< /a>

The North Face - ACC Summer Leadership Training Course

	Photo: © Cyril Shokoples / Rescue Dynamics’

The North Face has been a supportive sponsor of the Leadership Courses since their inception and we thank them for their assistance.

Amateur Leaders are the backbone of the Alpine Club – providing beginner, intermediate, and advanced trips to other members, and allowing Sections to boast broad and varied trip schedules.
 
With the support of The North Face, each year we run summer and winter training courses for amateur leaders from across the country in recognition of the tireless work these volunteers do and their need for high quality training. The main goal of the course is to help members who are already leading trips become better, stronger, and safer leaders for the Sections and for National Camps.

Participant fees are subsidized by The North Face and the Alpine Club of Canada and a commitment for a return to the Club in volunteer energy will be sought from all members who attend.

The focus of this course will be to identify and exercise key skill sets for summer mountain leadership situations. This course is set in the midst of one of the most demanding places amateur leaders can find themselves &nda sh; the ACC’s General Mountaineering Camp. Eight days of adventure, planning, and practice will develop each individual’s capabilities covering a broad range of hard and soft leadership skills with the focus on the following:

Photo: ©Conrad Janzen

• rope handling skills (specifically in general mountaineering situations);
• glacier travel;
• route planning, selection and finding;
• navigation;
• short-roping;
• multi-pitch routes;
• rock and crevasse rescue systems;
• group dynamics, interaction and management; and
• emergency situation management.

*Please note the course does not cover technical climbing/skiing skills or first aid.

Conditions permitting, the majority of the daylight hours will be spent actively in the field, building skills and techniques. In the evenings – after dinner and a bit of relaxation – informal presentations and group discussions of the above topics will be held. Based on skills and experience in previous mountaineering adventures and trip leadership, it is hoped that everyone will be able to participate in and contribute to these discussions.

Participants should be ready to plan, lead and co-ordinate all aspects of trips during the field section of the course. This will be an intensive, thought-provoking course with lots of learning for everybody!

You will find a more detailed course outline and objectives on Cyril Shokoples’ website:

http://www.rescuedynamics.ca/courses/lead/TNF/ACCTNF.htm

The 2009 TNF/ACC Summer Leadership Course will take place during the 5th week of the General Mountaineering camp which will take place at in the Trident/Neptune group of the Northern Selkirk Mountains, located one range west of the Rockies At an elevation of 2120m/7000’ (grid ref-209489), we will have a spectacular campsite located in the Trident/Neptune basin. This protected campsite will be very comfortably situated beside a small stream.

Application Process

There are two types of spots on the course: Section and National. The majority of the spots go to Section applicants to train their own leaders. National spots go to applicants who are training to be National Camp Managers.

For Section Placement you must submit each of the following:

• Completed application form – one copy to your Section and one copy to National at
• Letters of reference from two of your climbing partners who can attest to your skills. References (including name, relationship, and email address) should send their letters directly to
• Your Section Executive should send their endorsement of your application directly to . Note that if your Section chooses to endorse more than one person, we will ask the Section to prioritize the applicants from the perspective of the general good of the Section.

** All of the above must be submitted electronically to National before midnight on May 1, 2009. Please ensure that your application is complete, and that your letters of reference have been submitted. Incomplete applications will likely be rejected.

For National Placement you must submit each of the following:

• Completed application form –one copy should be sent electronically to the National office at:
• Letters of reference from two of your climbing partners who can attest to your skills. References (including name, relationship, and email address) should send their letters directly to
• Endorsement of your application by one of the following should be sent directly to

• Director, Club Services
• An ACMG Mountain Guide who works on ACC Camps
• A current National camp manager or amateur leader

** All of the above must be submitted electronically to National before midnight on May 1, 2009.  Please ensure that your application is complete, and that your letters of reference have been submitted. Incomplete applications will likely be rejected.

If you have been selected for one of the spots at the TNF ACC Leadership Course, you must complete and return The Alpine Club of Canada's Waiver of Liability form as a condition of registration. This form will be sent out t o candidates who have been selected. Participants will not be allowed to attend the course if the completed form is not received prior to the commencement of camp.

Selection Criteria

Photo: © Nancy Hansen

This leadership course is designed for those members who already have considerable climbing and mountaineering experience, and have taken some related courses. The TNF-ACC courses are to provide training for our active sect ion trip leaders, GMC amateur rope leaders and national camp managers. It should be emphasized that this course is not designed to replace local section leadership and training initiatives; rather, it is a fine-tuning for participants and a focused lea rning/sharing program.

The following criteria are used when assessing applications. There is no "order of importance" within the criteria.

• applicants must submit a complete application, including all requested references and either Section or National endorsement
• applicants must have the appropriate and adequate technical skills and abilities
• applicants must be active, contributing members of the ACC, and show a willingness to commit to leading trips once they've taken the course

Within these guidelines, the committee strives to create equality amongst the numbers of participants from different Sections.

Dates & Price Application deadline: May 1, 2009 Announcement of successful applicants: May 15, 2009 Course dates: August 8 - August 15, 2009 Cost per person is $795 + GST Information package: Click here Application package: Click here Click here Photo: © Cyril Shokoples / Rescue Dynamics’		Level of Difficulty The focus of the courses is to provide training for our active section trip leaders, GMC amateur rope leaders and national camp managers. Applicants need to have organized and led ACC trips and have considerable pertinent skills, especially those relevant to mountain activities. Participants should be fit, strong and have confidence in their own skills. We can’t stress enough the need for a good level of fitness - participants must be prepared to spend long, consecutive days in the field, building skills and techniques. In the evenings, there will be presentations and group discussions on various leadership topics. For those individuals who live at lower elevations (less than 1000m/3300’), we recommend that you arrive in the mountains a few days before the camp to do some hiking or climbing on your own. You will be living at and above 2120m/7000’ for the week.
		2008 Planned Itinerary* August 8 – meet in Revelstoke at the Regent Inn, located at 112 East 1st Street; fly into the camp August 9 - 14 – the course will go over many topics, including rope handling skills (specifically in general mountaineering situations); glacier travel; route planning, selection and finding; navigation; short-roping; multi-pitch routes; rock and crevasse rescue systems; group dynamics, interaction and management; and emergency situation management. August 15 – Fly out to staging area *Subject to change

Staff:

Cyril Shokoples, and Helen Sovdat will be your guides and instructors for the week with experienced Amateur Leader Roger Marchand rounding out the team.

The camp staff will guide and instruct each segment of the program with daily field activities, and coordinate them with evening presentations and group discussions. In addition, The North Face might provide a representativ e, who, if he/she is able to attend, will be contributing during the week.

All meals will be prepared by the GMC cooks.

ACMG Mountain Guide Cyril Shokoples		ACMG Mountain Guide Helen Sovdat
Cyril began his career as an outdoor professional 30 years ago. His professional mountain guiding began a quarter century ago and he is an internationally certified mountain guide. He is a past president of the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides and has received distinguished service awards from the North West Mountaineering Club, The Alpine Club of Canada and the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides. He was the coordinator of Prehospital Care programs at the Alberta Vocational College where he trained Emergency Medical Technicians and developed the Parks Emergency Responder course for national park wardens. He still delivers that course all across Canada and teaches Wilderness Emergency Care to mountain guides. Cyril trains the Canadian Forces Search and Rescue Technicians in Mountain Rescue and is one of the primary instructors on the ACC summer and winter TNF national leadership courses.		Helen is a certified IFMGA guide (International Federation of Mountain Guides Association) and is currently based in the Canadian Rockies. She is one five internationally certified woman guides in Canada. She has been a member of the ACC for over 25 years and been involved with a variety of outdoor programs ranging from skiing to climbing and leadership training. Helen leads international expeditions all over the world and has visited the Andes, Nepal and Mongolia with her groups. She looks forward to sharing adventures around the globe with ACC members.
Amateur Leader Roger Marchand
Growing up in Northeastern Alberta, Roger was introduced to x-country skiing and paddling at age 12.  When whitewater kayaking was becoming a bit too risky Roger turned to climbing as a participant at the 94 Elk Lakes GMC.  The mountains quickly became a focal point for activities.  Roger began helping the Edmonton section with introductory courses in 1995 teaching summer and winter in the mountain courses to new members. Roger attended both the summer and winter TNF leadership courses and in 2003 received the ACC Silver Rope award for leadership.  Roger has participated as an amateur leader at the GMC for the past seven years and helping instruct the summer  TNF course for the past two years. He is excited to share his passion for mountaineering in an environment that started his own exploring in the mountains.

Other great summer trips offered by the Alpine Club of Canada:

Getting Started:		Moderate:
	First Summits — Summer Mountaineering July 1 (eve) - July 5, 2009 (4 days)		Marmot Women's Climbing Camp July 5 - 10, 2009 (6 days)
	Wapta Traverse July 18 (eve) – 25, 2009 (7 days)		Tonquin Valley Climbing & Hiking Camp September 12 - 19, 2009
	Egypt Lake and Mount Ball : Climbs and Scrambles August 2 - August 8, 2009 (7 days)		55+ Summer Trekking and Climbing Camp July 11 - 18, 2009 (7 days)
Advanced:		Special:
	Mount Sir Sanford August 8 (eve) - August 14, 2009		Under 25 Climbing Camp July 5 - July 9, 2009
	In the Footsteps of Conrad Kain August 15 - 22, 2009		The North Face Leadership Training August 8 - August 15, 2009
	Tantalus Range Climbing Camp August 16 - 22, 2009
	Valhallas Climbing Adventure August 22 - 29, 2009