CLOUDBURST Roofed Accommodation in Provincial Parks Visit to Nuk Tessli Exploring Melvin and Lost Creeks Club Profile: North Shore Hikers THE NEWSLETTER OF THE FEDERATION OF MOUNTAIN CLUBS OF B.C www.mountainclubs.bc.ca Fall 2005 Club Membership Cloudburst Please contact the FMCBC office to receive a list of clubs that belong to the FMCBC (See back cover). Membership is $15 per annum per member- ship when a member of a FMCBC Club. Cloudburst is published semi-annually by the Federation of Mountain Clubs of BC. Individual Membership Publication/Mail sales Agreement # 102202. Membership for individuals is $20 per year. Printed by Hemlock Printers. Circulation 3500. Printed on 50% PCW, 100% recycled, Processed Members of More Than One FMCBC Club Chlorine Free When people join a member club of the FMCBC the $15 FMCBC membership fee is calculated as part of the club membership. People who have Articles: We welcome articles which inform our read- memberships in more than one FMCBC member ers about mountain access, recreation, and conservation club are entitled to a $15 refund for each “extra” issues or activities in B.C. Don’t limit yourself to prose: membership on request. If you don’t request a re- photographs and poems also accepted. Pieces should not fund you are entitled to a tax receipt for the extra exceed 1,000 words. membership fees. To request either a refund or a tax receipt please send the request, in writing, to the Submission Deadlines: FMCBC. Fall/Winter - Oct 15 Spring/Summer - April 15 Board of Directors Advertising: The FMCBC invites advertising or classi- President: Pat Harrison (VOA) fied advertising that would be useful to our members. Vice President: Peter Rothermel (IMR, ACC-VI) Secretary: vacant Rates: Treasurer: Don Morton (ACC-VI) $400 back page $300 full page Directors: Lesley Bohm (NSH), Paul Chatterton $160 ½ page $80 ¼ page (Ind), Richard Keltie (ACC-Van), Dave King (CR, $40 business card ACC-PG), Bill Perry (IMR), Ken Rodonets (CDMC), Manrico Scremin (ACC-Van) Editor/Production: Meg Stanley ([email protected]) Committee Co-Chairs Copy-editor: Tammy Marlowe ([email protected]) Recreation and Conservation: Sandra Nicol, vacant Advertising: Evan Loveless ([email protected]) Trails: Pat Harrison, Alex Wallace Staff FMCBC Executive Director: Evan Loveless Bookkeeper: Kathy Flood The Federation of Mountain Clubs of British Columbia (FMCBC) is a non-profit organization representing the For More Information interests of non-mechanized hikers and climbers, and outdoor clubs throughout British Columbia. The www.mountainclubs.bc.ca FMCBC 1) addresses mountain access, recreation, and PO Box 19673, Vancouver British Columbia conservation issues; 2) coordinates, builds, and main- V5T 4E7 tains hiking and mountain access trails throughout B.C. Tel: 604-873-6096 Fax: 604 873 6086 through its member clubs; and 3) promotes outdoor edu- Email: [email protected] cation and safety. Membership in the FMCBC is open to any individual or group interested in non-mechanized Cover Photograph outdoor activities, and access, recreational, and conser- North face of Mt. Robson from Berg Lake Campground. vation concerns. Tina Loo, 2005. areas by doing local advocacy and trail President’s Message maintenance. I doubt that the majority of the Pat Harrison non-motorized community is aware of the necessary role the Federation of Mountain Clubs Organizations such as the Federation of Mountain and its affiliate clubs play in maintaining some of Clubs are only as successful as their volunteers. the backcountry in a pristine condition through I want to acknowledge some of these volunteers. their advocacy and participation in various Land First of all, a thank you must go to Manrico Resource Management Planning processes. Scremin of the Alpine Club of Canada – Vancouver Section for volunteering to head up the Federation One of the items that I would like to address this as President for the past three years. Taking charge year is better coordination between the Federation of an organization is never an easy task and it of Mountain Clubs and its affiliate members. requires a significant amount of personal time, We established the online listserv several years ago energy and money to fill this role. We wish to facilitate better flow of information between the Manrico well in his “retirement. Secondly, there FMC and its clubs, and between clubs. I feel we are the volunteers from the various clubs who serve need to promote our clubs in a better fashion. on the Board of Directors, the Recreation and We are currently looking at some options to get the Conservation Committee (Rec and Con), and on the word out about the 20 clubs that make up the Trails Committee. Some of these people serve on federation. I am also heading up a small task force more than one of these committees in an effort to looking at the delegate/director relationship, which serve their particular club well. There are presently has its challenges. It seems to me that each club 10 directors, approximately 10 regulars on the should have a delegate, and from the delegates, Recreation and Conservation Committee, and directors should be elected. In this manner, the approximately the same on the Trails Committee. directors who have led the Federation would have a say (a vote) at the Annual General Meeting. For the past three years, Mike Peel of the BC Currently, our constitution states that only Mountaineering Club and Shane Koscielniak of the delegates can vote at an Annual General Meeting. Klister Outdoor Klub have headed up the Rec and By selecting our directors from this group, the Con Committee. This entails rounding up the directors would still be delegates and be able to members each month, putting agenda items vote at the AGM. From the directors, the executive together, coordinating the committee, and lastly, can then be elected at the AGM by the elected getting the minutes done in time for the next directors (the current process). meeting. Both Mike and Shane have now stepped down and Sandra Nicol of the Varsity Outdoor The Board of Directors is still working on the Club has stepped forward to help coordinate the disposition of the Smoke Bluffs in Squamish. Rec and Con Committee. For the Trails Committee, Manrico Scremin and Evan Loveless continue to Alex Wallace as the main Co-Chair and has done represent the Federation in the negotiating process the same. The board and the committees play with the District of Squamish, which wants to in- distinct, but equally important roles. The Board clude the land in a new Smoke Bluffs Park. What is coordinates overall policies of the Federation and of paramount importance is the preservation of keeps an eye on the finances. The Rec and Con access to the “Bluffs” and trails for climbers and Committee is the main coordinating body for doing hikers. If we allow the access to the Smoke Bluffs advocacy for the Federation, while the Trails to be utilized for other purposes, then all the effort Committee tries to coordinate the Adopt-A-Trail pursued by the federation and those who gave so programme which includes both building and generously in the late 1980s will be for not. We maintaining trails in coordination with government want to ensure access in perpetuity. and private land owners. In addition, there are the many, many volunteers of the clubs who continue The FMC continues to work on many issues. In to serve the non-motorized communities in their order to better involve our member clubs, Federation of Mountain Clubs of BC 3 Evan Loveless, our Executive Director, proposed a We decided it would be good to try and attract new format for the Annual General Meeting hosted more member clubs from around the province. We by the Alpine Club of Canada – Vancouver Island also talked about the FMCBC name and whether it Section last June near Victoria. The usual business should be changed. We decided to keep the core was carried out in the morning. In the afternoon, name and brand Federation of Mountain Clubs or four workshops were run with two streams running FMC, but drop the BC unless we are using the simultaneously. All sessions were well attended name extra-provincially. Some discussion on club with great participation. membership ensued and ideas on attracting and keeping members were shared. FMC Smoke Bluffs As the new President for this year, I invite your lands at Squamish and the proposed Smoke Bluff comments. Please email me your concerns, your Park were also discussed. ideas, and your comments on what the Federation of Mountain Clubs is doing. My email is: Saturday evening we were treated to a delicious [email protected]. Please have patience with dinner put on at Dunsmuir Lodge. After dinner we my response time as I work full time and had an informative and entertaining slide show by sometimes I am slightly delayed in responding. Lindsay Elms about the history of mountaineering on Vancouver Island. Lindsay has put together a Have a great winter, write a politician about your definitive and informative history of Vancouver backcountry concerns, and I hope to see many of Island mountaineering in his recent book you this coming year. Beyond Nootka, which he had available for sale and signing. Annual On Sunday a group hiked up Mt Arrowsmith, led General Meeting by Peter Rothermel. The group chose to take the Evan Loveless, Executive Director Judges route up and down. The hike was fairly well attended with 12 people participating. After we summited, Richard Keltie and I decided to descend The 2005 Federation of Mountain Clubs Annual via the main gully for a change of scenery. It turned General Meeting was held June 10-12 in Victoria.