PROPOSED POLICY AND ORCANIZATION

1.0 PURPOSE The following policy is intended to (1) reduce the actual and perceived risk of mountaineering outings and training programs. (2) generate additional revenues to offset increased insurance costs, and (3) enhance the Sierra Club's awareness of mountaineering outings within its chapters. The Mountaineering Committee will (see section 5.4) be given the charter to supplement and administer these proposed changes for the Sierra Club. 2.0 CLIMBING POLICY 2.1 Definition of Climbing Climbing may include any activity involving the use of ropes, ice axes or other technical climbing equipment. This activity includes hill walking, general mountaineering, alpine mountaineering, technical rock climbing, technical ice climbing, and caving, as well as training for the safe pursuit of these activities. It may also include hiking and backpacking outings, including cross-country travel in desert canyons where gear is required for safety; Thus, as defined by the Sierra Club, a mountaineering outing is any activity or outing, including training. where a rope, ice axe or other technical climbing hardware are recommended or are required for safe travel over rock, snow, or ice. The leader decides whether gear is recommended or required for safety on an outing; the decision should be conservative and should reflect the consensus of experienced local climbers and leaders, Use of a rope to raise or lower packs, to guide people across an obstacle, or to ferry people across and obstacle such as a stream does not amount to climbing and does not make an outing a mountaineering outing. Mountaineering outings are those on which safe travel requires or may require the use of rope, ice axe, or other climbing hardware for safety as a belay or an arrest. The leader and all participants must have training or sufficient experience in the use of gear necessary to facilitate safe travel. 2.2 Use of Waivers The use of a properly worded release will be required to establish assumption of risk on the part of participants. Mountaineering Administration (Section 5.5) will handle obtaining the releases annually and keeping accurate files. A separate release will not be required for each mountaineering outing. 2.3 Training It is recommended that chapters conducting climbing outings have a course or courses, supervised by experienced climbers, through which climbing training is available to participants, leaders, and instructors. Prerequisites to such training at any level will be required and, if acquired outside the Sierra Club, must be verifiable. Climbing training consists of one or more of the following modules:

Page Index	Prev	Page 20	Next	Issue Index