EXECUTIVE CORNER

CORE AGM and the New Executive for 2017-2018

CORE successfully held our AGM on May 30. We enjoyed a great slide show of highlights from the 2016-2017 year events, anointed a new bearer for the Chicken Mountain Award (Geoff Chidell will carry this honour for the coming year), partook of a fine spread of food and refreshments, and of course elected our new Executive which will steer us through the 2017-2018 year. The next Executive list is as below:

Chairperson – Julia Trangeled,  Co-Chairperson  – Jeanette Nelder, Secretary – Mary Macieyowski,    Treasurer – Craig Morris, Membership Coordinator – Mindy Woolcott, Executive Trip Coordinator – OPEN, Communications Coordinator (newsletter) – Pat Ranger, Presentations Coordinator – Carol Miyagawa, Webmaster – Stu Cox, Member-at-Large – Mietka Zieba

WANTED – One Executive Trip Coordinator

You may notice that we have one position unfilled, that of Executive Trip Coordinator. This is the person who mentors event leaders, monitors trip-related safety, collects the event leader trip reports and enters pertinent information into the trip report database. We have had someone in this position since CORE’s inception – it is a critical role, so please, if you have an interest in filling this position for the coming year, or if you can suggest someone whom we can approach, contact our new Chairperson Julia.

Membership Renewal

If you were a member for the 2016-2017 year, and haven’t renewed your membership yet but intend to do so, please download and complete your membership form, then mail the form and dues in to CORE (address on form) as soon as possible. As of June 15, ONLY paid up members will receive calendar event email alerts. Note that the membership forms can be downloaded from the Membership Application Page

The CORE members password will change on June 20, and if you are not a current paid-up member, you will no longer be able to access the CORE Events Calendar.

Attach your Membership Card to your Backpack

As hike leaders, we get to know a lot of the regular attendees of hikes and other outings. But new activity leaders may not know everybody, and members who don’t come out very often may not be known to the activity leader. If you don’t have your membership card with you, then you may be asked to sign a guest waiver.

Trip Reports

Event leaders, since we don’t have an Executive Trip Coordinator appointed yet, pleasescan and email your trip reports to mailbox@corehike.org , or hand them to a member of the CORE executive at a CORE month-end meeting.

ACTIVITY SCOREBOARD

April/May 2017

Summer is almost here, and many of our members have already participated in some great hikes, urban walks, tennis and bicycling trips.

Here are a few highlights. Please visit the CORE photo albums for more pictures from recent activities:

…………………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………………

June 2017 Club Meeting

The June club members meeting will be held at the Scarboro Community Centre Tuesday June 27, 2017, 7:00 PM . 

Presentation:Central America Birds and Adventures

CORE members Cathie Newsome and John Hitt have made a number of trips to Central America in recent years. At our June meeting, Cathie will talk about their trips to Belize and Panama, with an emphasis on the beautiful birds they saw and the stories they’d like to share about their adventures. Belize is located in Central America and it is bordered to the north by Mexico, to the south and west by Guatemala and to the east by the Caribbean Sea. Panama is a country on the isthmus linking Central and South America. Please join us at the June monthly meeting for a tropical adventure that you won’t want to miss!

.

.

Friends of Kananaskis Country – Trails Fest

The Friends of Kananaskis Trails Fest took place at the  Canmore Nordic Centre June 11. Trails Fest is an opportunity to engage in a fun day of all things trails related, to learn about cool trail projects, explore diverse trail related clubs, groups and associations, and take part in facilitated trail activities,  workshops and presentations. Several members of CORE went out to show off our club, and take part in the bear awareness and Compass/map reading workshops. A great success. We’ll certainly plan to attend this show again next year.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Canada Day Long Weekend in Kimberley

Plans are fully formed now for a group of CORE members on the Canada Day long weekend, Fri. June 30 to Mon. July 3 (3 nights) for a weekend of hiking and fun in Kimberley, BC, including a big Canada Day potluck dinner on Sat. July 1st to celebrate this special 150th birthday. Julia is has done all the legwork in coordinating this adventure. Trip coordinators for hikes on Saturday and Sunday (different levels) will be posted on the CORE Event Calendar.

Labor Day Long Weekend in Waterton

Join us on the Labour day long weekend Fri Sept. 1 to Mon. Sept. 4 (3 nights) for a weekend of hiking and fun in beautiful Waterton Park, including a potluck dinner on Saturday.  Anne-Marie is coordinating this CORE adventure.
We will stay at the Bear Mountain motel, a familiar place and long time favorite of CORE members over the years. As the best cost/ quality motel accommodation in Waterton park, this place will get booked rapidly. They open for business on May 12, and everyone interested is encouraged to book a room ASAP. A deposit in the amount of the first night will be charged on your credit card, but cancellations can be made up to 48 hours prior to the first night for a full refund. The phone number for the Bear Mountain motel is 403-859-2366, and you can also book on-line. Their website is www.bearmountainmotel.com

Additional information on accommodation and planned excursions are posted on the CORE Event Calendar.

Please contact Anne-Marie once you have booked your accommodation. She can also assist you with car pooling and room sharing. Anne-Marie’s contact info is on the CORE members calendar.

Car Pooling

The guidelines related to carpooling for CORE club events are posted on the CORE website at https://corehike.org/?page_id=192 . Please remember that our guidelines state:

The guideline is to contribute $0.20 per kilometer multiplied by two times the distance, from the meeting place to the trailhead, divided by the number of people and pets in the car.

Car pool participants should also try to maximize the number of people per vehicle. For instance, if there there are 10 people, try for a 3 + 3 + 4 mix, not a 4 + 4 + 2 mix.

When participating in joint events with other clubs that use a different formula, just use your judgement and try to be fair to both driver and passengers. At the end of the day, it works out pretty much to the same amount.

Carpool Locations

We’ve found lately that the Edworthy Park location is often very busy on the weekends, so if you are headed out to Banff or Kananaskis, use the Home Road or Valley Ridge Sports Field locations.

First Aid Kits

Preparation—Every participant’s safety is their own responsibility: Carry your own first aid kit with things (like medications) that you regularly count on or may need. It’s not a coordinator’s responsibility to provide either first aid kit or expertise.

You can find some further information an things you might consider putting in your pack on the Wilderness Emergencies blog on the CORE website. Also refer to the CORE website Clothing and Equipment page for tips on first aid essentials to carry in you pack.

Bear Essentials

Parks Canada officials endorse the human voice and bear spray over bear bangers and bells.

According to Jon Stuart-Smith, acting Human Wildlife Conflict Specialist with Parks Canada, in an interview with CTV News Calgary:

We recommend bear spray and we don’t recommend things like flares, pen flares, or bear bangers and we don’t recommend things like bear bells. Bear spray has been proven scientifically to be effective and those other things are not necessarily going to be effective.

Stuart-Smith says bear bangers, which are small explosives, carry the potential for injury or escalating an encounter. “If a bear is close to you and you shoot off a bear banger that explodes behind that bear, that might force the bear towards you and make the situation more dangerous. It could make the bear more aggressive because it’s now scared of the noise.”

The flaw with bear bells is their sound means little to a bear. “They just don’t make enough noise and they don’t make a bear aware that you’re human. A little tinkling noise doesn’t necessarily tell a bear that there’s a person nearby.”

To prevent a negative encounter with a bear, Stuart-Smith recommends:

• Making noise when travelling on a trail
• Hiking in groups
• Making sure that dogs are on a leash at all times
• Not leaving any food unattended at campsites

Name that Flower Contest

At our July 25 monthly CORE meeting, Julie Walker of Full Circle Adventures will be giving a presentation about our local wildflowers. To help us gain a little familiarity with the topic, let’s have a little contest and see who can name the most flowers that we see out on the trails. When you are out hiking, take some photos of interesting flowers, title them with the name of the flower (common name is fine, scientific name optional), where you saw it, and your initials. Then post it to the CORE photo album for that hike. There is no prize promised (yet), but the winner will receive the admiration and adulation of their fellow club members. For the full set of contest rules, please see the newsletter supplement Name that Flower posted on the CORE website.

Slo-pitch Softball Anyone?

CORE member Pat is looking for interested parties to join her for slo-pitch softball. This is a mixed league, so both men and women are welcome. Anyone who would like to try slo-pitch should email Pat at – Plranger.ranger557@gmail.com

.

For those interested but unfamiliar with slo-pitch, it is a form of softball with slightly different rules. Primary characteristics are under-arm pitching (hence slo-pitch) and no bunting. Here is a link to slo-pitch rules .

.

The Ascent of Ha Ling

It was winter – well actually it was the 11^th of June – but the snow in the parking lot told a different story. Eleven staunch CORE members had assembled – not to play soccer or cricket but to climb Ha Ling – in the snow. Some of us didn’t want to go – said it would be too cold, too much snow and so on, but Harvey was determined – and so we went – along with at least a few hundred other lost souls who had somehow filled the parking lot and basically shamed us into following! Several of us had never done it before and somehow found pleasure in the unremitting steepness near the summit – the rest of us plodded on through slush and snow and mud. A cold wind blew – and suddenly we were there – on top of the world as far as we could see! We raised our arms to the mountain gods and Harvey took a picture for posterity – but mostly to qualify us for the Georgetown’s Triple Crown Challenge. Now only two more hikes like that. There must be an easier way to get a beer mug!

This report was compiled by your correspondent who is now fully recovered thanks to a large trial run with a Georgetown mug afterwards (which I had to give back).  MG.

What is the Triple Crown?

The Triple Crown of Canmore Challenge is sponsored by the Georgetown Inn in Canmore and involves hiking up Ha Ling Peak, Lady McDonald as far as the tea house and the East End of Rundle. To conquer the challenge, hikers need to take on each of the three trails over the summer, get a photo at each summit, and post those photos to The Georgetown Inn’s Facebook page. Once the photos are posted, stop in at The Georgetown Inn in Canmore and check in with one of the staff members to claim your prize. Conquerors win a beer mug that gets you discounts on refills at The Georgetown and will have their name added to The Triple Crown of Canmore Glory Board, located on the Georgetown’s website.

CORE members Harv, David, Edna, Laurie and Julia Tsang have all signed up to do the Triple Crown. For each peak, Harv has to post photos on the Georgetown Inn Facebook Page to prove that those four people completed the peak. After they do all three peaks, they go to the Georgetown Inn where they will be awarded a free beer mug. Good luck and safe climbing, CORE Triple Crown challengers!

Random Stuff

A History of 25 Classic Climbs in the Canadian Rockies
by Brandon Pullan

A book recommended by Pat (and she doesn’t even fancy dangling from ropes).

Over the past 100 years, climbers have been pushing standards in the Canadian Rockies. From long alpine ridges to steep north faces, the Rockies are synonymous with cutting-edge ascents. Peaks such as Robson, Chephren, Kitchener, the Twins and Alberta elude the many and reward the few. Many of the big faces were climbed between the 1960s and 1990, the golden age of alpinism in the Rockies. The men and women who first were part of that set high standards.

You can find a complete review of this book on this Rock and Ice Climbers Magazine article. The book is available at various online bookstores, as well as the Public Library.

……………………………………..

Goodbye from ANnIE

This will be the last newsletter posted by ANnIE, as she has to return to her pack. But she will be keeping an eye on us from deep in the woods. Pat and Carol will be taking over the newsletter for the coming year, so you happy readers of our missive will be treated to some new and interesting content.

See you on the the trails…

ANnIE