The Iowa Mountaineers are continuing their safety program with demonstrations given on local trips similar to those held by the Chicago Mountaineers. There has been close liaison between these two organizations. The Iowa group, with a membership of nearly 900, holds summer outings in the West every year. During the past few years professional guides have been employed in the hope that they will increase the margin of safety, and help to indoctrinate beginners or inexperienced climbers, who often do not have contact with the trained individual mountaineers who like to go off to climb by themselves.

It is of interest that the Men’s Physical Education Department at the University of Iowa now offers a course in Mountaineering. Last spring 39 students took the course; 28 of them were members of the Iowa Mountaineers. This course, under the direction of John Ebert, was given again in the fall of 1949. It is being continued as an advanced course during the second semester of the present year. Each semester is divided into 17 two-hour lecture periods, supplemented by the equivalent of four afternoons of week-end outings and one evening of practical instruction. This is one of the first formal courses in mountaineering procedures offered by an American university, although other universities (e.g., the University of Colorado, Dartmouth and the University of Washington) offer physical education credits and other courses on such subjects as Mountain Geography, Mountain Recreation, etc.

Chairman, Iowa Mountaineers’ Safety Committee:

John Ebert

University of Iowa

Iowa City, Iowa