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Five TB section members met a few dozen ‘Tobans at the Hilton, the lake side campsite used by climbers visiting Gooseneck, a huge granite crag north of Ke-nora. Climbing the big granite routes was in the plans but so was celebrating the retirement of Cindy Klas-sen from her role as education chair of the Manitoba section of the ACC. (Cindy has her climbing gym up for sale and if everything works out, she’ll be moving to Ignace so we may see more of her this winter.) The ’Tobans know how to rough it for something like this—they hire Anita to cook and serve the “chow,” food that many restaurants would be challenged to match, and all cooked over a huge portable wood BBQ. Anita, you da Wo, man! While Kirsten and Cindy worked routes on Sunday,
Gaga for Gooseneck Gastronomy -Frank Pianka-
“Experience Through Knowledge and Opportunity”www.acctbay.ca
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Most ACC sections across the country are struggling with the same problem—developing a base of volunteer leaders willing to step into the role of running an event instead of being a participant; to put the group interest ahead of their own. We are lucky to have members who have demonstrated their willingness to explore this role and wanted to offer some formal training in the “hard skills” to build their technical confidence, and to show them the range of issues that may challenge an effective leader’s decision making skills, the “soft skills.” Some section members who have made an effort to help run our events over the last few years had an opportunity to hone their self and partner rescue skills with one of the true masters of the craft, Rob Chisnall. No stranger
to the Thunder Bay sec-tion, Rob was back to of-fer some insights into how things can go wrong while running a section event and what can be done to get out of trouble. The evening sessions dealt with volunteer leader-ship issues in general and guidelines for risk and cri-sis management for ACC
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Self /Partner Rescue Course and Leadership Workshop
-Frank Pianka-
Outcrops Winter 2007
2
Note from the
Section Chair
Wow…winter is pretty much here again! Given how much it rained this fall and how little I was actually able to get out rock climbing it seems like it came even quicker, and it’s hard to be-lieve that I’m about to leave on a winter climbing trip already. Where did the fall go?
Even though weather did prove a chal-lenge and even resulted in the can-cellation of our perennial favorite Rocktoberfest (for the first time ever I believe!), we did still manage to pull off some of our big events and they went very well at that. Our Rescue/Leadership course definitely helped to further our section’s leadership ca-pacity, and I think everyone involved would agree that Rob Chisnall did an excellent job of cramming our brains absolutely full of useful information. I’m sure the course went a long way to improving the technical knowledge and confidence of our section’s trip lead-ers, and I’d like to thank all of them for attending. We’re looking forward to your continued involvement helping out with our club events (nudge, nudge, wink, wink). Also, as always, we owe a big thanks to Rob for giving us the maximum bang for our buck, and a very BIG thanks to Bryan, Mila and the crew at the Wilderness Supply Co. for offering the use of their space when the weather tried to put an end to the fun.
As always, our Women’s event was a huge success, and Jenn and Adrienne definitely deserve a pat on the back for organizing the weekend. Several girls said it was one of the best ever, and I’m excited to see a growing number of
confident and psyched women getting involved in the club in leadership roles. I’m looking forward to seeing what this winter holds for them!
One upside of all this rain (aside from keeping the Ark afloat) has to be the water levels on the local ice routes – regardless of what the season holds for us, it has to be better than last year, and accordingly we’re going to go big with our winter events calendar again. Of special note will be the (6th Occassion-al) Invitational Ice Climbing Weekend in February, and our hugely popular Beginner’s Ice Days (we’ll be doing 4 again this year due to popular demand). The Invitational is always a blast, and many new friends and partnerships have resulted as we host and billet ACC members from other sections for an action-packed weekend on the local ice routes. If you haven’t made it in the past, be sure to set aside that weekend on your calendar (and let the exec know asap if you’re interested in helping out – there’s lots to do!). And definitely don’t miss the Banff Filmfest in January (tickets are already on sale at the Auditorium box office!).
Also of interest to section members this winter will be the Nipigon Icefest. Though this is not an ACC event, we keep the weekend open on the calendar since most of the section is usually in attendance. This year is looking to be a biggy, so definitely plan on attending!
A final reminder – though it’s a long way off – our section will be running it’s first ever Rockies Mountaineering Camp next summer (see details else-where in this edition of Outcrops). I’ve been talking it up at our last two section meetings, as well as our social events and many members have already ex-pressed serious interest in attending. So, if yer interested – tell Frank ASAP and confirm you’re on the list! Space is limited as it’s our first one and we’re
Executive Directory
Chairperson:Nick Buda 627-2349
Vice-Chair:Randy Hyvarinen 768-2407
Secretary:Leo Tardif 768-8421
Treasurer, Section Rep &Events Co-ordinator:Frank Pianka [email protected]
Membership:Judy Pianka 577-7950
Web Director:Wes Bender [email protected]
Newsletter Editor:Bryce Brown
Member at Large:Jack Coulis [email protected]
www.acctbay.ca
running it jointly with the Manitoba section. Be sure to check regularly for more info on www.acctbay.ca in the next few weeks!
A final reminder – winter climbing brings with it additional hazards not in-herent in our summer/fall events. Pay special attention to falling ice and all the sharp-and-pointies, wear those hel-mets, and remember that darkness and cold can greatly exacerbate even minor incidents. Pay special attention to the trip leaders during the pre-event safety briefings, and if you’re not sure, ask!
On that note, ice is coming…ice is coming…hope everyone has a stellar winter season!
- Nick Buda, ACC Section Chair-
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Outcrops Winter 2007
Nick, Jenn and Bryce sandwiched up for a the challenging 205 foot Frog-in-the-Crack route while I stayed on the ground to snap pictures of them and guard the cooler of beer, cold cut meats and some awesome cheeses. Bryce, when it comes to stocking a cooler with deli delights, you da Man! There is probably no crag easier to access from the car than Gooseneck and there are routes there for every level of climber, so if you’re looking for something new, check the Manitoba section website for an online guide to the area. Try to pack an Anita with your cooking gear too! We’re looking forward to seeing many of the ’tobans again this winter during our ice invita-tional in February so don’t miss the chance to meet some great folks from our nearest neighbouring sec-tion. -FP-
Gaga...Continued from page 1
“Try to pack an Anita with your cooking gear too!”
Above: The blur that is Rob Chis-nall. Rob’s infectious enthusiasm and seemingly limitless energy carried participants through a wide range of rescue techniques
and leadership discussion. Left/below: participants practice
the ‘hard skills’.Photos: Nick Buda
Did you KNOW?! Rob’s record of 22 consecutive one arm chin-ups was recently broken by Bhibhuti Nayak of Mumbai – he did 27 pull-ups in 41.56 seconds! There was no mention if he also went after Rob’s other records, 18 two finger/
one arm and 12 one finger/one arm pull-ups.
section activities in particular, like covering your S.E.A.T.! The most important technical lesson learned was to avoid getting to the point where you have to use any of these techniques in the first place—the re-ward for effective leadership.
Rescue...Continued from page 1
LNT Canada -Frank Pianka-The Alpine Club of Canada is an official member of Leave No Trace Canada. Visit their website at www.leavenotrace.ca to learn more about the guidelines for responsible use of our recreational resources.You are encouraged to adopt the “leave no trace principle” whenever you are car-rying out activities in the outdoors by following these simple steps: • Plan ahead and prepare • Travel and camp on durable surfaces • Whatever you carry in, you must also carry out • Properly dispose of what you can’t pack out • Leave what you find in its natural setting • Minimize use and impact of fires
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Outcrops Winter 2007
“FESTIGLACE”Winnipeg (St. Boniface Section)
February 15-17, 2008We have an open invitation to attend Festiglace, the ice climbing competition hosted by the St. Boniface Section of the ACC in Winnipeg. The climbing takes place on their 30 metre tall ice tower and the weekend schedule has something for everyone:Friday, February 15, 2008 - practice climbing for competitorsSaturday, February 16, 2008 - open climbing in the AM, speed and difficulty comp in the after-noon and dinner in the eveningSunday, February 17, 2208 - fun climb “com-petition” with prizes for all
Call Frank early so we can arrange car pooling (577-7950).
So, Which Ice Tools Should I Buy?
-Nick Buda- So, you’ve decided to blow this month’s rent on some new ice gear, and you run into the gear store. Next thing you know, you are quickly over-whelmed by all the shiny sharp stuff, the big price tags, the rad posters of your heroes using the latest tools and suddenly the choice isn’t so easy. Next thing you know, you’re calling me ask-ing what to get (this has happened about a dozen times in the last week alone – why me?). So, here’s my two cents for this season. • Try as many different tools as you can first. Rent them at the local shop, from the club or borrow them from friends or trip leaders (if willing). Some gear shops will put the cost of your rental toward a new set of tools if you choose to buy – ask! • Talk to experienced climbers and find out what they’re using – and more im-portantly, why. • Think long and hard about the type of climbing you’ll be doing, and which tools might be most appropriate for the job. There’s no sense buying a shiny set of BD Fusions (leashless rigs designed for hard drytooling) if you’ll mostly be climbing moderate waterfall ice. • Decide if you’re going leashless. Most “all-around” tools these days have included leashless options, and a leash could be put on almost any dedi-cated leashless design (although this would defeat the purpose). I strongly encourange anyone to give leashless climbing due consideration – I’ve been pleasantly surprised at how it’s benefit-ed my climbing. • Picks – all the picks from top manu-facturers these days are excellent, with most offering at least two choices – a thicker (T-rated) pick for drytooling or serious alpine abuse, and a thinner (B-rated) pick aimed at waterfall climbing that is slightly weaker but penetrates
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Outcrops Winter 2007
The CAJ’s New Editor -Frank Pianka-Published annually, the CAJ (Canadian Alpine Journal) has captured our climbing zeitgeist for a hundred years. In it you will find scientific reports, a record of the bold-est ascents and writing contributions from the greatest names in the history of Canadian climbing. Its editor, Geoff Powter, has worked tirelessly to bring the CAJ into the new millennium but the time came for him to pass the blue pencil on to its new editor, Sean Isaac. Sean dis-covered climbing with the Thunder Bay section of the ACC as an outdoor rec student at Lakehead University and quickly decided that climbing would define his life’s direction. As a professional climber, ACMG assistant guide, guide book author, freelance writer, and new fa-ther of two, he was a natural to take over the role of CAJ editor after mentoring under Geoff for a few years. We can look forward to the same high spirited standard that Sean is known for in all his writing, in the next issues of the CAJ. Good luck to you Sean, from your friends in Thunder Bay.
Beginnings-Nick Buda-
The heat and humidity are oppres-sive on a July day in Thunder Bay. I’m wondering why we’re even climbing today. Oh yes…because it’s the only day we’ve got off this week. Nobody is sending anything today, and I’d rath-er offer a lethargic belay from under a shady birch tree. I’ve already over-dosed on rock climbing this season, having sent my projects back in April before summer field work could get in the way of my fitness. As the mer-cury rises ever higher, my motivation to climb drops ever lower. My mind wanders to colder places. Bryce reads my mind: “You need to get those dates to me ASAP ‘cause they’re making the schedule for the next six months at work”. My thoughts race to the huge alpine ice and mixed lines of the Canadian Rockies. My
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heart rate quickens as I start thinking about those first big climbs of the sea-son. Memories of past November trips start flashing through my mind. Vague recollections turn quickly to vivid pic-tures and emotions. I can already feel the apprehension that often grabs me starting a big climb, wondering if it will go, wondering if I have even earned the right to try the route yet. My senses tingle the same as when I’m assessing the avalanche hazard, and in my minds eye I can see those ephemeral blue-grey streaks of ice that offer a test in early season. “Yah – been meaning to sort that out...” I start to twitch a bit and get motivated to climb again, to seek the feelings and headspace I live for on difficult ice routes. I start up a long-standing trad project on the fragile sandstone, fighting to stick the bold opening moves on suspect rock. It’s a
taste of what I’m looking for, but I’ve already switched gears for the season. I reverse the moves before getting into trouble. I coast the through the rest of sum-mer in a vague blur. Work is intensely busy, and climbing infrequent. Night after night I sleep poorly. Before long I’m consumed in a mess of emails try-ing to arrange partners, sort out trip dates and making time to train together for the mountains. Work slows as the leaves turn on the trees in town. The days are growing shorter, and most of my friends are des-perately trying to send projects on the rock before their season ends. I spend most days sharpening gear, training and anxiously checking and rechecking conditions websites for the Canadian Rockies. I surf the usual sites, google frequently for new ones and keep vis-iting the manufacturers’ websites in
Membership expiring? (expired?!) Moved?Be sure to stay up to date with ACC events and mail outs. Update yourself either with Judy, our membership
chair, or on the National office website ONLINE!www.alpineclubofcanada.ca
Women’s Rock DayOct 16-17, 2007-Jenn Chikoski-
It was great to see some new faces and increased interest at this years women’s rock day. Nine of us took advantage of possibly the last real day of sunshine and enjoyed a long, beautiful day of climbing at Pass Lake. We had the cliff to ourselves and it was a great day to learn new skills and techniques, and just enjoy climbing without the boys.Thanks to everyone who came , helped out, and made the day so much fun. And of course, it’s always fun to finish off the day with some tea and treats at Karen’s.
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Outcrops Winter 2007
ACC National Office News
Membership Referral ProgramBring a new member into the club and you could win an Alp 40 hydration pack from BCA (for Nov and Dec) or a pair of climbing skins from G3 (for Jan and Feb).Simply ask your friend to enter your name in the box marked “I was re-ferred by” on the membership appli-cation form and both of your names will be entered into the draw!
ACC NewsNetStay on top of climbing related news and events, ACC national and region-al news, grants and discount offers, unusual climbing or ski conditions, announcements of new climbing and guide books, relevant career and vol-unteer postings, mountain culture, ac-
cess, environment and much more.www.alpineclubofcanada.ca
Leadership Development Opportunities
Our section continues to work on leadership development opportuni-ties for section members (such as our weekend with Rob Chisnall this past fall). I’d like to remind everyone, par-ticularly our more dedicated trip lead-ers, that there are also EXCELLENT opportunities available to them at the National level. The Executive has decided to of-fer financial assistance to any section member participating in the North Face Leadership or the Marmot Women’s Courses. This could include as much as the full course fee. This support will be for experienced section trip lead-ers who have a demonstrated record of past service to the section, and who will continue to do so in the future. Successful applicants from the Thun-der Bay section will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Feel free to talk to executive members for further de-tails or help with applications to either course. -NB-
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Outcrops Winter 2007
brittle ice more easily. • Grips - modern tools have ergonomic grips that afford some knuckle protec-tion, and many are adjustable. A popular misconception is that a bent(clearance)-shaft tool will stop you from knuckle bashing. The shaft bend is designed to give the tool clearance over ice bulges and other features, thereby making for more secure placements and less hack-ing. Knuckle protection comes from good technique and physical protection in the form of “fangs” or “griprests” – the oversized pommels on the bot-tom of the handle. Ensure the grip of any tool is an appropriate size for your hands (while wearing your ice gloves!). Too thick will be pumpy, too thin will be hard to control. • Feel out a prospective tool – things to look for include how well the grip suits your hand, whether it feels too heavy or too light, and (you have to try it first) whether you like the way it swings. This is a personal choice. Some like heavy tools, some light, some like the weight in the head, others lower down, some like a narrow grip, some a thicker grip. Generally speaking, a lighter tool will require a faster swing but it’s easi-er to correct midswing, while a heavier tool will swing more easily. Also, more radically bent shafts with steep pick an-gles will require more wrist flick (and often more experience) to stick well. In the hands of an experienced user though, they are better suited to very steep ice and mixed routes. • What about crampons? First off, be sure they fit your boots. Most crampons have a high degree of adjustability, but be sure before you drop your grocery money on them. There is a bewilder-ing array of ‘poons out there, but a few considerations quickly thin the playing field. I highly recommend a semi-rigid design with a step-in binding, and mod-ular frontpoints to start. A snow anti-balling system is a bonus. All major manufacturers have a similar offering
these days fitting these criteria. • Don’t buy ice gear until you’ve ac-tually gone ice climbing a few times, even if you’re sure you’ll like it! This is the best way to make the wrong pur-chase. So, what am I using these days? For all water ice, hard mixed climbing and drytooling, I climb on Petzl Nomics (and carry a custom compact hammer on trad mixed since they have no ham-mers). For technical “big mountain” routes or long traditional mixed routes that might involve everything from snow to scrappy mixed to steep ice, I use a set of Black Diamond Vipers. My crampon of choice has been the Black Diamond Sabretooth for years – I use them for everything I do (though on the VERY rare occasions when I think a monopoint might be of benefit, I like the lightweight Petzl Darts). These are again my personal choices based on the gear that suits my own style of climbing the best (and are NOT an endorsement by me or the ACC for a particular brand or style of tool) – make your own deci-sions accordingly! - NB-
Tools...Continued from page 4 Dogs on Club Events
This is a bit of an awkward matter to address, as I’m a dog lover myself, but a few words are in order. Many of us have pets that fol-low us everywhere, and many are great company at the crag. There are times, however, when it might not be in ev-eryone’s best interest to have Fido out during an event. A major factor in de-ciding whether to bring yer pooch along should be consideration for, and safety of, your fellow section members. Events where dogs aren’t welcome will include any crags where contin-ued access is a concern, “big” climb-ing venues with larger multi-pitch routes, certain crags on private land where dogs are not permitted, and some of our winter events (falling ice and sharp crampons are not really dog-friendly!). Of course, any dog that is continually noisy or underfoot and in the way of climbers, equipment, belay-ers, etc. will not be welcome on any events due to safety (and a desire for general peace…). Even though you may be willing to accept responsibility for a dog that suffers an errant crampon point, consider the feelings of your fel-low climber to whom the crampon was attached. And don’t forget, plenty of folks are afraid of dogs, no matter how irrational their fears might seem to a dog lover. Accordingly, if you’d like to bring your pooch along on a club event, you MUST first obtain permission from the section Events Coordinator or the event’s Trip Leader(s). - NB-
Brain Bucket Bucks Back!Its simple - members
buy a helmet from Wilderness Sup-
ply Co. and get $20 back from the club!
Details in store!
Go Green! Sign up for PAPERLESS Outcrops!
We are encouraging all section members to sign up for a new web user account, or if you are already registered, to update your profile to read this newsletter online. As an environmentally conscious sec-tion, we would like to reduce the amount of paper we consume and eventually throw away, as well as the resources used to mail your copy out to you. So lets all do our part and choose a ‘paperless’ newsletter. Visit www.acctbay.ca NOW to change your profile. (Note that the default for new web members is paperless.)
-Wes Bender, Web Director-
Outcrops Winter 2007
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Beginnings...Continued from page 5anticipation of the photos in their new catalogues. The anticipation is tearing me apart. And then it happens. I exit the truck for another day’s work in the boreal for-est and I can smell it. The air is cold, sharp and fresh. A cold northern air mass has left a heavy frost on the yel-low leaves of the aspen. My thoughts instantly turn to ice climbing, and I’m less than productive at work. That evening I surf the conditions websites again and discover the waterfall season has begun in the Rockies. The first few conditions reports are posted and seeing the buttshots of locals on my fa-vourite routes fires me up. And there’s two new routes already! Game on! A few days later it’s time to get the season rolling in Thunder Bay. Driv-ing through Nipigon, it’s a bit warm and things don’t seem very promising. We stubbornly continue our recon trip to Orient Bay, which reveals a handful of the classics are forming. Inspection through binoculars reveals enough ice to tempt us from the car. I make the classic mistake of overdressing for the parking lot and soon find myself over-heating. I pause to strip a layer be-fore resuming hopping between talus blocks covered in frozen moss and a light dusting of snow. I can’t rack up quickly enough. Climbing with tools again is awkward at first, but the seri-ous, thin first pitch forces me to get my game back quickly. My mind is both acutely aware of my environment and singularly focused on the task at hand. I escape everyday life and begin truly climbing. A week later the 21-hour drive to Calgary goes by quickly with the antic-ipation of seeing old friends and climb-ing big ice routes. Seeing the snow in the front ranges excites me to the point where I’m ready to explode. Hours lat-er, we’re there, we’re climbing, we’re sending. And finally, I sleep well. -NB-
