Countless ACC members have been part of the General Mountaineering Camp tradition over the past 117 years and many others have dreamed about attending or are about to attend their first camp this summer. The climbing, the camaraderie and the beautiful alpine areas are the first things participants likely notice when they arrive in camp, but very quickly thoughts will turn to the impact that the camp might have on the pristine areas where we set up camp. “This place is amazing!” is followed quickly by “What’s the club doing to make sure it’s just as beautiful when we leave?”

GMCs begin, like most mountain adventures, with a team gathered around maps, dreaming of peaks and ridges and glaciers. Contour lines are scrutinized, lines are traced with fingers, more lines are extrapolated and measured from highways, forest service roads and mountain towns.

Behind every decision the GMC Committee considers about where camp will be held, how the camp is set up and torn down, and how participants should conduct themselves while at camp, is the underlying desire to leave the smallest possible footprint on the site.

Here’s a summary of the things we do to make sure we’re limiting our impact.

Permitting Process

GMCs are held on Crown land, typically in British Columbia, and permits are administered by provincial governments. After the GMC Committee has settled on a couple of candidates for possible camp locations, we begin the process of obtaining the required Non-Permanent Occupation and Water-Use Permits. This process is required for any commercial operation, which applies equally to for-profit and not-for-profit operators.

The process of obtaining the occupation permit includes consulting with a wide-ranging team of experts and specialists regarding things such as soil stability, water issues, endangered species (both flora and fauna), caribou habitats and everything in between. During each GMC permit process, we consult with our “goat guy” who we talk to about the behaviour of local goats and how we can minimize any disruption of their routines.

It’s not part of the official permitting process, but we also consult with local First Nations Peoples about our proposed sites. These consultations include discussions of their environmental concerns as well as their cultural heritage and what we need to look for in the way of archaeological evidence of FN past use of the areas (circles of stones, firepits, etc.).

With the land use permit complete, the ACC applies for a Water-Use Permit which allows for the taking of water from streams as well as the dispersion of grey water for camp activities. Water use is, understandably, the most serious permitting issue, as any possible contamination of water in the high alpine can have serious effects downstream.

GMCs have a relatively low impact on the land compared to other uses such as mining, so we would typically see recommendations for adjustments rather than opposition, but permitting still takes about two years to complete. We typically have two to three permits in process at one time so that we can plan ahead and have backup sites in case of unexpected delays.

Camp Set Up

After a winter of planning, on-site set up of the GMC takes place in late June and early July, a week before guests arrive. Efforts to limit our footprint continue, with thought given to water usage as well as tent sites and outhouses.

Our permits limit the maximum amount of water that we can draw from local streams and include strict rules regarding how we return the water to the ground. These concerns, as well as building the filtration systems, are addressed during set-up week. It’s worth noting that all of our water is filtered with a gravity-feed system and does not involve any chemicals.

The big white bin helps to separate out particulate matter before it hits a second settling barrel. A series of passive filters (below) makes the water safe to drink.

Outhouses are placed a minimum of 50 metres from any water source. The pits are situated and excavated such that human waste will filter through the sand and gravel of glacial moraine and not contaminate them. According to our permits, the preferred method of reclaiming these areas at the end of camp is to start a fire on top of the filled-in pit (lumber taken from the outhouses works great) to create surface heat to accelerate the underground decomposition process.

Camps are for camping, but small amounts of electricity are still required to operate communication and emergency equipment as well as to provide charging for personal devices (cameras and headlamps). With upgraded solar panels, all electrical energy at camp is provided by the sun. We keep a diesel generator on hand just in case, but it hasn’t been used during camp in the past five years.

Set-up week is also when the tent sites are selected and set up for each week’s 40 participants. If you’re wondering why your tent site is set up on the rocky moraine instead of in an inviting meadow, it’s because we’re limiting the impact on local flora. Packing a comfortable mattress is easy; reestablishing growth in an alpine heather meadow is not.

During the Camp

In camp, you’ll notice the ACC’s efforts to keep our collective (literal and metaphorical) footprints minimized.

The largest impact we do have at GMCs happens when people walk in sensitive areas. When we’re on the rock or the glaciers, our impact is negligible, but around camp, our boots can hurt or kill sensitive vegetation. We set up trails between sleeping, eating, gathering, washing, and hiking areas and we ask that all participants stay on them. Concentrating our boot prints in this way decreases the time required to reclaim the land when the camp is over.

The personal soaps we bring into camp are biodegradable and we ask our guests to bring the same. Dish washing soaps are all provided, and we’ve got a great system of grey water filtration for dishwater.

One more thing that we ask our guests to do during camp is to report animal sightings. This is less intuitive than some of the other things we do to limit our impact, but it’s an important one, and it’s actually a specific requirement set out in the permitting process.

Animal sighting information is compiled, returned with our reports, and then used for tracking wildlife populations and territory usage. If you see animals around camp, or if you spot a family of goats, grizzlies, moose or other mammals in the distance from a ridge you’re climbing, we’d very much like to hear about it. Our camp manager will happily take the information and pass it on to our office. Keep a sharp eye out for wolverines, but don’t worry about other small rodents – everyone knows they’re out there. And thanks for your contribution to this citizen science and the continued viability of the camps.

Camp Tear Down

The tear down of a GMC is pretty much what you’d think: we pack up the tents and gear and then try to erase every trace of us having visited the area. When the last loads are flown out and the outhouse fires are extinguished, we document the site with photos for our reports and to compare to how we find the site in a couple of years when we do an environmental impact assessment.

2016 GMC before tear down. Photo: Chris Killey.

EIA / Revisit Past Sites

This summer, while the Remillard Camp is happening, the club’s GMC Committee will be revisiting three GMC sites from past years with environmental scientists to assess the recovery of the land. These assessments are important for our ongoing permit applications and, more importantly, to help us learn the best ways to reclaim and recover the sites.

Past assessments have shown that our clean-up efforts have been extremely successful and that our camps have minimal long-term effects on the sites. After our tear-down work, the winter snows and spring runoffs take these sites even closer to the zero impact that we aim for and, after a couple of years, even the tent sites and trails on the moraines are mostly gone. We’re extremely proud of this record of visiting beautiful alpine areas and leaving them just as beautiful as we found them.

Thanks for doing your part and see you soon at camp!

GMC and the Environment

Permitting Process

Camp Set Up

During the Camp

Camp Tear Down

EIA / Revisit Past Sites

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