Smith Rock safety cache donated by AAC and others

TRADITIONAL MOUNTAINEERING™
www.TraditionalMountaineering.org™

TraditionalMountaineering Logo (TM) representing the shared companionship of the Climb ™

Veteran climber Mike Bearzi's Cerro Torre Slide Show consummates plan to fund a rescue cache at Smith Rock

Keith Campbell of AAC ORS suggests a plan to fund a rescue cache at Smith Rock
Smith Rock rescue litter fundraiser with Jeff Alzner

In March 2001 Jeff Alzner presented his K2000 North Ridge slide show and talk at Larry and Leah Brumwell's In-Climb Rock Gym in Bend, co-sponsored by Robert Speik, President of Cascades Mountaineers and AAC ORS leaders Bob McGown and Richard Bence helped raise about half the funds to donate a new rescue cache to Smith Rock State Park.

A second fundraiser was held in Portland by Mike Bearzi

Poster of Cerre Torre with Mike Bearzi

The balance of the funds needed for the project which had expanded to include a total of five surplus army rescue litters and a permanent cache rack, were obtained through donations and the Mike Bearzi event.

First rescue cache installed at Smith

Construction of the rescue cache Constructors of the rescue cache

Working with Smith Rock Ranger David Slaght, Bob Speik of TraditionalMountaineering, Spurge Cochran and Alan Light of Cascades Mountaineers and Bob McGown, Richard Bence and alpinist Jeff Alzner of AAC ORS, the first rescue cache was installed in May 2002.

Mike Bearzi died while climbing in Tibet in May 2002. Plaques dedicating the five donated litter rescue caches to Mike Bearzi were created by Sign-Pro in Bend and the first was installed by AAC ORS and TraditionalMountaineering in September 2002.

Plaque in memory of Mike Bearzi

Also read:
Richard Bence of AAC ORS and Bob Speik and Paul Chance of TraditionalMountaineering.org installed the first of five commemorative plaques at Smith
For information about Mike Bearzi click