountain Community.  You'll need a shovel for all the money you save -- show your proof of membership and get up to 35% off on a long list of discounted items and brands.  Read on for a complete list of discounts and details about the sale.

CLIMBING AS AN OLYMPIC SPORT

Sport lead climbing is on the short list for the 2020 Olympics. According to Climbing Magazine, the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) met in Switzerland with the International Olympic Committee Program Commission on December 19 to make its final pitch for inclusion.  Sport lead climbing is in competition with six other sports: baseball/softball, karate, roller sports, squash, wakeboarding, and wushu.  A decision on the matter is expected in September 2013.