Fall 2006 - The Alpine Club of Canada

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Yukon Centennial Camp expands region’s climbing record STORY & PHOTOS BY PAUL GEDDES This past June, I was out with a group of Alpine Club of Canada climbers, ‘whooping it up’ in the Icefi eld Ranges of the Saint Elias Mountains. During several previous expeditions by me and other Toronto Section members to the area, an inventory of climbing opportunities had been tabulated: Pinnacle Peak 1990, Donjek 1992, Slaggards 1997, Steele 2000, Latus Arm 2003 and South Walsh 2005. Donjek, the site of our 1992 camp, was selected as the prime location for the Club’s Centennial camp for several reasons: its close proximity to the lee side of Mount Logan, relatively simple aircraft access to the Kluane Lake airstrip and a multitude of reasonable climbing objectives, all approachable on skis. When our group arrived on the shores of Kluane Lake on June 2, the last remnants of the winter ice were still evident. Beginning our fl ights into basecamp the following day, we felt very lucky to get the majority of our Camp participants proudly display ACC Centennial fl ag 10 Alpine Club of Canada � Gazette � FALL 2006 party onto the glacier as scheduled. Th e 2006 climbing season had been particularly hampered by poor weather throughout May, and several parties couldn’t fl y in to their destinations at all. Unfortunately, our window of fl ying opportunity closed with us – short two fl ights and four members of our group. Willa Harasym, our volunteer logistics manager, provided the necessary support to the splinter group at the airstrip until fl ights could resume four days later. Reading, grocery trips to Haines Junction, and eating and socializing with other stranded climbers occupied their days. By the time the fl ights resumed, one delayed participant had decided that the potential isolation of the Saint Elias was more than he cared for and he stayed out to hike and tour the lowlands. With everyone fi nally together, the camp was now in full swing. One or more climbing objectives were accomplished each day except one, all skillfully planned and executed by Association of Canadian Mountain Guides guide Helen Sovdat, assisted by Tim Styles, an ACMG ski guide. Th e climbing record of the rarely visited Eclipse Glacier was greatly expanded during our nine days of active climbing, with 11 peaks climbed – four of them fi rst recorded ascents and four by new routes. Yukon Centennial Camp with Mounts Walsh and Steele in the distance Donjek, Badham and Eclipse were all popular objectives for most of the group. With a stable weather forecast, Helen and three of our strongest members set off on a three-day expedition to establish a high camp at the Walsh/Steele col, a day’s travel on skis with sleds from basecamp. Th eir reaching the 4507metre summit of Mount Walsh was an accomplishment beyond our expectations. Enjoying the best weather of the 2006 climbing season, we were restricted to camp only one day, for 12 hours during a period of rain – very unusual for the camp’s 2830-metre elevation. We also enjoyed mostly excellent conditions, despite a wide variety of temperatures. During the fi rst few days we experienced winter-like ski conditions on north facing slopes, then after the rainstorm, conditions fi rmed up. In the last days of the camp the glacier surface was very soft by late afternoon. Taking advantage of blue skies, we fl ew out a couple of days prior to our scheduled departure date. Again, we managed to fl y out all but four of our team before a two-day weather delay. A brief respite in the weather allowed for the quick two fl ights needed to get the four remaining climbers out, but there wasn’t enough time for a third fl ight to fl y out the last of our gear and food. It would be a week before the weather
Financial Grants Through the generosity of many donors, the Alpine Club of Canada has funds in place to support mountaineering related projects and initiatives. Th e annual deadline for submission of grant applications is January 31, and the announcement date for grants awarded is March 15. The Environment Fund provides support for projects aimed at contributing to the protection and preservation of mountain and climbing environments, including the preservation of alpine fl ora and fauna in their natural habitat. Th e focus of the Fund is wilderness conservation. The Jen Higgins Fund promotes creative and energetic alpine related outdoor pursuits by women age 25 and younger. Th ese projects should demonstrate initiative, creativity, energy and resourcefulness with an emphasis on self-propelled wilderness travel, and should provide value and interest to the community. For complete information and application forms, visit our website: www.AlpineClubofCanada.ca/funds/index.html or contact the National Offi ce. Continued from page 6. stabilized suffi ciently to allow a fl ight back in to retrieve it. For the curious, there are ravens (and we saw an eagle) at this elevation! Piloting all of our fi xed wing fl ights was Donjek Upton, to whom Andy Williams, icon of fl ying in the Icefi eld Ranges for the last 30 years, passed the torch. Donjek is the son of Phil Upton, who decades before mentored Williams as his successor. Yukon Alpine Centennial Camp participants included Bill Walker, Ted Wood, Jan Ijsakkers, John Raich, John Myles, Uta Schuler, Jim Given, Bob Bolin, Klaus Haring, Roger Wallis, Willa Harasym, Helen Sovdat, Tim Styles, Jessica Logher (cook), and Paul Geddes as camp manager. Everyone involved would like to thank Mountain Hardwear (Space Station basecamp tent), Bean North (premium fair trade organic coff ee), Icefi eld Discovery (fi xed wing fl ights), Trans North Helicopters, Mary and Gerry Whitley (volunteer logistical support Whitehorse) and the ACC. www.ospreypacks.com The all-new Switch Series Mountaineering Riding Backcountry Snowboard & Snowshoeing In-bounds / Ski > > > Hatchback Top Load Ski Strap Distributed by In-Sport Fashions Inc. - info@insport.ca StraightJacket Compression Helmet Pocket Sven Brunso in Valle Nevado, Chile. Photo: Scott Smith Alpine Club of Canada � Gazette � FALL 2006 11
Page 1 and 2: Vol. 21, No. 3 � Fall 2006 Centen
Page 3 and 4: The Alpine Club of Canada Publicati
Page 5 and 6: Progress!! BY DAVID TOOLE The Alpin
Page 7 and 8: Th ere is no doubt about the warmin
Page 9: Canada’s McColl wins Youth World
Page 13 and 14: 8 9 12 7 10 11 Centennial Events Oc
Page 15 and 16: ACC hosts Canada’s fi rst mountai
Page 17 and 18: about stability, which leads to rou
Page 19 and 20: desired climbing objectives. Our ca
Page 21 and 22: Solar powered lights installed at F
Page 23 and 24: CLASSIFIED ADS ACC CUSTOM PORTERING

Fall 2006 - The Alpine Club of Canada

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