Climbing a mountain

Against fast and freezing winds and waist deep snow, Nicholas Rice continues his trek up Manaslu in Nepal. Rice today spoke by satellite phone to Guy McCarthy at Watershed News from base camp.

High in the Himalayas

Watershed News is tracking the progress of 24-year-old Nicholas Rice of Hermosa Beach as he attempts to solo Manaslu, the eighth highest peak in the world, in the Himalayas. Rice was climbing K2 nine months ago when 11 people died in "one of the deadliest episodes in recent mountaineering history."

(Photo 'borrowed' from Watershed News)

Alpine rescue

Guy McCarthy at Watershed News reports on today's mountain rescue high above Palm Springs:

Alpine-trained volunteers and a helicopter crew today plucked two overdue climbers high off the north face of Mount San Jacinto, one of the steepest escarpments in the continental United States.

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The rugged drainages of Snow Creek and Falls Creek rise from about 1,400 feet at Snow Creek Village to San Jacinto's summit at just over 10,800 feet elevation. The north face direct route requires more than 9,000 feet of walking, scrambling and technical climbing - including snow and ice in ideal conditions.

"It's a classic alpine route when the snow is right," said RMRU volunteer Pete Carlson, 59, of Lake Arrowhead, who has climbed the north face route a half-dozen times. "You can do it in 12 hours when the route is hard underfoot."

More from the mountain

Photos, interviews and sundry updates on the K2 avalanche over at Guy McCarthy's Watershed News blog.