Eric Brooks Leader Award

A mountaineering and ski mountaineering award for strong commitment to learning and applying technical and leader skills.

This award was instituted in 2001; its name was changed to honour Eric Brooks in 2005.

It is intended, under normal circumstances, that the Eric Brooks Leader Award would be awarded as a prerequisite to obtaining the Silver Rope for Leadership Award.

Born in England in 1902, Eric Brooks was a teacher by profession. He joined the ACC in 1929, and until his death in 2001, Eric devoted much of his energy to the club. In 1937 he was awarded the Silver Rope for Leadership, was President from 1941 to 1947, and Honorary President from 1954 to 1964. While representing the ACC at The Alpine Club of Canada centenary in London, he was made an Honorary Member of that club. He acted for many years as the Camp Manager of the General Mountaineering Camp. In 1995 he was awarded the A.O. Wheeler Legacy Award. Few members have made such a significant contribution to the club over such a prolonged period of time. But Eric’s contribution to the club was not restricted to his lifetime. As part of his estate, Eric bequeathed $50,000 to the club, the annual investment income to be used to support the publication of the ACC’s Canadian Alpine Journal.

Award Eligibility And Contribution Details

Eligibility:

In order to be eligible for the Eric Brooks Leader Award, the nominee must:
  • Be an active ACC member
  • Demonstrate a strong, consistent commitment to learn and apply technical and leader skills in mountaineering or ski mountaineering on club or section organized activities over a minimum period of 1 to 5 years.

    The term “mountaineering” includes activities such as technical rock or ice climbing or route-finding abilities demonstrated on national or section organized activities.

    Nomination Process:

    Nominations must be made:
    • In writing via the Eric Brooks Leader Award Form
    • By a club member
    • By endorsement from the nominee’s Section Executive, represented by the Chairperson; or
    • For an unaffiliated member, by unanimous decision of the Awards Committee, represented by the Chair.
    • Before December 31 of the current year

      Approvals:
      • Approval of a nomination requires not less than two-thirds of the voting members of the Awards Committee
      • Award winners will be announced at the Club’s Annual General Meeting

        Award Format
      • Plaque describing the award

Eric Brooks Leader Award

Nomination Deadline

Eric Brooks Leader Award Past Recipients

2002
Claire Ebendinger
2003
Peter Woodsworth
2004
Doug Fulford
2005
Peter Rothermel, John Huybers, Margaret Hanson
2006
Neil Bosch
2007
Ken Cox, Ernst Bergman
2008
Kris Irwin, Dustin Hines
2009
Martin Siegert, Reinhold Mayerhofer, Rob Leblanc, Shaun Fluker
2011
Martin Naroznik
2013
Nadja Steiner, Harald (Harry) Steiner, David Campbell
2014
Mark Rosin, Jason Guptill, Jeffrey Dmytrowich
2016
Steven Rockarts, Susan Twitchell, Paul Trudeau, Nathalie Drotar, Gerry Drotar, Thomas McElroy, Luca Jungen, Martin Hofmann
2017
Raz Peel, Marion Mayerhofer, Scott Macpherson, Foster Karcha, Howard Hemingson, Marc Harden, Lida Frydrychova, Mark Carlson, Casey Blais, Jeremiah Aherne
2018
Anne Drew Potter, Mike McMinn, Amber McMinn, Neil Kirk, Alan Fortune, Alastair Ferries
2019
Paul O'Brien-Kelly, Tyler Hallman, Elisabeth Dupuis, Mike Bowler
2020
Steve Traversari, Marie Tison, Brent Hepfner
2021
Grant Blanchard
2022
Marcus Tomlinson, Derek Sou, Phong Nguyen, Tyler Hallman
2023
Sabrina Heywood, Jonathan Wolf