A Passion for the Mountains - The Alpine Club of Canada

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
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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