New York Dinner Features Wickwire

Three good ol' boys caught at the NY Section's Annual Black Tie Dinner: L to R, Dick Bass, Chairman Phil Erard, and guest speaker Jim Wickwire

The usual full house greeted Jim Wickwire, the featured speaker, at the 23 rd New York Section Dinner. The Dinner was held on November 9 th . Interestingly, it was Jim, in 1980, who inaugurated the event with a presentation on he famed 1978 American K-2 Expedition, the first American ascent of K-2 and by a new and difficult route. Since that time, Jim has gone on to many mountains and has been the subject of a Broadway play, a feature film, an HBO documentary as well as an autobiography "Addicted to Danger". Accompanying Jim was Mary Lou, his wife of 36 years and mother of his five children, now all grown.

A particularly poignant moment was Jim describing the fatal accident on Rainier just a few weeks earlier that killed his good friend and climbing companion, Ed Hosmer, a double amputee with whom he was planning to climb Everest.

Also on the program were presentations by two New York Section members, John Ewbank, who invented the Australian "open-ended" rating system, and Amy Cross. whose husband Will. a diabetic, was just commencing an 800 mile ski traverse to the South Pole to raise funds for diabetes research.

The Black Tie event, whose roots stem from the Alpine Club of London's Annual Black Tie Dinner, attracts a large number of out-of towners. Among these were AAC members from Oregon and Washington as well as Pittsburgh, Colorado Springs, Dallas and a large group from Atlanta. An interesting and talented group of new members were introduced, gently "roasted" and presented their membership pins including newly weds Timi and Caroline Johnstone, just returned from their honeymoon in Yosemite. With the Johnstones were their friends and world cup climbers Vadim Vinocur and Gail Rothschild. Assisting in the program were Fritz Selby and Jack Reilly.

The Dinner benefits the Library's new book acquisition program. These are available on a circulating basis to members around the country.

For news of coming events please log on to our Section website: http://nys.alpineclub.org.

Phil Erard

Section Chairman