ACC Huts - Another Way To Have Fun in the Mountains

by Dave McCormick (dave.mcc@telus.net)


Not, perhaps, in the way you had thought, but as part of a Hut Work Party.


From June 21st to 29th, the ACC ran a work project at the Conrad Kain Hut in the Bugaboos.  For those who don't know the area, it's in the Purcell Mountains south of Golden, BC.  It's a premier climbing area with many granite spires rearing up out of glaciated terrain.  The Kain hut (named after Conrad Kain) sits just below Snowpatch Spire on the edge of the Bugaboos at an elevation of 2250 meters, with views of the Bugaboo Glacier, Hound's Tooth, Marmalota, Snowpatch Spire, Eastpost Spire and other peaks in the immediate area.


I try to join one hut work party each summer season and so, on the morning of June 21st, the crew (some volunteers, some ACC staff, 11 in total) met in Radium and made the drive north to Brisco and the 50 km west to the end of the Bugaboo Forest Service Road.


A good part of day 1 was spent ferrying loads of equipment, food and people up to the hut by helicopter.  If you haven't been on a work party before, the scale of these operations is something to see, keeping in mind that every possible tool that might be needed, as well as food for a large group for 9 days and building materials for a major renovation has to be on-site.  The nearest hardware store is a bit of a hike away....


The main goals of this project were to replace the siding on the hut, including 9 windows, dig out the outhouse and get the micro-hydro system working.  The work began almost as soon as the helicopter disappeared over the mountains.


It soon became abundantly clear that winter had not relaxed it's grip on this part of the world.  It was warm enough (I don't believe it dropped below freezing the whole time we were there), but there were several meters of snow everywhere.  We also had to contend with some rain almost every day and fog, some wind, cloud, and even the odd sunny break.


We weren't able to find the hydro system under all the snow, but there was success on installing the new windows, finishing the siding, doing some painting and generally just cleaning the site up.  And there was time for a short hike up towards Snowpatch and around the hills overlooking the Hut.


These Hut renovation projects take place every summer.  Volunteers are always needed.  Occasionally we look for volunteers with certain skills, but generally, as long as you like working with others, enjoy the mountain setting as a backdrop to your (usually outdoor) workshop and are somewhat handy with tools and building materials, there could be a place for you on an upcoming project.


Pictures of this project can be seen at: https://picasaweb.google.com/dave.mcc51/ConradKainHutProject


If this interests you, drop me a note and get on the e-mail list for upcoming hut projects.

Avalanche Transceivers - Recommendations from the Safety Committee

The Safety Committee of the Alpine Club of Canada recommends to the Board of Directors the adaptation of the following policy:

• Participants on all mountaineering, skiing and ice climbing trips, camps and courses of the Alpine Club of Canada in avalanche terrain are required to use a modern avalanche transceiver, as recommended by the Canadian Avalanche Centre. Recommended avalanche transceivers are digital, multi-antenna transceivers; analog and single-antenna transceivers are no longer acceptable. This policy becomes effective with the winter avalanche season 2011/2012, as of November 1, 2011.
• ACC members are advised to take note of the manufacturer’s recommendations for the expected useful service life of avalanche transceivers.
• ACC members are encouraged to upgrade avalanche transceivers to digital, three antenna models such as the Tracker 2, Ortovox 3+, Barryvox/ Mammut Pulse, Pieps DSP…;digital, two-antenna beacons (Tracker DTS, Ortovox X1…) are still acceptable.
• ACC members are also advised that the usefulness of any transceiver depends on the familiarity of the user with the transceiver. Regular practice throughout the season is strongly recommended.

Back in the Rockies

by Dave McCormick

I managed to arrange a trip to Calgary to coincide with the ACC's Board Meeting on May 1 & 2. Since I moved to the Koots and handed over the Board Rep position, I hadn't managed to attend an ACC meeting in Canmore in over 2 years.

The main purpose of the trip was to have a planning discussion with the ACC's maintenance people about the upcoming Hut maintenance projects and what they would need for volunteer help. Members and others should know that the ACC has quite a number of volunteers who help out on various alpine hut maintenance projects each season. If you haven't ever been involved in this way, you might want to consider it. Past projects have involved complete hut rebuilds to log replacements to painting, roof repairs, interior makeovers, exterior painting, and so on. The Club provides the food and refreshments and often a helicopter ride in to the worksite. All of this and the opportunity to spend a few days working with other interested, talented volunteers and staff makes the personal effort very worthwhile.

I also have to point out the snow that was still plastering most of the mountains around Canmore. In the photo above you will see snow on Yamnuska almost down to the parking lot. It was still a ways away from spring here. Some of my old favourites like Heart Mtn, Baldy, Yam, the 3 Sisters and Rundle had more snow than there was at times during the winter.

I also sat in on part of the Board meeting just to catch up on what's been happening recently. We expect a report on the meeting highlights shortly. All in all, it was a good trip back out to the Rockies and I actually felt a bit of nostalgia seeing all the old, familiar "hills". It was good to visit with friends and catch up on the news and I hope it won't be as long until the next time.

ACC National News - Spring Board Meeting

Section Chairperson Angela Spence attended the spring Board meeting in Canmore on May 3rd and 4th. For those of you who aren't familiar with how this part of the Club operates, here is a short primer: There are 19 regional sections from BC to Quebec with the National Office in Canmore, AB. Each Section sends one representative to 2 Board meetings each year. This Board of Directors discusses and approves the overall direction of the Club. Various interests of the Club are overseen by several Executive Vice Presidents (eg: VP Services, VP Facilities, etc.). All of these positions are filled by volunteers. National Office staff (the Executive Director and the various Directors of Maintenance, Facilities, etc) deal with the daily running of the Club.

Some highlights from the most recent meeting:

Financially, the Club is in good shape and is currently in a surplus position. Some of you may be aware that the Club has an equity interest in the Canadian Alpine Center (the Lake Louise Hostel) and this position contributes financially to the Club.

There was more discussion about waivers. Any of you who have taken part in Section activities will remembered being pestered to sign the waiver. This represents the Club's front-line defense from liability claims and covers the Club and members in the unlikely event there is an accident on a Club trip. The current discussion centered around the possible use of web-based trip sign-up and electronic waivers.

A small number of Sections, mostly from Winnipeg and east, have been wondering about the possibility of allowing route bolting work (retrofitting, repairing) as approved Club activities. The initial concern was how it would fit with the Club's liability insurance, especially if something were to happen on a route some time later. Our Section and probably most others in our region seem to donate funds to TABVAR, an organization in Calgary which works to maintain many of the bolted routes in our climbing area. It appears as though there will be an accommodation for those Sections interested in pursuing this activity.

Work has been started to accumulate material for volunteer training (trip leaders, Section executive members, etc) and that should be available by 2009.

There were 18 applications for TNF/ACC Summer Leadership Course. Two of our Section's members applied - Mike Wild and Mark Rosin. We should know shortly who was selected to attend.

The Spring Board Meeting is usually shorter to make way for the Club's Annual General Meeting which was also held during the weekend.

If you have questions about other parts of the meeting, please contact Angela for details.