Mt Assiniboine Park

Celebrates it's 100th birthday

Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park is a place of soaring glacier clad peaks, alpine meadows, powder snow, turquoise lakes and remote wilderness. For generations the area was the center of trade routes. Earlier this month the Assiniboine Lodge crew, along with Chic Scott & BC Parks celebrated its 100th year anniversary.

Interest in mountain places came to Western Canada when the Rockies became accessible by train in 1885. The CPR began building elegant mountain hotels such as the Banff Springs Hotel and Chateau Lake Louise. Assiniboine became prominent when James Outram and his two Swiss guides reached its summit at 11,870 ft. in 1901. A perfect pyramid, Mt. Assiniboine is often called “the Matterhorn of the Rockies.” As James Outram said, “It towers 1500 ft. above its neighbours, commanding attention and admiration.” By 1922, the Assiniboine area was added to the Canadian Provincial Park System.

Assiniboine Lodge is owned by B.C. Parks. After the Strom tenure ended, Sepp and Barb Renner and their family operated the Lodge for 29 years (1983-2010). The Lodge is now operated by Renner’s son, Andre, Claude Duchesne and his wife, Annick Blouin. They also manage the Naiset Huts, all of the camping facilities in the area and the helicopter access.

One of the perks of being the executive director of the BLBCA is getting opportunities to spend time in so many amazing backcountry and alpine environments. I am fortunate to have just spent a week in the Assiniboine area under nearly perfect weather. After hiking in a lengthy but well-maintained and pleasant trail, my climbing partner, Masten and I headed up the Gmoser Ledges to the RC Hind Hut. The next morning brought perfect conditions, we cruised up the many coloured bands of rock that delineate the climbing route on Assiniboine, the red band is definitely my favourite. It was warm, calm and the spectacular views from the summit were unencumbered in all directions. After a leisurely lunch we moseyed down, thanks to BC Parks for all the bolted rappel stations, very convenient. It was an amazing day, a mountain I have always wanted to climb. Thanks to the staff at Assiniboine Lodge, Masten and Mother Nature for their important parts in making this trip so nearly perfect.

Are you interested in climbing or hiking in the Assiniboine area, I encourage you to read our latest blog post.

Take good care.

Brad Harrison
Executive Director, BLBCA
ed@blbca.com

Mountain Bike Tourism Symposium 

Don't Miss It - SilverStar Mountain Resort, Sep 14-16

Participants will gather on the unceded territory of the Syilx Okanagan people who have lived on this beautiful land since time immemorial (click for more information)

The MTB Tourism Symposium is a gathering of creative minds with a vested interest in advancing the future of mountain bike tourism and recreation in BC.

The stated goal of the symposium is to make mountain biking more accessible, more inclusive and more sustainable while delivering key social and economic benefits to our communities and destinations.

Be sure to take this event in, it is well worth the effort.

Experts say the western red cedar in Lynn Headwaters Regional Park is likely more than 1,000 years old

A biologist has found what is possibly one of the widest-ever recorded trees in B.C. Ian Thomas measured a western red cedar in North Vancouver, B.C., to be somewhere between 4.8 to 5.8 metres in diameter. If Thomas's preliminary measurements are correct, the behemoth he found in Lynn Headwaters Regional Park would barely fit inside the cabin of a Boeing 747. Regardless of its exact size, there is no doubt the massive tree is very, very old.

"It came at the end of about a 10-hour bushwhack," Thomas told Gloria Macarenko, host of CBC's On The Coast, on Monday. "I spend a lot of my time studying satellite maps and government data sets — and just slogging through these incredible, threatened ancient forests that we're so lucky to have, some of them, here in B.C."

The tree is on the territories of the Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh nations. The Tsleil-Waututh director of treaty, lands and resources said western red cedars have been used by his people for everything from dugout canoes, clothing and buildings to ceremonial and medicinal uses.

"Everything from the roots to the branches to the trunks," Gabriel George said in a phone interview. "For our people, they're medicine.... The cedar tree is sacred to us." Hearing about the find made his "heart happy," and he hoped it reminds others of the importance of B.C.'s few remaining ancient old-growth forests.

Be sure to check out the Mountain Escapes podcast

Employment Opportunities

Always wanted to work in BC’s beautiful backcountry or a related industry?

You could be in luck! Below is a listing of current positions available at some of the BLBCA’s 32 member lodges or throughout our valued partner network. Please read each appropriate listing and apply via the contact provided.

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#myBCbackcountry | #exploreBC