The DPS season, which really just started, will be half over by the time you read this.. Our trips in the Winter Schedule are going well, and the outlook is for many more good climbs in the Spring Schedule. In the meantime, our "lease" on the Youth's Service Center is month to month - which is, in a sense, consistent with the somewhat casual essence of our Section. The programs have been outstanding and the refreshments have even included such desert delicacies as rattlesnake canapes with mint tea. And, in spite of inflation, the Management Committee has decided that we can hold the line for another year on the price for Sage subscriptions.
A major issue has been raised about the Mexican peaks on our list. The Club's current liability insurance surcharge for travel in Mexico ($80/person/trip) has made officially lead trips impractical, and the distances involved, in a time of expensive fuel, are vast. After thorough discussion at both general and Management meetings the Management Committee unanimously agreed to propose no action on the Mexican peaks as a group. Among the reasons are the popularity and quality of these peaks and the hope that the insurance issue, at least, will prove to be temporary.
So, as the year rolls around, the DPS can look back fondly to the 70's and ahead with anticipation to the decade of the 80's.
DESERT SAGE subscriptions are due and payable as of 1 December 1979 and are delinquent as of 1 March 1980. To avoid the rush and maintain your DPS membership active, send a check for $3.00, payable to the "Desert Peaks Section, Sierra Club," to the DPS Secretary-Treasurer, Vi Grasso, at 11721/2 Amherst Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90049.