American Alpine Club Seeks Climbers for the 2012 International Climbers’ Meet in Yosemite

The American Alpine Club is hosting the 5th annual International Climbers’ Meet (ICM), We would like to extend an invitation to AAC members to attend this event to be held the week of October 8 - October 13, 2012 in Yosemite Valley. Experience with placement and removal of protection, multi-pitch rope management, at least two years of technical rock climbing, and the ability to follow sustained 5-8 granite is mandatory. Participating AAC members will have the opportunity to interact and climb with a diverse group of climbers from a multitude of countries.

The fee is $450 USD per person. Participants provide their own transportation to Fresno, California airport.
Your fee includes:

• Pick up Fresno airport October 7 by 7:00 PM local time, drop off at Fresno airport October 14 by 11:00 AM local time.
• Transportation in Yosemite Valley
• Six nights and days camping at secluded Yellow Pines camp ground
• Three catered meals per day
• Five and one half days of climbing in spectacular Yosemite Valley
• One half day of a stewardship project for Yosemite Valley National Park
• Nightly campfire for storytelling, socializing, and general carousing
• Partner with other participants or experienced host climbers

Last year’s meet was a rousing success. Participants enjoyed climbing everything from all day long routes to challenging short climbs. We hosted climbers of all levels from more than eight different countries . Accounts of the day’s adventures were shared every evening over dinner, beers, and the glowing campfire. Come join the fun in the premier American climbing area of Yosemite Valley.

Deadline for applications is July 1.

For more information and application go to: www.americanalpineclub.org/p/internationalclimbersmeet

Kids "Climb Everest" at the Rubin Museum: An Overnight Mountaineering Experience
It's time for Peak Experience VII: a program presented by the AAC New York Section and the Rubin Museum of Art.

Saturday May 12 – Sunday May 13, 2012
Rubin Museum of Art 150 W. 17 St., NYC 10011

Forty kids, aged 9-12 roped together alpine style, confront the challenges of climbing Mt. Everest. They discover the beauty, consider the perils, experience the culture and practice team dynamics. Their expedition leader is world-renowned high altitude mountaineer Robert M. Anderson. He is aided by Sherpa guides from Nepal and experienced climbers from around the world. The goal is not only to reach the summit, but also for all return unharmed. The children carefully make their way to each of the four camps along the Museum’s great spiral staircase. Here they learn safety techniques, leadership skills, Sherpa culture and the life lessons embodied in Himalayan art. Frostbite, oxygen and the brain, and why things feel heavier the higher you go will be issues the kids will confront. Together over the course of the evening, they share an astonishing experience: a fully simulated ascent of the highest mountain on earth.

Check out this cool trailer about the climb: http://www.rmanyc.org/peakThere are still spots left for your kids! AAC Members receive discounted tickets.
Tickets: $175 / AAC Members and Rubin Members $ 157.50
Please call 212.620.5000 x344 to buy tickets. Be sure to mention your AAC Membership for the discounted rate.

Member Holly Mauro - 1979-2012 & Memorial Service on 4/14/2012

Holly Mauro
December 26, 1979 - March 27, 2012

A little over a year ago, on April 1, 2011, a young member of the NY Section set off upon an adventure to follow her passion. She left behind friends, New York City, a successful career in corporate real-estate finance, and a cozy home in New Paltz. The plan was to move into her car and climb as much as possible. This adventure was chronicled in the blog “Life After Banking: The Camp 4 Diaries” http://thecamp4diaries.blogspot.com/ .

Holly Mauro had gotten her start in climbing a mere 7 years earlier. A corporate guided ascent of the Grand Teton in the summer of 2004 set her off on a new course in life. Never one to do something in a small way, Holly quickly devoted herself to becoming a skilled and accomplished rock climber. She became a member of the NY Section of the AAC in 2005 and soon expanded from her usual and much loved vacation stomping grounds of Red Rocks, Joshua Tree and Acadia National Parks, to the greater climbing destination of the American west. In 2008, Holly took a temporary break from her job in New York, driving 14,000 miles by herself in four-and-a-half months. During that trip she climbed in Zion, Yosemite, the California Needles, the High Sierras, Devil’s Tower, Smith Rocks, Squamish, Index, the Bugaboos, Lake Louise, Eldorado Canyon, Lumpy Ridge, Rocky Mountain National Park, the Tetons, and City of Rocks. This turned out to be a teaser for the 2011 adventure that was to follow. As sad as we were to have Holly leave NY, we were excited to follow our fellow member on her new adventures. What ensued was a wild ride of climbing, adventure and travel.

Tragically, on April 4, 2012, the following note appeared on Holly's Facebook page: "Holly has left us and the world as we know it, in the beautiful park she loved-Yosemite.  She lived more in her 32 years than most could dream to do in multiple lifetimes. Please celebrate her life by remembering her and choosing in your own lives to love and live your passions."

All of us who knew Holly and shared climbs and times at her house in New Paltz are deeply saddened by this sudden loss. As climbers we share a unique bond as we literally have each other's lives in our hands. Holly was a bright and passionate soul, and she touched many lives on her brief journey. To borrow from other postings … Holly was "like a super nova star...burned brightly and quickly", "a force of nature", "such a Light, always hungry, loved sweets", "alive and radiant", “this Shooting Star of vibrant light passed through a prism and thrown about the room”, “Her presence on this Earth will be missed as the sun has raised up too far to pass her rays through the prism”.

-Written by AAC NYS Member Howard Sebold

There will be a celebration of Holly’s life this Saturday, April 14, at 5:00pm Hosted by Bill & Jen Rhoric 159 Sparkling Ridge Road (off Rt 299) New Paltz, NY

This will be a "pot luck" dinner, but dessert was one of Holly's favorite things, so bring something sweet in addition to real food. Directions can be found here.