February 2008

Volume 14, Issue 2

FORTIFICATION HILL

We set out with our objective in the background

Summit photo with Lake Mead and Mt. Charleston in the distance

Climbing up to ridgeline to meet the trail

Edith and Bob admire the wash we hiked up

Dazey says, "C'mon you guys, it's easy class 3!"

Jimmy and Summer approach the summit

We negotiate the steep terrain

Snafu and Toby provide humor at rest stop

WINTER LVMC OUTINGS

Chad and Snafu wrestle with the LVMC banner

LVMC rock-climbing class

Fun in the snow

Mike Ryan on belay

LVMC group snowshoeing the Bristlecone Loop

Posing with the ubiquitous LVMC banner

Snafu Claus and helpers Valentina and Erika at the LVMC Christmas party

LAS VEGAS MOUNTAINEERS CLUB
BOARD OF DIRECTORS

President: Nadia von Magdenko
Vice President/Training Director: Xavier Wasiak
Secretary: Alda Behie
Treasurer: Jim Albamont
Newsletter Editor: Joel Brewster
Outings Director: Annalisa Helm
Membership Director: Chris Ransel
Website Director: Amy Brewster
Public Relations/Marketing Director: Kim Owen
Club Gear Director: Chris Ransel
Social Directors: Erika Napoletano, Dawna Herndon & Valentina Fields
Safety Director: Mary Beth Pierce
Assistant Director: Richard Baugh
Assistant Director: John "Snafu" Mueller
Assistant Director: Doug Olson
Assistant Director: Nathan Petrosian
Assistant Director: Cristina Rodriguez
Assistant Director: Harlan Stockman
Past President: Howard Herndon

The Ascender is published monthly by the Las Vegas Mountaineers Club. It can be viewed on the “Members Only” section of our website. Current Club membership is approximately 160.
All Club members are invited to submit trip reports, photos, trip listings, recipes, classified ads and other related information. Please include the name and date of the trip or outing and the author’s name. March 10th is the deadline for the next issue.

SUBMIT ARTICLES TO:
Joel Brewster
E-mail: amyjoel@cox.net
Phone: 456-8520

MEMBERSHIP ISSUES...

To the following members, please note that your membership will expire this month:

Ashra Arana
Craig, Crystal, Shelby & Cameron Bussard
Dale Lindhorst
John Kolacz
Kathleen Nagy
Mary Dobling
Michael Jacobs
Nicholas Hickly
Paul Des Roches
Preston King
Robbie Godfrey
Rodney Stephens
Ron McMenemy
Roy & Adrine Duncan
Steve, Kristine, Jeremy & Johnathan Deveny
Steven Snyder & Shannon DeMond
Stuart Webster & Barbara Gramenos
Ted Lendis

YOU MAY NOW RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP ONLINE!

Please contact the membership director if you have questions about your membership.

Please make your check payable to the Las Vegas Mountaineers Club and mail to: P.O. Box 36026, Las Vegas, NV 89133-6026.
Single membership is $30 per year, $85 for three years. Family annual membership is $40, $110 for three years. Please mail all renewals prior to the end of the month to ensure uninterrupted notification of your Ascender password.

To All Members:
Please send any address, phone number and e-mail changes to Chris Ransel.

Chris Ransel
Membership Director

CLUB GEAR

This club gear is available at no charge to members:

4-season tent
Helmets
Bear Barrels
Alpine Axes*
Snowshoes
Strap-on Crampons*

Quantity
1
5
3
5
3
6

Deposit
$150
$20
$20
$25
$25
$30

*Will require a signed waiver.

Non-members are not eligible to borrow club gear. Deposits taken on gear must be in the form of cash or check and will be returned upon return of equipment. Gear is also available to members for courses with no deposit required. If you have any questions or would like to inquire about club gear, please contact Chris Ransel.

ADVERTISING

Classified Ads
Members: Free
Non-members: $5

Business Ads
1/8 page (business card): $5
1/4 page: $10
1/2 page: $15
Full page: $20
All rates are per issue and will be discontinued automatically unless renewed. Ads must be prepaid and sent by e-mail or submitted on CD. Please make checks payable to Las Vegas Mountaineers Club.

FORTIFICATION HILL

February 9, 2008
Report and Photos by Joel Brewster

Finer day for a hike you couldn't imagine.

Our group was eighteen,

Ranging in age from one to fifty-one.

There were three children being carried,

In a backpack upon their daddy's shoulders.

Free-running dogs Dazey and Banjo,

Insanely ran back and forth along the trail.

Casually watching over the group, from rookie hikers to veteran,

Amy, our fearless leader, was in charge.

Toby, just six years old,

In front of the pack was leading the way?

Oh well, his route up the wash was OK,

Not the easiest way, but maybe more direct.

Plodding along up the slope

Harlan completed the entire hike twice,

In the time it took the rest of us to do it once!

Looking at the view from the top was awesome.

Lunch at A+W afterwards was a close second!

Summer enjoying a spectacular view of Lake Mead

BACKCOUNTRY FUN FOR ALL AGES

February 3, 2008
Report by Nicholas Owen, Photos by Josh and Kim Owen

PLEASE CLICK HERE FOR THIS STORY WITH PHOTOS.

*You must have Adobe Acrobat Reader to view the pdf file. Download the latest version:
For Windows
For Macintosh

CLICK HERE FOR LVMC EVENT SCHEDULE

GENERAL MEETINGS

PLEASE NOTE: The Las Vegas Mountaineers monthly meeting this month is at the Rainbow Library,
3150 N. Buffalo (SE corner of Cheyenne & Buffalo). Meeting time is 7:00 p.m.

FEBRUARY

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Las Encantadas
Lava, Lizards and Boobies, oh my!
A Week in the Galapagos Islands

Annalisa Helm

Join Annalisa Helm, Outings Director of the Las Vegas Mountaineers Club, as she recounts her adventures in the Galapagos Islands back in March of 2005. This presentation will explore the otherworldly landscape of the Galapagos Archipelago, located 600 miles of the coast of Ecuador, and the amazing variety of wildlife that has come to inhabit these remote volcanic islands.

MARCH

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Denali

John "SNAFU" Mueller