Reiner Thoni - Alpine Club of Canada

Transcription

Alpine Club of Canada | Club Alpin du Canada
Vol. 29, No. 3
Winter | hiver 2014
Profile: Reiner Thoni
page 6
Profil: Reiner Thoni
page 8
Preserving, practicing and promoting Canadian mountain culture and self-propelled alpine pursuits. | Préserver, pratiquer et promouvoir la culture alpine canadienne et les activités non motorisées en montagne.
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Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to:
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Box 8040, Canmore, AB
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Phone: (403) 678‑3200
Fax: (403) 678‑3224
info@alpineclubofcanada.ca
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Board of Directors
Gordon Currie President
Isabelle Daigneault Secretary
Neil Bosch Treasurer
Wayne Campbell VP Access/Environment
Frank Spears VP Activities
Carl Hannigan VP Facilities
Zac Robinson VP Mountain Culture
Sandy Walker VP Sections
David Foster VP Services & Athletics
David Toole Honorary President
Nancy Hansen Interim Exec. Director
Publication
Lynn Martel Gazette Editor
Suzan Chamney Layout & Production
Jean-Philippe Gravel Translator
Submissions
Submissions to the Gazette are welcome! For
submission guidelines e-mail your idea to the
Gazette Editor at gazette@alpineclubofcanada.ca
Advertising
Advertising rate sheet available on the website or
by request. Please direct all advertising inquiries
to Suzan Chamney, National Office by e‑mail to:
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What’s Inside...
Adventures
10 Trekking through the roof of the
world
18 Zoomers crush the Wapta
24 A challenging day was a possible
first ascent
25 Why skiers need emergency
medical travel insurance
26 Alpine Start
26 Pourquoi les skieurs ont besoin
d’une assurance voyage
Members
7
19
20
28
29
30
31
31
Heritage Club
Scholarship honours Ferdl Taxböck
What a great ride!
Climbing Rocks! Ode to climbing
Grimper m’agrippe Ode à l’escalade
Volunteer Awards
ACC member a Yukon icon
ACC Grants Program
Huts
12 Richard & Louise Guy Hut at des
Poilus
27 The Abbot Pass Hut Restoration
Project
Athletics
6
8
Publications
14 Biographies pay fitting tribute
22 The Bookpack
Community
4
5
15
30
31
Short Rope
Route Finding
Nominate a Volunteer
My turn in the big chair
Classified ads and Notices
What’s Outside...
Cover photo: Reiner Thoni charges up the slope at the Atomic WayMaker in
Dachstein, Austria, April, 2013. Photo courtesy Red Bull.
Read the story on page 6.
facebook.com/alpineclubofcanada
twitter.com/alpineclubcan
Reiner Thoni à la compétition Waymaker à Dachstein
(Autriche), en avril 2013. Photo: gracieuseté de Red Bull.
Voir l’article en page 8.
SW-COC-001271
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Club alpin du Canada
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Gazette
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2014 3
Short Rope
by Lynn
O
Martel
ne big factor that makes the
Alpine Club of Canada unique
and very special is that our club
is not just about climbing, or only about
mountains. The ACC is about people.
And through the very nature of join‑
ing, our members engage in the act of
belonging to a community. In addition
to joining Club sections through which
members find like-minded partners with
whom they can plan and share adven‑
tures, members also actively participate
in our club by planning social events in
their neighbourhoods; by organizing
photo contests and barbecues and Banff
Mountain Film Festival World Tour
showings; by volunteering their time and
muscle to help maintain our backcountry
huts; and by sharing their skills with less
experienced mountaineers, as you’ll learn
Calgary Section member Chuck Young
has done for 25 years as an Amateur
Leader at the General Mountaineering
Camp (page 20).
Members also contribute by writing
articles to share on the pages of every
issue of the Gazette, and, as President
Gord Currie writes on page 5, by donat‑
ing money to help support the Club’s
great activities and initiatives.
And then there are those ACC
members who are inspired to give of
themselves just that little- or big- bit
more. In this vein, the ACC is beyond
fortunate to have counted, for more than
four decades, Richard and Louise Guy
among its members.
Over those years, Louise and Richard
supported the Club with their time, their
energy, their expertise and their generous
donations. They each served on numerous
Lynn takes in the super view—and a bit of spray—climbing Takakkaw Falls in Yoho National Park. photo by Gail Crowe-swords
committees, participated in section trips,
and shared their skills and experience
acquired through their many global
mountain adventures with the extensive
ACC mountaineering community. And
as many an attendee of the Mountain
Guides Ball likely remembers, as the
most enthusiastic, spry couple – they were
married for 70 years – lighting up the
dance floor with their graceful moves and
Louise’s dazzling smile.
The Guys’ contributions have been
exceptionally beneficial for the Club’s
General Mountaineering Camp; they
participated in a combined 60 GMCs.
When the Camp was threatened with
discontinuation due to lack of interest
in the 1980s, Louise’s now legendary
letter writing campaign urging former
attendees to continue to participate
succeeded in helping ensure its viability
and longevity.
As if that wasn’t more than enough
to give of themselves to the ACC, in
memory of Louise, who died in 2010 at
the age of 92, Richard made a significant
donation that resulted in the creation
of the Louise Guy Commemorative
Fund, used for training GMC Amateur
Leaders. And, just last month, Richard
made another substantial donation that
will go toward construction of what Club
directors unanimously decided should be
fittingly named the Richard & Louise
Guy Hut at Mont des Poilus, located
in the upper Waterfall Valley of Yoho
National Park.
With some 10,000 members, it’s
naturally impossible for all ACCers to be
acquainted on a personal level. To learn
more about Louise and Richard Guy and
the backcountry hut that will be named
for them, turn to page 12. Then, on page
14, you can learn more about the ACC’s
Summit Series of biographical booklets
that celebrate and honour very special
members of the ACC and Canada’s
mountaineering community, including,
you guessed it, the Guys.
Happy reading!
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Contact us to learn more
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4 Alpine Club of Canada
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Gazette
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Winter 2014
Route Finding
by
I
marmot.com
Gord Currie, ACC President
met Arlene Flock a couple of times—
she was a friend of friends. Arlene
died suddenly and unexpectedly last
spring at age 67, and as I read her obitu‑
ary in the local newspaper, I was surprised
to see that she had asked that donations
in her memory be directed to the Alpine
Club of Canada. She was only a member
for one year, but apparently she loved the
outdoors and had spent a few pleasant
weekends in our huts over the years.
Almost annually we receive donations
from ACC members who have made
bequests in their wills, and often we do
not find out about them until we get a
call from their executor. The Club is in
my will too, although I am hoping to live
long enough that there will not be much
left to donate!
Many members have made substan‑
tial donations during their lifetimes,
and lots of members send smaller
donations each year. All are welcome.
The people who have donated over
the 108-year history of the ACC are
too numerous to mention, but a list
of last year’s donors can be found on
our website in our Annual Report at
www.alpineclubofcanada.ca/reports
The Clubhouse in Canmore and our
huts are really the financial engine of the
Club, generating a significant amount
of income, and our 30 per cent interest
in the HI-Lake Louise Alpine Centre
hostel pays a small annual dividend. New
huts, such as the one we plan to build at
Mont des Poilus next summer, are only
made possible by generous donors like
Richard Guy—check out page 12 for
some exciting news on this.
Our Endowment Fund was cre‑
ated when the Clubhouse was rented
out during the 1988 Calgary Winter
Olympics. It has since grown to be quite
substantial, thanks to ongoing donations
and successful investing. In 2011, the
Endowment Fund received a significant
injection of $1.5 million from the estate of
Toronto Life Member Wally Joyce. It was
the largest single donation the ACC has
ever received. Endowment fund proceeds
support various Club programs.
We also have a series of donor-spon‑
sored funds that support our Library,
the Canadian Alpine Journal, facilities
maintenance, training for amateur leaders
L I V ING THE A DV ENT URE
Marmot Athlete Hadley Hammer eyeing lines in the San Juan Range backcountry.
Protected by the Marmot Women’s Excellerator Jacket. Backcountry essentials safely housed in the Sidetrack 14 pack.
Photo: Blake Gordon
at the General Mountaineering Camp,
training for young climbers, and moun‑
tain adventures for young women.
In addition, many wonderful sup‑
porters of the ACC donate items to be
auctioned at the Mountain Guides Ball
each October. Guides Ball proceeds have
supported a variety of initiatives over the
past 25 years.
The ACC is a registered charity and
the generosity of our members is just one
of the many things that separates the
ACC from meet-up groups. Donations
allow us to provide all kinds of programs
and benefits to members across the
country. When giving, please consider the
ACC as one of your charities of choice.
The sun is shining outside as I write,
but the leaves are falling, which means that
snow is not far behind. Have fun and be
careful out in the backcountry this winter.
Climb on!
To find out about our Funds or to make a donation, visit:
www.alpineclubofcanada.ca/financial-donations
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Gazette
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2014 5
by Lynn
S
Martel
ince competing in his first skimo race in 2006, Reiner
Thoni has charged ahead, winning the Canadian Ski
Mountaineering Championships in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012
and 2014, as well as the US Nationals in 2011. A member of the
Canadian National Ski Mountaineering team since 2009, Thoni,
30, also won the North American Individual and Sprint titles
in 2012, and the 2013 Way Maker competition in Austria with
teammates Mark Smiley (US national skimo team) and fellow
Canadian team member, Andrew McNab. He placed 18th and
19th at World Cup races in Italy (2011) and Andorra (2013),
finished 15th with McNab in the WC team event in 2012, and
15th again with McNab at the 2013 test piece multi-day Pierra
Menta in France.
Living in Valemount B.C., working summers in the for‑
estry industry doubles as a training regime and source of
income sufficient to keep him skiing through the winters.
With the 2015 ISMF World Championships taking place in
Verbier, Switzerland in February, Canadian national skimo
team members will be training hard and honing their racing
skills at Canadian and European WC competitions all sea‑
son. Learn more about Canada’s national skimo team at
www.alpineclubofcanada.ca/athletics/ski-mountaineering
❆❆ What first grabbed you about skiing?
My first experience on skis was at three. My memories of
learning were in Nancy Green going way too fast down bush
trails and building little forts. Nancy Green racing was great,
everybody got a trophy. We had awesome imaginations. The
ultimate freedom to move around the mountains had me hooked
and the lifestyle, friends and community sealed the deal.
❆❆ How did you get started in skimo?
A friend, Ian Gale, convinced me to try the first Sunshine
5000 in 2006. I had done a lot of backcountry skiing but had
never pushed the fitness envelope so far. ❆❆ What did that race teach you?
I was in the lead pack at the second-to-last transition, it was
a short descent so I decided to leave the skins on. This put me in
the front, but it was actually against the rules and I should have
Team Canada gathers for a photo at the 2010 World Championships in
Andorra. p hoto courtesy ISMF
Reiner Thoni boot packs up to gain a peak at the 2010 World Championships
in Andorra. p hoto courtesy ISMF
been penalized. Then, at the last transition I was so slow remov‑
ing my skis to rip my skins, the organizer, Greg Hill, was likely
laughing and waving the penalty as the others passed by. After
this race it was clear to me how important transitions are.
❆❆ Why have you continued to compete?
The challenge to progress is my draw. I love building up to
a race and trying different ways to become faster. It’s like a big
puzzle to become as healthy and fit as I possibly can, and it’s
pretty awesome to have an excuse to ski so much.
❆❆ What are your biggest challenges in skimo competitions?
Depends on the day, but when it’s below -20 C, it’s really a
balancing act to hit the right clothing combinations to keep your
hands, face and feet warm, while not overheating your core. It’s
amazing how you can run around in spandex and actually keep
your core warm. ❆❆ What do you like best about skimo comps?
I love the environment it creates to move at top speed in the
mountains pushing boundaries with your friends. It gives you
freedom to temporarily hand over the responsibilities of slope
stability and group dynamics to the race organizer, allowing you
to just bust your ass with a little shovel, transceiver and a few gels.
❆❆ What was your first WC experience?
It was the vertical in Andorra at the 2010 World
Championships and it was humbling to race the top athletes in
the world and see what’s possible. Over the years I’ve seen the
culture in Europe and how supportive they are towards endur‑
ance sports such as skimo. For bigger races, like France’s Pierra
Menta, you’re booting up a couloir with the roar of thousands
of spectators who all hiked up in the early hours to watch the
race. It’s even aired on national TV.
❆❆ What was your most difficult competition?
The second day of the Pierra Menta a couple of years ago. I
didn’t bring enough calories and suffered for it. I fell over, shak‑
ing and slobbering. It was important for me to keep our pace and
make the finish line to not disappoint my partner, but my body
thought otherwise.
❆❆ What was your favourite competition moment?
The first time I won the US Nationals, skiing down the last
descent it was amazing to have accomplished something that
seemed almost impossible a few years prior.
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❆❆ How much has gear changed?
A lot. When I started bellows were in, boots weighed more than 1 kilogram and
skis and bindings were well over 1 kilogram. Now we’re racing on carbon fibre boots,
bindings and skis that all together weigh less than my boots used to. It’s an exciting
time for skimo racing and we’re seeing those advancements transferring to general
backcountry gear.
❆❆ Are there challenges being a Canadian skimo racer?
We don’t get a lot of support, but organizations such as the ACC really help keep the
sport alive in Canada. Dave Dornian [Ski Mountaineering Competition Canada Chair],
has been the team’s backbone for more than a decade. We face challenges with funding
but this attracts people who are truly passionate and is a major reason why I enjoy my
time on the team. ❆❆ What’s your dream gear?
I’m keen on the new steel tech crampons that attach front points to your ski boots
and weigh 125 grams. My wish is for mono point and super light aluminum and carbon
fibre models.
❆❆ What’s the best advice you received from a fellow racer?
Stano Faban identified how getting to your true peak does not come from simply
training hard, but from at least a decade of training smart and building year after year.
There will always be ups and downs, but as long as you keep your goals to long term
progression it eliminates the stress from any one race.
❆❆ What advice would you give a new racer?
Always have fun and realize that over time your body and mind will adapt to make
even the hardest things—like intervals—fun. It involves twisting your mind a bit but
there is light at the end of the tunnel. 2014-09-26 9:42
Heritage C lub
Every year, the Alpine Club of
Canada celebrates those members who
have been with the Club for 25, 35 and
50 years. The Club recognizes these
members with a special lapel pin, with
the 25- and 35-year members receiving
an attractive certificate and the 50-year
members receiving a handsome wall
plaque.
In 2014, in addition to the members
we highlighted in the summer issue,
we are honouring another 50-year
member and a 75-year member:
50 years
Graham Boothroyd, Vancouver
75 years
E.C.B Macnabb, Vancouver
Congratulations!
b
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Gazette
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2014 7
par Lynn
D
Martel
epuis qu’il a participé à sa première course de ski-alpinisme en 2006, Reiner
Thoni a continué sur sa lancée, gagnant le Championnat canadien de ski-alp‑
inisme en 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 et 2014, ainsi que le Championnat US en
2011. Membre de l’Équipe canadienne de ski-alpinisme depuis 2009, Thoni, 30 ans, a
aussi remporté en 2012 les titres nord-américains à l’épreuve individuelle et au sprint,
et la compétition Way Maker de 2013 en Autriche avec ses coéquipiers Mark Smiley
(de l’Équipe US de ski-alpinisme) et son partenaire de l’Équipe canadienne, Andrew
McNab. Il s’est placé en dix-huitième et en dix-neuvième position aux courses de la
Coupe du monde en Italie (2011) et à Andorre (2013), s’est classé quinzième avec McNab
à l’événement de la Coupe du monde de 2012, et quinzième encore avec McNab à
l’épreuve de plusieurs jours de Pierra Menta (France).
Établi à Valemount (Colombie-Britannique), Reiner Thoni travaille dans l’industrie
forestière durant l’été, ce qui est en soi un régime d’entraînement et une source de rev‑
enus qui lui permettent de continuer de skier au cours de l’hiver. Avec les Championnats
du monde de l’ISMF qui se dérouleront à Verbier (Suisse) en février prochain, les
membres de l’Équipe canadienne de ski-alpinisme s’entraîneront durement et affûteront
leurs techniques de course durant toute la saison lors des compétitions canadiennes et
européennes de la Coupe du Monde. Pour en savoir plus sur l’Équipe Canadienne de
Ski-Alpinisme : www.alpineclubofcanada.ca/athletics/ski-mountaineering
❆❆ Qu’est-ce qui vous a accroché au départ
dans le ski?
Je suis monté sur des skis pour la
première fois à trois ans. Mes souvenirs
d’apprentissage, c’est de me trouver à
Nancy Green, à descendre des sentiers
beaucoup trop rapidement, et à con‑
struire de petits forts. Les courses à
Nancy Green étaient formidables, tout
le monde recevait un trophée. Nous
avions une imagination surprenante. La
liberté ultime de me déplacer parmi les
montagnes m’a séduit, et le mode de vie,
les amis et la communauté ont conclu
l’affaire.
❆❆ Comment avez-vous démarré dans le
ski-alpinisme?
C’est mon ami Ian Gale qui m’a
convaincu d’essayer la première course de
Sunshine 5000 en 2006. J’avais déjà fait
beaucoup de ski hors-piste mais jamais
je n’avais mis mes forces à l’épreuve à ce
point.
❆❆ Qu’est-ce que cette course vous a
appris?
Je me souviens d’avoir été dans le
peloton de tête à l’avant-dernière transi‑
tion. Comme c’était une descente assez
courte, j’avais décidé de garder mes peaux.
Reiner Thoni sur ses peaux s’apprête à franchir
la ligne d’arrivée des Championnats canadiens
2014 du Dogtooth Dash à Golden (ColombieBritannique). photo by Malcolm Taylor
Cela m’a placé en tête, mais c’était contre le
règlement, en fait. On aurait dû me pénal‑
iser. Arrivé à la dernière transition, j’ai pris
tellement de temps à enlever mes skis pour
enlever mes peaux que Greg Hill, l’organi‑
sateur, devait rire et signifier la pénalité
pendant que les autres me dépassaient.
Après cette course, l’importance des transi‑
tions est devenue très claire pour moi.
❆❆ Pourquoi avez-vous continué de faire de
la compétition?
Le défi et la possibilité de progresser
sont ce qui m’attire. J’aime me préparer à
une course en essayant différentes façons
d’augmenter ma vitesse. Être le plus en
santé et le plus en forme possible est
vraiment comme un grand casse-tête, et
c’est assez fantastique d’avoir une excuse
pour skier autant.
❆❆ Lors des compétitions de ski-alpinisme,
quels sont vos plus grands défis?
Cela dépend des journées, mais quand
il fait sous les -20 degrés, combiner les
bons vêtements afin de se garder les
mains, le visage et les pieds au chaud
sans surchauffer votre centre est une vraie
tâche d’équilibriste. Mais il est étonnant
comment on peut courir dans du spandex
tout en gardant son centre au chaud. Reiner Thoni (à gauche) savoure un moment
de victoire avec Andrew McNab (au centre) et
Mark Smiley après avoir gagné la compétition
Waymaker en équipe à Dachstein (Autriche), en
avril 2013.
ti ti o
n
nous faisons de la course avec des fixa‑
tions, des skis et des bottes de fibre de
carbone qui, ensemble, pèsent moins que
ce que pesaient mes bottes seules. C’est
un moment excitant pour le ski-alpinisme
de course, et on commence à voir cette
évolution gagner l’équipement général
hors-piste.
ng festiv
al a nd c o
m
pe
❆❆ Qu’est-ce que vous préférez dans les
compétitions de ski-alpinisme?
J’aime l’environnement qu’ils crééent
et qui encourage à se mouvoir dans les
montagnes à une vitesse maximale, et à
repousser ses limites avec ses amis. Cela
te donne la liberté de déléguer les respon‑
sabilités de la stabilité des pentes et de la
dynamique des groupes à l’organisateur de
la course, ce qui te permet de simplement
essayer de te dépasser, avec une petite
pelle à neige, une sonde et quelques gels.
n d’escalade su
rg
l a c e | I c e c li m b i
❆❆ Quelle était votre première expérience
en compétition mondiale?
C’était la vertical race en Andorre
pendant les championnats mondiaux
de 2010. C’était une leçon d’humilité
d’entrer en course contre ces athlètes du
plus haut niveau au monde, voir ce qu’il
était possible de faire. Au fil des ans j’ai
fini par connaître la culture en Europe,
et combien ils soutiennent les sports
d’endurance comme le ski-alpinisme.
Dans les plus grosses courses, comme la
Pierra Menta en France, on démarre d’un
couloir parmi la clameur de milliers de
spectateurs qui sont tous montés au petit
matin pour regarder la course. Et c’est
même diffusé par la télévision nationale.
Festival et c
om
pé
ti ti o
❆❆ Quelle était votre compétition la plus
difficile?
La seconde journée de la Pierra
Menta il y a quelques années. Je n’avais
pas apporté suffisamment de calories et
j’en ai souffert. Je suis tombé en tremblant
et en bavant. Il était important de garder
le rythme et de me rendre à l’arrivée pour
ne pas décevoir mon partenaire, mais
mon corps n’était pas de cet avis.
❆❆ Quel a été votre moment de compétition favori?
La première fois que j’ai remporté les
nationales américaines. En descendant la
dernière pente sur mes skis, c’était vrai‑
ment formidable d’avoir accompli quelque
chose qui paraissait quasiment impossible
à réaliser quelques années plus tôt.
❆❆ À quel point l’équipement a-t-il changé?
Il a changé beaucoup. Quand j’ai com‑
mencé, les bottes pesaient plus d’un kilo,
le poids des skis et des fixations étaient
bien au-dessus d’un kilo. Maintenant,
de Saint-Boniface
Festival et compétition
d’escalade sur glace
Ice climbing festival and
competition
❆❆ Est-ce qu’il y a des défis spécifiques au
fait d’être un coureur canadien?
On ne reçoit pas beaucoup de soutien,
mais des organisations comme le Club
alpin du canada (CAC) aident vraiment
à garder ce sport en vie au pays. David
Dornian [président de Competition de
Ski-Alpinisme Canada] demeure l’épine
dorsale de l’équipe depuis plus de dix ans.
Le financement nous pose des défis, mais
cela attire aussi des personnes qui sont
vraiment passionnées, et c’est une des
principales raisons pour lesquelles j’aime
le temps que je passe dans l’équipe.
❆❆ Et votre équipement de rêve?
J’ai un faible pour ces nouveaux
crampons d’acier léger qui attachent
des pointes avant à vos bottes et qui
pèsent 125 grammes. Mon vœu va pour
les crampons monopointe et les modèles
en aluminium ultraléger et en fibre de
carbone.
❆❆ Quel est le meilleur conseil qu’un camarade coureur vous ait donné?
Stano Faban a reconnu comment
atteindre son plein potentiel ne dépend
pas seulement d’un entraînement intense,
mais d’au moins dix ans d’un entraîne‑
ment intelligent qui se construit d’année
en année. Il y aura toujours des hauts et
des bas, mais tant qu’on garde ses objectifs
de progrès à long-terme, le stress qu’on
rattache à une course ou une autre est
éliminé.
❆❆ Quel conseil donneriez-vous à un nouveau coureur?
Ayez toujours du plaisir et réalisez
que votre corps et votre esprit, avec le
temps, s’adapteront pour rendre amu‑
santes même les choses les plus difficiles
— comme les intervalles. Cela demande
de se tordre un peu l’esprit au début, mais
il y a de la lumière au bout du tunnel. February
14 & 15
février 2015
www.cesb.net
Section Saint-Boniface du
Club Alpin du Canada
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2014 9
Trekking through the roof of the world
by
I
Dave McCormick
once read of a traveller contemplat‑
ing an upcoming trip to Nepal who
was considering all the ways death
could come during the journey: being
trampled by runaway yaks, falling off a
cliff, succumbing to altitude sickness...
You get the idea. Lacking such vibrant
imaginations and being presented with
the opportunity for an extended trek to
the Himalayan used-to-be-kingdom, 10
of us jumped at the chance.
Our diverse group included Joel
Bruneau, Mark Rosin, Kobus Stassen,
Chris Parker, Martin Ferguson, Diane
vanBergen, Rich Malby, Ray Robertson,
Shelia Klimchuck and me, representing
places as far-flung as England, Ontario,
Saskatchewan, Alberta and British
Columbia.
Mark, one of our ACC Saskatchewan
Section members, set up the basic
structure of the trip, building on his
experiences in Nepal two years earlier.
The group exchanged emails and eventu‑
ally settled on a 21-day trek following the
more recently opened Manaslu circuit,
finishing off with the northern part of
the Annapurna circuit and ending in
Jomsom. Two 5,000-plus-metre passes
were included, with a side trip to one
of the highest lakes in the world and,
for three group members, an attempt to
climb Chulu West, a 6,400-metre trek‑
king peak.
The author’s group walks the dramatic trail en
route to Tilicho Lake, northern Nepal. photo by Dave McCormick
Arriving in hot and humid
Kathmandu at nearly midnight in a
developing country with no local currency
in our pockets and no understanding of
how anything worked, we were happy
to be greeted by representatives of the
trekking company we had hired. Nepal
is notoriously short of electricity, so
negotiating dark city streets, avoiding
wandering cattle and just locating our
hotel was a task we appreciated leaving to
experienced locals.
Four of us arrived ahead of the others,
giving us time to adjust our internal
clocks, experience the sights, sounds and
smells of Kathmandu and visit three
of the seven World Heritage Sites in
the Kathmandu Valley: Swayambunath
(monkey temple), the Boudha Stupa, and
Pashupatinath (cremation ghats on the
Bagmati River).
Following a full breakfast on
October 17, all of us and our gear
were loaded on a bus. Most of the
day was spent slowly negotiating the
150-odd-kilometres to Arughat. The last
few hours followed a steep, narrow track
that reminded me of BC logging roads
but with much more traffic—people,
trucks, buses, cars and motorcycles.
Leaving Arughat on foot the next
morning, we entered a more remote part
of Nepal as we hiked up the Buddhi
Gandaki River valley. There were no
vehicles and fewer people than we had
become accustomed to, and for the next
11 days we hiked along a single-track
path, over very long suspension bridges
spanning rivers and deep gorges and past
collections of dwellings. The weather and
scenery steadily improved.
After nearly a week on the trek, we
approached Manaslu. The Buddhist
culture became more prominent as we
were only a few kilometres from Tibet.
We passed through small villages, the
occasional monastery, lots of goats, yaks,
sheep, and fields of millet, rice and lentils.
It took several days to hike past 8,156metre Manaslu, looming over us to the
south. Our elevation increased gradually
and our guides were careful to make sure
we were all acclimatizing well. Larkya
La, our first high pass at 5,100 metres,
passed without incident for our team, but
one elder member of a French group just
A Tibetan chorten (spiritual monument) is a
popular attraction on the Manaslu trek, northern
Nepal. photo by Dave McCormick
ahead of us collapsed at the pass and died,
despite the efforts by some of our group
and others. It was a stark reminder of the
dangers of altitude and that we must take
nothing for granted.
At Dharapani, we joined the
Annapurna route. As we ascended the
Marsyangdi River valley, it became more
open and drier with the stupendous
Annapurna range rising just to our left.
While three of our group went off to
attempt Chulu West, the rest of us took
a three-day side trip to Tilicho Lake. At
4,919 metres, it’s one of the highest lakes
Street vendors ply their colourful wares at an
open market. photo by Dave McCormick
in the world. It was also cold, snowy and
windy, so we didn’t stay long. In a country
with so much fabulous scenery, it still might
be fair to say that our detour from the main
trail to Tilicho Lake treated us to some of
the best.
Within another few days we had
climbed to the foot of the Thorong La, the
highest pass on our route at 5,416 metres.
An alpine start enabled us to arrive at the
pass by 9 a.m., all feeling fine and a wee bit
excited, if a bit breathless.
From the pass, another two days of
steady downhill hiking brought us to
Jomsom where eight of the group and the
guides flew back to Kathmandu and headed Manaslu forms a stunning backdrop for a woman harvesting grain as photographed near the village of
Lho, northern Nepal. photo by Richard Malby
for home. Joel and I stayed in Jomsom to
explore for another two days, then flew
to Pokhara where we hiked to the World Peace Pagoda, beautifully
situated on a hill overlooking Fewa Lake. There we sampled some
wonderful Newari and Indian cuisine and generally recovered from
the rigours of the trek.
After the “privations” of the trek and in comparison to Kathmandu,
we found ourselves quite taken with the warm, green peacefulness of
Pokhara. We had planned a short trek into the Annapurna area just
north of the city, but unfortunately, as a result of disruptions leading to
constituent assembly elections 10 days away, a national strike had been
called. No buses were running and we found ourselves unable to travel
to our destination. Plan B became a tourist bus back to Kathmandu
(8 hours for about 200 kilometres) where we spent a few more days,
hiking for kilometres about the city, visiting Patan, temples, local
markets and sampling more ethnic foods before changing our flights
and returning to Canada some days earlier than planned.
I think, for all of us it was the trip of a lifetime. We were reminded
not to take for granted luxuries such as hot water from a tap or even
water that’s safe to drink, how to interpret the eclectic menus of
Nepali guest lodges and withstand the persistent attentions of the
ever-present street touts, salespeople, taxi drivers and other entrepre‑
From left, Martin Ferguson, Shelia Klimchuck, Ray Robertson, Mark Rosin,
neurs trying to make a living. I know some of us will be returning.
Richard Malby, Joel Bruneau, Dave McCormick, Kobus Stassen (kneeling,
Dave McCormick lives in Kaslo, BC, and is a member of the ACC’s
front) and Diane vanBergen pause for photos at Thorong-La, the highest
Saskatchewan Section.
pass on their trek. p hoto by Peak Promotions staff member
Kilimanjaro
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It is the Swiss family’s Vision &
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accommodation, food and service in a
friendly atmosphere.
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2014 11
Richard & Louise Guy Hut at des Poilus
Through the Guys’
optimism, strength and
love for life, they have
been role models and
guides for many of us.
—Chic Scott wrote in
Young at Heart: The
Inspirational Lives of
Richard and Louise Guy
ONE STEP CLOSER
The ACC is thrilled to announce that we are one step closer to expanding the largest network of
backcountry huts in North America due to a generous donation by long-time and loyal member,
friend and volunteer, Richard Guy.
Situated at the midway point between the Bow and Stanley Mitchell huts, the Richard & Louise
Guy Hut will provide the missing link along the world-class Bow-Yoho ski traverse, and will offer
visitors an exciting and challenging new hut-to-hut ski experience.
The Alpine Club of Canada seeks to raise $500,000 to establish
the hut at Mont des Poilus. Thanks to Richard Guy’s generosity we
are well on our way to making this project a reality!
But, we still need your support.
NEW WINTER SHELTER
✔✔ Incorporating new technologies for managing energy, water
and wastewater in a backcountry facility.
✔✔ Overnight capacity for 18 people.
✔✔ Equipped with all the usual ACC hut comforts.
✔✔ Affordable, rustic retreat for backcountry travellers.
DONATE NOW
www.alpineclubofcanada.ca
Donations over $20 are eligible for a charitable tax
receipt (Canada & USA).
ENVIRONMENT
Providing visitors with the ability to leave a smaller footprint, the
Richard & Louise Guy Hut at Mont des Poilus will be an extension of the
ACC’s commitment to reducing environmental impact in the backcountry.
✔✔ Designed in consultation with SAIT’s Applied Research and
Innovation Services and the University of Calgary’s Faculty of
Environmental Design.
✔✔ A Backcountry Energy Environmental Solutions (BEES)
demonstration site.
✔✔ Incorporates sustainable backcountry technology and management
practices.
✔✔ Reduces dependence on fossil fuels by offering efficient centralized
cooking, heating and lighting systems.
The new facility at Mont des Poilus will provide the missing link in a worldclass, hut-to-hut ski mountaineering traverse. And it could not be more
fitting that its name will be the Richard & Louise Guy Hut as they are two
of the dearest and most inspirational ACC members in history.
—Nancy Hansen, Interim Executive Director
Louise and Richard
skiing to the Bow Hut
at ages 76 and 78.
DEDICATION
For more than four decades, Richard and the late Louise Guy have
supported the ACC with their time, energy, expertise and donations.
They served on numerous committees, participated in section trips, and
shared skills and experience acquired through their many global mountain
adventures with the extensive ACC mountaineering community. The Guys
attended and contributed to a combined 60 General Mountaineering
Camps. In the 1980s, they played an instrumental role in ensuring the
Camp’s future viability through personal donations and a letter writing
campaign to the ACC membership.
The ground was broken for the Richard & Louise Guy Hut at Mont des Poilus
in the summer of 2014 and construction is scheduled for the summer of 2015
Biographies pay fitting tribute
by Lynn
H
Martel
e served as president of both
the Association of Canadian
Mountain Guides and the
Alpine Club of Canada. He was a mem‑
ber of the first team of Canadians (with
British and Indian nationals) to reach a
Himalayan peak, the west (lower) summit
of Swargarohini, in 1974. And notably,
Peter Fuhrmann played a crucial lead role
in the development of Parks Canada’s
world-respected public safety and moun‑
tain rescue team.
Those accomplishments and many
more, including receiving the 2010
Summit of Excellence Award, says writer
and historian Bob Sandford, makes
Fuhrmann unquestionably deserving of a
biography.
“Peter Fuhrmann is an icon of
Canadian mountain culture,” Sandford
said. “Throughout many struggles and
against a backdrop of terrible tragedy in
his personal life he never lost his sense of
humour and love of mountain place. If
anyone in this country deserved a biog‑
raphy, I felt, it was him.”
Con Bravura: The Remarkable
Mountaineering Life of Peter Fuhrmann, is
the 18th of the ACC’s Summit Series of
“Biographies of people who have made
a difference in Canadian mountaineer‑
ing.” It was published earlier this year as
one of several “backlog” booklets being
produced to honour patrons of the early
Mountain Guides Balls that took place
prior to the series’ creation. Other backlog

Gazette

Winter 2014
booklets currently in production include
biographies of mountaineer and author
William (Bill) Putnam, conservationist
Andy Russell and former ACC President
Bob Hind.
This year also saw the publication
of Alpine Artistry: The Mountain Life of
Glen Boles, by Lynn Martel, honouring
the accomplished mountaineer, artist
and ACC Honorary Member. As well,
Chic Scott wrote The Book of Mortimer:
Celebrating a Life of Volunteerism, the
colourful and captivating biography of
Mike and Heather Mortimer produced in
honour of their role as 2014 MGB patrons.
It was during his tenure as the ACC’s
VP Mountain Culture from 1995 to 2007
that Sandford created the Summit Series.
The series launched in 2000 with a biog‑
raphy of Don Forest written by Forest’s
daughter, Kathy Calvert. Con Bravura
marked Sandford’s sixth of the series,
including biographies of Canada’s—and
the ACC’s—preeminent Wheeler family,
a history of Parks Canada’s mountain
rescue program, and mountain guides
Hans Schwarz, Don Vockeroth and
Lloyd Gallagher.
Zac Robinson, the ACC’s current
VP Mountain Culture, contributed by
writing A Family for the Outfit: Harrisons
and the General Mountaineering Camp,
and Scott also wrote Young at Heart: The
Inspirational Lives of Richard and Louise
Guy. Lynn Martel has written nine of
the Summit Series books, including
biographies of Sharon Wood, Pat
Morrow, Leo Grillmair, Rudi Gertsch,
Ferdl Taxböck, Syd Feuz and two hist‑
ories of the ACMG, in 2003 and 2013,
marking the association’s 50th anniversary.
While the booklets are published
as projects of the Mountain Culture
Committee, it’s the individual authors
who undertake the formidable task of
recording in-depth interviews with the
subjects, organizing the content including
photos and writing a book that captures
the spirit of the subject’s individuality and
accomplishments. Then ACC Publications
Manager Suzan Chamney coordinates
with the author to work her magic in
making the booklets look fabulous.
In nearly all cases, the Summit Series
booklets represent the only published
account of the subjects’ extraordinary
Nominate a Volunteer
E
very year, the members of the Alpine Club of Canada’s Awards Committee
volunteer their time to sift through numerous nominations to determine the
recipients of the Club’s Volunteer Awards.
Nominations are now open for outstanding Alpine Club of Canada volunteers.
The following awards recognize and celebrate ACC volunteers for their contributions
to the Club and its members:
●●
●●
●●
●●
A.O. Wheeler Legacy Award
Honorary Membership
President’s Award
Silver Rope for Leadership Award
●●
●●
●●
Distinguished Service Award
Don Forest Service Award
Eric Brooks Leader Award
For details on how to nominate a volunteer and nomination forms, visit
www.alpineclubofcanada.ca/awards or call the ACC National Office at
(403) 678-3200 ext. 108 to receive the information by mail.
Deadline for nominations is December 31.
lives—a tall responsibility given the
calibre of the members of Canada’s
mountaineering community who have
been so honoured.
In the case of Con Bravura, Sandford
explained, the title pays tribute to both
his and Fuhrmann’s love of opera.
“Because of Peter, I was able to see
Mozart’s great Don Giovanni in the
same Prague church in which it was first
performed in 1787,” Sandford said. “It
was therefore quite logical to see Peter
Fuhrmann’s life unfold as if it were an
opera—tragic at first but through many
unexpected turns triumphant at the end. I
consider his biography a curtain call.”
Born into a life of privilege,
Furhmann’s idyllic childhood was inter‑
rupted by the Second World War. Hiding
in Dresden with his grandparents, he
survived the 1945 firebombing that killed
at least 23,000 people. In 1955 he immi‑
grated to Canada and by 1960 had earned
his mountain guide’s license through
Walter Perren, a Swiss trained guide who
created Canada’s national park mountain
rescue program. Fuhrmann served as
the ACMG’s first president from 1963 to
1969, helping ensure the association was
recognized as a serious, competent group
of professionals.
After Perren died of leukemia in 1967,
Fuhrmann became Alpine Specialist
for Banff, Yoho, Kootenay and several
other national parks. During his tenure,
with Banff pilot Jim Davies, Fuhrmann
introduced European helicopter rescue
capabilities, and was instrumental in
developing comprehensive training
programs for the public safety wardens,
ensuring that Canada’s rescue specialists
performed at the highest international
standards.
In terms of the ACC, Fuhrmann’s
numerous and immeasurable contributions
include spearheading construction of the
first versions of the popular Wapta Icefield
huts. When Parks Canada considered
demolishing the historic Swiss guide-built
Abbot Pass Hut, Fuhrmann arranged for
the ACC to assume management of the
iconic structure. And, during a period
when the ACC was on the verge of insol‑
vency, Fuhrmann assumed the helm as
President, restructuring the Club to lead it
toward the success it enjoys today.
Through creating the Summit Series,
Sandford said he hoped to remember and
celebrate contemporary figures for their
significant contributions to Canadian
mountain culture.
“I felt that by writing respectful biog‑
raphies of the mountaineering legends
it was my great pleasure to know, I was
making it possible for others to know
them also and, if only vicariously, to
appreciate the extraordinary qualities of
these people,” Sandford said.
“It has meant a great deal to me to
be able to affirm the fact that there are
great Canadians in our midst and to help
recognize them as such. We need to do
more of that in Canada.”
To learn more or to purchase any
of the Summit Series biographies, visit
www.alpineclubofcanada.ca/ss
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2014 15
30 Backcount
The remote Sapphire Col Hut in the Asulkan
Range, Rogers Pass, B.C. Photo: Gregg Cronn
ry Huts
Find yours!
www.alpineclubofcanada.ca/huts
Zoomers crush the Wapta
by
Margaret Imai-Compton
L
et’s be clear, right from the
start! The annual Alpine Club
of Canada 55+ Climbing and
Trekking Camp is targeted to alpinists
who have achieved a chronological age
of 55 years or older, according to official
state-issued documentation.
But the time-tested adage of “You’re
only as old as you feel” certainly applied
to the participants of the 2014 ACC 55+
Camp. I can say with confidence, no
one in our group “felt” even close to 55+
so we renamed ourselves the Zoomer
Mountaineers, our definition of “zoomer”
being “boomers with zip” (apologies to
Moses Znaimer of Zoomer Media).
The late, beloved ACMG Mountain
Guide Ferdl Taxböck, along with ACC
Life Member Patrick Duffy, started the
ACC tradition of offering a moderate
mountaineering camp for “later in life”
alpinists who still have the desire and
ability to summit beautiful high places,
but who might have more modest
objectives. Previous ACC 55+ camps have
been based out of Lake O’Hara, the
Little Yoho Valley and Kokanee Glacier
Provincial Park.
In the 2014 version, participants’
ages ranged from a youthful 57 up to a
mature 70 years, with most of us falling
somewhere in the 60s. We came from
all parts of Canada, except for Wendell
Martin who hopped over the pond from
Scotland.
Like any ACC camp, the Zoomer
Mountaineers began the trek into Bow
The ACC Zoomer Mountaineers climb toward
(vertical left photo) and gather on the summit of
St. Nicholas Peak. p hotos by Dana Roman (vertical),
and Doug Joorisity (summit)
Hut with lots of chatter and expectant
questions for David Smith, our ACMG
mountain guide and Rick McKelvey, our
camp manager. We skirted the shores
of Bow Lake and fixed our sights on
distant St. Nicholas Peak, its impressive
prow jutting into the sky. St. Nicholas
was certainly on the list of objectives for
the week, along with the classic Wapta
peaks—Olive, Gordon and Rhondda.
This was my third time up to the
Wapta to attempt these peaks. On two
previous visits (2001 summer and 2008
winter), these summits had eluded me
due to whiteouts and inclement weather.
I was back as a zoomer mountaineer,
hoping that the third time would be the
charm to stand on these peaks. I was also
at the end of a year-long ovarian cancer
journey, having finished chemotherapy
a mere five months before this camp, so
my anxiety was dialed up a few notches.
Would the unpredictable Wapta weather
skunk me yet again? Were my energy
reserves and stamina sufficient for long
glacier travels? Was the peripheral
neuropathy on the bottom of my feet (a
common side-effect of chemotherapy)
going to impede my progress?
Happily, the weather was brilliant for
our summit shots on St. Nicholas, and
held sufficiently throughout the week
to allow us a successful ascent of Mount
Gordon, as well as an enchainment of
Mount Olive’s north and south summits.
It wasn’t all mountain summits though;
mid-week we had a lovely, mellow hike
back down to the river canyon and up the
other side to a charming, concealed lake
surrounded by alpine meadows in full
bloom with arnica, purple aster, fireweed,
Indian paintbrush and western anemone.
So what defines Zoomer
Mountaineers? First, there is a need for
rest. Early alpine starts of 5 a.m. were not
a problem, but post-climbing naps were
certainly mandatory for many of us. Not
to mention the unforgettable comment of
a young cadet sharing the hut, who was
overhead at breakfast saying, “I’ve never
heard so much snoring—awesome!”
Sign up to become one
of the 2015 Zoomers at
alpineclubofcanada.ca/55
PSST!
Second, Zoomer Mountaineers aren’t
a sedentary, foot-dragging group. On the
contrary, there are avid mountain bikers,
hikers, rock climbers and backcountry
skiers among us. For those of us living
our “encore life”, getting outdoors is a
regular, consistent and adventurous activ‑
ity, without the usual restraints of limited
vacation time or obligations that come
with a young family.
Third, although mountaineering
brought us together, we zoomers have
rich memories and individual histories
that allowed us to land on subjects as
diverse as the FLQ crisis (1970), the
Hungarian Revolution (1956) and the rise
of Beatlemania (1963). As well, having
lived as long as we have, individual life
narratives were rich with stories full of
tension and drama (escaping the Russians
in Slovakia and resettling in Canada),
youthful exploits (playing in a rock band
with “hair down to here”) and life’s dis‑
appointments (divorce and an ovarian
cancer diagnosis) as well as triumphs
(surviving surgery and chemotherapy
with a spectacular outcome).
On our last evening, Doug Joorisity
shared his stats—daily records of time
travelled, elevation gained, weather obser‑
vations and summits achieved. According
to Dave Smith, the week was an impres‑
sive achievement for any mountaineer,
regardless of age or stage in life. So as
zoomers, we took particular pride and
satisfaction in our accomplishments.
And we proposed that going forward,
the camp be renamed the ACC Zoomer
Mountaineering Camp!
Margaret Imai-Compton is an exceptionally energetic, cheerful zoomer member
of the ACC Toronto Section. Fellow zoomer
participants included: Dave Ford, Doug
Joorisity, Renato Infanti, Nelie Johnson,
Wendell Martin, Dana Roman, Alan Stokes,
ACMG Mountain Guide Dave Smith and
Camp Manager Rick McKelvey.
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Scholarship honours Ferdl Taxböck
M
uch to the delight of Ferdl
Taxböck’s family and friends,
earlier this year Golden and
District Search and Rescue (GADSAR)
created the Ferdl Taxböck Memorial
Scholarship in memory of the popular
ACMG Mountain Guide. In addition to
having been named an ACMG Honorary
Member, Ferdl was chosen as Patron of
the 2012 Mount Guides Ball in recog‑
nition for his long-time contributions
to the mountaineering community, and
his good natured approach to guiding at
numerous Alpine Club of Canada camps,
including many General Mountaineering
Camps. And, most notably, it was Ferdl
who guided the ACC’s 55+ camps since
their inception.
The purpose of the scholarship fund is
to provide financial assistance to the dedi‑
cated volunteers who comprise GADSAR
to enable them to take courses to enhance
their knowledge and skills in mountain
rescue. Active members of the GADSAR
Mountain Rescue Team are now able
to apply to receive funding through the
scholarship to go toward training courses
Ferdl enjoys the moment at Mount Waddington,
BC Coast Mountains. p hoto by Lloyd “Kiwi” Gallagher
such as ACMG guide training programs,
rope rescue courses, Avalanche Canada
courses, swift water rescue training and
emergency medical training.
To contribute to the scholarship fund
visit http://golden.vr-sar.org/, contact
GADSAR manager Shauna Speers at
shauna.speers@gmail.com or mail your
cheque to Golden and District Search
and Rescue, 210 Fisher Road, Golden,
BC, V0A 1H2.
Learn more about Ferdl in the ACC
Summit Series booklet Alpine Journey:
Ferdl Taxböck’s Life on the Edge, by Lynn
Martel.
Berg heil!
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2014 19
Earlier this year, long-time Calgary Section member Chuck Young was honoured with the Governor General’s Caring Canadian Award for
his decades of volunteering with the Alpine Club of Canada, including—but not limited to—his dedication as an Amateur Leader at the Club’s
General Mountaineering Camp (GMC). As it was on his birthday that he received notice of the Caring Canadian Award—and also the ACC’s
President’s Award—Chuck suggested that all 60-year-olds be considered caring Canadians.
What a great ride!
by
Chuck Young
M
y wife, Lesley, and I joined the ACC in 1984 and
attended our first GMC in 1987. We’ve enjoyed
exploring different mountain regions that were not
easily accessible. Once you get into camp you realize what
a special place it is. Everyone on the staff is so welcoming,
and the guests are like-minded individuals. For one week
a year you eat, sleep and climb in special areas with great
people and excellent guides. Great value for the dollar. As the
years evolved, I learned to help other participants have a safe
experience, and to bring them back with many stories to share
at happy hour.
I feel very lucky and privileged to have been involved with
the GMC for 25 years. The Camp barely survived through the
late 1980s, but thanks to Louise Guy it was kept alive after
she sent handwritten notes to past participants encouraging
them to continue to attend. In addition to Louise, I owe the
following ACCers thanks.
Orvel Miskiw:In 1986 Orvel told
me if I really wanted to become a good
mountaineer I should attend the GMC
where I would eat, sleep and climb six
days straight. Wow, did I learn a lot at
that first camp! I summited five peaks,
each with an elevation gain of around
1,740 metres, usually returning anywhere
from 8 to 11 p.m. after a 5 a.m. start.
Chic Scott: In 1990 Chic approached
me to become an Amateur Leader at the
Vowell GMC. I was hesitant, but accepted.
I hedged my bet by going in as a partici‑
pant one week early just to know the lay
of the land. A fantastic location, I climbed
Pigeon Spire three times, Bugaboo via the
Kain route, and over the two-week period
a total of nine different peaks.
Lesley Young: This would not have
been possible without my spouse, Lesley.
Starting in 1988, Lesley joined me each
year at the GMC. Our friends and kids
would laugh, saying we were the only
people they knew who went to summer
camp while their children stayed home!
Brad Harrison: Brad managed the
camps his father Bill had outfitted for
many years. In my 10th year, while sitting
with Brad on Houston Col at the Moby
Dick Camp in the Purcells, I was prepared
to tell him I thought 10 years was enough.
Thankfully, I never did. Brad’s always been
supportive, helpful and a strong mentor.
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Gazette
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Winter 2014
Chuck Young shares a moment with ACMG Mountain Guide Sylvia Forest on Black
Fang at the 2013 Scotch Peaks GMC in the Purcells. photo by Allan Main
Cyril Shokoples: A special thanks
to Cyril for his many great Amateur
Leadership weekend courses, scheduled a
month before the beginning of the GMC.
The courses covered the latest first aid,
short roping and belaying techniques, and
much more. It was also a chance for me
to learn a few new jokes. Anyone who
knows me knows I need new jokes!
Professional ACMG Mountain
Guides—I’ve been privileged to have
worked with and learned from many
guides, the backbone of the GMC. They
include Don Vockeroth, Peter Amann,
Cyril Shokoples, Roger Laurilla, Helen
Sovdat, Sylvia Forest, Karl Nagy, Rob
Owens and countless others who have
shared their talents with me. That’s the
real bonus to the Amateur Leader gig,
learning from the best. I would encour‑
age all ACC members interested in the
Amateur Leader program to become
involved with the GMC.
I’ve enjoyed many wonderful changes
over the years—hot showers come to
mind, as do shorter days, higher camps,
happy hours, festive Friday nights and
out-of-this world meals, every day! (For
me, it’s like eating at home.) Each camp
has been memorable, thanks to charac‑
ters such as Al the magician, the very
experienced Helmut Micros, jokester Paul
Rosenberg and great people, particularly
Richard and Louise Guy, Wally Joyce,
Don Forest and Glen Boles.
Many participants have become like
family. Lesley and I have developed lifelong friendships with people from all over
North America, and enjoy being a part
of their lives outside of the camps. I must
also thank my many climbing, skiing,
scrambling and ice climbing partners
who’ve helped me hone my skills: Allan
Main, Orvel Miskiw, Lesley Young, Sue
Kuznik, Elisabeth Eckhardt, Ray Potvin,
Glen Anderson, Clive Cordery, Denis
Pelletier and assorted others.
This year I was pleasantly surprised
when, on the Friday night at the GMC,
my many friends who had attended the
week organized a 25th year tribute. This
included me being awarded the Caring
Canadian Award, the ACC President’s
Award, and a book of pictures of my
friends and me. Special 25th year ball
caps were presented to everyone at the
camp. Special thanks to Sue Berger, Bill
Summers and Allan Main, among others,
for a night I’ll never forget.
Safe climbing!
Join the 2015
Stockdale Group GMC
alpineclubofcanada.ca/gmc
Think outside.
Since 1997, Henry Vaux Jr. has been taking duplicate
photographs of the glaciers his grandfather, great
uncle and great aunt captured on glass plates
a century before. Standing in exactly the same
locations with his own tripod and camera, Vaux
has documented a century of change and created
an extraordinary artistic and historical document
that will inspire many and tell a story that was three
generations in the making. • hardcover, $30
On January 20, 2003, at 10:45 a.m., a massive avalanche
released from Tumbledown Mountain in the Selkirk
Range of British Columbia. Tonnes of snow swept 13
members of two guided backcountry skiing groups
down a steep run called La Traviata. After a frantic hour
of digging by the skiers left standing, the unthinkable
became reality: seven people were dead. Assistant guide
Ken Wylie tells the harrowing story not only of that
day, but of his own struggle to come to terms with the
aftermath of the tragedy. • paperback, $25
For many people, moving to a mountain town is the
realization of a dream, the final step in a pilgrimage
to a relaxed lifestyle in a rugged and beautiful
setting. After a long journey that began when he was
a teenager in the 1980s with the vague idea there
might be a better life somewhere “out West,” Jamey
Glasnovic eventually fled the chaos and stress of the
big city and tried to settle into an uncomplicated
Rocky Mountain existence. It wouldn’t stay
uncomplicated for long. • paperback, $25
The Bookpack
by Lynn
Martel
Conrad Kain: Letters from a Wandering Mountain Guide edited by Zac Robinson
In a culture that enjoys as many romantic figures as there are mountain peaks on the horizon as viewed
from a lofty summit, Conrad Kain holds a special place in the historical landscape of western Canada’s
mountains. Robinson, a historian in the Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation at the University of
Alberta, and the ACC’s own VP Mountain Culture, makes no secret of his affection for Kain, and that’s a
good thing, because he handles the letters Kain wrote throughout his adult life while guiding in Canada and
New Zealand to his dear friend in Austria, Amelie Malek, with the care and reverence they so richly deserve.
Published by The University of Alberta Press www.uap.ualberta.ca/UAP.asp
Available on the ACC website: http://www.alpineclubofcanada.ca/product/conrad-kain-letters
The Calling: A Life Rocked by Mountains by Barry Blanchard
I laughed. I cried. I felt like I’d been kicked in the gut. Unflinchingly honest, Blanchard shares the highs
and the lows of the climbs and personal experiences that propelled him from the unsavoury environment of
his youth to the heights of alpinism in the Great Ranges and his home mountains, the Canadian Rockies.
Intimate, exhilarating, sometimes terrifying with delicate strips of poignancy woven throughout, like an
alpinist finally reaching a hard-fought summit or a high-altitude orgasm—hands-down (pun intended) the
book’s most hilarious scene—the final chapters build tension like a heavyweight boxer landing blows in the
final rounds, as Blanchard experiences euphoria and the pain of loss and human frailties. Destined to become
a classic alongside those of Blanchard’s own climbing heroes.
Published by Patagonia books www.patagonia.com
Climber’s Paradise: Making Canada’s Mountain Parks, 1906 – 1974
by PearlAnn Reichwein
“The social and cultural history of mountaineering can go far beyond the simple understanding of
history as a fixed chronology of great ascents in a progressive evolution of ‘important events,’” writes
Reichwein in her preface. The history of leisure and sport, she argues, can be brought together with
environmental history and conservation philosophy. In this book, illustrated with rarely seen historical
images, she explores how Alpine Club of Canada members helped shape the policies and sensibilities of
western Canada’s mountain parks, as the Club imagined and advocated on behalf of those parks to create
a climber’s paradise in the Rockies and neighbouring ranges.
Published by The University of Alberta Press www.uap.ualberta.ca/UAP.asp
Available on the ACC website: http://www.alpineclubofcanada.ca/product/climbers-paradise
Art Inspired by the Canadian Rockies, Purcell Mountains and Selkirk Mountains
by Nancy Townshend
Beginning with watercolours painted by explorer David Thompson in the East Kootenays
circa 1809, and spanning two full centuries, this comprehensive and impressively compiled book
explores insights into the interpretation of the mountain landscape by artists ranging from Lawren
Harris to A.C. Leighton to Peter Whyte and Maureen Enns. Meticulously curated with full page
images of diverse works of art, ACC member Townshend’s text highlights her own deep appreci‑
ation of how artists have so brilliantly interpreted western Canada’s mountains over the decades
to reveal social and political sensibilities of the traditional, modern and
contemporary eras. Published by Bayeux Arts, Inc. www.bayeux.com
Buried by Ken Wylie
It’s not often a book will stop your breath, but when it happens, it’s unforgettable. In Buried, Ken Wylie
shares his story of having his own breathing shut off when he’s buried by an avalanche for half an hour, and
the life wringing despair that follows his rescue when he learns seven skiers he was co-guiding at Selkirk
Mountain Experience died in the slide. Stepping back through the stages of his life that led to his role in that
fateful accident, in this intensely personal, raw and revealing book Wylie shares his climb from the cold and
loneliest emotional mountains of his life to a place of understanding illuminated by love, hope and peace.
Published by Rocky Mountain Books www.rmbooks.com
Available on the ACC website: http://www.alpineclubofcanada.ca/product/buried

Gazette

Winter 2014
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Steven Song snowshoes across alpine terrain on Ghita Mountain under a cold winter sun, with unnamed peaks in the distance.
A challenging day was a possible first ascent
sotry and photos by
T
Eric Coulthard
he first weekend of March was
extremely cold and the forecast
was for clear skies. With moder‑
ate/low avalanche hazard, Jasper seemed
the best place to go. Despite the minus
35-degree temperatures, I managed to
recruit fellow Edmontonian Steven Song
to join me—everyone else was busy or too
sensible to go out in those temperatures.
Searching for a destination in the Jasper
area, we decided on 2,549-metre Ghita
Mountain in Mount Robson Provincial
Park because it has awesome views of
Mount Robson and the Tonquin Valley’s
Ramparts. We chose to try to bag it from
the southwest, approaching via Ghita
Creek valley.
We parked on the highway shoulder
by Ghita Creek, then slept in the car for
three hours before starting up the creek
at the coldest time of the night. I decided
to ski, since my ski boots are much
warmer than my mountaineering boots,
and Steven brought snowshoes since he
was recovering from injuries from his
last ski trip. We were happy to find a
Steven Song huddles for a quick snapshot on the
cold, windy summit of Ghita Mountain.
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Gazette

Winter 2014
cross-country ski track that led up the
creek bed for a few kilometres, but that
ended where a big tree crossed the creek.
We broke trail the rest of the way.
A lot of zigzagging up the creek to
avoid open patches of water increased our
total distance substantially. We expected
to ski 20 kilometres; but by the time we
returned to the car Steven’s GPS would
read 32 kilometres, round-trip. We trav‑
elled a while before emerging into a flat
valley bottom beside Ghita Mountain,
passing a couple of avalanche paths that
ran out into the valley bottom.
Then we made the mistake of trying
to shortcut up the forest, but the forest
turned out to be alders—they were hor‑
rible! We descended to the creek to try
to escape them, which was much better.
When we reached the upper valley beside
the southwest slope, there was left branch
of the creek we were aiming for, and
once again we tried to shortcut. The bush
repelled us, again. Trying further up the
valley, we finally escaped the thick bush
and climbed into the alpine.
At this point, I really slowed down.
The alpine was gorgeous, but I wished I
had more energy to enjoy it. I stopped
to put on ski crampons when the snow
became super solid from the wind. At
the final scree slope, I ditched my skis
and walked on. The summit wind was
brutally cold. Fortunately, I managed to
snap photos before my camera froze. We
saw Robson on the way up, but by the
time I reached the summit it was blocked
by clouds. Whitehorn, Resplendent and
Clemenceau were also disappearing. Cold
and tired, we never even noticed there
wasn’t any summit cairn.
It was 5 p.m. when we started down.
My lungs really didn’t like the cold air,
and that caused me to travel very slowly.
I could only manage a couple of turns at
a time before having to stop and breathe
for a minute or two. Steven decided that
he wanted to follow our tracks back into
the alders in the hopes the creek pinched
out, but that was a big mistake. I had
to put my skins back on to reach the
alders. Skiing downhill in alders was the
worst part of the trip, by far, my skis kept
sliding under them. I kept getting stuck,
falling over and having to take my skis off
to get up. I wore my parka to stay warm,
even though the alders were tearing it
apart. By the time I made it out of the
alders, at least five big holes were bleeding
feathers. I tried to patch them with duct
tape, but it was so cold it wouldn’t stick.
Unfortunately, we still had a long way
to go. My pace was too slow for Steven;
with my layers keeping me warm I was
tempted to take a nap on my pack. His
feet were getting cold though, and he was
really worried so he resorted to walking
laps to keep warm while waiting for me
to catch up. Finally we reached the car at
5 a.m., 25 hours after we started out. We
thought our epic was all over, but to our
dismay the car wouldn’t start. I was hope‑
ful that if we put the hazard lights on
someone would stop, since there is no cell
coverage in Robson Park. Crawling into
our sleeping bags, we tried to stay warm.
I remembered I had a bag of Doritos in
the back, but I was too tired to look for
them. We could have used Steven’s stove
or my candle lantern to warm up but it
didn’t occur to us in our exhausted state.
Miraculously, a wonderful person stopped
and gave us a boost. We were too tired to
drive so we just slept for three hours with
the car running to keep us warm before
heading home.
In the end, I feel like our trip was a
good lesson in what not to do. In the
future I will insist on an overnight trip for
similar objectives. I purchased an inhaler
that I can take before exercise, which
should prevent me from having any lung
problems. I hope it works.
Despite the suffering though, we’re
pretty sure our trip was a first “some‑
thing,” and that’s pretty cool. Afterward,
I searched the Canadian Alpine Journal,
and the Internet and even the American
Alpine Journal’s online page, and found no
record of any ascent. Although we cannot
be totally sure, believing we probably
accomplished a first—at least a first win‑
ter, or snowshoe or ski ascent—certainly
made our epic long day that much more
satisfying.
For more details, visit
http://stevensong.com/canadian-rockies/
bc-rockies/ghita-mountain/ and
http://summitsearch.org/trip_reports/
247-first-ascent-of-ghita-mountain
Eric Coulthard is an Edmonton Section
member with a healthy sense of adventure.
Why skiers need emergency medical travel insurance
by Leah
I
Chang
f you are a recreational backcountry,
slack-country, or ski mountaineering
enthusiast, Travel Underwriters’
emergency medical travel insurance can
cover you for any misadventures on the
mountains (other than avalanches).
Even at home, Canadian skiers need
travel insurance. Provincial health care
plans cover skiers if they are injured
in another province, but won’t cover
prescription medication, ground or air
ambulance trips, or hospital transfers
from search and rescue headquarters.
Without insurance, travellers to the
US or further abroad should expect to
pay dearly for emergency medical care.
Some provincial health plans pay as little
as $75 a day for hospitalization outside
Canada. Skiers should not rely solely on
credit card or group plan insurance, since
coverage may be limited or exclude back‑
country skiing.
For Canadians skiing within Canada
or abroad, Travel Underwriters’ insurance
policy covers:
Licensed ground, sea or air ambu‑
lance (without the hassle of needing
pre-approval);
●● Emergency air transport from one
hospital to another, including US to
Canada. If search and rescue trans‑
ports a person to a remote hospital
that can’t adequately treat their injur‑
ies, Travel Underwriters’ insurance will
cover the costs of transportation to a
hospital that can;
●● Front country medical expenses,
including hospital stays and treatment,
doctor services, x-ray examinations,
medication, essential medical appli‑
ance rental, dental services, family
transportation, return of excess
baggage, return of vehicle, and out-ofpocket expenses.
●●
Any plane tickets, rental vehicles,
hotel or hut reservations purchased
in advance can be covered by Travel
Underwriters’ Trip Cancellation/
Interruption Insurance and Accidental
Death and Dismemberment insurance.
Costs will be recuperated if a trip is cut
short or if a ski companion is injured, or
worse.
“Too often, we neglect to plan for
the unexpected consequences. With just
a few clicks on a website, many of those
contingencies can be easily arranged for
a surprisingly reasonable price,” recom‑
mends Peter Muir, ACC Past President.
Skiers can plan ahead for themselves,
their families and their ski buddies by
choosing the right insurance policy.
For a quote, contact the Alpine Club of
Canada’s National Office to cover your
next epic trip. Enjoy those fresh tracks!
Leah Chang is a backcountry enthusiast and Marketing Communications Specialist at
Travel Underwriters. For more info, visit www.alpineclubofcanada.ca/acc-trip-insurance

Gazette

hiver
2014 25
Alpine Start
by Jeff
A
Bullock
s all things in life start with an
idea, thinking about it for a while
and then forgetting or pursuing
it, this column began with me contacting
ACC Gazette Editor Lynn Martel with
my idea for a Mountain Guide’s column.
She said yes!
My main reason for wanting to write
this column is to offer ACC members a
perspective on ideas and experiences from
mountain guides.
For the inaugural column, I think it’s
fitting to discuss the dynamics and real‑
ities of an “alpine start.” As a very busy
summer comes to an end, I have many
recent starts that come to mind, most of
which were not too outrageous, but some
definitely required more convincing than
others.
In most people’s professional lives,
getting up at 3 a.m. is totally out of the
question unless you’re a farmer and it’s
harvest season, or an on-call physician,
or maybe an airline pilot. For a mountain
guide, it’s all part of the daily routine.
The evening before a climb people
Dawn lights up Mount Cromwell. p hoto by Nancy Hansen
often wonder, while prepping for the fol‑
lowing day’s adventures, how the day will
unfold. Can I keep up with the group,
did I pack my crampons, and, oh yeah,
what time are we waking up, Jeff ? Quite
often I get an honest look or a sigh when
I announce the wakeup call is going to
be the crux of the day. Sometimes I get a
“Yeah sounds good,” if people are into it.
From my experience, a little more
sleep goes a long way. For example,
waking up at 3 a.m. and then stumbling
around in the dark with headlamps on
only to arrive at the base of a route at the
same time we would have with a slightly
later start might result in not-so-droopy
eyelids and better coordination of body
limbs. Those few precious extra minutes
can go a long way.
Preparedness the evening before a
big climb takes a lot of pressure off; pack
your bag, have your breakfast/coffee
system figured out. For bivi-style starts
I will have stove, water and food all next
to me so I can prepare it in the comfort
of my sleeping bag—two cups and I’m
good-to-go. Knowing the start of the
approach or route by having a look at it
the previous day, and/or by collecting as
much beta as possible, may also give you
enough reason to push the wakeup call
another 30 minutes.
Some mornings are tougher than
others, but either way, always remember
to look up and enjoy those beautiful
alpine start sunrises.
Have a great climb!
Jeff Bullock is a certified ACMG
Mountain Guide—and hard-wired early
riser—based in Revelstoke, BC.
Pourquoi les skieurs ont besoin d’une assurance voyage
par Leah
S
Chang
i vous êtes un skieur amateur de
hors-piste, l’assurance voyage
médicale d’urgence de Travel
Underwriters peut vous couvrir pour
toute mésaventure sur les pentes (autre
qu’une avalanche).
Même au Canada, les skieurs ont
besoin d’une assurance voyage. Les
régimes provinciaux d’assurance maladie
couvrent en effet les blessures dans une
autre province, mais pas les médicaments
d’ordonnance, les ambulances sur terre
ou dans les airs, ou encore les transferts à
l’hôpital depuis les centres de recherche et
de sauvetage.
Sans assurance, les soins médicaux
d’urgence aux États-Unis et à l’étranger
peuvent coûter cher. Certains régimes
provinciaux payent à peine 75 $ par jour
pour une hospitalisation à l’extérieur du
Canada. Les skieurs ne devraient pas
non plus se fier uniquement à leur carte
de crédit ou au régime de groupe de leur
employeur, puisque la couverture peut être

Gazette

Winter 2014
limitée et exclure le hors-piste.
Pour les skieurs canadiens, quelle que
soit leur destination, la police d’assurance
de Travel Underwriters couvre :
●● une ambulance autorisée sur terre, en
mer ou dans les airs (sans approbation
préalable fastidieuse);
●● le transport aérien d’urgence d’un
hôpital à un autre, y compris des
États-Unis au Canada. S’ils sont
transportés vers un hôpital éloigné
qui ne peut traiter adéquatement
leurs blessures, l’assurance de Travel
Underwriters couvre les frais de trans‑
port vers un autre hôpital;
●● les frais médicaux payés sur place, y
compris les séjours et les traitements
à l’hôpital, les médecins, les radiog‑
raphies, les médicaments, la location
d’équipement médical essentiel,
les soins dentaires, le transport de
la famille, le retour d’excédent de
bagages, le retour du véhicule et les
frais de subsistance.
Tout billet d’avion, véhicule de loca‑
tion, hôtel ou refuge réglé d’avance peut
être couvert par l’assurance annulation/
interruption de voyage et l’assurance
décès et mutilation accidentels de Travel
Underwriters.
Trop souvent, on oublie ou on refuse de se
préparer pour les conséquences inattendues.
Quelques clics sur un site Web permettent de
parer à toute éventualité, à un prix raisonnable. — Peter Muir, ex-président du
Club alpin du Canada.
Planifiez pour vous-mêmes, votre
famille et vos compagnons de ski en vous
procurant la bonne police. Contactez le
bureau central du Club alpin du Canada
pour obtenir un devis et profitez de la
poudreuse!
Leah Chang est passionnée de plein
air et spécialiste en marketing et communications chez Travel Underwriters.
Pour plus d’information, visitez le
www.alpineclubofcanada.ca/
acc-trip-insurance
The Abbot Pass Hut restoration project
Phase II – Masonry repointing, Summer 2014
H
and-built in 1922 on a rocky strip connecting Mounts
Lefroy and Victoria at 2,926 metres by Swiss Mountain
Guides employed by the Canadian Pacific Railway, the
very special Abbot Pass Hut was designated a National Historic
Site in 1992. Operated and maintained by the Alpine Club of
Canada since 1986, this past summer Parks Canada stone masons
and ACC Facilities maintenance staff members spent a week
restoring its masonry components.
Clockwise, from right:
1) Specially trained in conservation and restoration techniques, Parks Canada
stone masons Nick Bogovic and Ken Druffs were roped in for safety
while working on the north side of the hut perched over the steep and
dangerous “Death Trap” of Victoria Glacier.
2) Selkirk, Manitoba-based Druffs wets a crack that’s had its mortar removed
in preparation for repointing.
3) Bogovic demonstrates the fine art of repointing to ACC Facilities
Maintenance Manager Darren Enderwick and ACC maintenance staff
member Gavin Boutet.
4) Bogovic uses a Hilti hammer drill to remove cracked mortar in preparation
for repointing—chiselling out the old mortar when it cracks, recedes or
begins to fall out of joints, and troweling in the new.
Photos courtesy of Parks Canada

Gazette

hiver
2014 27
Climbing Rocks!
by
I
Ode to climbing
Maryse Morel
will always remember the first time
we met. It’s been 20 and something
years, simply by curiosity in a gym.
You charmed me with your shapes and
colours. I took pleasure momentarily to
climb you. No worries, no expectations,
only a kid having fun, one who doesn’t
think, just lives in the present.
To feel you, to touch you, to wel‑
come your uniqueness. You were my
first. Afterward, I tasted you outside. So
delightful! Your coldness, your smell, your
firmness between my fingers.
Sometimes I found you. You were tall
and I felt my smallness in your presence.
Other times you crossed my path and
your height didn’t bother me at all, I felt
as your equal. Feeling your calmness,
every now and then I feel wrapped by
your silence and your steadiness in time.
For each move that I make to haul
myself to the top, to curl up beside you,
serenity prevails. On the other hand, there
are moments when peace unleashes and
transforms itself into storm. When you
overhang me, I panic. I cling to you and
stop moving. I avoid committing to you.
And what would be the worst happening?
All the scenarios march in my head and
at that particular moment, I am not with
you anymore, I am in my illusions creating
wild stories. My breathing shortens, every‑
thing rushes and reaches its height. My
weaknesses pull me down. The bitterness
in my soul threatens me; the defeat, the
disappointment of not being able to hang
on to you any longer and get to the top.
And it’s at that time that I remember
the words of a wise man sharing how to
attain fullness while climbing. I switch
my mind on my breathing desperately
with whatever calmness I have left, and
try to let go of all the craziness built
up in my head. The “Zen” attitude. But
who invented that parable? Breathing…
present moment… let go of everything…
everything running in my head. Damned
you Arno Ilgner!
You know that you make me work
every time I feel you imposing, I lose all
Alpine Club of Canada
my means. And why should I go back to
you after all these years, to be irritated,
exhausted, short of breath? It would be
simpler to leave you and find another
activity. Macramé maybe? No! That can’t
happen! You hold me by the guts. You
have so much effect on me that I have to
confront my fears each time I am with
you. There’s no logical explanation, only
this absurd desire to mount you and
abandon myself in your arms, unsteady, in
this blissful salvation.
You know, I love you… and in this
unconditional love, there is no explana‑
tion and nothing to explain. And, by the
way, I miss you. It’s been a while. Now
is the time for us to really get together.
Seriously… what do you think?
Poetic ACC member Maryse Morel lives
in, quite naturally, the romantic city of
Montreal. She wrote both the English and
French versions of this creative essay.
Photo on the next page by Marc Dufresne:
Maryse Morel expresses her love for rock climbing
at the Gunks (Shawangunks) in New York State. MOUNTAIN ADVENTURES
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Grimper m’agrippe
par
J
Maryse Morel exprime son amour pour l’escalade
dans les Gunks (Shawangunks), dans l’état de
New York. photo: Marc Dufresne
Ode à l’escalade
Maryse Morel
e me souviendrai toujours de la
première fois que nous nous sommes
rencontrés, il y a de cela une ving‑
taine d’années — tout simplement, par
curiosité. C’était à l’intérieur. De par
tes formes et toutes tes couleurs, tu m’as
charmée. J’ai pris plaisir, dès cet instant, à
te grimper. Aucun souci, aucune attente,
seulement une gamine qui s’amuse, qui
ne pense pas, qui apprécie le présent.
Te ressentir, te toucher, t’accueillir dans
toute ton unicité. Là a été mon premier
baptême de toi. Ensuite, je t’ai savouré à
l’extérieur. Mais quel délice! Ta froideur,
ta senteur, ta dureté qui languissent entre
mes doigts.
Parfois, je t’ai retrouvé, tu étais
grand et je constatais ma petitesse en ta
présence. Et d’autres fois, tu m’as croisé
et ta hauteur ne me dérangeait pas, je me
sentais égale à toi. Mais de par ton calme,
je me sentais, et c’est toujours le cas,
enveloppée par ton mutisme et ta fixité
dans le temps.
À chaque mouvement que mon corps
effectue pour me hisser tout en haut,
me recroqueviller tout près de toi, la
sérénité prévaut. Par contre, il y a des
occasions où cette paix se déchaîne et se
transforme en tempête. Quand tu me
surplombes, je perds tous mes moyens,
l’état de panique l’emporte. Je m’agrippe
à toi et je ne veux plus bouger. J’évite
de m’engager envers toi. Et pourtant,
quel est le pire qui pourrait m’arriver?
Tous les scénarios défilent dans ma tête
et, à cette seconde précise, je ne suis
plus avec toi, je suis dans mes chimères,
je me monte des bateaux. Le souffle
court, tout se bouscule et atteint son
paroxysme. Je ne me sens point capable
de te gravir. L’amertume, la défaite, la
déception de ne pas pouvoir m’agrip‑
per plus longtemps à toi et me rendre
au sommet me guettent. Et c’est à ce
moment que je me remémore les paroles
d’un sage dans l’atteinte de la plénitude
en grimpe. Je me mets donc à me
concentrer sur ma respiration et j’essaie,
dans le peu de calme qu’il me reste, de
lâcher prise sur toute illusion ou folie
édifiée dans ma tête. La «zen» attitude.
Mais qui a pu donc inventer cette para‑
bole? Respiration…moment présent...
lâcher tout….tout ce qui trotte dans la
tête. Merde! Arno Ilgner!
Tu sais que tu me fais travailler à
chaque fois que tu me sembles imposant.
Je perds tous mes moyens. Et qu’est-ce
qui fait en sorte que je veuille encore de
toi après toutes ces années, à être énervée,
à bout de bras, le souffle court? Ce serait
tellement plus simple de te laisser tomber
et de me mettre au macramé. Mais non!
Tu me tiens par les tripes! Tu me fais
tellement effet que j’affronte mes peurs
à chaque fois que je suis avec toi. Il n’y a
pas d’explication logique. Seulement ce
désir absurde de vouloir te monter et de
m’abandonner dans tes bras, chancelante,
dans cette béatitude salvatrice.
Tu sais, je t’aime…et dans cet amour
inconditionnel, il n’y a rien d’explicable ni
à expliquer. Et en passant, je m’ennuie de
toi. Il me semble que ça fait longtemps.
Il est donc temps de se réserver une
rencontre sérieuse, tu ne penses pas?
Membre-poète du CAC, Maryse Morel
habite, bien naturellement, la ville romantique de Montréal. Elle a écrit les versions
anglaise et française de ce récit.

Gazette

hiver
2014 29
My turn in the big chair
by
I
Nancy Hansen. photo by Renée Lavergne
Nancy Hansen
have been an employee of the Alpine
Club of Canada for more than 18
years, and have been involved as a
member and volunteer for 20. That’s a
whole lot of ACC in my life. As I sit in
the chair of the Executive Director for a
six-month stretch while Lawrence White
takes parental leave, I am reminded daily
about what an incredible organization
this is, and why I stay involved.
Let’s start with the staff. Every single
year, after the staff Christmas party,
my husband, Doug Fulford, says, “Boy,
you sure do work with a great bunch of
people.” And he’s right. Because the ACC
is such a vibrant, thriving, outdoor-fo‑
cused organization, we attract great
staff. When other businesses in the Bow
Valley are struggling to find and retain
employees, we rarely have troubles. I am
frequently heard saying, “Nobody ever
really leaves the ACC,” as I see past staff
members return for either more employ‑
ment or as volunteers. One of the reasons
our staff love it here because they get to
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interact with you—the members—on a
daily basis.
Next up: the Board of Directors. At
the ACC’s strategic planning meeting on
a beautiful Saturday in mid-August, I
was struck again by how lucky we, ACC
members, are to have such an energetic,
engaged and intelligent Board. All of
them are fully committed to the best
interests of the ACC, and they have been
for many years. Volunteers all, many of
them are also deeply involved with their
section’s activities. They have real jobs
during the week, and they appear to
consider their significant volunteer con‑
tribution of time, work and good ideas to
be a reward. Wow.
Now for the sections. The sections
are the true heart and soul of the ACC.
I’ve been a Rocky Mountain and Calgary
Section member for 20 years. Whenever
I wonder who will possibly take over as
the new Section Chair or Trips Chair
or Secretary, somebody terrific steps up,
without hesitation. New members join,
go on trips, take courses and become
trip leaders. The cycle repeats week after
week, decade after decade. That’s not to
say that things haven’t changed. Members
now commonly stay connected through
section Facebook pages and e-newsletters.
In “the good old days” 20 years ago, com‑
munication was done by making phone
calls and stuffing newsletters in envelopes.
It matters not—volunteers still do all the
work, of their own accord, on their own
time, without pay.
All of this adds up to one vibrant
organization that has a rich and deep
history and very bright future. I am proud
to be a part of it.
Volunteer Awards
I
n addition to the ACC Volunteers
who were highlighted in the sum‑
mer issue of the Gazette, there were
two other recipients whose names we
did not publish so that they would be
surprised when they were given their
awards later in the summer. They are:
President’s Award: Chuck Young
Don Forest Award: Louise Proulx
Congratulations to you both!
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NOTICES
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Board of Directors meetings:
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Section Council meetings:
May 23 in Canmore
●●
Annual General Meeting:
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●●
CANADIAN ALPINE JOURNAL
SUBMISSIONS
Deadline for submitting articles for
the upcoming CAJ is February 1, 2015.
For more information, visit:
www.alpineclubofcanada.ca/caj
STAY ON TOP OF THE NEWS
Subscribe to the ACC NewsNet, our
weekly e-bulletin, to receive ACC
national and regional news, mountain
highlights and much more. Subscribe at
www.alpineclubofcanada.ca/newsnet
facebook.com/alpineclubofcanada
twitter.com/alpineclubcan
ACC member a Yukon icon
O
ne of the Yukon’s most accom‑
plished mountaineers, Monty
Alford was a principal planner
and a party leader of the 1967 Yukon
Alpine Centennial Expedition—a col‑
laborative project between the Yukon
Government and the Alpine Club of
Canada, that resulted in 13 first ascents in
the Saint Elias Mountains, to commem‑
orate Canada’s Centennial.
A native of Britain, with a friend he
paddled by canoe from Castlegar, BC to
the Gulf of Mexico, travelling 4,800 miles
over nine months. Smitten by Canada,
he invited his French fiancée to join him,
and in 1951 he and Renée married, mov‑
ing to Whitehorse in mid-February.
During the course of his 35-year career
as a hydrometric surveyor for the Water
Survey of Canada, Alford explored some
of the Yukon’s farthest corners. He par‑
ticipated in several major expeditions to
the Saint Elias range, and was involved
in U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy’s
1965 climb in memory of his brother,
President John F. Kennedy. Alford also
spent two seasons in Antarctica with
a Yale University scientific expedition,
was appointed to the Polar Commission,
worked as a member of the Yukon
Geographical Place Names Board, and
wrote five books and many more articles.
In 1974, he was named a member of
the Order of Canada. Honouring his
significant experience in the Saint Elias
Monty Alford explores Pine Lake, Yukon, near the
Saint Elias Mountains in December 2011. photo by Jacqueline Carew
mountains, in 1985 Parks Canada invested
Alford as a Pioneer of the Saint Elias.
Married for 63 years, the Alfords
raised six children, have 13 grandchildren
and six great-grandchildren. Making
time to share outdoor adventures with
all his children individually, Alford also
shared his skills and enthusiasm teaching
outdoor travel and survival skills courses.
Fit and active his entire life, he took
up sailing at 70, and since then greatly
enjoyed sailing off Alaska’s coast every
summer and fall.
Alford died on August 19 at the age
of 90, shortly after completing a 10-day
sailing trip on the Alaska Coast with one
of his sons. Fortunately for ACC Yukon
Section members, he presented a slide
show on the YACE on July 25.
Farewell Monty!
ACC Grants Program
T
hrough the generosity of many donors, the Alpine Club of Canada has estab‑
lished funds to support mountaineering related projects and initiatives. The
deadline for submission of grant applications is January 31, 2015. Grant recipi‑
ents will be announced mid-March 2015.
The Environment Grant provides support that contributes to the protection and
preservation of alpine flora and fauna in their natural habitat. The focus of the
grant is wilderness conservation.
The Jen Higgins Grant promotes creative and energetic alpine related outdoor
pursuits by young women. These projects should demonstrate initiative, creativity,
energy and resourcefulness with an emphasis on self-propelled wilderness travel,
and should provide value and interest to the community.
Jim Colpitts Grant encourages young climbers between the ages of 17 and 24 to
participate in mountain related courses and programs such as wilderness first aid,
avalanche training, rock/crevasse rescue and mountain leadership training.
For info and application forms visit: www.alpineclubofcanada.ca/grants or call the
ACC National Office at 403-678-3200 ext. 108.

Gazette

hiver
2014 31
INNOVATION
FOR FIRSTS
N E V E R
S T O P
E X P L O R I N G
™
THENORTHFACE.COM/SUMMITSERIES

Reiner Thoni - Alpine Club of Canada

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