The Sierra Club

Publication Year: 1950.

The Sierra Club has instituted a call list similar to that of the Mountaineers, Inc., for use in case of mountain accidents. This insures getting a rescue party into the field with a minimum of delay. All alpine activities of the Sierra Club are administered by a Mountaineering Committee for the Club as a whole, and local rock climbing committees administer climbing activities in the field. A subcommittee on safety has organized an educational program to try to prevent accidents and to investigate carefully the facts concerning those accidents which do occur. Seminars on rescue technique at local cliffs give actual experience, and night meetings give opportunity for discussion of latest developments. A classification of climbers has been completed, and a copy of the classification has been furnished to the National Park Service, especially in the Yosemite area. As an aftermath of the Bugaboo Spire tragedy in the Purcell Range in 1948, an article entitled “Lightning and the Mountain,” by J. R. Wilson and R. Hansen, has appeared in the 1949 Sierra Club Bulletin. In this article are suggestions for positive action based on practical experience and a technical analysis of the behavior of electricity.

Chairman, Mountaineering Committee:

Morgan Harris

1050 Mills Tower

San Francisco, Calif.