This paper is a report on the results of a study of 266 members of the Alpine Club of Canada, Calgary Section. The study attempted to gain further insight into why people climb mountains. The results indicate that an everchanging mosaic of primary and secondary motives for climbing exist. Age, ability and sex would appear to be three of the stronger determining variables that influence this mosaic. A model for characterizing motives for participation in physical activity is suggested. The categories of the model include: 1) social experience, 2) health and fitness, 3) excitement, 4) expressive, 5) relaxation, 6) competitive achievement, 7) non-competitive achievement, and 8) the love of nature.

This study examines the relationship between athletic participation and status measures of girls in six rural and small town Alberta high schools. The data was gathered in May/June 1970 from school files and personally administered question naires and athletic rating sheets. An athlete was defined as a girl who had participated in at least one interscholastic sport in the 1969/1970 school year. The results reveal that girl athletes are considerably more popular with their male and female peers and are more frequently members of the leading crowd as perceived by their peers and teachers than non-athletes. Quality and amount of athletic performance are highly and positively related to status measures. The socio-cultural and educational characteristics of athletes are very similar to those received by students who had status with their peers. As far as the investigated Alberta high schools are concerned, athletic participation serves as an important medium of status achievement for the adolescent high school girl.

This paper is a case study report on the 1982 Canadian Mount Everest Expe dition. The climbers were asked to evaluate each other on the basis of three statements reflecting (a) personal friendship, (b) mountaineering expertise, and (c) responsibility and reliability at pre, mid and post expedition dates. Following two tragic accidents six of the fifteen climbers left the expedition. There were significant differences in interpersonal evaluations between some members of the group who stayed and some members of the group who left. The group who left lowered their evaluations of the leader in particular. The leader's autocratic style was not perceived by some climbers to always be appropriate to the situation prior to the accidents. Once the group was reduced in size and personality conflicts between some who stayed and some who left were eliminated, along with several other situational factors, the leader's style changed and was seen as more appropriate to the situation and the life cycle of the group. Emotional reactions to the directives of the leader were seen as a major factor in evaluating his decisions.