CLUBS for climbers and mountaineers abound in the United States. General outdoor clubs often have special cJimbing sections, and a few large assoc iations include widely scattered chapters. Most colleges and universities have active outing or climbing clubs; these arc not listed here. Many climbing groups present programs, show slides of climbing areas, and publish news sheets, bulletins, annual journals, guidebooks, or other informative material about climbs and mountains. Most offer formal or informal instruction. Representative climbing clubs from diverse parts of the country are listed, but there are many more.
Alaska. Mountaineering Club of Alaska, 700 5th Ave., Anchorage.
Arizona. Kachina Mountain Club, 2217 Encanto Dr., N.W., Phoenix.
CalIfornia. Sierra Club, 1050 Mills Tower, San Francisco. (Nationwide chapters. San Francisco Bay, Los Angeles, and San Diego chapters have large, active climbing groups.)
Colorado. Colorado Mountain Club, 1723 E. 16th Ave., Denver. (Several sections.)
District of Columbia. Potomac Appalachian Trail Club, Mountaineering Section, 1718 N St., N.W., Washington.
Hawaii. Uawaiian Trail and Mountain Club, P.O. Box 2238, Honolulu.
Idaho. Idaho Alpine Club, P.O. Box 2885, Idaho Falls.
Illinois. Chicago Mountaineering Club, 2901 S. Parkway, Chicago.
Iowa. Iowa Mountaineers, P.O. Box 163, Iowa City.
Maryland. Mountain Club of Maryland, 3220 Brightwood Ave., Baltimore.
Massachusetts. Appalachian Mountain Club, 5 Joy St., Boston. (Many chapters.) New England Trail Conference, Box 241 , Princeton. (Affiliated groups.)
Montana. Rocky Mountaineer Club, 2100 South Ave. W., Missoula.
New Mexico. New Mexico Mountain Club, P.O. Box 4151, Albuquerque.
New York. Adirondack Mountain Club, Inc., Gabriels. American Alpine Club, 113 E. 90th St., New York . (Regional sections. Does not sponsor outings.)
Oregon. Mazamas, 909 N.W. 19th Ave., Portland.
Utah. Wasatch Mountain Club, 425 S. 8th W., Salt Lake City.
Washington. The Mountaineers, P.O. Box 122, Seattle. Spokane Mountaineers, Inc., P.O. Box 1013, Spokane.
Sevelal commercial guide services conduct climbing schools in vacation and climbing centers. Write for information on courses, dates, equipment, and fees. A few representative services follow.
Exum Mountain Guide Service and School of American Mountaineering, Moose, Wyo.
Mountaineering Guide Service, P.O. Box 327, Big Pine, Calif.
Mount Rainier Guiding Service, 1525 11th Ave., Seattle, Wash.
Rocky Mountain Guide Service and Mountaineering School, Inc., 1250 S. St. Vrain Highway, Estes Park, Colo.
A visit to a local shop carrying mountaineering equipment is instructive and pleasant. If such stores do not rate a mountaineering heading in the telephone book, look under sporting goods, camping equipment, or skiing. Some of the mountaineering firms that publish informative catalogues of specialized equipment are listed.
Alpine Hut, 4725 30th Ave., N.E., Seattle, Wash.
Chouinard, P.O. Box 150, Ventura, Calif.
Gerry, Box 910, Boulder, Colo.
Holubar Mountaineering, Ltd., 1030 13th St., Boulder, Colo.
Matterhorn, Inc., P.O. Box 669, Silver Spring, Md.
Recreational Equipment, Inc., 1525 11th Ave., Seattle, Wash.
The Ski Hut, 1615 University Ave., Berkeley, Calif.
Sport Chalet, Box 626, La Canada, Calif.
Wilderness House, 131D-A Commonwealth Ave., Boston, Mass.
A large body of fine mountaineering literature deals with classical climbs, expeditions, adventures, tragedies, ascents, and mountain philosophies the world over. These engrossing books are found in libraries, book stores, and mountaineering shops. They are not listed here; you will discover them for yourself.
Publications of practical and current interest to newcomers in the climbing world include instructional material, regional guidebooks and maps, annual journals of climbing clubs, and the one independent mountaineering magazine in the United States. The list below is not all-inclusive; you will find other useful and absorbing reading material as you browse.
Belaying the Leader, an Omnibus on Climbing Safety, Dick Leonard, ed. Sierra Club, San Francisco, Calif. 1956. $1.95.
Mountaineering, The Freedom of the Hills, Climbing Committee of the Mountaineers. The Mountaineers, Seattle, Wash. 2nd ed., 1967. $7.50.
Ropes, Knots and Slings for Climbers, by Walt Wheelock; revised by Royal Robbins. La Siesta Press, Glendale, Calif. Revised ed., 1967. $1.00.
The ABC of A valanche Safety, by E. R. Chappelle. Highlander Publishing Co., Boulder, Colo. 1961 . 75¢.
Being Your Own Wilderness Doctor, by E. Russel Kodet, M.D., and Bradford Angier. The Stackpole Co., Harrisburg, Pa., 1968. $3.95.
Medicine for Mountaineering, James A. Wilkerson, M.D., ed. The Mountaineers, Seattle, Wash. 1967. $7.50.
Mountain Rescue Techniques, by Wastl Mariner. Österreichischer Alpenverein, Vienna. English translation, The Mountaineers, Seattle, Wash. 2nd ed., 1965. $3.50.
Mountaineering Medicine (First Aid for Outdoorsmen), by Fred T. Darville, Jr., M.D. Skagit Mountain Rescue Unit, Inc., Mount Vernon, Wash. Revised ed., 1966. $1.00.
All about Camping, by W. K. Merrill. The Stackpole Co., Harrisburg, Pa. 1963. $4.95.
Backpack Cookery, by Ruth Dyar Mendenhall. La Siesta Press, Glendale, Calif. 1966. $1.00.
Backpack Techniques, by Ruth Dyar Mendenhall. La Siesta Press, Glendale, Calif. 1967. $1.00.
Home in Your Pack, by Bradford Angier. The Stackpole Co., Harrisburg, Pa. 1965. $4.50.
Skills for Taming the Wilds, by Bradford Angier. The Stackpole Co., Harrisburg, Pa. 1967. $6.95.
Accidents in North American Mountaineering. Annual report of the Safety Committee of the American Alpine Club, New York, N.Y. 75¢ .
American Alpine Club Journal. Annual. American Alpine Club, New York, N.Y. $5.00.
Appalachia. June and December magazines. Appalachian Mountain Club, Boston, Mass. Subscription to biannual magazine, $3.50 a year.
Ascent, Sierra Club Mountaineering Journal. Annual. Sierra Club, San Francisco, Calif. 52.50.
Summit, A Mountaineering Magazine. Big Bear Lake, Calif. Monthly. Subscriptions, $6.00 a year.
A Climber’s Guide to the Adirondacks (Rock Climbing), Trudy Healy, ed. Adirondack Mountain Club, Gabriels, N.Y. 1967. $2.50.
A Climber’s Guide to the Cascade and Olympic Mountains of Washington, Cascade Section of the American Alpine Club. American Alpine Club, New York, N.Y. 2nd ed., 1961. $5.00.
A Climber’s Guide to Glacier National Park, by J . Gordon Edwards. Sierra Club, San Francisco, Calif. Revised ed., 1966. $4.75.
A Climber’s Guide to the High Sierra, Hervey H. Voge, ed. Sierra Club, San Francisco, Calif. Revised ed., 1965. $4.75.
A Climber’s Guide to Oregon, by Nicholas A. Dodge. Mazamas, Portland, Ore. 1968. $3.95.
A Climber’s Guide to Pinnacles National Monument, by Steve Roper. The Ski Hut, Berkeley, Calif. 1966. $2.75.
A Climber’s Guide to the Quincy Quarries, by William R. Crowther and Anthony W. Thompson. M.LT. Outing Club, Cambridge, Mass. 1968. 60¢.
A Climber’s Guide to the Shawangunks, by Arthur Gran. American Alpine Club with The Appalachian Mountain Club (New York chapter), New York, N.Y. 1964. $5.00.
A Climber’s Guide to Tahquitz Rock, by Chuck Wilts. La Siesta Press, Glendale, Calif. 3rd ed., 1962. $2.75.
A Climber’s Guide to the Teton Range, by Leigh Ortenburger. Sierra Club, San Francisco, Calif. Revised ed., 1965. $6.00.
A Climber’s Guide to Yosemite Valley, by Steve Roper. Sierra Club, San Francisco, Calif. 1964. $4.75.
Guide to Adirondack Trails. Adirondack Mountain Club, Gabriels, N.Y. 7th ed., 1962. $3.25.
Guide to the Colorado Mountains, by Robert Ormes. Colorado Mountain Club, Denver, Colo. 4th ed., 1963. $3.50.
Guide to Leavenworth Rock Climbing A reas, by Fred Beckey and Eric Bjornstad. The Mountaineers, Seattle, Wash. 1965. $2.50.
Guide to the Mississippi Palisades, by James Kolocotronis. Iowa Mountaineers, Iowa City, Iowa. 1965. $1.00.
Guide to the Ne w Mexico Mountains, by Herbert E . Ungnade. Sage Books, Denver, Colo. 1965. $3.95.
Guide to the Wyoming Mountains and Wilderness Areas, by Orrin H. Bonney and Lorraine Bonney. Sage Books, Denver, Colo. 2nd revised ed., 1965. $7.50.
Maine Mountain Guide Book. Appalachian Mountain Club, Boston, Mass. 2nd ed., 1968. $4.SO.
White Mountain Guide. Appalachian Mountain Club, Boston, Mass. 19th ed., 1969. $5.00.
Pertinent maps for an area are usually included in guidebooks. Most such maps should be augmented by topographical maps of the United States Geodetic Survey. These can be purchased in map or mountaineering stores, or by mail from the U.S. Geodetic Survey, Denver, Colo. 80225 or Washington, D.C. 20242. Various Forest Service and national park headquarters can often provide large-scale topo maps useful for the specific area.