This is the thirty-first issue of Accidents in North American Mountaineering, and the second that has been edited and published jointly by The American Alpine Club and The Alpine Club of Canada.

Canada: Forty-three accidents are known to us to have occurred in Canadian mountains in 1977. Three reports from 1976 are included as well. Twenty- two were mountaineering accidents, and detailed reports were received on all but one. Reporting has been greatly improved, due to the efforts of our Editorial Board, but even so, reports were collected on only about two-thirds of the known accidents, and there are probably many that we do not know about.

1977 was a particularly bad year for avalanches. The principal cause was the unusually shallow snow cover. This caused more than usual destructive metamorphism. Weakly bound granules were formed, which easily slid. At least 14 persons died in avalanches, and at least five of these were in parties escorted by professional guides. It is perhaps worth noting that not all fatal avalanches occur in the mountains, however.

Simon Ommanney of the Glaciology Division of the Department of the Environment, Ottawa, collects statistics on avalanche disasters, and reported in the “Globe and Mail,” Toronto, April 6, 1977, that two fatalities occurred in Ontario and two in Quebec.

Several reports of accidents in Canada which have not been formally reported remind us that when we are in the mountains we must contend with many hazards, some of them being in easy places, as the following incidents will show: One young man fell on a stove in a hut when he was drunk, and burned himself; a young woman fell 40 feet down a moraine while looking for a place to relieve herself; a woman fell when descending a 15-foot wall on an easy mountain and dislocated her shoulder; a young man fell while boulder - ing in the Bugaboos, causing unconsciousness and temporary amnesia; another had to be evacuated by helicopter and hospitalized as a result of falling while trying to place a sling on a boulder near Boulder Hut.

United States: The major climbing areas, with the exception of McKinley National Park, reported an increase in climbing activity, reaching record proportions in some areas. Winter climbing has increased considerably, as have solo ascents. It is, therefore, significant to note that in two major areas (Alaska and Wyoming) the accident rate was one-half that of the previous year. In Grand Teton National Park, 8,957 climbs were registered and attempted (6,243 successful), and if one multiplies by the conservative number of four — an average party size —one would see that the number of climber/user days would come close to 40,000. This does not account for the guide service beginner and intermediate days nor for the unregistered nonsummit rock climbs. On the other hand, the total number of climbing accidents (this editor does not include lost hikers or tourists who decide it would be fun to try “scrambling”) for 1977 was 11, a ratio which clearly suggests a good level of safe climbing. The accidents of great concern are those which repeat themselves year after year, even after one feels the lesson has been learned enough times. In the U.S., falling rock again seems to be the major one in that category for this year. The rappel failures should be noted as well.

There are many “near misses” which never reach the accident reporting stage. As this editor and a colleague have been reviewing accidents and safety reports over a number of years, it is worthwhile noting that “near miss” situations are significant predictors of accidents, especially with guiding situations. For example, if a guided group had a client who “nearly” fell into a crevasse, within a year there is a significant liklihood that someone would fall into a crevasse under that group of guides. Wider dissemination of this factor is being planned, with the hope that near-miss statistics will be kept more accurately.

Both editors would like to thank all who have written accident reports; without them, this publication could not exist. Additional help is always needed and welcomed. We are grateful to the following individuals for reports. Canada: John F. Wurflinger, Helen Butling, Ian Findlay, Sandra Lahey, Lyn Michaud, Denis Gravel, Helmut Microys, Hector MacKenzie, and Pat D. Baird. United States: George Sainsbury, Howard Stansbury, Bradley Snyder, Dennis Burge, Henry Ledyard, Benjamin J. Ferris, Robert Norris, Joel White, Ralph Tingey, Tim Setnicka, and Bob Gerhard.

John E. Williamson, Editor/USA E. Whalley, Editor/Canada

Nottingham Square 175 Blenheim Drive

Nottingham, New Hampshire 03290 Ottawa, Ontario

SAFETY COMMITTEES 1977 THE AMERICAN ALPINE CLUB

Lynn K. Buchanan, Dennis Burge, Benjamin J. Ferris Jr., George R. Sainsbury, Bradley J. Snyder, Robert Norris, Howard Stansbury, Richard R. Wilcox Jr. , John E. Williamson (Chairman).

THE ALPINE CLUB OF CANADA

E. Whalley (Chairman), Walter Robinson, Helmut Microys, Ferdl Taxbock, Kevin O’Connell.