Mugs Stump Award Winners Announced for 2004

The winners of the 2004 Mugs Stump Award have been announced. Given annually to climbers attempting alpine climbing objectives that exemplify fast, light and clean tactics, the awards are a tribute to the late Mugs Stump, one of North America’s most prolific and visionary climbers, who died in a crevasse fall in Alaska in May 1992. Sponsored by Mountain Gear, Patagonia, W.L. Gore and Associates, Inc. and Black Diamond Equipment Ltd., the Mugs Stump Award Winners for 2004 are: Krzsztof Belczynski and Martin Tomaszewski for their expedition to Meru Central’s Shark’s Fin (6310 meters); David Anderson and Steve Herlihy for their trip to the unexplored Avellano Towers, Patagonia; Chris Geisler, Scott Withers and David Edgar’s expedition to the unclimbed North Ridge of Shingu Charpu in the Nangma Valley, Pakistan; Kevin Mahoney and Ben Gilmore for a new free line on the East Face of the Moose’s Tooth, Alaska; and Bret Sarnquist and Sean Cooney’s attempt on a mixed line on the East Face of Mount Dan Beard, Alaska. “ Mugs approached climbing as a celebration of boldness, purity and simplicity,” says Michael Kennedy, one of the founders of the award, “This year’s teams embody the same spirit and vision that fueled Mug’s dreams.” The Mugs Stump Award helps fund small teams tackling difficult climbs in the great mountains of the world. For 2004, a total of $12,000 was awarded to the five expeditions all of which are encouraged to leave no trace of their passage. For more information on the Mugs Stump Award visit www.patagonia.com/sports/mugsstump.shtml or www.bdel.com/bd/m_stump.html. Applications due December 31 each year with the awards announced in February.The Mugs Stump Award is a grant program for a new generation of climbers who continue to draw both inspiration and sustenance from the memory of Mugs Stump. Best-known for his unrepeated, first ascent of the Emperor Face on Mount Robson in the Canadian Rockies and his triptych of brilliant Alaskan climbs – the East face of the Moose’s Tooth, the Moonflower Buttress on Mount Hunter, and a one-day solo of Denali’s Cassin Ridge – Mugs was a myriad-minded climber and seeker after a higher truth beyond the physical manifestations of climbing.