The Winter Leadership Development Course
Editor’s Note: The ACC’s Leadership Development Course (LDC) is a heavily subsidized course that aims to provide leaders (and potentials) with an opportunity to further develop their skills, available in both a 1.0 and 2.0 format.
Below is Pam Paylor’s write-up of the Winter 2019/2020 LDC 2.0 - an entertaining first-hand experience of the course that features a lot of character!
If you’d like more info on the LDC, or you’re interested in applying, a link is available at the bottom.
Dropping into Fairy Meadow and the LDC
Yes, I am a lucky girl! Are you curious as to why?
I’m still basking in the glow from the week at the Fairy Meadow Hut which sits at 2057m high above the Kinbasket Lake in the Selkirk Mountain Range. Fairy Meadow is accessed by helicopter, so along with 16 other lucky participants, three ACMG guides and one very talented chef, we were flown in to spend a week there, and as it turned out, one additional storm day.
And what exactly is the LDC 2.0 you wonder? Well, the LDC is the The Leadership Development Course, held each summer and winter. Last year I attended the LDC 1.0 at the Lake Louise Hostel, and this year I’ll be attending the LDC 2.0 in Fairy Meadow. The course is the brain child of ACMG guide Cyril Shokoples, developed to advance excellence, offered to aspiring and current trip leaders for all Alpine Club of Canada sections.
“Advance excellence” you say? ACC LDC focuses on developing skills of amateur leaders and discusses their roles and responsibilities to participants, themselves and the ACC. We had thought-provoking conversation around inclusivity, developed our terrain management skills, group pacing, route navigation, all the while maintaining safety from hazards such as cornices, crevasses and avalanches. We practiced rope rescue and short roping, used our tools and checklists to assess snowpack safety, while our guides were ever watchful, resourceful and ever-patient as they allowed us to spread our aspiring leadership wings.
a day in the LDC
A day in my ski boots looked like this:
I would wake up before the sun, to the sound and smell of Chef Chris’ delicious breakfast and the laughter from the earlybird LDC’ers (you know who you are). Everyone had their daily chores: there was weather observations to be done (we received over a meter of snow in the 7+1 days!!), water to be hauled (the watering hole required flexible yoga moves, thus taking care of morning stretching), topo maps to be studied, routes to be planned, dishes to be done, lunches to be made, back packs to be packed, skins to be applied. When all was completed, three separate groups would set out with their guide for an objective.
On one particular day we set out for the Shoestring Glacier, where we set an uptrack that was low angle and gained the moraine safely, breaking through a small cornice to a col. We stopped to dig a pit and looked at snow crystals and analyzed snow density. We remembered seeing an odd-shaped cave earlier, so we went there to explore. Finding the old ice cave left behind from the retreating glacier was a highlight! We set ice screws, ate lunch and then got to the serious work of putting in an uptrack up the glacier, avoiding crevasses.
Do you remember when I mentioned that we received over one meter of snow? Well, visibility deteriorated and whiteout navigation skills had to come out. Of course we were all roped in, and all practiced-up to use the new glacier rope, and yes mom, avoidance of crevasses was the name of the game. We didn’t get a particularly good ski down that time, but we did have good fun when we skied through the glacier cave and made a movie set to Cream’s White Room.
Back on solid ground
Safely back at the hut, we dried out gear, skins and got down to the very serious business of sauna management. ‘Nuff said there. But prior to sauna time, we did spend time each evening reviewing various topics. Each individual guide and participant brought great insight, thought-provoking conversation and learned from each other in an intimate setting.
A round of applause
Fairy Meadow, your venue allowed for reflective discussion, challenging terrain choices and spectacular good-for-the-soul views.
The North Face… your support is so very appreciated, know that we plan to never stop exploring.
Alpine Club of Canada, your continued support and belief in developing aspiring amateur leaders is recognized and a return of time and commitment is promised and happily given.
To our guides, Doug and Erica, we thank you for your professionalism and time.
To Cyril, your brainchild is alive and well. With each song you play, joke you tell, and lesson you teach, the soul of the program is ingrained in the hearts of each participant - each one of us eager to share.
Lessons for life
The ACC's leadership program is our opportunity to give back to the local Sections and volunteer trip leaders who make the ACC's grass roots presence possible. Money left over from other ACC Adventures, and support from The North Face, allows us to run a heavily subsidized week of training for Section leaders in both summer (mountaineering) and winter (backcountry skiing). The courses are open to both current trip leaders looking to develop their skills and also aspiring trip leaders who are looking to increase their leadership confidence before taking out groups.