Whether a hiker, backcountry skier, snowshoer, ice climber, rock climber or mountaineer, the Alpine Club of Canada Vancouver Island section (ACCVI) has an activity for all outdoor enthusiasts. Established in 1906 by Elizabeth Parker, a *Winnipeg Free Press* journalist, and Arthur Wheeler, a Canadian surveyor and mountaineer, the Alpine Club of Canada has 20 sections. The Vancouver Island section was established in 1912. Its first president, Colonel William Foster, was the first ascendant of Mt. Robson, the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies and the first to climb Mt. Logan, Canada’s highest peak. Approximately 65 kilometres west of Campbell River, the fourth highest peak on Vancouver Island is named after the colonel. 

Retired biomedical researcher turned computer scientist and current ACCVI Chair Cedric Zala is a hiker and a scrambler. “Scrambling is when you’re using your hands as well as your feet, but you’re not necessarily going straight up. You’re going up something, which is reasonably steep and you can’t just walk up it, but you use hands.”     

Born and raised in Victoria, Cedric received his PhD from Manchester University in England and did medical research and later studied computer science in Montreal, but friends, family, the ocean and mountains drew him back to Victoria. Cedric and his wife, Lissa, now live and work on their vineyard and lavender farm in Saanichton.

A former member of the Victoria Canoe and Kayak Club, Cedric joined the Alpine Club at age 53 when his daughter, a member of UVic’s outdoors club (associated with the Alpine Club) told Cedric the ACC did the kinds of things he liked.

“I went to an event and I went out on a couple of hikes and I have blessed the day ever since,” says Cedric. “I liked it so much I started volunteering for the executive.”  

Cedric maintains that the strength of the club is its educational program, which highlights topics like basic equipment and how to use it, safety training, leadership development and general alpine skills such as using an ice axe and crevasse rescue. “Once you learn some snow and glacier travel skills, the range of places you can get to expands enormously.” 

A seven-year member, Cedric says his best experiences so far have included climbing Mount Baker (3,286 m), the culmination of an introduction to mountaineering course, and a two-weekend course that involves rope, glacier and other travel skills. “It was fabulous, absolutely fabulous,” he says.

“[The course] is designed to take someone with a hiking background and lead them right through to a moderately technical climbing capability,” says Rick Johnson, a leader who has been climbing most of his life. “Beyond that, we pass them off to certified guides.”    
Travel agent, Alpine Club leader and long-time member, Rick was introduced to mountaineering and rock climbing in 1975 through Claremont High School’s outdoor education program. Since Rick joined the Vancouver Island section of the ACC, the membership has grown to over 300, almost half women and many over the age of 50.

In his early years, Rick spent weekends and entire weeks in Squamish, building his experience and moving to longer and harder routes.

As rock climbing became more popular and routes became more crowded, he turned to Alpine climbing.

“Little did I realize at the time how much more rewarding this would be,” says Rick, who has climbed the Cascades, the Rockies, the Selkirks, the Purcells, including the Bugaboos, the Coast Range, as well as mountains in Europe, Scotland and England. 

Rick started leading trips and, in 2001, was one of a dozen experienced leaders selected to attend the first joint North Face/ACC Mountain Leadership Course.  “This opened up a whole new dimension as we focused on the skills and details on leading people in the mountainous terrain,” he says. “To introduce others to the skills that will allow them to safely enjoy their mountain experiences gives me a great satisfaction. At 52, I can say I wouldn’t have traded a moment of it.”

Born in Winnipeg, former ACCVI chair Julie (Jules) Thomson received an undergraduate degree from the University of Manitoba, took dental science at the University of Alberta and obtained a graduate degree in Leadership Studies from the University of Victoria. 

Looking through a View-Master with a round disk when she was five years old, Jules saw photos of mountaineers trudging up an arête, a thin knife-like edge of snow, and knew one day she would be a mountain climber. She started climbing in her 40s.

Jules led her first climb, Redwall in the Mackenzie range, 75 kilometres west of Port Alberni, in the late '90s. “The first climb that I led was my most memorable climb,” says Jules, “because I was in my 50s and I led four younger men.” 

Another favourite climb for Jules is Mt. Rainier in Washington, a volcano with 26 major glaciers and 36 square miles (58 square kilometres) of permanent snowfields and glaciers, where she has led three climbs. “Rainier is the most aesthetic mountain that I have ever seen, stunning with gorgeous alpine meadows full of colourful alpine wildflowers. Standing below, looking up at Rainier, one is simply overwhelmed by the expanse of glaciers, crevasses and sky.”

An avid birder and amateur botanist, Jules is a member of the Victoria natural history society. A scuba diver for 30 years, she enjoys cold water diving.  Although Jules has a private pilot’s licence and has flown gliders in Alberta and British Columbia, her current focus is mountaineering and nature. She enjoys the completely alpine experience including the “camaraderie, which is something quite special.”  

The ACCVI is committed to cherishing, respecting and protecting the mountains.  Turning Arrowsmith into a regional park for the Nanaimo Regional District was one example of their contribution. Their most recent initiative has been advocating the prohibition of vehicle access, particularly ATVs, from the Sea to Sea Regional Park in Sooke.

The Vancouver Island Section offers a wide range of mountain-related activities from local hikes to challenging climbs in the VI mountains coastal ranges, Rockies and beyond. In addition to these trips, there are summer hiking/climbing camps and winter ski/snowshoe camps, downhill and cross-country skiing. Educational courses and workshops include ice axe handling, crevasse rescue, avalanche safety and introductory mountaineering. 

All walks of life, experience and ages are welcome to join the club. Is it dangerous? All three members agree the most dangerous part of mountaineering is the trip to the mountain.

A monthly slide show is open to the public and prospective members are welcome to come on two or three section trips to see how they like it before making a decision to join.

For more information or to join the Alpine Club of Canada, visit www.accvi.ca

JANUARY 2011 SENIOR LIVING MAGAZINE VANCOUVER ISLAND