Vancouver Section

Website: www.accvancouver.ca

Newsletter: The Avalanche Echoes

The Vancouver Section was formed in 1918 during the early years of the exploration of the Coast Range.  The Section continues to thrive today.

Meetings are held on the fourth Tuesday of the month (excluding July, August and December) at 7:30pm at the Floral Hall of Van Dusen Botanical Gardens (West 37th Avenue and Oak Street) in Vancouver.  Typically 60 to 100 people (of over 400 members) gather for business and announcements, coffee/tea, cookies and socializing with a fabulous slide show on a local or international destination.  The Section AGM is held in November, along with a potluck supper.  On occasion the Section sponsors public presentations by visiting climbers of national or international stature.  Our newsletter, "The Avalanche Echoes", is published monthly with information on current events, entertaining trip reports and thoughtful columns.

The Vancouver Section runs 2 to 4 scheduled trips each weekend year round (160 trips annually!), including hiking and general mountaineering, rock climbing, ice climbing, skiing, snow-shoeing, instructional workshops, indoor gym nights and family outings.  A minimum of three multi-week camps are held each year. The Spring Ski camp is typically a traverse through the high glaciated country of the Coast Range.  The Summer Climbing Camp is an exploration of a variety of wild locales.  The Tantalus Camp is an instructional camp for novice and intermediate mountaineers based out of the Section-owned Tantalus Hut at Lake Lovely Water.

The Section is a proud sponsor of the Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival.  Five hundred dollars is donated each year for the Alpine Club of Canada award for the best film on mountaineering.  The Section administers an Environment Fund, with proceeds going to a variety of worthy environmental organizations and projects, including John Clarke's Wilderness Education Program and the Canadian Avalanche Association.  The Section is also directly active in access and conservation issues.  We are currently monitoring and offering our position on two new ski area development proposals near Vancouver.  As a member of the Federation of Mountain Clubs of BC (FMCBC), one of our best achievements has been the preservation of the Little Smoke Bluffs, popular rock-climbing crags in Squamish.

Vancouver Section is pleased to offer its members an electronic membership at $10 less than the traditional paper membership. In order to receive the paper free membership members must join or renew online. The electronic membership includes an electronic copy of the Avalanche Echoes newsletter by email notification. Those members who wish to receive a paper copy of the Avalanche Echoes should sign up for the paper membership. At this time all memberships receive a paper copy of the Gazette.

Everyone is welcome to contact us on our voicemail at (604) 878-5272 or check out our website at www.accvancouver.ca where you also can find our trip schedule.