Vaughn, 89, Climbs His Antarctic Peak

Norman Vaughn is on top of the world. Well, actually he’s at the bottom of the world.

But he’s feeling great, just the same, having conquered Antarctica’s Mt. Vaughn last Friday--three days before turning 89.

The mountain in question, at 10,302 feet, is no Everest, but then Everest wasn’t named after Vaughn.

Admiral Richard E. Byrd named the mountain after the former U.S. Army colonel for his part in leading a sled-dog team during Byrd’s historic geological expedition in 1928 across the icy continent. But until Dec. 16, nobody had climbed it.

Vaughn, of Anchorage, Alaska, did it with a team that included his wife, Carolyn Muegge-Vaughn, 52.

“The mountain is spectacular,” Vaughn said in a news release after his descent. “I can’t imagine being in a more exciting place.”

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L.A. thoroughfares are considered a zoo by some, but Arizona’s are more apt to resemble one.

Herds of elk have begun strolling through the streets of a section of Flagstaff that until recently was undeveloped and provided the animals with winter forage. The elk apparently are still attracted to the area.

“Every year the elk show and cause traffic delays,” said Tom Britt of the Arizona Game and Fish Department. “Commuters in a rush to get to work are impatient and try to drive through our road blocks. We must create traffic breaks to provide a clear path for the elk to return to the forest. I am worried that someone is going to get hurt out there.”

The larger elk weigh about 800 pounds and, according to Britt, “are capable of severely injuring people, themselves, and damaging property.”

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Some marlin apparently have a bill for trouble.

The International Game Fish Assn. reports that a 537-pound blue marlin took a live bait off Hawaii’s Kona coast and “jumped and freight-trained” until shaking the hook in mid-air.

Seems the marlin worked up an appetite during the fight, however. It came back and swallowed the same bait while the two anglers, Michael Nesbitt and Bryan Toney, were reeling it in.

The marlin wasn’t as fortunate the second time. Oh yeah, the catch was made on Friday the 13th.

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They’re back. . . . Or at least they’re on their way. Pacific gray whales have begun their 6,000-mile swim south from the Bering Sea to the warm-water lagoons off Baja California to mate and bear young. It is the longest migration of any animal.

Boats from most L.A. area sportfishing landings will be there as the whale-watching season begins in earnest the day after Christmas.

Naturalists from the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium will be aboard boats based at the 22nd St. Landing in San Pedro, Redondo Sportfishing in Redondo Beach and Catalina Cruises in Long Beach. Trips are about 2 1/2 hours long and costs vary from $8 to $14. Details: (310) 832-2676 between 8 a.m. and 1 p.m., Monday and Tuesday.

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Striped marlin have finally begun to feed north of Cabo San Lucas at the Golden Gate, although the bigger blues continue to make news off Land’s End. A 545-pound blue was landed by Anastacio Marcel of Huntington Beach aboard the Minerva III.

Large tuna have gotten into the act as well. While fishing aboard the yacht Bloodstock, Lisa Baitzell of Houston boated a 192-pound yellowfin after fighting it for nearly 2 1/2 hours. Tom DeCuir of Huntington Beach muscled in tuna that tipped the marina scale at 176 and 120 pounds. Smaller tuna and dorado remain the prevalent catch, however.

East Cape-La Paz fishermen are still loading up mostly on dorado and football-size tuna. At Loreto, yellowtail are providing fast-paced action for those fly-lining sardines around Coronado Island, but the fish are still on the small side, with few pushing 10 pounds.