A Passion for the Mountains - The Alpine Club of Canada

Vol. 17, No. 2 ● Summer 2003 

A Passion for 

the Mountains 

page 16 

Climbing 

Treasure Found 

at Bon Echo 

page 12

The Alpine Club of Canada 

Corporate Supporters 

The ACC 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 

Explore Magazine 

Helly Hansen 

Marmot 

Mountain Hardwear 

The North Face 

Corporate Members 

Adventure Medical Kits 

Alberta Sport, Recreation, Parks & Wildlife 

Foundation 

Association of Canadian Mountain Guides 

Backcountry Access 

Black Diamond Equipment 

Canadian Avalanche Association 

Forty Below 

GearUp Sport (Canmore, AB) 

IBEX Outdoor Clothing 

Katadyn 

Leki 

Mammut 

Mountain Culture at The Banff Centre 

Mountain Safety Research (MSR) 

Patagonia 

Petzl 

The Hostel Shop (Calgary, AB) 

Therm-a-Rest 

TUA Ski 

Yamnuska (Canmore, AB) 

The Alpine Club of Canada 

Box 8040, Canmore, 

Alberta, Canada T1W 2T8 

Phone # (403) 678-3200 

Fax # (403) 678-3224 

info@AlpineClubofCanada.ca 

www.AlpineClubofCanada.ca 

David Toole, President 

Rod Plasman, Secretary 

Gord Currie, Treasurer 

Cam Roe, VP Activities 

Peter Muir, VP Access / Environment 

Carl Hannigan, VP Facilities 

Bob Sandford, VP Mountain Culture 

David Zemrau, VP Services 

Mike Mortimer, Director, External Relations 

Peter Fuhrmann, Honorary President 

Bruce Keith, Executive Director 

Submissions to The Gazette are welcome! The deadline 

for the Fall issue of the Gazette is August 15. If 

possible, please save your submission in digital format 

and e-mail it to gazette@AlpineClubofCanada.ca 

Otherwise, feel free to type or handwrite it, making 

sure it’s double spaced and legible and mail it to the 

address above. Please be sure to include complete 

contact information with your submission. 

Gazette Editor: Bonnie Hamilton 

Assistant Editor: Lynn Martel 

Feature Writer: Amy Krause 

Photo Editors: Paul Thompson; Rob Alexander 

Publishing Coordinator: Audrey Wheeler 

Layout & Production: Suzan Chamney 

Advertising rate sheet available upon request. 

Please direct all advertising inquiries to Bruce 

Keith, National Offi ce (403) 678-3202 or by 

e-mail to: bkeith@AlpineClubofCanada.ca 

Printed on recycled paper 

Canada Post Agreement Number 40009034 

Letter from the Editor 

Terrorism, 

war, fatal epidemics – so many lethal places in our world 

lately, so much strife. For some of us, understandably, the 

backcountry has become less about ‘arriving at’ than ‘seeking refuge from’. But these wild 

landscapes that grace us with rare moments of solitude and spiritual renewal are not benign. 

This was never more evident than last winter, when the Columbia and Rocky Mountains 

developed their most deadly snowpacks in decades. Almost thirty souls perished in avalanches 

all told, perhaps the most heart-rending deaths being the seven avid teenagers on a high school 

fi eld trip at Rogers Pass. These tragedies spawned a multitude of debates, recriminations and 

soul searching about the merits of ‘extreme’ activities, both amongst backcountry enthusiasts 

themselves and the general public. As the controversy raged, though, one fact remained 

incontrovertible – the critical need for timely, accessible and comprehensive avalanche 

information. It should offend our sensibilities, then, that at the precise moment this carnage 

was played out in the alpine, the Canadian Avalanche Association (CAA) struggled to raise a 

relatively paltry sum to fund its heavily subscribed Public Avalanche Bulletin. There can be 

no silver lining to such a tragic loss of life, but one small mercy was announced last February 

by the Solicitor General for British Columbia, whose government has commissioned a 

multi-disciplinary review of all aspects of the province’s avalanche protection, “including 

forecasting, public education and awareness, up-to-date research and potential options for 

the avalanche bulletin”. Now that the fi rst step has been taken, let’s keep the pressure on 

through the summer. This is a good time to get involved by writing Rich Coleman (Minister 

of Public Safety and Solicitor General), Ralph Klein or Gordon Campbell – see our website 

under Community News for contact numbers. We should never again be in danger of 

losing the CAA Public Avalanche Bulletin, leaving us better informed to explore our winter 

sanctuary in the backcountry. 

Bonnie Hamilton 

What’s Inside... 

3 Editorial 

Letter from the Editor 

Heidi’s Hints 

4 Facilities 

To Every Place There is a Season 

Kokanee Glacier Cabin 

6 Mountaineering / Climbing 

Competition Climbing 

Adventurers 

Pumpkins in Training 

Beef up that Belay! 

Liability in the Backcountry 

High Altitutude Guide Training 

Climbing Treasure Found at Bon 

Echo 

Tonquin Valley Tales and Turns 

16 Mountain Culture 

A Passion for the Mountains 

Painting the Heart of the Rockies 

2003 Mountain Guides’ Ball 

18 International News 

Las Mujeres de Las Montanas 2002 

Water Wellness in the Backcountry 

21 National News 

National Offi ce News 

Leadership Workshop 

Volunteer Opportunities 

Trespassing at Backcountry Huts 

National Volunteer Awards 

Ski Mountaineering Competition 

22 Grants / Awards / Notices 

2003 Grant Project Summary 

What’s Outside... 

Front cover: Refl ections – Opabin Plateau; watercolour painting by Donna Jo Massie 

Front inset: Erica & Damon on One Pine at Bon Echo; photo by Mark Lord 

Alpine Club of Canada ● Gazette ● Summer 2003 3

To Every Place There is a Season 

by Lynn Martel 

been to Wheeler Hut enough 

I’ve times over the years to 

have developed a visual and emotional 

expectation of what I anticipate fi nding each 

time I return – a deep impression of the log 

cabin, the trees it’s nestled among and the 

towering peaks surrounding it. It’s the only 

Wheeler Hut photo by Nancy Hansen 

Heidi’s Hints 

Dear Heidi, 

I’ve been sport climbing for several 

seasons now, both in the gym and at the 

crags. Technically I’ve improved, but 

I’m still not comfortable leading. I’m so 

nervous I can’t focus on the moves. How 

do I overcome this fear and become a leader 

instead of a follower? 

Sincerely, Dog on a Leash 

Dear Dog, 

First, realize you’re not alone. Ever 

noticed all that swaggering and posing at 

the crags? Well, it’s just to cover up the 

quaking knees and sweating palms we all 

suffer from taking the sharp end of the rope. 

It gets easier over time but the butterfl ies 

never completely fl y away; that’s partly what 

keeps us hooked on climbing. But while 

a bit of anxiety is thrilling and keeps our 

attention, it shouldn’t border on terror. So 

let’s discuss ways you can confi dently break 

into the leading world. 

First lesson – leave your ego at home. 

Self-image can only be a burden – a heavy 

weight you drag up the climb that only 

distracts you. That means you start by 

leading climbs two to four number grades 

below what you can toprope. Remember 

this is a riskier game – learning should be 

4 Alpine Club of Canada ● Gazette ● Summer 2003 

hut I’ve skied into long after sunset more 

than once, on purpose. So near the summit 

of Rogers Pass and the parking lot on the 

Trans Canada Highway, Wheeler stands like 

a hospitable check-in centre, entry point to 

grand ski touring and climbing adventures 

beginning just beyond its latched doorway, 

up the Illecillewaet and Asulkan glaciers. 

Approaching the 

hut after dark, I expect 

to see smoke puffi ng 

from the chimneys and 

mere slivers of light 

sneaking out from the 

windows, illuminating 

only the tops of the 

massive snowpiles that 

obscure them. Following 

narrow ski tracks to the 

back door, I expect the 

outhouse path to be 

walled by snowbanks 

over my head. I expect 

to enter a lively, bustling 

fun; you can push arbitrary grades later. So, 

if you can toprope a 5.10 without hanging, 

start by leading a 5.7. Pick a friendly climb 

with lots of bolts. This will greatly reduce 

your nerves and you can always tell your 

friends you just need practice clipping bolts. 

A more scientifi c method is to divide the 

length of the climb by the number of bolts 

(including the anchors). This will give you 

some idea of the average distance between 

the bolts (I like about three metres when 

climbing at my limit). And remember some 

sport routes are set up to stick clip the fi rst 

bolt. I’d recommend you do that anyway for 

your fi rst few leads. 

Second, wear a helmet. That’s part of 

leaving your ego at home. The consequences 

of a lead fall are serious, even on sport 

routes. With the new style of fashionable, 

lightweight helmets, well, there’s just no 

excuse any more. 

Third, pick a belayer you trust will be 

patient, encouraging and attentive, not 

checking out the babes/hunks on the next 

route, or digging in the pack for food as you 

make that dicey clip. Confi dence in your 

belayer will add a tremendous psychological 

edge to your leads. 

Fourth, practice falling. Like many 

things in life, the fear of falling is often 

much worse than the actual act. If you are 

comfortable with falling, you’ll be less afraid 

place; both fi replaces crackling with dry 

wood, voices and laughter fi lling the spaces 

between the ceiling beams. 

But in the winter of 2003, Wheeler Hut 

was quite a different place. 

I drove down from Mica Creek, two 

and a half hours north of Rogers Pass, 

where I’d been visiting some friends at a 

heli-skiing lodge. The brand new lodge 

boasted a spectacular stone fi replace, 

leather armchairs, a rooftop Jacuzzi with 

a mountain view, après ski sushi and a 

four-story climbing wall. I had left right 

before dinner and second-guessed my 

decision not to stay for that night’s party 

throughout my drive. But I was meeting 

friends early the next morning at the Rogers 

Pass info centre for a two night camping 

trip up Bostock Creek and reasoned that I 

would prefer to get the drive over with so I’d 

be well rested for the ski. 

Before pulling into the parking lot I 

knew the snowbanks were pitifully low 

for mid-February – I’d seen more snow 

knowing the worst that can happen. Some 

climbers who feel edgy on a given day will 

take a practice fall or two just to put them 

in the zone. This might best be practiced in 

the controlled environment of the gym, on 

an overhanging route with a knowledgeable 

belayer you’ve warned. Don’t grab anything 

with your hands, including the rope, watch 

your legs aren’t tangled in the rope and aim 

for a soft landing with fl exed legs against 

the wall. 

Fifth, develop a system for clipping. 

Always rack your biners the same way on 

your harness, in terms of how many per side, 

order from short to long, orientation of the 

gates. Discuss with your belayer whether or 

not you want a spot to the fi rst bolt, if you’ll 

shout for slack, etc. Be consistent. Soon 

you’ll be so effi cient at clipping, it’ll be as 

natural as chalking up. 

Finally, build a pyramid. Once you’ve 

led that fi rst 5.7, lead a bunch more before 

hopping on a 5.8. And before leading a 5.9, 

lead more 5.7s and 5.8s. This is known as a 

pyramid, where each progression in diffi culty 

is founded on an ever-widening base of easier 

routes. Who knows, maybe some day you’ll 

fi nd yourself tying in at the bottom of some 

insanely overhanging crimp-fest in the south 

of France. And, if that’s the case, be sure to 

take your ego with you. 

See you at the crags, Heidi

some Novembers. The shallow snowpack 

had already contributed to two recent 

avalanches, the fi rst of which took the lives 

of seven guests from a ski touring lodge 

not far away in the Selkirk Mountains. 

Less than two weeks later, seven Calgary 

high school students had lost their lives in 

another avalanche only a few kilometres 

from Wheeler Hut, as they skied up the 

well-travelled Connaught Creek trail. Their 

young smiling faces had fi lled the pages 

of the Calgary newspapers every day since 

and I was not surprised to fi nd the usually 

crammed parking lot less than one-third 

full. 

My fi rst view of the hut startled me – the 

windows were visible almost down to their 

lowers sills. The hut seemed naked without 

the usual monstrous snowbanks. For the 

fi rst time ever in winter, I could still hear 

the semis on the highway. 

Inside though, I heard laughter and the 

pleasing strumming of a guitar. In the living 

room I recognized friends from Calgary. In 

the kitchen I spoke with a woman cleaning 

up her family’s dishes. Her son, playing 

board games in the adjacent room, attended 

the same high school as the avalanche 

victims. He was coping well, she said, they 

were a year older than him and he didn’t 

know them well, but he was bummed all of 

his school’s winter trips had been cancelled, 

including one to a lift serviced ski area. 

Several other families would join them at 

the hut the following day and I was pleased 

they’d chosen that place to be together. 

As the last person up that night, I turned 

off all the lanterns and sat with my feet up 

next to the living room fi replace. The smell 

of the woodstove, the soft glowing light, the 

simple quiet – I realized I had left the heliski 

lodge because with all that stuff, something 

big was missing. And I had found it. 

A few weeks later, I returned to Wheeler 

Hut with my sister, Daisy. It was our fi rst 

hut trip together since she gave birth to my 

niece three years ago. That day, the hut was 

surrounded by high snowbanks, revealing 

only window tops. But as we tossed our 

sleeping bags upstairs, we noticed only two 

others. Mark and Joe, a pair of guides whose 

students were learning how to winter camp, 

lounged by the woodstove, assuring us they 

already knew how to camp. Outside, high 

avalanche hazard would limit ski options 

for all of us. The hut wasn’t as bustling as 

I pictured it in winter, but Daisy clobbered 

me at gin rummy, just as I pictured her 

doing as long as I could remember. 

And then I realized, maybe the building 

wasn’t really cold and empty. Places have 

cycles. They fl ourish, they wane, like 

wildfl owers. The winter was a serious time. 

The Iraq war engaged people in strong 

debates. We all have a picture of how we’d 

like the world to look, but it doesn’t work 

that way. A few weeks earlier some friends 

lost their toddler to SIDS. When a couple 

brings a child into the world they expect 

to participate in that child’s growing up, 

his fi rst day of school, his high school 

graduation. They don’t expect that child to 

be gone just as he’s learning his fi rst words. 

No parents expect their child not to come 

home from an exciting backcountry ski 

trip. 

If I think of Rogers Pass, I envision 

climbing high onto glaciers, inhaling 

great mountain views and exhaling as I 

sink my boards into deep powder turns. 

Those who visited Glacier House a century 

ago probably didn’t envision the glaciers 

retreating so high up the valleys. They 

probably didn’t envision Glacier House 

losing its popularity, being reduced to a 

few stone ruins in a meadow of asters and 

buttercups. 

This winter I learned to love Wheeler 

Hut the way it is at any given moment, 

not lamenting what was missing, but by 

celebrating what was there. Spending two 

days with my sister, skiing in the valley 

bottom and turning back before reaching 

the run out zone of Illecillewaet practice 

slopes, was two wonderful days in the 

mountains, part of a perfect cycle. 


Kokanee Glacier Cabin 

The 

Alpine Club of Canada 

(ACC) has been awarded a 

contract by BC Parks to operate the new 

Kokanee Glacier Cabin, as well as the 

Woodbury and Silverspray Cabins and 

the Kaslo Lake campground in Kokanee 

Glacier Provincial Park, north of Nelson, 

B.C. The ACC will begin operating the 

cabins and campground in June of 2003. 

The stunning new Kokanee Glacier Cabin 

is located to best take advantage of the 

endless backcountry hiking and skiing 

terrain. Visitors will enjoy an experience 

they will not forget. 

The ruggedly beautiful Kokanee 

Glacier Provincial Park boasts 85 km of 

well-marked summer trails with over 30 

lakes that offer good fi shing for rainbow 

and cutthroat trout, and excellent 

backcountry adventure for the whole 

family. In winter, the abundance of cold 

dry powder and north facing slopes make 

for a world renowned backcountry skier’s 

paradise. This park is appropriate for 

skiers, hikers and climbers with all levels of 

outdoor experience. 

The Kokanee Glacier Cabin was built 

as a result of campaign efforts carried 

out in memory of Michel Trudeau and 

the many other Canadians who have lost 


their lives enjoying Canada’s backcountry. 

The national Kokanee Glacier Alpine 

Campaign, spearheaded by BC Parks in 

2000, with the support of the Friends of 

West Kootenay Parks and the family of 

former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau 

surpassed its fundraising goal of $900,000. 

In total, $974,200 was raised. The funding 

was used to meet the goals of the Kokanee 

Glacier Alpine Campaign: to build a new 

alpine hut to accommodate the increasing 

demands from backcountry enthusiasts; 

and to raise national awareness about 

backcountry safety. Part of the funds will 

be used to restore the historic Slocan Chief 

Cabin in Kokanee Glacier Provincial Park 

as a backcountry interpretive centre. In 

addition, $40,000 was donated to the 

Canadian Avalanche Association to help 

maintain the Public Avalanche Bulletin 

and ensure it is regularly updated. 

For more information on the Kokanee 

Glacier Park facilities visit the ACC’s 

website at www.AlpineClubofCanada.ca 

To make a reservation at the 

Kokanee Glacier Cabin, Woodbury 

Cabin, Silverspray Cabin, or Kaslo 

Lake Campground, call the ACC 

at 403-678-3200, ext. 1 or email 

info@AlpineClubofCanada.ca 

Competition 

by David Dornian 

Competition climbing continues to 

evolve in Canada. Remember the 

Nineties? When strong young climbers were 

exploding out of newly built climbing gyms 

all across the country during the initial 

boom of the sport, threatening the middleaged 

complacency of mountain doyens and 

Alpine Club of Canada (ACC) Section 

pundits? These athletes are now maturing. 

Performance standards are higher, training 

science is better and coaches are growing 

savvier with every passing season. What 

were once fl edgling teams now have regional 

reputations. And while Youth events remain 

the driving force behind the sport in North 

America – nobody can organize an activity 

the way concerned parents can – interest in 

Open category competition for all ages and 

skill levels is growing again, particularly in 

the fun and spectator-friendly Bouldering 

formats. Every event is a party. Even some 

of those grouchy old Masters can now be 

found throwing down with the local kids, 

purely in the name of a fun Friday night. 

The ACC is as involved as ever. 

Compétition d’Escalade Canada (CEC) 

athletes are beginning to understand 

that they are an actual part of the ACC. 

Our club’s commitment sustains their 

sport’s organization and provides essential 

administrative infrastructure. By becoming 

a member of the Alpine Club, which is what 

happens when climbers join Competition 

Climbing Canada / Compétition d’Escalade 

Canada, every registrant in one of our 

sanctioned competitions links themselves 

to an international sports governing body 

through the Union Internationale des 

Associations d’Alpinisme (UIAA). Every 

year, Canadian champions are named to 

our national teams and go on to compete 

worldwide as our country’s representatives. 

The ACC applies for their international 

licenses and registers them for competitions 

around the globe. 

Because of this global involvement, 

the Alpine Club’s old National Sport 

Climbing Committee (NSCC), which for 

a while became the Canadian Competition 

Climbing Committee (CCCC), has been 

once again renamed to effect a proper 

national image as Competition Climbing 

Canada / Compétition d’Escalade Canada. 

Sports Canada will recognize us yet! This 

year we will offer a calendar of more 

than 20 local, regional, and national-level

Climbing 

competitions hosted from one coast to 

another. At the end of it all, a team of 

males and females will be selected, coached 

and offered a chance to travel to the World 

Championships next fall in Europe. And 

if they do as well as our competitors did 

last year, when young Canadians placed 

repeatedly in the top ten, actually winning 

in some categories against the best from the 

biggest climbing federations, then it will be 

a successful season indeed. 

Current membership in the CEC 

consists of approximately 93 athletes and 

10-plus active committee members. Many 

more will join and participate through single 

event memberships as the competition 

season matures and they connect with the 

club as competitions are held in their home 

areas. A large number of regional organizers, 

coaches and sponsors maintain contact 

with the CEC through individual events, 

promotions, clinics and competitions. 

National Championships in three different 

formats will be held – Diffi culty in Banff 

over the Victoria Day weekend, Bouldering 

in Toronto at Joe Rockhead’s on Mothers’ 

Day and Youth Diffi culty in Saskatoon at 

Vic’s Vertical Walls on Canada Day. Our list 

of contacts goes on for miles and includes 

virtually every active climbing organization 

in the country. 

As of the committee’s most recent 

elections in the fall of 2002, Chris Neve 

heads the CEC’s Youth Division, Andy 

Weldon leads CEC Open and Dave 

Dornian continues as chair of the committee 

and liaison with the ACC offi ce. The 2003 

Annual General Meeting of the CEC 

will occur in Saskatoon over Canada Day 

Weekend, in conjunction with the Youth 

National Championships. Come out and see 

the kids crank. Or if you just want to fi nd 

out a little more about what’s happening on 

the cutting edge of the up-and-comers, log 

onto www.cec.homestead.com 

Most questions about schedules, 

registration, costs and the calendar can be 

answered by the CEC website. It contains 

documents, rules, forms and photographs 

and it features the ACC logo along with 

links to other Club information. Competitor 

placings are posted immediately following 

major competitions and an ongoing 

ranking is kept where athletes can compare 

their performances with others in Canada. 

David Dornian is the chair of the ACC 

Competition Climbing Committee. 

Gemini 

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you attended an ACC Mountain Adventure in 2003, or if you traveled in the 

mountains at all, we would love it if you will share your photos with us for the 2004 

brochure! You won’t get rich (we do not pay anything), but you will get famous (a photo 

credit). Have a look at the 2003 Mountain Adventures & Alpine Huts brochure or on the 

Club’s website to see the type of shots we are looking for. 

We can accept slides, negatives, high resolution digital images or photographs. Please send 

your pictures to: Suzan Chamney, P.O. Box 8040, Canmore, AB, Canada T1W 2T8 or e-mail 

schamney@AlpineClubofCanada.ca 


Pumpkins in Training 

Winter Leadership Course 2003 

by Hinrich Schaefer 

“Pumpkin 

colored” is 

one of the 

comments about our course habit – the 

orange vests provided by our sponsor, The 

North Face. So here are the ten of us, plus 

three mountain guides, ready to turn us 

from pumpkins into competent trip leaders 

for the Alpine Club of Canada (ACC). 

The setting couldn’t be better than the 

Vista Lodge in the Esplanade Range near 

Golden, BC, although I am not sure that 

all the untouched powder slopes around 

and the spectacular views of the Selkirks 

and Rockies are conducive to concentrating 

on the material we are to learn. Another 

‘problem’ is the food – so plentiful and tasty 

that after the meals we often feel too satisfi ed 

to move. “Skiing on 6,000 calories a day,” is 

the kitchen motto and Daryl executes it 

with a variety of fl avors and elaborate dishes 

that more than outweigh the cold and the 

exercise. Other comforts aren’t amiss either. 

A warm and cozy hut, comfortable bedding 

and a sauna to rinse off the day’s sweat make 

life in the mountains more than bearable. 

And of course there are a total of 14 

people full of interesting experiences, 

attitudes and opinions. There is John, who 

quietly takes on every chore around the hut 

but will also cram his endlessly tall body into 

the kid’s toboggan to go for a ride; Danielle, 

who out-smiles the sun and draws from her 

expedition experience in a charming French 

Canadian accent; Martin, as much at home 


photo by Bruce Hardardt 

in the snow profi le pit as when ripping it up 

on the slopes or playing the guitar; Bruce, 

able and eager to take on responsibility; 

Bonnie, whose fl ashy fake leopard skin 

hat is in contrast to her quiet competence; 

Albert, soon battling a cold which he won’t 

let get in the way of his learning or his fun; 

Tony, whose course script might be more 

comprehensive than Freedom of the Hills; 

Rob, proving that less advanced skiers can be 

the best leaders; Sylvia, integrating everyone 

and harmonizing group and decisions; and 

me, struggling as to whether I should give 

skis, notebook or camera the priority. 

Together we represent six different club 

sections ranging from West Coast cement 

to Rockies’ powder. With these diverse 

geographical and personal backgrounds 

the three guides know that their job is not 

to teach, but to facilitate our learning. Of 

course there are theory lessons, but mostly 

they share their knowledge and experience 

by modeling and guiding us when we 

take charge ourselves during the different 

exercises, each of them according to their 

own character – Cyril, who would put most 

show masters to shame, Peter, observantly 

trusting us and Brad, laughing away the 

mistakes that would cut into his powder 

runs. This way we learn and review snow 

stability and avalanche hazard, route fi nding 

and track setting, avalanche and crevasse 

rescue, navigation and trip planning, short 

roping and downhill leading. We learn, try 

out and take charge. It is demanding to 

make the calls, weighing challenge against 

safety, while being watched by your peers 

and the guide, and to fi nd that too much 

cannot be explained in words. Group 

handling, decision-making and confl ict 

management are just a few of the problems 

that can’t be solved by following a rigid 

scheme. Here, I fi nd, Brad, Peter and Cyril 

do their best job. They make clear that only 

work and experience will get you there and 

that it is a long road to travel, but they don’t 

leave you discouraged. They show that you 

are already on your way and steadily making 

progress. 

By the end of the week, after many an 

ascent with wonderful views and countless 

downhill turns in the dry powder, we have 

grown together as a group. Each of us has 

grown a bit more into the uniformly too 

large North Face leadership vests. 

The participants were Rob Hafer, 

Danielle Tardif, Bruce Hardardt, Bonnie 

Hamilton, Albert Schwarz, Martin Ederle, 

John Huybers, Tony Knight, Sylvia Moser, 

Hinrich Schaefer, Daryl Ross (cooking 

and tele-turns) and Brad Harrison, Peter 

Amman, Cyril Shokoples (mountain 

guides).

Beef up that Belay! 

by Murray Toft 


sport climbing mantra, “If 

you’re not fl ying, you’re not 

trying,” has accepted and expected falling 

as normal behavior in rock climbing. 

The widespread growth of bolted climbs 

has defi nitely contributed to the rise in 

physical achievement and creativity since 

the consequences of falling have been 

minimized. 

If and when the next step is taken 

and climbers move from the cleaned and 

prepared playground of bolted climbs to 

jump onto more committing multi-pitch 

alpine rock, a corresponding skill set must 

widen and deepen to 

keep things safe. And 

the bottom line of safety 

here is the belay. Thirty 

years ago, refl ecting 

on his Yosemite wall 

climbs, Tom Frost told 

me he wasn’t afraid 

of doing anything up 

there, as long as he knew 

that the belay WOULD 

NOT FAIL. 

Since then, I’ve been 

party to, or witness to, 

or chatted with, victims of long falls on 

multi-pitch alpine rock. The natural fi rst 

reaction is to focus on the state of repair of 

the leader. However, in cases where lead pro 

had failed, the impact force that came on 

the belayer was really quite shocking. The 

belayers suffered serious injuries as well as 

the leader. To hold a leader fall of any length 

directly on the harness either before the 

leader can get gear in, or in the case of failed 

protection, is a scenario with ugly potential 

for the belayer. There is great potential for 

injury to the lower back or at least buckling 

of the belayer’s legs, which could contribute 

to a failed belay. Additional injuries range 

from the belayer suffering from major body 

hammering and bruising, to having seriously 

burned hands, to being concussed into a 

state of dysfunction and unable to respond 

adequately to the evolving situation. 

Since standard practice in North America 

is to belay off the harness rather than 

directly from a bomb-proof fi xed anchor 

ring (some areas in Europe), it is vital that 

we enhance the belay to alleviate impact 

forces on the body. We can do this easily 

by redirecting the active rope to the climber 

through an independent, bombproof 

placement. The most perfect arrangement 

would have this high and slightly off to the 

active rope side within comfortable reach 

of the belay anchors. By doing so we create 

similar rope mechanics to that which we use 

in top-roping situations. Conventionally, 

however, we see most climbers resorting to 

using one of the higher pieces of the belay 

for this action. 

In either case, when we re-direct the 

rope this way, we incorporate in the belay 

system a critical turnaround that the live 

rope runs over. The more acute the angle of 

this bend, the more friction, and the softer 

the ‘catch’ for the belayer when a fall occurs. 

At the same time, the belayer’s braking 

hand pulls down, a biomechanically and 

physically more effective position to create 

braking forces. 

In this arrangement it is vital that extra 

‘low’ gear is placed in the belay anchor 

confi guration and cinched tightly to the 

higher piece(s) to prevent them from 

lifting. This ‘pieces in opposition’ concept 

is especially the case if spring-loaded 

camming devices are used. They should not 

be allowed to shift or walk when load comes 

on the focal point (attachment point) of the 

belay. 

When swinging leads, the redirect 

becomes the fi rst runner as the second moves 

into the lead and eliminates the possibility 

of a ‘fall factor 2’ 

on the belayer (the 

worst case scenario). 

Now it becomes 

the responsibility of 

the leader to take 

advantage of obvious 

gear placements 

within the fi rst few 

meters of leaving 

the belay. This can 

be as important on 

easy rock as it is on 

higher angle terrain, 

especially in loose soft-rock climbing areas 

(Rockies). Falling hazards from above, wet 

rock and the potential for holds breaking, 

increase the risk for leader falls. If a hold 

breaks early in the pitch, on easy terrain 

without intermediate protection, the full 

force of the fall would come on the belayer. 

In the aftermath, both parties want the 

belayer’s hands to be functional and able to 

deal with the subsequent response; to either 

continue belaying, or lowering, or creating 

a hoisting system. We must strive to protect 

those hands with creative anchor rigs. 

Murray Toft sits on the Alpine Club of 

Canada’s Safety Committee. 


Liability in the Backcountry 

by John Savage 

One 

of the most dangerous 

activities taken each day, 

without much thought, is driving an 

automobile. Driving an automobile is 

more dangerous than backcountry skiing 

or mountaineering, although life insurers 

don’t ask whether we are drivers. That said, 

as mountaineers or backcountry skiers we 

must be vigilant about many aspects of 

safety and this has recently been highlighted 

by the deaths in British Columbia of 14 

backcountry skiers by avalanche near 

Revelstoke in January 2003. 

So what are the obligations and liabilities 

of guides and others when taking to the 

backcountry? The cornerstone of liability 

photo by John Derick 


and legal obligation is the duty of care 

owed our legal neighbours, the standards 

to which a guide or leader and organization 

must adhere and that will be applied when 

we join an Alpine Club of Canada (ACC) 

adventure. 

Contracts can protect and defi ne 

liabilities – and provide a useful reminder of 

the dangers inherent in the activities we love. 

The ACC requires that participants in any 

activity sign a waiver and release of liability. 

This document draws the participant’s 

attention to the dangers involved in these 

activities and releases the Club, its staff, 

leaders and guides from all liability whether 

or not attributable to negligence. But what 

are the legal consequences of signing a 

waiver? 

Waiver of Liability 

The waiver of liability most guides and 

organizations require recognizes that there 

are inherent and sometimes unpredictable 

dangers associated with mountaineering. 

It is more than just a reminder, though, 

as it serves to protect these individuals and 

organizations who dedicate their lives to our 

enjoyment of these challenges. If liability 

were found, a single accident could easily 

bankrupt an individual or an organization. 

Without this protection, guiding as an 

activity and organizations promoting or 

facilitating mountaineering would be 

severely curtailed. 

In 1991 nine people were killed 

by an avalanche while heli-skiing in 

High Altitude Guide Training 

This 

summer, the International Federation for Mountain Guide Associations 

(IFMGA) is running its fi rst specialist course in high altitude guiding for 

professional mountain guides. The course will bring together some of the most experienced 

high altitude mountain guides to provide professional training for other guides wishing to 

lead parties at high altitude. The course is being held in Chamonix, France and is being 

organized by Steve Bell, president of the IFMGA High Altitude Working Group. 

“This course represents a very important step for the IFMGA as it will mean that the 

IFMGA qualifi ed guides can add high altitude training to their professional qualifi cations. 

Obviously, not all professional mountain guides will want to lead parties at high altitude, 

but those who do now have a specialist training programme. This step by the IFMGA 

will help to promote good standards and will mean, as in other mountain ranges, that the 

IFMGA badge is the professional qualifi cation to look for,” Bell said. 

Bell is also the chairman of the International Guiding Organisations 8000 (IGO8000) 

and has helped to develop training opportunities for leaders and Sherpas in the 

Himalayan countries. Such training is a vital part of developing appropriate standards for 

commercial treks and expeditions and promoting sustainable development for mountain 

communities. 

the Bugaboos. Twelve skiers and their 

guide were beginning the last run of the 

afternoon. The skiing conditions were 

spectacular. The skiers assembled at the base 

of the last run named Holy Shit. They were 

going to ski Bay Street, which is made up 

of three shaped features converging about 

midway down the slope into one large route 

to the bottom. After the guide provided 

instructions and commenced leading the 

group down, a tidal wave of snow swept 

everything before it. A textbook rescue 

was underway within minutes. All nine 

bodies were found within 45 minutes. 

Miraculously the guide survived. 

The guides and heli-skiing company 

were sued by one of the unhappy families. 

A waiver of liability had been signed by all 

the skiers, some of whom were not native 

English speakers. The courts have found 

that there is no general requirement that a 

party tendering a document for signature 

take reasonable steps to apprise the signing 

party of onerous terms or to ensure that 

they are read and understood. It is only 

where the circumstances are such that a 

reasonable person should have known that 

the party signing was not consenting to 

the terms that such an obligation in law 

arises. In this case the waiver had been 

sent by mail, it was written in English and 

the client was a foreign businessman who 

had an opportunity to read it or have it 

translated. By signing the waiver the Court 

found he was prepared to be bound by the 

contract, whether he had actually read and 

understood it or not. 

The waiver was not misleading. It stated 

the dangers in frank terms. It warned of the 

danger of avalanche. It expressly excluded 

liability for negligence. The court found that 

if there was negligence it was covered by the 

waiver and therefore there was no liability: 

Ocha v. Canadian Mountain Holidays Inc. 

et. al. No. C922041, Vancouver Registry, 

September 25, 1996. 

Waivers of liability are important and can 

be effective and have legal consequences. A 

properly framed waiver can exclude liability 

for negligence. But it is also remarkable 

how ineffective waivers are if negligence is 

demonstrated to a court. 

Negligence: Duty & Standard of Care 

Where there is a duty of care, what is the 

standard of care required of a guide that will

e applied against a legally effective waiver? 

In the Canadian Mountain Holidays 

(CMH) case it was described as the standard 

of care of a fully qualifi ed, experienced, 

professional heli-ski guide which required 

that, amongst other things, the guide 

always be observant for the unexpected and 

to continually test conditions. 

In Scurfi eld v. Cariboo Helicopter Skiing 

Ltd. (1993), 74 B.C.L.R. (2d) 224, the BC 

Court of Appeal described the appropriate 

duty of care thus: 

“…the duty of care which lay on 

the defendants was not to expose their 

guests to risks regarded in the business as 

unreasonably high, whether from avalanche 

or any other hazard to which participants 

in the sport are normally exposed. To 

enjoy the excitement of skiing in mountain 

wilderness areas participants are necessarily 

exposed both to risks which the careful 

skier is able to avoid and certain risks also 

which such skiers may be unable to avoid, 

including some risk of being caught in an 

inescapable avalanche.” 

The approach to what is unreasonable 

risk to be avoided is a judgment that is not 

to be made in the perfect vision of hindsight 

– it must be made in the context of a guide’s 

limited ability to foresee future events, 

similar to that applied to physicians in the 

care of their patients: Lapointe v. Hospital Le 

Gardeur, [1992] 1 S.C.R. 351 (S.C.C.). 

The risk must not be regarded in the 

business as unreasonably high. That is, 

the courts will look to standards for the 

application of skill and knowledge that 

are required in the business or industry of 

reasonably competent guides at the time 

the event occurs. In making decisions about 

risks, guides are required to exercise the skill 

and care of reasonably competent guides. 

They are required to have the education, 

instruction and experience appropriate to the 

task at hand. 

As could be expected, the program and 

modus operandi of the touring company was 

also brought into question in the litigation. 

The company brought in consultants 

for workshops upgrading the knowledge 

and information of guides. Every guide was 

required to attend a week-long retraining 

workshop each year. CMH was found to have 

applied a snow stability assessment system 

that was state of the art. CMH applied a 

principled approach to data collection and 

applied information from a variety of sources 

in making decisions. Guides collected data 

and snowpack profi les throughout the winter. 

There were daily exchanges of information 

and the sharing of observations between 

guides and group decision making with 

extensive powers of veto. The Court 

concluded that there was no negligence 

by CMH in its training of guides and the 

safety procedures it employed. 

So the action was dismissed on two 

grounds – the fact of an effective waiver 

and the absence of negligence in the 

conduct of the guides and operator, after 

a 90-day trial. 

Summary 

Mountaineering, heli-skiing and 

backcountry skiing all involve inherent 

dangers. When we join an Alpine Club 

activity and sign a waiver of liability we, 

as individuals, assume the risk in the 

activity. We do so because we assume 

that the guides, leaders and the Club that 

would otherwise owe us a duty of care will 

still exercise care to the legally required 

standard or higher. And we do so with 

the knowledge that, by waiving our legal 

rights, we hopefully ensure the continued 

viability of our club trips. 

John Savage is an Alpine Club member 

and a partner in the law fi rm of Crease 

Harman & Company in Victoria, BC. 

savage@creaseharman.com 


above: Cathryn emerging from Mac’s Book into blackfl y terrortory; photo by Mark Lord 

top right: The joyous (and no longer stranded) crowd cheers at the arrival of the club yacht; photo by Mark Lord 

panorama: Lake Mazinaw, located in Bon Echo Provincial Park, Ontario; photo by David Brown 

Imagine 

yourself standing 

with a rope and 

lead rack, one foot on the bow of a boat, 

the other on a tiny foothold at the base of 

a 70-metre granite wall. Your guidebook 

reads, “Belay from a ledge two metres above 

water level,” but fails to explain how to get 

there. You look down at the deep water 

directly below you. As you hesitate, the 

boat drifts slowly away from the wall. Your 

instinct is to step back into the boat, but 

instead you lunge forward and up onto the 

rock, committing yourself to Boris’ Route, 

a classic 5.5 climb at the heart of Ontario’s 

Bon Echo Provincial Park. 

This scenario is repeated thousands of 

times every summer, on Boris’ Route and 

other Bon Echo climbs that rise directly 

from the lake. Most of us look forward to 

a cooling swim after fi nishing our climbs, 

but at least once a year someone hesitates 

too long, does the splits and takes an 

unintended dip before starting. Despite 

these occasional mishaps, most Bon Echo 

climbers return year after year to enjoy the 

pleasures of climbing high over water on the 

exposed granite cliffs. 

Bon Echo Provincial Park is located on 

the shores of Mazinaw Lake, several hours 

northeast of Toronto, well within reach 

of weekend climbers in Toronto, Ottawa, 

Climbing Treasure

Montreal and the surrounding areas. 

Mazinaw Rock is a popular feature of the 

Park, consisting of a massive rock face rising 

as high as 100 metres over a distance of two 

kilometres. The rock is metamorphosed 

granite, intruded by black dykes, forming 

many left-leaning ramps, slabs and cracks 

on the cliff face. 

Bon Echo has an interesting and varied 

history. Early residents left evidence of their 

activities in primitive red ochre pictographs 

painted on the cliff at water’s edge. In 

1889, Mazinaw Rock and its adjacent 

lands were purchased and developed as a 

tourist attraction and eventually became 

the property of the late Merrill Denison. 

During negotiations to turn over the land 

to the Province of Ontario, Denison wrote 

to Alan Bruce-Robertson, fi rst chair of 

the newly formed Alpine Club of Canada 

(ACC) Toronto Section, giving his blessing 

to continued climbing at Bon Echo, in 

these words: 

Of course I have no objection to the 

Alpine Club of Canada visiting Bon Echo or 

climbing the Rock…at your own risk…I am 

glad to know you are going to go on enjoying 

the property…It’s a satisfaction to know 

that the Rock is fulfi lling such a purpose. 

– Excerpt from letter dated December 7, 

1957 and signed by Merrill Denison. 

Today, Bon Echo is the only provincial 

park in Ontario to offi cially permit 

climbing, subject to certain conditions 

agreed to between the Park and the ACC. 

For example, new route activity and slinging 

of trees is banned; some routes have been 

closed or re-directed to protect pictographs; 

rappels and descent trails are strictly limited 

and any fi xed protection must be placed 

or replaced by the ACC with prior Park 

approval. 

Much of Bon Echo is multi-pitch, 

although the winding nature of its climbs 

means that pitches tend to be short, often 

less than 20 metres each. Routes require a 

variety of climbing techniques: smearing 

and edging on the slabs and thin faces; 

delicate traverses on invisible ledges high 

over water; and strenuous overhangs on 

sometimes less than perfect holds. Of the 

110 routes that remain open, only about 30 

continued on page 14 

Found at Bon Echo 

by Kit Moore

If You Go… 

Getting There 

Arrange ACC boat pickup, then drive 

30 minutes north of Kaladar on Hwy 41 

to public dock on Mazinaw Lake (see 

website for booking and directions). 

What to Bring 

Climbing gear, tenting & rain gear, 

food, drink, cooler, bug protection. 

Guidebook 

A Guide to Rock Climbs at Bon Echo 

(Second edition) by Steve Adcock 

(Third edition expected from ACC 

Toronto Section early in 2003) 

Kit’s Top Ten Climbs 

Afternoon Delight (5.4) 

Front of Pinnacle (5.4) 

Vertigenous (5.5) 

Boris’ Route (5.5) 

Knob Hill (5.7) 

Entertainer (5.9) 

M.F. (5.9) 

Sweet Dreams (5.9+) 

Old Faithful (5.10) 

Compulsion (5.10+) 

Information 

Fees are $10/day for ACC 

members, $15/day for non-members. 

Open weekends only, May 3 through 

October 19, 2003. Phone: Kit (416- 

469-3567) or Cliff (416-759-1566), 

or visit www.climbers.org and link to 

rockclimbing/Bon Echo. 

below: Sunset on the dock at Bon Echo 

top right: Bon Echo Hut photos by Mark Lord 


Climbing Treasure Found at Bon Echo 

continued from page 13 

see much traffi c and therefore tend to be in 

better condition. 

We are indebted to the many fi rst 

ascentionists who established these routes 

over the years since 1956, the birth year of 

Birthday Ridge, a traditional introductory 

climb for new visitors and one I still enjoy 

at least once a year. I have a long list of 

favourite routes, many of which were set 

up by the amazing Helmut Microys, Mike 

Rosenberger and their partners. A few 

other favourites were products of the fertile 

imaginations of John Turner and Dave 

Lanman (see sidebar for Kit’s top ten). 

Bon Echo is not for sport climbers or 

top-ropers, but is a delight for those who 

enjoy leading on their own gear. Indeed, for 

most of Bon Echo’s climbing history, bolts 

were a rare sight on the cliff and pitons have 

never been fully trusted. In recent years, 

Ontario climbers have become aware of 

the importance of Ontario’s ancient cedars, 

some 1,000 years old and still growing. As 

part of our agreement with the Park, the 

ACC has recently added new bolts next 

to many of these old growth cedars to 

discourage climbers from slinging them for 

protection. 

Accidents are rare at Bon Echo, but when 

they happen they can be extremely serious 

and complicated by diffi cult rescues. The 

cliff is far from hospitals and cell phones are 

of little or no use. A 1996 incident resulted 

in the tragic death of a young climber, 

Matthew Czerny from the Montreal 

section, while on the Ottawa Route, a 

challenging 5.8 climb. Matt was leading 

when he fell 50 metres to the water, pulling 

his partner and the belay anchors with him. 

Nearby boats were unable to pull Matt from 

the water in time, but his partner, who had 

suffered serious back injuries, was rescued 

and has since recovered. Fortunately, other 

recent climbing accidents have involved 

only minor injuries. 

For a Toronto climber like myself, 

who often must travel far to tackle climbs 

more than 30 metres high, Bon Echo is a 

precious gem to be protected and nurtured. 

I’m glad to donate time and energy to help 

keep Bon Echo open for climbing and to 

manage the Toronto Section’s hut, boat and 

campground there. In this capacity, I work 

with Cliff Glover, another active climber 

in the area and a host of eager custodians 

who share the work each weekend of our 

six-month season. 

Our campground has no plumbing or 

electricity and no hot showers for tired 

climbers. Instead, we offer a hut with 

fi replace and propane stoves, a relaxing deck 

with full view of sunsets over the lake, tent 

sites on trails leading into the nearby woods 

and evening campfi res with accompanying 

guitar and song. Perhaps best of all, we offer 

a wood-fi red sauna, lit only by moonlight 

and a single candle lantern, located several 

steps and a jump from the lake. This sauna, 

which comfortably fi ts eight, has been 

known to squeeze in a record 23 climbers 

in one go! 

If you decide to see Bon Echo, 2003 is 

a good year to visit. We have a new boat, 

a new roof on the hut and, if all goes as 

planned, we’ll be sitting in a new outhouse 

by midsummer. Waiting until July has extra 

bonuses, as blackfl ies and mosquitoes calm 

down after June and blueberries are ready 

for harvest at the clifftop. One of my 

fondest memories is topping out at Bon 

Echo, fi lling my empty water bottle with 

ripe blueberries, then returning to the hut 

for a feast of blueberry pancakes. 

If you can’t wait until July, we’re open 

this year on the weekend of May 3-4, and 

we’ll welcome you any weekend after that 

until October 18-19, when we close for the 

season.

Tonquin Valley Tales and Turns 

Story & photo by George Stefanick 

In 

1961, Phil Dowling and the 

Dowler brothers were contracted 

to build the new Wates-Gibson Hut in the 

Tonquin Valley of Jasper National Park. I 

accompanied them in their mission to check 

out the requirements for the foundation and 

the availability of timber. The hut was built 

the following year and in 1963, I attended 

the General Mountaineering Camp (GMC) 

and the offi cial opening of the Wates- 

Gibson. For the next nine years I made 

yearly summer visits into the valley and was 

eager to see it in its winter setting. 

I was dismayed in March of 1973 to 

hear the Alpine Club of Canada (ACC) 

had a rule about the equipment required 

on its trips – heavy-duty downhill skis and 

boots with touring bindings. Mine were 

wooden with bear-trap bindings suitable for 

touring. Bruce Harding, the chair of the ski 

mountaineering committee, assured me he 

could bend the rules and I was free to come 

along with a couple of friends. 

The following two years saw John 

Tewnion and I each managing back-toback 

weeks of ski mountaineering camps 

in the Tonquin for the main club organizers 

who were also running other ski camps in 

different areas. Shortly thereafter, the ACC 

Board felt that the area was losing its appeal 

Eremite and Fraser Valleys 

and decided not to use the Tonquin for a 

few years. John and I weren’t convinced and 

continued to run camps under the auspices 

of the Edmonton Section, but opened them 

to all ACC members. The camps have been 

running now for 26 years an average of two 

weeks each year and show no sign of losing 

popularity. 

When I was chair of the ACC ski 

mountaineering committee, some members 

expressed concern about the high cost of the 

regular ski camps. For them, we arranged 

low-budget camps with no cook or guides 

and each participant was required to carry a 

share of the food into the hut. These camps 

were held over the Christmas holidays and 

ran for six years but were discontinued 

when participants began to organize their 

own outings. 

In the early years of the Tonquin ski 

camps, Parks Canada used to keep the road 

to Edith Cavell plowed. If we were planning 

an outing, all we had to do was phone to 

make sure the roadway was clear and if it 

wasn’t, Parks would remedy the situation. 

Later on, no person could be transported 

but food and supplies were still allowed. 

Now snowmobiles are forbidden but we are 

still permitted to use dog teams to carry in 

the food and equipment. 

In addition to the Tonquin Eremite 

ski camps, the Edmonton Section has 

held camps in several other locations – 

Assiniboine, the Icefi eld Parkway, Kokanee 

Park, Monashee, Freshfi eld and Fairy 

Meadows. Each area has its own unique 

character and attracts a different mix of 

skiers depending on the technical ability 

required to enjoy the camp. Our camps have 

always attracted a certain clientele from the 

USA but since the advent of computers and 

the Internet we now have participants from 

as far away as Europe and Japan. We had 

one of the editors of the New York Times 

on one Tonquin trip who was so impressed 

with the area she wrote a glowing article 

about the area, the ACC and the camp in 

particular. It was great advertising. (She was 

a much better writer than she was a skier.) 

Almost every camp will produce some 

kind of ‘incident’. At the Stanley Mitchell 

hut, a lady from Ontario was being harassed 

by a pine marten as she was trying to prepare 

dinner. In frustration she fi nally resorted to 

her ice axe to defend herself – her aim was 

bang on that day as she managed to impale 

the poor beast on the wall. 

Because many of our senior members 

were no longer able to hike long distances 

and function in a tent setting, I suggested to 

the Board many years ago that we promote 

a fall camp that would be held in a hostel, 

hut or chalet and be easily accessible. These 

camps have been a tremendous success 

and much to my surprise have attracted 

participants in their 20s as well as those in 

their 80s. 

Now after 26 years of Edmonton Section 

camps the programs are still alive and well. 

Although I am no longer directly involved I 

am pleased to see that interest in them has 

not waned. This year is a banner year with 

two weeks of ski camps and four summer 

and fall camps at four different locations, all 

of which are fully subscribed. 

George Stefanick has been a member of 

The Club since 1958. 


A Passion for the Mountains 

by Amy Krause 


painting on the cover of 

this issue of the Gazette was 

created by Donna Jo Massie; a Canmore, 

Alberta artist who is as well known for her 

art classes as she is for the work she paints. 

On a cold March evening I showed up on 

her doorstep. I was greeted by a warm and 

enthusiastic, “Hello! You must be Amy!” 

As I stepped inside, I was struck by her 

positively tiny pair of running shoes. 

Donna Jo has small feet, but I would 

decide later, big shoes to fi ll. 

Massie has been infl uenced by the work 

of Georgia O’Keefe, Charlie Russell and 

Andrew Wyeth – all artists who were deeply 

moved by the places they lived – and her 

comments reveal much of her own love 

affair with the mountains she calls home. 

“To know a place,” she says thoughtfully, 

“You have to know it intimately, not 

superfi cially.” She explains that as you 

discover a place, “You don’t get bored. 

You’re always changing as an artist, and the 

place… it’s endless.” 

Massie arrived in the Canadian Rockies 

27 years ago. She was born in Cherokee, 

North Carolina and was studying 

environmental education in Florida 

when Alberta’s Kananaskis Country was 

established. Drawn by the prospect of 

new parks, a new environmental program 

and a new start, Massie came to work for 

Kananaskis Country. 

The land of everglades seemed, to me, 

to be a far cry from the backbone of the 

continent. But growing up in the Smoky 

Mountains the hill country was no foreign 

place to Massie. Her quiet accent rolls by 

me in pleasant waves. 


“I come from a long line of mountain 

people… generations and generations. 

I think I’m very comfortable in the 

mountains. Coming here was sort of like 

coming home. This just feels like a good 

place to be.” 

With a degree in Education, Massie 

worked part time with Kananaskis 

Country’s interpretation program until 

1988, when she took the leap to pursue 

painting full time. 

“When I started painting there was 

nothing on mountains. You could fi nd 

books about barns, seascapes, fl owers… 

but nothing on mountains! I read Walter 

Phillips’ work, and once in a while you 

would fi nd a reference to the colours of the 

trees. They’re not spring green, they have a 

warmth to them.” 

It wasn’t just colour that fascinated 

Massie. “There is something about the light 

here,” she says. She compares it to the light 

in Santa Fe or Taos, New Mexico. “It has 

to do with high altitude and dry air. There 

is so little humidity here! It produces this 

absolutely crystal clear, pure light.” 

“That’s why I thought our mountains 

deserved a book on how to paint them. 

The colours – alpine glow, larches, high 

mountain lakes…” 

She recalls a moment on Opabin 

Plateau, near Lake O’Hara in British 

Columbia. “It was a perfect moment. I 

think it’s those perfect moments that keep 

you coming back, that make you say, ‘I have 

to go up here because if the light is right, it’s 

just going to be… heaven.’” She laughs, “I 

guess it’s a bit of an addiction.” 

Asking her if she painted to express how 

the landscape made her feel, she replied, 

“Yes, a part of why you paint is to show 

your relationship with the place – but I also 

paint to get people involved!” 

Teaching is as great a passion for Massie 

as painting is. Her book, A Rocky Mountain 

Sketchbook, is only a part of the story. She 

also teaches workshops that, in a small 

town, have expanded to 70 people per week 

in four separate classes. 

One of the fi rst things Massie teaches 

her students is to observe. “If they 

observe more and see more, they come 

to have a relationship with this mountain 

environment and in doing so they will want 

to preserve it – ‘now that I know it and love 

it, I want to take care of it.’ It’s a step further 

than the artwork.” 

For Massie, this appreciation can be 

experienced by anyone and expressed by 

anyone, not only those who pursue art 

professionally – something she absorbed 

while growing up in the Great Smoky 

Mountains of Appalachia. 

“That painting over there, that was 

done by my uncle. My great aunt made 

these baskets and my grandmother was a 

weaver. Art was not something somebody 

else did; it was a part of what you did with 

your life. Creating was something you just 

grew up doing.” 

It is something Massie is still doing, 

every day. There is an unfi nished painting in 

her studio of a stream, so vibrant; it makes 

you feel you’ve been smacked between the 

eyes by a vision of water. It glows out of 

the darkness, surrounded by plaster white 

watercolour board. 

I asked her if she thought there was 

much difference between what she did in 

the mountains and what mountaineers do. 

“No!” She looks at me wide eyed. “I don’t 

think there is a difference. I have mountain 

climbers who are friends. It’s because we 

love this place. There’s something about 

the mountains that is compelling. We just 

pursue our passion in different ways. I 

suspect that rapture they get on the top of 

a mountain is similar to the feeling you get 

when you sign your name on that painting 

and go…‘Wow.’” 

Massie has small feet, but I’m sure her 

students would agree, big shoes to fi ll. 

To view Massie’s work, visit her solo 

shows at Canada House in Banff this July, 

or at the Stephen Lowe Art Gallery in 

Calgary in November. Her work will also be 

featured in the Wonder of Water group show 

appearing at Canada House May 10 to June 

20, 2003. Or you can visit her website at: 

www.telusplanet.net/public/massiewc/

Painting the Heart of the Rockies 

Story & photo by Ron Chamney 

At 

last there is a watercolour painting 

book that doesn’t start with the 

usual boring shapes and another bowl of 

fruit! If you are a nature lover and have 

fantasized about becoming a painter, here is 

a book that will capture your heart and your 

enthusiasm. 

Donna Jo Massie has obviously spent 

a large amount of time in the mountains, 

cultivated the practised eye of a true 

artist and has the rare ability to interpret 

even the most complex techniques into 

a step-by-step procedure for capturing a 

moment in nature. She provides not only 

equipment and technique suggestions, but 

gives you the tools to really start seeing 

what makes nature a picture. She helps 

you to discover how leaves hang, that 

mountains are made of shadows and that 

trees are shades of blue and yellow. She not 

Donna Jo Massie teaching watercolour painting in 

Kananaskis, Alberta 

only brings the art of painting mountains, 

but also brings the reader into a new way of 

seeing the world around them. An immense 

amount of experience and analysis of the 

Rocky Mountains has gone into this book 

in a way only a very talented artist and 

teacher could do. 

Attention was paid to the details of the 

book as well. As befi tting some of the best 

nature guides, this book is small enough 

to fi t in an anorak pocket, the pages are 

made of water resistant paper and it has a 

coil binding, so that when you open it, you 

can fl atten the pages without everything 

fl ipping around. If only my bird books were 

as user friendly! 

I enjoyed this book immensely, for 

the sound step-by-step instruction in 

watercolour painting, as well as for the 

witty comments, insightful observations 

and the mind provoking quotes peppered 

throughout. 

This beautifully illustrated book is 

certainly the best of its kind that I have ever 

seen. A Rocky Mountain Sketchbook is on 

the top of my shopping list for my artistic 

friends, both beginners and those more 

experienced artists who want to learn how 

to paint the heart of the Rocky Mountains. 

Ron Chamney is a professional naturalist, 

interpreter and recreational watercolour 

painter living in the Bow Valley. 

available through the National Offi ce or 

the ACC on-line store at: 

www.AlpineClubofCanada.ca/store 

2003 Mountain Guides’ Ball 

On Saturday, November 1, 2003, please join us for the 14th Annual Mountain Guides’ 

Ball at the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise. Once again, the Club anticipates that this will 

be the social highlight of the year with time to socialize with friends and enjoy a silent 

auction as well as a fabulous fi ve course dinner and a dance to follow. Come with your 

family and friends, everyone is welcome. This year’s silent auction is anticipated to include 

excellent donations from local artisans, backcountry adventure operators, local outdoor 

retailers and booksellers. Tickets will become available in the latter part of August. For 

updates and information check our national website at www.AlpineClubofCanada.ca or 

email mgb@AlpineClubofCanada.ca. We look forward to seeing you there! 


Las Mujeres de Las Montanas 2002 

Celebrating women’s passion for mountains in Ecuador 

by Isabelle Daigneault 

As 

close friends, Olivia and I sought 

a new challenge to honor the 

2002 International Year of Mountains. 

We created the Ecuador 2002 project to 

introduce local and indigenous Ecuadorian 

mountain women to high-altitude trekking 

and mountaineering in effort to inspire 

them to further develop character and 

community leadership skills. Our goal 

was not to impose, not to patronize, but 

simply to inspire other women, to share 

our passion for mountains and to produce a 

short documentary on this subject. 

Why Ecuador? 

Ecuador is a country rich in diverse 

peoples and landscapes. Never have I 

felt mountains to be so alive, landing 

at the airport only days after volcano El 

Reventador exploded, covering Quito with 

fi ve centimetres of ash. Frequent eruptions 

of Ecuador’s numerous volcanoes remind us 

its mountains are very much alive. Home to 

the world’s highest active volcano, 5911 m 

Cotopaxi, and the world’s highest mountain 

from the center of the earth, 6097 m 

Chimborazo, Ecuador provides beautiful 

scenery and fantastic mountaineering 

opportunities. 

Due to economic and social limitations, 

most Ecuadorian women do not have the 

opportunity to enjoy the outdoors, nor 

do they strive toward mountaineering, a 

traditionally male-dominated activity. On 

a desolate country trail you’ll often see 

a myriad of people in red, pink or blue 

carrying piles of wood or working the land 

– they are all women. Women care for 

their families and work all week long with 

land and animals, while the men work in 

cities. Being submissive to the expectations 

Interviewing Olga & Aurora at the Collanes Plains Hut, El Altar Volcano 


of a culture, however, does not mean that 

one cannot or does not have leadership 

and cannot empower oneself to start new 

projects, teach others or attempt to improve 

life. 

The Women 

As the co-owner of Quito-based Safari 

Tours, Pattie is one of only a handful of 

Ecuadorian female mountaineers. She 

recently started mountaineering to better 

understand what draws her clients to 

Ecuador’s mountains. Pattie told us she 

was received with a lot of awe and surprise 

when she returned to the hut after climbing 

Approaching the refuge at Cotopaxi 

her fi rst peak, Iliniza South. We wanted to 

climb Cotopaxi with Pattie because she had 

attempted it twice without reaching the 

summit and thought it could be a milestone 

in her life and Ecuadorian mountaineering. 

Olga, 21 and Aurora, 18 are 

part of an organization called 

‘La Minga’, the association 

of indigenous women of the 

province of Chimborazo, home to 

Chimborazo volcano. They work 

the land daily, caring for animals 

and as part of their duty to La 

Minga, visit several elementary 

schools in their region of Colta 

to help feed and educate children. 

Following Ecuadorian tradition, 

they are bound to live and work 

with their parents until they are 

Olivia Sofer & Isabelle Daigneault - Cotopaxi, Ecuador 

married. We built relationships with them 

via the Internet over several months. For 

their fi rst experience, we planned to take 

the two young women on a three day 

expedition to Volcano El Altar, where they 

would gain serious altitude, approach a 

glacier and see a mountain peak up close 

– and evaluate whether or not they enjoyed 

mountain climbing. 

The Climbs 

Acclimatization for Cotopaxi and 

5404 m El Altar was key. Olivia, our 

cinematographer Doug and I acclimatized 

on 4200 m Pasochoa and 4784 m GuaGua 

Pichincha, which erupted in 1999 and 

5116 m Iliniza Norte with Pattie. The 

Illiniza Norte climb was not technically 

diffi cult. Formerly covered in snow, 

footing on the peak has been made easier 

with exposed rock caused by recent global 

warming. Bordered by jungle, the climb was 

wonderful and Pattie was happy to summit 

her second ever peak. 

After leaving the 4800 m Cotopaxi 

refuge at midnight on three hours sleep, 

our team climbed with headlamps. 

Unfortunately, Pattie felt weak a few hours 

later, just short of the glacier. She turned 

back and we continued. 

The day rose as we approached the 

summit where we crossed lots of crevasses. 

Approaching 5400 m, we felt dizzy. The 

effects of altitude are very strange – climbing 

and taking steps forward – it does not feel 

like it’s really you. Your mind becomes your 

most powerful ally. 

Accompanied by high winds and high 

altitude hail, I felt tired. My body wanted 

to give up. My mind wanted to climb 

and ‘bag’ this peak and see the crater. At 

Yanasacha Pass, approximately 200 m below 

the summit, inside a hidden ice haven we 

ate, rested and debated as to whether or 

not to make the summit. We tried leaving 

Yanasacha Pass but in the wind again

hail pinched my face so hard I could not 

breathe what little oxygen there was. Tired, 

with more than our share of high altitude 

mountaineering, turning back would have 

been easy. 

Olivia and I looked at each other. “Let’s 

go to the summit,” I said. “Let’s give it one 

last push.” We encouraged each other to the 

summit; every step I took for the last 200 m 

was a struggle. At the summit, bad weather 

hid the crater. The descent was diffi cult; 

never had I felt more spent, my metabolism 

in overdrive from the altitude. As much as 

mountains can give to us, they often take a 

lot as well. 

El Altar on the other hand, was the crux 

of our expedition. 

We met Olga and Aurora in Riobamba 

a few days after Cotopaxi and spent time 

getting acquainted. We spent one day 

in a school and watched the women at 

work, feeding and educating poor country 

children. As we looked into the Quechua 

children’s teary eyes my only thought 

throughout the day was that life was not 

fair… 

We set up Olga and Aurora with the 

gear they needed locally, then made our way 

to El Altar and completed the seven-hour 

Join Us for a Mountain Adventure 

You Won’t Forget! 

Find Out More . . . 

For more information on each camp, 

including their levels of diffi culty, 

please visit our website at 

www.AlpineClubofCanada.ca 

and follow the links to Mountain Adventures. 

Alternatively, call Lawrence White 

at the ACC’s National Offi ce 

(403) 678-3200, ext. 112 

or email him at: 

adventures@AlpineClubofCanada.ca 

slog up a muddy trail to the Collanes Plains 

where little cabanas made of straw await 

tired trekkers. Olga and Aurora were often 

ahead of us, their lung capacity being fi t for 

Ecuador’s mountains. We made dinner and 

a fi re and prepared for the trek to the crater 

of El Altar and the foot of Obispo peak. 

El Altar, and more specifi cally Obispo 

peak, is Ecuador’s most diffi cult climb. 

Trekking right to the glacier and just 

below the peak was an amazing sight for 

the women. The closer we got the faster 

they went in awe and excitement. They 

had never touched snow before and made 

snowmen and snowballs when they reached 

the fi rst patch. They kept looking back, not 

believing how far and how high they had 

gone. They felt inspired and free. During 

our documentary interview the next day, 

they spoke of doing more – seeing pristine 

places, waterfalls and bigger peaks. 

The Future 

Through our trip, we met Dana 

Platin, an American woman who’s lived in 

Ecuador for fi ve years. She organized an 

expedition to Cotopaxi last year with two 

indigenous women from the province of 

Cotacachi, north of Quito, with the same 

photo by Patricia Daum 

There are still a few spaces 

left on some of the ACC’s summer 

mountaineering camps. There are camps 

for all levels of experience – whether you are 

strapping on your crampons for the fi rst time, or have been 

adventuring in the mountains for many years. 

Jasper Classic Peaks 

Date: July 5 - 12 Cost: $1595 + GST 

Marmot Women’s Mountaineering Camp 


Under 25 Climbing Camp 


Peak Weekend – Bugaboos 

Date: August 1 - 4 Cost: $795 + GST 

Lyells Mountaineering Camp 


Fryatt Climbing Camp 


goals as ours. We did not know about it 

then but found it most interesting to meet 

the women who climbed with her and to 

learn how mountaineering had changed 

their lives. One of the women has started 

a paper recycling non-profi t organization to 

donate money to children in need of food 

and education. We introduced Olga and 

Aurora to Dana and they plan on climbing 

Chimborazo with the indigenous women of 

Cotacachi in winter/spring of 2003. Pattie 

will keep on climbing. 

For more please visit: 

www.lasmujeresdelasmontanas2002.com 

First climb, fi rst snow; Olga & Aurora on El Altar 

Tatshenshini Rafting & Scrambling Adventure 

Date: Aug. 17 - Sept. 3 Cost: $4295 + GST 

Silent Pass to Rogers Pass Traverse 

Date: September 5 - 13 Cost: $1595 + GST 

photo by Bill Corbett 


Water Wellness in the 

Backcountry 

by Ola Dunin-Bell 

Samuel 

T. Coleridge could 

have just as easily 

been writing about today’s wilderness 

traveler as the ancient mariner when he 

penned his famous poem in 1797. Water 

is vital to all of us, but safe potable water is 

not always readily accessible. We all know 

that water weighs a lot – one kilogram per 

litre – and the last thing we want to do 

is add unnecessary weight to our packs. 

Unfortunately, dehydration is both subtle 

in its onset and serious in its consequences. 

If a person waits until they are thirsty to 

drink, they have waited too long. With 

dehydration come fatigue, muscle cramps 

and nausea. Performance goes down, but 

this is not the worst of it. Dehydration 

increases risk for heat stroke and can 

eventually lead to collapse and even death. 

But how much water is enough and how 

can we make sure we can get it? 

An active person will require 

approximately two and a half to three litres 

of water daily. Add some sunshine, hot 

weather, a refl ective surface such as a rock 

face or glacier and four to fi ve litres becomes 

the minimum daily requirement. Altitude 

adds a further dimension with the air being 

much drier the higher one ascends. Because 

of this, signifi cant body water is lost with 

every breath taken. If counting litres is not 

your thing, you should be drinking enough 

that you need to pee several times during 

the day and your urine is copious and 

almost colourless. The one caution here is 

for those individuals involved in endurance 

activities (e.g. Ironman triathlon, canyon 

walking) where cases of excessive fl uid 

intake can produce dilution of the body’s 

normal chemistry (hyponatremia), leading 

to complications as serious as those seen 

in dehydration. For those involved in 

prolonged physically demanding activities, 

the range of 500 to 750 ml of fl uid intake 

per hour has been suggested as more 

appropriate and, if possible, in the form 

of sports drinks that include electrolytes 

(salts). 

As stated earlier, getting your mouth 

around this much clean water is not always 

easy. Carrying several days’ supply would be 

an almost prohibitive weight and not your 

fi rst choice unless there was no source along 

the way. If you are planning a multi-day 


“Water, water, every where, 

Nor any drop to drink.” 

excursion up a big wall, hauling 

water with you is indeed the only 

alternative and one you must not 

skimp on. Hiking up a mountain 

will often bring you into close 

proximity to streams, but although 

the water may look cool, clear and tempting, 

be aware that even in the Rocky Mountains 

many of the streams are contaminated with 

organisms that can cause serious illness. 

Anyone who has experienced the 

cramping and diarrhea of ‘beaver fever’ 

knows that very quickly, a camping trip 

can be ruined and that often recovery 

can be very slow and prolonged, with 

fl are ups of symptoms even weeks 

later. Although cholera is a risk only in 

developing countries, E. Coli, salmonella 

and shigella are all bacteria that can also 

produce life-threatening dysentery (fever 

and bloody diarrhea) and can be found in 

North American water sources. Infectious 

hepatitis, a disease caused by the hepatitis A 

virus, affects the liver producing jaundice as 

well as causing nausea, vomiting, fever and 

abdominal pain. This tiny virus particle is 

frequently spread by water. 

At lower elevations a number of pathogens 

(disease causing organisms), including viruses 

(e.g. hepatitis A), bacteria (e.g. salmonella) 

and parasites (e.g. cryptosporidium), can 

readily be found, but even in upper regions 

giardia cysts, the source of beaver fever, can 

be shed into the water supply by animals 

carrying this parasite. The presence of 

animals and humans in an area will mean 

faecal contamination and high likelihood 

of infectious organisms seeding the water 

supply. Some people are comfortable with 

taking the risk of drinking unpurifi ed water, 

based on their knowledge of the local water 

supply. To be absolutely certain, however, 

some form of water treatment is necessary 

to eliminate the possibility of waterborne 

illness. 

Water Treatment 

General principles should be kept in 

mind when obtaining water for drinking, 

even if the plan is to proceed with a 

disinfection treatment. The lower the initial 

load of organisms and other contaminants, 

the more effective the treatment will be. 

Obtain clear, free running water upstream 

photo by Josée Larochelle 

from any known contamination source, 

if taking from a stream, or well out from 

shore, with as little silt as possible, if 

the source is lakewater. Snow should be 

collected uphill from the hut or campsite 

and well away and above any latrine facility. 

Avoid any snow nearby or underlying ‘pink 

snow’, a form of algae seen on glaciers. 

Similarly, care should be taken in disposal 

of waste to avoid contributing further to 

contamination of water supplies. Hand 

washing and good personal hygiene are 

also key factors in avoiding waterborne 

transmission of disease. 

Disinfection Methods 

Water can be made safe for drinking 

by one of three methods – heat, chemical 

treatment or mechanical fi ltration. 

Heat 

Heat is the oldest and the most 

consistently effective method of disinfecting 

water so that it is safe to drink. Although 

old recommendations were to boil water 

for ten minutes, this has been proven to be 

unnecessary and simply bringing it to a boil 

allows enough time at high temperature for 

pathogens to be destroyed. Either covering 

the pot after the boil and allowing slow 

cooling or boiling for a full minute provides 

a wide safety margin. 

Although altitude does lower the boiling 

temperature, the achievable heat is still 

enough, but again a longer boiling time, 

up to three minutes at high altitude, makes 

safety a certainty. There are drawbacks, 

however, to heat treatment, the main one 

being the need to carry fuel. Heating 

water also does not improve other physical 

characteristics, including appearance and 

taste that may make water less palatable. 

In the next issue chemical treatment 

and mechanical methods for water 

purifi cation will be described. 

Ola Dunin-Bell is a Physician and 

member of the Wilderness Medical Society

Conrad Kain Hut photo by Josee Bourgoin 

National Offi ce News 

by Bruce Keith, Executive Director 

After 

a weather-weird winter 

in most parts of Canada, 

I’m sure we have all welcomed the warmer 

temperatures with open arms. Spring always 

brings those uplifting feelings of a new 

beginning, and alpine areas beckoning us 

with promises of new places to explore and 

sights to see. 

At the National Offi ce here in Canmore, 

new beginnings are defi nitely in the air. 

Our Offi ce Manager and Membership 

Coordinator, Josée Larochelle, is planning 

to go on maternity leave in mid-July. 

Congratulations to her and her husband, 

Kelly, and all our best wishes! Filling in for 

Josée while she is away will be Paula Zettel, 

who is a keen mountaineer and member of 

the Rocky Mountain Section. She looks 

forward to meeting or talking with as many 

of you as possible. Welcome, Paula! 

Rob Kozarchuk, one of our valuable 

front desk staff members in the Canmore 

Clubhouse, has left to pursue other interests 

(a.k.a. tree planting), but we hope he 

will return again once the snow starts to 

fall next winter. New to the front desk is 

Thu Nguyen, who is looking forward to 

speaking with and meeting members and 

Clubhouse guests. Also, welcome back to 

Dorothy Ward, who will be joining us 

again for the summer. 

We’re looking forward to having some 

new staff come on board over the next 

few months, and we’ll be working hard as 

a team to ensure we continue to serve you 

in the manner to which you have grown 

accustomed 

Leadership Workshop 

big thank-you to the ACC National Endowment Fund for providing funding to 

A run the Vancouver Section’s Leadership Workshop this February. The workshop was 

attended to capacity by 20 participants, a combination of experienced and new ACC leaders. 

The workshop was led by Rick Davies (of Rick Davies & Associates, Leadership Training 

and Development Specialists), and Bridget Milsom (North Shore Search and Rescue). The 

enthusiastic participation and response of participants has generated a follow-up Leadership 

Development weekend to be held in the summer of 2003. Thanks again to the ACC 

Endowment Fund; this was a real boost for our Section! 

Volunteer 

Opportunities 

There 

are two new areas on 

the Bulletin Board of 

the national website designed to help 

increase the effectiveness of volunteering 

for the Alpine Club of Canada. They are 

to assist all areas of the club – national, 

committees and sections – to fi nd 

volunteers as well as to help people keen 

on volunteering to publish their intentions. 

The fi rst area is entitled ‘Volunteers Wanted’ 

– this is where sections, committees and 

the national club can advertise specifi c 

jobs, positions or requirements. It is 

important when you post something in 

this area that you include a description 

of what is required, contact information, 

time requirements, special equipment 

required, special skills required and the 

physical location that the task will occur. 

The second area is entitled ‘Eager to 

Volunteer’ – this is the area where people 

can publish their desire to volunteer. It 

is important for anyone placing a post in 

this area to include their name, contact 

information, special skills and equipment 

they have, type of position or task they are 

seeking, time they are available and physical 

locations they are available. 


Trespassing at ACC Backcountry Huts 

by Carl Hannigan 

at the Alpine Club of Canada’s backcountry facilities is a problem that the Club has been dealing with since 

Trespassing we began operating huts in the 1920s. It is diffi cult to fully assess the extent of the problem, but when it 

does happen, it interferes with the experience of the legitimate hut users by causing overcrowding and bad feelings between user groups when 

trespassers are identifi ed. It also causes hut fees to increase, since an insuffi cient number of hut users are paying for the expenses associated 

with operating these remote facilities. Basically, hut trespassing is unfair to all those who follow the rules. 

As a result, in addition to our regular practice of encouraging members to act as voluntary custodians, we are taking the following new 

steps to eliminate hut trespassing (also known as ‘theft’): 

● We are encouraging members to ‘take ownership’ of the huts and assist in policing and 

giving support to custodians. 

● All hut users will be given a receipt or reservation number at the time of booking. They 

will be told that they must bring this information with them to the hut. If a hut visitor 

does not have a reservation number and cannot pay on-site, the custodian will turn the 

person away from the hut (assuming it is safe to do so). 

● If the hut is at capacity, custodians will request that trespassers leave the hut provided that 

there is no potential danger to them in doing so. 

Custodians will receive advice as to how to perform these duties in a non-confrontational 

manner. 

Carl Hannigan is the Vice President, Facilities for the ACC. 

National Volunteer Awards 


following Alpine Club of Canada (ACC) Award recipients have volunteered 

their time in serving fellow Club members at either the national or section 

levels of the Club. Biographies of the following award recipients can be viewed on the ACC 

website at www.AlpineClubofCanada.ca 

Distinguished Service Award 

● Cyril Shokoples – Edmonton Section 

● Peter Amann – Jasper/Hinton Section 

● Liz Scremin – Vancouver Section 

● Manrico Scremin – Vancouver Section 

● Dave Cousins – Calgary Section 

● Bruce Keith – National 


Silver Rope for Leadership 

● Dave Dornian – National 

● Doug Nelson – Calgary & Rocky 

Mountain Sections 

ACC Leader Award 

● Peter Woodsworth – Vancouver Section 

The Awards Committee is comprised of the following six Club members: 

Tom Haslam-Jones, Montreal Section; Dave McCormick, Saskatchewan Section; 

Rod Plasman, Rocky Mountain Section; Mike Thompson, Vancouver Section; 

Gerta Smythe, Vancouver Section; Paul Geddes (Committee Chair), Toronto Section 

Ski Mountaineering Competition 

In Sieg in Den Bergen (Victory in the Mountains), 

Austria’s most experienced international ski mountaineering 

competitor, Rolf Majcen, describes thrilling adventures at 

big ski-mountaineering competitions in the Alps including 

Patrouilles des Glaciers, Pierra Menta, Trofeo Mezzalama, 

Cima d’Asta, Dammkar-Race, World Championships in 

Serre Chevalier, Patrouille de la Maya, Defi de Faverges, 

Mountain Attack, Sella Ronda, Pizolada and many 

others in Greece, in the High Tatra, in the Pyrenees, 

in the Atlas Mountains and in the Rocky Mountains. 

He writes about ups and downs, touching episodes of the 

history of this sport, the excitement of meeting male and 

female European stars from many different countries and 

about their extraordinary alpine achievements. 

It can be ordered by e-mail: rolf.majcen@sparinvest.com 

NOTICES 

We’re On Top, Are You?!!! 

The Summit Register Program is gearing 

up again. This unique program assists 

the Alpine Club of Canada in keeping 

summit records by placing booklets on 

specifi c mountain summits. If you like 

to bag peaks and would like to help 

please contact our volunteer organizer 

Jim Bruce at (403) 932-8833 or 

miljay@nucleus.com 

The North Face Leadership Course 

The application deadline for the 

next Winter North Face Leadership 

course is October 1, 2003. For more 

detailed information please contact 

adventures@AlpineClubofCanada.ca 

or (403) 678-3200 ext. 112. 

Banff Mountain Festivals Need Volunteers 

Once again we’re looking for eager 

volunteers to help with this year’s 

Banff Mountain Book & Film Festivals 

which will take place November 5 

to 9, 2003. For more information 

please contact our offi ce manager, 

jlarochelle@AlpineClubofCanada.ca 

or (403) 678-3200 ext. 108 

ACC Custom Portering Services 

now available for all huts summer 

and winter. If you are planning a 

backcountry hut trip and would like to 

have your food and equipment carried 

in, contact the Facilities Administration 

Manager, Luther McLain, for details at 

(403) 678-3200 ext. 104 or e-mail 

lmclain@AlpineClubofCanada.ca 

Classifi ed Ads: 

Up to 25 words for $100 per issue 

$75 for Club Members 

E-mail your ad to: 

ads@AlpineClubofCanada.ca 

or mail to the address on page 3.

2003 Grant Funded Projects 


Alpine Club of Canada awarded 

$12,500 in grants to ten worthy 

mountain related projects this year. 

Environment Fund 

Melting Mountains Awareness Program 

($1,400) – Ian Bruce, Vancouver Section 

member, is the director of this undertaking 

and has produced and will distribute a 

brochure titled Melting Mountains. 

Cliff Face Vegetation Communities 

Project ($1,400) – Headed by Kathryn 

Kuntz, Cliff Ecology Research Group at the 

University of Guelph in Ontario, the project 

will research and document the impacts of 

sport climbing on vegetation on cliff faces 

in the Niagara Escarpment area. 

Jen Higgins Memorial Fund 

Vampire Spires All-Female Expedition 

($4,300) – Jasmine Caton, Lindsay Herlinger 

and Amelia Patterson, will attempt new routes 

and fi rst all-women ascents in the Vampire 

Spires, a group of granite towers near the 

Cirque of the Unclimbables in NWT. 

Helly Hansen Mountain Adventure Award 

Mt. Bute 2003 Expedition ($500) – Jia 

Condon and Rich Prohaska, both Whistler 

Section members, will attempt a fi rst ascent 

of the 1525 m NW face of Mt. Bute in 

mixed winter conditions. 

Devil’s Thumb NW Face ($500) - Guy 

Edwards, John McKim Millar and Kai 

Hirvonen (non-members) for their attempt 

on this demanding 6500ft objective of 

located on the Skikine Icecap on the 

BC/Alaska border in clean alpine style. 

Tragically, Guy and John went missing on 

the expedition and are presumed dead. A 

memorium will appear in the 2003 issue of 

the Canadian Alpine Journal. 

Midwest Ice: A Video Guide to the 

Thunder Bay Ice Climbs $500 – Jevon 

Hagens, a Thunder Bay Section member, 

will produce a video guide to the ice climbs 

in the Thunder Bay region as a useful 

resource for traveling climbers. A copy of 

the video will be provided to the Alpine 

Club of Canada’s library. 

Hollyburn Ridge Oral History 

Collection ($200) – Iloa Musfeldt 

Knight and Tony Knight, members of the 

Vancouver Section and The Hollyburn 

Heritage Society, will continue to collect 

oral histories from pioneer hikers, skiers and 

cabin owners from the 1920s to 1960s who 

are still living in Hollyburn Ridge. 

Axel Heiberg Haute Ski Traverse 

($1000) – Gregory Horne, Louise Jarry, 

Steve Blake, Greg Statter and Grant 

Dixon visit the Arctic for an unsupported 

north to south six-week ski traverse of the 

mountainous polar island. 

Women’s Waddington Traverse ($2,200) 

– Katy Holm, Vancouver Island Section 

heads this expedition with Cecilia Mortenson 

and Karen McNeill. They will attempt the 

second ascent of this nine-peak traverse that 

is considered the prize of the Coast Range. 

Mountaineering Expedition to 

Nyainquentangla East Range, Tibet ($500) 

– Graham Rowbotham leads an exploratory 

expedition with Adam Thomas, Phil Amos 

and Bryan Godfrey. They will explore and 

make fi rst ascents of the east range including 

its highest peak Nenang (6870 m). 

Annual application deadlines are 

January 31. For further information 

and application forms visit 

www.AlpineClubofCanada.ca/funds

A Passion for the Mountains - The Alpine Club of Canada

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