Sub-series of hut registers from the Balfour (Rob Ritchie) Hut produced by the Alpine Club of Canada between 1966 and 2019. Registers include entries from visitors to the huts which pertain to individuals' hiking and climbing trips; details of specific events which occurred while staying at the hut…
According to the Alpine Club of Canada's website:
"The Rob Ritchie Hut, also known as the Balfour Hut, is found on low, rocky hills at the toe of the Vulture Glacier, approximately 28 km northwest of the town of Lake Louise, AB. It is east of Balfour Pass and the Continental divide, just inside the Banff National Park boundary.[...]
The Rob Ritchie Hut, also known as the Balfour Hut, is found on low, rocky hills at the toe of the Vulture Glacier, approximately 28 km northwest of the town of Lake Louise, AB. It is east of Balfour Pass and the Continental divide, just inside the Banff National Park boundary.
This is the half-way mark for the Wapta Traverse and is usually used in conjunction with the other huts in this chain while attempting this classic cross-glacier ski trip. Usual approach is from Bow Hut through the Olive/St. Nicholas Col then down the gentle and pleasant Vulture Glacier to Balfour Pass, where the hut sits on a section of moraine beneath the impressive bulk of Mt. Balfour.
Though most people will spend one night at the R.J. Ritchie (Balfour) Hut before continuing on to Scott Duncan, there is potential for good skiing here, especially on the Diableret Glacier which sits northwest of Mt. Balfour and makes for a fantastic run on a clear day! There is also an optional route to the summit of Mt. Gordon from this hut, which would be an excellent loop trip if combined with the normal route back towards Bow Hut. Use your imagination and some neat trip ideas will present themselves!"
Scope & Content
Sub-series of hut registers from the Balfour (Rob Ritchie) Hut produced by the Alpine Club of Canada between 1966 and 2019. Registers include entries from visitors to the huts which pertain to individuals' hiking and climbing trips; details of specific events which occurred while staying at the hut, wildlife sightings, custodial issues and updates, and related topics.
The sub-series is separated into individual hut registers, arranged by date:
M200 / IV / I / 1: Balfour Hut [Register] [1966-1971]
M200 / IV / I / 2: Balfour Pass Hut [1971-1972]
M200 / IV / I / 3: Balfour Pass Hut Register [1973-1974]
M200 / IV / I / 4: Balfour Pass Hut [register 1974-1982]
M200 / IV / I / 5: "Balfour Hut" [register] Sept. 2, 1982 - Nov. 17, 1989
M200 / IV / I / 6: Balfour Hut Journal Nov. 22, 1989 - Apr. 25, 1997
M200 / IV / I / 7: Balfour Hut Register [1997 -2001]
M200 / IV / I / 8: Balfour Hut Register 2007 - 2015
M200 / IV / I / 9: Balfour Hut register 2011 - 2019
Sub-series of hut registers from the Bow Hut produced by the Alpine Club of Canada between 1968 and 2019. Registers include entries from visitors to the huts which pertain to individuals' hiking and climbing trips; details of specific events which occurred while staying at the hut, wildlife sightin…
According to the Alpine Club of Canada website and their Backcountry Huts: Bow Hut Info Sheet:
"The original Bow Hut project was initiated by Peter Fuhrmann, funded by Peter and Catharine Whyte and was constructed in 1968 by members of various groups including the Calgary Ski Club and the ACC. The hut was built near Bow Glacier to facilitate ski tourers and mountaineers entering the Wapta via Bow Lake, the easiest and most natural route to the icefields. Fiberglass igloos had been established at both the Peyto Glacier and Balfour Pass in the years prior, and with the building of a deluxe 14-person facility at a location between the two, the vision of a system of huts on the Wapta/Waputik Icefields was taking shape. None of those responsible for the project, however, could have predicted the amount of use and the level of abuse that the original Bow Hut would endure.
The hut was abused from the beginning, and saw very little regular maintenance or upkeep. By the 1980s the place was a total hole. The hut was used as a flop house, the snow within several hundred feet of the hut had been contaminated by the outhouses and by indiscriminate waste disposal, and some estimates put the number of users per year at 7,000 (19 people per night at a facility which was built to sleep 14!). The hut which was described upon its completion as the “the Ritz” had metamorphosed into the “Bow Ghetto”.
By the mid-1980s it was evident that the facility required radical change. In 1989, under the direction of the ACC’s Huts Committee Chairman Mike Mortimer, that radical change took place. The original hut had been built on a site which was non-porous and therefore had no drainage – a problem that led to the contaminated water and snow. Plans were made for a new hut in a more environmentally sensitive location and fund-raising began. The new Bow Hut was constructed for $98,000, raised primarily through the Calgary and Edmonton sections of the Club. Design concerns in the new hut included proper waste disposal, spacious and bright common areas and sleeping rooms which were both increased in size from the original hut and separated from the common areas to facilitate use by may groups at one time. The palatial new Bow Hut was opened in the fall of 1989 to rave reviews and is presently operated by the ACC.
The hut today is a far cry from the original Balfour and Peyto fiberglass igloos, which a Banff Warden predicted in the late ’60s “will only serve the few hardy ski mountaineers who can accept the hardships of carrying and skiing with heavy loads and are willing to put up with discomfort during the night in bad weather”. It’s an even further cry from the abused state of the original Bow Hut and now serves as a stopover for many summer and winter trips."
Scope & Content
Sub-series of hut registers from the Bow Hut produced by the Alpine Club of Canada between 1968 and 2019. Registers include entries from visitors to the huts which pertain to individuals' hiking and climbing trips; details of specific events which occurred while staying at the hut, wildlife sightings, custodial issues and updates, and related topics.
The sub-series is separated into individual hut registers, arranged by date:
M200 / IV / F / 1: Bow Glacier Hut [1968 - 1971 register]
M200 / IV / F / 2: Bow Glacier Hut Register [1971 - 1973]
M200 / IV / F / 3: Bow Glacier Hut Register [1973 -1975]
M200 / IV / F / 4: Bow Hut register [1975 -1977]
M200 / IV / F / 5: Bow Hut [register 1983 - 1984]
M200 / IV / F / 6: Bow Hut Register [1984-1986]
M200 / IV / F / 7: [Bow Hut Register Dec. 17, 1986 - June 19, 1989]
M200 / IV / F / 8: Bow Hut [1989 - 1991]
M200 / IV / F / 9: Bow Hut 1991 - 1993
M200 / IV / F / 10: [Bow Hut Registers 1992 - 94]
M200 / IV / F / 11: "Bow Hut Register" Sept. 30, 1994 - Aug. 28, 1995
M200 / IV / F / 12: Bow Hut Register Sept. 16, 1995 - June 27, 1996
M200 / IV / F / 13: [Bow Hut Dec. 1995 - March 2000 Register]
M200 / IV / F / 14: Bow Hut Register June 29, 1996 - Mar 29, 1997
M200 / IV / F / 15: Bow Hut register Mar 29, 1997 - Nov. 14, 1997
M200 / IV / F / 16: "Bow Hut Register" November 24, 1997 - September 26, 1998
M200 / IV / F / 17: Bow Hut Register [2000 - 2001]
M200 / IV / F / 18: Bow Hut Register [2001 - 2002]
M200 / IV / F / 19: Bow Hut Apr 18, 2002 - Feb 24, 2003
M200 / IV / F / 20: Bow Hut Apr 8, 2003 - July 18, 2004
M200 / IV / F / 21: Bow Hut July 18, 2004 - Aug 4, 2004
M200 / IV / F / 22: Bow Hut Register 2004 - 2006
M200 / IV / F / 23: Bow Hut Register 2006
M200 / IV / F / 24: Bow Hut Register April 2009 - August 2010
M200 / IV / F / 25: 2010 - 2012 Bow Hut Register
M200 / IV / F / 26: Bow Hut 2012 - 2014
M200 / IV / F / 27: Bow Hut Register [2014/15]
M200 / IV / F / 28: Hut Register Bow Hut [2015-2016]
M200 / IV / F / 29: Bow Hut Register, 2016 - 2018
M200 / IV / F / 30: Bow Hut Register 2018-2019
M200 / IV / F / 31: [100 YR SWISS CENTENNIAL CLIMB 1999: Faye Summit notes. Bow Hut OCT - DEC 1998]
The Alpine Club of Canada website:
https://www.alpineclubofcanada.ca/bow-hut/
The Alpine Club of Canada Backcountry Huts: Bow Hut Info Sheet pdf:
https://www.alpineclubofcanada.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/BowHut-InfoSheet.pdf
File consists of reference photographs collected by Chic Scott for use in various publications. Photographs were retrieved from various individuals, and institutions including Whistler Archives and the Whyte Museum. Content pertains to mountaineering, skiing, individual portraits, views of the Cana…
ca.230 photographs : b&w and col. prints ; 25.5 x 20 cm or smaller -- 4 photographs : col. slides ; 35 mm -- 42 photographs : b&w negatives ; 35 mm -- 0.5 cm of textual records
Scope & Content
File consists of reference photographs collected by Chic Scott for use in various publications. Photographs were retrieved from various individuals, and institutions including Whistler Archives and the Whyte Museum. Content pertains to mountaineering, skiing, individual portraits, views of the Canadian Rockies, and related subjects.
Notes
Sub-series contains mostly photograph prints
Some items are annotated
Materials, including accompanying textual notes, have been kept in original order to preserve context
Sub-series consists of the Financial Statements and Reports of the Alpine Club of Canada between ca. 1936 to 2008. Records pertain to the Audited Financial reports and statements, the Fiscal Year financials, and the Finance Committee reports for the Club. These financial statements and reports show…
Sub-series consists of the Financial Statements and Reports of the Alpine Club of Canada between ca. 1936 to 2008. Records pertain to the Audited Financial reports and statements, the Fiscal Year financials, and the Finance Committee reports for the Club. These financial statements and reports show the financial state of the Club throughout 1936 to 2008.
Sub-series is arranged chronologically.
Notes
See file-level entries for inventories of club financial statements and reports.
Sub-series consists of the Fundraising and Membership Financial Records of the Alpine Club of Canada between 1942 and 2000. Records pertain to the donations, bequests, fundraising events and other financial records for the Club. These records include donations to the ACC for huts and memorial huts,…
Sub-series consists of the Fundraising and Membership Financial Records of the Alpine Club of Canada between 1942 and 2000. Records pertain to the donations, bequests, fundraising events and other financial records for the Club. These records include donations to the ACC for huts and memorial huts, bequests to the Club, membership dues and fees from 1942 to 2000.
Sub-series is arranged chronologically.
Notes
See file-level entries for inventories of club fundraising and membership financials.
Sub-series of identified summit registers and notes produced by the Alpine Club of Canada between 1930 and 2022. Summit records include entries from visitors to the various summits which pertain to individuals' hiking and climbing trips; details of specific events which occurred while at the summit…
Summit Registers and Notes produced by Alpine Club of Canada
Date Range
1930-1931
1959-1968
1970-1989
1992 -2022
Physical Description
100 cm of textual records
223 volumes
Scope & Content
Sub-series of identified summit registers and notes produced by the Alpine Club of Canada between 1930 and 2022. Summit records include entries from visitors to the various summits which pertain to individuals' hiking and climbing trips; details of specific events which occurred while at the summit, wildlife sightings, trail updates, and related topics.
The sub-series is separated into individual identified summit records.
Notes
See file-level entries for inventories of identified summit registers and notes.
Sub-series of hut registers from various Huts, including the Boswell Cabin, Castle Mountain Bivouac Shelter/Hut, Graham Cooper Hut, Lawrence Grassi Hut, Lloyd Mackay Hut, Memorial Hut, R C (Bob) Hind Hut, the Sapphire Col Bivouac Hut, and the Woodbury Cabin. These registers were produced by the Alp…
According to the Alpine Club of Canada:
Woodbury Cabin: The Woodbury Cabin was built over the summers of 1983 and 1984 at the site on which an old mining cabin once existed. The hut was also built to draw park users into the less crowded areas by providing a base for their recreational activities.
Sapphire Col Bivouac Hut: The Sapphire Col Bivouac is a basic mountaineering shelter in the Asulkan Ridge. The hut is located in Glacier National Park.
R. C. Hind Hut: The hut is named after Robert (Bob) Hind, a lifelong, active member of the ACC. The hut was built by the ACC for BC Parks in 1971. The hut is maintained and booked through Assiniboine Lodge.
Robin Cyril (Bob) Hind, 1911-2000, was an electrical engineer and mountaineer at Calgary, Alberta, Canada. He was a Life Member of ACC, joining in 1933, and attended over 30 ACC camps. Hind received the Silver Rope Award in 1935, was recipient of Centennial Medal, and served the ACC in offices of President, Vice-President and Chairman of Hut Committee. Bob Hind climbed most of the peaks in Rockies and Selkirks, including some first ascents. He also climbed in Wales and the Alps. Hind was a member of the American Alpine Club and The Alpine Club, London.
Lloyd Mackay Hut: The hut is located on Mt. Alberta and is a basic mountaineering shelter. The hut was renovated just before the 75th Anniversary of the first ascent of Mount Alberta. The hut sleeps 6 people.
Lawrence Grassi Hut: Named after legendary mountain guide and coal miner, Lawrence Grassi. When he retired from the coal mines, Grassi became the assistant warden at Lake O’Hara in Yoho National Park, and he built various trails throughout the Park. Mount Lawrence Grassi, near Canmore, and Grassi Lakes, along with this hut, are named after him.
Graham Cooper Hut: The hut was located between Mt. Little and Mt. Bowlen in the Valley of the Ten Peaks, along the Alberta and British Columbia border. The hut was named after Graham Cooper, who was a member of the team that built the hut, who had passed just after the hut was built. In 1983, this hut was replaced by the Neil Colgan Hut.
Castle Mountain Hut: Is located in Banff National Park, on the Goat Plateau of Castle Mountain. It is a basic mountaineering shelter. It serves as a base for those climbing Brewer’s Buttress, Bass Buttress, and Eisenhower Tower. The hut is closed during the winter months.
Boswell Cabin: The Pat Boswell (Toronto Section) Cabin is located at the Canmore Clubhouse site, and is named after Pat Boswell, a long-time Club member and Club Manager of the ACC. The cabin was designed to accommodate families and small groups, it includes a partition wall and sleeps up to 6 people.
The Memorial Hut: The original Memorial Hut was built in 1930 for the War Veterans, the building was made of stone in an unstable area near Penstock Creek. The second Memorial Hut was built in the Outpost Lake area in 1947 and was named after Cyril Wates, who joined the ACC in 1916 and was a prominent mountaineer and ACC member, including Club President from 1938 to 1941. This Hut, however, was built too close to the lake, as per Parks regulations. The third version of the Memorial Hut was built in 1962 and opened in 1963 at the ACC Camp in the Valley. It was named in honour of the late President Rex Gibson, as well as Cyril Wates, known as the Wates-Gibson Memorial Hut.
The Jacques Lake Cabin is the ACC's newest backcountry hut, located in Jasper National Park, AB. It was originally a Jasper Park patrol cabin, and it is only open during the winter months.
Scope & Content
Sub-series of hut registers from various Huts, including the Boswell Cabin, Castle Mountain Bivouac Shelter/Hut, Graham Cooper Hut, Lawrence Grassi Hut, Lloyd Mackay Hut, Memorial Hut, R C (Bob) Hind Hut, the Sapphire Col Bivouac Hut, and the Woodbury Cabin. These registers were produced by the Alpine Club of Canada between 1930 and 2018. Registers include entries from visitors to the huts which pertain to individuals' hiking and climbing trips; details of specific events which occurred while staying at the hut, wildlife sightings, custodial issues and updates, and related topics.
The sub-series includes:
M200 / IV / U / 1: Boswell Cabin Hut Register [2007 - 2010]
M200 / IV / U / 2: Boswell Cabin Registry [2007 - 2013]
M200 / IV / U / 3: Boswell Cabin Registry [2010-2016]
M200 / IV / U / 4: Castle Mountain Bivouac Shelter Register Mar. 19, 1985 - Oct. 4, 1995
M200 / IV / U / 5: [Castle Mountain Hut 2000 - 2012]
M200 / IV / U / 6: Graham Cooper Hut [1965-73]
M200 / IV / U / 7: “Hut Register Lawrence Grassi Hut” August 4, 1981 – August 1, 1998
M200 / IV / U / 8: LLOYD MACKAY HUT [1984-1989]
M200 / IV / U / 9: Alpine Club of Canada Memorial Hut Register 1930 – 1965
M200 / IV / U / 10: R C Hind Hut [register 1971-1979]
M200 / IV / U / 11: Sapphire Col Bivouac Hut [1965-1976]
M200 / IV / U / 12: [Unidentified Register 2013 – 2017]
M200 / IV / U / 13: [Unidentified Hut Register 2013?]
M200 / IV / U / 14: [Woodbury Cabin 2015-2018]
M200 / IV / U / 15: Boswell Cabin Hut Register [2014-2020]
M200 / IV / U / 16: [Jacques Lake Hut Register 2019-2022]
Notes
The Memorial Hut has changed locations and titles since it was originally built in 1930. Today, the Hut is known as the Wates-Gibson Memorial Hut. For other Wates-Gibson Hut Registers, see M200 / IV / C: Wates-Gibson Hut Registers.
Alpine Club of Canada website:
https://www.alpineclubofcanada.ca/huts/
https://www.alpineclubofcanada.ca/sapphire-col-hut/
https://www.alpineclubofcanada.ca/castle-mountain-hut/
https://www.alpineclubofcanada.ca/neil-colgan-hut/
https://www.alpineclubofcanada.ca/woodbury-cabin/
https://www.alpineclubofcanada.ca/wates-gibson-hut/
https://www.alpineclubofcanada.ca/jacques-lake-cabin/
Alpine Club of Canada Backcountry Huts: Clubhouse Info Sheet:
https://www.alpineclubofcanada.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Clubhouse_Directions-1.pdf
Alpine Club of Canada Backcountry Huts: Woodbury Cabin Info Sheet:
https://www.alpineclubofcanada.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/WoodburyCabin-InfoSheet.pdf
Informal interview with Chic Scott, Intellectual Property of Chic Scott.
Sub-series of hut registers from the Peter and Catharine Whyte / Peyto Hut produced by the Alpine Club of Canada between 1974 and 2017. Registers include entries from visitors to the huts which pertain to individuals' hiking and climbing trips; details of specific events which occurred while stayin…
According to the Alpine Club of Canada website:
"Being the most northerly of the huts on the Wapta Icefield, the Peyto Hut is where a full traverse of the Wapta starts (or finishes). It gives access to the excellent, moderate mountaineering challenges of Peyto and Trapper Peaks, and Mts. Baker, Thompson and Rhondda, all of which are popular ascents in both summer and winter.
The hut is cozy for groups up to 18 (16 in winter) and has amazing views across the icefields.
The hut has no source of heat but it is well insulated and warms up nicely from the propane stoves.
The hut is situated on a bit of a moraine at the base of Mt. Thompson, but all access routes to the hut involve glacier travel. The easiest access is the 3-4 hour trip from the Bow Hut. Access from the Highway is via Peyto Lake and takes 5-8 hours.
Peyto Hut Fact: The first Peyto Hut was a fiberglass igloo built in the late 1960’s. It was wrecked by wolverines."
Scope & Content
Sub-series of hut registers from the Peter and Catharine Whyte / Peyto Hut produced by the Alpine Club of Canada between 1974 and 2017. Registers include entries from visitors to the huts which pertain to individuals' hiking and climbing trips; details of specific events which occurred while staying at the hut, wildlife sightings, custodial issues and updates, and related topics.
The sub-series is separated into individual hut registers, arranged by date:
M200 / IV / J / 1: Peter Whyte Hut [register 1974 - 1976]
M200 / IV / J / 2: Peter Whyte Hut Log Book [1977-1980]
M200 / IV / J / 3: Peyto Hut [register 1982-1987]
M200 / IV / J / 4: Peter and Catharine Whyte Hut [1983 -1986]
M200 / IV / J / 5: Peter and Catharine Whyte Hut register Feb. 11, 1993 - Apr. 4, 1996
M200 / IV / J / 6: Peter & Catharine Whyte Hut Dec. 1, 1996 - Apr 30, 1999
M200 / IV / J / 7: Peter & Catharine Whyte Apr 30/99 - Jul 29/02
M200 / IV / J / 8: Peter & Catharine Whyte Hut Register 2002
M200 / IV / J / 9: [2003 - 2007 Peyto Hut Register]
M200 / IV / J / 10: Peyto Hut Register 2007 - 2011
M200 / IV / J / 11: Peter and Catharine Whyte Hut register [2007 - 2017]
M200 / IV / J / 12: The Peter Whyte Hut Peyto Glacier 1966
Sub-series consists of travel brochures and maps which were collected and used by Ben Gadd. Sub-series contains five sub-sub series:
M590 / I / A / i : Travel guides and pocket maps
M590 / I / A / ii : Topographical maps
M590 / I / A / iii : Geological maps
M590 / I / A / iv : Highway maps
M590 / …
Sub-series consists of travel brochures and maps which were collected and used by Ben Gadd. Sub-series contains five sub-sub series:
M590 / I / A / i : Travel guides and pocket maps
M590 / I / A / ii : Topographical maps
M590 / I / A / iii : Geological maps
M590 / I / A / iv : Highway maps
M590 / I / A / v : Index maps, other
Notes
Some materials in sub-series are annotated with notes by Ben Gadd