American Alpine Club
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The American Alpine Club (AAC) is a non-profit member organization with more than 24,000 members. Its vision is to create "a united community of competent climbers and healthy climbing landscapes." The Club is housed in the American Mountaineering Center (AMC) in
Golden, Colorado Golden is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule city that is the county seat of Jefferson County, Colorado, Jefferson County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 20,399 at the 2020 United States Censu ...
. Through its members, the AAC advocates for American climbers domestically and around the world; provides grants and volunteer opportunities to protect and conserve climbing areas; hosts local and national climbing festivals and events; cares for the nation's leading climbing library and mountaineering museum; manages the Hueco Rock Ranch, New River Gorge Campground, and Grand Teton Climbers' Ranch as part of a larger lodging network for climbers; and annually gives about $100,000 toward climbing, conservation, and research grants that fund adventurers who travel the world. It also maintains regional sections—with both regional staff and volunteers—throughout the United States. The AAC publishes two journals, The ''
American Alpine Journal The ''American Alpine Journal'' is an annual magazine published by the American Alpine Club. Its mission is "to document and communicate mountain exploration." The headquarters is in Golden, Colorado. Subtitled as a compilation of "The World's M ...
'' (AAJ) and ''Accidents in North American Mountaineering'' (Accidents), and a ''Guidebook to Membership'' annually. Collections of these journals, along with tens of thousands of other climbing-related publications and mountaineering literature, can be found in the Henry S. Hall, Jr. American Alpine Club Library, also located in the AMC. The AAC is a
501(c)(3) organization A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, Trust (business), trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of t ...
supported by gifts and grants from individuals, corporations and foundations, member dues, and income from lodging, publications and restricted endowments.


History

Founded by
Arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar regions of Earth, polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenla ...
explorer, zoologist and geographer
Angelo Heilprin Angelo Heilprin (March 31, 1853 – July 17, 1907) was an American geologist, paleontologist, naturalist, and explorer. He is mostly known for the part he took into the Peary expedition to Greenland of 1891–1892 and for his observations and ...
, the American Alpine Club was established in 1902 and had 45 founding members. These original members were primarily from the East Coast, although a handful resided in the Midwest, Washington, and Alaska. Among them was Annie Smith Peck and the AAC's first president,
Charles Ernest Fay Professor Charles Ernest Fay (1846–1931) was an American alpinist and educator. Biography He was born at Roxbury, Massachusetts. He graduated in 1868 at Tufts College and became instructor in mathematics there in 1869, and professor of moder ...
, who was also a founding member of the
Appalachian Mountain Club Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) is the oldest outdoor group in the United States. Created in 1876 to explore and preserve the White Mountains in New Hampshire, it has expanded throughout the northeastern U.S., with 12 chapters stretching from Ma ...
. The Club was primarily East Coast-oriented for the first half-century of its existence; its headquarters remained in New York until 1993, when the Board unanimously decided to move the AAC to its current location in Golden, Colorado. The Club is housed in the American Mountaineering Center, whose other tenants include the
Colorado Mountain Club The Colorado Mountain Club (CMC), formed in 1912, is a nonprofit, 501 (c)(3) outdoor education organization based in Golden, Colorado that gathers and disseminates information regarding Colorado's mountains in the areas of art, science, litera ...
and
Outward Bound Outward Bound (OB) is an international network of outdoor education organizations that was founded in the United Kingdom by Lawrence Holt and Kurt Hahn in 1941. Today there are organizations, called schools, in over 35 countries which are att ...
. The AAC is historically and contemporarily associated with a number of other American and international organizations. It was a founding member of the
International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation The International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation, commonly known by its French name Union Internationale des Associations d'Alpinisme (UIAA, lit. ''International Union of Alpine Clubs''), was founded in August 1932 in Chamonix, France ...
(Union International des Associations d’Alpinism, UIAA) in 1932 and the
Arctic Institute of North America The Arctic Institute of North America is a multi-disciplinary research institute and educational organization located in the University of Calgary. It is mandated to study the North American and circumpolar Arctic in the areas of natural scien ...
in 1948.


Library

The AAC Library was established in 1916 by a gift from American mountaineer Henry Montagnier, whose collection was added to over time by various early club members. The library was initially focused primarily on the Alps. From 1916 until 1929, the library was housed in the
New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second largest public library in the United States (behind the Library of Congress ...
, which devoted an entire room to the AAC. During this time, the library grew to include contributions from many members, as well as cultural artifacts from their various expeditions to the
Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...
and elsewhere. In 1941, the AAC purchased a renovated firehouse in Manhattan to house the growing library. When the AAC moved its permanent headquarters to Golden in 1993, the library, too, moved to its current location in the basement of the American Mountaineering Center, the Henry S. Hall Jr. American Alpine Club Library. Soon after this move, AAC member John Boyle – part of the American expedition that first ascended Mt. Everest's
Kangshung Face The Kangshung Face (Chinese: 康雄壁) or East Face is the eastern-facing side of Mount Everest, one of the Tibetan sides of the mountain. It is 3,350 metres (11,000 ft) from its base on the Kangshung Glacier to the summit.''Mount Everest'', ...
in 1983 – donated the John M. Boyle Himalayan Library, which included 2,500 books, 400 expedition reports, and 100 videos and films. Many items are autographed by the expedition members who wrote them. Most recently, in 2008, a private collector donated 30,000 bound volumes of the Central Asia Library. Many of the Library's original volumes are housed in the current library's Rare Books Room. Today, AAC members can search the Library's website for literature and guidebooks and have items shipped to them from Golden. The library also features an online Guidebook Finder which allows users to search for climbing guidebooks by location.


Publications


''American Alpine Journal''

First published in 1929, the ''
American Alpine Journal The ''American Alpine Journal'' is an annual magazine published by the American Alpine Club. Its mission is "to document and communicate mountain exploration." The headquarters is in Golden, Colorado. Subtitled as a compilation of "The World's M ...
'' (AAJ) is an annual publication which includes news on groundbreaking first ascents, trip reports from high-altitude ascents the world over, and various resources—including book reviews, maps, and topography.


''Accidents in North American Mountaineering''

For this annual publication, the AAC collaborates with the Alpine Club of Canada to cover accidents caused by inadequate protection, clothing or equipment; inexperience; errors in judgment; and climbers’ pursuing of objectives beyond their abilities. Published with the intention of informing climbers and preventing subsequent accidents, each report includes a detailed analysis of what went wrong and what precautions could be taken to avoid a similar accident.


''Guidebook to Membership''

The ''Guidebook to Membership'', first published and distributed in 2012, contains information about the benefits associated with membership in the AAC. The ''Guidebook'' is also available online.


Membership in the AAC

From the time of its founding until the mid-1980s, candidates for membership in the AAC were required to submit a list of notable ascents at high altitude or other “significant alpine accomplishments.” The phrase “... or the equivalent” appeared at the end of this bylaw, allowing the Board to elect artists and writers with little tangible experience, but for the most part, membership in the Club meant that a person had already achieved a great deal in the world of mountaineering. Today, the AAC has no prerequisites for membership.


Notable members

Another notable founding member is naturalist, prolific writer, and Sierra Club co-founder
John Muir John Muir ( ; April 21, 1838December 24, 1914), also known as "John of the Mountains" and "Father of the National Parks", was an influential Scottish-American naturalist, author, environmental philosopher, botanist, zoologist, glaciologist ...
, who is considered by many to be the founder of the wilderness preservation movement. Muir also served as the Club's second president, and was instrumental in bringing the AAC to a central role in environmental conservation in the United States.
Lyman Spitzer Lyman Spitzer Jr. (June 26, 1914 – March 31, 1997) was an American theoretical physicist, astronomer and mountaineer. As a scientist, he carried out research into star formation, plasma physics, and in 1946, conceived the idea of telesco ...
, noted
theoretical physicist Theoretical physics is a branch of physics that employs mathematical models and abstractions of physical objects and systems to rationalize, explain and predict natural phenomena. This is in contrast to experimental physics, which uses experime ...
and astronomer was a member of the club. In 1965, Spitzer and Donald Morton became the first men to climb
Mount Thor Mount Thor, officially gazetted as Thor Peak ( iu, ᙯᕐᓱᐊᓗᒃ ''Qaisualuk'' "huge bedrock" or iu, ᑭᒍᑎᙳᐊᖅ ''Kigutinnguaq'' "tooth-like"), is a mountain with an elevation of located in Auyuittuq National Park, on Baffin Islan ...
, located in
Auyuittuq National Park Auyuittuq National Park ( iu, ᐊᐅᔪᐃᑦᑐᖅ, , "the land that never melts") is a national park located on Baffin Island's Cumberland Peninsula, in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut, the largest political subdivision of Canada. The park was ...
, on Baffin Island, Nunavut, Canada. As a member of the American Alpine Club Spitzer established the "Lyman Spitzer Cutting Edge Climbing Award" which gives $12,000 to several mountain climbing expeditions annually. Mary Jobe Akeley, who explored the Selkirk Mountains and much of British Columbia between 1907 and 1914, was an early member.


Current officers

As of 2022, the board of directors consist of the following:AAC Officials
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References


Further reading

*Fay, Charles E., Allen H. Bent, Howard Palmer, James M. Thorington, Andrew J. Kauffman, and William Lowell Putnam. A Century of American Alpinism: 2002. Golden: American Alpine Club, 2002.


External links


American Alpine Club
{{Authority control Climbing organizations
Climbing Climbing is the activity of using one's hands, feet, or any other part of the body to ascend a steep topographical object that can range from the world's tallest mountains (e.g. the eight thousanders), to small boulders. Climbing is done fo ...
Alpine clubs Mountaineering in the United States