The Breeze

February 2001

February General Meeting

Around the World on Two Wheels

Morgan Scott tells us about his incredible bicycle-borne circum- navigation of the globe. Tales of adventure and far-away lands!

February 20th, 7:30 PM
The Varscona Hotel – Rutherford Room
8208 – 106 Street

(The après-meeting occurs downstairs in O’Byrne’s Pub)

Coming Events

August 2001 Assiniboine Climbing/Hiking Camp (see January Breeze for details)
February 3rd and 5th Track N’ Trail Ski Waxing Clinics (call TNT for more info - 432-1707)
February 7th Crevasse Rescue review at the U of A climbing wall

In this Issue

Courses

Recreational Avalanche Skills Feb 24-25

Intermediate Avalanche Skills Mar 10-11 and Mar 17-18

For more information, or to book a spot, contact:

Peter Amann
Box 1495
Jasper, Alberta
T0E 1E0
780-852-3237

New Winter Trips

Mar 3-4 Lake Minnewanka
Ice Climbing
3 to 4+		 Int/Adv Hostel Luke Flowers
466-7422 (h)
432-1707 (w)
lukas@isicmail.com

Announcements

2001 Magnetic North Pole Ski Expedition: March 18-April 21, 2001

Experienced polar expedition team requires "last minute" additional member to join challenging 4 week expedition from Resolute, Nunavut across breathtaking Arctic landscapes to the Magnetic North Pole. Total trip approximately 800km, generally across even snow covered ice and land. 1 rest day per week, average 35km/6hr travel per day. We will travel in true Amundsen style as sled dogs to pull large percentage of team gear. Pick-up from Magnetic Pole and return to Resolute by air charter. Must have exceptional physical fitness, outdoor and x-country skiing ability. All team members will pay portion of dog team transportation costs. Serious inquiries may be directed to Dr. Christian Otto, email: caotto@msn.com.

Call for Birkie Volunteers

As always, the section will be running an aid station at this year’s Birkenbeiner ski extravaganza (even if aid this year means soothing people’s grass-burned knees and picking the rocks out of their skies!). The Birkie takes place on Saturday, February 10 – if interested, please contact Gary Gully at 452-2028.

ACC National Initiatives - Edmonton Section Response

Item #1: Access and Environment Policy

The following is a summary of an Edmonton Section Executive Meeting that was held specifically to address questions about the Access and Environmental Policy. Our hope is that this policy, and all policies generated in the future are open to revision and review. We would like to present the following points to other sections and hope that we can open some dialogue. I have broken our discussion into three sections: general policy concerns, specific policy questions, and section concerns.

I. General Policy Concerns:
1. What was the impetus behind Access and Environmental policy? Does having an ‘Access and Environmental Policy’ versus an ‘Environmental and Access Policy’ change our impression of this policy?
2. The policy is clear that when we need access we must take into account environmental consideration, but this does not advocate the need for the protection of the mountain environment and wilderness areas as a goal unto itself.

Alison Dinwoodie did an excellent job of filling us in with the last 20 years of environment policy in the Alpine Club of Canada, and it is clear that the club needs to have a unified front on the position it takes regarding access and environment. As a section we felt having an ‘Access and Environmental Policy’ versus an ‘Environmental and Access Policy’ change did affect our impression of the policy. However, access was a newer issue for the Alpine Club of Canada and it was important for members to know that action was being taken with regards to the access issue.

Given that this was an Access and Environmental Policy, the Edmonton Section feels strongly about the need for a statement recognizing the need to protect the environment as an entity on its own right. We felt that this was in line with the mandate of the club, where support for conserving the environment could be found in the introduction to the Access and Environment policy in the Member’s Handbook 2000 (pg. 39) and in the Alpine Club of Canada Constitution. "TheAlpine Club of Canada’s responsibility is … to promote the conservation of the mountain environment. The object of the Alpine Club of Canada is preservation of the natural beauties of the mountain places .…" With this in mind, we would like to see the opening statement of the policy amended to reflect the importance of the environment (see below). Without a commitment to the environment, we do not have an Environment Policy. Making a commitment to conserve the environment does not make us an environmental group. There are other groups whose sole purpose is conservation of the environment, and whose memberships are better suited to these matters. By allying ourselves with such groups, the Alpine Club can present a stronger and larger defense against issues that directly affect the club. The Edmonton Section also felt that it gives us a much stronger framework to deal with access issues if we can state that the environment alone is important to us.

The Alpine Club of Canada recognizes its responsibility to its members to encourage mountaineering, to promote the conservation of the mountain environment, and to advocate and promote the freedom of mountaineering access within Canada with sensitivity to issues affecting access including environmental concerns and legal considerations.

Note: It was not clear why the "maximization" was needed in this statement, and that optimization would be a preferred choice of words.

II. Specific Policy Questions:
1. No ‘objective’ states that the environment should be protected for its own sake. In Section 2.5, it is recognized that we should seek alternatives, where ecological and recreational viewpoints conflict, to procure a balance. In the previous draft it also stated "maintaining ecological integrity takes priority over excessive recreational use.."
Making absolute statements is not desirable, however, I do believe a policy should indicate the framework that defines what and how actions should be performed. As a Section, we felt that one objective should be to recognize the environment, and to support activities that led to conservation of the environment. Again, this does not mean that sections need to run out and support every suggestion or action that promotes conservation, however, it says that sections can support actions that contribute to conservation of land and still operate within the framework of the club. I would also go so far as stating that if the Alpine Club of Canada does not take a stand on protecting the environment for its own sake, then we should no longer be stewards of natural areas. Without a commitment to environment for its own sake, the ACC is limited to debating issues solely on the grounds of access. Therefore, the Edmonton Section would like to see an objective added that states something to the effect of "The Alpine Club of Canada supports activities that lead to the protection of the mountain environment. If the Alpine Club of Canada does not want to support this claim, they should make it known the only issues it will argue are those that prevent access. Keeping in mind that we may be fighting for our access that may extend to other user groups in the mountains.
2. In Section 2.5, it is recognized that we should seek alternatives, where ecological and recreational viewpoints conflict, to procure a balance ..."
The bottom line is that the Edmonton Section would like to see decisions err in favor of the environment and that the present term " balance" is too vague. Adding the statement "Decisions will tend toward the most favorable environmental outcome" would reflect this viewpoint.
3. Does the order of the Activities (Section 3) signify the importance to the club?

The order had significance to some people, but in the end we decided as long as communication continued, and that section reps interacted with National and that National interacted with its members, it didn’t matter that communication was so far down the list! Perhaps somewhere it should be stated that the activities are not listed by order of importance.

III. Section Concerns:
1. Edmonton Section would like to see the issues and positions that other sections and National have taken posted on the web and in the Gazette from time to time.
2. Accepting commercial groups was a concern if their interests conflicted with the club.
3. What are the criteria for deciding who gets access to an area? How will this be decided? How will environmental needs be weighed against user needs. This was not something that we wished to resolve tonight, but it was hoped that it has been considered and that there was some indication on how criteria may be established.
4. Section 5.2. Reference to the ecosystem may be better choice as this is bigger than birds, animals, and plants.
5. Has any thought gone toward cumulative impact?

Item #2: Leadership Development Policy

Prepared in response to the Leadership Development Proposal by National that would eventually require all trip leaders to be certified or to have completed a series of courses and exams. The purpose of the leadership development program is to include a complete training and certification educational system from basic recreational skills training to internationally accredited amateur leadership certification that would meet UIAA approval. The leadership development proposal has outlined five award programs: Hill Walking, Rock, Ice, Mountaineering, and Skiing. To receive any of the five award programs, a participant would need to complete the basic leadership course, a first aid course, 1-3 specific leadership skill courses, an apprenticeship period, and a final examination.

The Executive Meeting by the Edmonton Section was successful in defining what is important to our section with regards to trip leading and in generating more questions about the Leadership Development program. We felt that impetus behind the Leadership Development proposal from National was not made clear. If the purpose was to develop leaders for National trips, then should the program not be referred to as the "National" Leadership Development proposal? Would this need not be better met by hiring Assistant guides if amateur rope leaders were not available? We realize this would raise the cost of the GMC. How much trickle down effect of having more leaders would this program truly create? Once people have volunteered to lead a week or two of National trips, they are not likely to lead any section trips. Not because people don’t want to lead more club trips, but because of personal time restrictions. If the reason for implementing the program was for insurance purposes, we need to consider the power of our waiver and that the legal system that governs Canada is different from that of the USA and nearly all of Europe.

A question was raised about whether having a program designed for National leaders would have legal implications on the level of competence and responsibility of Section trip leaders. All other questions about how the program will function are not important unless the question can be addressed as to why the Alpine Club of Canada Section leaders need to be certified.

One key element that was not addressed was "Who was going to participate in the leadership courses and why do trip leaders lead trips now?" The response to why trip leaders lead trips was as follows: to improve skills, it’s rewarding to watch other people develop their skills, personal challenge, need other people along to reach a desirable goal, ……….and one of the most common and important responses…

"that your duty as a trip leader was not to be the most experienced person in all areas, and that teamwork was what made the trip successful." The Edmonton Section Executive felt that two types of leadership styles exist: a guiding style where one person had complete control and a team style where everyone had responsibility to the success of a trip, and our membership leaned toward the latter experience. There was a consensus that no one would lead a trip if they were required to achieve an award. People would simply climb with others they had met through the club, and we would no longer have a trip schedule. Please keep in mind that if climbing was the sole purpose we joined the club, we would not be leading section trips. Members have a need to give back to the club and want the social interaction the club provides. Our ability to get to the mountains is tempered with the reality that we only have a few weeks of holidays (some people only two weeks) and that we do these activities for recreation. If leading trips was our profession, this would dramatically change our view of what was required of us as trip leaders.

One goal made clear to the Edmonton Section Executive was to see a standardization of techniques and skills taught/used among Sections. This would involve setting guidelines, providing information about rope techniques, passing down information about recalls on equipment, making information from UIAA reviews available to section leaders, etc. Most leadership courses have placed an emphasis on skills, and I agree that this is still our weakest area. Making a handbook available to members would be one step to rectify this problem. We would like to see a curriculum developed that could be web based, and this way members could test themselves to see how they rate. One major dilemma facing our section is how to develop mentorship. If this cannot be fostered at the Section level, there is little hope at a National level. It is really the mentorship that moves members from the step of having a few skills to leading a trip.

We did not feel the need at this point to discuss the details of who does testing, cost, etc about the proposed leadership proposal until the above issues are considered by National.

Trip Reports

Stanley Mitchell New Year, 2001
Frank Geddes

Out through the fields and the woods
And over the walls I have wended;
I have climbed the hills of view
And looked at the world, and descended;
I have come by the highway home,
And lo, it is ended.

That verse from Robert Frost’s Reluctance fairly well encapsulates the gist of the Edmonton Section’s trip over the Christmas-to-New-Year period, 2000/2001. From December 24 to 29, a total of 18 eager skiers made their way, in various mobs or teams, up the summer road to the Takakkaw Falls shelter and beyond to the Stanley Mitchell Hut in the Little Yoho Valley (total 23 km; 750 m elevation gain). Then, after a hearty New Year’s Eve meal of turkey with all the trimmings, they refolded their gear and slithered down to civilization on New Year’s day.

For some, the trip in was relatively easy. Take Markus and Linda, for example: Partly because they are both excellent skiers and partly because they had a fresh trail set for them, they made an uneventful ascent (26 Dec) in about 9 ½ hours. (Good job, guys!) So, too, with the benefit of a well-set trail, Marc, Alan, Roger, Tim and Mike V. were able to ski in on the 29th in about 10.5 hours.

But, woe to anyone who had the misfortune of following a fresh snowfall, even if for only part of the route. On that count, Reinhold and Marion led the charge and set the standard by which all other efforts would be measured. They started, on 24 Dec, from the parking lot near the Trans-Canada Highway at 8 AM, and tore up the 14 km of the well-worn trail to Takakkaw Falls in a very respectable 4 hours. (Ha, ha, what fun!) But, boy, did the snow ever hit the fan after that! As the trail was not set past the shelter, they required 5 hours simply to traipse over the hump of Hollingsworth Hill and make the 4.5 km to Laughing Falls (and neither was laughing by then). Yet, the worst of the uphill was yet to come: Almost 3 km of switchbacks up 240 vertical metres of headwall separated them from the gently rolling drainage that led to the hut. So, estimating an arrival time of 1 AM, they affixed their skins and started to wend their way over the wall. Well…they wended, and they wended, and they wended. Finally, with Reinhold laden down by a sled full of turkey fixins for 20 people (thank you, Reinhold), they crested the top of the headwall and slogged, punch drunk, through the last 3.3 km along the Little Yoho River, arriving at 9 AM (hey, daylight!) after a grueling 25-hour trip!! (And they claim they never even saw Santa.)

Gary was next to experience the bittersweet taste of snow. Like Reinhold and Marion, he stretched his way up to Takakkaw Falls with relative ease and, then, as planned, spent a night (26 Dec) in the shelter, expecting to be well rested for a short finish on the next day. But, overnight, he was visited by the snow gods. Through about 25 cm of wet snow, he had but a remnant of the trail set by Reinhold and Marion, which was further compacted by Markus and Linda. He paid dearly for his bivvy with some hard tromping, by himself, to the hut.

The bulk of the crew (Ernst, John, Tom, Yuri, Vlad, Lisa, Mike H. and me) was hot on his heels, except that our travails on the trail were reversed. We started (27 Dec) with the fresh snowfall, so we took a painfully slow 7 ½ hours to get to Takakkaw Falls. However, Gary’s misfortune was our gift, so we had a broken, if not packed, trail from there to the hut. Still, our total time in was 14 hours, in part due to Ernst’s exceptionally heavy load: He was pulling a sled (4 L wine) and carrying group rescue gear (thanks, Ernst).

But, once in, all was forgiven. The Stanley Mitchell Hut is a winsome shelter that’s tucked neatly along the base of a forested headwall beside a meadow on the left bank of the Little Yoho. With propane lights and stoves, easy access to water, and a fire in the hearth, it proved to be an excellent base for our explorations over the next few days.

At first, the unconsolidated snowpack caused an extreme avalanche danger, whumphing even on open flats. But, the steeper slopes quickly collapsed and, day by day, the warm temperatures led to better structure in the snowpack; a Rutschblock test near Kiwetinok Pass on 30 Dec showed a markedly improved stability. In different groups over four days, we skied toward Isolated Peak (the final approach to the col was too dangerous to attempt), McArthur Glacier (turned back by the clouds), Kiwetinok Pass, and the President Glacier. Especially on 30 Dec, when the visibility was forever, the snow-covered ice tongue of the President Glacier laid out a wonderful descent of several hundred metres of uninterrupted skiing, the view and skiing being about the best that you can get in the Rockies.

By 31 Dec, there wasn’t much left to do. So, having climbed the hills of view, we descended (after happily being treated to the turkey dinner that Reinhold had dragged up that little hill). It was a good trip, with good people, facilities, food, and skiing; but, as always, we "have come by the highway home/And lo, it is ended."

Participants: Markus Kellerhals (trip leader), Linda Bily, Reinhold and Marion Mayerhofer (hut custodians), Gary Blechinger, Ernst Bergmann, John Henoch, Frank Geddes, Tom Bashuk, Yuri Drohomirecki , Vlad Zabrouskov, Lisa Pitka, Mike Holmes, Alan Wilman, Marc Harden, Tim Jellard, Mike Vanderzee, Roger Senecal.

Mount Haddo 10,068ft (3070m) - August 27,2000
The Horrible Haddo Exit
Wayne Vibert

Up at 4 AM in the Lake Louise Camping Site. We had left a vehicle at Paradise Parking lot the previous night. Park at Lake Louise and then, in the dark, the hunt is on for the boathouse trail.

Sunrise at Saddleback at 6:30 AM. We shed a layer and then it is up the trail toward the back of Fairview. At the fork, cut left and into a gully, down, up and over moraines to the glacier.

We start sunny but clouds gather and the two rope teams are soon in rain which turns to hail. Five pitches on styrofoam snow with melted ledges convenient for belay stations. Ran ropes out to full length between stations. Some ice 60-70 degrees.

Over the top and into the bowl behind Haddo and Aberdeen. Fortunately, we had climbed toward the right and thus by-passed the largest crevasses. Past the final belay, we thread our way through a couple of big holes and begin to cross an unbroken snowfield/glacier. The rain/hail has turned to snow/hail. Behind us, when the clouds permit, we get a glimpse of aquamarine Lake Louise. As we take a break, we gaze at what appears to be a sheer ice face across the bowl. We discover it is not ice but snow that Brian can kick steps through. Up and into the Haddo/Aberdeen col by 2:45. The clouds billow in and out, and the wind screams, as we look right toward Aberdeen’s snowface and huge schrund. Looking left, we can see the summit of Haddo.

Considering the late hour, we decide to forego the estimated two-hours to summit on Aberdeen and turn toward Haddo. By 3:30 PM, we have summited and returned to the packs, shaken off the snow, and stepped down into the Haddo col exit toward Paradise Valley. We are soon out of the wind and into a steep snowfield, to plunge-step partially, and fall on your ass for the rest. No control via self-arrest, the snow is rotten. The beginning of the Horrible Haddo syndrome. We move into a series of cliff bands and we become 5.6 rock climbers in our heavy boots, with everyone getting much practice in route-finding.

Then we moved onto the next Horrible Haddo chapter, greasy, slick, scree that is too heavy to skate through but big enough to fall over. We do get the occasional, short-term bum ski. We have been eyeing the edge of the bowl with its greenery. Could this be a forgiving outlet?

Nope, just another Horrible chapter. This time it is bushwhacking, interspersed with gully travel. The bushwhacking eventually evolved into a trail that quickly deteriorated into a narrow creek. It is covered so thickly with bush that you cannot see the wet, flat, sloped rocks that take your boots out from under you. Plus, of course, there were those lovely, wet branches and roots that put you on your ass. By 7 PM, we had arrived at the Paradise trail. It criss-crosses the river and eventually ends at the Paradise parking lot.

By 8:45 we were at the cars. Here we added another chapter to the ordeal. No car keys.

The rain has been pouring down(again)for some time but we have some luck. Some tourists offer to drive Pat to the Lake Louise parking lot to pick up the vehicle that has the necessary keys. 1/2 hour later Pat is back and we are moving out of the Paradise Parking lot to Lake Louise Hostel to sort gear.

Mother Nature let us go home with a few lessons learned. Improve the weather and start earlier.

Oh yes, and remember the car keys.

Climbers: Brian, Pat and Chris(Calgary Section), Jim, Wayne