Cosley & Houston, Alpine Guides
| Bishop, California |
April 1998 |
Contents
Trips and Climbs of the Past Season
- Kathy passes all her guides exams!
- Backcountry skiing
- Aconcagua
- California Snow & Ice
- Banff Waterfalls
So, what's next?....
Well, spring just keeps on eluding us here in the Eastern Sierra. We continue to store up snow in the mountains. Wild flowers in the desert are out in force. Conditions later in the summer and into the autumn should be excellent for the classic couloir climbs. The skiing "corn season" is late this year, but promises to be excellent and should last well into June, at this rate.
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Kathy passed her ski assessment, the last of her guides exam requirements. So..... she is finally officially an internationally certified UIAGM/IFMGA Mountain Guide! This means that she too can guide legally in other UIAGM member countries: Peru, the Alpine countries of Europe, Canada, New Zealand, all the great places. She can now join Mark in the Alps this summer, if you would like
to provide her with an excuse to be there! |
We are writing you briefly now to fill you in on our news, on various fronts.
Kathy is also enjoying the opportunities that are coming her way this Spring, to get out and do some back country ski guiding. She says it's a risky business, as it's so much fun it's tempting to do nothing else.
Other news: Mark went to Aconcagua in February, with Catherine Hartsog of Los Gatos, CA. This year El Niño really made a mess of the Central Andes, probably the worst year in recent memory in terms of weather. Of the time they were in Argentina, there were only 3 summitable days, of which they were lucky enough to be in position for the second one, summitting on February 16.
Back home, Kathy did some ice climbing in June Lake with Jean-Claude Latombe, and also in Lee Vining Canyon with Tom Romary, Stephen Turner and Maggie Birmingham. The ice conditions were great this season, if you could time it between the massive storms. Otherwise, ski training, course work and the exam pretty much took up Kathy's winter. Click to go to our Sierra Nevada page.
In March Mark spent almost 2 weeks guiding waterfalls in the Canadian Rockies, first with Andy Britton of Washington DC and then with Chris Kulp from Los Gatos, CA. Despite a rather warm winter, again El Niño to blame, they found great climbing conditions with ample ice on all routes. The list of climbs they did reads like a who's who of classic Banff waterfalls, and included Professor Falls, Louise Falls, Bow Falls, Murchison Falls, Weeping Wall, Guinness Gully and Carlsberg Column.
The summit of the Matterhorn in the Valais of Switzerland. Monte Rosa, the highest peak in Switzerland, is seen behind. The Klein Matterhorn, the Breithorn, Castor and Pollux as well as the Liskamm rise in an unbroken alpine wall which culminates in Monte Rosa at its east end. Some of you may recognize this photo from our web site home page. Photo Info Mark Houston photo
Our plans to return to Peru this June are still going forward. There is room on the Alpamayo trip June 11 - 24, so if you are interested, let us know ASAP, as time is running short! Click to jump to Peru!
July is set aside for Kyrgyzstan, a private trip with Mike Christianson and Jean-Claude Latombe. If this trip goes well, we will probably be going back there in future years to further explore what sounds and looks like a fantastic climber's playground which has yet to be discovered by the outside world.
In August and early September, Mark plans to be in the Alps. As we mentioned before, Kathy is now available as well if anyone wants to climb there, or here in the Eastern Sierra for that matter. Click for Alps General Information, French Alps, Swiss Alps, Italian Alps.
Let us know if YOU have any plans that we can help you with. We'd love to hear from you.
| Information & Registration
If you would like more information about any of our programs, give us a call. As always, if you have ideas for trips with which we might be able to help, please share them with us. One of our goals as a service is to remain small and flexible. Like you, we enjoy exploring new ranges and peaks of the world.
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Kathy Cosley
& Mark Houston AMGA Certified |
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