| To the weary mountaineer trudging along a gravel moraine at the base of Mount Thompson, the blue, rectangular hut ahead resembles a five-star luxury hotel with priceless views of the natural world.
Six hours of mountaineering through Banff's Wapta Icefield will soon pay off with a hot meal and many laughs in the Peyto Hut, one of 24 operated by the Alpine Club of Canada.
The club’s huts provide a rustic escape from the outdoors and may include sleeping bunks, cook stoves or ovens, foam mattresses and cooking supplies. Some, like the Peyto (perched at a height of 3,084 metres), are located way up in the thin air. Others, such as the Canadian Alpine Centre and International Hostel in Lake Louise and the Canmore Clubhouse in Canmore, home of the national office, are much closer to the ground.
The huts are part of the vision held by club members when the organization first began 100 years ago in a decidedly mountain-less place – Winnipeg. So just how does an alpine club form in Manitoba, where the highest point is about 823 metres?
After struggling for years to establish the club, its founder, A.O. Wheeler, gained some favourable press and persuaded folks from the Canadian Pacific Railway to give him 20 tickets to hold a first meeting anywhere the railway travelled, explains Mike Mortimer, centennial chairman with the Alpine Club. Winnipeg, at the time the largest city in Western Canada, hosted the founding meeting in March 1906. At that meeting, the determination to offer annual mountaineering camps to educate Canadians about mountain travel and instil pride in the country's alpine heritage became cornerstones of the organization.
That's not to say there haven't been changes over the years.
"Of the original 94 members, 26 per cent were women and 11 per cent were members of the cloth," says Mortimer. "Although we still have the same percentage of women (if not higher), I would imagine that the members of the cloth have diminished. (Also) the members today are much more proficient mountaineers and climbers than they used to be."
The organization has also grown, with smaller, regional groups emerging across the country. While the national organization runs the education camps, the huts, the publication branch et al., the 17 regional clubs offer their services and expertise to locals interested in all things alpine. Typically, people join the Alpine Club to spend time in the mountains or to learn more about skiing, mountaineering or climbing. The club organizes trips, provides mountain leadership training, promotes conservation in the mountains and raises funds in connection with other organizations for mountain climbing trips.
Mortimer says the founding of the organization on the Prairies isn't as unusual as it sounds, as climbers to this day still band together to share their interest in Canada's mountains, thus the smaller regional groups that have formed from Vancouver Island to Ottawa.
Regardless of whether it's the national organization or a local one, the Alpine Club has always promoted environmental responsibility to its members and governments. "It is part of our original mandate," says Mortimer. "In order for us to enjoy the backcountry, we must be good environmental stewards. We must have access, as long as it doesn't impact the environment."
Celebrations for the centennial anniversary will take place throughout 2006, beginning with a meeting in Winnipeg in March, and including events in Banff and Yoho National Park. Canada Post is also issuing a new stamp featuring the club.
Mortimer believes the club has a long future ahead, be it teaching people how to have fun in what can be a truly hostile environment or talking with government officials about the importance of the mountain wilderness.
"There will always be a need for a national alpine club, given the sheer number of mountains and wilderness in Canada," he says. "Canadians are an adventurous people who will always be attracted to the mountains."
Most importantly, though, Mortimer says city youth hold the key to the club's – and possibly the mountains' – future.
"We need to continue to excite Canadians about their mountains. We need to encourage urban kids who go to indoor climbing centres to try and use the real thing. We need to continue our advocacy work in order to ensure that there is still a wilderness that we can all enjoy. We need to teach the politicians the value of this wilderness."
The Alpine Club of Canada offers individual, family and junior memberships. For more information, go to www.alpineclubofcanada.ca. |
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