Summer 2010 - The Alpine Club of Canada

Library update
by Suzan Chamney
As the status of the Alpine Club of Canada’s Library and plans for its relocation
can best be described as a “moving target”, this report is based on the most current
information as this Gazette goes to press. At this point, the Club is moving
ahead with plans to put the collection into storage until it can be housed permanently.
However, we are still looking for appropriate alternative locations to house the Library,
with hopes that something will materialize before the actual move. A Request for
Proposals to pack the books in acid free
boxes, including a contents inventory of
each box, and to oversee the move of the
collection into short-term storage, will be
issued shortly.
Volunteer Robert Omeljaniuk has
reviewed the list of books to identify
publications that obviously should be
culled from the Library holdings versus
those that should be retained, as well as
noting any “significant” titles. Books that
are identified as those to be culled will be
removed from the collection before it is
boxed up for storage.
Details are being worked out in
regards to the renovations that would
be necessary to ensure appropriate
environmental controls are in place to
safeguard the collection against fire, water
and vermin should it be moved into the
Canmore Clubhouse.
National Volunteer Awards
Congratulations to the following dedicated volunteers who were recognized
for their outstanding contributions to the national and/or
section levels of the Alpine Club of Canada in 2009. Biographies of
the award recipients’ accomplishments can be found on the ACC’s website at
www.alpineclubofcanada.ca/awards/recent.html
Distinguished Service Award
Neil Bosch, Edmonton Section and
national Executive Committee
Kit Moore, Toronto
Sandy Walker, Rocky Mountain
and Calgary
Silver Rope Award
John Huybers, Prince George
Ken Cox, Prince George
Eric Brooks Leader Award
Rob Leblanc, Toronto
Martin Siegert, Vancouver
Shaun Fluker, Calgary
Reinhold Mayerhofer, Edmonton
Survey update:
Thank you to everyone who
responded to our online Library Survey.
We received 110 responses with many
positive suggestions. Feedback from 104
people, or 95 per cent of respondents,
was that the Club should keep its
Library. Eighty-two per cent expressed
a willingness to donate to the construction
of a library facility. Sixty-five
per cent thought it should be housed
in the Clubhouse; 25 per cent were
unsure where it should be housed. And,
84 per cent would be willing to pay
extra membership dues to support the
Library; of those, 11 per cent selected
$1; 48 per cent selected $5; 25 per cent
selected $10, and 15 per cent suggested
amounts ranging from $15 to $25.
Don Forest Service Award
Russ Moir, Vancouver Island
Andrea Petzold, Rocky Mountain
Darrel Newman, Ottawa
Yvon Deschambault, St. Boniface
Shannon Finnegan, Prince George
Joanne Bezanson-Earle, Prince
George
Kayla Stevenson, Vancouver
Gary Arnold, Edmonton
John Booth, Edmonton
Many thanks to the members of the Awards Committee for their commitment
to this endeavour: Paul Geddes (Chair), Tom Haslam-Jones, Dave McCormick,
Rod Plasman, André Mahé and Mike Thompson.
Quick draws
Alpine Club of Canada members
will be able to climb free of
charge at Kamouraska, Québec
this summer, thanks to an agreement
between the ACC and the Society for
Ecology Batture Kamouraska (SEBKA).
The agreement is supported by the
Club’s liability insurance which covers
all members who climb at the site,
whether independently or as part of a
section activity. Civil law in Québec
requires that all climbing area landowners
be insured. This is the first agreement
signed between the ACC and an owner/
operator of a climbing site in Québec,
and the Club looks forward to creating
similar agreements with other landowners
in the future. To learn more, visit
www.alpineclubofcanada.ca/sebka.html
Kudos to the Vancouver Island
Section for meeting head-on a campaign
to open up Capital Regional District
(CRD) Parks, especially the Sooke Hills
area from Humpback Road to the Sooke
River, to mechanized recreation, including
ATVs, motorbikes, four-wheel-drive
and mud trucks. The VI Section swiftly
took the lead mobilizing the support of
several other like-minded groups including
Club Tread and the BC Mountain
Club, resulting in 24 strong voices
representing 11,000 people speaking out
successfully against the proposal before
the deciding committee. Well done!
Meanwhile, Ottawa Section members
could use some help from all ACC
members to work toward preventing
a climbing closure to be enforced in
Gatineau Park. To provide your support,
please sign the on-line petition at
www.gatineauclimbingaccess.ca
And kudos again to Vancouver Island
Section for purchasing its own TrailRider
with funds from Royal Roads Running
Club, Saanich Legacy Foundation and
the VI Section. The non-motorized
one-wheel apparatus resembles a cross
between a wheelbarrow and a baby
jogger, which, with the assistance of a
few “Sherpas”, allows a disabled person
to be transported along backcountry
hiking trails. TrailRider Hiking with the
Disabled events are listed on the VI trip
schedule, with several ACC members
having acted as trip leaders on various
TrailRider outings. To learn more, visit
www.accvi.ca
22 Alpine Club of Canada Gazette Summer 2010