Calgary Section

Website: http://www.acccalgary.ca

Newsletter: The Chinook

The Calgary Section is a large section of over 700 members involved in all facets of summer and winter mountaineering in the Canadian Rockies.  The Section meets on the third Tuesday of each month (except August) at 7:30pm at the Bow Waters Canoe Club in Calgary at 1975 36th Street SE.  The meetings feature a short business meeting followed by a guest presenter and lots of opportunity to socialise with other members and meet new climbing or skiing partners over a beer or a glass of wine.

The monthly newsletter, "The Chinook", contains trip reports, local access and environmental updates, thoughtful columns, updates to the trip schedules and many other items deemed newsworthy to the Section membership.

The Section publishes two trip schedules each year.

• The Summer Trip Schedule, published in the May Chinook, includes rock climbing and mountaineering trips , varying from easy day trips to week-long alpine adventures.  The summer trip schedule also includes one, if not two, week-long summer climbing camps for Section members. 
• The Winter Trip Schedule, published in the November Chinook, includes backcountry skiing and ice climbing trips, again varying from easy day trips to local slopes to week-long ski traverses and from short waterfalls to more serious, remote alpine ice climbs. Again, the winter trip schedule normally includes a spring ski camp and a mid-winter ice climbing camp, normally week-long trips to a destination in the Canadian Rockies. 
• All of the climbing trips provided by the Section are coordinated by compentent, skilled, experienced Section volunteers.

The Section's activities on the weekends extend from the peaks of Waterton to the south to the ramparts of Jasper to the north, from and from the walls and canyons of the Ghost River on the east to the towers of the Bugaboos to the west.  All areas in between will see between 2 and 4 weekend trips on average from Section members during the year, excluding the early spring and late fall.  The Ghost, Kananaskis Country, Yamnuska, the Bow Valley, the Smith-Dorrien-Spray Valley, the Icefields Parkway, Rogers' Pass, the Radium Highway - there are always Section members out on section trips or on their own on any weekend of the year

In order to provide learning opportunities for novices and experienced mountaineers alike, the Section subsidizes weekend courses during the spring and the winter covering the full range of mountaineering skills: general mountaineering, leading and seconding on rock, aid climbing, wilderness first aid, rock rescue techniques, ice climbing, telemark skiing technique, crevasse rescue, and avalanche safety and awareness. 

In addition, for committed trip leaders, the Section organizes an advanced leadership weekend in both the winter and the summer season each year.  All of these courses and leadership weekends are instructed by certified members of the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides (ACMG).  The Section also encourages Section members to participate in the national club leadership development program, co-sponsored by The North Face.

An active and motivated group of individuals keeps a close eye on local and regional access and environment issues, primarily focussed on the Bow Valley, the National Parks, and Kananaskis Country.  As well,  the Section library contains over 200 volumes including fiction, expedition journals, guidebooks and instructional guides.

Social events, other than the regular monthly meeting, include the Rock Review, early in June, and the Ice Review, early in January of each year.  These events provide a social venue as well as an opportunity for novices to try out some easy climbing after demonstrating some basic skills and for seasoned section veterans to "refresh" their technique on rock or ice after the shoulder season.  The Section also holds an annual photography competition, normally in the spring, the results of which are published on the section website.  A volunteer barbeque is held each fall as a "Thank you" to all of the active, supportive section members who contribute their time each year towards the Section's objectives.

We welcome new members and invite any other ACC members to join us when you're in town.  We can be reached by email at ACCCalgary@hotmail.com or visit our website at www.acccalgary.ca