Note from the editors

Since its inception, the ACC’s Summer Leadership Development Course presented by The North Face at the GMC has been shaped and led by one of the longest standing and most experienced Canadian mountain guides: Cyril Shokoples. Raised on the Alberta prairies, Cyril’s guiding legacy now spans more than three decades and multiple generations of mountain lovers. He’s a passionate and talented teacher and who leaves participants with a fresh appreciation of the risk and rewards of life in the mountains.

We are proud and excited to announce that Cyril Shokoples has been named the patron of the 2022 Mountain Guides Ball!

As a tribute to Cyril, and to "draw back the curtains” on the course that he’s famous for, the 2021 summer participants present this diary of their time on the Mummery Glacier.

Learn more about the Guides Ball here

Early morning at the cook tent. Photo Chris Tunison.

Day 1 – Meet, Fly and Greet (by Kate Snedeker, Calgary Section)

We met in Golden, BC on a smoky morning and convoyed up dusty roads to the GMC helicopter staging area. A mountain of gear and supplies and 30+ people were ferried up to a glacial moraine and the site of the Mt. Mummery GMC.

Cyril assembled our crew and laid out his ambitious plans for the week. Our group was made up of ACC members from Ontario to BC, with a range of experience in the mountains, and varied careers such as law enforcement, public health and engineering. Cyril assigned daily tasks from weather monitoring and morning briefings, to radio call check-ins and carrying group gear. No wallflowers allowed on this course – all are expected to contribute. With a blend of humour and skilled give-and-take, Cyril draws on each person’s strengths to make everyone feel comfortable participating. After an excellent first dinner we waddled off to prepare for the next day…

DAY 2 – Short roping on Mountain Goat Mountain (by Jenny Bradshaw, Calgary Section)

The 5:30 am air horn started our first full day. After breakfast and adequate amounts of caffeine, we gathered for our group meeting and started off. Heading up towards wildflower meadows, instructor Adam Burrell discussed types of mountain hazards and how to mitigate some of these through short roping. We learned the foundation skills of pacing, modeling, communicating and spotting, and moved into the technical terrain.

First was passive short roping, then Adam demonstrated the hand-belay technique. Gaining elevation, we added standing and seated hip belays and incorporated the terrain for increased stability in each technique. Looking at terrain features with protection in mind led us into terrain belays. We used ridge and other rock features to create friction in the system or protection points. We wiggled our way up to the summit in pairs, with Cyril and Adam coaching, and all of us getting to know and trust each other more with every belay.

We triumphantly made our way back to camp for another amazing dinner and our evening meeting. There were many smiles, knowing that we had an awesome team and a great week ahead!

Day 3 – Maps, Anchors, Route Planning and LSD (by Isobel Phoebus, Jasper/Hinton Section)

Even with cold, rainy weather on Day 3, our instructors were equipped to teach without venturing far from camp. Adam ran us through navigation including maps, declination, coordinate systems, compasses, sighting bearings and location finding.

With a break in the rain, we regrouped outside for Cyril instruction on anchors. We reviewed common anchors, sliding X, girth hitch, clove hitches with the climbing rope, and fixed point anchors. We discussed knots, equalization, directions of pull, angles, materials, redundancy and more.

Mapping practice on Day 3. Photo Chris Tunison

Back to the paper maps, we put our navigation skills together in a theoretical route-planning exercise, taking us from basecamp to the top of Mt. Mummery, including route stages, distances, elevation changes and estimated travel times.

After witnessing our enthusiasm for gear, Cyril taught us the load strand direct (LSD) method of lowering a climber when belaying from above. The students learned the steps of LSD and set off in competition to see who could lower their teammates most calmly, correctly and efficiently. It was a productive rainy day with lots of information and tips that we could put to use in future club trips!

Day 4 – Glacier and Crevasse Rescue Skills (Ray Hope, Manitoba Section)

On the helicopter ride into basecamp, Cyril’s eagle eye spotted the perfect bulge on the glacier that could serve as our ice climbing multi-pitch practice area for our glacier day and on Day 4, and the weather couldn’t have been better. A quick hop over the moraine next to basecamp and we were on the Mummery Glacier. Our meandering trip down to that bulge allowed us to practice weaving through the labyrinth of crevasses, going around some and stepping over others. Being a dry glacier (one that doesn’t have any snow on it), Mummery gave us an opportunity to practice our box step and short roping skills (only this time on ice), and try some glacier ice climbing, which we learned is different from waterfall and “gym” ice.

The group gathered at an outdoor classroom. Photo Chris Tunison

On the bulge, we covered low-angle, multi-pitch ice climbing, including leading, seconding, placing screws and building anchors. We ended the day with crevasse rescue, where a few lucky members of our team got to hang out in the refrigerator (down in a crevasse), while the rest of us constructed drop loops, 3:1 and 6:1 pulley systems to haul them up – all made it out safely!

Day 5 – Peak Day (Kate Snedeker, Calgary Section)

With glacier skills refreshed and the smoke mostly at bay, on Day 5 we ventured out to bag one of the area peaks. I started as lead on my rope team of five, with Adam directly behind providing comments and corrections. Having spent much more time on glaciers skiing, peering down into the depths of summer crevasses was fascinating – and a bit scary. We spent the first part of the day weaving between crevasses, gingerly probing snow bridges and marking suspicious spots. Other GMC teams had the same objective that day, and had started earlier. Thanks to the efficiencies that Cyril had drilled into us, we caught up fairly quickly. Not wanting to pass the others, I tackled a tricky skill, one that is a challenge for me, the slow and steady “guide pace.”

We traded leads, passed the big mama crevasse near the top of the glacier, and stepped onto rock and shed our ropes. From there, a short but loose and exposed scramble led to the top of the peak where we could see across two provinces. No time to dawdle though, as the sun was threatening to make the crevasse maze even more challenging. We scuttled back down to our ropes, clipped in and threaded our way back to camp, dinner and debrief.

Day 6 – Soft Skills and Rock Hardware (Rob Janousek, Squamish Section)

We devoted much of Day 6 to presentation and discussion in our canvas-walled camp classroom. Cyril led the group through an abbreviated course in wilderness emergency management, with an emphasis on how our roles as trip leaders necessitate a repertoire of skills above and beyond the basics of mountaineering. We addressed how to respond with critical interventions should an accident occur, including the effective use of electronic communications in the backcountry.

Next up was a pivot from a technical systems focus towards the soft skills of leadership. We reflected upon the responsibilities we have as trip leaders, to the ACC and our trip participants as well as to ourselves. We examined models for effective teambuilding and conflict resolution. A particular focus was given to areas of equity and inclusion in our participation in mountain adventures. We as leaders in the club need to reflect on our biases and blind spots to ensure we are fostering a culture where all participants can feel welcome, particularly those who have faced greater barriers to a sense of belonging in mountain activities.

“There was palpable exhaustion from the fast-paced absorption of information all day.”

We were excited to get moving again for some practical skills practice and by the mid-afternoon we had migrated to a nearby rock bluff where Adam instructed us in the use of rock protection. We had opportunities to place a variety of pieces from pitons to nuts and cams and have our handiwork examined by the instructors.

The day proved to be particularly dense with content from a wide range of topics. Even though we stuck around camp, there was palpable exhaustion from the fast-paced absorption of information all day.

Day 7 – Peak Day (Matt Lynch, Southern Alberta Section)

On the previous night, we were presented with a rare offering: a choice of plans! Each of us could decide between sharing lead on a peak (with supervision) and a rock rescue session.

In the morning teams are ready to go but the smoke had settled in like an unwelcome uncle. The camp doc steps in. All trips are temporarily cancelled due to the extreme air quality. There is a mix of disappointment and acceptance in the air.  

Cyril, ever the professional, smoothly expands his rock rescue session to the entire course group. Within moments we are all placing anchors, practicing switching to lowering while bringing someone up in guide mode (the LSD method from Day 3), passing a tied-off segment of rope through an Italian hitch, and hauling mock-injured partners up to the anchor. A good chunk of our hands-on session is through full-on rain, which is a blessing in terms of smoke. 

We finish our day in the haven of the dining tent, talking through the entire week and all that we learned. It’s a month later now, and I’m still working hard on catching and reinforcing it all. I have two sessions booked with the SA section to teach some of the skills I learned.

Celebrate Cyril with us at the 2022 Mountain Guides Ball in Banff

The Mountain Guides Ball is an annual gala event hosted by The ACC and the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides (ACMG) that brings the mountain community together to celebrate our culture and to fundraise for the ACC’s Leadership Fund.

This year’s event will be held at The Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity in October, 2022. More details coming soon! Subscribe to the Dispatch newsletter to stay in the loop.

Learn more about the Guides Ball

Mummery Memories: Cyril ShokopLes and The Summer Leadership Development Course at the GMC