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.
Bud was a backcountry skier, a mountaineer, a backpacker, and a pilot who flew his own plane into remote wilderness to find the next trail, the next ridge, the next stretch of untouched snow. He was self-sufficient in the truest sense, comfortable in his own company, and at ease in wild places that would unsettle most people.
His family and close friends knew not to worry when Bud went quiet. He had a habit of simply going, packing up his plane and heading somewhere remote to ski tour or backpack for weeks at a stretch, deep in the Canadian wilderness, entirely in his element.
The Man Behind the Gift
By profession, Bud was a petroleum engineer, a career that drew on his geology degree from the University of Oklahoma and his business degree from UC Berkeley. That combination took him to the North Sea at a moment when almost nobody else was going there. Oil reserves had only recently been discovered, the infrastructure was being invented from scratch, and drilling in the cold, stormy waters was an engineering frontier with no proven playbook.
To those who knew him, it was a characteristic move: the same instinct that drew him to remote wilderness drew him to the edge of what was possible in his profession. His career eventually took him around the world and led him to found his own companies. But wherever his work took him, the mountains were always home.
He was a regular guest at ACC huts, using them as base camps for ski touring and backpacking trips deep into the Canadian Rockies. The huts were more than shelter to Bud. They were the infrastructure of a life he loved.
A Gift That Opened a Door
Arthur "Bud" Hall passed away on January 12, 2019. He was the kind of person who had friends at the club, used the huts regularly, and simply got on with doing what he loved, never putting himself in the spotlight.
That is why it came as such a profound surprise when the ACC learned that Bud had left the club one of the largest gifts in the organization's history. The gift had one single, condition: that it be directed toward capital or infrastructure projects, the huts that help make backcountry travel possible for people who love it the way he did. He had simply used the huts, loved them, and decided, quietly and privately, to make sure more of them would exist long after he was gone.
Bud's gift opened a door almost immediately. In 2020, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity came up for the ACC to purchase Shadow Lake Lodge from the Brewster family, one of the most storied backcountry lodges in the Canadian Rockies. Built by the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1929 and operated by the Brewster family for four generations, the lodge was, in the words of Alison Brewster, “distinctive and very special.” Thanks to Bud's gift, the ACC was in a position to say yes.
Shadow Lake Lodge is now a cherished part of the ACC’s largest network of backcountry huts in North America. It is exactly the kind of place Bud would have loved. It is exactly the kind of expansion he hoped his gift would make possible.
Why He Gave
His family shared it simply: "He just loved the facilities and wanted to see them expanded so more people can enjoy the backcountry. He wanted more people to get out and experience nature, because he loved nature."
Bud understood something that is hard to put into words but easy to feel. That there are moments in the backcountry where the noise of everyday life falls away completely, and you remember who you are.
After 92 years of experiencing those moments, he gave quietly and generously, so that others might find their way to the mountains, and to themselves.
The Alpine Club of Canada is proud to honour Arthur "Bud" Hall as a founding member of the Alpine Legacy Circle. His gift continues to shape the club's ability to welcome Canadians into the backcountry for generations to come. Learn more about leaving your own legacy to the ACC.
