Mountain Culture
The ACC Aspects blog is a hub for stories, news, and insights related to mountain culture, outdoor adventures, and the climbing community in Canada. It features articles on alpine expeditions, environmental conservation, club events, and personal experiences from members. The blog also highlights ACC initiatives, hut updates, and safety tips for backcountry exploration. It’s a great resource for climbers, hikers, and outdoor enthusiasts looking to stay connected with the ACC community and gain inspiration for their next adventure.
For older blog stories, please visit our archived site.
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.
Summit Shaker: Summer Kickoff Week
Get ready for five days of trail runs, safety workshops, climbing sessions, and community gathering designed to strengthen the bonds that make the Bow Valley special.
ACC Gazette Section Stories: Toronto
Spanning 7,000 kilometres along the west coast of South America, the Andes is a huge and breathtaking mountain range with many climbing opportunities that allow Canadians to escape our northern winter. We knew that there were beautiful views, brilliant climbing, excellent food, and near limitless opportunities for exploration. But in one of the world’s longest mountain ranges, where do you start?
Mountain Voices: Banff: Home
This story comes to us from the book Mountain Voices. Paired with photos from the Mountain Legacy Project, Mountain Voices is a collection of unique short essays from alpinists, activists, artists, and mountain researchers as they share their unique and fascinating perspectives.
2026 Annual General Meeting
Thank you for joining us for our Annual General Meeting May 14, at 5pm MT.
We appreciate you taking the time to connect with the ACC community, reflect on the past year, and help shape the future of the club. Your engagement, questions, and continued support are an important part of what keeps our community strong.
ACC Gazette Section Stories: Thunder Bay
Like all ACC chapters, the Thunder Bay Section is a place where climbers connect to find partners and do some climbing. Sometimes those partnerships last a route, and sometimes they last a lifetime.
Mountain Voices: The Valley of the Wîkchemnâ Peaks
This story comes to us from the book Mountain Voices. Paired with photos from the Mountain Legacy Project, Mountain Voices is a collection of unique short essays from alpinists, activists, artists, and mountain researchers as they share their unique and fascinating perspectives.
A Life Lived Vertically: The Legacy of Wally Joyce
Wallace (Wally) Richard Joyce was born in Cranbrook, BC in 1915, and by the time his family moved to Calgary he was already making pilgrimages to Banff and Waterton with his Boy Scout troop, a young boy with a Kodak camera and an unquenchable sense of wonder. He would carry both the camera and the wonder for the next nine decades.
Twenty GMCs Later
What has kept me coming back—and what I hope will continue to draw people to
the GMC? The General Mountaineering Camp (GMC) means many things to many people, for a wide range of reasons. For me, it has always been about the people. Some of those I met at my very first camp in 2003 at Snowy Pass remain close friends to this day. That sense of connection—formed through shared challenges in remote places, often far from the distractions of everyday life—is powerful, and it endures.
ACC Gazette Section Stories: Saint Boniface
St. Boniface doesn’t have many tall structures except for two towers. And rather than the site of a Middle Earth war of fantastic proportions, one of them is the site of volunteer contributions of fantastic proportions.
The ACC Comes East
On Sunday, Feb 1, 2026, seven members of the Alpine Club of Canada and their two guides checked in to the Intervale Cooperative near St. Donat, QC, excited to be part of the first ever ACC National Winter Leadership course offered in Eastern Canada. The course aimed to support members who are trip leaders or are interested in leading alpine touring section trips.
