On most weekends during the semester, the ISU Mountaineering Club takes on a rock-climbing trip or mountaineering adventure. Experienced climbers, as well as interested amateurs, have the opportunity to push themselves in one of the most challenging clubs at Iowa State. “Everything’s open to anybody,” said Julie Young, graduate student in animal ecology and club vice president. “You can go on your first trip without even being a member to see if you like it before you invest money.” For this reason alone, there seems to be a growth in popularity of the sport at Iowa State. Over 50 people have attended club meetings and their first trips this fall. “Right now the club is definitely growing,” Tim Boland, junior in biology and club president, said. “We are getting more people involved and having to take a lot more trips and varying our locations.” The club is determined to tackle anything and everything. They’ve had members on four of the seven highest summits in the world. In South America they’ve sent members to Aconcagua, in Africa, Kilimanjaro, and in Europe, Elbrus. The fourth summit is Mount McKinley in Alaska, the highest point in North America. Since 1997, six club members have scaled and conquered Mount McKinley. “It kind of seems like it’s becoming a club tradition,” Boland said of the Mount McKinley trips. Last summer, ISU students Charlie Butterworth and Matt Peterson tackled McKinley on the club’s behalf. Enduring some of the most difficult weather conditions experts normally predict for June, the two-man ISU team pushed themselves to the top. “People would come down with frostbitten toes and fingers, and all kind of burns on their faces,” said Butterworth, graduate student in botany. “We were lucky.” Peterson, a junior who has since transferred to the University of Arizona, talked of unbelievable weather the day they reached the top. “When we summitted, it was cloudy, snowing, and at least minus 30 degrees Fahrenheit with a 10 mph breeze,” Peterson said. “At minus 30 Fahrenheit, your tears freeze almost immediately while they are still on your face and eyelashes.” The horrible conditions almost forced Butterworth and Peterson to turn around before reaching the top. However, both decided to struggle to the end of their 24-day trip. They spent a total of 15 minutes on the summit; enough time to take a few pictures and enjoy their victory. Boland is already looking into possibly continuing the tradition with other club members this summer, although specific plans have not been made yet. The next major trip for the club is their Thanksgiving- break trip at a site yet to be determined. “We pretty much leave Friday night and don’t come back until the following Sunday,” Young said. “We get as much climbing in as we can, and then we usually take one day off to relax and rest and hike around.” Meetings are held Monday nights at 8 p.m. in Gilman 1810. Currently the club is putting on weekly seminars after the meetings for an hour to discuss basic mountaineering skills. Just a few of the topics covered will be equipment, camping and rescues. The club encourages anyone interested to attend.