The Story of the YEG ACC Ice Wall Famous it may be, but the familiar idiom “If you build it they will come” is actually a misquote from the 1989 baseball movie Field of Dreams. The actual quote is:” If you build it, he will come” (not they). The film itself is a metaphor for pursuing your dreams, and when used in the context of the ACC Edmonton Section dreams, the “they” certainly fits best....
Read moreThe term of the following Executive Committee positions are set to expire on October 31, 2021: Section Chair Treasurer Volunteer Chair Communcations Chair Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Chair The Election Committee will be accepting nominations for the above positions between September 1st and September 14th, 2021. If you wish to nominate a fellow Section Member, please notify the committee by sending an email to Elections@ACCEdmonton.ca. Job descriptions are available at https://accedmonton.ca/elections-2021/ and the length of the position...
Read moreGreg has been an (on and off) unaffiliated member of the ACC since 2000, and a YEG section member since 2017. As the new Access and Environment Coordinator, a volunteer position, Greg will function as a nexus for collecting and advocating for club member’s interests regarding access and environment issues. The role is all about building relationships with other user and interest groups and getting YEG-ACC recognized as a reliable partner where we share interests...
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Seven ACCers converged on the Lake Louise area for a long weekend of backcountry Nordic day tours February 19th, 20th, and 21st. Three potential new converts to the free-heel fraternity joined this trip, taking advantage of the club’s loaner avy gear and finding that Wilson Mountain Sports in Lake Louise rents backcountry Nordic skis and skins. Good snow and moderate avalanche conditions promised to show them a good time. Saturday’s objective was Molar Meadows via Read more…
6 of us spent our first day in the Canmore legion refreshing our AST 1 base knowledge of the snow theory and adding new skills to become independant and competent decision makers in avalanche terrain. Day two was spent in Kananaskis Country, climbing up into Sentinel Bowl to reach Purple Pass where we found waist deep snow. Apparently this was a rare occurrence in the Rockies. Despite all this fresh snow, we found no trace Read more…
We wanted to run an introduction to winter camping to provide the opportunity for new participants to continue camping all year long. We first conducted one evening of virtual training to bring everyone up to speed and to allow the group to share some best practices from everyone else. Despite the challenge of virtual training we acheived our objectives and convinced most of the virtual participants to participate in the actual camping day (funny how Read more…
From Tuesday afternoon through Friday morning we waited anxiously for news: would Akamina Parkway be open? Closed Monday due to avalanche danger, the Parkway is the route from Waterton townsite to the Little Prairie parking area – and the difference between our planned 3 km ski in to the Cameron Lake hut and an 18 km hike carrying skis. Eight intrepid Nordic touring skiers watched SpotWx.com, Avalanche.ca, and email updates from the helpful Parks staff as the Read more…
Yahareskin (traditional Stoney First Nations name) / Coliseum Mountain, Clearwater County, Alberta Moving time- 3 hours 40 minutes. Total time, including snacks and lunch, 4 hours 20 minutes. The traditional name Yahareskin from the Stoney First Nation means ‘mountain with a cap’. I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the traditional territories of the Indigenous peoples of the Treaty 6 region and the Big Horn Wesley peoples of the Stoney Nation. I respect Read more…
By Greg Hartman, ACC Edmonton Access & Environment Coordinator What is “Leave No Trace” Anyway? For decades, the ethics and best practice of respectful backcountry access have been embodied by the slogans “pack it in, pack it out” and “take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints”. While these were good, the pressures on wilderness have increased in recent years, in part due to the soaring popularity of outdoor recreation. Therefore, the ethics and best Read more…
Trip Report by Martin Schwangler Shadow Lake with Scarab Lake and Egypt Lake Extension, Banff National Park, June 26-29, 2021 The end of June and the beginning of the unrelenting heat-wave that swept over Alberta offered the opportunity to spend some quality time in the Rockies: The goal was to get some mileage on the new hiking boots and to shake off the winter rust and fully transition into summer mode. Jordanne and I planned Read more…
Cheops Mountain (West Ridge), Glacier National Park BC, July 12 2021~19km & ~1460m elevation, ~6.5 hrs moving time & 9 hrs car to car with lunch and lots of photo stops We had intended to do a different objective, but due to the road closures, we ended up with a later start than anticipated. As an alternate plan, we opted to do Cheops Mountain. We parked at the visitor centre in Rogers Pass and started Read more…