1976  |  1977  |  1978  |  1979

1975

ACCVI executive:

Chair – Gil Parker

Secretary – Doug Wylie

Membership/Treasurer – Dave Tansley

Climbing – Syd Watts

Bushwhacker editor – Cynthia Tansley

Events:

February – A call was made to rename the Section newsletter which included such suggestions as: Crag ‘n Crevasse, Pacific Peaks, Pacific Views, Island Abseils, West Coast Reflections, Island Mountain Yodeller and finally No Comment.

February 22/23 – Thirteen members stay at the ACC Whistler cabin. Members $1:50, Guest $3 per night.

March 14 – The annual banquet was held at the Quamichan Inn in Duncan. Walter Latter showed slides of his trip to Nepal. $5.00 per person. The Vancouver Island section’s adopted name The Island Bushwhacker for its newsletter. For those who have recovered their senses after seeing the new title, I [Gil Parker] would like to point out that it was arrived at by democratic process at the annual dinner. I cannot quite remember who proposed the name, but a lot of people voted for it, and we were having such a good time and it seemed to be such a good idea …. Rumours to the effect that the Chairman and Editor thought it up in a post-prandial alcoholic haze are completely unfounded.

March 15/16 – Ski touring trip to Mt. Moriarty led by Dave Tansley and Gil Parker.

March – Ski Camp Assiniboine. Ascents made of Mt. Cautley and Terrapin.

April 5/6 – Scheduled trip to Forbidden Plateau.

April 11 – Kurt Diemberger is the guest speaker at the Newcombe Auditorium. The presentation is on the great faces of the Alps, Greenland, and the Karakoram. After intermission a film of the 1st Ascent of Tirich West IV and Dhaulagiri. Admission: $2.50, Students and OAP $2.00.

April 26/27 – Scheduled trip to Mt. Garibaldi via Brohm Ridge.

May 4 – Scheduled trip to Mt. Whymper.

May 17-19 – Scheduled trip to Aureole Snowfield/Rees Ridge.

May – David Coombes, Al Harrison, Danusa Kanachowski, Margaret Symon, Mary Spokes make 1^st ascent of M.S. Mountain. The peak received its name from the initials of the two women.

June 14/15 – Scheduled trip to Mt. McBride.

June – YM/YWCA climbing school trip to Mount Baker.

June – Bill Perry, Joe Bajan and Mike Walsh led a party to Mt. Maitland [Hidden Peak] and climb several pinnacles along the ridge including The Banana.

July – Syd Watts and John Gibson make the 1^st ascent of a peak they name Watchtower Peak.

July – Mike Walsh completes the first north-south traverse of Rambler Peak.

July 19/20 – Scheduled trip to Shepherds Creek Ridge.

July 19-August 5 – A party of IMR fly into the Plummer Hut near Mt. Waddington and climb a number of peaks.

July/August – Ralph Hutchinson, Mike Walsh and Joe Bajan climb in the Koh-I-Baba region of Afghanistan and make several 1^st ascents.

August 2/3/4 – Scheduled trip to Mt. Micthell and Augerpoint Mtn.

August 12-15 – Rick Eppler, John Gibson, Walter Latter, Steve McConnell, John Simpson, Syd Watts climb Rugged Mtn. from the Nomash River.

August 30-September 1 – Scheduled trip to Malaspina Peak.

September 20/21 – Scheduled trip to Mt. Myra. September – Tribute to the late C. Frank Mosely.

October 11-13 – Scheduled trip to the Comox Glacier.

November – Wine and Cheese party at Gil Parkers with slides of Afghanistan from Joe Bajan, Mike Walsh and Ralph Hutchison.

November 15/16 – Section members spent the weekend at the Mt. Baker ski area.

December 14 – Diane Erickson led a trip to Mt. Cokely.

Section Fees:

$4.00 for Section Member

$3.00 for Life Member

Late 1974, the section was advised that donated funds might be available to finance a hut for Vancouver Island. John Gibson, then Chairman, made enquires regarding sites in the Schoen-Sutton area, and in Strathcona Park including Cream Lake at the south end of Buttle Lake. A discussion about the hut has come up from year to year in the Section and with the pro’s and con’s debated. It would appear that ski mountaineering or cross-country skiing would give rise to the greatest use of a hut, when tent camping is uncomfortable for extended periods. At the same time, a cabin would be a base for summer climbing and hiking. Any site would have to be far enough to permit winter access. The Executive felt that these requirements were fulfilled by Cream Lake, and accordingly the 1975 Executive pursued this site in negotiations with the Parks Branch. Mining claims blanket the area, but it is felt that the focus of recreation activity which a cabin would bring would help balance the mining value of the area and perhaps swing the ultimate land use to wilderness recreation. After several meetings, the Parks Branch agreed to the hut and specified dismountable, panel construction in case any need to move it developed. Moreover, they agreed to pay for helicopter movement of materials to the site, a substantial part of the project cost. In the same week we received the sad news that the donated funds were not available. Since this occurred the week before the Board meeting in Vancouver, I submitted the problem to the Board. While no design or cost had been worked out, the reception by the Board was enthusiastic and I was requested to make a proposal including all facets. While it was not possible for the Board to grant an Approval in Principle, I feel that they would consider a contribution from the Hut Fund. This will depend upon our projected budget and our assessment of the environmental factors and expected uses. While these ideas will require exploration in depth, the considerations now appear as follows:

Disadvantages:

• Possible concentration of people causing environmental damage.
• Ownership by Parks Branch and control of use by them. (It is probable that we would make a trip in the fall to ready the hut for winter use)
• The labour involved in constructing the hut.

Advantages:

1. Use by Club members and others especially for winter activities.
2. Establish the “recreational use claim” on this beautiful and remote area, midway between Buttle Lake and the Drinkwater Valley (Della Falls and Great Central Lake)

Considering all these factors, I feel that we should proceed with the planning and a proposal to the Board. A site reconnaissance, planning to the proposal, and the actual construction of the hut will require a lot of work. If you have any opinions on whether or not we should take this on, (and are willing to back up a yes vote with a lot of work), we want to hear from you at the Annual Dinner Meeting.

Gil Parker, Section Chairman

The Section receives an invitation from the Mountaineering Federation of the USSR for the following: Camp Pamir – an international alpine camp located in the Pamirs in the region of the 7,134m Lenin Peak, for high altitude climbers. Camp Bezengi – a new camp in the central Caucasus Mountains for those with experience on technically difficult routes.

First Ascent of Hidden Peak

June 7, 1975

By Bill Perry

What I called Maitland Summit is the highest of a group of peaks connected by a long, v-shaped ridge, just north of Kennedy Lake. A lower peak at the south end of the ridge, elevation 3907 feet is called Mount Maitland on the topo map. A group of 11 Island Mountain Ramblers made what is, as far as I know, the first recorded ascent of Maitland Summit. We ascended from the south, having driven to the head of the Sand River valley. No technical difficulties were encountered; it is essentially a scramble, though a highly enjoyable one. An early start is advisable if done as a day trip. No evidence of previous visitors to the summit was observed. Mike Walsh and Joe Bajan scaled an impressive pinnacle near the summit, which they dubbed “The Banana.”

Participants: Bill Perry, Bob Tustin, Mike Walsh, Margaret Symon, Mary Spoke, Clarence de Belle, Bruce McInnes, Fred Put, Dave Coombes, Ed Moi, Joe Bajan.

Addendum:

In 1941, George Jackson and Robert McCaw, both B.C. land surveyors, were working in the Alberni-Tofino area and set up a station on one of the ridges near the peak but didn’t go to the highest summit. The name Maitland Summit was originally submitted by the Vancouver Island section of Alpine Club of Canada because it is the apex of the Maitland Range, but it was resubmitted (by Rick Eppler) as Hidden Peak on 23 September 1985, because the summit of the mountain is hidden by ridges. It was adopted in 1986.

… Waddington …

July 19 – August 5, 1975.

Reported in The Timberline Tales of the Island Mountain Rambler. p.39-40.

By Margaret Symon

“Waddington” was BIG mountains, fantastic granite, yellow, orange, and lime-green lichens, falling in crevasses, sunburn, howling blizzards, 100-pound packsacks, a near plane crash, trundling, desertion at a rainy mosquito-infested wilderness lake. Our 7 a.m. departure from Campbell River on July 19 was delayed by low clouds in the mountains to a late afternoon takeoff. Now with flight up Butte Inlet and the Homathko River took us into the heart of the Coast Range. We landed at Ephemeron Lake at the base of the Tellot Glacier, and camp the first night on the shores of its icy, green waters, our tents pitched midst dwarf fireweed and yellow monkey-flower. Sunday was a long day. Half of the party got an early start for the trek up the Tellot. We travelled at first along a moraine ridge where we found whitebark pine, ainiea, draba, and pink pussytoes. On the sharp rocks we spotted clumps of white hair belonging to mountain goats. We made good time going up the ablation zone of the glacier, for the surface was compacted ice, but shortly we were mushing our way through soft snow. The prospect of falling into crevasses soon caused us to rope up, but despite this precaution, John was the first of the group to drop down a crevasse. We found our airdrop boxes on the second snowfield. The boxes were mostly intact, but we discovered macaroni, milk powder, and (ha, ha!)-wine-do not drop well. The snow was drunk on wine, and much snow sucking took place. Unaware of the proper route and the location of the Plummer Memorial Hut we climbed the last and steepest icefall by moonlight, and finally reached the hut at midnight. In the next few days, the rest of the group made it to the hut, airdrops were retrieved, and some climbing was done. Descriptions of peaks and heights in the Guidebook were confusing, but it is thought that Mt. Shand (3069m), Mt. McCormick (3090m), Mt. Argiewicz (2456m), and Termination were climbed. Al Harrison led some of the more difficult routes, and he, Dave, and Margaret did Claw Peak, which looks down at the hut, a lesser Claw was also scaled. Our first storm blew in on the 23^rd, and we were cabin bound for several days. Ray, John, and Bob moved in when their tents ripped apart in 80 mile per hour winds. Besides the nine of us, there were also two brothers from Edmonton, who had hiked in from the end of the road. An account in the Alpine Journal led them to believe that they were in for a four-day trip. Ten days later they arrived at the hut in a state of glassy-eyed starvation. They spent the day after their arrival cooking up concoctions and eating and eating and eating. The storm lifted a while on Saturday and we headed for Heartstone Peak. The day was sunny but there were terrific winds. While climbing we witnessed a flying spectacle. An Otter carrying the Alpine Club flew past the Claw to do an airdrop. The plane, going at high speed, hopped onto the snowfield, jumped several crevasses, and lost a crucial part of its wing, dented its pontoons, nearly ruptured the fuel tank, and deposited a hatch door down a crevasse. One of the Alpine Club members suffered a broken ankle. The plane was considered a write off with $80,000 worth of damage. When the Alpine Club arrived at the Hut they found their airdrop box contents scattered all over the snow (although dried fruit had been cleaned up by the scavenging Ramblers). The whole incident was bad luck for the Alpine Club, as they missed several days of good weather. The day they began climbing Mount Waddington, the mountain was socked in. At dawn on the 29^th, the Ramblers set off with dreams of climbing Tiedemann and Waddington. The dreams dissolved like clouds in the valleys when melted by the morning sun. The route to Tiedemann was “prohibitively dangerous” 15 years ago, before the glaciers receded. Looking down icy precipices to wild glaciers with names like Cataract Glacier and Chaos Glacier made us decide we could go no further. We had to contend ourselves with climbs in the upper Tellot Peak, and camp was established on the summit of Mt. Argiewicz. Dave was the winner of the Argiewicz trundling contests. Al, Dave, and Margaret boogied around on the Tellot Spires and on Serra 1, which Bob, Ray and Tom had tried the day before. The second party, choosing a different route, was held back by an overhanging, loose rock. Sitting on Serra, the highest Tellot Spire looking tantalizing, and that afternoon Dave and Margaret climbed it. One pitch took an hour. On Friday morning we left Waddington and its neighbors in a whiteout. We retraced our route down the glacier and camped at Nabob Pass for a couple of rainy nights. The greenness of the pass contrasted greatly with the lichen-black rock and blinding snow of the high mountains. Many flowers grew in the wet meadows of Nabob Pass – mountain spires, birdsbeak, dotted saxifrage, partridge foot, arnicas, and mountain daisy. On the 3rd we were due to be picked up at Ghost Lake so we backpacked over Mount Jeffrey in another whiteout, and with several different notions as to where Ghost Lake might be. We found the lake but the plane did not appear so we set up camp. The mosquitoes were delighted. On Monday several Ramblers slept until the rains subsided at one in the afternoon. Despite clear skies the plane did not come. Our food supply was rapidly dwindling. Ray and Tom mixed hot water with gorp and strawberry jam for supper. Our Beaver splashed down on the lake on Tuesday morning; the lake was reported to have been clouded in the day before. We rejoiced in the thought of the “D.I.” being clean and not having to sleep in drippy tents and soggy bags! The plane flew westward to the sea, and a lifetime of mountains disappeared behind us in the grey clouds. Back in Campbell River, we surveyed the damaged Otter. Trans Mountain pilots told us the damage was estimated at $70,000 to the $120,000 plane. The plane was going to be sent back to the factory to be rebuilt. The fact that the Otter could still fly after all that damage says it is surely an unusual plane. 

Participants: Bob Tustin, Ray Paine, Brian Johnson, John Laurie, Ton de Groot, Brian Pinch, Al Harrison, Dave Coombes, Margaret Symon.

Man Hurt in Fall

Reported in The Vancouver Sun Monday September 22, 1975. p.16.

NANAIMO A 19-year-old Nanaimo man was rescued by helicopter after he injured himself in a fall Sunday afternoon on nearby Mount DeCosmos. A search and rescue spokesman in Victoria said a helicopter from Comox rescued Joe Bajan after suffering back and leg injuries in a fall. Rough terrain made it impossible for the helicopter to land at the site, the spokesman said, so the injured man was hauled up on a stretcher lowered out of the craft. He is in hospital here.

Vancouver Island

Reported in The Canadian Alpine Journal Vol. 59, 1976. p.56/57.

By Gil Parker

In July Syd Watts and John Gibson made a presumed first ascent of an unnamed 5700-foot peak from the headwaters of the White River valley. They hiked in from the end of the logging road and camped at the foot of the southeast ridge of the mountain, which was followed to the summit. The mountain is distinguished by a well-defined summit ridge about half a mile long, with impressive cliffs falling shear on the east side to the valley of the north fork of the White River. The summit is about three miles south of Mount Adam. The ridge rises abruptly between 4500 and 5000 feet and takes on the appearance of a tower from below. In the Sutton Range east of Vernon Camp, this peak is indicative of the excellent climbing available north of Strathcona Park on Vancouver Island. While descending this tower John’s watch unbuckled itself and was lost. Hence the name “Watchtower Peak” will be formally applied. On an attempt on the unclimbed east peak of Mount Cain in the Sutton Range, Gil Parker with Paul and Diane Erickson, reached the west peak, and climbed down into the notch between the two, intending to make a reconnaissance of the east peak for a climb the next day. Unfortunately, Diane was struck by a falling rock which broke three fingers on her right hand, necessitating a somewhat harrowing retreat, followed by a four-hour drive to the nearest hospital at Campbell River. One day climbs were made on Mount Whymper, and on the Shepherd Creek and Rees Ridge areas above Buttle Lake, in Strathcona Park. Regular rock-climbing practices were held weekly in the hills west of Victoria, where the difficult routes of last year were repeated by many climbers, using both free and artificial methods. The ACC Section sponsored jointly with the YMCA a mountaineering course which took participants to the top of Mounts Baker and Arrowsmith, as well as most of the Victoria area rock routes. The piece de resistance was the return to Rugged Mountain (6151’) again this August. A party of six climbed Rugged Mountain from the Nomash Valley, spending three nights on the mountain, with ideal weather all the time (details in separate account). This mountain shows excellent promise for fine rock climbing and general mountaineering with plenty of scope for variation in routes, and for scenery, the Pacific Ocean at its feet. Ski mountaineering is in its ascendancy, commencing with a March ascent of Mount Moriarty by Dave Tansley and Gil Parker, finding the cairn in the center of the blizzard. The conservation interests of the ACC were well represented, the Section presenting briefs to the Pearce Commission of Forestry Resources in BC, and the hearings of the Schoen-Tsitika area. It is hoped that the strong representations from the various environment conscious groups will preserve some parts of this beautiful and as yet unlogged valley in northern Vancouver Island. The interest in a mountain cabin at Cream Lake south of Buttle Lake got some support this fall, as communication from both the Parks and Mining Departments of the BC Governments indicated that they felt mining activity at the site is unlikely. The financial and moral support of local clubs has been sought with the hope of establishing the recreational use potential of this area.

By Bob Tustin

Most people did their climbing off the island in 1975. There are two notable climbs worth mentioning. Mike Walsh did a solo traverse from north to South of Rambler Peak. The first ascent of the north ridge was a mixture of scrambling, a few 5.3 pitches and one 80-foot 5.5 climb. Exposure and sound rock make this a recommended climb. In June, a large group of Island Mountain Ramblers led by Bill Perry did a successful first ascent of the highest peak in the Maitland Range [Hidden Peak] on the West Coast of Vancouver Island via Woodfern Lake. The same day Joe Bajan and Mike Walsh climbed three major pinnacles near the summit [the first is known as “The Banana”]. The climbing was mainly 5.6 on good solid rock. Only one accident to report. Joe Bajan required helicopter evacuation after falling on Mount De Cosmos while solo climbing. Injuries were minor. Helicopters were used many times by cross country skiers. Marble Meadows is now competing with Forbidden Plateau as being the dream world for cross country skiers. Caves are being discovered in the alpine areas of Strathcona Park. One cave may be one of the world’s ten deepest [Q5 on White Ridge]. Island mountaineers have suddenly become cave explorers. There are still lots of areas to explore and new routes to be done. In 1975, most people were content to climb their favorite mountains by old routes. Next year, we will get back to exploring.

Rugged Mtn

By John Gibson 

The long, serrated ridge of the Haihte Range, culminating in Rugged Mountain (6151’), rises behind Tahsis and Zeballos on the West Coast of Vancouver Island, and is a conspicuous landmark from offshore. For years I [John Gibson] had thus admired it from afar, and first visited it in 1974, approaching from Woss Lake on the landward side of the range. On that occasion we spent so long on the lower slopes that we lacked the time to climb the mountain (CAJ 1975, p.66), but that trip whetted our appetites for another visit. This time we decided to approach from the southwest, or seaward side of the range, and on 12 August 1975 a group of six Vancouver Island Section members parked cars beside the road about four miles short of Zeballos, where the old logging road up the Nomash valley branched off (altitude about 350 feet). The bridge was washed out so we started by fording the river, then followed the old road for about four and a half miles until it ended in an impenetrable jungle of dense young growth mixed with old logging slash. We backtracked to a side creek, which conveniently went underground a few yards below the road, and followed its dry bed down to the Nomash River in our valley bottom. The Nomash was also running underground at this point and its dry bed provided a good route up the valley to the end of the logged off area, where it became a healthy torrent again. By a strange coincidence the water just dived underground as soon as it reached the logged off country! In the timber we picked up an old prospector’s trail leading up the valley and followed it as far as the base of a side ridge leading up toward Rugged Mountain. The bush was typical West Coast jungle at first, and slow going, but it improved after the first 1000 feet, and we camped for the night in the timber at 2000 feet. Next morning (13 August) we packed on up our ridge to a pleasant spot at 4500 feet, above timber, where we decided to leave our packs and make camp. After lunch five of us set off for the summit, leaving one to rest and camp after a somewhat strenuous introduction to packing. Traversing right from our ridge we made for the lowest col on the main ridge, west of the summit of Rugged Mountain. We roped on the col at 3 p.m., and walked up the upper glacier on the north side of the peak to gain its east ridge. This gave very pleasant rock climbing, not technically difficult but spectacularly exposed in places (if you like numbers, I’d plump for three) and always interesting, for this ridge kept us guessing what surprises would be around each corner. However, cracks, chimneys, ledges and climbable slabs all presented themselves when needed and we reached the summit at 5.45 p.m. Though Rugged has been climbed more than once we knew no details of previous routes taken, of which ours would certainly be the easiest. We stayed on the top for a little more than half an hour, soaking up the view. To the west, against the evening light, ridge upon ridge was silhouetted against each other in numerous shades of blue-grey-purple, and beyond them the Pacific. Eastwards we picked out many old friends in the centre of Vancouver Island, and beyond them the Coast Range, with Mount Waddington aloofly remote on the far horizon. We descended by the same route, with minor variations, and unroped at the col at 9 p.m., reaching camp at 9:30. It was a cloudless night, and we cook supper by moonlight. Later, as we lay in our sleeping bags, those who had decided not to put up tents were rewarded with a fine display of meteors and satellites chasing across the starry sky. By a lucky chance 13 August is apparently the night of the year for meteors and we couldn’t have chosen a better place for the display. Next morning a leisurely stroll to another col and a minor point on the main ridge, with pauses to enjoy the views and the alpine flowers. Back to lunch at our campsite, after which we packed up and started down, pausing to bathe in a beautiful series of small pools at 4000 feet. Then down through the timber and the final dense jungle and in due course we camped on a gravel bar beside the dry bed of the Nomash, again cooking summer supper in the dark. On the morning of the 15th a brisk walk along the old logging road for an hour and a half had us back at the fording place opposite our cars, just as the weather began to show signs of breaking. The notoriously wet West Coast couldn’t have treated us better. 

Participants: Rick Eppler, John Gibson, Walter Latter, Steve McConnell, John Simpson, Syd Watts. 

1976

ACCVI Executive:

Chair – Gil Parker

Secretary – Doug Wylie

Membership/Treasurer – Dave Tansley

Programs – Paul Erickson

Bushwhacker editor – Cynthia Tansley

Events:

January 11 – Walter Latter led a trip to Service Mtn.

February – Helicopter flight into Marble Meadows approximately $20 per person. Hike out.

February 8 – Rick Eppler, Dave Tansley and Paul Erickson climb Mt. Arrowsmith.

March 7 – Gil Parker led a trip up Mt. Cokely.

March 20/21 – Scheduled booking of the ACC Whistler cabin.

March 26 – The club’s annual banquet was held at the Quamichan Inn in Duncan. Fips Broda showed slides of his trip to Peru that included a new route on Huascaran and an attempt on Alpamayo. $5.50 per person.

April 3-4 – Rick Eppler and Dave Tansley stay at the Whistler cabin and ski up Oboe Summit.

April 9 – Doug Scott gave a slide show at the Newcombe Auditorium. Lecture and discussion illustrated with slides from the recent ascent of the Southwest Face of Mt. Everest. Admission: $2.50, Students and OAP $2.00.

April 17/18 – Paul Turje, John Simpson and Gil Parker visit Cream Lake.

April 27 – Section general meeting at Fred and Edith Maurice’s cabin on Prospect Lake.

May 1-2 – Only two on the club trip – Dave Tansley and Paul Erickson attempt the Castle Towers.

May 22/23/24 – The ski trip to McGillivray Pass was changed to Mt. Myra. To be led by Walter Latter.

June 11/12 – Dave Tansley leads a combined ACC/YW-YMCA basic mountaineering course on Mt. Arrowsmith.

June 17 – Club general meeting at Fred Maurice’s cabin on Prospect Lake. Brush and broom clearing around the lake shore.

June 19/20 – Rick Eppler to led a trip up Klitsa Mtn.

July 9 – John Gibson, Steve Hinde, Rick Eppler, Gil Parker, Alan Robinson and Syd Watts make 1^st ascent of Tahsis Mtn.

July 10 – John Gibson, Steve Hinde, Rick Eppler, Gil Parker, Alan Robinson and Syd Watts attempt Malaspina Peak.

July 15 – Club meeting at the Maurice’s cabin on Prospect Lake. The film of the 1^st ascent of Mt. Logan was shown.

July 24-30 – John Gibson, Syd Watts, Alan Robinson and George Rushworth climb Mt. Ashwood and Maquilla Peak.

August 7/8 – Doug Wyle to lead a trip up Mt. Albert Edward.

August 21/22 – Alan Robinson to lead a trip to Matchlee Mtn.

August – Ralph Hutchinson, Roger Neave, Gil Parker and Jim Craig visit the Stikine Icecap to attempt Noel Peak again.

September 4/5/6 – Syd Watts leads a party of 12 to the Comox Glacier.

September 6 – Charles Rowley, Gil Parker, John Simpson and Rick Eppler climb El Capitan Mtn.

September 11/12 – Paul Erickson to lead a trip to Elkhorn Mtn.

September 25/26 – Walter Latter to lead a trip to Mt. Myra.

October 9/10/11 – Gil Parker, Cliff Syroid, John Simpson and Rick Eppler climb of Mt. Constance (Olympics).

October 16/17 – Dave Tansley, Rick Eppler and John Simpson climb Castle Towers.

October 29 – Paul and Diane Erickson host a wine and cheese at their home.

November 26 – The Annual General Meeting to be held at the YMCA on Courtney St.

Section Fees:

$4.00 for Section Member

$3.00 for Life Member

Cream Lake Hut

The Board advised to defer contribution to the Cream Lake Hut project until 1977 at least. During December and January just past, our Section had received moral support from three Island Clubs, monetary contribution from one more, and a rejection from a fifth. The one objecting contended that a hut would attract recreationalists and their mess would be similar to the effect of mining operations in destroying the wilderness attributes of the area. Without reference to the A.C.C. this club advised the Parks Branch and the F.M.C.B.C. Coincident with these negotiations, the B.C. Director of Parks advised us that they were currently conducting a review of the Policy Statements for Strathcona Park and were formulating a policy on mountain huts. The Cream Lake hut has been deferred until this review is completed, probably in May ’76, and our Executive felt that this was too late to allow fund raising and construction in 1976. While the Parks Branch will invite public input to their studies, it is most unfortunate that their officials led our Club so far down the garden path and then underwent what appears to be a complete change of heart. It is hoped that the project is only delayed, and the Cream Lake is not lost to mining, or to a zoning which prevents use of the area by a wide range of mountain travellers.

Gil Parker, Chairman.

Strathcona Park (Mines?)

As most of you are aware, there has been a continuing effort to open up Strathcona Park to more mining. At present Western Mines is the only company actively mining a claim in the park. As it appears that there is continuing pressure on the government by owners of other mining claims to allow these claims to be activated. The policy of the former NDP government was to buy back these claims as funds became available under a system of priorities. Whether or not this was a proper course of action is debatable. Of course, there has been a change of government and this policy is now under review. This is where we as an Alpine Club should be most concerned. The whole question may be resolved on the basis of recreational value versus mineral value. This may be a straightforward and valid approach to the majority of people who have no direct interest in the area but unfortunately the determination of these values is impossible to quantify. Let’s look at a specific area which will be the focal point of this issue, Cream Lake. Cream Lake Mines claim that there is $190 million worth of ore on their claim. However, the geology of the area prohibits very precise estimates of the extractable ore. In order to determine whether or not a mine will be economic, more intensive surveys must be carried out which will bring with it some damage to the area. On the other hand, how does one arrive at a dollar value of the or the recreational potential of this area. Vancouver Island is of limited size. The alpine areas are even smaller in scope. Much of the island has been logged. In the years ahead, the existence of untouched alpine areas on the Island will be extremely valuable. Cream Lake in particular is in the center of an area roughly 30 miles square which contains the most beautiful alpine country on the Island. It is also in the center of many hiking trails and ridge routes connecting the mountains from Mount Albert Edward to the Golden Hinde. Most important to this issue is that it is parkland. If one is trying to evaluate multi-use potential of this area, the fact that it is already in a park should put the onus on the nonconforming user, (i.e. the mines) to prove significant public benefits from their intended use. The public benefits and the dollar value of the ore in the ground are not necessarily the same. So, resolving dollar values on both sides of this issue may be very difficult. One more point. Cream Lake Mines feel that fair compensation for this ore would be 10% of $190 million, their expected profit. Based on share value or exploration costs to date this represents a true return of several thousand percent, hardly justified. The whole legal question of these claims remains to be answered. They were granted by Orders in Council, surely they can be removed by Orders in Council. Perhaps a fair settlement would be payment for exploration to date. It may be up to the courts to make the decision. There will be more news on this issue. The Sierra Club is preparing a campaign to preserve this area for recreation only. We have offered to lend our support to them. If anyone would like to know more about this issue, or offer any assistance or ideas, please contact the executive.

Doug Wylie

Treasurer’s Statement

Receipts:

Opening balance                                        413.20

Section dues                                              169.00

ACC rebates                                              201.40

Doug Scott evening                                   1227.25

                                                             2010.85

Expenses:

AGM (Empress Hotel)                                  51.00

Executive expenses                                      66.46

Annual dinner                                             46.65

Bushwhacker                                               63.70

Doug Scott evening                                    484.28

Section badges                                             32.50

Donation to ACC Expd. Fund                         75.00

Section Waddington trip                              100.00

FMBC dues                                                20.00

Program                                                     12.84

                                                               952.43

Closing balance                                        1058.42

 

Park Mining Proposed

Reported in The Victoria Daily Times Wednesday February 18, 1976. p.1 & 2.

By Humphry Davy

A B.C. Department of Mines report recommended that one of Vancouver Island’s most spectacular areas be deleted from Strathcona Park, the Victoria Daily Times learned today. The Big Interior Mountain complex includes such attractions as Della Lake and Della Falls – the latter regarded as one of the highest in Canada. Its ridges are nationally known for their acres of heather, profusion of alpine flowers, glacier moraine, ice field and Beauty Lake. The complex also offers a spectacular view of surrounding peaks in the 302,000-acre park. The report, entitled Mineral Resources Considerations, states that the summit ridge of Big Interior Mountain is a barren, windswept feature which is neither “beautiful nor spectacular and is surpassed in grandeur by many other mountains.” Mine Minister Thomas Waterland has not yet been presented with the report. He was tied up today at an orientation course for freshman MLA’s and was not available for comment. Three weeks ago Waterland said mining in parks “isn’t a bad thing” if strict environmental controls are enforced. He said he was not announcing government policy and that it was his own opinion. Deletion of the alpine region from the park would permit exploration for copper and other mineral deposits on eight crown-granted claims, the report states. But explorer Syd Watts, a member of the Alpine Club of Canada, said the mine department must be viewing Big Interior Mountain “through smoked glasses. It’s absolutely ridiculous,” he was quoted as saying of the report. “It is also a splendid area for skiing.” Watts observed that when the Bedwell Creek was deleted from Strathcona Park the government said it was of little value because it was situated in a rain forest. “So is Olympic National Park in Washington situated in a rain forest area,” he said, “but thousands of people from all parts of North America visit the park. That doesn’t deter them. “It is also ridiculous to say the summit is windswept,” he added. “What peak on Vancouver Island is not windswept?” Watts said the Alpine Club of Canada is assembling a collection of coloured slides of the area to show people what the province would lose if the mountain was deleted from the park. Brian Pinch, a director of the Sierra Club who has read the mining report, said once the mountain is excluded from the park, it would be difficult to exert controls on mining operations. “This is a very beautiful area,” he said. “The club feels the mining department reasons leading to its recommendations are faulty.” The previous Social Credit government practiced the policy of multi-purpose use of parkland – for mining and forestry in addition to recreation purposes. The practice led to opposition from conservationists over dumping of sewage and mine tailings, including heavy amounts of poisons such as lead and arsenic into lakes and streams. Under the NDP government, a policy stopped new mining claims being filed in provincial parks and stated that dormant claims could not be worked. Big Interior Mountain is situated near the south boundary of the park. It is accessible via Great Central Lake and an old logging road skirting Drinkwater Creek which ends at the foot of Della Falls. Hundreds of people during the late summer months hike to Della Falls, a three-hour walk from Great Central Lake. A pathway runs up to the alpine ridge of the mountain where there are trails through the alpine meadows to Della Lake and Beauty Lake.

History Of The You Creek Mining Claims

By Lindsay Elms

Since the establishment of Strathcona Provincial Park in 1911, mining within its boundaries has been a controversial issue. Unfortunately, some of the mining claims have certain exemptions under the Parks Act. One such group of claims is the You Group made up claims known as Ex, Ten, You and Eight. They were staked in the You Creek watershed in Strathcona’s southern area. The group is located on the southwest slopes of Big Interior Mountain above You Creek, one of the largest tributaries of the Bedwell River. The gold-bearing quartz vein was first located in 1912. Between 1915 and 1919 John D. McLeod undertook some work on the property. The You Group claims are located between 1800 and 2200 feet in elevation, and the quartz vein is in a three-foot shear in granodiorite, the predominant rock on the lower forested slopes of the mountain. This is quite different from the conspicuous thick limestone cap found on the summit of Big Interior Mountain where the copper-rich Ptarmigan Group of mining claims is located. In 1921, William M. Brewer a mining engineer, visited the You Group at the request of the new property owner J.B. Woodworth of Vancouver, and wrote the following description:

The fissure is exposed in a narrow gulch, the effects of erosion, for a vertical height of about 500 feet above the trail, where an adit [an adit (from Latin aditus, entrance) is a horizontal passage to an underground mine] is driven along a strike of the vein in a northeasterly direction. Owing to the quantity of water flowing down the gulch no close examination could be made of the vein above the adit on the trail. The fissure, with similar filling, has been traced down the mountain side a distance of 500 feet below the trail, where it has been exposed in open-cuts.

That same year (1921) the claims became crown-grants. In a report to the Minister of Mines in 1922 it was stated that “facilities for milling and concentrating could hardly be excelled, for the reason that Bedwell River can be developed to furnish all the water-power necessary to drive all machinery, as well as for concentrating purposes.” Unfortunately, the spring of 1922 was a heavy snowfall season which hampered Woodworth’s efforts. His cabin on the property was also destroyed by fire at the time he was ready to build the small quartz-mill he had packed onto the property. By 1923, the small homemade cyanide mill was installed and operational, however, no figures on its production are available but remains suggest a capacity of five to ten tons per day. In 1932, J.B. Woodworth returned with a small crew, and worked for a couple of months rebuilding the old camp, reconditioning the mill and driving an adit-drift three hundred and thirty-seven feet into the vein. Test runs showed that recoveries could be made by concentrating and cyaniding the ore and it was estimated that sufficient tonnage was available to make the property a profitable producer. Further samples were taken but by 1933 it was realized that the lack of transportation facilities was going to handicap the mine’s production and it eventually was abandoned. In 1940, Bralorne Mines Ltd. inspected the property for John D. McLeod. McLeod had regained the property after Woodworth’s ownership lapsed. In the conclusion from the Bralorne Mines report they wrote:

The quartz vein has been exposed by 340 feet of drifting disclosing a total of 1,470 tons of probable ore averaging 1.36 oz. per ton after allowing for 20% dilution in mining and a mill recovery of 95%. With a capital outlay of $65,400 deemed sufficient to bring the property into production 1,790 tons of ore would be required to return this capital, judging the profit per ton as $36.50. The amount of additional ore required, 320 tons, seems well within the limits of the geological possibilities of the ground. Assuming the present lengths of ore disclosed and the profit yielded by this ore per vertical foot of depth ($496) carried to a vertical depth of 500 feet, then the profit would be $248,000. The life of the mine on a 25 Ton per day basis required to realize this profit would be less than one year (272 days). Such a profit is exclusive of possibilities in the lateral extension of the present veins or in the discovery of parallel veins.

The property was again subjected to a thorough, although localized, examination by Ridgeway R. Wilson and Associates, a mining engineer firm in December 1944. The company’s conclusion was:

This crown granted group has sufficient ore of the usual narrow, high grade Vancouver Island – Zeballos type, to warrant further development of the two presently exposed shoots as well as the limited exploration of a newly discovered shoot.

It went on to recommend that combined development of at least three adjacent properties would help reduce initial and operating overhead expenditure: cost of mill, road construction, power and mine management. In their summation they said:

Obviously, almost any ore deposit on Vancouver Island may be rapidly and cheaply brought to production relative to those located in the interior of B.C. Specifically, the You Group is about five miles from a truck road. The proposed initial development would require only a pack horse trail and hand mining. It is estimated that six months work with a crew of six (one packer, one cook and four miners) would repair the camp, the trail, and ascertain the vertical continuity of the known ore shoots at an overall cost of less than $20,000 (600’ to 1,000’ of drifting). Hand mining would approximate $15 per foot (direct expense).

Calculations estimated one shoot could be relied upon to supply at least 2,625 tons of .88 oz. grade probable ore with a value of $80,850 [1945 prices]. Another shoot would possibly produce 2,628 tons of .86 oz. grade with a value of $79,102 (at $35/oz). Assuming, conservatively, that operating costs would not exceed $15 per ton, the operating profits would amount to $81,172 for both shoots and it was quite possible that the shoots could supply enough ore to show a profit of about $110,000 depending upon ore shoot boundaries. In January 1945, when this report from Ridgeway R. Wilson and Associates was released, gold was valued at $38.50 per oz. Unfortunately, no further work was undertaken on the property until 1960 when Tanar Gold Mines Ltd. of Vancouver stripped and test pitted the main vein to an extent of 4,100 feet on the surface. In 1961, Harvey H. Cohen, a mining engineer and Roger Verity of Tanar Gold Mines Ltd. inspected the property and wrote a favourable report but again very little work was continued with the property. Sometime in the 1980’s Kilo Gold Mines Ltd. of Alberta obtained the You Group of claims and in October 1985 the President Thomas E. Kirk reported they were about to start exploration on the property. However, it appears very little was done and since that time the claims have laid idle and a luxuriant layer of moss has slowly begun to grow over everything. Today the old cabins have disintegrated and returned to the forest floor as well as the old homemade cyanide mill. However, the adits still exist and are like doorways into the underworld of the mineral laced mountain. The quartz veins are still exposed along the walls and ceiling of the adits and the gold specks continue to sparkle when light shines upon it, allowing the viewer to dream of riches derived from the hunt for gold.

Cut Out Spectacular Area?

Reported in The Daily Colonist Thursday February 19, 1976. p.13.

Mystification appeared to be the only reaction of Deputy Mine Minister James Fyles to the disclosure Wednesday that a mine department report was recommending deletion of one of Vancouver Island’s most spectacular areas from Strathcona Park. The report, titled Mineral Resources Considerations, says that the deletion of the area – Big Interior Mountain district, which includes Della Lake and Della Falls, highest waterfall in Canada – would permit exploration of copper and other mineral deposits on eight crown-granted claims. Fyles expressed amazement at the title of the report. He explained it had been parks department policy since 1973 that there would be no mining in parks, and this had left unsolved various problems with those who held mineral claims. There had been he said, a lot of in-house studies of this problem.” But he added mystified by the report and by the deletion it recommended, which he said was a parks department problem and not one for the mines department. Recreation and environment groups have been quick to react to the report and express their horror. Robert Harris, president of the Victoria Fish and Games Protective Association, said his group was opposed “taking any section out of any class A park for whatever reason.” He wanted to know what type of mining the department had in mind of the district, and urged that an environmental study be done on the whole area before making any move. Mine Minister Thomas Waterland could not be reached for comment. The minister said three weeks ago that he felt mining in parks wasn’t bad as long as strict environmental controls were enforced. The report says the summit ridge of Big Interior Mountain is a barren windswept feature which is neither “beautiful nor spectacular and is surpassed in grandeur by many other mountains.” But explorer Syd Watts, a member of the Alpine Club of Canada, said the mine department must be viewing Big Interior Mountain “through smoked glasses. It’s absolutely ridiculous,” he was quoted as saying of the report. “It is also a splendid area for skiing.”

A Park Is A Park Is …

Reported in The Victoria Daily Times Friday February 20, 1976. p.4.

No decisions have been made yet, but Mine Minister Thomas Waterland’s recent comments (mining in parks “isn’t a bad thing”) and a mines department report urging deletion from Strathcona Park of a spectacularly beautiful alpine area called Big Interior Mountain are alarming warning signs. There is also before the mines department an application by Cream Silver Mines Ltd (which has a working arrangement with Western Mines) to operate a mine in the Cream Lake area of the park, also in the southern part, which the Sierra Club opposes. While Western mines is situated on claims staked more than sixty years ago (and thus might be considered to have prior rights in the park), these new proposals are on particularly shaky ground. Non of the claims in the southern part of the park date from before 1964, many of them as recent as 1970. The New Democratic Party did some stupid things, but its parks policy wasn’t one of them. Adding millions of acres of new parks, and enshrining them in legislation (which only legislation may alter, not cabinet) with the existing ones, putting an end to claim-staking in provincial parks – these were actions which met with widespread approval, and probably still do, regardless of what happened on December 11 last year. Vancouver Islanders, particularly, remember the broken promises over the Western Mines operation. We were first told that no tailings would go into Buttle Lake, then when that was reversed, the company said the tailings wouldn’t pollute the lake. Then came research reports from independent scientists showing that heavy metal levels in the water and in the fish in the lake had risen drastically. Lead content in fish between 1966 and 1969 rose by up to 1000 per cent. The pollution levels now in Buttle Lake – upon which Campbell River depends for its water supply – may not be lethal, but then half a century ago nobody thought twice about pulp mills dumping mercury wastes into river systems either. To be fair, the mines department report quoted in the Times on Wednesday, recommends the protection of Della Lake and spectacular Della Falls, not their deletion, but these two beauty spots are very close to the group of eight mining claims on Big Interior Mountain, (within two miles in fact) and it may be exceedingly difficult to preserve them once the mining companies go in. If a mine is developed there, more than the mere two-thirds of a square mile comprising the actual claims will be required. The mining claims are at a higher elevation than the lake and the falls. To get there, a road may have to go right through the area recommended for protection. And what happens to the mine waste? And Big Interior Mountain is not the only area of the scenic southern part of Strathcona Park which is threatened. There is the aforementioned Cream Silver Mines Ltd., application to operate a mine at Cream Lake only three miles north of Della Falls. Other claims exist at Beauty Lake, a mile south of the falls. Mistakes by former administrations-seen today in hindsight-allowed these claims to be staked. A certain legal entitlement goes along with these claims. But it’s a problem that can be surmounted, by outright purchase, or trades, by one means or another. We believe as the Sierra Club does, that the time has come to draw the line.

Strathcona Park

Reported in The Victoria Daily Times Wednesday February 25, 1976. p.4.

The Alpine Club of Canada thanks you for your comments of position on the preservation of the south part of Strathcona Park. Your cartoon of February 20 was accurate, but frightening in its depiction of the situation. Of course, some desperate need for resource may predicate extraction of minerals. But have we come to the point where we must open areas of marginal mineralization to mining? Are we a society ready to sacrifice an area such as Della Falls, Big Interior Mountain, and Cream Lake to the degradation which unavoidably follows mining? We strongly suggest that we are not! We are completely in sympathy with the stand of the Sierra Club in this issue. The report 1400 annual visitors hiking through the Marble Meadows sector of the park gives a minute indication of the need for future parkland. We feel that the provincial government has a duty to her citizens not to give in to short term balance of budget pressures, and not to yield this valuable and beautiful part of the park.

Gil Parker, Chairman of the Vancouver Island Section of the Alpine Club of Canada.

Mt. Tom Taylor

Reported in The Daily Colonist (The Islander section) Sunday March 7, 1976. p.1.

Mining Ban In Park Endorsed

Reported in The Victoria Daily Times Monday March 8, 1976. p.2.

A resolution urging the provincial government to continue the policy of disallowing mining in provincial parks was unanimously endorsed at a regional meeting of the Federation of B.C. Naturalists of Vancouver Island held at Nanaimo Saturday. Representatives of eight societies, including Thetis Park Nature Sanctuary Association and Victoria Natural History Society were present. The resolution specifically mentioned an application by Cream Silver Mines Ltd. for permission to carry out mining operation at Cream Lake, one of the more picturesque sub-alpine areas in Strathcona Park. Bob Dickhous, president of the Thetis Park Nature Sanctuary Association, said delegates were also concerned with a mining report recommending that the Big Interior Mountain system be deleted from the park. The mountain’s main attraction are its alpine meadows and Della Falls, one of the highest in Canada. The delegates also urged that the boundaries of the Strathcona Park be revised to include the Gold Lake area, the narrows of the north end of Buttle Lake which includes the campsite and the northwest end of Great Central Lake. Mrs. Dulcie-Hamilton, president of the Comox-Strathcona Natural History Society, said the additions should be made to make up for the damage done to the park in the past by logging, mining, hydro power projects and timber trades. The meeting also endorsed a resolution calling on both federal and provincial governments to co-operate in enacting legislation for sea coast protection. It also urged the government to extend the mandate of the Islands Trust and to strengthen its powers to make it more effective. The delegates noted that existing controls on logging companies which own large sections of the islands, is inadequate.

Island Girls Crushed by Giant Fir

Reported in The Daily Colonist Tuesday August 4, 1976. p.1.

CAMPBELL RIVER-Two Campbell River girls were crushed to death Monday night when a seemingly healthy 150-foot Douglas fir toppled on their tent as they lay sleeping in the Ralph River campsite on Buttle Lake in Strathcona Park. Laurie Jean Primrose, 11, and her companion Tracey Lee Deakins, 9, were lying in their tent about 15 yards from a trailer occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Lorne Primrose when the tragedy struck. Tracey, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Fred Deakins of Campbell River, had joined the primroses for the holiday trip. The Deakins have two other children, Cindy, 12, and Kerry, 3. It was not known whether the Primrose family have any other children. According to one witness the six-foot diameter tree came down about 10 p.m. with a “rifle crack” sound and the girls were struck by a section 60-feet from the tree base. A Campbell River RCMP spokesman said Strathcona Park employees attended equipped with power saws and helped campers at the site remove the tree section from the top of the tent. The victims were pronounced dead at the scene. Parks superintendent Gordon Rathbone said Tuesday the accident was “freakish” as there was no wind at the time. “It was thoroughly breezy in the afternoon but the wind had died down and it was very calm last night,” he said. Rathbone said the tree, which he described as over-mature timber, was upended at the roots when it fell. “The rot went right down to the roots,” he said, adding the extensive rot was probably the cause. The parks branch had conducted a snag removal program at the campsite last November, felling about 50 dangerous trees, he said. However, the fallen fir had green branches and showed no evidence of rot. He said the campsite was set in an overmature stand of trees and that the parks branch was constantly watching out for trees which were leaning or which pose a danger to campers. He cautioned that there was “an inherent danger” in camping among huge trees, but indicated there was little that could be done beyond the branch’s snag program. Parks employees worked through most of the night cutting up the tree which blocked the main road to the campsite, he said, but the bulk of the tree would remain until the parks branch continued its snag program later this year. Rathbone said it was the first incident he knew of in which anyone had been killed by a tree at a campsite, although there had been reports of “near misses.” The Colonist contacted a parks employee at the Strathcona Park headquarters Tuesday morning but he spokesman said “no one here wants to talk about it.”

Malaspina Peak Attempt

From personal communication with John Gibson and Syd Watts to Lindsay Elms.

On July 9, 1976, John Gibson, Steve Hinde, Rick Eppler, Gil Parker, Alan Robinson and Syd Watts climb Tahsis Mountain. That evening they parked their vehicles on the Tahsis Road between Malaspina Lake and Perry Lake. The next morning, 10 July, they headed off into an area that had been previously logged. After three hundred feet they crossed a small valley and reached the Northwest Ridge of Malaspina Peak. The ridge rose steadily and according to John Gibson there were no difficulties avoiding the bluffs. Game trails were good and the bush was not as thick as they expected being so close to the West Coast although they got slightly wet in the huckleberries. Eventually they emerged from the timber onto an open snow-covered ridge at 3500 feet and followed the ridge towards the south peak. Roping up they traversed left up fairly steep snow to a col between the south and main summits. The main peak was hidden by cloud and separated from them by “some rather fearsome looking gendarmes.” Consequently, the route to the main peak looked a bit complex for such misty conditions and they decided to settle for the south summit which looked more approachable with a straight forward snow ridge leading to it from the col. Upon reaching the mist shrouded summit around 2 p.m. they found a substantial cairn adorning it with no indication of who had built it. On the way down the main summit briefly revealed itself through a rift in the clouds and “it looked a forbidding looking rock tower of impressive verticality.” Later in the day the weather cleared altogether and it looked as though a traverse around the rock tower would lead to an easier approach to the main summit from the north.

Vancouver Island Section

Reported in the Canadian Alpine Journal Vol. 60, 1977. p.61.

By Doug Wylie

1976 was another year of varied activities which indicated a healthy growing section. One of the highlights of the year was the Mount Everest lecture by Doug Scott. A sellout audience was delighted with the tremendous quality of the photographs and Doug’s informative and often humorous discussion. This evening put the Section in excellent financial shape. As a result, we have been able to buy more climbing equipment, send $75 to the Club Expedition Fund, donate $200 to the ACC Pumori Expedition [the first Canadian Himalayan expedition] and help to underwrite a portion of the Section Mount Waddington trip. Our representation on the Federation of Mountain Clubs of B.C. has been continued by Charles Rowley. It is hoped that conservation issues on Vancouver Island may be more properly pursued through this organization. Our Hut at Cream Lake has been postponed indefinitely as the Provincial Government is considering a new zoning regulations within the park. However, the Section, in conjunction with the Sierra Club, continued to press for a halt to further mining in Strathcona Park. This campaign appears to have been successful as Premier Bennett issued a statement in the legislature this summer which outlined Government Policy in this matter – no new mines will be started inside Provincial Parks. The unnamed peak reported in the 1976 CAJ has now been officially named Watchtower Peak by the Canadian Permanent Committee on Geographic Names. In spite of generally bad weather this summer the climbing was very successful. In addition to the old standbys such as the Comox Glacier, Mt. Albert Edward and Elkhorn Mountain, there were trips to Klitsa Mountain (with a 2500-foot glissading descent), Malaspina Peak, and Tahsis Mountain. Off the island there was a successful climb of Mt. Constance in the Olympics, and a week-long expedition to the Mt. Waddington area.

1977

 

 

 

The next few years: 

For more history, adventures and exploits of Alpine Club members, please visit our archive of Island Bushwhacker Annuals. The Island Bushwhacker Annual archive has digital editions from 1993. But you can search for information as early at 1973 using the Google-enhanced search field. 

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