Fonds consists of 30 cm of textual and visual records previously held in 3 manuscript boxes, and 1 briefcase belonging to Bruno Engler. Contents have since been rehoused and processed in 3 manuscript boxes under M559, and one manuscript box each under V783/PA and V783/NA. Fonds consists of two seri…
24 cm of textual records -- 320 photographs (139 b&w and col. prints, 21 b&w negatives, 160 digital files)
History / Biographical
Bruno Engler's Veteran's Race was initially hosted by Bruno Engler at the Sunshine Village ski resort in Banff in 1967. In its earlier years, Bruno Engler would complete the downhill track first, and would use his recorded time as a benchmark for participants to beat. Engler participated in the race for many years. The race was typically divided into several competition categories by age range and men's and women's races. Following a day of races, there is an awards ceremony held each year for participants.
Bruno's ski race, renamed the Bruno Engler Memorial Ski Race after Bruno's passing in 2001, is currently "the longest consecutively running annual ski race in Canadian history". 2019 marked the 53rd annual race, which was held at Cascade Mountain. In recent years, the "Bruno Engler Family Fun Race", an additional race for parents and children, has been added as part of the original event.
Scope & Content
Fonds consists of 30 cm of textual and visual records previously held in 3 manuscript boxes, and 1 briefcase belonging to Bruno Engler. Contents have since been rehoused and processed in 3 manuscript boxes under M559, and one manuscript box each under V783/PA and V783/NA. Fonds consists of two series:
Series I : 1952 - 1990
Series II : 1991 - 2016
Bruno Engler Memorial race committee information, race results and Bruno Engler's personal papers originally held in his personal briefcase. Also included are photos of the races and awards - these photos were held in Bruno's briefcase along with his own files.
Briefcase from accession has been transferred to Heritage.
Textual records (M559) range from 1952 to 2016 [includes documents from every year excluding 1953 - 1966] and pertain to annual ski races. Include meetings/agenda notes, ephemera, handwritten notes, registration forms, mailing lists, race results, and other relevant notes. [As 1967 was the ski race's first official year, items from 1952 are believed to be from a different ski event].
Visual records (V783) include 180 print photographs and 21 negative photographs/film strips depicting races, participants and award ceremonies [arranged by year].
Fonds also includes 3 CDs from 2004, 2005 and 2011 (V783), 1 USB stick from 2012 (M559), and 1 racing jersey (2016) which has been transferred to Heritage.
Notes
Folder with items V783 / I / PA - 1 to 41 contains photograph of Catharine Whyte in 1967 ski race
One folder with contact sheets from processed photographs dated 1972, 1975, 1976 and 1979 also stored within V783 file box
Fonds consists of materials pertaining to Ben Gadd's personal life and career as an environmental researcher, educator, interpretive guide, publisher, public speaker and author, ca.1956-2018. Fonds includes maps, research materials, publication notes/drafts, correspondence, contracts, photographs, …
ca. 7.9 metres of textual records -- ca. 274 maps -- 29 VHS tapes -- ca.15 discs with digital files -- 21 cassettes -- photographs -- oversized materials -- USB stick with 15 sldeshows
History / Biographical
Ben Gadd (1946-) is a retired naturalist, guide, geologist, instructor, freelance writer and award-winning author based in the Canadian Rockies.
Ben was born in Colorado Springs, Colorado in 1946. He met his wife, Cia (Langdon) Gadd at Colorado College in 1965, and the couple married four weeks later. Ben and Cia had two sons, Will and Toby. Ben and his family relocated to Jasper in the late 1960s. Ben later attended the University of Lethbridge and graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Earth Science in 1972.
Between 1976 and 1980, Ben taught classes at Mount Royal College and the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology; he later taught additional classes at Grant MacEwan College and Lakeland College. From 1981, Ben also worked as a seasonal naturalist/guide for Parks Canada. Ben left Parks Canada in 1985 to start an independent naturalist guiding business with Cia based in Jasper and other parts of the Canadian Rockies, which the couple continued to operate for over two decades.
Ben published his best-known work, "Handbook of the Canadian Rockies", through his publishing company Corax Press in 1986. The second edition of "Handbook of the Canadian Rockies" received multiple awards after its release in 1995. Ben's fiction book, "Raven's End" won the title of Best Canadian Rockies Book at the Banff Mountain Film and Book Festival in 2001 and became a Canadian bestseller. Overall, Ben has authored or co-authored 11 books and received nearly one dozen awards for his achievements as a writer, researcher and guide.
Ben continued to lead guided hikes and school programs until his retirement in 2016.
Scope & Content
Fonds consists of materials pertaining to Ben Gadd's personal life and career as an environmental researcher, educator, interpretive guide, publisher, public speaker and author, ca.1956-2018. Fonds includes maps, research materials, publication notes/drafts, correspondence, contracts, photographs, video and sound recordings, and other related material. Materials donated in 2024 include one USB stick containing
Notes
Ben Gadd fonds arrangement:
Series I : Personal records
- Subseries A : Travel guides and maps
- Subseries B : Education and early writings
- Subseries C : Personal interest files
- Subseries D : Other personal and collected
Series II : Research and publication records
- Subseries A : Handbook of the Canadian Rockies
- Subseries B : Other publications
Series III : Professional records
- Subseries A : Parks Canada Records
- Subseries B : Interpretive guiding
- Subseries C : Teaching records
- Subseries D : Other contracts and projects
Series IV : Legal and financial records
- Subseries A : Legal records
- Subseries B : Financial records
Fonds consists of materials pertaining to Dr. Bruce Hatfield's excursions with the Trail Riders between 1963-1995 and his role as Trail Doctor. Fonds includes ca.441 transparency slides with images primarily taken by Bruce during trail rides, 1963-1994, depicting fellow ride participants, camp life…
ca.441 col. transparency slides : 35 mm -- 14 col. neg. film strips (49 images) : 35 mm -- ca.1.5 cm textual records
History / Biographical
Clinton Bruce Hatfield (1926-2009) was born in Calgary, Alberta. After graduating from Western Canada High School in 1945, Bruce attended the University of Alberta, where he completed a Bachelor of Science degree in 1948, a Master of Science degree in 1951, and a Medical Degree in 1953. Bruce interned at the University of Alberta Hospital before moving to Minneapolis in 1957, where he worked as an Instructor in Medicine at the University of Minnesota Hospital (1958-1959). Bruce moved back to Calgary and opened a private medical practice with his brother, Bob Hatfield. While operating his private practice, Bruce also served on several committees at the Calgary Hospital, including the Intern Committee, Library Committee, Medical Education Committee, Pharmacy Committee (of which he was Chair in 1966), and the Department of Medicine Committee. Bruce was hired as an Assistant Professor at the University of Calgary in 1970, and was Clinical Professor of Medicine when he retired in 1994.
Bruce was active as an educator and volunteer in his community, and supported numerous charitable initiatives through the United Church of Canada. He gave public presentations on the topics of Family Life and Sex Education throughout the 1960s and 1970s. Bruce also served as a Trail Doctor for the Trail Riders of the Canadian Rockies on numerous trips between 1963 and 1995. Bruce was also a talented photographer; his photographs were featured in multiple publications including Macleans magazine, Canadian Doctor, and Canadian Medical Association Journal.
Bruce was the recipient of many awards including Calgary’s Citizen of the Year (1970), the Premier’s Cup (1983), an Honorary Doctorate of Laws from the University of Calgary (1995) and most recently was chosen as one of Alberta’s 100 Physicians of the Century (2005). Bruce and his brother, Bob, were co-recipients of the Alberta Achievement Award and the Premier's Cup for Excellence in Medicine and the Community.
Bruce was married to his wife, Kathleen, for 55 years and the couple raised four daughters together: Linda, Barbara, Sue and Kate.
Scope & Content
Fonds consists of materials pertaining to Dr. Bruce Hatfield's excursions with the Trail Riders between 1963-1995 and his role as Trail Doctor. Fonds includes ca.441 transparency slides with images primarily taken by Bruce during trail rides, 1963-1994, depicting fellow ride participants, camp life, wildlife, and landscapes; 14 colour negative film strips (49 images) depicting scenes from a trail ride in 1995; collected correspondence pertaining to trail rides and administrative work; medical reports from trail rides; and collected riders' lists and related material.
Fonds consists of two sous-fonds: M521 and V75.
M521 consists of four series, 154 cm, ca.1870-2002. Series I: Dorothy Wardle Personal Papers, 69.5 cm, ca.1870-2002 (includes Dorothy's written work and research and notes related to Banff). Series II: Wardle Family, 32.5 cm, 1872-1998 (including cor…
154 cm of textual records. -- 1304 photographs (1190 prints, 95 negatives, 19 transparencies). -- 6 photograph albums.
History / Biographical
The Wardle family was comprised of husband and wife, James Morey Wardle (June 26,1888 - May 18,1971) and Maud Leette (Roney) Wardle (May 24,1889 - December 1,1969), and their one child, Dorothy Hope Wardle (May 23,1919 - July 20,2003).
James Wardle, born in Chiliwack, British Columbia, was a civil engineer and public servant. He was the Superintendent of Banff National Park from 1918-1921, Chief Engineer for Parks Canada from 1921-1935, and Deputy Minister of the Interior from 1935-1936. He is primarily known as a highway design engineer, particularly for building the Banff-Windermere, Banff-Lake Louise, and Banff-Jasper highways. He was a councillor for the Municipality of Rockcliffe Park in Ontario and he was the President of the Trail Riders of the Canadian Rockies in Banff from 1925-1929. Mount Wardle in Vermillion was named after him in 1921. James married Leette on November 4, 1913, with whom he had one child, Dorothy.
Born in Calgary, Alberta, Dorothy (also known as Dot and Dorie) grew up in Banff, Alberta and Ottawa, Ontario, due to her father's position with the federal government. She was educated at the Mountain School in Banff and at the Elmwood School in Ottawa. All three family members were graduates of Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario. James graduated in 1912 with a Bachelor of Science in Engineering, Leette graduated with a Bachelor's degree, and in 1942, Dorothy also earned a Bachelor's degree. Dorothy was prominent in student life and active in athletics. In 1941, Dorothy became the first woman elected as President of the Alma Mater Society and during her academic career, Dorothy was a member of the Levana Intercollegiate Debative, University Centenary Committee, and Queen’s War Aid Commission.
Dorothy spent her career as a freelance writer however, upon graduation she served as the first Secretary-In-Charge of Records at Carleton College (now Carleton University) from 1942-1944 in Ottawa and in the mid-1950s worked as a secretary for the Glenbow Foundation in Calgary. Dorothy pursued a lifelong interest in traveling, art, and antiques. Although she was fiercely proud and protective of Banff and the Park, and remained a volunteer and patron of the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies, Dorothy eventually settled in Sidney, British Columbia and shared an apartment with Sheila Iris Ritchie, with whom Dorothy travelled extensively. After her death in 2003, Dorothy, "Dorie," was laid to rest alongside her parents in the Old Banff Cemetery.
Scope & Content
Fonds consists of two sous-fonds: M521 and V75.
M521 consists of four series, 154 cm, ca.1870-2002. Series I: Dorothy Wardle Personal Papers, 69.5 cm, ca.1870-2002 (includes Dorothy's written work and research and notes related to Banff). Series II: Wardle Family, 32.5 cm, 1872-1998 (including correspondence with Carl Rungius and Mrs. Helen Brett, and Christmas and other greeting cards from Peter and Catharine Whyte). Series III: Queen's University, 7.5 cm, 1911-1980 (including graduation certificates for each family member and records pertaining to Dorothy's participation on the Alma Mater Society). Series IV: Travel, 44.5 cm, ca.1950-1988 (includes hand-written notebooks meticulously detailing their travels).
V75 consists of two series, 79.5 cm, ca. 1912-2001. Series I: Wardle Family, ca. 1912-1971, 6 albums, 31 cm of photograph prints and negatives (including family trips, trail rides in the Canadian Rocky Mountains, and family gatherings). Series II: Dorothy Wardle, 1972-2001, 34 cm of photograph prints, negatives, and transparencies (including Dorothy's travels in Alberta and British Columbia, overseas, and various outings with friends).
Fonds consists of five 16mm film reels with visual content pertaining to skiing in Banff, Lake Louise and Chile.
Films included in fonds:
"Herman Godner and Party ski in Rockies (Old B&W Silent)"
"Banff and Lake Louise Skiing (Silent and Colour) Old Ski- Banff and Lake Louise- Temple, Skoki area"…
Douglas Sinclair was a film producer whose work primarily focused on topics related to Canadian wildlife and landscapes, skiing, national parks, and the Canadian Rockies.
Scope & Content
Fonds consists of five 16mm film reels with visual content pertaining to skiing in Banff, Lake Louise and Chile.
Films included in fonds:
"Herman Godner and Party ski in Rockies (Old B&W Silent)"
"Banff and Lake Louise Skiing (Silent and Colour) Old Ski- Banff and Lake Louise- Temple, Skoki area"
"Skiing in Portillo Chile Sound and Colour Running Time 18 min"
"Ski Material at Grey Rockes Enos at Banff with Merm and Wurtle Twins" (Silent, B&W)
"Let's Go Skiing with Lucile Wheeler at Banff"
Notes
Further information about films provided by donor Dianne Wheeler, available in Douglas Sinclair case file.
Fonds consists of three sous-fonds: M573 / V797 / S60.
M573 consists of three series, 26 cm of textual records, 1924-2005. Series I: Personal Papers, 19 cm, ca.1930-2005 (including notebooks and drafts of various talks that Jean delivered and records related to her participation in the Trail Rider…
26 cm of textual records.-- 109 photographs (42 prints, 67 lantern slides). -- 2 sound recordings.
History / Biographical
Jean Alexandra Hembroff was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba on April 5, 1908 to Walter B. Hembroff (d. 1945) and Sarah Jane Hembroff (d.1952). Jean was accepted to the MacPhail School of Music and Dramatic Art at the University of Minnesota, from which she graduated in 1927. She returned to Winnipeg to begin teaching courses in speech arts and drama. To establish herself, she first volunteered as the "story lady" at the Williams Avenue Public Library and quickly became known as an excellent speaker sought by many different organizations. She taught at St. Mary's Academy and the Evening Institute at the University of Manitoba, as well as offered private sessions. Many of her students used the skills they learned from Jean as they entered radio, television, politics, and business. Jean was also very active in organizing and adjucating Speech Arts festivals in Manitoba, often going to inaccessible places to give workshops. Her teaching, broadcasting, adjucating, coaching, and speaking career spanned more than 50 years.
Jean was hired by the Canadian Pacific Railway's promotions manager to give presentations and broadcast interviews across Canada and the United States. In 1937, Jean joined the Trail Riders of the Canadian Rockies and participated in their summer trail ride in the same year. For that year's issue of the Trail Rider's Bulletin Jean wrote an article - and became the first woman to ever do so. In 1938, during her lecture titled "Trail Riding in the Rockies" on January 18, 1938 at the Royal Alexandra Hotel, Jean met John David (Jack) MacDonald. Jack and Jean were married on June 18, 1938, and the couple had one son, Bruce Walter James MacDonald (August 28, 1946-August 25, 2016).
Jean participated in several trail rides with the Trail Riders of the Canadian Rockies and the Sky Line Trail, and produced articles reflecting her experiences. Jean loved to travel and visited places all around Canada and the United States, Borneo, Tangier, Montevideo, Stockholm, New Delhi, and Tonga. At the age of 102, Jean passed away on February 2, 2011 and is buried in Winnipeg.
Scope & Content
Fonds consists of three sous-fonds: M573 / V797 / S60.
M573 consists of three series, 26 cm of textual records, 1924-2005. Series I: Personal Papers, 19 cm, ca.1930-2005 (including notebooks and drafts of various talks that Jean delivered and records related to her participation in the Trail Riders of the Canadian Rockies and the Sky Line Hikers of the Canadian Rockies, particularly 1937-1939). Series II: Correspondence and Newspaper Clippings, 4 cm, 1924-2000 (including correspondence with John Murray Gibbon, former students, and attendees at various talks, as well as newspaper articles that Jean wrote about various subjects and articles of her achievements). Series III: Collected Materials and Ephemera, 3 cm, ca.1930-1950 (including a variety of collected poems and ephemera, as well as a copy of The Beaver Magazine from 1940, for which Jean wrote an article titled "On the Trail of Sir George").
V797 consists of two series, 24.5 cm of visual records, ca.1928-1939. Series I: Photograph Prints, 3 cm, ca.1928-1939 (includes personal photographs of Jean and her family and friends as well as photographs of Jean and Jack's visit to Lake Louise in 1939). Series II: Lantern Slides, 21.5 cm, ca.1937-1939 (Trail Riders of the Canadian Rockies official ride of 1937 to Mt. Assiniboine; Sky Line Hikers of the Canadian Rockies official ride of 1939 to Ptarmigan Valley and Skoki; collection of trail ride songs).
S60 consists of two sound recordings, 1 cm, 2004 and 2007 (Winnipeg at Christmas, narrated by Jean, broadcasted on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation).
Fonds relate to mountaineering with the Alpine Club of Canada. The fond consists of three series: I. Textual records consist of 8 newsclippings from July 1938 pertaining to the first ascent of Mount Columbia by women: Lillian Gest, Kathleen Chapman, Christine Reid, Jean McDonald, and Jean Petrie as…
1 cm textual records. -- 8 albums (257 photographs : b&w ; 25 x 20 cm or smaller). -- 4 photographs : b&w silver gelatin prints ; 20 x 25 cm or smaller.
History / Biographical
Dr. Jean Knox (McDonald) Petrie, born 1913, was an active member of the Alpine Club of Canada, Edmonton Section during the 1930s and 1940s, attending the Alpine Club of Canada summer camps from 1937-1940, 1942 and 1946 as well as making many weekend climbs in the Jasper area with Captain E. R. Gibson. In 1938 she was one of the four women to make a first ascent of Mount Columbia by women, as well as Mount Forbes in 1940. Married in 1960 to Robert Petrie (died 1966), Dr. Jean Petrie worked in Ottawa, Ontario (1940-1945) in munitions gauge testing for the National Research Council. Following the war, she worked as an astrophysicist for the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory in Victoria, British Columbia (1945-1966) and taught at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, British Columbia. (1966-1971).
Scope & Content
Fonds relate to mountaineering with the Alpine Club of Canada. The fond consists of three series: I. Textual records consist of 8 newsclippings from July 1938 pertaining to the first ascent of Mount Columbia by women: Lillian Gest, Kathleen Chapman, Christine Reid, Jean McDonald, and Jean Petrie as well as a photocopied "Guide to the Tonquin" signed by K. G. Chapman ca.1935. II. Photographic records include an unbound album of 44 pages: 111 prints divided by the donor into 3 sections: 1. To the Tonquin Valley, July 1938; 2. Alpine Club Camp, Columbia Icefields, July 12-31, 1938; 3. Alpine Club Camp Tonquin Valley, April 1939. The album also includes artwork and map. A second unbound photograph album of 28p: 170 prints are divided into 5 sections: 1. ACC camp in the Ice River Valley, July 1939; 2. ACC ski camp in Little Yoho Valley, March 23-31, 1940; 3. Our climb of Roche Miette, May 24, 1940; 4. Our summertime journey into the Little Yoho Valley, July 1940; 5. Our climb of Mts. Fitzwilliam & Bucephelas, September 3, 1940. III. Photographic Prints consist of 4 loose prints unrelated to other contents of the fond.
Notes
Unbound books are numbered in pencil by the creator, pages appear to be missing due to absent page numbers.
Fonds pertains to 3 photograph prints of members of the St. Elias expedition in the Yukon, a large-format black and white print of a mountain range [possibly including St. Elias], 11 typed letters to Wright from W.E. (Smoke) Blanchard dated January-May 1965 discussing the expedition, 2 typed one-pa…
1 cm of textual records (18 pages ; 21.6 x 27.9 cm) ; 4 photographs : b&w and col. ; 29.2 x 21.8 cm or smaller
History / Biographical
Dr. Gerald Wright (1917-2007) grew up in Brecon, South Wales, and studied medicine in Wales and London, England, throughout the 1940s. He served in the British Army in the Royal Army Medical Corps from 1942-1946 in North Africa and Italy.
In 1951 Wright moved to Lethbridge, Alberta, due to its close proximity to the Canadian Rockies, where he maintained a general practice as a member of the Hunt Clinic. He went on to serve as Chief of Medicine at St. Michael's Hospital and the Lethbridge Municipal Hospital until his retirement in 1988.
Shortly after arriving in Canada he became a member of the Alpine Club of Canada and attended many annual camps, often as camp doctor. He also participated in ACC expeditions to Mount St. Elias (1967, unsuccessful), Mount Alberta (1967, successful as part of the Alberta Team), and Mt. Waddington (1969). He also successfully summited Mt. Robson on his third attempt at the mountain. Wright hiked extensively throughout Nepal, Switzerland, South America, and New Zealand in addtion to the Rockies.
He was also a member of the Skyline Trail Hikers of the Canadian Rockies and was a founding member of the Castle-Crown Wilderness Coalition, where he served on the Board of Directors, helping to plan and lead many annual hiking trips.
Scope & Content
Fonds pertains to 3 photograph prints of members of the St. Elias expedition in the Yukon, a large-format black and white print of a mountain range [possibly including St. Elias], 11 typed letters to Wright from W.E. (Smoke) Blanchard dated January-May 1965 discussing the expedition, 2 typed one-page summaries of the attempt on the mountain [one written by Blanchard and includes a hand-drawn map of the area around the mountain], a Xerox copy of a letter written on University of Oregon Medical School letterhead listing the members of the St. Elias party and recommended medical tests to have completed prior to the expedition, a two-page typed list of gear & equipment, and a hand-written list of expedition members and the University of Oregon Medical School doctor and their contact information.
Files consist of summit notes and summit registers from the Alberta Centennial Mountain Expedition 2005 produced by the Alpine Club of Canada between 2005 and 2017. Summit records include entries from visitors to the various summits which pertain to individuals' hiking and climbing trips; details o…
Summit Registers and Notes produced by Alpine Club of Canada
Date Range
2005-2017
Physical Description
25 cm of textual records
12 volumes
History / Biographical
The Alberta Centennial Mountain Expedition 2005 was a way for the Alpine Club of Canada, the Rocky Mountain Ramblers and other climbing groups to celebrate the Centennial of Alberta. These groups climbed various mountains throughout Alberta and placed registers on their peaks for climbers to commemorate their climbs during the centenary period. Various summits were reached including Mount Aylmer, Pigeon Mountain, Mount Niblock and others.
Scope & Content
Files consist of summit notes and summit registers from the Alberta Centennial Mountain Expedition 2005 produced by the Alpine Club of Canada between 2005 and 2017. 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.
Files consist of:
M200 / V / A / 14: Mount. Aylmer 2005
M200 / V / A / 15: 2005 Alberta Centennial Mtn. Expedition Summit Register – Pigeon Mtn., Aug 2005 – July 2006
M200 / V / A / 16: Summit Register + Notes – Big Sister, Aug 2005 – Aug 2007 (AB. Centennial Mtn. Expedition 2005 Register)
M200 / V / A / 17: Sentry Mountain Summit Register 2005 - 2017
M200 / V / A / 18: Mount Niles [summit register] [2005-2017]
M200 / V / A / 19: Alberta Centennial Mtn. Expedition, 2005 Summit Register – MT. Niblock, July 2006 – July 2009
M200 / V / A / 20: 2005 AB. Centennial Mtn. Expedition Middle Sister July 2006 – July 2007
M200 / V / A / 21: 2005 AB. Centennial Mountain Expedition, Yamnuska, 2005 – 2006. Summit Register
M200 / V / A / 22: Summit Register – Crowsnest Mtn., July 2005 – July 2007 2005 AB. Centennial Mtn. Expedition
M200 / V / A / 23: Alberta Centennial Mountain Expedition. [Part 1 of 2].
M200 / V / A / 24: Alberta Centennial Mountain Expedition. [Part 2 of 2].
M200 / V / A / 25: [unidentified Alberta Centennial Mountain Expedition Log]
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