Access & Environment

The ACC Calgary Section has a strong interest in maintaining and preserving our natural mountain environment. Our Access/Environment Committee promotes the viewpoint of the section to outside parties while bringing recent developments and upcoming issues to the attention of section members.

The A&E chair has the enviable task of keeping the club engaged in the larger outdoor community and involvement in various capacities, ranging from trail and belay platform maintenance to participating in the annual stream survey in the Ghost (usually in July).  If you wish to be on this list, please send your contact information along with any specific areas of interest to ae@acccalgary.ca.

TABVAR

TABVAR is the group who is the primary contact for maintenance of climbing areas in the Bow Valley. They provide support to the individual’s who retro-fit routes and create new routes through sponsorship of consumable materials, help publish the information, advocate on behalf of climbers and keep track of what work needs to be completed. If you clip bolts as a sport climber, or use fixed rappel stations often found on any type of route, these guys are doing their best to keep you safe. Check out their webpage at http://www.tabvar.org/

The Calgary Section of the ACC is a long-time sponsor of TABVAR and is hoping to commit more volunteer labor to the completion of projects identified by TABVAR as needing attention.

CASA

Climbers’ Access Society of Alberta (CASA) works on our behalf to secure access to the Ghost Climbing area. They partner with the Sustainable Resource Development (SRD) officials to create sustainable access and are officially the stewards for the track to the Ghost climbing areas.With that stewardship comes maintenance responsibilities and the Calgary section is often called upon to help out. So watch the events calendar for ghostly volunteer opportunities

ACC Calgary Section Carbon Offset Project

The Access & Environment (A&E) Committee values finding ways for ACC Calgary Section members to reduce the environmental impact of their mountain recreation. The ACC Calgary Section has partnered with Savick Inc., an Alberta-based small business that provides GHG quantification services. Savick will determine the carbon footprint of our club by calculating the carbon emissions generated by Board functions and social activities, as well as section-organized camps/reviews. The Calgary Section will purchase carbon credits annually to offset the impact of the club’s activities. Through Savick, we are also providing the ability for members to offset their personal carbon emissions created by their mountain recreation when booking ACC Calgary Section courses and trips. To learn more about how your funds will be used and some FAQs, please see the ACC Climate Action page. For more information about the Calgary Section Carbon Offset Project, please contact ae@acccalgary.ca.

ACC Calgary Section

The Calgary Section has grand plans to become more active organizing community based events. There are many organizations with projects and cash, but those same organizations are short on volunteer labor. The Calgary Section is the single largest organized user of climbers in the Bow Valley (unproven, but with over 1500 individual memberships, it is a pretty safe bet), and with well developed organizational mechanisms (event calendar, e-mail lists & publications), we are well positioned to help.

Contact the A&E chair at ae@acccalgary.ca if you would like to participate.

A&E Updates

Rosetta Stone Acryonyms

AcronymFull Name
ADMActing Deputy Minister
AESRDAlberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development
CASAClimbersu2019 Access Society of Alberta
DAODesignated Administrative Organization
FLUZForest Land Use Zone
GAMPGhost Waiparous Access Management Plan
GSMGGhost Stewardship Monitoring Group
LOCLicense of Occupation
SLSSpray Lake Sawmills
SSRPSouth Saskatchewan Regional Plan
TFATemporary Field Authorization

Booklets

Related Links

And for a few tips on how to reduce your impact in our alpine environments