History of the FMCBC

The FMCBC has a rich history of advocacy, education and leadership on behalf of British Columbia’s outdoor recreation community. Explore an overview of our history below or take a deeper look by reading through past issues of Cloudburst, our semi-annual publication that showcases all the challenges, successes and fun our organization and members have experienced over the past decades.

View a catalogue of FMCBC historical materials available at the University of British Columbia Archives. Contact UCB Archives to scan and mail/email a copy of a file – there is a charge for mail service.

To view these FMCBC historical documents in full, please visit the UBC Archives Building.

1962

The FMCBC was originally formed as the Mountain Access Society. The founding clubs were:

  • Alpine Club of Canada – Vancouver
  • BC Mountaineering Club – Vancouver
  • North Shore Hikers – Vancouver
  • SFU Outdoor Club – Burnaby
  • Vancouver Natural History Association – Vancouver
  • Varsity Outdoor Club of UBC – Vancouver

1972

The Mountain Access Society formally incorporated as the Federation of Mountain Clubs of BC. The newly formed FMCBC held a major conference at UBC on access to the backcountry.

1980s

The FMCBC initiated the Adopt-A-Trail program for trail maintenance. The FMCBC received thousands of dollars of government grants in the late 1980s and early 1990s to do trail maintenance. The FMCBC wrote a trail maintenance guide and started the TBAM program (Trail Building and Maintenance).

1982

Canada West Mountain School (CWMS) was started by the FMCBC to provide high-quality backcountry courses to its members using highly trained guides. CWMS ran Avalanche Rescue courses for Provincial Emergency Program (PEP) Search and Rescue groups under contract with the Justice Institute of B.C., and coordinated the Native Leadership program. The FMCBC published a six-volume set of mountain travel pocket guidebooks which was used by CWMS and other organisations.

CWMS is no longer owned by the FMCBC but it continues to provide many guiding and instructional services .

1987

Assisted local clubs to raise funds to buy and now hold 27 parcels of land near the Smoke Bluffs rock climbing area to prevent further housing developments which would have restricted access to this very popular area. The FMCBC continues to hold the land in trust for the benefit of the climbing community.

2012

In 2012, the FMCBC began a grant program to support projects initiated by our member clubs. Unless specified otherwise, all donations to the FMCBC now go directly into the Member Club Grant fund, providing a great way for organizations and individuals to give back to our trails and the outdoor recreation community.

2018

FMCBC revised its bylaws to include a much smaller Board of Directors, allowing the FMCBC to move its agenda forward more smoothly and react more quickly to the changes that are occurring in BC’s backcountry.