Category Archives: Special Event
The ACC Presents Fred Beckey
February 26, 2013
The Mountaineer Scouts were guests of the Alpine Club of Canada, Vancouver Section, at their monthly social on Tuesday night. The special guest speaker was the legendary Fred Beckey. Fred captivated the audience during a two hour slide and film retrospective of his over 70 years of climbing in North America. Fred turned 90 a few weeks ago. He says he’s on his way to Red Rocks, Nevada, for some rock climbing this spring and has plans for another trip to the Bugaboos this summer.
Here’s the ACC’s write up of him for this event:
“Fred Beckey will present highlights from his climbing adventures and first ascents. If you look in guide books for Mt. McKinley, Mt. Hunter, Mt. Deborah, Mt. Waddington, The Canadian Rockies, The Bugaboos, The Cascade Range, Sierra Nevada, Wind River Range, Desert Tower, Squamish, Mexico (etc, etc…) chances are you’ll see Fred Beckey listed, often as the first person to ascend a particular mountain or route. It’s also likely he’s written the book. Whether you are a mountaineer or a rock climber, Fred’s got something to say of interest to you. And if you’re going climbing, there’s a good chance he’ll hitch a ride to the crag, the mountain or the ice. On January 14th, at least according to a couple of websites, he turned 90. Come out and wish him a belated Happy Birthday!”
Note: Fred mentioned that he was first introduced to the mountains as a Boy Scout (that would have been during the 1930s).
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It was a late night for the Scouts but this was a once-in-a-lifetime chance to meet a living legend:
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2012 Remembrance Day Parade & Ceremony
Click on any picture below to start the full-screen carousel view with captions:
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CFB Comox – Base Tour & Change of Command Ceremony
August 8 & 9, 2012
On August 8th, our group was invited for a private tour of Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Comox.
On August 9th we were again guests of CFB Comox for the Change of Command Ceremony for 407 Long Range Patrol (“Demon”) Squadron (Canada’s top anti-submarine warfare squadron):
http://www.rcaf-arc.forces.gc.ca/19w-19e/sqns-escs/page-eng.asp?id=522
During the tour, we spent over an hour inside a CP-140 Aurora (there are no photos from most of the tour itself due
to security restrictions – photography is forbidden on the flight line):
http://www.rcaf-arc.forces.gc.ca/v2/equip/cp140/index-eng.asp
Also stationed at CFB Comox is 442 Search & Rescue Squadron:
http://www.rcaf-arc.forces.gc.ca/19w-19e/sqns-escs/page-eng.asp?id=559
Here are some of the highlights of this special event:
Note: click on a picture to begin a full screen carousel slide show with captions.
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Aug. 7-9: CFB Comox – Base Tour & Change of Command Parade
407 Long Range Squadron “Change of Command” Ceremony, CFB Comox, 2010.
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Incoming Commanding Officer, Lieutenant-Colonel David Robinson, on the right.
A very special event for our group has just been approved by the Commander of Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Comox.
On the morning of August 9 there will be a “Change of Command” parade for the Commanding Officer of the 407 Long Range Patrol Squadron (Canada’s top anti-submarine warfare squadron during the cold war – now tasked with coastal monitoring).
We have been invited to attend this ceremony on the base (full dress uniform guys).
The current Commanding Officer of the 407 Long Range Patrol Squadron, Lieutenant-Colonel David Robinson, has also just obtained authorization for us to enter the base on the morning of August 8 for a private tour!
The Squadron Commander described the following as being possible during this tour:
“Depending on how much time you have available the scouts could look at my sqn, the Search and Rescue Sqn, the SAR Tech School, the Sea Survival School and maybe the Sea Cadet Camp. The parachute simulator may be back in operation by the end of the month so that is something else they could try.”
This could take all day to do. This is a functioning search and rescue facility and our ability to have access to all parts will be dependent on circumstances (they may get “call outs” while we are there just like North Shore Rescue) but our group has been given authorization to access pretty much the whole base!
I have booked a double campsite at the nearby Miracle Beach Provincial Park campground for our group for the nights of August 7th and 8th. We can take the ferry over to the Island on the 7th; camp that night and tour the base the next day on the 8th; camp the second night and attend the Change of Command parade the following morning on the 9th; and return home that afternoon or evening. There will almost certainly be time for some swimming and relaxing around the camp and wandering through the town.
Scouts Simon and Finn and Scouter Alan and I will be attending.
So……..who else is in?
Please RSVP at your earliest opportunity.
Our Tour of North Shore Rescue’s Operations Centre
What a special treat. Thanks to Connie DeBoer of North Shore Rescue for arranging for the Scouts to have a special tour of North Shore Rescue’s Operations Centre tonight! The Scouts enjoyed the special honour of being allowed into “The Embassy” (NSR’s command centre). After the tour we were scheduled to stay and watch the team during a triage and stretcher rescue training session. Unfortunately for us, however, the tour was cut short when the team received a “call out”. No practice tonight! Time for the real thing! Everyone there, including Connie (a team member herself) had to respond to the rescue call and so we had to get out of the team’s way and let them do their job.
Thanks again, Connie, and all the other team members for giving the Scouts a really special experience tonight!
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Remembrance Day
November 11, 2011
West Vancouver Remembrance Day Ceremony:
Note: Click on a picture to start a full screen carousel slide show with captions.
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September 17, 2011: PCC Group Leadership Conference
The Pacific Coast Council (PCC) (Scouts Canada’s local governing body) held its 2011 Group Leadership Conference at the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts in Burnaby all day today.
Scouter Ralph from the 18th Seymour has come up with a fantastic way to celebrate the 40th anniversary of The Baden-Powell Trail (built by scouts across the north shore and completed in 1971 – I remember working on the construction of the trail when I was a young cub and scout).
Scouter Ralph has created Baden-Powell Trail Challenge. He has broken the trail down into 4 segments. For each section of the trail that we hike in October, we get one piece of a crest that has been broken into 5 segments. When all 4 parts of the trail are hiked, a central diamond-shaped crest will be issued . The 4 semi-circular segments will form a donut shape with the diamond crest filling the middle (shown here and below). The completed crest will be huge: 7 inches! This will look pretty sharp on a campfire blanket.
Let’s see if we can hike the entire trail next month. We can do it all at once (it would take about 3 days) or we can do one section one day each weekend and get all four sections done by the end of the month. Let’s talk about this at our next meeting.
September 10, 2011: North Shore Candlelight Tribute
Scouter Jody and Scout Simon attend the annual North Shore Candlelight Tribute in honour of veterans. North Vancouver Cemetery.
Proud to be a part of such a moving tribute.
Scout Simon escorts a veteran to the grave of a fallen soldier and sets down a tribute candle.
Scout Simon and veteran salute the grave of a fallen soldier.
Scouter Jody
1st Mountaineers 