Climber Scores Record Sweep

Todd Huston has had more than his share of ups and downs, especially in the last few months.

But the Newport Beach climber has finally found paradise.

He is resting in Hawaii after conquering the 13,796-foot Mauna Kea on Sunday and shattering the record for climbing the highest peak in each of the 50 states.

Huston did it in 68 days--with only one leg, and a custom-made prosthesis that in a way acted as a sort of pogo stick or shock absorber to help him along the bumpy way.

“My feelings are kind of ambivalent right now,” the 33-year-old said. “There is some sadness because there are no more mountains left to climb, but I’m ecstatic because I beat the world record (101 days) and accomplished the goal I set out to accomplish.”

Sponsored by the reading program, Hooked on Phonics, Huston began his adventure on June 1 by climbing Alaska’s 20,320-foot Mt. McKinley.

“I was scared to death,” Huston said. “The weather was uncooperative and we had high winds. As we were hiking up, people were coming down. They couldn’t make it (to the summit) because they were just getting nuked up near the top. At 14,000 feet we passed a body bag of a dead Korean (one of two who froze to death on the mountain). But the good weather followed us and we made it to the summit.”

Huston, climbing with Whit Rambach, had less trouble with Florida’s Britton Hill--it’s only 345 feet high. But he almost wasn’t able to climb Oregon’s 11,239-foot Mt. Hood. Climbers have been dying because of loose rocks and the guides, fearing bad publicity as much as anything else, closed their operations and refused to lead Huston and Rambach to the top.

Huston called a friend in the area who happened to be an expert mountaineer and the friend led them up, incident free.

Huston said the prettiest view was from Wyoming’s 13,804-foot Gannett Peak.

“But the neatest time was up at 12,000 feet on (Montana’s) Granite Peak when we had a bunch of mountain goats come in and visit our camp.”

Huston lost his leg when he was 21, after battling for years against complications of an injury from a water ski accident when he was 14. He said he decided to make the world-record assault on the 50 peaks “to inspire people to overcome their challenges.”

He said he will continue to climb and might even try to become the first one-legged man to conquer Mt. Everest.

“I think I can do it. I know I can do it,” he said. “Besides, I can only lose half of my toes to frostbite.”

Briefly

LOCAL FISHING--White sea bass struck again Monday off the back of Santa Catalina Island, with Redondo Sportfishing’s Blackjack picking up 37 fish of 15-30 pounds, and L.A. Harbor Sportfishing’s First String taking 22 more. Closer to the coast, the yellowtail that roam the pilings of the offshore oil rigs off Huntington Beach finally decided to bite. Rick Shaw, owner of the Angela out of Long Beach Sportfishing, reported “a wide-open bruiser yellowtail frenzy” for an hour on Saturday, with his passengers boating 23 fish in the 15-25-pound range before the bite ended. L.A. Harbor’s Dreamer reported catching 22 fish the same day. There have been scattered catches since.

MEXICO FISHING--August is too hot for many at Cabo San Lucas, but residents consider it one of the the best months for fishing and the last week’s results back their claims. Blue marlin flags are flying daily and huge tuna and dorado are showing at the scales. The private yacht Rhapsody traveled 20 miles off Palmilla and two anglers spent the day catching tuna from 160-200 pounds. Closer to port, the fish were smaller, but several pushed 100 pounds. Dorado are averaging 10-30 pounds and wahoo of 40-80 pounds are beginning to show. East Cape fishermen are enjoying light-tackle battles with sailfish and heavy-duty fights with blue marlin. Mark Hollingsworth of Cypress, fishing out of Palmas De Cortez, fought a marlin for eight hours before losing it.

SAN DIEGO LONG-RANGE: Tuna fishing remains outstanding for those on three- and four-day trips--with giant bluefin and football-size yellowfin cooperating daily--and miserable for those on overnight trips, as the fish have yet to move to within the 100-mile range necessary for the smaller boats.

HUNTING--The popular Zone A deer hunt begins Saturday and despite the dryness, experts are predicting moderate success in the southern section, which includes much of Southern and Central California. Conditions are favorable for a good hunt in most of the usual areas.

A new hot spot might be the area north of the Santa Ynez Valley around Figueroa Mountain, which has recovered from last year’s wildfires, leaving deer with plenty of food and hunters with plenty of access. Weather will be a factor and hunters should check with the U.S. Forest Service to see what areas require permits for access and what areas might be closed because of fire danger. The best hunting is expected early mornings and late afternoons as deer will be in thick cover during the heat of day. The DFG says ample numbers of the 65,000 tags remain for the 44-day hunt. Last year, 41,251 tags were sold, with hunters posting a 32% success rate.

POACHING--Monterey Peninsula golf courses are not part of Zone A. Yet some apparently figured fairway deer were fair pickings. Six men were recently sentenced for their roles in poaching deer from golf courses and dumping the carcasses into the ocean. The arrests resulted from a six-week investigation by DFG officials seeking to shut down a ring of venison poachers who ran a processing center at one of the poacher’s homes. Edward Albert got the stiffest sentence after being found guilty of trespassing and deer-tag violations of 100 days in jail, a $2,700 fine and three years’ probation, during which he cannot hunt or be in the company of hunters, cannot possess firearms and must permit search and seizure of his home or person. Albert forfeited his rifle and hundreds of pounds of venison.

GRUNION--A grunion run along dark, sandy beaches is in progress, with the slippery little fish expected to show for two-hour periods beginning tonight at about midnight and about an hour later each night through Friday. Grabbing is usually best in the second hour, experts say. The last grunion run of the year is expected Aug. 23-26.

NOTEWORTHY--Volunteers from United Anglers of California will build a reef off Huntington Beach on Friday, using 1,000 tons of concrete rubble. The reef will be three miles west of Huntington Beach Pier in 90 feet of water.