Iowa Mountaineers

Publication Year: 1994.

Iowa Mountaineers. On December 16, 1993, the Iowa Mountaineers successfully completed its first 50 years of incorporation as a not-for-profit mountaineering club. John and Ede Ebert founded the club in 1940 and have been the guiding lights all these years. It was incorporated in 1943. Over 62,000 members have traveled with the club to 17 Alpine countries around the world and have ascended over 1300 mountains on 355 major mountaineering camps, foreign expeditions and training courses. The club helped to pioneer over 25 mountainous regions around the world. It has named 32 mountains and has made over 185 new routes and first ascents. Over 820 of North America’s finest and most famous young climbers have helped to guide for the Iowa Mountaineers over the years. The club maintains one of the finest safety records in the world.

With another active year, the club membership was 4025. Membership fluctuates yearly depending on how many University of Iowa students take our instructional courses. This year, under Jim Ebert’s instruction, over 3132 members took part in our rock climbing, hiking, general mountaineering, cross-country skiing and winter survival training courses taught throughout North America.

The Club taught 125 members how to cross-country ski at Devils Lake State Park, Wisconsin, during January and February. Winter survival skills, emergency shelters, proper dress, hypothermia, frostbite and avalanche awareness and precautions were included in the program. Nearly 869 members took the three-day basic rock climbing courses held during spring, summer and fall at Devils Lake State Park, and another 2012 members took the three-day concentrated hiking and backpacking courses. Eighty-five members took the one-week basic rock climbing courses at Devils Lake which teaches members how to set up safe anchors for top-rope climbing and rappelling and how to climb safely with others.

Other club instructional outings held in 1993 were to Leadville, Colorado, for a week of cross-country skiing among the Tenth Mountain Ski Huts; an ice-climbing course taught in Ouray, Colorado, during January by Andy Pete fish and Dave Penney; a week of intermediate cross-country skiing led by Jim Ebert round-trip from Jacob Lake on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon to the South Rim involving over 160 miles of cross-country skiing, winter camping and hiking. The return journey back to Jacob Lake received five feet of fresh snow which made the scenery incredible.

Additional club-sponsored climbing trips involved the ascents of Devils Tower, Wyoming; Castleton Tower in the desert of Utah; the Petit Grépon— South Face Route and the Northcut-Carter Route on Hallet Peak in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado; the Canadian Rockies ascents of the Sky Ladder Route on Mount Andromeda, the Silverhorn Route on Mount Atha- baska, the Chouinard Route on Mount Fay and the standard route on Mount President; the ascent of the Grand in the Tetons, Wyoming, and hiking the full length of Isle Royale National Park in Michigan.

Eighty members attended the Iowa Mountaineers’ 53rd Annual Banquet. A listing of over 72 different mountaineering, rock climbing, hiking and backpacking trip and course offerings is scheduled for 1994.

Jim Ebert, President