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The North Face has been a
supportive sponsor of the Leadership Courses since their
inception and we thank them for their assistance.
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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:
- 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
Location
The 2010 TNF/ACC Summer Leadership Course will take place during the 5th week of the General Mountaineering camp which will take in a spectacular campsite located in the Battle Brook basin of the Southern Selkirk Mountains. This protected site will be comfortably situated beside a small stream and lake. The campsite is surrounded by numerous glaciers housing the area’s major peaks including Wheeler (3336m/10,944’), Grand (3287m/10,784’), Kilpatrick (3224m/10,577’) and Purity (3149m/10,331’’). Some climbing guides indicate that Wheeler is over 11,000’; a detail which we hope to verify this summer! Other prospective summits include Pristine (3037m/9963’), Chastity (2921m/9583’), Vestal (2928m/9606’’) and Oz (2862m/9389’). There are four unnamed, but also worthy mountains located to the south and west of the GMC basecamp in the Van Horne Névé area. These peaks are in close proximity to the basecamp and will complement the longer, technical challenges of the mountains to the north.
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 adventures@AlpineClubofCanada.ca
- 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 adventures@AlpineClubofCanada.ca
- Your Section Executive should send their endorsement of your application directly to adventures@AlpineClubofCanada.ca. 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. 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:
- 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. 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 to 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
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, 2010
Announcement of successful applicants: May 15, 2010
Course dates: July 31 – August 7, 2010
Cost per person is $695 + GST
Information package:
Info Pack to follow
Gear List to follow
Application package:
Click here Click
here
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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. |
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2010 Planned Itinerary*
July 31 - – meet in <<TBD>>; fly into the camp
August 1 - 6 – 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 7 – Fly out to staging area
*Subject to change |
Included
Instruction throughout the camp
Shared tent-accommodation at the GMC July 31 – August 6
Heli transport into the camp
All meals starting with dinner on July 31st and ending with lunch on August 7th
All group gear |
Not Included
Transportation to/from the staging area (Participants will be expected to use their own vehicles and carpool)
Dinner or accommodation on July 30th or August 7th
Breakfast or lunch on August 1st
Personal gear (see equipment list) |
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 |
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ACMG
Mountain Guide Matt Peter |

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Pic TBA |
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. |
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Bio TBA
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Amateur Leader TBA |
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Other great summer trips offered by the Alpine Club of Canada:
| Getting Started: |
Moderate: |
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Peakbaggers Guide to Lake Louise
July 31 (eve)- Aug 7, 2010 (7 days) |
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Wapta Traverse
July 17 (eve) – 24, 2010 (7 days) |
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Columbia Icefields 101
July 24 (eve)- July 29, 2010 (5 days) |
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55+ Summer
Trekking and Climbing Camp
Aug 15 - 20, 2010 (6 days) |
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| Advanced: |
Special: |
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Starbird Range
August 8 (eve) - August 14, 2010 (5 days) |
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Under 25 Climbing Camp
July 5 - July 9, 2010 |
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The Kauffman Peaks
July 11 (eve) - July 16, 2010 ( 5 days) |
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The North Face Leadership
Training
July 31 - Aug 7, 2010 (7 days) |
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11,000ers of the Purcells
Aug 15 (eve) - 20 Aug, 2010 (5 days) |
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Mt. Fryatt Climbing Camp
July 22 (eve)- July 26, 2010 (4 days) |
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