Mugs Stump Award Winners Announced for 2005

February 2, 2005 – Mugs Stump Award sponsors, Black Diamond Equipment, Patagonia, Climbing Magazine, Mountain Gear and W.L. Gore announced the recipients for 2005. For thirteen years, the award has supported small teams with climbing objectives that exemplify fast, light and clean alpinism. Created in memory of Mugs Stump, one of North America’s most visionary climbers, the award helps future generations to pursue alpine climbing in its purest forms. The 2004 applications included many strong candidates, eighteen in all, but in the end only five teams were granted awards ranging from $500 to $5000. Applications are reviewed for how close they come to continuing the legacy of Mugs Stump. Mugs loved adventure and exploration. He sought out striking and highly technical objectives, preferably first ascents, in some of the most remote mountains of the world. His emphasis was on being light, fast and leaving no trace. Award applicants are evaluated on the strength and of their objective and the strength of their team with an end result that their objective will propel alpinism further, raising the bar for what is possible.And the winners for the 2005 Mugs Stump Award are:• Steve House and Marko Prezelj for a trip to the North Face of Kalanka in the Indian Himalayas backed up by an attempt to complete their project on the huge Rupal Face on Nanga Parbat in the Himalayas of Pakistan, a true example of grand alpinism.• John Varco and Sue Nott for an attempt on the unclimbed Southeast Face of Kamet in India, a peak just recently opened by the Indian Mountaineering Federation.• Tommy Caldwell, Adam Stack and Tim Kemple for the first free attempt on one of the most daunting granite walls in the world, the West Face of Mount Thor on Baffin Island.• Kelly Cordes and Josh Wharton for their goal of establishing new routes on the two premier faces in the Cordillera Blanca of Peru, the North Face of Huascaran Norte and the West Face of Taulliraju. • Sean Isaac and Rob Owens for a light-and-fast attempt on an aesthetic and difficult unclimbed ice runnel – a “Supercouloir” – on the North Face of Kichatna Spire in AlaskaAll the objectives awarded embody the spirit of Mugs Stump. Mugs Stump was best-known for his first ascent of the Emperor Face on Mount Robson in the Canadian Rockies and a 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 the complete climber, adept at all forms of the game. He had done countless routes all over the world since 1975, from big-wall first ascents in Zion to long free climbs in Yosemite to hard alpine classics in Chamonix. Both a dedicated athlete and a seeker after a higher truth beyond the physical manifestations of his chosen sport, Mugs saw climbing as a celebration of boldness, purity, and simplicity. It seems a suitable tribute, then, that a new generation of climbers continues to draw both inspiration and sustenance from his memory.For more information on the award, past recipients and their trip reports visit www.mugsstumpaward.com. Applications each year are due by December 31st and trips must be taken between February of the year they win to the following January.

For more information please contact: Susie Sutphin 805.667.4749