The Mugs Stump awards are given each year to handful of climbers to support ambitious new routes or first ascent around the globe. One of the awards major Sponsor’s is Spokane’s own Mountain Gear, who, along with Patagonia, Black Diamond, Climbing Magazine, and Gore-Tex work to promote the spirit adventure in mountaineering embodied in famed climber Mugs Stump. The money for this year’s awards has been increased over last year. Check out this killer list of expeditions that received awards.
January 16, 2008: The recipients of the 2008 Mugs Stump Award were announced at the Ouray Ice Festival in mid-January, at Ouray, Colorado. The awards, sponsored by Black Diamond Equipment, Climbing Magazine, Mountain Gear, Patagonia, PrimaLoft, and W.L. Gore, were created in 1992 in memory of Mugs Stump, one of North America’s most visionary climbers. The award annually grants $30,000 to small teams pursuing climbing objectives that exemplify light, fast, and clean alpinism.
The applications received for 2008 included many strong teams with objectives in far-flung corners of the mountaineering world, from South America to China to Greenland to India. In the end, seven teams with outstanding talent and objectives were granted awards ranging from $1,000 to $9,000.
2008 Mugs Stump Award Winners:
*Ryan Johnson, Mendenhall Towers, Alaska; with Sam Magro, Kyler Pallister, Erik Pallister, and Mike Thompson. The climbers seek 800- to 1,000-meter ice and mixed lines on the north walls of these seldom-visited peaks, in the Coastal Range of southeast Alaska.
*Craig McGee, Mount Logan, Alaska; with Brad White. The 3,000-meter unclimbed Southeast Rib of Canada’s highest peak.
*Eric Decaria, Kedar Dome, India; with Zack Smith. Bid for a complete alpine-style first ascent of the Central Spur, then up an unclimbed snow ridge to the summit (6,831 meters), for 6,000 to 7,000 feet of rock, mixed, and snow climbing.
*Jonny Copp, Dojitsenga, Tibet; with Micah Dash. First ascent of this 5,800-meter Tibetan rock peak via the continuously steep East Ridge (1,500 meters). The mountain lies between Rawu and Lhagu in the Kangri Garpo range of southeastern Tibet.
*Kevin Mahoney, Kangtega, Nepal; with Ben Gilmore and Freddie Wilkinson. Direct route on the North Face of this 6,799-meter peak, in the Khumbu Valley, Nepal.
*Vince Anderson, Makalu, Pakistan; with Steve House and Marko Prezelj. The climbers propose an alpine-style bid on the West Face of the planet’s fifth-highest peak, an objective unclimbed in its entirety and described by Messner as one of the greatest high-mountain walls in the world.
*Dave Turner, South Tower of Paine, Argentine Patagonia; solo. The virgin south face of the South Tower of Paine: an 800-meter VI+ alpine wall capped by 350 meters of steep, difficult mixed climbing.
Please visit mugsstumpaward.com for more information on the award, to apply, and for information on and trip reports from past recipients.
