Summer 2007 - The Alpine Club of Canada

Th e Gazette continues to recognize the contributions of some
of the Alpine Club of Canada’s dedicated Executive Committee
volunteers. Roger Laurilla joined the ACC in 1976. An
internationally certifi ed Mountain Guide, Roger started guiding
for the ACC in the late 1980s. In 2004 he became the Club’s VP
Activities. Roger is Area Manager for Canadian Mountain
Holidays’ Monashees Lodge. He lives in Golden BC.
Like-minded people make it
fun, interesting and worthwhile
BY ROGER W. LAURILLA
I
remember the passenger train, which
locals called “Th e Hobo” during the
construction of the Trans Canada
Highway through Rogers Pass in BC’s
Glacier National Park. At our exit point,
my mother would clamber off with my
brother and me in tow, and head up
to our house. We were the only house
around; our nearest neighbour was
another half hour up the track at Glacier
Station. We did not have a vehicle in the
early years, just some horses that allowed
my father to work in the Park. In the yard
we had a barn, doghouse and a large fence
that kept the horses in and – hopefully
– the bears out. Looking south from the
porch we could see into Flat Creek and
up to Fortitude Mountain. Behind the
house, Mount Fidelity and the roaring
Bostock Creek were our backyard. My
brother and I were always pleased to get
home to our mountain backyard.
Glacier National Park became an early
centre for mountaineering in Canada
through the Canadian Pacifi c Railroad’s
tourism promotions, but I had no idea of
this when I was growing up. As the son
of a National Park Warden, my mountain
roots were embedded at a young age.
After moving to Revelstoke in the mid
1960s so my brother and I could attend
school, interest in my Mount Revelstoke
backyard impelled me to explore even
more of the Selkirk Mountains.
Once I fi nished school, local job
opportunities were primarily in the
timber industry or with the railway,
neither of which appealed to me. Th e
mountains, however, were a draw. When
David Peter Jones, older brother of my
friend Roy Jones, was looking for workers
Did you know that climbers might be legislated to wear electronic locators
in the USA? You could have read about it on the ACC’s NewsNet.
To subscribe, email: NewsNet@AlpineClubofCanada.ca
24 Alpine Club of Canada ● Gazette ● SUMMER 2007
to hike into the site
of a small mountain
hut to help renovate
it into a larger
facility, I decided
PHOTO BY SABINE KOHLER
to give it a try. All
I knew was it was in the mountains and
I would be gone for three weeks. I was
keen and my parents were supportive.
Th e hike was more than I had imagined
– a traverse from Albert Canyon to Fairy
Meadow, deep in the bush, valleys and
peaks of the Selkirks. I met William
Putnam and Hans Gmoser on this
hut project, rebuilding the older Fairy
Meadow panabode to its present size and
shape; the year 1973. Bill Putnam became
a great mentor for me. I went in deep.
Th at was my fi rst involvement with
the Alpine Club of Canada. I joined
the Club in 1976 because it off ered key
information for a keener like me to
expand my knowledge base about the
mountains in which I was living and
exploring. Disappointingly, the smaller
towns of Revelstoke and Golden did not,
and still do not, have section affi liations
within the Club.
In 1979, I became a labourer for Hans
Gmoser on an expansion of Bugaboo
Lodge, (the fi rst of Gmoser’s Canadian
Mountain Holidays – CMH – lodges,
now numbering 12). Th is was an eye
opener as to what type of work was
available in the mountains. As I gained
more experience and confi dence, I
eventually attained my Mountain Guide
certifi cation with the Association of
Canadian Mountain Guides (ACMG).
I have worked for Hans and CMH ever
since.
Roger Laurilla at Butters Creek, in Battle Abbey, in BC’s Selkirk Mountains
I started guiding for the ACC in
the late 1980s, leading ski touring trips
to Fairy Meadow, then summer camps
and fi nally the General Mountaineering
Camp (GMC) in the mid 90s. As I
became more involved in the mountain
community, I volunteered and was
accepted to the ACMG Board of
Directors to work with the ACC and
the Guides’ Ball. Following two terms
there, I got more involved with the ACC.
During the GMC, I was forced to spend
time with Cam Roe, or perhaps, Cam was
forced to spend time with me. I was able
to see amateur leaders in action. Th ese
guys were keen, skilled and volunteering
their time doing what they like to do.
More than anything else, it was the
GMC that gave me the understanding
of what the Club was all about. To me
it is about participating with other
like-minded mountain people in our
vast mountain wilderness. As many
have stated before, it is the people we
do our activities with who make it fun,
interesting and worthwhile. Th e cream
is our natural wilderness – our mountain
backyards.
I want to give to the mountain
community and specifi cally the ACC,
and I have found that the best way is to
get involved and participate. At times our
lives can be hectic just dealing with life
issues, however, I feel doing what I can,
when I can, is a whole lot better than not
doing anything at all. Th e main interest
for me is to encourage people to enjoy,
experience and be safe in our mountains.
What we gain can be life altering in a
positive way. It has been for me.