AAC, Alaska Section. The Alaska Section got a jolt of energy from the AAC Board Meeting in Anchorage in April 2001.I was chosen as the new chair just before the board meeting. During the rest of the year, I worked to renew interest in the Club and its activities. In November a semi-annual meeting was held in Anchorage at the Mexico in Alaska Restaurant, with a larger contingent attending a slide show that followed at the Alaska Rock Gym. During the meeting the positions of vice president, secretary/treasurer, and access coordinator were filled. The Section has scheduled monthly slide shows at Alaska Mountaineering and Hiking in Anchorage to promote the AAC. We now have agreements from five air taxis to provide Club members with 10- to 20-percent discounts on charter services. We are also working more closely with the other local climbing clubs including the Mountaineering Club of Alaska, a local club with over 600 members.

During the AAC board of directors meeting in Anchorage in April, a number of access issues concerning Alaska were discussed. A special committee, to be chaired by Steve Davis, was established specifically for Denali National Park issues. The Backcountry Management Plan and a Rescue Fee Cost Recovery Study were both under review in 2001.

Members were active climbing not only in Alaska, but throughout the world. A number of new routes and first ascents were completed within Alaska. Dave Hart and Paul Berry were part of a multi-national team on Broad Peak (8047m) in the Karakoram in June and July. They reached the summit via the west ridge, and two others reached the fore-summit (8013m) on July 22.

Danny Kost, Chair