The Desert Sage
This month's message is a difficult one to write - we are in the midst of an insurance crisis and the information seems to change daily. At its September meeting, the national Sierra Club Board decided not to pay the greatly increased premium for mountaineering activities. They figured there were only some 2000 people doing this kind of mountaineering and the premium would have increased over 200% - to $325,000 for the first $1 million of coverage. If these figures were accurate, the price would indeed have been high. They chose not to buy the necessary coverage. Starting Oct. 1, we were ordered to cancel "all climbs, hikes, expeditions, instruction courses, schools, and similar training that involve in any manner the use of ropes, ice axes, or any form of climbing hardware."
The Board's decision had immediate and drastic consequences for the RCS, SPS, MTC, and LTC. Initial interpretation of the Board's decision even prohibited taking a rope along on any trip! (This prohibition has been rescinded.) The HPS is least affected. Of the 96 peaks on the DPS list, five are 4th class or above and need climbing gear; eight more are 3rd class and perhaps some people would want a rope on one or two of these peaks. So at most 15% of our peaks are affected by this decision; the DPS could continue to function within the Sierra Club.
But we would be wrong to think in terms of our peaks only. Our activities are closely linked to those of the other training and outings sections; our leaders and hikers are an integral part of this wider network. Our leaders are highly qualified most are M or E rated - and they believe in the mountaineering goals towards which they have worked and led others. Now the hiking, climbing, and training activities which were tightly connected under the Sierra Club umbrella have been beheaded and chopped apart. Training for leaders which seems essential to safety cannot be undertaken. People used to hiking, climbing, and rock climbing with the DPS, SPS, HPS, and RCS, leaders used to training others through BMTC and LTC, now must see their activities curtailed or rechannelled. The more challenging climbs will have to be done privately, and it will be hard for newcomers to get in on those activities, harder still to recruit and train leaders for them.
The options are still being developed as we go to press. The Angeles Chapter has asked the Board to reconsider its decision in light of new information - higher estimates of the Sierra Club members affected, lower estimates for premiums from other insurance providers - but It may not do so. People are looking into other ways of organizing and sponsoring mountaineering activities, ways which will keep together the activities developed by the training and outings sections of the Angeles Chapter. We must be prepared to consider all the options - the real question about our new Road and Peak Guide may not be when it finally comes out but under whose copyright it will appear!
  Karen Leonard
 
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