Alpine Club of Canada - Vancouver Section News

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1 VOL 76 SEPTEMBER 2000 NO.7 Avalanche Echoes Alpine Club of Canada - Vancouver Section News Alpine Club Executive Chair Liz Scremin Secretary Tony Knight Treasurer Rob Brusse Climbing Ian McGillivray Membership Tania Zulkoskey Conservation Jane Weller Editor Helen Habgood Program Paul Malon Socials Chris Bradley Camps Committee Mike Thompson Tami Knight Peter Woodsworth Ed & Maria Gunkel Margaret Hanson Nat'l Club Rep Fern Hietkamp Promotions Paul Dowell FMCBC Rep Liz Scremin Special Projects: Family Programs Marilyn Noort Tantulus Cabin Ron Royston (H) (B) Red Tit Hut Project: Blair Mitten Membership Assistant: Sharon Folkes Program Assistant Linda Bily Webmaster Jim Sibley Archives Irene Goldstone Logistics Steve Koch Graphic Design Howard Zwecker MEMBERSHIP INFO WEBSITE Trip Organizers Wanted! Volunteer for the fall/winter schedule! Call Ian McGillivray at to lead a trip Next meeting: Tuesday, September 26 at 7:30 p.m. Floral Hall, Van Dusen Gardens, W.37th & Oak, Vancouver, BC This month's slide show features photographs of remote corners of the Coast Mountains; John Baldwin will show us images from his book, Mountains of the Coast Avalanche Echoes 1

2 ANNOUNCEMENTS WILDERNESS PHOTOGRAPHY CONTEST If you ve ever been motivated to get up at a ridiculously early hour just for a photograph in the morning light, this is for you. Mountain Equipment Co-op invites you to enter the Wilderness Photography Contest. $2500 in prizes will be given out to the best photos of wilderness environment or adventure. Entry deadline is September 20th. For an entry form and contest details, check out the website at or pick up a brochure at the Mountain Equipment Co-op store. THE AVALANCHE ECHOES is published nine times per year by the Alpine Club of Canada - Vancouver Section. EDITOR: Helen Habgood ph: hhabgood@hugh-hamilton.com This newsletter is the official publication of the Alpine Club of Canada, Vancouver Section. It keeps members informed on topics of interest to mountaineers including activities within the club, equipment, techniques, access, and environmental issues. The club meets monthly, usually for a slide presentation, at the Floral Hall in Van Dusen Gardens, W 37th and Oak St., at 7:30 pm on the fourth Tuesday of the month, except in July, August and December. ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP DUES Vancouver Section: Single $41.00 Family $57.00 Junior$21.00 (under 18) For membership dues, renewals, and changes of address, and booking huts, contact the ACC national office directly: P.O. Box 8040 Canmore, AB, T1W 2T8, fax (403) , phone (403) , or alpclub@telusplanet.net Website: vancouver For detailed membership form including upgrades, send SASE to ACC-Vancouver, c/o FMCBC, 47 West Broadway, Vancouver BC V5Y 1P1. SUBMISSIONS We encourage submissions of writing, photography, drawings, etc. If possible, articles should be submitted by or on 3.5" diskette (about 500 words). Photos and slides are always needed. Deadline for submissions is the last day of the previous month. EDITORIAL POLICY Suitability for publication is at the editor's discretion within the guidelines of the Section Executive. Articles may be edited for clarity or to fit the available space. SQUAMISH RIVER CROSSING This note from the FMCBC list-server: It seems someone has made a business of getting people across the river. Jay in Squamish offers canoe shuttles or motor boat across the river for $20 round trip per person. Call him at NEW OFFICE MANAGER IN CANMORE Josee Larochelle has been hired as the new office manager for the national club office in Canmore. With prior experience in tourism and working with volunteers, Josee is fluent in both English and French, and has a working knowledge of Japanese. Welcome! THE MOUNTAIN GUIDES' BALL Sat, Oct 28th, Chateau Lake Louise Interested in attending the ball? With sufficient numbers, a carpool might be arranged. Please call Liz well in advance at EDITOR WANTED for the Avalanche Echoes. Perks include free software (Adobe Pagemaker 6.5 and Photoshop 5.0 for Windows). Trainiing provided if required. Contact Helen Habgood Ski Selkirk powder at the Fairy Meadows cabin! February 24 to March 3, This is a self-guided, self-catered ski week. Cost is $ $ will reserve you a spot. If interested, please contact Ed Gunkel at CLASSIFIEDS LOST & FOUND: A one litre Nalgene bottle was left behind at the St. John's First Aid for the Wilderness Course last June. If its yours, call Liz at ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Thanks to Hugh Hamilton Limited for use of computer space and printers. Avalanche Echoes 2

3 Letter from the Chair What I Did On My Summer Vacation by Liz Scremin August this year found me carrying boxes of groceries and setting tables, assembling a wall tent and hanging banners, counting heads and driving a passenger van. It also found me listening to My Darling Clementine sung with a Japanese accent, sipping green tea from an exquisite Japanese ceramic bowl (set on a long-abused Parks Canada picnic table), taking in speeches, native and Japanese drummers in Jasper, and posing for endless group pictures, all the while shouting Athabaska! at the top of my lungs. What exactly did I do this summer? I volunteered with the 75th Anniversary Mount Alberta Celebrations put on by the National Club. I assisted as a rope leader for the climbing camp based at the Columbia Icefields. What a time! You ll no doubt get the full scoop on this very successful event in the next Gazette... so I ll just share a few of my impressions here... #1- The Alpine Club really knows how to put on a party! Our President, Mike Mortimer, (known by many as His Mortimerness) was in his element - giving speeches, shaking hands with visiting dignitaries, exchanging gifts and handing out awards. He is a big boisterous energetic man who loves the limelight! Bob Sandford, our VP for Publications, obviously loves ritual and ceremony. As an historian (he s the official historian for CP Hotels) he records events but it s obvious to me now that he also loves creating history. In planning the Mount Alberta Celebrations, he didn t miss a trick... we all got the official Mt. Alberta fleece vest and the Mt. Alberta poster (a fabulous drawing of Mt. Alberta by Glen Boles). There was also the official pin and coin (with the Jasper bear on the back) and sticker. Also the official bilingual ACC business card - an absolute must! Photographers in each group recorded the week s activities. Their images will soon be available in, believe-it-or-not, the official commemorative book. Yes! The week was a great success, with opening ceremonies and a casual cowboy-style BBQ in Canmore, hiking and climbing at a variety of superb locations, closing celebrations and an elegant BBQ at Trefoil Lake in Jasper, ceremonies by the Jasper- Yellowhead Museum marking the donation and installation of the famous silver ice axe to the museum, and a final fancy-dress affair in the Mary Schaffer Ballroom at the Jasper Park Lodge. Everyone was there - the executive of both the ACC and the Japanese Alpine Club, the Mount Alberta climbers (led by Cam Roe, our VP for Activities), the mayor of Jasper, the head of Parks Canada, Premier Ralph Klein, a representative from Sheila Copps office, the head of CP Hotels, the Japanese press, all guides, volunteers and guests. Phew! This was the largest event the Alpine Club had put on since the 1967 Yukon Centennial Expedition and it was grand. #2 - Love of nature and the mountains crosses all social and cultural boundaries. There s something about escaping to the natural world that soothes away work-a-day cares and brings us all closer. That was very much in evidence this August. At the Columbia Icefields, our ten JAC guests (many in their 50's and 60's) were On Holiday. They revelled in the Rocky Mountain scenery, the wealth of verdant wild land and the variety of wildlife. They expressed childlike wonder and excitement, travelling over the glaciers. (There are no glaciers in Japan.) They took great pleasure in chopping wood and having a campfire every evening... sharing a beer, singing innumerable songs, and laughing at each other s stories. Together we climbed Mounts Athabaska and Wilcox and hiked into Little Shovel Pass near Maligne Lake. Sharing mountain adventures with our Japanese guests was lots of fun but also enlightening. In Japan, nature is revered and mountains are seen as the home of the gods. (So different from Europe where historically mountains were feared!) I learned that climbing a mountain, such as Mount Fuji, is for many Japanese an important once-in-a-lifetime pilgrimage. Canadians also have a strong relationship with landscape, though I know of no shrines on Canadian mountains or any mountains that are considered sacred. #3 - Volunteering is a very rich and rewarding experience. This event was certainly a test for the ACC (could we pull it off?) but it was also a tremendous team-building opportunity. So too for the Japanese Alpine Club. The JAC has 24 sections across Japan, but they do not hold national multi-day climbing camps for their members as we do. The Mount Alberta Celebrations were a unique opportunity for JAC members from Kyushu and Hokkaido to meet and share experiences, for ACC members from as far away as Winnipeg, Edmonton and Vancouver to work together and share ideas. As volunteers, we learned group management skills from the guides and camp management skills from our cooks. We came away with new ideas to enliven Section activities and most importantly we came away with new friends. Many many thanks to the National Office staff and to all the volunteers that made this event possible. I had a great summer! Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival Society presents Coast & Cordillera a multi-media show by Canadian adventurer, JOHN DUNN on his 2500 km N/S traverse of BC by kayak, canoe and on foot Mon, Oct 23 rd at 7:30pm Centennial Theatre 2300 Lonsdale Avenue, North Vancouver Tickets in Advance: $13 / Tickets At the Door: $15 available at Mountain Equipment Co-op, Coast Mountain Sports, and at the Centennial Theatre (Visa & M/C, tel ) For more information, check Avalanche Echoes 3

4 Kar arl l Nagy August 30, 2000 This is to inform you that Karl Nagy died in a guiding accident yesterday afternoon. Karl was a highly experienced and skilled Mountain Guide who has worked with many of us over the years in a number of situations. Karl s guiding background includes many years with the Alpine Club of Canada, Yamnuska Inc of Canmore, and CMH as well as working as an independent guide. Most recently, Karl has been an instructor on the guide training and certification program where he was a well-liked, highly knowledgeable instructor and examiner. It was in the latter capacity that Karl was working yesterday when the accident occurred. While I do not have all the details at this time, it is my understanding that Karl was on Mount Little in the Valley of 10 Peaks area near the Neil Colgan Hut with three assistant alpine guide candidates yesterday afternoon. Karl was struck by rock fall around 14:00-15:00. The candidates with him were unin- jured and carried out first aid and CPR to the best of their abilities. By all accounts they did a fine job. Unfortunately, Karl suffered serious head injuries and likely died almost immediately on the scene. The candidates summoned assistance from the accident site using a radio. Weather at the time was poor. Two candidates descended by foot and one stayed on the mountain or at the Colgan hut. The ACMG was notified of the accident at about 15:10. Wardens mobilised and were in the air by about 15:40. Due to weather, they were unable to complete the rescue yesterday. Several wardens descended the mountain accompanying the third candidate who had stayed. They arrived at Moraine Lake yesterday evening shortly after dark. The helicopter with pilot and two rescuers were stranded on the mountain overnight by poor weather and darkness. (Note: they have been able to fly out subsequent to this ACMG ). Three groups of the Assistant Alpine Guide Course were operating in the area and with the exception of Karl, everyone on that course is fine. The Alpine Guide Exam was also in the area and they are also all okay. Both courses are meeting this morning to debrief and discuss how to proceed. I am very sorry to have to pass this news to you and I m sure you will join me in expressing our sympathies to Karl s family and friends and doing what we can to help them in this very difficult time. Sincerely, Karl Klassen ACMG President If you would like to send a message to Karl s wife Inka (or her family) and are unsure of how to do so, the ACMG has indicated you can use their office fax or and they will ensure the message is passed on. The ACMG fax number is , and the address is acmg@telusplanet.net. There were several memorial services held, in Canmore and Calgary, to celebrate Karl's life. PERSONALITIES Many thanks to Marlene Ford, Ray Kodama and Manrico Scremin for volunteering with the 75th Anniversary Mount Alberta Celebrations put on by the National Club this August. Marlene acted as cook and hiking assistant at the Wates Gibson Hut, while Ray and Manrico acted as climbing assistants at the Columbia Icefields. Ray also provided interpretation services. Domo arigato! Congratulations to Isabel Budke, Margaret Hanson, Mark Mangiarotti, Michele Sinclair, Gideon Rosenbluth, Jochen Lang, Gouin Barford, Kenji Narumi, Terry Martin, Tania Zulkoskey, Dorothy Zahn, Liz Scremin, Mike Dal Santo and Kevin Bogle for successfully completing the St. John's First Aid for the Wilderness Course held especially for the ACC last June. Many thanks to the course instructor who is also an ACC member, Bridget Milsom, for her care and enthusiasm. Well done! All the best to Doug and Christina Williams as they move into their new home in West Point Grey. The old place in Kits was split over 6 vertical levels. What a way to stay fit! Got a new exercise routine planned? Congratulations to Jane Weller on her triumph this summer in the Grouse Grind Race... 1st in her age category, 2nd of all women and 5th overall with a time of 34:?? Wow! Our condolences to Rob Brusse on the demise this summer of his much loved yellow Volvo station wagon. We hear it was a tried and true chariot. What steed will carry you to Rogers Pass next summer, Rob? A warm welcome to...??... all new members since June 1st this year! We encourage you to take full advantage of all the trips, workshops, camps, slideshows and other services that the Club has to offer. Enjoy! Avalanche Echoes 4

5 Spetch Creek By Ian McGillivray Cheryl Leskiw, Mike Thompson and I decided to check out an area known as Spetch creek northeast of Pemberton where there was rumored to be an old horse trail into the area. On the trip up we met most of the club executive in West Van or Pemberton heading out on their trips. We stopped at Pemberton Airport where Mike met some of his glider flying buddies and told them of our intentions. Here I left my two-wheel drive. Cheryl s 4x4 climbed the 6 kms and 65 water bars of logging road to the trailhead at the road end. The trail appeared to have been unused for several years but was surprisingly easy to follow. After about an hour we left the pleasant forest and entered a beautiful area of meadows, streams and trees. Except for short sections the travel was surprisingly easy and we soon came to a gorgeous lake, 1 km south of Saxifrage Mt. Here we set up camp and explored the area s ridges and meadows. Sunday we packed and headed up to the col between Cassiope and Saxifrage. Mike and I bagged Cassiope; after lunch we all scrambled up Saxifrage. As we reached a top some of Mike s glider buddies buzzed the peak. After taking in the impressive views and scoping out our intended route we backtracked down to the col and crossed the dying glacier at the head of the Spetch drainage. We camped near the toe of the glacier above three small lakes on recent glacial debris. The goats in the area also liked the sand and pawed out several beds near by. Monday we followed the streams down to the sub-alpine forest of large pines and headed north into a tundra-like valley with another turquoise lake. Within two hours we had bagged Mt Olds from which the Place Glacier flows to the north. Back-tracking down to the forested head-wall, we could see Cheryl s truck; now after three days of pleasant travel we were forced to battle dense bush for about two hours. Not bad for a trip with Mike Thompson! I repeated this trip, concluding with us exiting down the Place Glacier trail, which was also a superb adventure. ACC LEADERSHIP CAMP 2000 by Jane Weller Hi I m Ginger and I m from Denver...yu know Denver Colorado a blondy red head greeted me at breakfast without taking a breath, the way some Americans speak when they re excited. Ginger was one of those delightful people who have a name that absolutely fits them. She reminded me of Gilligan s Island. Of course! Anyway she was part of the General Mountaineering camp and had paid big money for a guided trip to these mountains. I was one of 12 who had paid small money to be there. A dozen people from all over Canada had been sponsored by the ACC and The North face to attend this leadership course. The venue was Fairy Meadows. Surrounding the meadows sprang ragged ridges and swooping glaciers. Wow! In the handbook they gave me I read The successful marriage of technical skill and artistic ability which allows (leaders) to quietly decide what to do and how to do it is born of training, developmental experimentation and personal experience. Holy shit! Well I guess I have the experimentation though definitely no training - but artistic ability? And quiet decision making? I had a lot to learn. The week was to be an amazing insight into leadership. Breakfast Day One. The 7am breakfast was truly magnificent: porridge and yogurt, waffles and bacon, fruit salad and coffee. Then we practiced throwing in ice screws, ice axe belays and crevasse rescue. Day 2 was spent with rope practice and glacier travel techniques. We practiced short-roping when one must at all times be in position and ready to hold a slip by the client. So we simulated falling down snow slopes on a short rope and shoulder belaying as we perched on rocky ledges like some apprentice eagle. The following days were spent learning more rope techniques: raising an injured patient, rock practice, terrain and route assessment, map and compass work and piton placement. The final day we put it all together. In groups of three we took a guide disguised as a client up East Gothic. This was a stunning little snow and 5th class rock climb that reminded me of the Bugaboos. The food was awesome, the guides skills were overwhelmingly impressive and the venue couldn t have been better. I gleaned a ton of new knowledge. My thanks to the ACC and North Face for their support. Anyone for short-roping? Call me! Nancy Henderson enjoys a refreshing foot bath in the northern Coast Mountains. Helen Habgood Avalanche Echoes 5

6 Stabilizing the neck prior to treatment for a head and suspected spinal injury. Improvizing a stretcher from packs, ski poles and straps. A simple quick lift for getting to safer ground. Scenes from the "St. John's First Aid for the Wilderness Course" held June 21, 24-25, 2000 especially for all ACC members Photos by Liz Scremin Avalanche Echoes 6

7 Treating a laceration - elevate, apply pressure, cover with sterile gauze and triangular bandage. Monitoring vital signs and checking treatment while awaiting transport. Keeping the victim perfectly level - a successful well-coordinated lift, and transfer onto an insulating pad. Avalanche Echoes 7

8 Vancouv ancouver Section Trip Schedule DATE DESTINATION TYPE GRADE ORGANIZER PHONE SEPT 1-5 Beece Peak, Chilcotin Climb C5 Don Serl Aspen-Marriott-Rohr Traverse Hike C2 Magdalena Rucker Crown Mountain & The Camel Climb B5 Rob Brusse Black Mountain Hike A1 Don Smellie Tricouni Peak Scramble B3 Liz Scremin Athelstan Scramble C3 Fern Hietkamp Mount Outram Climb B3 Carol McMillan Family Scrambling Trip Scramble A2/3 Michael Barkusky Mount Sloan Climb C4 Chris Bradley Mount Clark Climb C3 Rich Pawlowicz Tomyhoi Peak Scramble C3 Doug Williams Mount Seymour Family Hike Hike A1 John Richmond Black Tusk/Panorama Ridge Hike B2/3 Karen Backmann Duffey Lake Area Hike B2 Sue Higginbottom Mount Ashlu Climb B3 Ian McGillivray The Lions Climb B3 Melinda Straight Elsay Lake Hike B3 Mothe Tilden Monthly Meeting at 7:30pm in the Floral Hall of Van Dusen Gardens 30-1 Tenquille Lake Hike B2 Tony Knight OCT 1 Mount Strachan Hike S2 George Hamilton McGillivray Pass Hike B2 Chris Bradley Mount Rexford Climb C4 Peter Norris Mount McGuire Hike B2 Russ Fretenburg Coleman Glacier, Mt Baker Ice Climb B5 Paul Baker Mount Brew Hike B2 Irene Goldstone Monthly Meeting at 7:30pm in the Floral Hall of Van Dusen Gardens Family Directory The people on this list can phone others on the list to organize and coordinate family trips. If you are not on the list and would like to be, please contact the editor at hhabgood@hugh-hamilton.com. NAME PHONE AGE OF CHILDREN Susan Hollenberg & Mark Haden years Jay MacArthur ? Jessica Shintani & Bryan Evans ½ years Ian McGillivray years? Claude Mongeon years Dave Robertson & Kathy Wong months/3 years Don & Suzanne Serl years/10 years Don Stuart years/12 years Doug & Christina Williams ½ years/8 ½ years Marilyn Noort & David Holloway ½ years Bini LeBlanc & Tami Knight human children aged 9 and 10 GRADING GUIDELINES A - Less than 6 hrs travel per day (not strenuous) B - 6 to 8 hrs travel per day (moderately strenuous) C - 8 to 12 hrs travel per day (strenuous) D - More than 12 hrs travel per day (extremely strenuous) 1 - Gentle slopes. Travel on trails over fairly level terrain. 2 - Moderate slopes. Travel may be off trail. Intermediate skiing ability recommended. Easy climbing. 3 - Travel in mountainous terrain. Steep forest and glaciers probable. Backcountry equipment and intermediate skiing experience required. Moderate climbing. 4 - Travel over difficult mountain terrain. Advanced backcountry and mountaineering experience, ability and equipment required. Advanced ski mountaineering or moderate to difficult ice or mixed climbing. Ropes and belays required. 5 - Technical ice or mixed climbing. Advanced climbing experience required. Please contact trip organizers by the Wednesday prior to the trip to express your interest. Non-member are welcome on trips but priority will be given to current members. Thanks! NOTE TO ALL TRIP LEADERS Please remember, after you have led a trip, the waiver forms MUST be returned to: Alpine Club of Canada c/o Federation of Mountain Clubs of BC 47 West Broadway, Vancouver, BC V5Y 1P1 For trip schedule and membership information on the internet, look up the ACC Van. Section at This site also has a variety of useful listings and links. THE ALPINE CLUB OF CANADA VANCOUVER SECTION CHAIRPERSON Liz Scremin MEMBERSHIP Tania Zulkoskey CLIMBING SCHEDULE Ian McGillivray The AVALANCHE ECHOES Newsletter is printed and published monthly by: The Alpine Club of Canada, Vancouver Section, c/o Federation of Mountain Clubs of BC 47 West Broadway, Vancouver, BC V5Y 1P1 CANADIAN PUBLICATIONS MAIL SALES PRODUCT AGREEMENT # Avalanche Echoes 8