Top 10 pieces of ACC news for 2019
2019 was a banner year for us here at the ACC. New huts, new partners, new programs, a new section, and more - it’s a lot to take in! To review, and to catch you up if you missed anything, we’ve rounded up all the year’s biggest pieces of ACC news here.
2019 was certainly one to celebrate, and we also can’t wait to see what arrives in 2020.
1. ACC acquires Shadow Lake Lodge
Undoubtably, the biggest piece of news in 2019 (and in the past few years) is that Shadow Lake Lodge has become a part of the ACC’s growing backcountry facility network! We’re honoured to be able to continue to build upon the Brewster family legacy in this area of Banff National Park. This is a huge step in what we’re able to offer our membership and the public, as well as diversifying our backcountry offerings.
2. New ACC hut in Jasper National Park
In more new hut news: right before we announced Shadow Lake Lodge, ACC and Parks Canada also announced that the patrol cabin at Jacques Lake in Jasper National Park had been opened for public enjoyment in winter! It’s rare that we get two big hut announcements so soon back-to-back, so it’s been a real treat.
3. New partners join the ACC
Without the support of our corporate partners, the ACC could not be able to run the programs we do or have the success we’ve had… which is why we were super excited to see three new partners join the cause this year: Spot, Tecnica and Osprey. We’re looking forward to building on our programs and our corporate partnerships in 2020!
4. newest ACC section: Squamish
It’s always exciting to add another regional section to our family, and this year we were able to welcome the Squamish Section, located within the traditional territories of the Tsleil-Waututh and the Skwxwú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish) Nations. Seems like it’s about time we had a designated local section in one of Canada’s most iconic climbing locations!
5. ACC presents Girls on Ice CanadA
We’re proud to announce a new program this year for Canadian young women interested in science, art and mountains. It’s pretty amazing when a program like Girls on Ice is available to provide an immersive experience outdoors, with inspiring female leaders in their field, tuition-free!
6. Respect the Mountains Initiative comes to Canada
Over 15 local ACC sections across Canada took part in our UIAA Respect the Mountains Day to clean up local trails and crags. Collectively, our sections made this the largest geographic mountain clean-up initiative in the world! Originally this initiative mostly took place in European mountain resorts, so it was awesome to bring it here to Canada with our wide network of local sections.
7. New flights into Fairy Meadow for summer months
Fairy Meadow’s mostly been a winter destination for its world-class ski terrain, but with the growing popularity of the Bugaboos, some are looking for a more isolated granite climbing experiences in summer. With the Adamant Range right in the hut’s backyard, it only makes sense for us to offer summer flight options now as well!
8. Second annual State of the Mountains Report
In 2011 the ACC produced a State of the Mountains Report to help describe the current environmental situation in the Canada’s alpine areas. In 2018 we published a new SOTM report, and in 2019 we committed to making this an annual publication with our “Volume 2”. This is an extremely important publication for us in highlighting the changes in our Canadian landscape and beyond.
9. Mount Logan Ice Expedition Announced
One of the most exciting multi-disciplinary mountain and science projects in decades will be taking place on Mt. Logan, Canada’s highest (and largest) mountain in 2020 and 2021. Science (climate, physiology, geography) and climbing will come together and the ACC, including our Vice-President for Mountain Culture, Zac Robinson, will be there.
10. ACC Hut ambassador program
In 2019 we piloted a new program that involved Ambassadors at ACC huts. These ambassadors are stewards of the huts, as well as teachers and hosts for hut users - basically being shining examples of how we like our huts to work. We’re happy to say that the program has been a success and we hope to improve it further in 2020!
Follow us for developments in 2020!
Want to keep up with all the latest ACC news in the new year? We have a few channels for you to do that through:
Facebook: @alpineclubofcanada
Instagram: @alpineclubcan
Twitter: @alpineclubcan
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