Browse News By Period: 2014 RSS2014-11-09T07:45:00+0000NEW Discount Deals For “Gripped” and “Rock & Ice”  Magazines ● 40% Discount at Rock & Ice Magazine - the leading Rock/Ice Climbing Magazine in North America. Email Werner for the promotion code. http://www.rockandice.com/  ● 70% Discount at Gripped Magazine  - Canada’s leading Climbing Magazine. Email Werner for the promotion code. (Per Oct.2014: $ 8 for 6 issues instead of $ 25.95) Let me know if you have any comments or problems. http://gripped.com/ It pays to be a member of the BCMC :-) Ciao, Werner Grzimek BCMC Marketing Coordinator

]]>2014-11-09T07:45:00+0000$5 off VIMFF 2014 Fall Series Tickets for British Columbia Mountaineering Club$5 off VIMFF 2014 Fall Series Tickets for British Columbia Mountaineering Club!VIMFF is giving British Columbia Mountaineering Club $5 off the door price ($12 vs. $17) for tickets to all VIMFF 2014 Fall Series shows (November 12-15). Here are the details: Check out the VIMFF 2014 Fall Series Program:www.vimff.org/program/ When you proceed to select your tickets, add them to your shopping cart, and in your shopping cart enter (near the bottom) the Coupon Code VIMFFPARTNERS12BTKF Note that this offer is for a limited quantity of tickets, and expires Wed Nov 12 @ noon, and does not apply to multi-show passes ... Read more

]]>2014-11-09T07:28:00+0000Thank you to all members who gave their feedback in the BCMC Huts Survey, the results are now in! More than 300 people participated, the average person spending more than thirty days in the backcountry each year, including 74% who use huts on a yearly basis. The most important factoid for the BCMC going forward is the 79% support for the construction of more huts by the BCMC. Read more about specific support figures for huts in various locations, including the tenure held at Watersprite and the Spearhead Huts Project.

]]>2014-10-10T19:39:00+0000All Members: If you organize 4 trips in a year, you qualify for a 40 % pro-discount at 300+ outdoor brands! All members can now post trips! Get 40% PRO discount at over 300 outdoor brands when you organize(d) 4 trips during 12 months. Check out our PRO Discounts hereand apply for your ‘PRO CARD’.   2. Not an Expert Hiker-Climber-Skier? No Problem: Start organizing an easy trip – limit participants to 3, 4. Go to: •Grouse Grind •Gym Trips!! •Basic Top Roping in Squamish •A Bike Trip or anything after work - include a visit to a pub?  •Hike/Ski Paul Ridge •A short Hike/Ski around Mt. Seymour • Hike (ride-up to) Grouse Mountain and Dam Mountain– have a good time at the pub.   3. The BCMC welcomes very much easy hiking, scrambling and climbing trips. Many (most?) members are in the beginner-moderate group – Just like you?   You are NOT supposed to be a Guide! – You are an Organizer! All trips will be reviewed  by a member of the climbing comittee before they are published at the trip calendar.   If you enjoy going on trips – please  also post trips! Organize 4 trips a year and save 40% on your gear!   4. Discounted Brands are: (just to name a few of over 300) •Gold Star Shoe Rebuilders 15% •Mountain Smith-Camp Gear 40% •Gregory Packs 40% •National Geographic 25% •Intuition Liners 25% •Nikwax 40% •Loki-Apparel 30% •Scarpa 40% •La Sportiva 40% •Icebreaker 40% •Big Agnes 40% •Sierra Designs 40% •BCA 35% •Kelty 40% •Delorme 25% •Magellan 40% •Leki 45% •Zamberlan 35%• 1st Degree •Millet 45% •Adidas 25% •Timex 45% •Sony 30% •Bushnell 55% •Timbuk2 40% •Oasics 40% •Helly Hansen 50% …plus 280 more.... Read more

]]>2014-06-05T05:50:00+0000Every BCMC member now has the ability to post trips for the official Trip List, which can be done here if you're logged in. If there's a trip you wish was on the schedule but isn't, help the club out by posting it and help fulfill the high demand for club trips. By posting trips for the coming months, it helps you commit to the trips you want to do as well as helps other members have a chance to plan to sign up as well. Take a look at the past trip list for ideas and destinations, other resources for ideas include Bivouac and clubtread.com for trip reports. If each member who participates in club trips posts at least one trip a year, we'll never have a shortage of trips for our eager new members. :) Another role we're actively looking for is volunteer instructors for summer courses, we've got an eager coordinator, Carson, who's looking to organize lots of clinics and courses this summer if he has enough experienced volunteer instructors to help out: climbing, navigation, mountaineering, basic trip organization, mentorship, and more. If you're interested in helping out, please contact Carson at bcmc.courses@gmail.com. With your help, this will be the best year yet for the BCMC!

]]>2014-05-06T06:34:00+0000From April 23, 2014, Ravil reports from 5800m: Today is my first rest day on the mountain. It’s also the first time I had a chance to take a bath in a public bath tent.  I have time for more stories now. The tragic accident that happened on the Everest South side so far hasn’t directly affected the climbing season here in Tibet, on the North side of Mt. Everest. Our sherpas are on duty. I am working according to the acclimatization plan. Yesterday I went to the Intermediate Camp at 5,800 m. to carry some loads. The camp was located on the glacier moraine. The trail was a moderate rocky trail with some icy sections. Everything was OK, though one piece of equipment failed to work. It happened about 100 m. below the camp. I was just making another step up, putting some weight on my left Black Diamond pole for support, when suddenly the pole collapsed and I fell  down on my left arm, hitting the rock with all my weight. The pain was so sharp that my first thought was: ‘Will I still be able to climb Everest with the broken arm?’ I examined my arm, it functioned, I was able to move my fingers. I was all right, just got a few bloody scratches. Three layers of clothes I had on me has softened the impact. That was not not the first time the Black Diamond poles were broken while I was climbing/hiking. Last time it happened a couple of years ago while I was crossing the river after climbing Mt. Baker. I applied my weight on the poles to jump to another rock, and one pole got broken. It wasn’t pleasant to fall into the river with a heavy backpack. I stayed with the brand, just bought a “heavy duty” Expedition Poles for Everest expedition. Enough is enough, no BD poles anymore. I wish I have with me my reliable Volki poles that I bought for two bucks on a garage sale. They served me well for about 100 vertical kilometers of hiking (mostly on Grouse mountain trails). They are one section poles, I wasn’t able to take them on the plane. Other than that small equipment failure ... Read more

]]>2014-04-25T23:45:00+0000Upper Lillooet road and power project construction update (as of 25 April, 2014)   ·         Lillooet River Forest Service Road is driveable ·         to Truckwash Creek (43 km) ·         Construction activities off  Pebble Creek ·         Mainline Road (38 km) ·         Construction activities currently underway at ·         Boulder Creek HEF Powerhouse (38.5 km) ·         Clearing activities along Athel Mainline Road ·         (39.5 km) ·         Construction activities commencing April 28th ·         at Upper Lillooet River HEF Powerhouse ( 42 ·         km) ·         Equipment will continue to be transported ·         from the Pemberton Yard to the Project site... Read more

]]>2014-04-25T23:42:00+0000This Spring’s club night will take place:                                                                                                                                     At  the MEC Vancouver store location,  130 West Broadway On Tuesday May 6, from 7:00pm until 9:00pm. Sign up on the trip list here.  Members will receive 10% off of all regularly priced items purchased that evening – including bikes and boats!  All items must be in stock and purchased through the tills that  evening in order to be eligible for the discount.  The discount cannot be offered on items that are purchased online, or on out of stock items. The discount also does not extend to  items that are on clearance or are part of a packaged discount.  Rentals Desk, Bike Shop, and Member Services Desk will be closed during the event, so returns and exchanges cannot be processed. Club members can put items on hold up to 48 hours before the event, and they must be picked up by 7 pm.  Items that have been purchased before the event cannot be returned and re-purchased at the discounted rate.  All participants must be members of Mountain Equipment Co-op in order to make a purchase.  If you are not yet a member, you are welcomed to sign up and purchase a membership ($5.00) that evening. Happy shopping!!

]]>2014-04-09T23:57:00+0000Health benefits of non-motorized outdoor recreation (Report summarised by Michael Feller)   Our Federation of Mountain Clubs of B.C. (FMCBC) obtained funding, primarily from MEC, to have researchers at SFU conduct a review of the health benefits of non-motorized outdoor recreation as well as assess the participation rates and the economic contribution of these forms of recreation in B.C. This was necessary to counter the arguments of the motorized crowd that motorized outdoor recreation was of greater social and economic importance in B.C. The SFU reports were released in March, 2014 and will soon be on the FMCBC website. They make for very interesting and worthwhile reading. Below is a summary of the findings on the health benefits of some of our forms of recreation. The full report - “Health benefits of non-motorized outdoor recreation: a summary of published findings” - is by Stephen Kux and Wolfgang Haider of the SFU School of Resource and Environmental Management. There have been many studies covering a range of activities that have been linked with benefits to physical health, but the SFU report focuses on three activities - hiking, rock climbing, and alpine skiing. These activities may not necessarily be the activities with the largest health benefits, but so far they happen to have received the most attention.    Hiking has been studied most extensively compared with other outdoor recreation activities and has been linked to health benefits such as:  - a 50% reduction in the risk of coronary artery disease  - improved heart function;  - improved insulin sensitivity;  - accumulation of lean body mass; - reduced heart rate and blood pressure;  - increased production of naturally generated stem cells in the blood;  - reductions in blood-bound “bad cholesterol” (low-density lipoproteins);  - improvements in the perceived health of participants. Interestingly, hiking at higher elevations, even elevations around 1700 – 2000m, has been shown to have ... Read more

]]>2014-04-05T18:41:00+0000Thanks to Paul Cikatricis, Alan Trick, and Jeff Han we now have the capability on the website for members to print their own membership card.     This membership card will provide a formal way for you to claim the many discounts available exclusively to BCMC members.   To do so: 1. Login to the BCMC website 2. Click the “My Account” button in the top right 3. Click the link “Print Membership Card” near the top left This opens a web browser page with your membership card displayed. The photo attached shows what looks like and can then be printed or displayed on a smart phone device.   It can also be accessed directly at https://bcmc.ca/membership_card.php if you are logged in.... Read more

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