2014 GMC Underway

2014 Frenchman Cap GMC is underway

The site for the camp was selected last summer, preparations have been going on through the winter and spring and setup of GMC basecamp was completed last week. Camp managers, cooks and guides are in place and as you read this, camp participants are brushing up on their mountain skills, crossing glaciers, summiting peaks and eating big meals back at camp.

Spectacular scenery of the Monashees.

If you’re new to the idea of the ACC’s General Mountaineering Camp (GMC), here’s a primer: the ACC holds it every year in a new location and the tradition goes back to the formation of the Club when the first camp was held on the shores of Lake O’Hara in 1907. Today’s GMCs are helicopter-accessed, with cook tents, outhouses, sleeping tents and all group gear flown in. Five weeks later, the whole show is packed up and the area is returned to pristine mountain wilderness. Thirty participants per week come for the mountaineering, camp camaraderie, scenery, guiding, food and general mountain good times. For some it’s their first experience on glaciers, for others it’s their own tradition with their buddies for 20 years.

Looking down on basecamp.

This is our 107-year summer tradition, our biggest camp, our signature event. There's more details on our GMC page, and if you're not one of the patient types who can wait until next year, there are a few spots remaining on Week 5 (August 10-16).

Thanks to Chucky Gerrard for the photos of set-up week.

Classic mountaineering in the Frenchman Cap area.

Climbing routes from GMC basecamp.

Bluebird days in the Monashees.

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