The Chicago Mountaineering Club inaugurated a safety and training program in February 1949 and held six informal lecture and discussion periods during the spring. Attendance was gratifying, and all participants felt that the meetings were extremely worth while. The notes used as a basis for these lectures have been incorporated in a mimeographed “Safety Manual” which is now distributed to all members. It is contemplated that the Club will conduct a mountaineering or first aid course each spring. With the first spring rock climbing outings, the safety and training program was carried into the field, and much of the technique studied in the indoor meetings was put into practice on week-end trips to Devil’s Lake, Wisconsin, and the Mississippi Palisades State Park, Illinois. Proper belaying has been stressed on these outings, and an effort has been made to provide special training for the younger rope leaders. As a specific safety recommendation, growing out of this Club’s experience on Devil’s Tower in Wyoming last year, it is strongly suggested that any party contemplating ascent of the Tower should be sure to carry new rappel slings to replace those which have been left by previous climbers.

Chairman, C.M.C. Safety Committee:

John F. Fralick

220 S. Madison Ave.

LaGrange, III.