April 2001
April General Meeting
Climb Every Mountain: The Bridgland Repeat Photography Project
The two photos above were taken from the exact same location, overlooking the Athabasca River Valley in Jasper National Park. The difference is the one on the left is nearly one hundred years old! This month, Dr. Eric Higgs from the University of Alberta talks to us about his project aimed at duplicating a series of historic photos in the park. Come see the times as they are a-changing!
April 17th, 7:30 PM
The Rutherford Room
Varscona Hotel
8208 - 106 Street
(The après-meeting occurs downstairs in O’Byrne’s Pub)
Coming Soon
In this Issue
Upcoming Ski Trips
April 6 to 9 Yoho Traverse Advanced Dan Doll (403) 541-0570
April 7 and 8 Mount Hector Advanced John Stegmeier 472-2485
April 12 to 16 Mount Brazeau Advanced Markus Kellerhals 493-8198
April 14 to 16 Mount Columbia Advanced Van Konrad 922-5502
April 28 and 29 Cirrus Mountain Advanced Dan Doll (403) 541-0570
For more information on these trips, check out the online trip schedule at http://alpineclub-edm.org/activities/winter1.htm
Coming Events
Trip Leaders Meeting
HEAR YE! HEAR YE! HEAR YE! TRIP LEADERS TO ARMS!!!!
Let it be heard to all corners of this land that the Edmonton Section’s Trip Leader's meeting will be held at the Iron Horse Pub (8101 103 Street - Upstairs), on Tuesday, April 10th from 7:00pm - 9:30pm. Break out your maps and tell us your ideas, over a barley lunch. If you won't be able to make it call Bill Inch at 430-8174. Or better yet send him an email at binch@v-wave.com.
We want to encourage new trip leaders and beginner level trips, including dayhiking, backpacking and scrambling excursions! Even if you have never lead a trip before, come out to the meeting and chat with some of our more experienced people. Who knows, you might even be able to team up and co-lead a trip!
Bouldering Clinic
May 6 and 13
A Bouldering Clinic will be held Sunday May 6 and Sunday May 13. Each session will go from 4:00 to 7:00 P.M. and will be held at the University of Alberta Climbing Wall. The first session will deal with some basic bouldering techniques, and the second will get into more advanced moves. For those who may already have the basic moves down, but want to improve and build on their skills, this will be a great opportunity to get some coaching. There will be a maximum of 12 participants with two instructors including Simon Robbins, who taught at last year’s clinic. The cost for both sessions will be $40.00. Guarantee your spot by paying in full (write a cheque payable to Edmonton Section, ACC). If you are interested in attending the clinic, you need to e-mail or telephone Enid Higham (eahigham@telusplanet.net, or 439-1776). You need to state your name, contact number and ACC membership number. Priority will be given to Edmonton Section members. Non-members will only be accepted if the quota is not met by April 29. There will be an additional $10.00 fee for non-members. Last year this clinic filled up quickly, so act soon and don't be disappointed!
There are opportunities for us to use the climbing wall at times other than Wednesday nights. The easiest extra times to access are Sunday afternoons, from 4:00 - 7:00. It would be great to hear from members who have ideas about using these spots. Any ideas folks? There is some suggestion to have a "family day" of climbing, for instance. That would be an opportunity for members to introduce their children to climbing on an informal basis. Kids are great natural climbers, and the sport is very affordable when compared to other activities like hockey, figure skating, ballet, gymnastics, competitive and synchronized swimming. No bingos, no casinos, no fund raising, and no 5:30 am practices in January!!! It is a sport that you can participate in WITH your children, in the most fantastic environment in the world - the mountains! I'd like to get some feedback on interest level in such an event, so please e-mail or phone me to let me know whether to go ahead and schedule one or more "family climbing" days. Any other ideas are very welcome, as well!
Leadership Courses
May, June, and July
We have two leadership courses coming up this summer. The cost for each is about $60.00, with a maximum of four participants per course.
Rock Leadership: May 19th to 21st
Alpine Rock Leadership: June 30th to July 2nd
For more information, or to register, call Roger Marchand at 477-2943.
Edmonton Section 2nd Annual Climbing/Family Camp at Ghost River
Co-ordinator: Reinhard Berg 439-6822
Dates: ca. July 2-5, 2001
Cost: none
In July, 2000 we found that the road in was not nearly as bad as feared. There is pleasant hiking towards Lake Minnewanka, up the side valleys, and along the front of the Front Ranges. Good sport/practice climbing possibilities on the lower cliffs above camp, which will again be on the Banff Park Boundary. The climbing starts at ca. 5.7; the rock is pretty well the best limestone in the Rockies. This is a car-camping area in a flat-bottomed valley, so is suitable for young children. Rainy-day escapes to civilization are quite possible. Arriving earlier/later or leaving later/earlier are entirely possible. Sleep in vehicles or tents; shared fire & sanitary facility. A do-it-yourself-easy-come-easy-go sort of week!
Mount Kidd Trip
Dates: June 30-July 1st, 2001
Co-ordinator: Reinhard Berg 439-6822
The plan is to climb the NE buttress on Saturday, with a view to traversing the mountain and spending a night on the summit if the weather appears promising. Rock to 5.7, probably snow on descent, facility with short-roping an exposed ridge desirable. Meet in front of the mall at 5:00AM Saturday June 30. Hopefully a good way to escape the weekend crowds.
Barry Blanchard Talk
Friday May 4, 2001
7:00 - 9:00
University of Alberta
Van Vliet Room E 120
$6.00
Barry Blanchard has climbed a lot. In many cool places - Everest, K2, Denali, the Alps, and pioneering routes in the Rockies. He’s also helped out Mr. Sylvester Stallone during the making of "Cliffhanger", as well as taking part in the filming of "K2". A native of Calgary and now a guide in Canmore, Barry will share some of his vast repertoire of climbing experience with us. Don’t miss this inside view into the life of a jet-setting, movie star, mountain man!
Best of the Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival
Wednesday April 11, 2001 - 7:30 PM
The Provincial Museum of Alberta
12845 - 102 Avenue
Mountain Equipment Co-op is proud to present the 6th annual festival. The films capture the spirit and excitement of mountain adventure. Tickets are available at Mountain Equipment Co-op (12328 102 Avenue) for $8.00 or at the door for the same price.
New Club Ropes Policy
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Since the Gear article was published in the last Breeze discussing the increased incidence of rope damage, we have had to cut a 10th rope and, unfortunately, the damaged section was in the middle. This means that a 4th rope has had to be retired from use and the loss to the club is now standing at about $700.00. We have taken a photo of the retained damaged sections as of March 1, 2001 which is attached for your information. |
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If you are on a club trip and notice another participant who is accidentally stepping on the ropes or skiing over them please speak up when you notice the problem! It may simply be that the participant is unaware of the problem. If the person continues to be careless with the ropes, please speak up again and louder this time! Both their future safety and yours depends upon it. In addition, careless people may eventually cause the entire membership to lose their rope privileges!!!! One trip leader recently spoke to me about a trip where a novice skied over the glacier rope no less than 25 times in one day, despite having been asked to be more careful after the 5th time!!! This is not acceptable use of club gear and certainly would not have been acceptable to the owner of a private rope.
If you are the participant who has been asked to be more careful, please do not get upset at the person identifying the problem! They are trying to be helpful and they have everyone's safety in mind!!! Please try to be more careful with the ropes in future!
These issues are currently being hotly debated by the executive and we have decided to institute user fees as discussed below to recoup some of the losses and to help remind the users about proper rope management. You should be aware that some of the alternatives discussed by the Executive included:
We are ONCE AGAIN asking all trip leaders to remind all trip participants to be extra careful with the ropes. In particular, do not step on them (especially with crampons) and ensure that the ropes are not running over any sharp edges! When transporting ropes, please ensure that they are on top of (not under) the other gear and baggage and are kept away from any sharp vibrating edges (i.e., skis, adze edges, crampons) or other bits of gear. Please try to keep them clean and away from mud, oil, gas or other spills in your vehicle. We ask you to check the ropes over thoroughly for damaged sections when coiling them. If you find a damaged section, please tie it off in a bight and point it out when returning the ropes. We are also interested in knowing how the damage occurred, if possible. In short, treat club ropes as if they are your own personal gear, purchased with your own hard earned cash!
To try to recoup some of our losses, the Executive has decided to institute a policy of charging a nominal rope use fee of $1.00 per participant, per day, on trips where club ropes are used. Trip leaders are exempt from this fee but are asked to collect money from all trip participants to put into the gear fund. We would be grateful to receive any additional donations from the people who have been using this gear. Donations are being collected by Edwina and Chris at the time of the return of the ropes or at ACC meetings.
We are also currently selling sections of rope for shortroping or anchor slings as follows:
10.5-PMI dry rope, used on 12 trips - 38.5 m for $70.00
10.5-PMI dry rope, used on 12 trips - 21.5 m for $40.00
Rentals, gear loans or rope purchases can be arranged by contacting:
Edwina Podemski or Chris Wood
11251 - 35 Ave
436-5474 (h) 424-8600 (w)
E-mail: winterchair@alpineclub-edm.org
Please do not call after 9:30 PM as some of us get up at 5:00 am! Arrangements can also be made to pick up and drop off gear at Edwina's office downtown, if necessary.
Alpine Club Trivia
Have some fun and help out your section executive by finding the answer to the following question:
Where did the original artwork for the Breeze masthead come from? Who took the photo? Who designed the layout?
If you know the answer, please e-mail your information to breeze@alpineclub-edm.org.
Good luck!!!
Environment Committee Report
Evan Thomas Protected Area
The provincial government is in the process of developing a management plan for the most developed portion of Kananaskis Country. Included in the "Evan Thomas node" are the Kananaskis (Hotel) Village, Nakiska Ski Area, Sundance Lodges, Ribbon Creek Youth Hostel, Kananaskis Golf Course, Mount Kidd RV Park, and other recreational facilities. A local advisory Committee was established and they were seeking input from various user groups in January 2001. The climbing community was collectively represented by David Dornian, who is involved both with the Calgary Mountain Club (CMC), and the ACC Nationally. The advisory committee will forward their recommendations to the Minister of Alberta Environment in the spring of 2001. Here is a copy of the interest statement presented to the committee by David Dornian:
"There are well over 10,000 outdoor recreationalists that consider themselves "climbers" in the Calgary urban area alone... There are scores of educational institutions, clubs, organizations, and commercial interests whose programs are devoted in whole or in part to scrambling, climbing, or mountaineering in the Kananaskis area... This interest statement represents only a small portion of those climbers directly, but a vast number of them indirectly... The Alpine Club of Canada, Calgary Section, has over 700 members. The Calgary Mountain Club represents more than 300 members. Mt. Royal College’s Outdoor Education Program has produced thousands of graduates. The Rocky Mountain Section of the Alpine Club of Canada is the largest of a national membership numbering over 6000... All have strong ties to the peaks, crags, and historical routes in the Evan Thomas area... Generally we are very much in favor of CONTINUED ACCESS to the areas that we hike, climb, and scramble within the mountains. As climbers, we tend to view ourselves as an environmentally sensitive group of people, who tread lightly and have a great respect for and interest in preserving the wilderness that we love so much... Along with that comes the interest to LIMIT DEVELOPMENT in terms of commercial and vehicle usage. There are enough hotels, ski areas, golf courses, and campgrounds already present in Kananaskis Country. Climbers and hikers seek solitude in the mountain environment, for an intimate experience with Mother Nature... If a closure of an area is necessary due to wildlife and/or environmental restoration reasons, we recommend the publicity of such in very clear ways. Posting detailed closure signs with the reasons for the closure, and the anticipated re-opening dates at the trailhead, circulating notices amongst user groups (most of us have email communication loops of some sort), and being open to feedback and reassessment of closures. Publicize your findings. Did the trail closures HELP the environment or animal population, and in what way? This will encourage mountain enthusiasts' continued cooperation in the future... Provide us opportunities for working for the betterment of the area, working with trail maintenance and clean-up crews. Host continued trail maintenance sessions and publicize them within our groups. Many of us are eager to give back to the areas we spend so much of our leisure time enjoying... Consider the impact of roadside parking in relation to the popular and classic climbing and hiking areas. Not every popular area needs a parking lot, but in areas where the ditches are being ruined by continual car parking, consider paved pull-offs as have been developed on the Icefields Parkway. Regarding Evan-Thomas, I'm thinking we need to protect the following resources: ... Waterfall ice climbs in Evan-Thomas (Moonlight, Snowline, Chantilly, etc.) ... Rock climbing at Wasootch Slabs and the other slabs (Lorette, McDougall, etc.) ... Waterfall ice at Mt. Kid Falls, (Bridge Too Far), and all the rest in Galatea Creek... Waterfall ice along Mt. Kidd (Lotus Bleu, Sinatra Falls, etc.)... Ski touring in all the valleys (Evan Thomas, Galatea, Ribbon Creek) and their side creeks... Waterfall ice on the Fortress (Coal Miner's, etc.) as well as Mt. Galatea (new routes)... All of the alpine zone for mountaineering purposes (not many complete traverses of Mt. Kidd, yet!) RESTRICT / PROHIBIT recreational vehicles, trail bikes, ATV's, snow machines. DON'T CHARGE entrance fees to any parts of K Country. ALLOW private search and rescue teams OR, better still, get people to rescue themselves... Presently, commercial groups and even school groups (like Mount Royal College) need an annual permit to take groups into these areas, requiring the backing of $2,000,000 (recent change within the last month). This more or less precludes small businesses that need to pay high annual premiums. Unless we're to end up with a situation like the ACMG monopoly in the National Parks, this should be given another look. I personally like the European Alpine idea of having clients pay their own insurance (rather than dinging the operators). Hope this is useful."
Allan Derbyshire
Calgary Mountain Club
Instructor, Mount Royal College
"Last, but not least, please continue to solicit feedback from us on the changes you make. We thank you for the opportunity to provide feedback in this stage of the Management Plan! Keep us updated!"
Stacey Karalash
Access and Environmental Chairperson
Calgary Section, Alpine Club of Canada
Reports
Tri-Ice-A-Thon
The First Annual Tri-Ice-A-Thon was held on March 3rd and 4th. Twenty-one Ice Climbers competed for cash and prizes on the three different Ice walls. There were nine events in total, three at each wall. Timed events included: Round the World (traverse), Blind Folded, Single Crampon, Single Axe, and Timed Up (each wall). Just for fun there was a swimsuit competition at the end of the day. Participants had the opportunity to climb in their swim suits then hop in the hot tub at Shunda Creek Hostel afterwards. Cash prizes were awarded on best overall times in both men’s and ladies categories, novice and advanced climbers, for first, second, and third place. All 4th place climbers also received prizes. Men’s advanced winners were:
Wade Suvan 1st, Mike Adolph 2nd, Rod Church 3rd, Jay Mills 4th. Ladies winners were: Jenna Adolph, 1st, Sherry Dechaney 2nd, Kim Anderson 3rd, Shelly Irmen 4th. Men’s Novice winners: Dan Duhamel 1st, Jordi Leavitt 2nd James Wilms 3rd and Drew Cannam 4th. Times were very close in all categories, often just seconds apart.
What started out to be a small event, turned very quickly into a well sponsored one as Track n Trail, Mountain Equipment Coop (Edmonton), Valhalla Pure Outfitters (Red Deer) and Black Diamond (Salt Lake City) came out and offered the use of their demo gear, helped out at the different sites and donated cash and/or prizes to the event. Cash and prizes were also donated from a host of other sponsors including: Gravity Gear in Jasper, Ice Field Helicopter Tours, Rocky Credit Union, Dunsford and Scott, Glenn’s Sports Line, Safety Depot (all Rocky Mountain House), Nordegg Resort Lodge, Goldeye Centre, Ed Spencer Consulting, Bruce Miller Construction (all Nordegg and area), as well as the Travel Shop in Edmonton and the Alpine Club of Canada (Edmonton Chapter)
The event was co-hosted by the Centre for Outdoor Education, the Shunda Creek Hostel and Frontier Lodge, all near Nordegg. As the day progressed it was obvious from all of the support that it not only was a sponsored event, but one that the Nordegg Community was involved in as well. Breakfast was served at Frontier Lodge, lunch was hosted by Nordegg Resort Lodge, and dinner was provided by Goldeye Centre.
As the evening went on, a sense of Community spirit could be felt amongst the climbers as prizes were given out, and some of the winner’s donated their prize money back to the community to help support the Nordegg Community Association. Everyone was a Winner!
Spectators were treated to a beautiful sunny day, filled with lots of cheers and encouragement from climbing team members.
At first, it looked to be a serious competition amongst the more advanced climbers but turned out to be a fun filled event which challenged each and every one of them. As the novice climbers poured their hearts into the difficult climbs, you could hear cheers of support from all of the other climbers for them to "keep going."
Next years Tri-Ice-A-Thon is slated for March 1-3 2002, and promises to be bigger and more challenging than this year's event.
SEE YOU ON ICE!
Cheers from,
Cheri @ COE
A 2001 Ski Odyssey
Fairy Meadows Ski Camp -- March 3-10, 2001
David Zemrau
Shortly after the group started talking about someone doing up a trip report on this years annual Section Ski Camp, my thoughts brought back the high standard for such a tale - told by our current co-editor of the "Breeze", Frank Geddes. It’s just too bad he doesn’t ski like he can write. Anyway, I thought I would try my hand at recounting the wonderful week we finished last Saturday.
The Group made it down on time to the meeting place in Golden on Saturday morning, without any transportation problems encountered on the way from our fair city to this small logging town. After a short convoy west from Golden to our shared helipad, we were quickly flown 20 minutes north of the trans-Canada highway to our base of operations. Once Ernst and I left the helicopter we noticed a group of skiers looking at the chopper like they had never seen one before. The two of us had to physically escort some of these folks to their seats. At first we figured they were having so much fun they didn’t want to leave this little piece of ski heaven. Later however, we found out they didn’t like aircraft that had their engines running. Shortly after everyone arrived we did some recurrent avalanche transceiver training/practice before hitting the slopes behind the hut.
On the Sunday we decided to head up to Friendship Col and ascend Mount Sentinel (nothing like "making hay while the sun shines" or something like that). Prior to the trip the group followed the weather reports in the area with great attention. We knew that the snowpack was below normal, and was just as unstable as in the Rockies this season. It didn’t take me long to test the stability of the snowpack - shortly after hitting the top of the practice slopes I triggered a small release from the top of a roll. This release was about 10 metres from top to bottom with the depth being around 20 cm, and it ran right down to the flat rock surface. It made for a good reminder of the type of year we’re having and also for a good photo op. The rest of the day went as planned - a quick ascent with fantastic views of the western side of the Rockies and the peaks around the Gothic glacier. Did I mention the 40 cm of powder skiing down to the hut from the summit ridge?
Monday was planned as the yo-yo ski day. This would soon become equipment testing day. Marion found her one binding was broken so she grabbed the extra pair we brought with us. Surprisingly enough, the second pair didn’t last all that long for Marion - possibly as a result of her aggressive skiing style and her new plastic boots.
In the end, she returned to her old bindings, but kept her hammer in her pack so she could get her boot back into the defective binding. The other equipment problem was when Ken’s new "Big Easy" ski attacked his forehead. Ken got a little worried after Ernst got out a thread and needle, but in the end he managed to talk Ernst in handing over a bandage instead.
Tuesday saw us playing around on Colossal, Enterprise and Unicol, all of which are on the Granite Glacier. This day allowed us to scout the way to Sir William. The following day we had one group ascent Sir William as another played below Sentinel under the hot March sun.
We were skiing the area out a bit so snow was ordered. On Thursday the snow arrived on-time so some of the group headed into the trees while the others heading up to Friendship col. Before we knew it we were on the last day of ski week, so we decided to do an ascent of Fria and get in as many turns as our legs would allow on the Gothic Glacier. Funny thing, by Friday we all looking like we could actually ski powder like we knew what we were doing.
One of the non-ski events was the euro-inspired "driving into the snow after the sauna". One of the lady skiers from the other group was quoted as saying "she’d seen quite enough of Ernst". Ernst of course was made official "Sauna-meister" early on into the trip. Not to be undone by Ernst, Reinhold soon earned the title "Rope-meister" or something German like that. Of our group it seemed only Lorris and I had a poor grasp of the German language. One evening we even celebrated some of our Teutonic heritage by having an Octoberfest meal. The sauerkraut did some funny things at higher altitude.
On the last night Marion wrestled with a Pine Martin for the chocolate cheesecake and I am happy to announce the little weasel lost the battle. After supper we showed Dan our empty après ski beverage bottles so he took pity and brought out his large bottle of "Cutty Sark" (thanks Dan!), which allowed us to stay up and solve the problems of Parks Canada until the wee hours.
Saturday we flew out on time despite fairly low cloud cover. Funny thing, even with the overcast skies all the faces in the helicopter were tanned and were still smiling those big "POW" smiles.
The Skiers were: Ernst Bergmann, Dan Doll, Ken Hope, Van Konrad, Reinhold and Marion Mayerhofer, Denelle Peacey, Lorris and Kathy Williams and David Zemrau
Excellent Adventures in Nordegg
Edwina Podemski
On the weekend of March 3 & 4 we led a beginner trip to the Nordegg Area. Despite the flurry of last minute participant changes, we managed to get 14 climbers out for the trip. Some of the more experienced (crazy?) climbers sought out excitement and danger on steeper multipitch routes! The (saner) remainder went to the Balfour Wall, which is located part way up Mt. Murchison, near Saskatchewan River Crossing. From the highway pullout, a well- beaten trail took us up to the climb, which has more ice than usual this year. The ropes can be set by walking up from a gully system to the right of the ice, which makes this a good area for beginners. The top anchors are from trees, providing you have long slings. The climbs range from WI2 to WI4, giving a good variation of climbs. We had fabulous warm weather and sunshine as evidenced in the photos. The views of Mt. Chephren, Kaufmann Peaks, Epaulette Mountain and Mt. Sarbach are wonderful, making this a very aesthetic place to climb. In addition, you can get behind the ice curtains on either end, where large caves form. We were able to get some great photos of climbers from the right hand cave system as the curtain was missing in places. It's a great place to try out a shorter WI4 on top rope! We returned that night to the Shunda Creek Hostel for a spaghetti feast, to carbo load for the next day's adventures. We were lucky enough to be offered demo ice axes by the reps from MEC. A big thank-you goes out to Jonathan for arranging demo gear for us! They filled us in on happenings at the Nordegg Tri-Ice-A-Thon, which was a big success, as reported elsewhere in this issue of the Breeze! Eight of our original group were brave enough to venture out to Nightmare on Elm Street, which pours off of the top of the canyon wall along the Cline river. Parking is located just north of the Cline river bridge. Follow the trail until you reach the first reasonable sized grove of poplar trees on the left (marked with orange flagging) and continue through the trees, descending to the edge of the canyon to the top of the climbs. You can anchor your ropes to the trees and belay from the top. As the climb is long (35 to 40m) and the sound of rushing water makes it difficult to hear, we recommend that climbers carry a whistle to signal their belayer. For the nervous, a short walk west and a descent down the trail into the canyon provides a clear view of the objectives. It's not nearly as bad as it looks when being lowered from the top! This year there was sufficient ice in the canyon bottom to walk to the base of the climbs, or alternatively, a great way to escape if the routes were too difficult... but no one needed to use it. This was actually the first year that we have seen sufficient ice in the creek bed to provide a walk-off so you shouldn't assume it will be there in future. This climb has great ambiance, and a great belay, particularly on sunny spring days. We were even able to get a rope on a more difficult variation, known as Freddy Kruger which is rated at about 4+ in the conditions that we found it. We didn't even need to call anyone's mum to tell them not to be scared! After the climb we met up for Baldy burgers at the Nordegg Resort Lodge with Rick and Chris S. who told us tales about finding conduit rappel anchors on Murchison Falls which appeared to be backed up by an Abalakov.... or was the 1/2 inch conduit the backup (I dread to think!)? The debate rages on. A summary of the debate: Wake up guys! It's2001! Conduit is neither biodegradable nor reliable! Don't call us or we'll mock you to your face!
For more trip photos, please see the photo essay on the Chris & Eddie's Excellent Adventures website at: http://www.hostyn-podemski.com/cwep/
Trip Participants: Jen, Tanya, Tracey, Colin, Victor, Roger, Walter, Susan, Rick, Chris S., John, Ezekiel, Chris & Eddie.