MOUNTAIN LIFE - Coast Mountains | Fall Winter 2018

with a kitchen, lounge/library and washrooms, built to the most stringent environmental standards inside Garibaldi Park along a classic alpine touring route. It was a daunting task, full of bureaucratic hoops and challenges, but with the spirits and support involved, it was only a matter of time. “It’s been exciting,” says Jayson Faulkner, head of the Spearhead Huts Foundation. “I’ve never been involved with a group of volunteers so dedicated and willing to put so much of themselves into it. There were big winds pushing against us at times. But all those people who were behind the vision—hundreds of volunteers working on the construction, the organizers, the people who gave money—I think they will be really proud to be a part of this legacy of those lost and loved. That legacy will continue to bring smiles and experiences, sometimes life-changing experiences, to people for the next hundred years.” “It’s definitely overwhelming,” Paul Dixon says as the project nears completion. “And I think a very incredible special memory of Kees and Claire. It really all stems back to their friends, for keeping at it even when it didn’t always look like it could happen.” The mountains give and take, but the lost live forever in the stories we tell. Part of the magic of the Kees and Claire Hut is not just how it will tell the story of two true mountain spirits, but how it will allow so many others to more safely craft stories of their own. THE KEES BRENNINKMEYER FOUNDATION While training to be a mountain guide, Kees Brenninkmeyer injured his knee skiing in Alaska. Like a champ, he was able to power through and finish his guiding season but his knee deteriorated to the point where reconstructive surgery was needed. Kees elected to go to the Steadman Clinic in Colorado due to their outstanding reputation and results. After a successful rehabilitation Kees was able to return to full participation in his career. But he had a new perspective. “We are very fortunate to have parents who were able to help him out financially,” says Kees’ sister Julie Brenninkmeyer. “We have a letter he wrote to my dad about how thankful he was and how some of his friends on the same career path didn’t have the same opportunities if they became injured.” After Kees passed, his family established an international foundation to assist people in the ski and mountaineering guiding industry with grants to help cover surgery and rehabilitation costs. “I’ve known many international guides who have benefited from the Kees Brenninkmeyer Foundation,” says Laurie Block, a close friend of Kees and Claire. “As a physio and now a future ACMG ski guide, the value of this resource is difficult to convey. It has impacted people’s lives profoundly, mountain professionals from around the world have benefited from the foundation. It’s a true legacy to both Kees and Claire.” keesbfoundation.org “It’s definitely overwhelming and I think a very incredible special memory of Kees and Claire. It really all stems back to their friends, for keeping at it even when it didn’t always look like it could happen.” –Paul Dixon COMMUNITY SPIRITS The Spearhead Huts will also celebrate the spirit of Eduardo Campos, a Chilean-born Vancouver adventurer who considered the Spearhead traverse one of the greatest adventures of his life. And Barbara McGeough, a passionate adventurer who passed away in 2016. Barbara’s family is raising money to furnish the Kees and Claire Hut with all the fittings of a kitchen Barbara would be proud of. So put your boil-a- bag meals back on the shelf and bring some real ingredients, Barbara’s kitchen is waiting. LEFT Hut construction was delayed in the summer of 2018 when every helicopter in BC was called on to battle forest fires. RIGHT Rendering of the finished hut in all its winter glory. SPEARHEAD HUTS COMMITTEE