ACC Gazette Section Stories: Ottawa

In July of 2024, 10 members of the Ottawa Section of the ACC gathered for another great adventure in the Rocky Mountains. Our plan was to hike up to the Bow Hut and spend time on the glaciers and peaks of the Wapta Icefields. We had excellent weather and great times with good friends.

Mount Queen Bess North Ridge

I felt the solid rock beneath me. I closed my eyes, relaxed, and breathed in deeply. I reminded myself that things were going well. I felt good. The fear was present, but I could overcome it. When I was ready, I continued on. This was a practiced task, one that is essential for managing risk. You must experience the fear, analyze it plainly, and then act – it cannot control you. I sat straddling Mount Queen Bess’s North Ridge, both legs pointing down towards its sheer faces as I gazed upward. Around a rocky outcropping fifteen metres below me stood my climbing partner Jude Thompson, belaying and silently hoping that I was experiencing easy terrain.

A Life Lived Outdoors: Remembering Arthur “Bud” Hall 

Bud Hall loved being in wild places in the way that some people love breathing. It was simply part of who he was.

Arthur George “Bud” Hall was born in Calgary on October 26, 1926, into a family that were true pioneers of Western Canada. He passed away at the age of 92, leaving behind a legacy gift to The Alpine Club of Canada that continues to shape the Canadian backcountry in ways he never requested credit for.