Accidents

Publication Year: 1932.

Accidents: The summer of 1931 was a most disastrous one for climbing. The terrible weather in the Alps caused a tremendous loss of life, while practically no great range was without its toll. In the Himalayas and the Caucasus and even in our own mountains, there were accidents fatal in results to climbers. Mt. Rainier has claimed another victim, although the whole affair may be attributed to bad mountaineering practice rather than to any danger inherent in the climb. The crumbly sandstone monoliths of Zion National Park have also claimed a victim, a solitary climber, whose fall may probably be explained by the deciduous nature of the handholds. An account of these accidents will be found in Appalachia, Vol. xviii No. 4 (Dec., 1931) pp. 471-72. Nevertheless, as time goes on, the tragic losses of mountaineering appear to be getting relatively insignificant. Last season, the press reported over two score deaths in football and twenty killed and one hundred and one wounded during the hunting season in New York State alone.