Outdoor News Update: Missing Snowboarders & First Female Ascent

Filed in archive Outdoor News on February 29, 2008

Lisa Rands Makes First Female Ascent of The Mandala

Lisa Rands made the first female ascent of The mandala (V12) in the Buttermilks in Bishop, California, on Friday, January 18. Rands, who lives in Bishop, had her eye on The Mandala for years, but had not had a chance to really work on it until recently. She took only three days in 2008 with the problem before sending it. Fellow The North Face athlete Peter Croft and Bishop local described The Mandala as the best unclimbed line in the Buttermilks before Chris Sharma's 2000 first ascent.

Want to Run Across the World?

Run Across The World (RAW) is a series of ultramarathon events that will take place on five continents (Sorry Antarctica and Australia), challenging competitors to complete a 250 km course over five days. Racers will be expected to carry all of the supplies they need with them as they head out onto the course. The first event is RAW Africa, which will take place April 21st - 25th in Cape Town, South Africa. From there, the other events will be held in Mexico, Spain, The UK, Japan and Dubai. The final leg of the series will be take place at The North Pole.

Avalanches Claim Another Victim

The leading edge of what forecasters said could be the most powerful storm of the season blanketed Southern California on Saturday night, dropping moderate to heavy rain from Orange County to Ventura and promising even heavier downpours today. But as the region braced for the latest deluge, authorities said they had recovered the body of a third avalanche victim from last week's snowstorm near the Mountain High ski resort in the San Gabriel Mountains, and a young snowboarder was rescued unharmed after a night outside.