1951  |  1952  |  1953  |  1954

1950

ACCVI executive:

Chairman – Mark Mitchell

Secretary – Nora Piggott

Events:

January 19 – Through the kindness of Mr. Ernest Belton of the National Film Board, the Club saw Len Chatwin’s film on climbing. This film is a composite one, comprising Len’s best shots, taken at several recent camps including some very exposed climbing on Pigeon Spire.

February – Club meeting at the home of the Muriel and Aileen Aylard. Bill Heybroek and Mark Mitchell showed slides of their trips to Switzerland and Tyrol last summer.

April 2- Sections annual banquet at the Union Club on Gordon Street. About thirty members attended. Major Kenneth Hadow, the grandnephew of Douglas Hadow who died on the Matterhorn in 1865, gave an illustrated account of his expedition to Nanga Parbat (Pakistan) in 1932.

February – Club ski trip to Deer Park in the Olympic Mountains.

February – Club ski trip to Mt. Baker.

April (St. George’s Day) – A club hike to Eagle Heights. This involved an ascent of more than 2,500 feet vertical.

April 29 – Rex and Ethne Gibson were the Section’s representatives at a special meeting of the western members of the American Alpine Club.

May 24 – A club trip to Sansum Narrows for a day of rock-climbing and roping-off practice. Fourteen attended.

June 10/11/12 – Club trip to Mt. Landalt and El Capitan Mountain.

July 1/2/3 – A party of nine, including a Vancouver Section member, made a successful ascent of Mt. Shuksan.

August – A club trip to Mt. Maxwell on Saltspring Island.

September – Mark Mitchell led the Labour Day trip to the Olympics Mountains. A further trip is being planned to this range for the Thanksgiving weekend with Mt. Angeles as the objective.

Section members who attended the ACC’s winter ski camp at Mount Robson: Mark Mitchell, Rex Gibson, Ethne Gibson.

Section members who attended the ACC general summer camp at Maligne Lake July 17 to 29: Aileen Aylard, Muriel Aylard, Connie Bonner, Judy Craven (graduated on Mount Henry MacLeod), Mabel Duggan, Nancy Grant (graduated on Mount Henry MacLeod), Rex Gibson, Ethne Gibson, Bill Heybroek, Irene Hudson, Peter Lowes, Bill Lash, Dorothy Lash, Sylvia Lash, Mallory Lash, Jean Merritt (graduated on Mount Charlton and Mount Unwin), Mark Mitchell, Gertrude Snider, Margery Thomas (graduated on Mount Charlton and Mount Unwin)

The oldest member of the Alpine Club of Canada is John B. Kay of Victoria. He joined the club in 1909 and is now 93 years of age.

Ski Spot for Southern Vancouver Island

Outdoor Club of Victoria Seeking Aid for New Area

Reported in The Daily Colonist Sunday January 15, 1950. p.9.

Most people are of the opinion that the only worthwhile skiing grounds on Vancouver Island are located north of Courtenay. The Outdoor Club of Victoria whose members have tried out a new area believe the Mount Brenton slopes are equal to any novice or expert and only a little over an hour’s drive from the capital city. For five months during the winter of 1948-49, members of this club enjoyed excellent skiing each week-end at Mount Brenton, a few miles west of Chemainus. Again this winter members are making the short drive from Victoria to the area, skiing to their heart’s content and returning to Victoria the same day.

Use Logging Roads

Early in November, 1948, the club obtained permission to use private logging roads giving access to the mountainous area west of Ladysmith and Chemainus. Here the height above sea level rises to almost 4,000 feet. This altitude is sufficient, members assert, to guarantee ideal snow conditions in any year, however mild. Due to the depth of snow, the roads would have been impassable if they had not been kept open for the logging company’s operations. Thanks to the co-operation of the company, club members, in parties of twenty to thirty-five, were able to enjoy skiing until late in April. This winter they are hoping for the same experience and have already made a number of trips to the area. The first heavy snow fell this winter on November 30.

Informal Group

The Outdoor Club of Victoria is an informal group of about 100 members participating in the outdoor activities of hiking, camping and skiing. The club has been active since 1940 and has introduced to many residents of Vitoria the pleasure of the great outdoors. Each summer camping trips are organized in such diverse areas as the Forbidden Plateau, Della Falls, Garibaldi Park and the Olympic National Park in the state of Washington. Day hikes are also conducted throughout the year in areas near Victoria, getting to know Southern Vancouver Island, the best parts of which, members say, cannot be seen from the highways.

Lessen Cost

In previous years members were able to ski only in such areas as the Forbidden Plateau and the American and Canadian resorts on the mainland, all of which require a full week-end and considerable expense for travel and accommodation. They believe that Mount Brenton is the answer to their search for convenient ski grounds. In order to make it available to all, the club has approached the Provincial Government with the proposal that the area be taken over as a park. Club president Gordon Bowes says: “Our Island, so richly endowed in all other respects, lacks only an easily-accessible winter recreation area. The sport of skiing has attained a tremendous popularity elsewhere in Canada. Here is our opportunity to include skiing in the varied attractions offered by Southern Vancouver Island. The Mount Brenton area provides perfect skiing conditions for at least four months even in the mildest winter. It could be made accessible at little cost merely by grading the existing privately-owned logging roads in the area and keeping them clear of snow. The present owners could be offered Crown lands elsewhere in exchange. The creation of a Provincial Park, to include the northern and western slopes of Mount Brenton and the Brenton, Holyoak and Silver Lakes, is imperative while some of the beautiful stands of timber remain. Such a park would at last provide ideal conditions for both winter and summer recreation for the 140,000 residents of Southern Vancouver Island, from Victoria to Nanaimo. With its open, subalpine plateau and its magnificent views of the gulf and the mountains beyond, Mount Brenton could be developed at minimal expense to serve our Island communities as Mount Seymour Park now serves Vancouver.

Ski Tourney at Smith’s Hill

Good Sport on Sunday in Courtenay

Reported in the Comox Argus Wednesday January 18, 1950. p.1.

Under the director of Mr. Herb Bradley, a ski tournament was held on Smith’s Hill on the Back Road on Sunday under excellent conditions. Results were: Junior Girl’s; Marilyn Pimm 23 1.5, Margaret Morrison 26, Linda Williams 27. Junior Boy’s; Gerald Fitzgerald 21, Ted Carlson 23 1.5, Philip Bickle 29 1.5. Senior Girl’s; Gladys Andrews 32 1.5, Betty Natfield 33 4.5, Ruth Masters 34 1.5. Men’s; Stan Rushton 17 2.5, George Hobson, Alan Simpson both 18 4.5

Courtenay to Stage Several Ski Tournaments at Plateau

Reported in The Daily Colonist Saturday February 18, 1950. p.24.

Four major ski tournaments will be held on the slopes of Forbidden Platea ski field, according to announcements made by Herbert Bradley of the Courtenay recreation Association, and Mrs. Irene Chambers of Forbidden Plateau Lodge. They are: Courtenay Recreation Association’s Kandahar race for the Kandahar Trophy March 12; Forbidden Plateau Ski Club’s downhill for men, women, novices and juniors for The Daily Colonist Trophy, The Victoria Daily Times Trophy, and the Vancouver Island Coach Lines Trophy, March 26; Fanny Dunkers Junior Ski Club combined slalom and downhill closed contest for the Wells Gray Trophy and the E.W. Bickle Trophy, and Vancouver Island Open Championships, staged by the Comox District Mountaineering Club. The last named event will be a two-day tournament, with slalom races scheduled for April 9, and downhill races on April 10. The Kandahar race will begin at the forest service lookout and run through a bush trail that includes some near-vertical drops, to Forbidden Plateau Lodge. Present holder of the trophy is Stanley Rushton of Courtenay. Forbidden Plateau Ski Club’s downhill event will follow a much easier course to the lodge. Fanny Dunker’s tourney will be held on Timberline Hill, above the lodge, and will feature downhill and slalom races over a tricky course. Island ski championships will be held atop Mount Becher.

Mt. Brenton Area Said to Offer Excellent Skiing

Reported in The Daily Colonist Saturday March 11, 1950. p.14.

Excellent skiing in the Brenton area, near Chemainus, is reported by Gordon Bowes, president of the Outdoor Club of Victoria whose members hope to make another excursion Up-Island this week-end. The club president reports increasing support in the campaign for preservation of the Mount Brenton area as a provincial park. Club members have found the district ideally suited for a winter and summer recreational area, and it is their hope that such a zone could be developed for the southern part of the Island. At present, skiing members of the club use a logging trail to get into the fine hills.

Strathcona As National Park

Mr. Geo. Warren Speaks To “River” Chamber of Commerce

Reported in the Comox Argus Wednesday March 22, 1950. p.13.

CAMPBELL RIVER, March 21—About 40 people attended a meeting of the Campbell River and District Chamber of Commerce, held in the Willows Hotel last Monday evening, March 20^th, and heard an interesting address by George I. Warren of Victoria. Mr. Warren, who is secretary of the Associated Chambers of Commerce of Vancouver Island, and a member of the Victoria and Island Publicity Bureau, spoke on promotion of tourist trade and his desire to see Strathcona park developed. In describing the beauties and merits of Strathcona Park that speaker said that this was a subject near and dear to his heart. He made periodic visits to Ottawa during the past 20 years asking the Federal Government to make Strathcona a national park. He pointed out there are no national parks west of the Rocky Mountains. The idea for the development of a public park on Vancouver Island originated with the Victoria Board of Trade. In March 1905 a committee met with premier McBride, laid the plans appropriation for a survey before him, and had asked for the building of roads into the area. In 1910 the committee again waited upon the Premier and reminded him of his expressions of sympathy with the idea made five years earlier, and in 1911 a special act of the Provincial Parliament was passed setting aside the area as a provincial park, the first in the province. Strathcona park contains 529,920 acres and it covers an area of 800 square miles. It is located in the centre of Vancouver Island 120 miles from Victoria, 100 miles from Vancouver and 20 miles from Alberni. According to a folder produced by the provincial government in 1921, the area contains some of the finest and most diversified scenery in the world. It boasts a profusion of nature’s wonders and is ideal for hunting and fishing.

Buttle Lake

One of the main attractions described is Buttle Lake, named after John Buttle, who explored the area in 1865. Located approximately 25 miles from Campbell River, the re-opening of the trail leading to this lake is one of the projects being sought by both the Local Chamber and the Fish and Game Association. In concluding, Mr. Warren suggested that the tourist committee, as a major development, try to get some action on the park, and that all Chambers on Vancouver Island should get together and press for its development. The business portion of the meeting dealt with the question of repairs and improvements to the road through the Indian Reserve which leads to the Spit. William Roberts, speaking for the Indians, asked that the Chamber assist in obtaining repairs, because the road is used so much by tourists going to the Spit at the river mouth, to fish for the famous Tyee. President Len Rossiter said that a committee is already working on the matter, which hopes to give a report, possibly at the next meeting.

Ski Club Dance

Reported in the Comox Argus Wednesday March 29, 1950. p.8.

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Gladys Andrews and Stan Rushton Win Ski Crowns

C.D.M.C. Championships On Mt. Becher Easter

Reported in the Comox Argus Wednesday April 12, 1950. p.11.

The C.D.M.C. Vancouver Island Ski Championships were held om the top of Mt. Becher, on Easter Sunday and Monday. The slalom was run on Sunday under perfect weather conditions. A tricky 32-gate slalom was set to test the contestants in both the men’s and women’s races. Each competitor was required to make two runs over the slalom the total time of both the runs to be added together to decide the winner.

Women’s

Gladys Andrews

Ruth Masters

Irene Andrews

Men’s

Stan Rushton

Frank Stapley

Robert Gordon

The Downhill was run on Easter Monday in a blinding snow storm. A very steep, fast course was set for the men and one a little more gentle for the women. Results.

Women’s Downhill

Linda Williams

Gladys Andrews

Irene Andrews

Men’s Downhill

Sid Williams

Stan Rushton

Frank Stapley

For the C.D.M.C. trophy for the combined events the total times for both races were added together. Results.

Women’s

Gladys Andrews

Linda Williams

Irene Andrews

Men’s

Stan Rushton

Frank Stapley

Robert Gordon

Skiers Attend Mount Becher Event

Reported in The Daily Colonist Wednesday April 12, 1950. p.24.

Stan Rushton and Miss Gladys Andrews captured the men’s and women’s titles during Vancouver Island ski championships staged at Mount Becher by the Comox District Mountaineering Club. Results were: Men’s slalom, Stan Rushton; Men’s downhill, Sid Williams; Combined events, Stan Rushton; Women’s slalom, Gladys Andrews; Women’s downhill, Linda Williams; Combined event, Gladys Andrews. Strong winds and driving snow hampered contestants during the races.

Ski Club Meet Set Tomorrow

Reported in The Daily Colonist Sunday October 29, 1950. p.22.

Organization meeting of the proposed Victoria Ski Club is scheduled for the Newstead Hall, 734 Fort Street, at 8 p.m. Monday. This is the first such club to be started in Victoria and plans are to take over Mt. Benton as skiing grounds. Jack Lindsay, originator of the idea, has already acquired the services of a ski school teacher for beginners. Anyone interested in convenient and inexpensive skiing this winter is asked to attend this meeting.

Marooned On Buttle Lake

Two Courtenay Hikers Held Up There Last Week

Reported in the Comox Argus Wednesday August 23, 1950. p.1.

After being marooned on Buttle Lake with nothing left but half a loaf of bread and two biscuits Messrs. Geoffrey Capes and Ted Grieg got back to Courtenay last week. They flew from Comox Harbor to Buttle Lake and landed on a beach at Phillips Creek. Mr. Capes had already climbed Vancouver Islands highest mountain, the Golden Hinde, and while not going to the top again, they intended to climb and explore the country between Buttle Lake and the peak. They found the going very hard. There is more snow in the hills this year than they have ever seen before at this time of year. At the four-thousand-foot level the lakes were frozen over every night: there must have been ten degrees of frost they thought. They saw plenty of game. Bucks larger than down on the coast line, were playing round in the snow. In addition to the snow, conditions they ran into are where there were miles of windfalls and slide alder and their progress was maddeningly slow. They came out to Buttle Lake on Saturday, reduced to half a loaf of bread and two biscuits, and waited for the plane to come and pick them up on Sunday. It did not arrive and “we would have starved to death,” said Mr. Capes, but for the kindness of Victoria couple, who were camping on the beach. They fed them bounteously. The next day was a south-easter on the outside but dead calm at Buttle Lake. However, the clouds hung over the mountain lake and the two hikers did not expect it. When it did not come early on Tuesday they became disgruntled. It finally appeared Wednesday and they got out alright. The view coming out of the lake is nothing but a criss-cross of logging roads and an abomination of desolation such as modern logging leaves behind it. Flying is the only way to get in and out, and quite a number are using their own small planes or hiring them to get into this beautiful country. Now that the big mill is going in at Duncan Bay conservationists and beauty lovers are very much afraid that the BC Power Company will want to raise the level of the lake ten or twelve feet. This would drown out all the beaches and destroy the lake completely as a beauty spot. Mr. R.L. Haig-Brown and others are already marshalling the rod and gun clubs and other nature lovers to try and prevent it. They point out that if the beaches were drowned out logging round Buttle lake would inevitably follow as the loggers would then point out that the lake would be useless to anyone from a recreational standpoint.

Threat to Buttle Lake

Cancellation of License to B.C. Power Is Urged

Reported in the Comox Argus Wednesday August 30, 1950. p.5.

At a meeting of the associated fish and game associations at Nanaimo this week, Mr. Haig-Brown, from Campbell River, Mr. G.B. Capes and others brought up the threat to Buttle Lake by the application of the B.C. Power Commission to dam it and use power from it. The application is to raise the lake twelve feet. They pointed out that no doubt the lake will be logged as far as the water level. As beaches would then be drowned out and timber would come to the water line the value of this park from a recreational point of view would be small and logging companies would probably so argue and suggest that the timber on the upper slopes might as well be logged. The resolution also points out that there is no present or immediately foreseen need for such power, and if the time ever came when it was needed, it could be obtained from other sources. The cancellation of the license to the B.C. Power was therefore urged.

Buttle Lake Battle Still Goes On

Sports Magazine Says No Real Protection for Any Park

Reported in the Comox Argus Wednesday November 29, 1950. p.2.

The Northwest Sportsman of Vancouver is still fighting the inclusion of Buttle Lake in the hydro-electric plans of the B.C. Power Commission. In a recent editorial it said: “British Columbians may think they have Provincial Parks protected by law and tradition. THEY HAVEN’T. They are deluding themselves, and cheating their children, in so believing. In actual fact, today there is but one park, Garibaldi, which can claim the protection of legislative enactment. The rest is the creation of the government in order in council, and the breath that made them can unmake them. Little more than a whim of the provincial cabinet is needed to erase almost all the parklands from the face of this province. If you believe that such whims will never be, then we suggest you look to your news reports that tell each passing year of more and more “parkland” of British Columbia that is passing into the control of the government or private industrial development. Tweedsmuir Park is apparently to be opened to the Aluminum Industry. In the last month’s issue of the Northwest Sportsman noted sadly the dreary tale of decay and destruction on Lower Campbell Lake where B.C. Power Commission has backed its reservoir over thousands of acres of timber, rotted it, and threatened the surrounding stands of fine forestland with its wild animal and bird inhabitants.

The Campaign Wilted

That was a subject close to our hearts, because this magazine led the fight to prevent this disgraceful mess and, when sportsmen’s clubs all over B.C. joined the fray, it looked as though the needs of today’s sportsmen and tomorrow’s children would be met. But the campaign wilted. And today a large slice of that nearby parkland is threatened with destruction . . . Beautiful Strathcona Park on Vancouver Island, it is mooted, is to be despoiled in part by B.C. Power Commission. The Power Commission plans to build a “holding basin” there, of Buttle Lake, that is dam the mouth and increase the height by 45 feet. This is to form there a second reservoir for the Lower Campbell energy reserve—to serve needs which are not yet present in the Island’s hydro electric system. There are at present plans being made for a logging company to clear the flatlands at the lake’s edge which this rise in lake level will cover. This will at least avoid the dismal spectacle of thousands of dead, slimy snags forming a lake shore. But it does not answer to the fact that the provincial government many years ago paid private logging companies several hundred thousand dollars to vacate their timber rights in these same areas. And it indicates a very likely possibility of future destruction of this park area. For we suggest that when the flatlands are covered by the higher level of Buttle Lake there will be little left on its shores but steep cliffs. We further suggest that then logging companies will have a clear case to present for logging ALL of Buttle’s shores. When this vicious cycle is complete the region that was once one of the last unspoiled large lakes of Vancouver Island will be just another reservoir surrounded by white snags and rocks.

The Ruin of Buttle Lake

To quote the Courtenay-Comox Argus ‘There is no present reason for the ruin of Buttle Lake. The B.C. Power Commission is at present using about 37,000 horse power of its development capacity. Undoubtedly demand is growing and will grow, but in this area the B.C. Power Commission could utilize other potentials without spoiling Buttle—Canadian Collieries, for instance, at Puntledge. Why isn’t Puntledge used, or considered? BECAUSE EXCEPT FOR THE ODD NEWSPAPER AND THIS MAGAZINE AND A FEW SPORTSMEN, THERE IS NO ORGANIZED VOICE TO SPEAK ON BEHALF OF THE UNSPOILED WILDERNESS. If a move were made to establish a sawmill in Vancouver’s Stanley Park, it could never succeed over the violent opposition of that city’s Park Board. That board was created to care for the needs of the people parkwise, and it hollers on their behalf. But there is no board to speak for Strathcona or Tweedsmuir parks. They were created, as were almost all others by an Order of Council which “reserved rights” within certain areas, and another Order in Council can just as easily give back those lands to government or industrial development. The crying need in this province today is for a park board for each of our so-called provincial parks, and the passage of special acts in the Legislature of British Columbia establishing that these areas shall be free of encroachment by industry—whether logging, mineral or power development. We need the sanctity of our park areas to be proclaimed by the whole governing body of the province. And we need the establishment of bodies of public-spirted citizens to make sure the parklands are protected—citizens who are not employees of Victoria but who can stand up on their hind legs and shout if they feel that the peoples’ parks are being whittled away.

Good Skiing on Plateau

Reported in the Comox Argus Wednesday December 6, 1950. p.3.

The Comox District Mountaineering Club is planning to have a grand opening of the season in about a weeks’ time. In the meantime, a few are going up at the week-end breaking the trail and having good sport. There is now plenty of snow and excellent snow conditions and when the season opens it should be with a bang.

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1951

ACCVI executive:

Chair – Mark Mitchell

Secretary – Nora Piggott

Events:

January – Rex Gibson gave a public showing of pictures taken by himself and Miss Aylard at the Maligne Lake Camp.

February – Skiing trips were made to the Olympic Mountains in Washington and to Mt. Brenton near Ladysmith.

March – Club meeting at the home of Muriel and Aileen Aylard. Dr. Irene Hudson gave a talk on her study of native medicinal and food plants. Miss Aylard then showed some pictures of her trip out east.

March 23 to April 1 – Several section members attended the ski camp in Little Yoho Valley. This camp was marred by an unfortunate accident to Mark Mitchell who had a bad fall and sustained a fracture of the left femur. Rescue operations took three days.

April – Club trip to Mt. Tuam on Saltspring Island included a boat trip and a pleasant traverse along the summit ridge. Twelve attended.

April 13 – Club’s annual banquet dinner was at the Pacific Club. Colonel and Mrs. Gerald Andrews spoke of his work in making three-dimensional aerial maps of British Columbia and showed examples of his photography.

May 24 – Club expedition by boat to some cliffs near Piers Island. These provided some good short pitches with excellent roping-off sites.

May 27 – Club trip to the upper cliffs on Mt. Prevost near Duncan.

June (early) – Club trip to Cameron Lake where a party of eighteen spent the weekend, with ascents of Mts. Cokely and Arrowsmith.

June 30/July 1 – A party of ten club members arrived at the western end of Taylor Arm on Sproat Lake and were told by the boatman that the forests had just been closed and that while they could have the boat they could not land anywhere or set up a camp.

August – Fire hazards forced a last-minute alteration in club plans of Waterloo Mountain to Sansum Narrows. A successful first ascent of the main diagonal crack on the big cliff was made by one rope of four and several other routes were worked out up pitches of varying difficulty.

September (Labour Day Weekend) – A club trip to the Olympic Mountains in Washington.

September – Club meeting at the home of Dr. Irene Hudson to discuss camp and to see slides presentation of Lake O’Hara by Miss Aylard and Miss Edith Valens of Edmonton.

December 7 – Club annual meeting held at the home of Mark Mitchell where reports were presented and officers elected for 1952.

Section members who attended the ACC annual summer camp at Lake O’Hara Meadows July 16 to 29: Aileen Aylard, Muriel Aylard, Gerald Andrews, Viscount Mark Colville (graduated on Mt. Odaray) Helen Dewar (graduated on Mt. Odaray), Mabel Duggan, Joan Forbes (graduated on Mt. Odaray), Rex Gibson, Ethne Gibson, Frederick Longstaff, Edith Maurice, Mary McCulloch (graduated on Mt. Odaray), Gertrude Snider.

Skiers Request Hillcrest Road Be Kept Open

Reported in The Daily Colonist Thursday January 25, 1951. p.15.

Victoria skiers, who need snow to carry on their operations, have found that too much snow is just as bad as not enough. Nearly 100 members of the Victoria Ski Club found last Sunday that all roads leading to Mount Brenton ski fields had been blocked by fourteen inches of snow. It appears now that the roads will not be open for several weeks until the loggers go back to the woods and bring their bulldozers. Jack Lindsay, president of the Ski Club said recently that there would be 300 skiers on the slopes of Mount Brenton each week-end if the Hillcrest Road could be kept open. “If there was any chance of the Government acting now to clear the Hillcrest Road to within two or three miles of Mount Brenton, it would permit skiers to reach some slopes,” Lindsay said. He added that two or three clearings by a bulldozer would probably be enough for the winter as the road has southern exposure. “Elsewhere throughout the Province, the Government maintains roads leading to winter sports grounds, and in view of the great interest in skiing now evident in Victoria, we feel we are not asking for too much,” he stated.

Alpine Club Talk

Reported in The Daily Colonist Thursday January 25, 1951. p.26.

Alpine Club of Canada, showing colored slides of Maligne Lake Camp, taken last July, will be given by Major Rex Gibson, on Friday, January 26, at 8:30 pm., in hall above Newstead Reality, 734 Fort Street. Dr. W.E. Mark Mitchell, M.C. in the chair. Collection for expenses.

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Alpine Club Sees Slides

Reported in The Daily Colonist Saturday January 27, 1951. p.21.

The Victoria branch of the Alpine Club of Canada had its first showing of slides this season at a meeting held at Newstead Hall. The slides were shown by Major Rex Gibson. The subject dealt with different Alpine Club expeditions from Maligne Lake near Jasper. Pictures showed approaches to the club camp where 150 members were bivouacked last July, and many scenes of climbers near summits of various mountains. Chairman was Major Frederick Longstaff taking the place of Dr. Mark Mitchell, president of the club, who was unable to attend.

Courtenay Man Star Skier in Becher Races

Stan Rushton First in Tournament on Easter Monday

Reported in the Comox Argus Wednesday March 28, 1951. p11.

Vancouver Island Ski Championships were held at Mount Becher on Easter Monday under perfect conditions and in brilliant sunshine. Skiers came from Victoria, Quathiaski Cove, Campbell River and other nearby points to compete in the C.D.M.C. event. First place in all men’s events was taken by Courtenay star skier, Stan Rushton, who competed against 20 entries in the slalom and 18 in the downhill. For the first time Gladys Andrews did not lead in the women’s entries, her place being taken by Paddy Hooper and Marilyn Pimm. George Hobson and Oscar Peterson were official starters, course was set by Herb Bradley and he was assisted by Alan Knappett as timekeeper. The women’s run was mush more difficult this year, shorter than the men’s, but steeper.

Winners were as follows:

Men’s Slalom – 1. Stan Rushton, Courtenay; 2. Terry Gower, Victoria; 3. Frank Stapley, Campbell River.

Men’s Downhill – 1. Stan Rushton; 2. Frank Stapley; 3. Robert Gordon.

Men’s Combined – 1. Stan Rushton, 60 points; 2. Frank Stapley, 58.75 points; 3. Sid Williams, 55.30 points.

Ladies’ Slalom – 1. Paddy Hooper; 2. Glady’s Andrews; 3. Marilyn Pimm, all of Courtenay.

Ladies’ Downhill – 1. Marilyn Pimm; 2. Paddy Hooper; 3. Glady’s Andrews.

Ladies’ Combined – 1. Paddy Hooper; 2. Glady’s Andrews; 3. Marilyn Pimm.

Speaks To Alpine Club

Reported in The Daily Colonist Friday April 13, 1951. p.5.

Colonel Gerald Andrews will be guest speaker tonight at the 40^th anniversary dinner of the Vancouver Island section of the Alpine Club of Canada to be held at the Pacific Club.

Colored Slides

Reported in The Daily Colonist Friday April 20, 1951. p.31.

Colored slides of Banff, Lake Louise and Yoho Valley photographed and shown by Mr. Edward Goodall, at St. Mary’s Hall, Yale Street, Friday April 20, at 8 p.m. Silver collection.

Local Mountain Climbers Will Attend Yoho Camp

Reported in The Daily Colonist Friday May 11, 1951 p.17.

Local mountain climbers will have a chance to put their sporting skills to test at the annual camp of the Alpine Club of Canada at Yoho National Park from July 16 to 20. Dr. Mark Mitchell, chairman of the Victoria branch of the Canadian Alpine Club, stated yesterday that from six to twelve local members are expected to make the trip. Four peaks more than 11,000 feet high and two nearly that height can be climbed from the main camp of the club in the Lake O’Hara region. This will be the 46^th annual camp of the Alpine Club and members of the international organization from many foreign countries are expected to attend. Active members of the club must have ascended a truly alpine, glacial-hung peak at least 2,500 feet above the timber line.

Where Buttle Lake Would Be Dammed

Reported in The Daily Colonist Wednesday June 13, 1951 p.12.

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Keith Morton Heads C.D.M.C. This Season

Officers Elected at Annual Meeting on Monday

Reported in the Comox Argus Wednesday September 12, 1951. p.13.

The annual meeting and election of officers of the Comox District Mountaineering Club was held in the CRA Hall with 22 members present. Stan Rushton was in the chair. Officers elected for the 1951-52 season were as follows: president, Keith Morton; vice-president, Oscar Peterson; secretary, Ruth Masters; treasurer, Irene Andrews; ski captain, Stan Rushton. The following committees were formed with the chairman as follows: transportation, Rose Muir; ski tow, Brian Bayly; new cabin, Angus Strachan; Becher cabin, Herb Bradley; entertainment and ways and means, Iola Knight; membership, Ruth Masters; publicity, Rose Muir; ski patrol, Herb Bradley. Plans were made for the addition of a new wing on the first cabin – to be used as a kitchen – work to commence immediately. The Club is now sporting a new ski badge, which can be purchased by members only and which we think looks very sharp. Judging by the enthusiasm shown at our first meeting, 1951-52 season should be bigger and better than the last year.

Ground Party to Investigate Air Find

Reported in The Daily Colonist Tuesday September 18, 1951. p.11.

By Trevor Collins

A ground search party are expected to leave Patricia Bay airport at daybreak today to search for what might turn out to be the remains of an American bomber lost about two years ago. The search was sparked by Flight-Lieutenant Hugh Campbell, commanding officer who returned Sunday night from a grueling seven-hour helicopter flight to the Kelsey Bay district. He was investigating an American pilot’s report of what appeared to be a crashed aircraft on the 3,000-foot level of Mount Hkusam [Mt. Kitchener, Prince of Wales Range] on the east coast of Vancouver Island. Campbell flew over the area in a helicopter Sunday and discovered the remains of a tent, which he described as a “survival tent” made of what appeared to be parachute silk. He also noticed a small fire-place similar to that built by hunters and trappers.

Looks Like Cairn

Beside the remains of the tent he spotted a pile of stones which he described as “like a cairn.” The tent was located on a bluff on the 5,461-foot mountain overlooking Johnstone Strait. Campbell thinks the tent might have been constructed by surviving crew members of an American Neptune bomber lost without a trace on a trip from Alaska. The mountain is close to the course the plane would have taken on its southern journey. The U.S. Air Force asked the R.C.A.F. to report the search for the lost Neptune about four months after it disappeared in 1949. Campbell was ordered out in a helicopter in July 1949, and for three months he searched in the densely-wooded Nitinat Lake district near Barcley Sound on the west coast of the Island.

Old Wreckage

He discovered three old airplane wrecks that were already known by air force officials. There was no trace of the Neptune. Dwindling gasoline supply and approaching darkness prevented a close search for the crashed plane on Mount Hkusam. Campbell said he spotted some logging equipment on the opposite side of the mountain from the tent which he believes might be what the American pilot thought was a wrecked plane.

Wreck of Big Plane on Rock Bay Mountain

R.C.A.F. Ground Crews Have Not Reported Back Yet

Reported in the Comox Argus Wednesday September 19, 1951. p.1.

A special staff correspondent of the Campbell River Argus this morning reported that rescue parties of the R.C.A.F. have not yet reported back from the arduous task of climbing to the top of rugged Mt. McCreight [Mt. Kitchener, Prince of Wales Range] at the north side of Rock Bay, where a Pan American Airlines pilot sighted wreckage of a plane last Friday [September 14]. So far there has been no definite identification of the plane and will not be until the party returns and makes a report. A pilot, who has been over the plane says from the air it looks as if the plane has been there some time. It might have struck the top of the mountain in the winter and caused a gasoline fire, which was prevented from spreading by the snow. Snow has hidden the wreckage since until now it has been bared by the heat of this summer. Speculation ranges from the loss of a T.C.A. [Trans Canada Airlines] plane, which disappeared during the war years with all on board to an R.C.A.F. plane from Comox Airport. The R.C.A.F. rescue crews have been working from the air and from the ground since Friday. They are going in from Rock Bay or the Kelsey Bay Road. The ground to be covered is very rough which would account for the long time made before they could get in and come back. On Saturday an R.C.A.F. helicopter was over the area but failed to locate the wreckage.

Wreckage of Plane Identified

Reported in The Daily Colonist Saturday September 22, 1951. p.1.

CAMPBELL RIVER, September 21—Wreckage of a U.S. bomber found high atop Mount Creighton [Mt. Kitchener, Prince of Wales Range] has been identified as one that carried an 11-man crew. It was a U.S. Neptune plane which disappear last December—two days before Christmas—on a training flight over Vancouver Island. The identity was established tonight when an R.C.A.F. search party returned here after four hazardous days in the mountains. With them, the searchers brought out the remains of the 11 men who died when the plane crashed into the mountain. “There was no evidence that anyone had survived the crash,” said Bert Hughes, a Vancouver reporter who accompanied the search party. “We found nothing but wreckage and bones. There were no personal effects—not even dog tags—found by the searchers.” The remains of the men were found strewn over a 400-yard area at the 4,000-foot level on the steep mountain. “Apparently the plane hit the mountain head-on, cutting trees. It was bent like tinfoil, except the tail section, which was still intact,” reported Hughes.