24 | Ascent to Excellence: Bernadette McDonald
by Lynn Martel
From accomplished concert pianist to intrepid backcountry adventurer to world-respected mountain film festival director to award winning author (many times over), Bernadette McDonald has led a life marked by hard work, dedication, careful attention to detail and well-earned accolades.
This is the 24th in the Summit Series books, biographies of people who have made a difference in Canadian mountaineering.
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23 | Peter Amann: A remarkable journey
by Bob Covey
To Those who’ve looked up at Jasper National Park’s rock and ice culture in the past four decades, Peter Amann’s good natured promenade to the coronet of Canadian Rockies alpinism has not been a surprise. For more than 35 years, Amann has been a stalwart guide, teacher and mentor to hundreds of aspiring climbers, avalanche professionals and Alpine Club of Canada members. This soft-spoken mountain traveller is known for his acerbic wit and patient wisdom. His affinity is exploration, rather than peak-bagging. For all of the summits on which he’s stood, Amman’s legacy is in the realm of relationships, rather than records. The 2017 Patron of the ACC / ACMG Mountain Guide’s Ball has made a noble living and with his family, has carved out an admired lifestyle in the small isolated town of Jasper. For those who have climbed, camped, skied or studied alongside him, Amann’s advancement will not be a surprise. As the 23rd edition of the ACC’s Summit Series demonstrates, Amman’s subtle traverse of the Rocky Mountains is more than worthy of a special tribute.
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22 | Breaking Trail: Chic Scott's Story
by Joanna Croston
Chic Scott is a man of unconventional firsts. The first Canadian to summit a Himalayan peak, the first Canadian to guide in the European Alps, and he was part of the first team to climb Mount Assiniboine in winter. He is also a local mentor, historian and ski pioneer who has spent his whole life touching the lives of all those who call the Rockies home. Chic is perhaps known best for the ambitious grand ski traverses he achieved; in essence he has broken the trail for an entire generation of adventure skiers who follow. His writing and books have reached mountain communities further afield, spreading the rich history of Canadian mountaineering to outdoor enthusiasts across Canada and around the globe. This booklet celebrates the life of Chic Scott with his most memorable contributions to mountain life and tales told by his close friends..
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21 | Helen Sovdat: Guide, Mentor, Friend
by Zac Robinson
Helen Sovdat is one of Canada’s finest mountain guides. Her
accomplishments as a climber and skier are stunning. She has pioneered
long traverses along the crest of the Coast Mountains. She has stood on
nearly all of the peaks in the Canadian Rockies that exceed 11,000 feet
(3,353m). She has climbed in the high ranges of Argentina, Bolivia,
Ecuador, and Peru. In Asia, she has scaled some of the world’s highest
mountains: Ama Dablam, Cho Oyu, and Manaslu. Many of these adventures
were with members of her loyal legion of clients.
In 1996, Helen
became the third woman in North America to earn full certification
through the ACMG/IFMGA as a mountain guide. She was a leader in a group
that broke the mould of North American guiding as an all-male
profession. Now, she’s giving back as an ACMG examiner herself – and
continues to plot new adventures, and to share her excitement for the
unknown. An inspiration to a whole generation of guides and leaders,
Helen’s outstanding career achievements are muted only by her own
humility and altruism.
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20 | The Book of Mortimer: Celebrating a Life of Volunteerism
by Chic Scott
From different backgrounds but with the same spirit of adventure,
Mike and Heather Mortimer found each other while travelling the world.
Within three months of meeting they were married, eventually settling in
Calgary where they dedicated their lives to volunteering. This is the
story of Mike and Heather’s immense contribution to the mountain
community as told by their long-time friend, Chic Scott.
Their
volunteer efforts all started in 1979, when Mike and Heather took on the
task of newsletter editors for the Calgary Section of the Alpine Club
of Canada, and ended three decades later with five years as president
and first lady of the International Mountaineering and Climbing
Federation (UIAA), representing all the major mountaineering clubs of
the world. Serving literally tens of thousands of hours in a multitude
of roles, Mike and Heather’s generous spirits have given new meaning to
the term volunteerism. Their example will be an inspiration for a new
generation of mountain lovers to carry on their good work.
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19 | Alpine Artistry: The Mountain Life of Glen Boles
by Lynn Martel
In the course of pursuing his passion for wild, remote places in
western Canada’s mountains, Glen Boles stood on close to 600 summits,
took tens of thousands of photographs, made numerous first ascents and
even helped name a few peaks.
As a member of the fabled Grizzly
Group, Glen shared a rich and special camaraderie with his climbing
companions. As a valued City of Calgary Waterworks Department employee,
enthusiastic volunteer with the Calgary Mountain Rescue group, the Lake
Louise Ski Friends and as a generous board member with the Cochrane and
Community Foundation, Glen unselfishly gave his time, his talents and
his good-natured company.
An artist who expresses his love and
passion for the mountain world through his exquisite pen and ink
drawings and acrylic paintings, Glen Boles shares the magic of the
alpine in a generous and heartfelt way.
Climber, volunteer,
artist, steadfast companion and worthy recipient of numerous awards and
honours, Glen Boles exemplifies a life lived in true alpine artistry.
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18 | Con Bravura: The Remarkable Mountaineering Life of Peter Fuhrmann
by Robert W. Sandford
Peter Fuhrmann was born into extraordinary privilege in Europe, but
when he was still a child during the Second World War, his family lost
everything. After he came to Canada, Peter developed a larger sense of
the world and the potential that might exist within it. Steeped in
classical music from birth, and an aficionado of great opera, Peter
recognized that the mountains in Canada marched to the timeless tempo of
a great natural symphony. It did not take him long to realize that it
was up to him to write his own lyrics and to undertake actions that
harmonized with that grand score. If an aria is a solo piece written for
a main character in an opera, then it could be said that, by his
actions, Peter Fuhrmann wrote the words to his own song, an Aria Alpina, which he lived out through his life in what can only be described as great passion and skill.
Whether
you know it or not, if you have explored and loved the Rocky Mountains,
then you have likely been influenced by Peter Fuhrmann’s vision and
ability. If you have driven between Banff and Radium, hiked a trail in a
western mountain national park or stayed in an Alpine Club of Canada
hut then you have been touched directly by his hand. If you have climbed
or hiked with a professional mountain guide then Peter Fuhrmann has
spoken to you through them. If you, or someone you know, has ever needed
to be rescued then, whether you saw him or not, he was with you or with
them on the top of the rope or at the end of the sling beneath the
helicopter that saved you. If you were injured and hospitalized in
Banff, the policies he helped set may have helped you heal. But most
importantly, if you have ever had a joyful moment in the Rockies and
felt you heard parts of the great symphony that is mountain time rising
and falling in the wind you will have shared that music with Peter.
In
opera, exceptional skill is called bravura, and to perform consistently
with such skill, especially in the face of adversity, is to perform con bravura.
It is in tribute to his consummate skill as a mountaineer, his vision
in helping create the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides; his
masterful leadership as President of the Alpine Club of Canada; and his
role as a driving force in the creation of Park Canada’s highly regarded
mountain rescue program that this historical record of the
mountaineering life of Peter Fuhrmann has been written and so named.
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17 | Seizing the Sharp End: 50 Years of the ACMG
by Lynn Martel
From an afternoon gathering in a dimly-lit
one-room Rockies cabin in 1963 to an 800-plus-member, world-respected
professional organization, the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides
has played a rich and definitive role in the history of Canada’s
mountain community. Credited with first ascents of some of the most
challenging peaks in western Canada to the very first days of
heli-skiing to the creation of Canada’s highly respected public safety
services, professional guides have helped shape and nurture outdoor
recreation experiences across the country.
As the first
non-European member of the International Federation of Mountain Guides
Associations, the ACMG has evolved and matured to be a leader in
professional guiding standards and client care, serving as mentor to
other countries’ associations. This booklet is a celebration of a job
exceptionally well done!
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16 | A Golden Mountain Tale: The Lucky Life of Syd Feuz
by Lynn Martel
Syd Feuz lived his life as a man born of the
mountains. Growing up with seven siblings, he walked miles to school, in
sunshine or deep snow. The son of Swiss-born mountain guide, Walter
Feuz, Syd scrambled up ridges to stand on summits with his father and
uncles, gaining the skills that would allow him to begin working as a
ski guide by the age of sixteen. He served his country in the navy
during World War II, and ran a bulk fuel business for two decades that
was essential to the economy and livelihood of the Columbia Valley
through the 1950s, ’60s and early ’70s. Then in his fifties, Syd began a
28-year career guiding skiers for Purcell Heli-Skiing, sharing the
precious wilderness of his backyard Purcells and Rocky mountains. As a
second generation guide, Syd embodied the values of taking on job and
not just doing it well, but doing it right.
Truck driver, sailor,
hotel proprietor, gas jockey, boat driver, horseman, trail builder and
ski guide, Syd embraced every job that came his way with enthusiasm,
gratitude and humility.
Syd Feuz is not just the world’s first Canadian-Swiss guide, he’s a true gentleman of the mountains
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15 | Alpine Journey: Ferdl Taxbock's Life on the Edge
by Lynn Martel
Ferdl Taxbock is a man of many talents and
several trades. A native of Austria, he became an agricultural
technician, embracing the finer techniques of plowing fields, harvesting
crops, raising livestock and planting trees. As a geologist he
travelled to remote sites as far north as Ellesmere Island, and he’s a
life-long member of the Association of Professional Engineers,
Geologists and Geophysicists of Alberta. But central to his core, Ferdl
Taxbock has always been a climber. As a bold young man he climbed at the
highest grades of difficulty in Italy’s Dolomites and made a first
winter ascent in the Swiss Alps. In Alberta’s Rockies he made the first
ascent of The Fold with Rudi Kranabitter.
A member of Austria’s
guiding association since 1966/67, and an ACMG member since 1968, Ferdl
guided glaciologist Gerald Holdsworth to triangulate the precise height
of Canada’s highest peak, Mount Logan. Working for Hans Gmoser’s
Canadian Mountain Holidays he guided climbers in B.C.’s Bugaboos and up
the Canadian Rockies’ highest, Mount Robson. With Kranabitter he guided a
group to North America’s highest summit, Alaska’s Denali. And for many
years Ferdl has guided guests of the Alpine Club of Canada’s General
Mountaineering Camp and of the camp he helped create, the ACC’s 55 Plus
Camp.
An energetic husband, father and grandfather, Ferdl Taxbock
delights in sharing his skills and enthusiasm for the mountains, traits
which made him the ideal Patron of the 2012 Mountain Guides Ball.
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14 | Young at Heart: The Inspirational Lives of Richard and Louise Guy
by Chic Scott
Do you think that you are over the hill? You have
retired and you feel there is not much more to look forward to. Well
think again! This book, about the inspirational lives of Richard and
Louise Guy, will show you that there is a great deal of life beyond the
set retirement age of 65—and beyond 75 and beyond 85.
Arriving
in Canada in 1965, near the age of 50, Richard and Louise Guy taught all
of us what it means to be enthusiastic, positive and to embrace life.
They climbed mountains well into their nineties, and Richard still works
today at the age of 96. Louise rode her bike to the corner store until
she was 92.
So stop your whining about your knees and hips! Life
was never meant to be easy! But it can still be beautiful, long past the
so-called age of youth and dreams. Life into old age can be a treasure
to be enjoyed and shared. And if you are like Richard and Louise, the
adventures and dreams just keep coming.
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13 | Mountain of Dreams: Rudi Gertsch Dreams come true amidst Canada's peaks
by Lynn Martel
As the son of a mountain guide born at the foot
of the landmark Eiger in Wengen, Switzerland, some might say Rudi
Gertsch’s destiny was written in stone and snow – and alpine farmland.
Pushing his hard-earned skills on skis, as a teenager he competed as a
member of the Swiss junior team. Working hard as a Trager, or porter,
Rudi learned to lead clients safely up and down the landmark climbing
and skiing routes of his home mountains, the Swiss Alps, earning his
Swiss Mountain Guide certificate at the age of 22. Following his heart
and his gut to the mountains of western Canada, he found his place as
one of several young guides willing to work tirelessly for Hans Gmoser’s
burgeoning heli-skiing business in the 1960s and 70s, where he guided
clients for eight years before launching his own business, Purcell
Heli-Skiing. A natural-born leader not just on rock faces and powder
slopes, Rudi was the first member of the Association of Canadian
Mountain Guides to hold international UIAGM certification. Serving as
the ACMG’s technical director for 10 years, he worked to see Canadian
guides set the international standard for winter guiding skills. A
founding member of Heli-Cat Canada, he helped ensure BC’s mechanized
backcountry skiing industry was built on a solid, sensible foundation.
And through all those years of hard work, Rudi remained true to his
roots, not just as second-generation Swiss Mountain Guide, but also as a
dedicated farmer, raising prize-winning Simmental bulls and growing
fresh food on the farm he nurtured in his adopted Canadian home. Guiding
climbers and skiers, passing his knowledge to the next generation of
guides including his own son, working to create harmony between numerous
backcountry user groups and contributing to the respected cultures of
guiding and farming in western Canada, Rudi Gertsch has earned his place
well as the 22nd patron of the Mountain Guides Ball.
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12 | Focused on Adventure: Pat Morrow
by Lynn Martel
From the cloud brushing wonders of the Himalaya
to the mysterious jungles of Irian Jaya to the mountain wilderness of
his backyard Purcell Mountains, Pat Morrow’s career has defined
adventure journalism for 35 years. As a climber he forged challenging
new routes, while his natural curiosity and keen storytelling sense took
him not only to the top of the world as a member of Canada’s first
Mount Everest expedition in 1982, but also to become the first to climb
the highest mountain on each continent. As photographer, writer and
filmmaker, Morrow has explored some of the most remote and exotic
destinations on the planet. But far beyond capturing captivating images
of landscapes, flora and fauna, Morrow’s books, magazine articles and
films embrace the people of each of those places, honouring their unique
customs, histories and cultures. A passionate advocate for wilderness
preservation and social justice, Morrow, together with his partner in
adventure, in work and in life, Baiba, has set a high bar for
documenting the stories of people and the places that nurture their
souls.
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11 | A Life So Fascinating: Leo Grillmair
by Lynn Martel
From poor and weary post-WWII Europe to the wild
and free mountain wilderness of western Canada, Leo Grillmair’s life
story is one of terrific adventure. Arriving in Canada from Austria in
1951, Grillmair and his life-long friend and business partner Hans
Gmoser seized on the opportunities their newly-adopted country presented
them and introduced Canadians to a whole new way of climbing rock
faces. Brimming with optimism and industriousness, Grillmair applied an
unwavering work ethic to help build a seasonal ski touring business to a
10-lodge helicopter skiing empire, which changed the face of
backcountry recreation in the western hemisphere. As manager of Bugaboo
Lodge, the world’s first heli-skiing lodge, in the world’s first and
still largest helicopter skiing company, Canadian Mountain Holidays,
Grillmair was instrumental in nurturing an entire industry that
continues to employ hundreds of mountain guides, cooks, housekeepers,
maintenance workers, pilots, engineers, massage therapists and numerous
other office and lodge staff every year. Plumber, climbing pioneer,
novice lumberjack, skier, professional rock collector, mountain guide,
first-aid whiz, lodge manager, singer and storyteller extraordinaire,
Leo Grillmair’s life is the stuff of which great stories are born. The
Alpine Club of Canada is proud to celebrate its 20th Mountain Guides
Ball with Leo Grillmair as Patron.
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10 | A Family for the Outfit: Harrisons and the General Mountaineering Camp
by Zac Robinson
First held during the summer of 1906, the
annual General Mountaineering Camp is a time-honoured tradition of the
Alpine Club of Canada. While the number of participants, locations, and
practices have all changed since the early days of the camp’s history,
the mandate of the GMC—over one-hundred years later—remains nearly the
same: it’s all about being in the mountains with new and old friends,
and sharing in the exceptional experience mountaineering offers. A
Family for the Outfit honours the lives and times of the Harrison
family, outfitters from the Columbia River Valley, who have, for over
half a century, carefully ensured the vitality and longevity of the
ACC’s special summer camp.
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9 | Alpine Odyssey: The Mountaineering Life of Lloyd Kiwi Gallagher
by Robert W. Sandford
Lloyd Gallagher has been climbing
mountains for more than sixty years. During that time he has never
ceased to encourage others to see and enjoy what he experienced in his
remarkable life. Ever independent but completely reliable, Lloyd was one
of the founding inspirations in the creation of the Association of
Canadian Mountain Guides. He was present at the very beginning to help
spark and build the Canadian Mountain Holidays reputation and legacy. He
was and continues to be one of the most positive and sustaining
influences in the development of Canadian outbound mountaineering
ambitions abroad especially in South America and the Himalayas. His
competence and discipline were the foundation of the evolution of an
elite mountain rescue capacity in Alberta’s provincial park system. A
lifelong supporter and member of The Alpine Club of Canada, Lloyd knows
and is respected by everyone in Canada’s mountain community.
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8 | Among The Great Hills: Three Generations of Wheelers
by Robert W. Sandford
For a hundred years the history of the
Alpine Club of Canada has been dominated by the vision and forceful
character of the Club’s co-founder, Arthur Oliver Wheeler. In his
shadow, however, are two generations of Wheeler descendents who made
equally important contributions to the history of mountaineering and the
appreciation of mountain landscapes in Canada and abroad. Arthur
Wheeler’s son, Oliver Wheeler, was a fine and accomplished climber
before he was twenty. Oliver went on to become an Everest legend and the
Surveyor General of India. Arthur Wheeler’s grandson, John, also became
an accomplished climber at an early age. His interest in mountains,
however, turned to geology. After pioneering exploration in the Yukon,
John went on to become Chief Geologist of the Geological Survey of
Canada and one of the most respected earth scientists of his time. This
book is a tribute to “the amazing Wheelers” in gratitude for their
contribution to mountain culture in Canada.
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7 | Strengths Revealed: The Mountaineering Life of Don Vockeroth
by Robert W. Sandford
The 1960s were a decade during which the standard of climbing in Canada was rapidly and dramatically
transformed by the arrival of spectacularly talented and ambitious
young Europeans of the caliber of Hans Gmoser, Leo Grillmair, Franz Dopf
and Heinz Kahl. Technical standards were also being ratcheted upward by
British climbers of the now legendary reputation of Brian Greenwood and
Dick Lofthouse. These famous climbers, and Canadians like Don Vockeroth
who were energized and inspired by their achievements, popularized rock
climbing and advanced new standards for technical routes on big
mountains. In so doing, they essentially laid down the foundation for
the climbing culture that exists in Canada today.
The life of Don Vockeroth symbolizes the strength of body, persistence of character and great love of
place that put Canadians at the leading edge of climbing and
appreciating our own mountains. It is a great honour to have Don
Vockeroth as the Patron of the 16th Annual Mountain Guides’ Ball.
Flipbook | PDF
6 | Home is Where the Mountains Are: The Remarkable Life of Sharon Wood
by Lynn Martel
In
mountaineering Sharon Wood found a pursuit equal to her intensity and
emotional courage. In coming to terms with the nature of peaks, Sharon
discovered others who were not afraid to put their lives on the line in
exchange for a glimpse of their deeper selves. She also found she
possessed the ability to solve ever more complex and demanding climbing
problems. While engaging in the most intense forms of inward and outward
exploration, Sharon Wood and her climbing partners shaped an entire
generation of Canadian alpinism. Home is Where the Mountains Are is their story.
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