Potomac Appalachian Trail Club

Publication Year: 1990.

Potomac Appalachian Trail Club. Our Mountaineering Section topped off another good year in 1989. Membership growth continued as the sport becomes more popular, activities keep expanding and members have even found time to go climbing!

The Second Annual Washington Mountain Film Festival drew over 500 viewers. Attendance at the PATC-MS instruction courses was at an all-time high. Many club members participated in the local climbing competition, Springstone. Perhaps the best indication that climbing is alive and well in Washington comes from the list of places the Mountaineering Section members went. They were active in the Alps and on French limestone, in the Tetons and on California granite. The icy summits of the Canadian Rockies were visited as well as desert sandstone. Many members experienced new forms of climbing. Some began their first mountaineering trips and others started leading on rock. Ice proved elusive in January, but the record cold of December made up for that.

As the Mountaineering Section moves into 1990, plans are continuing for trips to New England, the Tetons and some are making noises about Denali, the Pamirs and Pakistan. Hard rock as always is a constant pursuit. The Film Festival promises to be bigger and better than before. An indoor climbing wall group has been formed. As the 1990s take shape, the PATC-MS plans to be on top.

Stuart Pregnall, Chairman