Chair's Message 

January Monthly Meeting

January 15
7:00pm

NEW LOCATION
Strathcona Community League Hall
10139 - 87 Ave.

Plenty of on-site parking.

Section members Duncan and Donna McColl will present a program about their 2017 China trip, with a climbing focus.

We will be testing out a new format, which will be an amalgamation of regular monthly meeting and Pub night - with a twist: BYOB. Please come to enjoy the presentation, and take time afterwards to mingle, chat, share beta and trip plans with members and guests. 

Trip Report: Ice Warm-up Weekend

Message from the Safety Chair

1. Persistent Slabs and Deep Persistent Slabs - At the time of writing this, this problem - mostly associated with the Oct. 26 crust - is present in the Rockies, Columbias, and other areas. Persistent slab problems are concerning - a lack of recent avalanches does not indicate no danger with this problem, there are increased consequences if other avalanches step down to this layer, and the unpredictability of the problem - means that persistent slabs are tricky to manage and getting it wrong has high consequences. Limiting your exposure to big terrain, checking the bonding/healing of this layer, and staying out of >35 degree slopes can help reduce the risk associated with this problem.
2. Rogers Pass Prohibited and Restricted Areas - If you are skiing the Pass, you need to be familiar with the Winter Permit System, Restricted, and Prohibited Areas. Rogers Pass is the corridor for the nationally important Trans Canada highway, and the maintenance of access and avalanche control is intended to maintain this highway access, including the use of artillery. The Winter Permit System, is intended to ensure separation of skiers from avalanche control activities and reduce avalanche risk to the highway and public safety. Restricted Areas are opened or closed daily based on avalanche risk and artillery control, while Prohibited areas are always closed to skier traffic. Entering these areas when closed poses a danger to yourself, your party, the public, and our continued access to these areas. Know before you go!
3. Ice Climbers Should Carry Gear - The Section continues to support the adoption of avalanche safety gear by ice climbers. Ice climbers are often exposed to avalanche terrain, not only on climbs, but also on the approach. Even areas like Kings Creek or WAD Valley have exposure to to slide paths or avalanche slopes, and consideration for carrying a beacon, shovel, and probe should be made. Make time to practice with your gear and be familiar with its use. Reviewing avalanche weather, the danger rating, and the terrain exposure of your climb are equally important.

1. New Probes for Existing Avalanche Kits - Avalanche Kits AVI001 through AVI005 were equipped with old style, screw-lock probes. As this style is no longer sold to recreationalists, many of the club equipment users may not be familiar with design. As such, 5 new Backcountry Access Stealth 300 probes have been procured and replaced the old probes. AVI006 has a modern Voile Tourlight 260 cm probe.
2. New Avalanche Kits (4) - Four additional avalanche kits (beacon, shovel, probe) have been procured. These consist of Mammut Barryvox beacons, Alugator shovels, and 240 cm probes. Last year, the club replaced our fleet of Tracker DTS beacons with the Mammut Barryvox, so we now have a fleet of modern, easy to use beacons. As always, whether you are a trip coordinator, or a participant, please practice using the equipment before venturing out. 
3. Don't Leave Batteries in Club Beacons - Club beacons are BYOB (bring your own batteries), but don't leave them in the beacon for other users! Batteries can corrode and damage contacts, turning the beacon into an expensive paperweight. Please take your batteries out before handing the kit back to the trip coordinator, and coordinators, please check the beacons before putting them back in storage. This will ensure our beacons last their entire expected lifetime.

Top Trip Coordinator Recognition

Trip coordinators are the backbone of the Section and provide opportunities for members to get into the mountains, to learn, and to be mentored. As a thank you for all of your time and energy, we are recognizing the most prolific trip coordinators (and coleaders) over the last 2 years with a gift certificate to our valued local partner, Track and Trail, who contributed 25% of the value! Congratulations to:

David Zemrau, Rick Checkland, Jackie Pearce, Craig Hartmetz, Foster Karcha, Steven Rockarts, Richard Giese, Sean Willis, Rob Denson, Dustin McLachlan, Jeremiah Aherne, Marion Mayerhofer, Rory Sykes, Lee Green, Michal Swidrak, Van J. Konrad, Lukas Matejovsky, and Lil Lezarre.

We hope this helps with a new gear purchase that you can use on many more club trips in the future!

National Award Nominations by Dec 31.

Do you know an Alpine Club of Canada volunteer who has gone above and beyond for the Club? Why not share your appreciation and nominate him or her for one of the Club's special volunteer awards? Volunteers are the very foundation of the ACC and every year we honour those who have done that little bit extra to help make the Club an exciting, enjoyable, and relevant organization for its members. The deadline for award nominations is December 31

Anyone can nominate an exceptional ACC member for a national award! For example, the Eric Brooks (Leadership) and Don Forest (Service) award nominations are great for volunteers that have been involved for 1-5 years, and only take a couple of hours to complete. For a description of the types of awards available and for the nomination forms, go to alpineclubofcanada.ca. If you have any questions or need any support, please contact volunteering@accedmonton.ca.

No Climbing on December 26th!

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