Summer 2007 - The Alpine Club of Canada

In May, at the Alpine Club of Canada Board of Directors meetings, a partnership agreement between the ACC and the Fédération
Québécoise de la montagne et de l’escalade (FQME) was ratifi ed, guaranteeing equal access to ACC and FQME members to the other’s facilities
and insured climbing venues. Th e agreement is the result of years of dedication, persistence and leadership of many people, but most notably,
section Outaouais representative, Pierre Gravel. Th is is his story.
Perseverance, cooperation engender partnership agreement
BY PIERRE GRAVEL
The relationship between our
small regional climbing club,
Club Vertige, and the Fédération
Québécoise de la montagne et de
l’escalade (FQME) had been uneasy for
some years when in 2001, we decided
to join the Alpine Club of Canada as
a regional section. After preparing the
paperwork the ACC asked of us, the
Club’s executive had given us a positive
response and all that remained was to
present our proposal to the ACC Board
of Directors at the spring meeting in
Vancouver. Th e morning of the meeting,
I went for a run along the Pacifi c shore
just down from the University of British
Columbia and came back in time to
meet the Board members in one of
the University’s buildings. Everyone
was great, they showed me a chair and
announced that I was now the national
delegate for the new Outaouais section of
the ACC.
“Home base, game over,” I assumed. I
thought all was done.
During a coff ee break I was
introduced to ACC Past President Mike
Mortimer. We chatted, then he came
to the subject of the last thing I was
expecting.
At the time Mortimer was the
North American representative for
the International Mountaineering
and Climbing Federation (UIAA).
He had been receiving letters from
people in Québec complaining about
a power war between FQME and
another organisation, École nationale
d’escalade du Québec (ENEQ). He had
also received letters complaining about
FQME’s management of cliff s on private
land, and about FQME’s management of
cliff s on public and park land. Basically,
the Québec scene was chaos.
Mortimer asked, “Do you understand
any of this?”
Trying to be a good politician and
escape the conversation, I answered, “I’m
as puzzled as you are.”
A quick man, he replied, “Could you
10 Alpine Club of Canada ● Gazette ● SUMMER 2007
try to help me fi gure it out, you living out
there in the east and all.”
In utter stupidity, and to prove I’m a
lousy politician, I answered, “OK.”
Not long afterward, section Outaouais
board members shared interesting news
– FQME was facing a coroner’s inquest
following climbing related deaths in
Québec, and FQME had decided that
ACC members living in Québec could no
longer climb on sites located on private
land unless they paid extra fees.
Th e second item, we had to act upon.
Th e fi rst one crept up on us.
Th e following years proved interesting.
First we looked for leadership training
for rock and ice climbing, and decided
we would only look for UIAA approved
leadership programs so our members
would receive the highest standard of
training. We looked at FQME, who
used to have a program, and found it was
no longer functional. We then looked
at ENEQ, who was developing and
operating a program based on UIAA
standards for volunteer leaders and found
it was outstanding.
Problem was, since ENEQ was not a
UIAA member, its programs could not be
submitted to UIAA for approval. Since
the local UIAA organisation (FQME)
was at war with ENEQ, progress stalled.
Judging that the program was good
and necessary, we suggested ENEQ
be received as a UIAA member so its
program could be approved. We have
used ENEQ ever since as a source for
expertise, and have been satisfi ed. But
FQME didn’t like that.
Th en, the very guy who had complained
so much to Mortimer about FQME in
the fi rst place was now its president. It
seemed he felt the ACC and I were the
problems, interested in swallowing his
organisation. Fortunately, section Outaouais
representatives were invited to the coroner’s
inquest to act as experts, giving us the
chance to meet with most of Québec’s
major players in climbing – an opportunity
to set things straight.
Th at’s when I fi rst met with Steve
Castonguay and with Alain Couture
– who I already knew. Th ey were making
a lot of eff ort to try to rebuild the FQME
and its image, and had produced a
brilliant master plan. We discovered it
was way easier to understand each other
face to face, and decided to create an
agreement to collaborate in the future.
It took four years. I can’t count the
visits we paid each other or the number
of phone calls we exchanged. Th e
section Outaouais acted on FQME’s
site commission, they off ered us ‘leave
no trace’ training and helped us with
an access problem to Gatineau Park.
Alpine Club of Canada members Isabelle
Daigneault, Deborah Skelton, Murray
Levine, Denis Villeneuve and I met
with FQME and presented documents
explaining what we do and what our
mission is. Th ey did the same for us. I
climbed with Couture in Gaspésie and,
with Stephane Lapierre who wrote
the book on Québec ice climbing – we
opened a route we called Th e Th ree
Musketeers in honour of our friendship,
a scene of everlasting arguing. We created
a draft partnership document and worked
through revised version after revised
version.
But it’s done. Canadian climbers can
climb from coast to coast. Whether you
are from Québec or Newfoundland,
from Yukon or Ontario, just present
your ACC or FQME membership card
at any FQME insured climbing sites
and you climb as equals. Just show your
FQME or ACC card at any ACC facility
and you will be treated as equals. We
are all members of the UIAA member
organization. We are all Canadian
climbers. We should climb together and
enjoy the day without any other worries.
Th at’s what I wanted in the fi rst place.
Th at’s just what I’m going to do now.
Good work Steve. Good work
Isabelle, Deborah and Murray. Good
work Denis. Now we can build.
Pierre Gravel is the ACC section
Outaouais National representative.