Summer 2007 - The Alpine Club of Canada

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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.
ACC salutes the BCMC’s centennial BY DAVE SCANLON They were explorers. No one had ever ventured into the valleys and mountains they wandered in the early years. As their numbers increased, they started to make contact with each other and realized the importance of forming a club to formalize their eff orts. In October 1907, Mr. George Jarrett arranged an informal meeting at the local tourist association. Th e Vancouver Mountaineering Club was born. An artistic crest was created and has been used ever since, representing the club’s most climbed mountains – Grouse, Dam, Goat and Crown Mountains and Lions Peak. At the second annual meeting in 1909 the club name was changed to the present one – British Columbia Mountaineering Club. In Jan. 1910, the club secured fi ve acres on Grouse Mountain to construct a cabin – the beginning of many the club would build. In 1911, the Botanical and Geological sections were formed. A Mr. Heaney contributed to the topography of the previously unopened local area. Conservation and land issues have also been a large part of the BCMC since its beginning. Early camps held at Garibaldi brought to the fore the naturally stunning beauty and uniqueness of the area. After the 1926 camp, club members petitioned the provincial government to protect the area, and in 1927 the Garibaldi Park Act was passed. Th e BCMC has always been comprised of a like-minded group of individuals joining to pursue their goals. Many, many local mountains and glaciers are named for club members – Dalton Dome, Mount Bishop, Mount Warren, Trory Glacier. Many were named by BCMC members. At times the Botanical and Geological sections were larger than the rest of the club and those meetings were very well attended. Numerous social events were also well attended, including dances, Christmas and Th anksgiving dinners and bowling evenings, as well as the annual general banquet. Th e BCMC has made available articles for members and the general public pertaining to mountain access, huts, club events, trip reports, and more recently, assisted in the publishing of guidebooks, climbing and mountaineering books. Although a member of Federation of Mountain Clubs of British Columbia, custom outdoor experience “your four season liaison to the mountain experience” LET ADVENTURE GUIDE YOU... Course Discounts Available For ACC Members being a single club – not part of a national or group of other clubs – gives the BCMC a unique place in the mountaineering world. Everything is done by local volunteers playing together, with the understanding work is involved. Currently with about 500 members working together, the 100 years of volunteering by club members has kept the BCMC a vibrant and ongoing organization. David Scanlon is the chair of the BCMC Cabins and Trails Committee. For more information, and a list of BCMC Centennial events, visit www.bcmc.ca Private Guiding Rock Climbing Mountaineering 403 721 2208 www.coe.ca Mountain Skills Course Alpine Club of Canada ● Gazette ● SUMMER 2007 25
Page 1 and 2: PUBLICATION # 40009034 Vol. 22, No.
Page 3 and 4: The Alpine Club of Canada Publicati
Page 5 and 6: New ACC Executive Director “exact
Page 7 and 8: Th e course ended with the instruct
Page 9 and 10: Munday biography brings history ali
Page 11 and 12: DRAGONFLY 8.2 | FUSE 9.4 | NOMAD 9.
Page 13 and 14: particularly helpful in providing i
Page 15 and 16: took our fi rst true rest day due t
Page 17 and 18: ience n Rombach, Kaeli Benoit, Jenn
Page 19 and 20: Whistler hosts fi rst Canadian Ski
Page 21 and 22: world for ice climbing,” Isaac sa
Page 23: Discover Places of Silence PACKAGE
Page 27 and 28: International Space Station. Weight
Page 29 and 30: West Coast members christen Centenn
Page 31: John Lauchlan Award and ACC team up

Summer 2007 - The Alpine Club of Canada

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