History of the Club

 

The history of the Club could probably be traced to early 2000s when, with Randy Iwanciwski (kneeling in red jacket), I organized a series of hikes, also called "pilgrimages," to Roche Miette Mountain in Jasper NP. 

 

This was however interrupted in 2002 because of my rock climbing accident. As recovery from this accident took me a few years, it was only in 2005 that I returned, initially quite cautiously, to the mountains again. 

In 2005 I organized another "pilgrimage" to Roche Miette, though having no intention of getting to the top. 

The same repeated itself in 2006 ...

... and 2007. It was Randy Iwanciwski and Rod Sedgwick who, with great pleasure, did carry the burden of the guiding. 

In 2008 my foot got strong enough to allow me to scramble Roche Miette again! The greatest risk of that trip was that Jola Wojcik threatened to kill me:

The difficulty of this route was more than what she was willing to entertain. I am still waiting for "kocówa" (night beating) that she promised me at that time. Luckily, the scares of Roche Miette didn't stop Jola from going to the mountains. 

The same year we did Pyramid Mountain in Jasper with Jola and her Most Exquisite husband, Yanek. These experiences made me to believe that I was "back in business" with the mountains. 

In 2009 I scrambled my first 3000 meters peak - Mt. President in Yoho NP, and also Mt. Temple that to this day is the highest mountain I topped. 

I also "danced" on top of Roche Miette again. 

2009 was also the year of "the Enter of the Dragon." It was the first time Roman Lipiecki (first from the right) participated in a mountain activity. Although initially questioning "where the pleasure (of hiking) was," with his great strength and stamina, he strengthened our team with Jacek Wojno (in the middle), and soon outpaced us. 

In 2010, with Randy Iwanciwski, we organized the best attended trip, until that time, to Hawk Mountain. However, the experience happened to be too stressful for Randy (too many people, the terrain he didn't know), so he pulled the plug on the Club's activities. 

That year, in a much smaller group, we attacked Big Sister near Canmore. It was during that scramble, I believe, in conversation with Witek Kurpiński, that we first coined the name of the club as "Polski Męski Klub Wysokogórski w Edmonton." In Polish language the adjective "męski" can be translated as both "men's" and "manly." So perhaps the best translation of the name should be: "Polish Manly Men's Mountaineering Club of Edmonton." "Mountaineering" was perhaps an overstretch as we were not doing any "expeditions." However, we used to do a lot of scrambling, so "hiking" would not describe the club well either. 

During that scramble to Big Sister, my Dear Friend and Mountain Buddy, Jacek Wojno, broke his leg. It eliminated him from mountain activities for quite some time. 

The name of the Club didn't stand for too long as very soon our activities were joined by some impressive ladies (here, Zenka and Daria Kawecka, on the trip to Eiffel Peak in 2010). 

As especially Zenka's presence was paramount, we soon renamed the Club to "Polish Men's Mountaineering Club of Edmonton (and Zenka Kawecka).":-)

Eventually, with time, more of impressive ladies started to attend the club's activities, so by the time of the camp in Lake O'Hara in 2013, the club was officially renamed as "Polish Men and Women Mountaineering Club of Edmonton." 

2013 witnessed another "Enter of the Dragon." Mike Trzecieski, a last moment replacement to the Lake O'Hara Camp, demonstrated great energy and love of the mountains. He soon became my main mountain companion and landed the title of "Wice-Prezes ds. Sportowych" (Vice-President for Sports Activities). 

With "Mikele" we took the name of the Club to our multiday exploits of the Dolomites (Alta Via 1)(Italy)(2015) ...

... Iceland (Mount Hekla, 2015) ...

... and the Alps (Berliner Hohenweg, Austria, 2017). 

In 2013 we organized our first Photo-Competition, which was won by this picture: 

Also since 2013, we have been publishing official "Plans of Expeditions," offering bi-weekly opportunities for hiking and scrambling to our members. 

In February 2016, I started our blog, initially to create a record for our Alta Via adventure (Dolomites), but also, retrospectively, adding materials from our previous activities. A few authors routinely contribute to this blog, which was visited 43 511 times so far (2021-09-19). 

Another "Dragon," Marek Kucmierz, joined in 2017 by being the only one, besides Roman, who summitted Castle Mountain. 

Ewa Stroemich joined the Club during the same trip. 

Another, prominent "Dragon," Piotr Zielinski, impressed by summitting Cascade Mountain in 2018.

Since that year, we have been more consistent in offering "easier alternatives," such as Spray River Loop, which allows more people to go to the mountains with us. 

 This nicely balances the number of male and female participants in our trips. 

In 2019, while attending the Banff Mountain Film and Book Festival, Tomek Kobielski (second from left), the conqueror of the Crown of the Earth (the highest peaks on all continents), joined our trip to Wind Ridge. Great thanks for Bożena and Jacek Maciaszczyk for arranging this. 

The Club was greatly strengthened when Boris Bokov, very experienced hiker and climber, joined us during the trip to Mt. Nestor in 2020. His energy and knowledge of the mountains had significant impact on shaping 2020 and 2021 seasons. 

It was thanks to Boris that a few members of the club had a chance to experience their first ever ... via ferrata! (2021)

In 2020 we expanded our activities into British Columbia. The "cultish" Mount Loki in Central Kootenay Valley gave me a particular pleasure. 

Toward the end of 2020 season, on Nihahi Ridge, due to ever increasing number of female participants, I recruited my first "angels" (Aniołki Prezesa). They play a very important role by bringing "joy and charm to the mountains," although the list of their duties is quite extensive. 

In 2021 their number grew up to six! This doesn't seem to be the final number. 

The number of our participants has been growing constantly. In 2021 we have had three trips attended by over 20 participants each time. 

With the growing number of strong female hikers, capable of carrying men, there are some voices suggesting that the name of the Club should be changed to "Polski Damsko-Męski Klub" (Polish Women and Men) rather than "Męsko-Damski" (Men and Women). This is still being debated. 

Other activities offered by the Club include kayaking, biking and urban hiking. A few reports from these activities are available on the blog. 

 

I am particularly grateful to Ela Tomczyk, Mike and Andrzej Jędrych for showing initiative in running these events. 

The Club also offers opportunity for other social activities. The examples include:

... the Summer Solstice celebrations so wonderfully organized ...

... by our Dearly Beloved Bosnia ... 

... or the recent birthday of Mikele, which was attended by about 40 people, including ... six fairies! 

For quite some time, many of the Club's activities are documented in films by the professional photographer and movie maker - Andy Rutkowski. Don't miss his YouTube Channel that contains not only films from the Club's activities but many entertaining videos from Andy's numerous trips around the globe. 

What gives me a great joy is that our activities are more and more often attended by ... young people!

 

With Michal, Luka or Marta ... the future of the Club is bright! 

(PR)

P.S. Please, don't mind if your name or picture was omitted in this "History of the Club." I plan to prepare another post entitled "The Men and Women of the Club," in which, hopefully, I will include everybody. 

Also, I very much encourage you to explore our blog with plethora of interesting adventures from the last 20 years!