Bees Like Honey
Story by Jane Millen, photos by Leah Walker and Marissa Russbueldst
Like some other ACC sections, the Whistler Section built and maintains its own hut, the Wendy Thompson Memorial Hut in the Marriott Basin backcountry northeast of Pemberton, BC. The hut is open year-round but is very much a ski destination and it’s the primary focus of the Whistler chapter in winter.
Roughly four years ago the section launched a custodian program to ensure the hut is properly cared for and that things run smoothly. The program now has a waitlist and is full of passionate Whistler Section members who do everything from checking reservations, to helping visitors around the hut, to dealing with the outhouse barrels. The section could not feasibly keep it maintained and operating without the incredible work of all our dedicated volunteer custodians.
As the Wendy Thompson sits in excellent ski terrain, and it is the only reservable hut in the Duffy Lake area, it is in high demand every winter. The hut is typically booked to capacity during the ski season, with the few exceptions being the dates that the section carves out for school group bookings and the select few ski trips that the section runs, such as our popular women’s-only trips.
This year’s outing, the Women’s Beginner Hut Life trip, included two section members from Vancouver, two from Whistler and one from Pemberton. We had clear weather and had the opportunity to explore the terrain around the hut quite a bit.
The group was made up of a mix of experience. One of our group, Shannon, had ski toured and done lots of wilderness trips before having kids, and for this trip she was getting out for an overnight ski tour for the first time in a decade. Marissa and Leah had done some backcountry skiing and were looking for more experience and were happy to be in the company of other women. My friend Val, who is a great skier and volunteers as a hut custodian joined us as well.
Shannon’s wilderness experience was an asset at the decision point as we proceeded to the top of the one named run in the area, “Honey Bronzed and Very Desirable.” I know that it’s a steep and exciting climb, threading a thin line at the top between two large overhanging cornices, which makes it really feel like a big objective. When we stopped to dig a pit and check out the snowpack, a few of the group expressed discomfort. Happily honouring their feelings and not wanting to split up, we headed back to the hut for lunch. It is important to build trust and openness in these outings.
One evening we wondered: how do runs get named? Who names them? We decided that until someone tells us otherwise, we were going to name them. It was Shannon who suggested playing on “Honey B,” and that we keep going with a bee theme. We had fun coming up with names, including a steep run that drops to the lake that we called “The Stinger.”
As the nights arrive quickly in January, we spent a late afternoon on a sunset hunt up a nearby ridge. We were well rewarded with views across the valley swathed in alpenglow on the peaks and clouds. This outing ended with a ski back by headlamp, via the home run where we found some sweet powder in fun glades close to the trees. We named this run that took us back to the
hut ‘The Hive.’
When the Whistler Section ran this trip about three years ago, the Squamish Section had a simultaneous women’s trip and so we were about 12 women in the cabin together that weekend. It was so much fun! All of us this year agreed that for next year we will book the whole hut and plan a combined trip again. I like to pick a weekend with a full moon, so I believe I already know the date!
Regional ACC Sections are the Alpine Club of Canada’s strength. Membership in an ACC Section enables members to participate in numerous summer and winter mountaineering, rock climbing, and skiing activities, coordinated by experienced amateur leaders in their local area. The majority of activities offered by sections are either free or are offered on a break-even basis to their members. Through ACC Section trips you’ll learn all the basics you need to travel safely in the mountains, while meeting new friends to enjoy your experiences with.
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