Alps climb completes unfinished business - The Alpine Club of ...

Vol. 28, No. 1 | Spring / printemps 2013 

Alps climb 

completes 

unfinished 

business 

page 6 

IFSC Bouldering 

World Cup 

Canada page 21 

publication # 40009034

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mEC is A ProuD PArtnEr oF thE ALPinE CLuB oF CAnADA.

The Alpine Club of Canada 

What’s Inside... 

Publications Mail Agreement No. 40009034 

Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: 


Box 8040, Canmore, AB 

Canada T1W 2T8 

Phone: (403) 678‐3200 

Fax: (403) 678‐3224 

info@alpineclubofcanada.ca 

www.alpineclubofcanada.ca 

Executive Committee 

Peter Muir President 

Gordon Currie Secretary 

Neil Bosch Treasurer 

vacant VP Access/Environment 

Zac Robinson VP Activities 

Carl Hannigan VP Facilities 

Isabelle Daigneault VP Mountain Culture 

vacant VP Sections 

David Foster VP Services & Athletics 

vacant Honorary President 

Lawrence White Executive Director 

Publication 

Lynn Martel Gazette Editor 

Suzan Chamney Layout & Production 

Marie-Andrée LeBlanc Translator 

Submissions 

Submissions to the Gazette are welcome! For 

submission guidelines e-mail your idea to the 

Gazette Editor at gazette@alpineclubofcanada.ca 

Advertising 

Advertising rate sheet available on the website or 

by request. Please direct all advertising inquiries 

to Suzan Chamney, National Office by e‐mail to: 

ads@alpineclubofcanada.ca 

facebook.com/alpineclubofcanada 

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Mountaineering / Climbing 

6 Alps climb completes unfinished 

business 

14 Slesse Mountain 

20 Mercedario 

21 Climbing rocks! 

21 IFSC Bouldering 

World Cup Canada 

24 Australian Alpine Walking Track a 

memorable march 

Mountain Culture / Science 

26 Book ends 

28 Everest book celebrates climbing, 

publishing firsts 

Huts 

10 Les aventures d’une famille au 

chalet de Elk Lakes 

12 Family shares adventures at Elk 

Lakes Cabin 

What’s Outside... 

Cover photo: 

Inset photo: 

Members 

18 VI Section celebrates centennial 

ascent 

22 What my ACC means to me 

23 Ce que mon appartenance au Club 

alpin signifie pour moi 

29 ACC member assists Bangladeshi’s 

dreams 

30 Remarkable women 

Editorial / National News / Awards 

4 Short rope 

4 ACC Board restructured 

5 Restructuration du Conseil 

d’administratio 

8 We are having an election!!! 

8 Elfrieda BOCK 

9 Sandy WALKER 

11 Quick draws 

30 ACC Honorary President passes 

30 Sarka Spinkova 

31 Open air 

Byron Caldwell moves onto the summit ridge of Dent de Geant, 

climbed via the normal route from Torino Hut on the Italian side of 

the Mont Blanc Massif. Photo by David Hollinger/Alpine Guides UK. 

Story on page 6. 

The 2013 IFSC Bouldering World Cup will take place June 1 – 2 in 

Hamilton, Ontario. Photo by Ruby Photo Studio. For more info, look 

for the Summer 2013 issue of the Gazette. Details on page 21. 

Corporate Partners 

The Alpine Club of Canada thanks the following for their support, and encourages you to consider them and 

the advertisers in this newsletter the next time you purchase goods or services of the type they offer. 

Corporate Sponsors 

Corporate Members 

Backcountry Access 

BanffHotels.org 

Black Diamond Equipment 

Devonian Properties 

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Jardine Lloyd Thompson 

Ortovox Canada 

Osprey Packs 

Outdoor Research 

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Rocky Mountain Books 

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Yamnuska 

Zaui Software 

Club alpin du Canada Gazette printemps 2013 3

ACC Board restructured 

Lynn thoroughly enjoys another flat light, no 

powder ski day on an ACC RMS Section trip. 

photo by Lara Seward-Guenette 

Short rope 

by Lynn Martel 

A 

couple of months ago, I moved. 

While moving involves plenty 

of work, I love opening up that 

box or drawer and finding a treasure I’ve 

totally forgotten about. 

This time, I found a stack of letters my 

sister wrote me when she was 20-something 

and working at a waterslide in 

Australia or waitressing in Maui or Banff. 

The best part is she wrote them on the 

many sides of restaurant napkins and the 

backside of paper placemats bearing pancake 

and sausage menus. Rediscovering 

these letters, we shared a good belly 

laugh, and a special moment thinking of 

how deeply our friendship has endured. 

It also made me think of the Alpine 

Club of Canada Gazette. This issue 

features stories of several generations of 

Club members sharing dream trips in the 

mountains. One member describes the 

personal meaning the ACC has brought 

to her life. It contains bids by two longterm 

members and dedicated volunteers 

who hope to give even more to their Club 

by serving in the newly-created Board 

position of Vice President for Sections. 

What all these stories have in common 

is you—fellow ACC members. The 

Gazette is a unique and special place 

where all Club members from coast 

to coast to coast are welcome to come 

together and share their ACC experiences. 

Some stories describe Club-organised 

trips, while others relate the joys and 

challenges of individual dream trips. The 

Gazette features stories by ACC members 

who voluntarily sit down and write their 

by Peter Muir, President, Alpine Club of Canada 

After an extended period of strategic 

planning and governance 

review, at its October 2012 meeting, 

your Alpine Club of Canada Board of 

Directors voted to alter the composition 

of the Board. In its simplest terms, the 

Board shrank from a body of 29 seats to a 

Board of nine voting positions. A Section 

Council was created, comprised of one 

representative from each of our 22 sections. 

The fundamental reason for the 

change was to create an effective governance 

model to capture the essential 

needs of the Club. The smaller Board will 

meet multiple times through the year 

via a combination of teleconference and 

in-person meetings, to concentrate specifically 

on national issues. 

The Section Council will meet 

semi-annually in person to provide a 

forum for sections to share their initiatives, 

create solutions to section concerns, and 

provide input and feedback to the Board 

on issues and policies that affect the membership. 

The newly-created Board position 

of Vice President for Sections will ensure 

Section-to-Board communication and will 

help plan quality programming for Section 

Council meetings. 

stories and select photos to illustrate 

them. Many members are especially 

generous when answering my questions 

and requests for more photos and fewer 

words, and then trusting me to polish 

their words so that in the end, all ACC 

members enjoy a news magazine we all 

deserve and feel proud of. 

That’s the Gazette’s purpose—to celebrate 

the shared experience of belonging 

to the ACC, three times a year. For some 

it means the tangible pleasure of discovering 

the new issue in a home mailbox or 

a rural post office box. For others it means 

excitedly opening an e-mail—it’s your 

Gazette, your choice, just like your choice 

of mountain activity, from bouldering to 

alpine climbing to glacier traverses or hut 

trips with toddlers. 

For a handful of lucky members, it 

also means savouring the added thrill 

of finding that a photo you snapped, or 

a photo of you, has made the coveted 

cover spot. 

The National Board itself, for which 

the latest nominees were published in the 

Fall/Winter Gazette prior to the meeting, 

will have a transitory stage during the 

elections of 2013. Neither nominations 

nor the process by which members can 

nominate candidates will change, but 

the Board terms will now be staggered. 

The President, Vice President for Access 

and Environment, Vice President for 

Mountain Culture, and the Secretary 

elected in spring 2013 will hold their 

positions until 2014, and thereafter Board 

elections will occur every year for designated 

positions. 

Your Board members carefully considered 

and debated these changes over 

an extended period and it is a testament 

to their dedication to the Club that they 

would take such a bold step. Their good 

judgement will allow for better opportunity 

to focus on matters essential to each 

level of the Club for the betterment of 

the whole. 

A copy of the new ACC Bylaws is on 

the website at: 

www.alpineclubofcanada.ca/whoweare/ 

bylaws.html 

For me, compiling the Gazette with 

a great team, especially Suzan Chamney 

who makes your stories and words look 

so great, is a wonderful privilege. I’m 

especially grateful to the many members 

over the years who’ve taken the time in 

huts, on trails or at the Saint-Boniface 

ice tower to share their comments and 

feelings about the Gazette. 

It’s your Gazette. You can pass your 

paper copy to your neighbour over 

your backyard fence, or post the link 

www.alpineclubofcanada.ca/gazette/ on 

Twitter or to your Facebook page. E-mail 

me at gazette@alpineclubofcanada.ca 

to pitch a story idea, share your feedback 

or even a complaint. I welcome meeting 

you! 

And I hope, many years from now, 

when packing for a move, purging your 

Inbox or answering the call of a spring 

cleaning fit on a rainy weekend, you 

discover a very special copy of the ACC 

Gazette among your treasured belongings. 

4 Alpine Club of Canada Gazette Spring 2013

Restructuration du Conseil d’administration 

par Peter Muir, Le président du Club alpin du Canada 

Après un long processus de révision 

de notre planification stratégique 

et de notre gouvernance, le 

Conseil d’administration du Club alpin 

du Canada a voté en faveur d’un changement 

de composition du Conseil lors 

de sa réunion d’octobre 2012. Pour l’essentiel 

: le nombre de sièges du Conseil 

d’administration est passé de 29 à neuf 

postes votants, et un Conseil des sections 

Photo: Pat Morrow 

composé d’un représentant de chacune de 

nos 22 sections a été créé. 

La raison fondamentale de ce 

changement vise à créer un modèle 

de gouvernance efficace qui répondra 

mieux aux besoins essentiels du Club. 

Ce Conseil réduit se réunira à plusieurs 

reprises au cours de l’année par le biais de 

téléconférences et de réunions en personne, 

et se concentrera particulièrement 

Alpine Club of Canada 

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sur les enjeux nationaux. 

Les membres du Conseil des sections 

se réuniront deux fois par année 

en personne. Ces réunions fourniront 

aux sections un forum pour partager 

leurs initiatives, trouver des solutions à 

leurs problèmes, et fournir au Conseil 

d’administration une contribution et une 

rétroaction sur les enjeux et politiques 

qui affectent les membres. Le nouveau 

vice-président des sections siégeant au 

Conseil, dont le poste vient d’être créé, 

assurera les communications entre les 

sections et le Conseil et aidera à élaborer 

une programmation de qualité pour les 

réunions du Conseil. 

Le Conseil national lui-même, dont 

les nominations les plus récentes ont été 

publiées dans le numéro Automne/Hiver 

de la Gazette avant la réunion, vivra une 

période de transition jusqu’aux élections 

de 2013. 

Ni les nominations ni le processus 

de nomination des candidats par les 

membres ne changera, mais le mandat du 

Conseil pourra changer. Le président, le 

vice-président à l’accès et à l’environnement, 

le vice-président à la culture de la 

montagne, et le secrétaire, qui seront élus 

au printemps 2013, resteront en poste 

jusqu’en 2014. Par la suite, les élections 

aux divers postes occupés au Conseil 

d’administration auront lieu chaque 

année. 

Les membres de votre Conseil d’administration 

ont consacré énormément 

de temps à élaborer ces changements et à 

en discuter, et l’ampleur même de ceux-ci 

est une preuve de leur engagement. Les 

décisions éclairées qu’ils ont prises permettront 

de mieux nous concentrer sur 

les enjeux essentiels à chaque palier du 

Club afin d’améliorer l’ensemble de notre 

organisation. 

Vous trouverez une copie des nouveaux 

règlements (en anglais) sur notre 

site web au 

www.alpineclubofcanada.ca/whoweare/ 

bylaws.html 

Recycle this Gazette 

Leave it in your 

climbing gym 


Alps climb completes unfinished business 

by Gord Currie 

Dump it all out.” 

My climbing partner and I 

“Everything. 

had just met our guides and were 

gathered in the courtyard of my hotel in 

Zermatt. They wanted to vet every item 

in my pack. 

“There’s something in here,” Tim said, 

feeling the pockets of my anorak. 

“Gloves and a toque,” I replied. 

“Okay, they can stay.” 

By the time they were done, I was 

down to a daypack—some warm clothes, 

food and water, harness, crampons and 

ice axe. 

Twenty-six years earlier, when we 

were at the peak of our prowess, my 

buddy Byron, also an ACC member, and I 

had set out to climb the Matterhorn, but 

turned around at the Solvay Hut, about 

halfway up. The exposure was more than 

I’d bargained for. 

But the Matterhorn, one of the most 

recognizable mountains in the world, had 

been on my mind ever since. I thought 

I owed it to Byron to try one more time 

before we grew too old. To ensure our 

best chance of success, we retained a pair 

of British mountain guides, Tim Neill 

and Dave Hollinger, to lead the way— 

and keep us out of trouble. 

With nice, light packs we strode 

through town toward the gondola that 

Byron Caldwell moves carefully along the 

traverse of the Aiguille d'Entreves, climbed from 

Torino Hut on the Italian side of the Mont Blanc 

Massif. photo by David Hollinger/Alpine Guides UK 

Byron Caldwell gains the summit ridge—and some warm sun rays—on the Dent de Geant. 

photo by David Hollinger/Alpine Guides UK 

would take us to Schwartzee. In fractured 

German I attempted to get the same 

discount price that our guides got, to no 

avail. From Schwartzee we hiked for 90 

minutes toward the Hörnli Hut at the 

bottom of the Hörnli Ridge, arriving in 

early afternoon. 

The Hörnli Hut sits at 3,260 metres 

(10,700 feet elevation), and the summit 

of the Matterhorn is 1,200 metres (3,937 

feet) higher. Although it was late August, 

prime time on the Matterhorn, the hut 

was not full. There were about 40 guides 

and clients, from all sorts of places, 

including Jamaica! 

We were enjoying a beer inside when 

the hut suddenly emptied as people 

rushed outside to watch a helicopter 

rescue. Four climbers were plucked from 

high up on the mountain, dangling below 

the helicopter on a long line, and dropped 

delicately on the deck of the Hörnli Hut. 

They weren’t injured, so maybe they just 

ran out of time or energy. It had to be 

embarrassing, not to mention expensive— 

not something we wanted to emulate. 

After dinner we turned in early. The 

official wakeup call at the Hörnli Hut 

is 4 a.m., but people began to stir at 

3:45. I heard someone say it was raining, 

and thought maybe our climb would be 

over before it even began. We ate a light 

breakfast, watched other parties gear up, 

and walked out the door at ten to five. 

The rain had stopped. 

After training hard all spring and 

summer, determined that fitness would 

not prevent me from succeeding on the 

Matterhorn, I had legs of steel. But did I 

have nerves of steel? “How hard could it 

be?” I asked myself (over and over again). 

If Sir Edward Whymper could climb it in 

1865 using hemp rope and hobnail boots, 

surely I could climb it in 2012 with modern 

equipment and guides. 

The climbing on the lower part of 

the mountain was no more difficult than 

any number of scrambles I had done in 

the Rockies, but it steepens up as you go. 

With hearts pounding, and breathing 

hard in the thin air, we nevertheless 

reached the Solvay Hut in two and a 

half hours, well within the allotted time. 

Even on the top half of the mountain the 

climbing was easy, but relentless. There 

was no stopping to eat or to admire the 

views. I have never worked to hard on so 

little food. 

We encountered a chilly party of two 

descending after spending an involuntary 

night out on the Hörnli Ridge. For a few 

moments I shared a stance with another 

British guide who referred to it as the 

“Shatterhorn”. When I told him we were 

from Canada, he said, “oh well, you’re 

used to it then,” referring to our famous 

Rockies limestone. I actually thought the 

route was pretty clean. 

At some point we climbed into a 

cloud which blocked any views. Reaching 

patches of snow, we paused just long 

enough to strap on crampons. They make 

for scratchy, annoying climbing, but came 

into play on the upper slopes, which were 

completely snow covered. At some point 

I heard Dave, our head guide, say it was 

only another 100 metres; I knew I was 

going to bag the Matterhorn! To Tim 

I deadpanned that I could not go any 

further. He stared at me, speechless, until

he realized that I was pulling his leg. 

Dave and Byron tagged the top 

first, and then backed off to a safe spot 

to wait for us. Tim and I passed them, 

placing each foot carefully on a summit 

ridge that’s only shoulder-wide, stopping 

where it rolled over and began 

descending toward Italy. At that point 

Tim confessed it was also his first ascent 

of the Matterhorn. We shook hands and 

backtracked to join our friends for foggy 

summit photographs. 

After five and a half hours of almost 

non-stop effort to reach the summit, the 

descent was equally relentless. Good guys 

though they were, our guides drove us like 

rented mules. We had a 10-minute break 

in the Solvay Hut, time to take off our 

crampons and swallow a couple of handfuls 

of trail mix before continuing down. 

We met a pair of Spanish climbers 

still on their way up, well below the summit, 

late in the day. In halting Spanish I 

suggested they might want to try again 

the next day, but they were undeterred. 

There was no way they could get up and 

down again in daylight. 

Down, down, down we went, alternately 

lowering and down-climbing. The 

air grew thicker and the temperature 

warmer. I was pretty happy to see the 

Hörnli Hut again. It meant the danger 

was over and our quest was almost 

complete. We had one more objective; 

to avoid a long walk back to Zermatt by 

catching the last gondola at 5 p.m. 

After another short stop we shouldered 

packs again and carried on. 

“Come on lads, give it all you’ve got!” 

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Dave exhorted, conscious of the time. 

Byron had contracted a cold and was 

puffing like a plough horse behind me. I 

was out of gas, but we plodded onward, 

reaching the gondola with two minutes 

to spare. It had been 12 hours and eight 

minutes of almost non-stop effort. 

Back in Zermatt we enjoyed burgers 

and beer before driving to Chamonix, 

France’s equivalent of Banff, to indulge 

in two days of R&R before returning to 

Canada. 

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1/31/13 6:28 PM 

Twenty-six years after our first attempt 

on the Matterhorn, in our late 50s, we had 

finished it off. Scratched that itch. 

Gord Currie is a Calgary Section member 

of the ACC, and past Treasurer who 

currently serves as the Club’s Secretary. 

Bureau de la C ie des Guides, in Chamonix, France— 

the world’s first professional guiding company, 

established in 1821. photo by Byron Caldwell 

David Hollinger of Alpine Guides UK signs the 

register on the summit of Tour Ronde, after 

guiding ACC members Gord Currie and Byron 

Caldwell via the southeast arête route. In the 

background, the Aiguille du Midi towers above 

the Glacier du Geant. photo by Byron Caldwell 

Byron Caldwell and Gord Currie honour their Club 

on the summit of the one and only Matterhorn, 

which they climbed via the Hörnli Ridge from 

the Hörnli Hut near Zermatt, Switzerland in 

August. photo by David Hollinger/Alpine Guides UK 


We are having an election!!! 

by Peter Muir, President, Alpine Club of Canada 

As you know, the structure of the National Board has changed. In its simplest terms, the Board is now nine voting positions, the 

section representatives are a Section Council and a new Vice President for Sections will facilitate board to section communication 

and plan quality programming for the semi-annual Section Council meetings. 

The late October timing of the changes did not allow the Nominations Committee to recommend candidates for the new position 

because of bylaw requirements and Gazette publishing dates. However, I am pleased to report that two candidates have been nominated 

by members for the position and a vote of the members will fill the VP for Sections position. This is an exciting opportunity and 

development for the Club as it continues to refine its governance. 

You will find each candidate’s statement on these two pages and a tear-out ballot; both are also available on the website. Please 

exercise your franchise and mail your ballot to the National Office. The envelope must be postmarked no later than April 10, 2013. 

On behalf of the members I thank former ACC President Ken Hewitt and Yamnuska Mountain Adventures owner Len Youden for 

agreeing to act as independent tellers for the election. 

The result of the election will be announced by the Club Secretary at the Annual General Meeting on May 11, 2013. 

Elfrieda BOCK 

When Elizabeth Parker and 

Arthur Wheeler founded the 

Alpine Club of Canada (ACC) 

more than 100 years ago, they shared a 

love of Canadian mountains and a vision 

– but there were no thoughts given to a 

mission statement, values and goals let 

alone a strategic plan and governance. 

Today the ACC Board of Directors has 

to address: marketing plans; fundraising; 

positioning the ACC in a competitive 

marketplace; reputation management 

and visibility; environmental advocacy. 

The ACC is the national voice for mountaineering 

in Canada. The ACC offers a 

range of services – hut and hostel accommodation; 

mountaineering camps and 

mountain trips; leadership development; 

publications. The ACC Board must look 

at how the ACC can operate effectively 

and efficiently in a changing world and 

move forward in its second century of 

operation. 

If I am elected I commit myself to 

working as a member of the ACC Board 

of Directors on behalf of the Sections as 

well as Club members. The Sections are 

where Club members are engaged and 

participate in outdoor adventures. Under 

the new bylaws, while members are represented 

and championed by their Section 

Representative on the Section Council, 

the voice of the Sections on the ACC 

Board is the Vice-President for Sections. 

It is important that the Vice-President 

for Sections supports, represents and 

articulates the views of Sections as well 

as acting as a resource and a mentor for 

Sections concerning best practices for 

Section management and operation. I 

8 Alpine Club of Canada Gazette Spring 2013 

commit myself to listening to Sections 

and will represent and articulate their 

interests at the National level in the best 

interests of the Club. 

I have been an active ACC Ottawa 

member for more than ten years and 

have served on the Executive – as Chair, 

Section Representative, e-Letter Editor 

and Summer Camp Organizer. I was the 

ACC Ottawa Section Representative for 

six years. I have seen the Ottawa Section 

change to meet the evolving needs of our 

members. I have witnessed the positive 

evolution of the ACC. Change is driven 

by members, by the ACC Board and 

by ACC stakeholders – our insurance 

provider, customers, sponsors, donors, 

suppliers, different levels of government. 

The ACC must be responsive to the 

needs of our members and must ensure 

it maintains working relationships with 

our stakeholders. 

The Vice-President for Sections must 

be consultative, innovative, collaborative, 

an advocate, a problem-solver, and a 

communicator. The Vice-President for 

Sections must be accountable to Club 

members and to stakeholders in the outdoor 

community. I bring to the position 

my professional experience as a management 

consultant where my strengths 

include: results-driven analytical problem-solving; 

dealing innovatively with 

complex issues; consensus-building; 

developing and supporting high-performance 

and self-regulating teams; 

leading organizations through change. 

We live in a challenging world of 

distractions. Our day-to-day life has been 

taken-over by instant communication, 

social media, unlimited graphics and 

instant gratification. Many of us carry 

this ‘world’ in our pockets – constantly 

recharging its batteries. For many of us 

there is an inherent need to recharge our 

personal batteries. We find being in the 

mountains and the outdoors invigorates 

and sustains us; and allows us to distance 

ourselves from day-to-day distractions. 

The ACC nourishes old friendships and 

encourages new friendships through 

activities and trips. The ACC is the 

‘doorway’ to positive health and personal 

growth. I want to ensure that the ACC 

continues to provide these opportunities 

for generations to come. 

I am passionate about the ACC’s 

philosophy and vision and I want to be 

involved in its future. It would be an 

honour and a privilege to serve ACC 

members as Vice-President for Sections. 

I am asking you to vote for me. 

—Elfrieda Bock

Sandy WALKER 

My name is Sandy Walker and 

I have put my name forward 

for the new position of Vice 

President for Sections. When I first 

became a member of the Alpine Club of 

Canada in 2001, several ACC members 

took me under their wings and patiently 

introduced me to the world of backcountry 

skiing and climbing. Since I will 

never be able to adequately return the 

favour to those people, I chose back then 

to “pay it forward” by volunteering for 

the ACC wherever possible so that others, 

like me, could be introduced to the wonders 

of the backcountry. 

I have a fairly unique history with 

ACC that has provided me with the skills 

necessary to carry out the responsibilities 

of this role. Over the past 12 years I 

have been Treasurer, Chair and Section 

Camp Coordinator for the Calgary 

Section; Vice Chair, Section Rep, and 

ROCK Program Coordinator for the 

Rocky Mountain Section; and Chair 

of the Alberta Sections. Throughout 

I have been a leader for alpine, rock, 

and ski trips for those Sections; Camp 

Manager for several National Camps; 

and an amateur leader at the General 

Mountaineering Camp. In addition to 

my volunteer involvement in the ACC, I 

worked at National Office for 4 years as 

the Director of Club Services which gave 

me a breadth of knowledge of the benefits 

and services offered by all Sections 

across the country. For all of these contributions, 

I was awarded a Distinguished 

Service Award from the Alpine Club of 

Canada in 2010 through a joint nomination 

from the Calgary and Rocky 

Mountain Sections. More importantly, 

this level of involvement has allowed me 

to experience, first hand, the challenges 

ACC Sections face in finding and using 

volunteer and financial resources; the 

incredible commitment from volunteers 

and leaders; the positive impact Section 

and National activities have on members; 

and the value that training programs have 

for our leaders. I would like to hold the 

position of VP for Sections since it would 

provide me with an interesting challenge 

and a productive means of increasing my 

involvement with the ACC and is the 

next logical progression in my volunteer 

commitment to the ACC. 

What I will do as VP for Sections 

If elected, my goal for effectively 

carrying out the role of VP for Sections 

is to use these accumulated skills and 

experiences to represent the Sections’ 

interests on the Board of Directors. 

Based on what I have experienced first 

hand and heard from Sections over the 

years, my four immediate goals would be: 

1. Ensure Sections are represented on 

the board after discussing with them 

the challenges they face and the 

assistance they require. 

2. Assist Sections in implementing 

programs that will attract volunteers 

and trip leaders. 

3. Seek out ways for Sections to share 

positive and challenging experiences 

easily throughout the year to avoid 

duplicating efforts. 

4. Facilitate ways for Sections to attract 

and retain members, respecting the 

unique nature of each Section. 

Thank you for taking the time to read 

my bio and I hope that I have convinced 

you to vote for me, Sandy Walker, in the 

upcoming election for VP for Sections. 

Merci d’avoir lire ma biographie et 

j’espère que je vous ai convaincu de m’élire 

à la position de v-p des Sections. Je vous 

souhaite une bonne et sûr saison d’escalade 

et du ski! 

—Sandy Walker 

Bernadette McDonald 

winner of 

The Boardman Tasker Prize, 

The Banff Grand Prize, 

The American Alpine Club 

Literary Award 

and 

The 6th Kekoo Naoroji Book 

Award for Himalayan Literature 


Les aventures d’une famille au chalet de Elk Lakes 

par Tanya Koob 

Abris de neige, lampes au propane, 

sièges de toilettes extérieures 

glacés, et eau qu’il faut puiser 

en cassant la glace : voilà un weekend 

ordinaire dans l’arrière-pays ! Ajoutez-y 

trois tout-petits de moins de quatre ans, 

et ce weekend devient une véritable 

aventure. Bien sûr, nous aurions pu laisser 

les enfants chez leurs grands-parents et 

attendre l’été pour visiter le chalet de Elk 

Lakes du Club alpin du Canada, mais où 

aurait été l’aventure ? 

Ce chalet, maintenu par le CAC, se 

situe dans les régions sauvages du Parc 

provincial de Elk Lakes, en Colombie- 

Britannique. L’été, des petites routes 

de campagne permettent de se rendre 

en auto jusqu’à 500 mètres de la porte 

d’entrée, mais l’hiver la seule façon de 

s’y rendre est d’y aller à pied à partir du 

Peter Lougheed Provincial Park (PLPP) 

dans le comté de Kananaskis, en Alberta. 

Le départ se fait du stationnement de 

Elk Pass, à Kanasnaskis Lakes et il faut 

ensuite faire cinq kilomètres en ski ou 

en raquettes pour se rendre au sommet 

de Elk Pass. De là, une descente de 4,2 

km le long d’une ligne à haute tension 

nous conduit en Colombie-Britannique. 

Par le passé, nous avions toujours skié 

jusqu’au chalet à partir de Elk Lakes, car 

les cinq premiers kilomètres se font sur 

les pistes de ski de fond bien entretenues 

du Peter Lougheed Provincial Park. Mais 

cette fois, comme nous emmenions deux 

enfants d’âge préscolaire et un tout petit, 

nous savions qu’il serait plus facile de le 

faire en raquettes. 

Nous avons décidé d’y aller en avril en 

compagnie d’une famille qui nous avait 

partagé la plupart de nos aventures depuis 

la naissance de notre fils, quatre ans plus 

Mark Koob heads home along the trail from Elk Lakes Cabin. 

The great outdoors is child's play at Elk Lakes Cabin. 

tôt. Nous pensions que ce début de printemps 

serait assez chaud pour le premier 

voyage d’hiver de nos enfants dans l’arrière-pays. 

Nous ne nous doutions pas 

qu’il neigerait la plupart du temps et que 

le froid contraindrait les enfants à rester 

emmitouflés dans leurs traineaux pendant 

la presque totalité du voyage. 

Le voyage en raquette nous a paru 

bien plus long que lorsque nous y allions 

en ski; pas surprenant, puisqu’il nous fallait 

non seulement marcher pour grimper 

les collines, mais aussi pour les descendre 

! Et dans mon cas, ce fut encore pire car 

l’une de mes raquettes s’est brisée avant 

même que je franchisse le Elk Pass. Mais, 

grâce à Dieu, la neige était bien tassée et 

j’ai pu descendre assez facilement du col 

vers le chalet. 

Habituellement, quand nous allons à 

Elk Lakes nous essayons de louer tout le 

chalet; ce n’est pas difficile, puisqu’il suffit 

de réunir 14 personnes. C’est un excellent 

photo by Tanya Koob 


choix pour les familles qui planifient un 

voyage entre amis. Nous avons découvert 

péniblement que les gens qui voyagent 

sans enfants ne sont pas très contents de 

voir arriver un groupe avec des petits qui 

sonnent le réveil à 6 heures du matin et 

sont souvent bruyants (Eh oui ! Après 

avoir passé quatre heures immobilisés 

dans un traineau, ils sont tout heureux 

de courir partout en jouant à la « tag »). 

Nous sommes bien d’accord que nos 

enfants sont souvent bruyants; et comme 

l’un d’entre eux peut se mettre à crier à 

tout moment, nous apportons partout une 

certaine dose de chaos. 

Au fil des années, nous avons loué une 

douzaine de chalets et refuges du CAC, et 

avons toujours beaucoup apprécié l’expérience, 

avec ou sans enfants. Poêle de 

camping, vaisselle, casseroles, matelas, et 

tente – tout l’équipement habituellement 

nécessaire dans l’arrière-pays – peuvent 

rester à la maison. Depuis que nous avons 

un enfant, il est de plus en plus important 

pour nous de voyager léger, et habiter un 

chalet du CAC est de loin la meilleure 

façon de passer la nuit dans l’arrière-pays. 

Pour nous, les voyages dans l’arrière-pays 

avec notre fils sont devenus 

une priorité. Chaque année, nous tentons 

de faire avec lui un ou deux voyages qui 

comprennent une nuit. Même si nous 

aimons bien le camping standard, nous 

trouvons que rien ne vaut l’expérience de 

se trouver à des kilomètres de la route la 

plus proche et de devoir nous rendre à pied 

à notre destination en transportant tout

notre bagage. Les défis supplémentaires 

que comporte le camping en arrière-pays 

rendent aussi l’expérience encore plus 

enrichissante pour ceux qui nous accompagnent. 

Au final, lorsque nous choisissons 

de visiter un chalet ou un refuge du 

CAC, nous vivons toujours des moments 

uniques. C’est notre récompense. À Elk 

Lakes, nous étions si excités de découvrir 

près du chalet des abris et tunnels de neige 

qui ne demandaient qu’à être explorés. Je 

suis allée courir dans les champs de neige 

tout autour pour photographier les enfants 

qui rampaient dans les tunnels et j’étais 

aussi excitée qu’eux de vivre cette expérience 

fantastique. 

Notre famille a l’intention de faire de 

ces visites hivernales au parc provincial 

Elk Lakes une véritable tradition. La 

prochaine fois, nous apporterons les 

skis et raquettes des enfants pour qu’ils 

puissent mieux participer à l’aventure. 

Je rêve du jour où ils se rendront en 

raquettes jusqu’au premier lac Elk à partir 

du chalet. Et s’ils y arrivent, il ne fait 

aucun doute que je les précèderai avec 

ma caméra pour prendre des centaines 

de photos de leur première expérience de 

raquettes dans l’arrière-pays. 

Finalement, il s’agit bien de cela : les 

premières expériences en montagne. J’ai 

dû attendre d’être adulte pour faire mon 

premier voyage dans l’arrière-pays, alors 

que mon fils partage nos aventures depuis 

qu’il est bébé. Quand il aura mon âge, il 

aura déjà vécu d’innombrables expériences 

qui iront bien au-delà de tout ce que 

je peux imaginer. 

Nous voulons exprimer notre gratitude 

au Club alpin du Canada d’avoir 

Kilimanjaro 

Africa’s Highest Mountain 

5895 m / 19340 ft. 

Quick draws 

Hueniken achieves NA first 

Kudos to Alpine Club of Canada member Sarah Hueniken for becoming the 

first North American woman to climb the exceptionally demanding mixed climbing 

grade of M11 in December. With Canadian ice climbing legend Will Gadd belaying 

her—and no doubt offering plenty of high-energy support and encouragement— 

Hueniken climbed Neolithic, a steep route with tricky moves in Haffner Cave in 

B.C.’s Kootenay National Park. Not resting for long, while in Montana, where she 

placed second in the women’s lead category at the Bozeman Ice Breaker competition, 

Hueniken followed up with a smooth ascent of the M11 route Northwest Passage at 

the popular Hyalite Canyon area. 

UIAA announces Mountain Protection Award 

The UIAA (the international association of alpine clubs, of which the Alpine Club 

of Canada is a member) Mountain Protection Commission recently announced a 

new award to help support and promote mountain conservation activities that lead 

to improvements in mountain tourism practices. Selection criteria demand that the 

project is linked with mountain-related activities; takes place in mountain regions; 

and focuses on 1) protection of flora and fauna, 2) energy and resource consumption, 

3) waste and management disposal or 4) conservation and biodiversity. For more info 

or to apply, visit www.theuiaa.org/ 

Canadian wins international ski mo event 

Revelstoke, B.C. based Melanie Bernier achieved an impressive win in January 

by crossing the finish line a solid 12 seconds ahead of the second place skier at the 

sixth annual Dynafit Ski Touring Courchevel competition in Courchevel, France. 

Bernier’s fellow Alpine Club of Canada ski mountaineering team member, Reiner 

Thoni, also from B.C., placed fourth in the men’s division on the 3.2-kilometre, 500- 

metre elevation gain/descent course. Both continue to put in solid performances at 

ski mountaineering competitions across the Alps this winter. For more info, visit 

www.alpineclubofcanada.ca/skimo 

créé un réseau aussi extraordinaire de 

chalets et de refuges dans l’arrière-pays. 

Je suis absolument certaine que, grâce au 

CAC, mon fils se rendra dans des endroits 

qui surpasseront tout ce que je pourrai 

atteindre ou expérimenter dans ma vie. 

Nous formulons de grands rêves pour lui 

et avons tellement hâte qu’il s’inscrive 

à son premier voyage vers des sommets, 

DIK DIK 

Hotel & Tours 

Individual safaris in Tanzania 

Kilimanjaro climb & Safari Specialist 

Serengeti, Ngorongoro, Tarangire, Manyara 

Holidays in Zanzibar 

dikdik@habari.co.tz 

www.dikdik.ch 

It is the Swiss family’s Vision & 

Commitment to provide top quality 

accommodation, food and service in a 

friendly atmosphere. 

qu’il nous accompagne à son premier 

General Mountaineering Camp, ou même 

qu’il fasse avec nous l’expérience du 

Wapta Traverse, quand il sera un peu plus 

vieux et qu’il pourra habiter dans certains 

des chalets favoris de ses parents. 

Tanya Koob est membre de la Section 

de Calgary du CAC et tient le blog 

www.rockiesfamilyadventures.com 


Family shares adventures at Elk Lakes Cabin 

by Tanya Koob 

Snow caves, propane lanterns, outhouses 

with ice-cold toilet seats and 

ice fishing for water—just another 

winter weekend in the backcountry! Add 

three small children under the age of four, 

however, and now you have an adventurous 

weekend in the backcountry. We 

could have left the kids with grandparents 

or waited until summer to visit 

the Alpine Club of Canada’s Elk Lakes 

Cabin, but what kind of adventure would 

that be? 

The ACC maintains this cabin deep 

in the wilderness of B.C.’s Elk Lakes 

Provincial Park. In the summer you can 

drive within 500 metres of the cabin’s 

front door on back roads, but in the winter 

there is only one approach and that’s 

on foot from Peter Lougheed Provincial 

Park (PLPP) in Kananaskis Country, 

Alberta. You start near the Kananaskis 

Lakes from the Elk Pass parking lot and 

ski or snowshoe five kilometres to the 

top of Elk Pass. From there it’s another 

4.2 kilometres down along a power line 

into B.C. In the past, we had always skied 

to the Elk Lakes Cabin since the first 

five kilometres is on PLPP’s groomed 

cross-country ski trails. This time though, 

we figured we might have an easier time 

of it on snowshoes since we would be 

towing two preschoolers and a toddler. 

We chose April for our trip with 

another family who has accompanied 

us on most of our adventures since our 

Noah and Makenna dig for fairy dust in Elk Lakes Provincial Park in the 

British Columbia Rockies. 



Mark and Tanya Koob make the trek on snowshoes to Elk Lakes Cabin. 

son was born almost four years ago. We 

thought spring would be a nice warm 

time to get the kids out for their first 

winter backcountry trip. Little did we 

know it would be snowing off and on 

most of the weekend and it would still be 

cold enough that we had to bundle and 

zip them in their sleds for much of the 

journey. 

The walk in to the cabin was a lot 

longer on snowshoes than I had remembered 

it being on skis—not surprising, 

I suppose, since we had to walk both up 

and down the hills. The trip was even 

more challenging for me than expected 

because one of my snowshoes 

broke before even 

reaching the pass. Thank 

God the trail was hardpacked 

and I had few 

problems hiking down 

from the pass to reach the 

cabin. 

We generally try to 

rent the full cabin when 

we go to Elk Lakes which 

is easy to do since it 

only sleeps 14. This is a 

great option for families 

wanting to plan group 

trips with friends. We’ve 

discovered the hard way 

at other huts that folks 

without children are not 

always so pleased to see 

us show up en masse with 

photo by John Koob 

our 6 a.m. alarm clocks and noise makers 

(read: toddlers who run around the room 

playing loud games of tag after riding in a 

sled for four hours). We know and admit 

that our kids can be loud. One will always 

be crying at any given moment; as such 

we bring a certain amount of chaos to any 

place we visit. 

We’ve stayed in a dozen ACC huts and 

cabins over the years and love them with 

or without kids because you don’t need 

the whole collection of camping gear 

typically required in the backcountry. You 

can leave the stove, dishes, pots, sleeping 

mattresses and tent behind. Since having 

a child, being able to travel light has 

become increasingly important to us and 

staying in an ACC hut is by far the easiest 

method of spending the night in the 

backcountry. 

We make backcountry travel a priority 

with our son and make the effort to 

tackle at least one or two overnight trips 

per year. As much as we love roadside 

camping, we find that nothing beats 

the experience of being kilometres away 

from the nearest road and having to 

journey on foot with our gear to reach 

our destination. The additional challenges 

that accompany backcountry camping 

make the experience that much richer for 

everybody on our trips. In the end, we are 

always rewarded with unique opportunities 

when we choose to visit an ACC hut 

or cabin. At Elk Lakes we were thrilled 

to find snow caves and tunnels outside

Mark your calendar ! 

Lotteries for the 2013/2014 winter at Kokanee Cabin 

and Fairy Meadow Hut open April 15 and run until May 15. 

$925.00 / week (including helicopter access to the hut) 

Find out more at www.alpineclubofcanada.ca 

the cabin just waiting for us to explore 

and play in. I ran around the snowy field 

outside the cabin snapping photos of the 

kids crawling through the tunnels, equally 

as excited as they were for the cool 

experience they were having. 

Our family plans to make visiting Elk 

Lakes Provincial Park in winter an annual 

tradition. Next time we’ll bring our 

children’s skis and snowshoes so they can 

better join the adventure. I have a dream 

that they will walk to the first Lower Elk 

Lake from the cabin on their snowshoes. 

If they manage to reach the lake I have 

no doubt that I will be running ahead 

with my camera snapping a hundred 

photos of their first backcountry snowshoeing 

experience. 

In the end, that’s what it’s all about— 

first experiences in the mountains. I had 

to wait until I was an adult to embark on 

my first backcountry trip; meanwhile my 

son has been out sharing our adventures 

with us since he was a baby. By the time 

he’s my age, he will have had a full lifetime 

of experiences beyond what I can 

even fathom. 

We want to express our gratitude to 

the Alpine Club of Canada for creating 

such an amazing network of backcountry 

huts and cabins. I’ve no doubt that my 

son will reach places through the ACC 

that will forever be out of my reach and 

experience. We have big dreams for him 

and can’t wait to see him signed up for 

his first summits trip, join us on his first 

Greta Duncan and her daughter Kinsey enjoy lunch break at Elk Pass. 

General Mountaineering Camp, or even 

experience the Wapta Traverse with us 

when he’s a little bit older to stay at some 

of his parents’ favourite huts. 

Tanya Koob belongs to the ACC Calgary 

Section and writes an award-winning blog 

at www.rockiesfamilyadventures.com 



Slesse Mountain 

First light emerges at the Propeller Cairn. 

photo by Travis McClinchey 

Travis McClinchey and Saar Moisa climbed the prominent ridge leading to the highest point. The very small piece of snow to the left of the ridge is the Bypass 

Glacier. The snow at the very bottom is formed as the glacier avalanches over the summer. photo by Travis McClinchey 

by Travis McClinchey 

In July 2011, I moved to Vancouver 

from southern Ontario for reasons 

Gazette readers can appreciate. 

In their book Fifty Classic Climbs of 

North America, Steve Roper and Allen 

Steck included Slesse Mountain, which 

happens to be the closest of the 50 to 

Vancouver. Among the general public, 

it’s known for a 1956 plane crash, which 

killed all 62 on board. When climbers 

think of Slesse, they think of its 

Northeast Buttress first climbed by Fred 

Beckey and partners in 1963. 

One of the reasons it is so renowned 

is the Bypass Glacier, which forms over 

winter as snow avalanches from the east 

face onto the slab below. Some years 

it melts slowly into the valley, others it 

Travis McClinchey makes his way toward Slesse’s 

summit. photo by Saar Moisa 

releases in one massive slide. Depending 

on the season and conditions, the approach 

leads directly over or under the glacier. 

Most parties wait until the glacier has 

completely slid. With the glacier lingering 

longer than usual in recent years, few 

attempts have been made. To safely climb 

this route, the stars must truly align. By 

mid-Sept. 2012, the glacier appeared to 

be gone, and despite recent snowfall, the 

weather looked perfect for an attempt. 

At the trailhead, Saar Moisa and I 

sorted gear, packed our bags then began 

the one-hour approach to camp, hurrying 

to arrive before dark to study Bypass 

Glacier’s condition. Arriving just in time, 

the glacier appeared very small; time spent 

under it would be minimal. We decided 

to cross at first light—the coldest, most 

inactive time of day. Hunkered in our 

bivouacs, we prepared ourselves physically 

and mentally for the following day. 

Our alarms sounded at 4 a.m., and 

after a quick bite we hiked to Propeller 

Cairn, where the route finding begins. 

Arriving in darkness, we waited for more 

light before scrambling fairly far up the 

slabs without any risk. Finally we chose 

our crossing point and made a hasty 

20-second sprint traverse below the 

glacier. Once across we exhaled in relief. 

Fuelled by adrenaline, we continued up a 

third- and fourth-class ramp filled with 

bushy trees and grassy ledges, gaining 

the buttress in good time. We climbed 

un-roped up more fourth-class shrubbery 

with the occasional low fifth-class move, 

until it became more difficult. Building an 

anchor on a nice ledge, we prepared for 

the technical climbing. 

This was the first time we had stopped 

moving since the Propeller Cairn, and 

certain thoughts started settling in my 

mind. We were at the base of one of the 

most coveted alpine climbs in North 

America and I was becoming excited. We 

were making good time and I was energized 

for what the day would bring. We 

had just crossed an active pocket glacier, 

which many climbers would compare to 

playing roulette. Viewing the remnants 

of Bypass Glacier from above proved 

how deceiving it can be from below; it 

was huge! Some very large chunks rested 

precariously on the slab. Although we 

had made it across safely, I began reconsidering 

our decision. Alpine climbing 

involves its risks, but having crossed at a 

carefully chosen place at first light and 

sprinting like Usain Bolt, I felt confident 

in our decision. 

The first two pitches were fun and 

rewarding. On pitch three I had the 

pleasure of leading a fantastic hands and 

thin-hands crack to the base of the crux 

pitch. Heading straight up a headwall 

then traversing under roofs, Saar led, 

breezing up the daunting, yet stellar pitch. 

The gear is thin, but the rock solid. 

Two more pitches from the crux 

brought us to a spacious bivouac platform, 

where some parties stay a night. 

Admiring the spectacular views I 

considered it a shame not to spend the 

night—until I remembered such an 

evening would require climbing with 

overnight gear and additional food and 

water. Fast and light is my preference!

From there we climbed 200 metres of 

fourth- and fifth-class terrain un-roped 

to the base of a headwall. Having snowed 

on Mount Slesse a few days earlier, the 

northern side of the buttress had occasional 

snow patches on the ledges, but 

they were easily managed. It was noon by 

then and I worried a bit about our time. 

The descent off Slesse is very long and the 

thought of doing it in the dark crept into 

my mind. Six pitches later, at 3:45 p.m. we 

summitted. The final pitches were steep, 

sustained and enjoyable on good rock 

with excellent protection. 

We enjoyed a quick snack break—our 

first since roping up at 7:45 a.m. A longer 

break would have been nice, but with a 

heinous descent ahead of us, we savoured 

the moment. With perfect weather, 

the summit views were incredible. We 

signed the register and started down, 

finding Jeremy Frimer’s description of the 

Crossover Pass descent invaluable. 

Following obvious cairns down a short 

gully to our first rappel, several more 

rappels and an easy traverse led to easier 

terrain. Finally at our last rappel, we 

reached Crossover Pass as the light faded. 

Heading down a grassy ledge system we 

quickly realized we’d erred—it was too 

steep. Quickly re-reading the description, 

we traversed under the Wooded Stump, 

in our tiredness realizing it was not 

actually the stump we’d expected, but a 

sub-peak. Soon plunging down a scree 

Travis McClinchey climbs toward the crux 

moves. photo by Saar Moisa 

slope, we reached the subalpine by 9 p.m. 

Relieved to be in benign terrain, I 

turned off my brain and entered zombie 

mode. For 15 hours I’d been mentally alert, 

making sure every step I made and every 

rock I pulled on was solid and I would 

not fall or slip into the abyss. Physically, I 

felt great, but my mind had thrown in the 

towel. I suspected Saar felt the same. 

The trail was difficult to navigate, 

forcing us to backtrack several times. At 

one point, a grouse-marmot Centaur-type 

creature ran in Saar’s direction, spooking 

him; he mustered enough energy to sprint 

uphill out of harm’s way. Observing the 

creature from afar, we debated its identity 

but never reached consensus. Eventually 

the trail grew less faint, more obvious and 

steeper. Sparse and slowly disintegrating 

flagging tape soon turned to reflectors; 

a welcomed change for two headlamp 

adorned climbers stumbling about in the 

dark. Reaching camp 18 hours after setting 

out, sleep came quickly. 

Well-rested in the morning, we hiked 

out, retrieving two victory beers we had 

stashed in Nesakwatch Creek. Finally 

reaching the truck, we popped them. 

Slesse had been my most committing, 

remote and adventurous climb to date. 

I loved every minute of it. 

Travis McClinchey and Saar Moisa 

are ACC Vancouver Section members. Read 

a more detailed version of this story in the 

Nov. 2012 issue of Avalanche Echoes 

newsletter at www.accvancouver.org/ 

Saar Moisa climbs above the Pocket Glacier, 

whose loose blocks he and partner Travis 

McClinchey sprinted underneath to gain the 

terrain above. photo by Travis McClinchey 


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VI Section celebrates centennial ascent 

by Lindsay Elms 

Once known as the Strathcona 

Matterhorn, 2,194-metre 

Elkhorn Mountain is the second 

highest mountain on Vancouver Island 

and the quintessential mountain of the 

Alpine Club of Canada’s Vancouver 

Island Section. The Section was formed in 

the winter of 1912 and chaired by William 

“Billy” Foster, then B.C.’s Deputy 

Minister of Public Works. Following 

meetings with the provincial government, 

Foster finalized a deal to ensure funding 

for an expedition to the newly established 

Strathcona Provincial Park. As experts in 

the field of mountaineering, ACC members 

were considered to be well qualified 

to provide opinions on the alpine attractions 

of B.C.’s first provincial park. 

In August 1912, a large ACC party 

made its way from Victoria to Campbell 

River and then into the heart of the 

island, establishing a base at Drum Lake. 

Reginald Thomson, the park’s chief 

engineer whom the government had 

asked to oversee the party, spoke of a 

striking peak called the Matterhorn of 

Strathcona Park. In his Canadian Alpine 

Journal account, A.O. Wheeler wrote that 

Thomson “… dared the Alpine Club to 

make its ascent.” We replied: “Lead us 

within striking distance.” The answer was 

“I will.” 

After viewing the mountain from a 

bench high on Crest Mountain, on Aug. 

20, a party of nine, including Edward 

Wheeler, Arthur Wheeler, “Jimmie” 

Wilson, A.R. Hart, James Robertson, 

Francis Robertson, David Gillies, Herbert 

Frind and Albert MacCarthy, left Drum 

Lake and started up the Elk River. By 

the end of the day they had established 

a camp high on the west ridge. Starting 

early the next morning all nine eventually 

reached the summit of the Strathcona 

Matterhorn where the contents of an 

emergency brandy flask served to christen 

the peak Elkhorn. The triumphant climbers 

returned to Drum Lake the following 

day and were welcomed with an enthusiastic 

reception by the rest of the party. 

q 

In the winter of 2012, VI Section 

members began their centennial celebrations, 

one of many events being a 

commemorative ascent of Elkhorn. On 

Aug. 20, eight climbers rendezvoused at 

the trailhead, and after organizing gear 

we hiked up the Elk Valley to the junction 

where the climber’s route up Elkhorn 

begins. With the fording of the Elk River 

behind us we picked up the flagged route 

and began the steep climb into the upper 

hanging valley. 

Eventually we reached the side stream 

we had to follow to gain the lower west 

ridge. Half-way up we arrived at a rock 

slide where some old ropes hung down. 

While everyone stopped for lunch, 

Mike and I climbed up and attached a 

new rope; having been exposed to the 

elements for several seasons the old ones 

were frayed and of dubious worth. By 

mid-afternoon we had arrived in the 

alpine and set up our tents beside an 

alpine tarn, the last source of water on the 

mountain. 

Just after first light we were moving 

up the ridge toward our goal, however, 

the weather wasn’t what we had hoped 

for; the summit was in mist and moisture 

was in the air. We hoped the rain would 

hold off. At the base of where the climbing 

begins we put on harnesses, but didn’t 

rope up. Although the rock was steep 

everyone felt comfortable soloing until 

the final pitch below the gendarme. With 

a toprope secured, everyone was brought 

up to where we could see the route 

around the prominent gendarme. An airy 

traverse on a narrow ledge system angled 

around the south side where we safeguarded 

the route by fixing a hand-line 

on each of the three sections. Once we 

were all back on the ridge we un-roped 

and all moved together over the loose 

scree toward the summit. 

We arrived on the summit of Elkhorn 

at almost the same time as the first party 

back in 1912. Everyone was jubilant, 

especially those who were on Elkhorn 

for the first time. It didn’t matter that 

there was a light drizzle beginning to 

fall, but the summit photo was hastily 

arranged. 

Care was required on the descent 

now that the rock was damp and 

when we arrived at the top of the 

gendarme we found an alternate 

route down that avoided the airy 

Participants of the ACC’s Vancouver Island 

Section centennial ascent of Elkhorn Mountain 

share the summit on Aug. 21, 2012. Back row, 

from left, Tak Ogasawara, Lenka Visnovska, 

Janelle Curtis, Lindsay Elms. Front row, from 

left, Mike Morris, Dave Suttill, Valerie Wootton, 

Roxy Ahmed. photo by Valerie Wootton

traverse, first by wriggling between the 

rock and the icefield on the north side 

and then rappelling the névé ice to the 

scree below. To speed the descent of the 

rockwall we set up several long rappels 

that eventually reached the easy ridge 

below. The final walk back to camp 

seemed to take longer than the ascent, 

but who was watching the clock! 

The climb had been a success and all 

that was left was the descent to the Elk 

Valley and the walk out on the trail to the 

vehicles the next day. Later the following 

afternoon, after the hike out, we all met 

at a pub in Campbell River for the final 

celebration, a crowning of our centennial 

ascent of Elkhorn Mountain. 

Vancouver Island Section members 

celebrated their centennial by climbing 118 

peaks in 2012. Lindsay Elms is credited with 

being the most “social climber” with 32 fellow 

summiteers. 

Climbers on the centennial ascent of Elkhorn 

rappel carefully through thick mist. 

photo by Dave Suttill 

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Mercedario 

by Gordon Hopper 

The longest mountain chain in the 

world, the Andes is comprised 

of the highest mountains outside 

the Himalaya and Karakorums, 46 of 

which are higher than Alaska’s Denali. 

The High Andes is the region in the 

vicinity of a line drawn from Santiago, 

Chile to Mendoza, Argentina. It includes 

South America’s highest, 6,961-metre 

Aconcagua, as well as three other of 

the Andes’ top 25 summits: Mercedario, 

Tupungato and Cerro la Ramada. In total, 

the range boasts 15 peaks above 6,000 

metres, and they are the most southerly 

6,000-metre mountains in the world. 

After a successful trip in 2006 

when we climbed Aconcagua and three 

mountains just under 6,000 metres at 

nearby Vallecetos, Elizabeth Tertil and I 

hatched an ambitious plot to climb the 

three other giants of the region. Some of 

these mountains, such as Tupungato, are 

volcanoes, but most are of folded rock. 

Mercedario and Ramada, like Aconcagua, 

are entirely in Argentina, whereas 

Tupungato sits on the Chile/Argentina 

border. 

Our first objective was 6,570-metre 

Tupungato. Because of large rivers on the 

Argentine side, this mountain is physically 

easier to access from Chile. However 

in practice, it is not so simple, as one 

requires three permits and two liability 

waivers from the governmental department 

La Dirección Nacional de Fronteras y 

Gordon Hopper savours his moment, and the spectacular view, from the summit of Mercedario. 

photo by Elizabeth Tertil 

Límites del Estado, the Chilean Army and 

the electric company AES Gener, which 

owns the access road. We obtained the 

first two but because of a major storm in 

the area just before we arrived, the electric 

company would not grant us access. Thus 

on arrival in Santiago on Jan. 10, 2012, we 

took a bus to Uspallata near Mendoza, 

Argentina. From there we hitched a lift 

on a back road to a small town called 

Barreal, our base for Mercedario and 

La Ramada. There we discovered an 

unusually large amount of snow in the 

mountains and the weather was still very 

stormy high up. However, after securing 

transport by 4WD, we drove for two 

hours up a very dramatic dirt road in the 

Valle de Callingasta to the start of the 

Mercedario climb, a seven-day ascent. 

South America’s highest peak, Aconcagua (top left), is clearly visible from the summit of Mercedario. 

photo by Gordon Hopper 

Because of the acclimatisation process, 

our hiking was limited to two to five 

hours each day. The weather continued to 

be very unstable high on the mountain 

with lots of snow and gale-force winds. 

As the high camp was very exposed, we 

spent three nights at 4,956 metres waiting 

for the weather to improve. It did not, so 

we retreated to Barreal for a few days to 

relax in the warm Argentine summer sun 

and enjoy the good food and excellent 

local wines. 

Four days later we returned to the 

mountain. This time, as we were already 

acclimatised, we were able to climb to 

high camp at 5,653 metres in three days. 

Next morning, summit day, dawned 

very cold and clear with lots of frosted 

condensation on the tent wall which fell 

on our faces each time the wind blew. 

The climb, on snow and scree, was 1,100 

metres in altitude gain, and five to six 

kilometres in distance, one-way. Route 

finding in these mountains can be quite 

tricky but a group from the Cordoba 

Mountaineering Club preceded us by 

a few hours. The views to the north 

continued to improve as we made our 

way up the mountain in slow motion, as 

is the norm at these altitudes. Reaching 

the summit at 7 p.m., the low sun still 

had warmth in it and there was not a 

breath of wind. The views were stunning, 

with Aconcagua 100 kilometres to the 

south; La Ramada, La Mesa and Pico 

Polacos nearby; and the very scenic 

Cordillera Ansilta to the north. There is 

great controversy about the altitude of 

this mountain (and many other Andean 

summits), with the official Argentine one

Climbing 

rocks! 

Are you a crimp-pimping boulderer? 

A no-bolts trad climber? 

A steel-nerved and muscled 

alpinist? Or maybe a 5.14 gym climber, 

easy-route scrambler, fly-weight skimo 

racer or a twice-a-season standard 

route mountaineer? Can you finish this 

sentence: Climbing rocks because…? 


Gazette is your magazine, featuring 

stories and photos all about you and 

your fellow ACC members. And the 

Gazette wants to share your stories 

about why you climb and what you 

love about your style of climbing. For 

details about photos, deadlines and 

how to submit your story, contact 

gazette@alpineclubofcanada.ca 

IFSC Bouldering 

World Cup Canada 

With 80 top athletes from 15 countries, 

including Canadians Sean McColl, 

Sebastien Lazure, Josh Muller, Thirza 

Carpenter and Stacey Weldon competing, Canada’s 

second IFSC Bouldering World Cup, running June 

1-2 in Hamilton, Ontario and sanctioned by the ACC, 

IFSC federation member, promises a thrilling event. 

Weekend passes will be for sale through the ACC 

website. Read more in the Summer Gazette. 

Ayou Sopeju practices at Underpass Park, Toronto, Ontario. 

Photography: Andy Mann I Expedition: The Incan Odyssey I Athlete: Mick Follari 

photo by Ruby Photo Studio 

marmot.com • facebook.com/marmotpro 

being 6,770 metres. Our GPS read 6,726 

metres, while John Biggar’s The Andes, a 

Guide for Climbers, the most comprehensive 

guidebook to the Andes, places the 

height at approximately 6,700 metres, 

based on SRTM surveys from NASA. 

After a three and a half-hour descent, 

some in darkness, we were glad to reach 

our tent on the edge of the Ollada glacier. 

It took another two days to return 

to Barreal and unfortunately there was 

not enough time to climb La Ramada 

(a-nine-day round trip). Instead, we 

spent the last few days visiting the World 

Heritage Sites of Ischigualasto (Valle 

de la Luna, Argentina) and Talampaya 

with their incredible rock formations and 

fossils from the Triassic Period of 245 to 

208 million years ago. 

Alpine Club of Canada Calgary Section 

members Gordon Hopper and Elizabeth 

Tertil are prolific travellers with a special 

fondness for South America’s mountains. 

Guanacos keep a wary eye on a couple of 

climbers. photo by Gordon Hopper 

Marmot 

Insulated 

Collection 


What my ACC means to me 

by Christine Mazur 

Born and raised in Winnipeg, 

Manitoba, I’d never heard of the 

Alpine Club of Canada until after 

returning from finishing a law degree in 

Alberta. Funny, too, since Winnipeg is 

where it all began in 1906, and Alberta is 

where the mountains are. 

Shortly after returning to Winnipeg 

in 2001, I met a young man through my 

sister’s circle of friends who invited me to 

join him at a local indoor climbing gym. 

Then he invited my sister and me to the 

Winnipeg leg of the Banff Mountain 

Film Festival World Tour, and finally, one 

spring day, we headed east to some granite 

cliffs in the Kenora, Ontario area with 

a group of his friends. 

My friend, Simon Statkewich, who 

was—and still is—chair of the ACC’s 

Manitoba Section, tied a figure eight 

knot on my borrowed harness. In reply to 

my nervous, “what do I do?” he said, “go 

up.” A man of few words, that Simon. I 

looked up. Way up. Then I faced the rock 

immediately in front of me and addressed 

the task one little spur of rock at a time. 

Mid-way up that first climb, I heard 

someone below say, “wow, obviously she’s 

done this before.” Yeah—once before! 

Indoors! 

After that first day of climbing 

outdoors, I was hooked. The process of 

moving with hands and feet up a rock 

face was so relaxing and meditative, and 

spending a summer’s afternoon outdoors 

with good friends was an incredible 

experience. On my own, I joined the ACC 

and soon started going on Manitoba 

Section climbs. Some of the people I have 

Summer Leadership Course for ACC Volunteers 

Twice a year, ACC sections from across the 

country send their leaders to 

The North Face –ACC 

Leadership Course 

2013 Location - Scotch Peaks (Purcells) 

www.alpineclubofcanada.ca/tnf 

met since then have become and remain 

among my closest friends, our lives 

now intertwined far beyond basic Club 

activities. 

Potlucks, classical music concerts, 

birthday and family celebrations, supporting 

each other in times of both joy 

and misfortune; these are all part of the 

rewards I’ve been so fortunate to have 

experienced through my association with 

the ACC. Personally, I have been inspired 

by my involvement to stretch and grow 

my skills in ways I’d never imagined. I 

could even possibly lay the blame for my 

quitting the legal practice in pursuit of 

other dreams at the foot of the ACC. 

A brand new club member, I was 

sitting at such an angle at my first annual 

general meeting so as to be unable to 

avoid eye contact with Peter Muir who 

was calling for someone to step in and 

take over the position of newsletter editor. 

For the next few years I put together the 

Section’s quarterly bulletin, Cliff Notes, 

and one day had an idea: so many of our 

Club members have some incredible 

stories to tell, and the kicker is, they live 

in Manitoba. Yet they live and breathe 

climbing. What if we put together a compilation 

of their stories in a book? That 

opportunity arose when the ACC put 

out the call for special project proposals 

to celebrate the Club’s centennial year in 

2006. Simon and I, together with history 

scholar and climber David Relkoff, 

got our first taste of book editing and 

publishing when we created Manitoba 

Climbers: A Century of Stories from the 

Birthplace of the Alpine Club of Canada. 

photo: Cyril ShokopleS 

Christine climbs at the popular ACC destination, 

Panorama Cliff, in northwestern Ontario. 

photo by Richard Wood 

The book project was just one of 

many other little influences of the ACC 

on my decision to quit law. Afterwards 

I enrolled in a creative communications 

course where I learned the art of video 

shooting and editing. An assignment 

for a television documentary film course 

resulted in a short film which I submitted 

to the Banff Mountain Film Festival. The 

Banff Centre invited me to enroll in the 

Adventure Filmmaker’s Workshop, which 

I did, having the experience of a lifetime, 

spending the week of the 2009 BMFF 

in Banff. What an incredible experience, 

learning from professional filmmakers 

about shooting the activities I’d come to 

love doing. 

The sense of adventure I’ve discovered 

within myself from taking part in ACC 

activities has fuelled my travel addiction, 

and though I’m currently not as active 

with the Club as I’ve been in the past, I 

always look for opportunities to climb 

things no matter where or for what reason 

as I travel in the world. 

Manitoba Section member Christine 

Mazur, who also belongs to the St. Boniface 

Section, has been an ACC member since 

2002. She volunteers with the Manitoba 

Section’s BMFF Committee. 


Ce que mon appartenance au Club alpin signifie pour moi 

par Christine Mazur 

Je suis née et j’ai grandi à Winnipeg, et 

avant d’y revenir après avoir terminé 

mes études de droit en Alberta, je 

n’avais jamais entendu parler du Club 

alpin du Canada. Amusant, puisque 

même si les montagnes se trouvent en 

Alberta, c’est bien à Winnipeg que fut 

fondé le CAC en 1906. 

Peu de temps après mon retour 

dans cette ville en 2001, j’ai rencontré 

un jeune homme qui faisait partie du 

groupe d’amis de ma sœur, et qui m’a 

invitée à l’accompagner au club local 

d’escalade intérieure. Par la suite, il nous 

a invitées, ma sœur et moi, à la section 

de Winnipeg du Banff Mountain Film 

Festival World Tour. Et finalement, un 

jour de printemps, nous sommes partis 

vers l’est escalader des falaises de granit 

dans la région de Kenora, en Ontario, en 

compagnie de ses amis. 

Lors de notre première sortie, mon 

ami, Simon Statkewich, qui était – et 

est encore – président de la section du 

Manitoba du CAC, a attaché un nœud 

en huit au harnais que j’avais emprunté. 

Comme je demandais nerveusement 

« et maintenant, qu’est-ce que je fais ? » 

il m’avait tout simplement répondu 

« monte ». Un homme de peu de mots, 

ce Simon ! J’ai regardé en haut. Tout en 

haut. Puis j’ai regardé le rocher, juste 

là, devant mes yeux, et j’ai commencé à 

gravir la paroi, un petit bout de rocher à la 

fois. Au milieu de cette première montée, 

j’ai entendu quelqu’un, plus bas, qui 

disait : « Wow, c’est évident qu’elle a déjà 

fait ça. » Oui, une fois ! À l’intérieur ! 

Dès cette première journée d’escalade 

extérieure, j’étais devenue accro. Bouger 

mains et pieds pour me déplacer sur une 

face rocheuse était si relaxant, si méditatif; 

et partager un bel après-midi d’été 

en plein air avec de bons amis, quelle 

expérience unique ! J’ai donc décidé par 

moi-même de joindre le Club alpin du 

Canada et, très vite, j’ai commencé à aller 

grimper avec les membres de la section 

du Manitoba. J’y ai rencontré des gens 

qui sont devenus et demeurent mes amis 

les plus proches, et nos vies s’entremêlent 

bien au-delà des activités du Club. 

Les rencontres à la fortune du pot, 

les concerts de musique classique, les 

anniversaires, les fêtes familiales, et le 

soutien que nous nous apportons dans la 

joie comme dans les moments difficiles, 

sont quelques exemples de tout ce que 

j’ai eu la chance de vivre dans le cadre 

de mon appartenance au CAC. Du point 

de vue personnel, j’y ai également trouvé 

l’inspiration pour améliorer et même 

dépasser mes capacités au-delà de ce que 

j’aurais pu imaginer. Je pourrais même 

mettre sur le compte de mon appartenance 

au CAC ma décision d’abandonner 

ma pratique du droit pour poursuivre 

d’autres rêves. J’étais toute nouvelle au 

CAC lorsque j’ai assisté à ma première 

réunion générale annuelle, et d’où j’étais, 

je ne pouvais éviter le regard de Peter 

Muir, qui demandait un volontaire au 

poste d’éditeur du bulletin. Au cours des 

années suivantes, j’ai donc été éditeur du 

bulletin trimestriel des Sections, Cliff 

Notes. Un jour j’ai eu une idée : tant de 

membres de notre Club (de véritables 

mordus d’escalade !) ont des histoires 

incroyables à raconter, et ils habitent au 

Manitoba. Pourquoi ne pas réunir leurs 

histoires en un livre ? L’occasion s’est 

présentée lorsque le CAC a lancé un 

appel de projets spéciaux pour célébrer 

le centenaire du Club en 2006. Simon et 

moi, de concert avec l’historien et alpiniste 

David Relkoff, avons ainsi fait nos 

débuts en tant qu’éditeurs de livres en 

publiant Manitoba Climbers: A Century 

of Stories from the Birthplace of the Alpine 

Club of Canada. 

Ce projet de livre fait partie de toutes 

ces expériences que j’ai vécues grâce au 

CAC et qui ont influencé ma décision 

d’abandonner la pratique du droit. Je me 

suis inscrite à un cours de création en 

communications et dans le cadre d’un 

cours j’ai réalisé un court métrage que 

j’ai soumis au Banff Mountain Film 

Festival. Le Banff Centre m’a alors invitée 

à m’inscrire à l’atelier intitulé Adventure 

Filmmaker’s Workshop, et j’ai passé une 

semaine fantastique au BMFF 2009 à 

Banff. Apprendre de cinéastes professionnels 

à filmer les activités que j’avais appris 

à aimer fut une expérience unique ! 

Le sens de l’aventure que j’ai découvert 

en moi en participant aux activités 

du CAC a alimenté ma dépendance à 

l’égard du voyage. Et même si je suis un 

peu moins active auprès du Club que par 

le passé, je suis toujours à la recherche 

d’endroits à escalader ou que ce soit et 

pour quelque raison que ce soit, lorsque je 

voyage à travers le monde. 

Membre de la Section du Manitoba, 

Christine Mazur, qui fait également partie 

de la Section de St-Boniface, est membre du 

Club alpin du Canada depuis 2002. Elle 

agit à titre de bénévole au Comité du BMFF 

de la Section du Manitoba. 

Don’t 

miss out! 

In the Scotch Peaks area of the Purcell Mountains 

2013 GENERAL MOUNTAINEERING CAMP . 

Six week-long camps from July 6 - August 17 

www.alpineclubofcanada.ca/gmc 

Photo: Roger Laurilla 

Photo: Roy Millar 



Fantastic mountaineering on granite peaks in close proximity to camp 


Australian Alpine Walking Track a memorable march 

by Michael Teekens 

The Australian Alpine Walking 

Track (AAWT) is a demanding 

walk covering a distance of 683 

rugged kilometres through Australia’s 

highest mountains from Walhalla in 

Victoria to Tharwa Visitor Centre near 

the nation’s capitol, Canberra. Passing 

through tall forests and stunted snow 

gum woodlands, the track follows ridges 

and crosses high plains of the Great 

Australian Alps, Australia’s highest 

points, in the country’s southeastern 

corner. 

Our group of 12 started from Dead 

Horse Gap near Thredbo and hiked to 

the Benambra road, deep in Victoria’s 

alpine area, a distance of 116 kilometres. 

A Youth Hostels of Australia (YHA) trip, 

our adventure began with an early morning 

drive on Boxing Day to Corryong, 

in northeastern Victoria. Arriving at 

midday, we visited the local coffee shop 

for our last taste of good cappuccino. We 

then rendezvoused with two transportation 

company drivers who ferried us in 

vans to our start point. There the drivers 

brought out a table with delicious food 

and drinks. 

At 3 p.m. we started out with heavy 

packs, walking on the easy track for eight 

kilometres to Cascade Hut. Before long, 

dark clouds heralded rain and hail, but 

soon afterward the sun dried us with a 

brisk cool wind. After walking on an easy 

4WD track we reached our destination 

and set up our tents while some cooked 

inside the hut. 

The second day brought an easy 

18-kilometre walk to the Tin Mine Hut. 

Day three delivered the highlight of our 

trip; in the distance we could hear a pack 

With the Tin Mine Huts closed, Michael Pianelli, 

left and the author, right, pitched their tents 

nearby. photo by Bruce Meinke 

A hiker walks through a forest of snow gums, a sturdy variety of Eucalyptus tree which becomes gnarled 

and twisted by the ravages of harsh climate and gale-force winds. photo by Michael Teekens 

of dingos howl just like wolves do, an 

interesting experience that was new to 

me. On that day we climbed the highest 

peak of the trip, The Pilot. Walking on 

4WD tracks, we left our packs at an intersection 

to walk up the easy slope to Pilot’s 

1,830-metre summit. From the summit, 

which bore a large cairn, 

we enjoyed superb views 

of New South Wales’ 

highest range, the Main 

Range, which reaches 

2,230 metres. Half an 

hour later we descended 

to our backpacks to 

feast on lunch, then 

continued on to our 

camping destination 

at Cowombat Flats. 

Arriving there we saw 

many wild horses, called 

brumbies. This area is 

the source of Australia’s 

longest river, 2,995-kilometre 

Murray River. 

The fourth day we 

woke up to heavy frost on 

the ground and the tents. 

Walking up a plateau, we 

witnessed parts of the fuselage and wings 

from a DC-3 scattered around, remnants 

from a plane crash in 1953. The 4WD track 

crisscrossed several creeks, which were 

fortunately not deep, but we were on constant 

alert for snakes. After many ups and 

downs on the tracks we camped in a large 

open field in a valley called Stoney Creek. 

The following day we walked to 

Buckwong Creek on mainly 4WD tracks, 

which at points required the navigational 

talents of Bruce, our master tracker and 

With Australia being well-known for 

its plentiful numbers and varieties of 

snakes, the author preferred not to 

hike in the lead. photo by Bruce Meinke 

YHA icon who has been leading trips for 

decades. By the time we reached our destination 

some members of the group were 

suffering terrible blisters that required a 

bit of TLC, while we all endured mossies 

that evening. 

Our sixth day—the last day of the 

year—was a 20-kilometre 

hike with many 

ups and downs. The 

map showed our 

final campsite near 

Buenba Creek to be 

marshland, but in 

reality it was very dry. 

We finished all of our 

food, making walking 

on New Year’s Day a 

bit lighter, something 

we were grateful for 

after a bit of a party. 

We began our 

final day at 6:30 a.m. 

for the 22-kilometre 

walk, a wise decision 

that allowed us to 

avoid the heat of the 

sun. Then came the 

long steep climb of 

250 metres up a spur to reach Johnnies 

Point at 1,566 metres, where we rested 

and enjoyed the discovery of a new water 

tank to fill our bottles. From there wellmarked 

AAWT signs on tree trunks made 

the going easy and the Beloka Range 

was quite pleasant to walk. At one point 

we followed an indistinct route with 

many fallen trees and dense foliage, then 

the trail descended steeply and opened 

up with rocky terrain easing off gently. 

Suddenly I heard cars in the distance and 


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knew the end was near; at the road two 

vans picked us up. My toes were rejoicing. 

Our trek totalled 116 kilometres, plus 

extra for The Pilot and a few other excursions. 

Arriving at Corryong campground 

by 6 p.m. we shared great anticipation 

for well-deserved showers after spending 

eight days in the wilderness, but to our 

disappointment we had to contend with 

cold water. Thankfully, it was a hot day! 

Alpine Club of Canada member Michael 

Teekens belongs to the Calgary Section, but 

is currently living in Melbourne, in the 

Australian state of Victoria. 

ACC member Michael Teekens, far right, stands with his trip mates against a backdrop of snow gum trees 

at Johnnies Top. photo by Jeff Barker 

Shovel Pass 

Backcountry Lodge 

Skyline Trail 

Jasper National Park, AB 

Hiker accommodation located mid way 

on the famous Skyline Trail at 7,000 feet. 

1-888-852-7787 

www.skylinetrail.com 


Book ends 

compiled by Lynn Martel 

Summits and Icefields: Alpine Ski 

Tours in the Columbia Mountains 

by Chic Scott and Mark Klassen 

With pages and pages of large, 

full-colour photos, line after line of 

accurate, detailed and concise route 

information, clearly drawn topo maps 

and a whole lot of excellent background 

information by two great masters of 

their terrain, the only thing backcountry skiers need to add to 

this book are the stupendous alpine vistas they’ll enjoy from 

the top of a col or peak, or the cheek bursting smiles they wear 

after skiing one of these slopes in deep, fluffy powder. From Über 

popular day trips in the Rogers Pass area to the classic Bugaboos 

to Rogers Pass or lesser travelled but highly-praised Northern 

Cariboo traverses, this volume is a backcountry lover’s soft and 

fluffy dream book. 

Published by Rocky Mountain Books, www.rmbooks.com/ . 

Cold Matters: The State and Fate 

of Canada’s Fresh Water 

by Bob Sandford 

Having immersed himself in freshwater 

science and policy issues since 

2005, Sandford has become an internationally 

respected authority on matters 

of water availability and the effects of climate change. In Cold 

Matters, he describes the research, researchers and results of 

long-term scientific studies of cold regions hydrology, glaciology, 

meteorology and climatology in western and northern Canada— 

the exact playground where ACC members love and live to climb 

and ski tour. This book shares, in easy-to-understand terms, the 

basic principles that govern hydrology and glaciology in Canada, 

the rapid changes to rivers, snow, glaciers and permafrost that 

scientists have observed over the past several decades, and the 

implications of those findings not just for the future of Canada’s 

invaluable natural landscapes, but also for those who recreate in 

the alpine environment. 


A Beginner’s Guide to 

Snowshoeing in the Canadian 

Rockies 

by Andrew Nugara 

There’s hardly a winter activity better 

suited to beginners than snowshoeing, 

and prolific guidebook author Andrew 

Nugara knows how to help lure even 

the most timid winter explorers beyond 

the parking lot. Complete with photos of snowmen, air bubbles 

sealed in a frozen lakebed, silly humour shots, babies in backpacks 

and enticing, short-sleeves-on-a-sunny-spring-day images, 

this guidebook highlights more than 40 accessible snowshoeing 

destinations ideal for the whole family. Making everything one 

step easier with an appendix organised by difficulty level, and 

valuable hints for the first-time snowshoe shopper, Nugara is a 

pro at sharing all the reasons snowshoeing is “fun, great exercise” 

that “allows you to travel into places of surreal beauty that would 

otherwise be inaccessible during winter and spring”. 


Bear 71 

by Leanne Allison and Jeremy Mendes 

Not a book, this innovative NFB (National Film Board of Canada) interactive 

documentary tells the story of a Bow Valley momma grizzly bear killed by a train on the 

Canadian Pacific railroad tracks east of Canmore. The 20-minute film incorporates a 

digital landscape map with still and video images captured by sensor-triggered cameras 

installed on backcountry trails throughout the Rockies’ mountain parks. Navigating by 

keyboard or mouse, the viewer passes over lakes, forest, rivers, the railroad and highway 

encountering wolves, bears, cougars, deer, lynx, ravens, wolverines and humans. Pullout 

segments share individual animals’ stories—the name researchers gave it, the distances 

it travelled, how it crossed over or under the highway, how many young it raised. One 

option invites the viewer to become part of the picture, literally, via their own desktop 

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Becoming Water: Glaciers in a 

Warming World 

by Michael Demuth 

Mom, where does a glacier come 

from? If you’ve ever fielded this 

question, this book holds the answer. 

Written by one of Canada’s most 

respected glaciologists, Mike Demuth, 

Becoming Water takes readers on a 

tour of our country’s great—and diminishing—glaciers, 

describing how they 

formed, how they function and what their future will likely look 

like. From Canada’s high Arctic to the mountains of B.C. and 

Alberta, this book explains, in climber-friendly terms, how varied 

and complex our glaciers really are, how they are measured and 

how they figure in the national and global story of inescapable 

climate change. From a mountain recreationist’s point of view, 

Becoming Water opens an entirely new and fascinating look at the 

glaciers we love to explore. 

Published by Rocky Mountain Books, www.rmbooks.com/ .

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Everest book celebrates climbing, publishing firsts 


Two skilled climbers and talented 

writers, two distinctly different 

expeditions and one very big 

mountain comprise the key ingredients 

of the innovative “coffee tablet” book, 

Everest: High Expectations. 

Written by Pat Morrow, who summitted 

Mount Everest as a member of 

Canada’s 1982 expedition two days after 

teammate Laurie Skreslet became the 

first Canadian to reach that pinnacle, 

and Sharon Wood, who became the 

first North American woman to reach 

that same point in 1986 with teammate 

Dwayne Congdon via a difficult new 

and never repeated route, the book itself 

represents several firsts. 

In a narrative sense, it’s the first 

publication to tell the story of how the 

preparation, unfolding, tragedies and 

successes of the 1982 expedition spurred 

the particular planning, execution and 

triumph of the 1986 expedition. 

But its production as an electronic 

book designed specifically to take advantage 

of the iPad’s unique technological 

capabilities sets a new standard for illustrated 

books by combining the tradition 

of splendid coffee tables books with 

multi-media innovation. 

With 142 full-colour photographs 

illustrating its 140 pages, the book contains 

chapters by both authors. Each 

describes their personal histories and 

apprenticeships that led to their inclusion 

on their respective teams in an era 

when the only people climbing Everest 

were highly-skilled climbers invited by 

their peers. Subsequent chapters detail 

their respective climbs, and the book 

concludes with afterwords by each of 

them, in which Wood and Morrow 

share insightful comments on the mostly 

lamentable state of Everest as overcrowded 

and disrespected, with Morrow 

writing, “Adventure tourism has turned 

one of the world’s great mountains into a 

crowded playground. Admission is costly, 

and sometimes fatal.” 

Both Morrow and Wood’s writing 

styles are engaging and captivating 

as they describe the adventures and 

experiences that defined and celebrated 

that particular chapter of each of their 

life stories. 

At the same time, the book’s equal 

triumph is in its multi-media 3D 

presentation facilitated by the iPad’s 

technology. 

A flick of the finger on any photo 

expands the image to fill the screen. 

Numerous photos have two, three or as 

many as 10-full colour and sharply textured 

images accessed as interactive slide 

shows, each bearing captions that share 

additional details about the climbs’ events, 

personalities and state of the mountain. 

Not stopping at still photos, the 

hybrid book also incorporates video and 

audio footage from both the ’82 and 

’86 expeditions, which literally bring 

the story to life—including breathless 

commentary by Skreslet as he films an 

avalanche thundering down a not-verydistant 

slope, adding an extra dimension 

of drama and depth to the story. 

You can feel the cold in Skreslet’s 

voice. 

ACC/ACMG Guides Ball Patrons Sharon Wood (2004) and Pat Morrow (2010), teamed up to produce 

Everest: High Expectations, the first multi-media iBook. submitted photo 

The book also includes links to 

external resources including a one-hour 

documentary, as well as electronic footnotes 

providing valuable information of 

key people and story elements that can 

be accessed later without interrupting the 

text. 

Beyond the high-tech bells and whistles 

though, Everest: High Expectations 

masterfully shares a story from a 

perspective that’s never before been 

recorded—how the circumstances of 

the 1982 expedition, during which a 

large team intent on making a uniquely 

Canadian stamp on Everest by climbing 

a new, technically challenging route, 

fractured after the tragic deaths of three 

Sherpas and a cameraman, regrouped and 

ultimately succeeded in its goal of placing 

the first Canadian on the summit— 

inspired and guided the planning and 

execution of the self-sufficient, smaller 

Everest Light 1986 expedition. 

To produce the publication to 

coincide with the 30th anniversary of the 

’82 climb, Morrow teamed up with publisher 

Frank Edwards, with whom he first 

worked in 1975 when Edwards was editor 

of Canadian Geographic magazine. 

For her part, Wood said she valued the 

opportunity to write about the ’86 expedition 

from her perspective as one member 

of the team and to express how the ’82 

expedition influenced and inspired her. 

continued on the bottom of page 29.

ACC member assists Bangladeshi’s dreams 


For Wasfia Nazreen, visiting the 

Canadian Rockies in December 

and meeting Alpine Club of 

Canada member Pat Morrow meant connecting 

with one of her biggest heroes. 

A Bangladeshi native who’s lived in 

Dharamsala, India (the Dalai Lama’s 

home in exile) Nazreen was introduced 

through the Canada Tibet Committee’s 

Calgary branch president. 

“I’ve been reading Pat’s stuff since I 

was in university and picked up a book 

in the library,” Nazreen said. “He’s like a 

legend in my world.” 

Nazreen’s visit—which involved snowshoeing 

in deep powder and dragging 

heavy tires across a frozen lake—helped 

her prepare to climb Antarctica’s Mount 

Vinson, which she accomplished on 

Jan. 5, as part of her project to climb the 

highest peak on the seven continents. 

Morrow, who lives in Wilmer, B.C., was 

the first person to complete the Seven 

Summits in 1986. 

The idea for her project, Bangladesh 

on Seven Summits: Women Reaching 

New Heights, came to her while snowbound 

in a remote Nepali village for 

seven weeks in 2010. 

“I decided I wanted to do something 

for my country,” she said. “Whenever 

I would say I was from Bangladesh, 

people would say, ‘oh, you guys get a lot 

of floods,’ or they’d mention the poverty. 

While that is true, we’ve also come a long 

way.” 

Raised in an affluent Muslim family, 

she defied her father’s wishes and borrowed 

money from an uncle to attend 

university in the US and the UK. After 

graduating, she returned to Asia to work 

for aid organizations, including CARE 

Bangladesh, helping sex workers, trafficked 

women and efforts to stop violence 

against women. 

Motivated to mark her country’s 40th 

birthday—March 26, 2011—she launched 

her Seven Summits project on Europe’s 

highest, Mount Elbrus, but bad weather 

prevented her from summitting. She 

climbed Africa’s highest, Kilimanjaro, 

via its least travelled route with a female 

guide/friend from Alaska. A month later 

she became the first Bengali to climb 

South America’s Aconcagua, summitting 

on Dec. 16, 2011, the 40th anniversary of 

Bangladesh’s Victory Day. 

Having climbed to nearly 7,000 

metres, she decided she was ready for 

Mount Everest. Sharing logistics with 

another company, her climbing team consisted 

of two Sherpas, whose language she 

speaks. Climbing with just one Sherpa 

on summit day, twice he used the rope he 

carried to set a route circumventing the 

long queue of climbers. 

Since summitting, her life has irrevocably 

changed. 

“I couldn’t get off the plane. It was a 

whole national thing—thousands. Twenty 

buses from my village,” she recalled. “Now 

I can’t even walk in the street. Fathers 

call, ‘I want my daughter to learn from 

you.’ But it’s a positive thing. You just say 

a few lines and change their lives.” 

Thirty and single—an anomaly in 

her country—she’s sold her property 

and slept on couches. Rejected by 16 

Bangladeshi climber Wasfia Nazreen tows a 

heavy load of tires and wood planks across the 

frozen Columbia River Wetlands near her hero Pat 

Morrow’s home. photo by Pat Morrow 

companies, for Vinson she partnered with 

BRAC, a Bangladeshi NGO. In exchange 

she’ll be their goodwill ambassador for a 

year. Her ambitions include establishing 

an institution for girls to lead non-traditional 

lifestyles, with its students 

including victims of violence. 

“It’s not just about climbing the 

mountains; it’s about getting the 

Bangladeshi community together and 

celebrating where women have come,” 

she said. “I’ll really think I’ve climbed a 

mountain when I see 10 other girls from 

my country benefit. 

“And Pat has been so supportive. He’s 

been really lovely.” 

continued from previous page. 

“I really enjoyed writing about how 

I was very moved to witness my peers 

facing such hardship and rising to it, and 

also by how different individuals rose to 

those challenges in very different ways,” 

Wood said. “The ’82 trip was very much 

an inspiration for me, and I wanted a 

chance to rise to a challenge the way they 

did.” 

With both the ’82 and ’86 climbs being 

ground-breaking Canadian mountaineering 

accomplishments, it’s only fitting the 

book that links their connection should 

be too. 

More than just a book, Everest: High 

Expectations is a well-written, introspective 

and thoughtful story artfully told 

in a 3D multi-media experience. As such, 

Morrow said he feels confident that while 

many fans of mountain literature may 

not own or use iPads, with 600 million 

current iPad users projected to rise to 100 

million, he expected the book’s captivating 

stories of adventure combined with its 

high production values have the potential 

to reach a large audience, including those 

who might discover mountaineering 

as reading genre. At the same time, he 

added, the book could potentially be 

made suitable for other electronic readers. 

“Mountaineering is a natural fit for 

electronic books, so many expeditions 

have video and audio components,” 

Morrow said. “Keep in mind; this is only 

version two of this software. We’re just 

at the dawn of iBook publishing. The 

iPad itself is underutilized. Our book 

stands a chance of opening eyes to what’s 

possible.” 

Everest: High Expectations is downloadable 

on the iPad by searching for the 

title, authors’ names or at the iTunes book 

store for $9.99. 


Remarkable 

women 

Among the many things of which 

the Alpine Club of Canada is especially 

proud, is that women were welcomed 

as members from the Club’s inception 

in 1906, even if, as Marj Hind recalled, 

section trips in the 1950s involved, “one 

female to each car, and she was responsible 

for the food—buying, cooking, etc. 

Everyone helped pay.” 

We have, as they say, come a long way. 

My own Canadian-born grandfather 

forbade my grandmother from working 

(she was an operating room nurse) after 

they married in the 1930s. When he died 

in the 1970s, she didn’t know how to write 

a cheque—like many of her generation. 

While they were welcomed as ACC 

members, for Marj Hind and Sarka 

Spinkova to have travelled across oceans 

as unmarried women in their era was 

exceptional. The ACC is fortunate to 

have included women of such character 

among our ranks. While women in 

general, including aspiring mountaineers, 

continue to face oppression and 

discrimination in India, Afghanistan 

and Bangladesh (see page 29), in Canada 

women such as Marj and Sarka helped 

break trail for Sharon Wood to become 

the Association of Canadian Mountain 

Guides’ (ACMG) first female assistant 

alpine guide in 1983, and Diny Harrison 

the ACMG’s first female full mountain 

guide in 1992. 

This winter, ACC member Melanie 

Bernier became the first Canadian to win 

a European ski mountaineering competition, 

and fellow ACCer Sarah Hueniken 

the first North American woman to 

climb M11 (page 11). As 2013 marks the 

ACMG’s 50th birthday, (more in upcoming 

issues of the Gazette), among its 

800 members, three of its full mountain 

guides are mothers. And very soon, one 

of two exceptionally qualified women will 

serve as this Club’s first Vice President 

for Sections (pages 8-9). 

Thanks Sarka and Marj! 

—Ed. 

ACC Honorary President passes 

Marj Hind 1925 – 2012 

Having been born in Calgary 

within sight of the Rockies 

in 1925, Marj Hind came by 

her love of mountains honestly. As a 

teenager she joined the Canadian Youth 

Hostel Association (now Hostelling 

International Canada), and participated 

in hiking and skiing adventures. In 1943 

she travelled to Switzerland—a remarkably 

bold adventure for an unmarried 

woman of that era—where she climbed 

the Matterhorn by the less-travelled 

Furggen Ridge route, setting a speed 

record with her guide. In 1947 she graduated 

from nurse’s training at Calgary 

General Hospital, where she later served as head nurse in the maternity ward. But 

first, after her graduation, she lived in the UK for 13 months, where she hiked and 

climbed. Since WWII had recently ended and goods were still rationed, she bought a 

bicycle for transportation. Upon returning to Calgary she joined the Alpine Club of 

Canada’s Calgary Section, and with her husband, Bob Hind, (ACC president 1964- 

66), whom she met on a Club trip, climbed many peaks and attended many General 

Mountaineering Camps. With him she raised five children, two from his previous 

marriage. When she died in October, 2012 at the age of 87, Marj Hind was a devoted 

grandmother and great-grandmother, and the ACC’s Honorary President. Read more 

about Marj Hind in the 2013 Canadian Alpine Journal. 

Sarka Spinkova 

1920 – 2012 

As an Alpine Club of Canada Life 

Member, Sarka Spinkova made 

a lasting impression on Canada’s 

mountain community. Born in Prague, 

Czechoslovakia (as the country was then 

known) in 1920, Spinkova immigrated 

to Canada in the early 1950s. Educated 

at Paris’s Sorbonne, for many years she 

worked as a highly respected teacher of 

French and German at Toronto’s Leaside 

High School. She was a talented pianist, 

choir member, and supporter of arts and 

theatre. A keen skier and adventurous 

traveller, she visited China and hiked in 

the Alps and the Tatras. But it was in the 

Sarka Spinkova stands on the 3954-metre 

summit of the King of the Rockies, Mount 

Robson, with Hans Gmoser (left) in 1975. 

Canadian Rockies where her passion for the alpine blossomed after meeting Hans 

Gmoser. With him she climbed Mounts Assiniboine and Hungabee, and in 1957, 

Mount Robson. At that time, the peak had not been climbed for many years, and had 

not been guided since 1939. The following summer Gmoser guided Spinkova to the 

summit of Mount Alberta; it was only the third ascent of the peak, and the first by a 

woman. An enthusiastic supporter of the ACC, Spinkova contributed to the Canadian 

Alpine Journal and donated to the construction of the Boswell Cabin at the Canmore 

Clubhouse. She died in March, 2012 at the age of 91. 


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Annual General Meeting: 

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Open air 

by Rick Gardiner 

In his 1958 book, Building in the 

Mountains: Architecture and History, 

Mario Cereghini wrote, “We are 

all agreed that hiking, mountaineering 

and skiing are schools of hardihood 

but we do not see what good it is to 

anybody to sleep badly and eat worse, or 

to have to spend hours and days of bad 

weather deprived of the most elementary 

conveniences.” 

In Canada, we can thank Herb and 

Pat Kariel for pointing out in their 

book, Alpine Huts in the Rockies, Selkirks 

and Purcells, the all-too-obvious, but 

sometimes taken for granted, need for 

huts in our mountains. But what we 

mustn’t forget is that the foundation of 

these huts is built upon the Alpine Club 

of Canada’s partnerships with Parks 

Canada and BC Parks. 

Our partnerships extend back to the 

beginnings of mountain exploration in 

Canada, which is evident in the longevity 

of our collaboration with Parks Canada. 

In his book, J. B. Harkin: Father of 

Canada’s National Parks, E.J. (Ted) Hart 

wrote, “James Harkin was thirty-six years 

old in 1911 when he became commissioner 

of the new Dominion Parks Branch 

(Parks Canada). His first visit to Canada’s 

western parks and reserves occurred in 

1912, and included a sojourn with the 

Alpine Club of Canada’s Vermilion Pass 

Camp, an experience that stimulated in 

him a deeper appreciation of the positive 

effects of wilderness.” 

According to the Kariels, “In 1907 

the ACC had applied to the Dominion 

Government for a lease on two acres of 

land on the south shore of Lake O’Hara, 

east of Opabin Creek, as a site for a 

future hut. This was granted in 1912, and 

the site was used as both a main and 

auxiliary site for several annual camps. 

In 1931 the ACC surrendered the original 

lease on the lakeshore in exchange for a 

lease of one acre around the buildings on 

the meadow. A contemporary account 

by ACC member Edna Greer tells about 

the acquisition of the two cabins there 

(Elizabeth Parker and Wiwaxy Cabins). 

An important link in the chain of cabins 

available to club members was forged 

when the Canadian Pacific Railway 

generously donated to the Alpine Club of 

Canada the comfortable cabin originally 

the main building of the bungalow camp 

in the meadows at Lake O’Hara.” 

So, from the very beginning, the ACC 

has been very fortunate to be allowed 

to play a significant role in the history 

of North America’s largest hut system. 

We’ve been creating and operating huts 

from the very beginnings of our association. 

We’ve also been influential in 

helping those in the parks’ agencies to 

realize their potential in regards to the 

creation of this hut system. 

Partnerships are not new territory. 

They’ve always been a means to an end of 

achieving something perhaps out of the 

realm of one organisation’s abilities when 

standing alone, that become ever-sopossible 

when two, or more, organisations 

share a common objective. Could Parks 

Canada and BC Parks have built, and 

operated, North America’s largest hut 

system alone? Perhaps. Could the ACC 

have built and developed this extensive 

array of huts throughout western Canada 

by itself? Not likely. In some respects, the 

ACC can be seen as the go-between glue 

that helps bring together two parks agencies’ 

assets, along with our own unique 

assets, to create the synergies that allow 

a more extensive hut system than any of 

the three organisations alone may have 

been able to muster up. 

Because the mandates of all three 

organisations so closely align, and because 

those three organisations have a rich 

history of intertwined cooperation, we 

all enjoy our mountain huts. Take away 

the shared mandates, and take away the 

cooperative spirit of all the stakeholders 

and you weaken the very foundations of 

the huts we all enjoy. 

For the sake of all who venture into 

the “open air”, it’s up to us to ensure that 

never happens. 

Rick Gardiner is the ACC’s unabashed 

hut-loving Facilities Director. 

PSST! 

Do you wanna be a best-selling 

writer? Ok, how about just a writer? 

Contact the Gazette editor at 

gazette@alpineclubofcanada.ca to 

have your article, story or event 

published in the Gazette. 


phOTO: Cory riCHArdS 

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