Mountaineers See Movies of Climbs; To Train for High Altitude Warfare

At an informal meeting of the Mountaineering Club in the Lowell House Junior Common Room last night, two alumni showed movies and slides of mountain climbing on both sides of North America, the White Mountains of New Hampshire and the coastal ranges of British Columbia.

During the interim between the two illustrated talks, Maynard Miller '43, president of the Club, and Andrew Kauffman '43, vice-president, revealed plans for a Club bulletin and for some needed repair work on Spur Cabin, the Club's outpost in the White Mountains.

Kenneth Henderson '26, of the American Alpine Club, showed movies of rock climbs in the While Mountains. These pictures included scenes of several climbs that the Club has recently made or is going to undertake for the first time in several years. The new climbs were made possible by the unusually large number of leaders in the Club this year.

Henderson Writes Army Book

Henderson is the author of a new book entitled "Handbook of American Mountaineering," which the Army will use in the training of its newly-formed Mountain Battalion. Alumni of the Harvard Mountaineering Club were largely responsible for the formation of this Battalion. Members of the Club, who may be drafted at some future date, probably will be placed in this division by the government for instruction in the special movements of mountain-fighting.

Showing slides of the coastal range of British Columbia which he and his party were the first to climb from the inside northeast side, Henry S. Hall '19 described several of the experiences he had on his eight different trips to this range.

Club to Put Out Bulletin

Miller spoke to the Club about plans for a bulletin to be put out next fall. It will include a list and photographic display of the 20 or so trips the Club makes so that future members will know what to expect.

"The war was the main factor in bringing on plans for the bulletin," stated Miller. "We had to cancel our trip to central Peru when we had Lowell Thomas, the American Geographical Society, and perhaps even the Rockefeller Institute interested in it. Now we're going to attempt to keep up interest for future members by putting out the bulletin."

Training promising men for possible future work in Alaska or the High Andes is the main purpose of these winter ice-climbs. It is hoped that by later climbs men will have sufficiently progressed to be taught advanced snow-and-ice techniques.

Members making these trips can look forward to real winter conditions for temperatures on Mount Washington drop under 40 degrees below zero, and a wind velocity of 212 miles per hour was once recorded on the summit.

Miller also told of plans for a summer trip to the Grand Teton range in northwestern Wyoming between the end of college and the beginning of summer school. The Club will continue its activities in summer school if enough members are interested.