Summer 2007 - The Alpine Club of Canada

West Coast members christen Centennial with Lovely Water
BY RON DART
With the Alpine Club of
Canada celebrating its
Centennial birthday in 2006,
West Coast members decided on the
Tantalus Hut on Lake Lovely Water in
the deep forged Squamish River Valley to
mark that historic year.
Th e trip began with a helicopter
fl ight up over the
thick forest and onto
the rock hard landing
pad near the hut. Th e
many white-robed
peaks surrounding
Lake Lovely Water in
horseshoe formation
do have their allure and
charming appeal, with each rock tip and
turret drawing the eyes to the canopy
above and welcoming an ascent. Th e 11
who signed up for the trip were all keen
and eager to take to the varied summits
in the area, and, to the credit of the
group, most of the peaks were reached by
diff erent members.
Alpha Mountain was climbed from
both its challenging east ridge and the
gentler Lambda Lake and Russian Army
Camp approach, the newly fi nished
Haberl Hut visible from Alpha’s roof.
Some members scrambled Omega
Mountain on an overcast and dour day
– appearing to have scouted out a new
route. A trip was also taken to the col
between Serratus and Alpha. Some in the
group had hoped to trek to the Haberl
Hut for a few days; a climb up Tantalus,
Dione and Serratus was the longed for
goal, but the cat-and-mouse weather
made such a desire hard to follow
through on.
Th ere were also hikes to Iota from
the Sandspit side, and a round trip up
the col between Lydia and Niobe (the
weather being too mist thick to ascend
Lydia), up Niobe (the clouds parted near
the cairn on the summit), down to Pelops,
PSST!
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From death in valleys
preserve me, O Lord.
—Robert Macfarlane,
Mountains of the Mind (2003)
under Iota, then a pleasant glissade back
down the snow thick valley. Each trip
down from Niobe we managed to fi ll
our bottles with good Niobe champagne
from the cascading waterfall and white
foaming stream. Some crevasses were
open and obvious while others were just
inching open. With the weather treating
us well sometimes, and
thick clouds and rain other
days, we had some good
times in the hut as well
as on the mountain, with
many a fi ne tale swapped
and much mountain lore
traded and bantered to
and fro.
Lake Lovely Water was the site
of some good swimming and fi shing.
Cutthroat and rainbow trout often took
to Ron Royston’s lure and bait, so a
couple of evenings – and breakfasts – we
enjoyed well-prepared fresh fi sh. Despite
damaging his foot the week before, Remy
Maire (French Alpine Club member)
joined us for the week. Out on the water
every day, he was not as successful with
line and lure as Royston. All of us in the
group were more than grateful for the
fi ne dinners Royston prepared. Turning
Tantalus Hut into the Versailles of the
Coast Mountains for a week, none of us
will soon forget the feasts off ered after
long days on the slopes, rock, ice and
snow.
We were most fortunate to have a
group of people together for the week
who climbed, worked, ate, drank and
bantered well together. With rarely
a dull moment, conversations were
animated and lively. A few who snored
quite loudly in the night made for some
organizational and humorous moments.
Trip participants included Rob
Eldred, Philippe Leblanc, Gord Sandeski
(ACC Vancouver Island), Remy Maire
(French Alpine Club), Neil Kirk, Monica
Durigon, Lauren Hunter, Erik Frebold,
Yvonne Bell, Ron Dart, and grand chef
and hut father, Rockin’ Ron Royston.
Alpine Club of Canada ● Gazette ● SUMMER 2007 29