NEW YORK SECTION ANNUAL REPORT 2008
By Philip Erard, New York Section Chairman

Phil Erard, Chair of the New York Section, recently was on holiday in Cape Town South Africa and, looking for a little vigorous exercise to offset all the good local wine and food he was consuming there, decided to climb Table Mountain on his own. Table is the 3600 ft. high iconic landmark that overlooks the town and the surrounding seascape. It has a number of routes to the summit, some technical others just hard hikes.

Not familiar with the area, Phil was roaming around the base searching for the trailhead. Not having any luck, he spotted three approaching climbers who looked like they knew what they were doing and asked for directions.

Who should they turn out to be but New York Section member Steve Jervis, his wife Susan Weltman and a local mountain guide! Steve, who is a 50 year plus member of the AAC, and Susan were in Cape Town as part of an extended tour of Southern Africa.

Happy ending. Problem solved, route easily found and summit attained in a beautiful but windy day.

Is the Alpine Club everywhere? Sometimes it sure seems that way.

2008 Annual Report New York Section

In February, 2008 we launched an important new, web-enhanced, initiative. In conjunction with our partners, the Rubin Museum and our local PBS TV station, we videotaped and broadcast a symposium on contemporary climbing on Everest. Panelists focused on the general deterioration of ethical and behavioral standards, particularly on the North Side, where access has been largely unregulated. Participants included Pulitzer-prize winning journalist Michael Kodas, author of " High Crimes: The Fate of Everest In An Age of Greed ", long time New England guide and mountain rescue leader Rick Wilcox, and Randy Cohen, author and ethicist for the New York Times. This fascinating discussion with recommendations for the future, may be downloaded on www.thirteen.org/forum/high-crimes

This initiative will enable us to retain the content of our presentations in a much more permanent fashion while making these available to a worldwide audience.

We, of course, did not ignore the traditional. Our two outings in the Adirondacks, one in the Spring and the other in the Winter, sold out quickly. As New Yorkers do enjoy good food, wine and entertainment following a hard day on the rocks or ice, all three are always part of the equation. Two excellent after dinner presentations should be noted: one by Clif Maloney, on his recent success on Mt. Vinson in Antarctica with partner Bob

Street, and a delightful film by Fred Golomb, recapitulating his 70 year climbing career with film footage dating back to the 1930's.

Finally, despite Wall Street's travails, our 29 th Annual Black Tie Dinner, held at the Union Club on November 15, was one of our most successful ever, both artistically as well as a financially. Special guest speakers Conrad Anker and his wife Jenni Lowe-Anker, held the sold out audience in rapt attention as they talked about how they both rebuilt their lives after Conrad lost Alex Lowe, his best friend and Jenni's husband, in an avalanche. Their story of shared loss, romance and subsequent marriage is beautifully told in Jenni's best seller: " Forget Me Not ." At the dinner we also welcomed back Mark Richey who had carried the New York Section flag on a number of hard first ascents in the Karakoram. We laughed a lot and held our breaths as Howard and Shayna Sebold tied the knot on Skytop after negotiating "Overhanging Overhang ." In addition, we introduced and gently roasted 12 new members.

Financially, a record amount was raised for the AAC Library and the Khumbu Climbing School, thanks to the generosity of our patrons and the talents of our volunteer auctioneers Steve Schofield and Dee Byers.

Sadly, at the Dinner, we noted the passing of our good friend and long time member Bill Eldridge who was killed in a tragic climbing accident in the Gunks just a few weeks before. Bill is survived by his widow Rachel, son Ben and a legion of friends.

None of the above would have been possible without the help of our indispensable volunteers, particularly webmaster Vic Benes, Membership Chair Mike Barker and other hard workers including Michael Lederer, Andrea Salerno, Martin Torresquintero, Howard Sebold, Jonathan Light and our official chronicler Susan E.B. Schwartz.

Phil Erard, Section Chair