Among other fine Alpine climbs of this period may be men tioned the north arete of Piz Badile by A. Zurchner, led by the guide Walter Risch, an exposed and difficult climb. The ascent of the north face of the Lauterbrunnen Breithorn by Chervet and Richardet, and the variation route taken by Lauper and Liniger up the north face of the Winch, rank among the great mountain eering exploits, involving as they did, difficult work both on rock and ice. Richardet, Lauper and Chervet were members of the Akademischer Alpen club, Berne. The students of the Berne and Zurich universities have long been known for their mountaineer ing exploits. One of the last classic problems of the Oberland, the ascent of the Mittelegi ridge of the Eiger, was also solved during this period by a Japanese climber, Yuko Maki, led by the great Grindelwald guide, F. Amatter. Artificial aids were employed for this climb.
French Guideless Climbing.—A great feature of post-World War mountaineering has been the revival of French guideless climbing. Before the war, French climbers of the type of Fontaine were few. Since the war the guideless "Groupe de Haute Mon tagne" of the French Alpine club have to their credit a consistent record of brilliant work, combining the spirit of adventure with the sane British tradition. The "G.H.M." has been engaged in cairning the last untouched pinnacles of Mt. Blanc, and among its most brilliant achievements may be mentioned the ascent of the north face of the Aiguille du Plan by Lagarde, de Lepiney and de Segogne in German Mountaineering.—In the Dolomites and the Kaiser Gebirge German and Austrian climbers have done some very re markable climbs, but their successes have been paid for by an increasing death-roll. There is a grave tendency among German climbers to take chances, to risk bad weather and impromptu bivouacs. In severity there is nothing to choose between the climbs achieved in the eastern Alps and the new routes which have been made in Cumberland.
The Canadian Alps.—Exploration of the Canadian Alps has been very active. Many fine expeditions have been made, espe cially by A. H. MacCarthy, Howard Palmer and E. W. D. Hol way. Of outstanding importance were the ascents in 1913 of Mt. Robson, culminating summit of the Canadian Rockies (12,972 ft.) by A. H. MacCarthy and W. W. Foster with the Austrian guide Conrad Kain; of Mt. Sir Sandford (11,590 ft.) and of Mt. Adamant (10,98o ft.) by Holway and Palmer ; of Mt. Alberta
(11,874 ft.) by Yuko Maki of Tokyo and five other Japanese with H. Fuhrer and H. Kohler, and Mt. Woolley (11,17o ft.) by the same party, and the most magnificent achievement of all, the 1925 first ascent of Mt. Logan (19,850 ft.) by a joint party of Canadian and American mountaineers led by A. H. MacCarthy.
No mountain in the Canadian Alps outside the Yukon ap proaches in technical difficulty a first-rate expedition in Europe. There is less risk of avalanches and the glaciers are much less complicated—on the other hand long distances have to be trav ersed, while the arranging of transport and camps is a big and expensive business. There is still room for much exploration, although most of the highest peaks in the various groups have been attained, including practically all in the Rockies above ii,000 ft., about 5o in number.
Organized mountaineering in America dates from the founding of the Appalachian Mountain club in Boston in 1876 "to explore the mountains of New England and adjacent regions." At that time New England possessed many peaks that had not been climbed. The more active spirits of the club turned their atten tion to "the adjacent regions"—a phrase given a most liberal interpretation—with the result that a number of prominent peaks in Colorado capitulated between 1886 and 1889. Following this, the newly opened region of the Canadian Alps came into favour (189o-1900), and members of the club played an important part in exploring their summits. Now, most of the club's activities are in New England. The club had about 4,400 members in 1928.
American mountaineering in its more technical alpine sense was advanced materially by the founding in 1902 of the American Alpine club. This aimed to include in one group the kindred in terests of alpinism and arctic exploration; to combine the travel lers of high latitudes with the travellers of high altitudes. A more than superficial standard of attainment in both fields was required for membership, and it occupies a distinguished place among mountaineering organizations of the country. In 1916 it estab lished the Bureau of Associated Mountaineering clubs of North America, which in the next 1 o years grew to include 71 clubs and societies possessing a combined membership of over 1 oo,000 peo ple. The club contributed substantially, both with funds and per sonnel, to the successful Mt. Logan expedition of 1925.