A Passion for the Mountains - The Alpine Club of Canada

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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 14 Alpine Club of Canada ● Gazette ● Summer 2003 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. Alpine Club of Canada ● Gazette ● Summer 2003 15
Page 1: Vol. 17, No. 2 ● Summer 2003 A Pa
Page 4 and 5: To Every Place There is a Season by
Page 6 and 7: Kokanee Glacier Cabin The Alpine Cl
Page 8 and 9: Pumpkins in Training Winter Leaders
Page 10 and 11: Liability in the Backcountry by Joh
Page 12 and 13: above: Cathryn emerging from Mac’
Page 16 and 17: A Passion for the Mountains by Amy
Page 18 and 19: Las Mujeres de Las Montanas 2002 Ce
Page 20 and 21: Water Wellness in the Backcountry b
Page 22 and 23: Trespassing at ACC Backcountry Huts

A Passion for the Mountains - The Alpine Club of Canada

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