Mugs Stump, Polartec Grants Announced

Winners of the 2010 Mugs Stump Awards and Polartec Challenge Grants have been announced. The Mugs Stump Award was created in 1992 in memory of the visionary American alpinist Mugs Stump; six small teams will receive a total of $25,000 in grants for their lightweight, clean expeditions to unclimbed objectives:

• Colin Haley, Mt. Foraker, Alaska, with Bjorn-Eivind Artun. A single-push first ascent on the southeast side of the 17,400-foot peak.
• Jasmin Caton, unnamed peak, Tasermiut Fjord, Greenland, with Jen Olson and Kate Rutherford. An all-free route up a beautiful pillar in this remote region.
• Joe Puryear, Karjiang, Tibet, with David Gottlieb. The first ascent of this stunning pyramid, which, at 7221 meters, is among the highest unclimbed summits in the world.
• Scott Adamson, Moose’s Tooth, Alaska, with Tom Adamson. A new route on the east face of this legendary Alaska peak.
• Toby Grohne, Siguniang, China, with Jesse Huey. A super-light and fast ascent of the 1,500-meter northwest face, a major mixed route on this 6,250-meter peak.
• Dylan Johnson, Dojitsenga, Tibet, with Josh Wharton. An all-free, alpine-style ascent of the east buttress of this stunning 5,662-meter peak.

The Mugs Stump Award is sponsored by Black Diamond Equipment, Mountain Gear, Patagonia Inc., W.L. Gore, and Alpinist magazine.

Meanwhile, four Polartec Challenge Grants, totaling $20,000, have been awarded for 2010. One of the grants is for a yearlong bike trip along the ancient Silk Road, traveling from Nepal to Turkey. The three others are for climbing-related objectives:

• Kelly Cordes, first ascent of an unnamed, 6,200–meter spire in Pakistan’s Charakusa Valley, with Kyle Dempster. Last week, however, Cordes suffered a badly broken leg in Montana’s Hyalite Canyon, and the status of this expedition is up in the air.
• Ski mountaineer Greg Hill, who will attempt to climb and descend over 2 million vertical feet in 2010.
• Jordan Romero, 13, who is attempting to become the youngest person to climb the Seven Summits. 

Sources: Polartec, Michael Kennedy