KARL NAGY Memorial Award - The Alpine Club of Canada
KARL NAGY Memorial Award - The Alpine Club of Canada
KARL NAGY Memorial Award - The Alpine Club of Canada
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BACKGROUND<br />
<strong>The</strong> Karl Nagy <strong>Memorial</strong> <strong>Award</strong> was established in 2001 to assist aspiring<br />
amateur leaders and guides in the development <strong>of</strong> their leadership and people<br />
skills. Until his death in 2000, Karl set an outstanding example as a mentor in the<br />
mountains and was well known for his leadership, safety and success. Karl was<br />
admired and loved for his exuberant attitude in the mountain environment that he<br />
played and worked in.<br />
Karl Nagy was born in Winnipeg in 1963 and moved to Calgary when he was a<br />
teenager. He attended Forest Lawn High School in Calgary, and then the<br />
Northern Alberta Institute <strong>of</strong> Technology in Edmonton.<br />
In the late 70’s, while living in Edmonton, Karl became a member <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Northwest Mountaineering <strong>Club</strong> and discovered what was to become one <strong>of</strong> his<br />
biggest passions in life, the mountains. NAIT completed, Karl moved to Calgary<br />
to begin a career as a Denturist. Karl was an avid student in every aspect <strong>of</strong><br />
climbing and quickly excelled at it. He soon became a top climber in the area,<br />
particularly as a leading ice climber in the Calgary-Banff climbing community. He<br />
became an active member <strong>of</strong> the Calgary Section <strong>of</strong> <strong>The</strong> <strong>Alpine</strong> <strong>Club</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Canada</strong><br />
in 1984. He was a member and Chairperson <strong>of</strong> the Climbing Committee, and<br />
Associate Editor <strong>of</strong> the Section newsletter, “<strong>The</strong> Chinook”. During this time Karl<br />
led and participated in countless trips and camps with the Calgary Section.<br />
<strong>The</strong> draw <strong>of</strong> the mountains soon won over a dental career and in the late 80’s<br />
Karl found himself working on his guide’s exams. Karl was one <strong>of</strong> only a few<br />
guides to pass all four exams on his first attempt. He soon became one <strong>of</strong> the top<br />
full guides in the Canadian Rocky Mountains. Karl guided in <strong>Canada</strong>, United<br />
States, Europe, South America and the Himalayas. He worked in the heli-ski<br />
industry for Canadian Mountain Holidays. Karl became a highly respected mentor<br />
and instructor with the ACMG Training and Certification Program.<br />
After Karl became a guide he continued his relationship with <strong>The</strong> <strong>Alpine</strong> <strong>Club</strong> <strong>of</strong><br />
<strong>Canada</strong>, teaching courses both at the National and Section levels. <strong>The</strong> early 90’s<br />
saw Karl working at <strong>The</strong> <strong>Alpine</strong> <strong>Club</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Canada</strong>’s General Mountaineering<br />
Camps. He became very fond <strong>of</strong> the GMCs and was soon a regular.<br />
Besides being a very fit and an extremely able climber, Karl’s real strength was in<br />
his ability to make the climbing seem secondary to enjoying a day in the<br />
mountains. Karl’s people skills were exemplary and his enthusiasm was<br />
contagious - he simply loved being in the mountains.<br />
Karl was killed in a tragic climbing accident on Mount Little in the Canadian<br />
Rockies while he was examining assistant alpine guides in August <strong>of</strong> 2000. <strong>The</strong><br />
Karl Nagy <strong>Memorial</strong> <strong>Award</strong> was initiated by the ACMG and the ACC to inspire<br />
future ACC amateur leaders and aspiring guides entered in the ACMG training<br />
program.