Training Mountain Troops in the Canadian Rockies

Rex Gibson

AT the urgent request of the editor I am addressing myself for the third time to the task of writing an account of a most interesting military experiment, namely, the training of the Lovat Scouts of the British Army in the technique of travel and fighting among high mountains. I was assigned the duty of compiling the official report, which is on file in Ottawa, and also wrote a lengthy article for the Journal of the Alpine Club of Canada. It is therefore my intention in this paper to write a more concise account of these operations.

When the global aspect of this war became apparent, it was obvious that some at least of the campaigns would have to be fought among high mountains, and keen mountaineers in the U. S. A., Great Britain and Canada soon realized that the armed forces of the Allied Nations were almost totally unprepared for such a type of warfare. It was largely due to the initiative and drive of this small body of experienced mountaineers that official lack of knowledge and indifference in high quarters was overcome, and that plans were made for training specially selected troops to operate and fight in high mountain country.

If we consider how well prepared our enemies were with a number of highly trained divisions of mountain troops—Jaegers, Alpini, Bersaglieri and others—it is not to be wondered at that the allied armies suffered a number of serious defeats in mountainous terrain, where their infantry were pitted against mountain troops. The disastrous campaigns in Norway and Greece were sad examples of this.

The ease with which a line defended by high mountains can be held has been demonstrated time and again in this war, and also that the assault and capture of such a line can only be successfully carried out by mountain troops. It was particularly interesting to read in the A. A. C. circular letter of 9th April, 1945, of the successful operations carried out by the men of the 10th Mountain Division, U. S. Army in the Apennines. The British troops which we trained in Jasper were also in action in the same general mountain area in Italy.

When it was decided in the fall of 1943 to train a battalion of the British Army in the Canadian Rockies, we had little difficulty in finding suitable training grounds, and the Jasper-Columbia Icefields area was selected. Accommodation presented only a minor problem. The major difficulty was to provide a suitable body of competent instructors. Most of the really good young skiers from Jasper and Banff were already in the Royal Canadian Airforce or the Royal Canadian Navy and their services could not be obtained. In any case well trained mountaineers were practically non-existent, and we had perforce to do the best we could with the available material. It was found necessary to conduct a three weeks’ Pilot course for the Canadian instructors and I arranged this for the period November 15th-December 8th, 1943. We were fortunate in having the assistance of a most eminent mountaineer, none other than Squadron Leader Frank Smythe, R. A. F. (later Lt. Col. Smythe), veteran of three Mount Everest expeditions, author of many mountain books and photographer extraordinary. Frank was appointed chief instructor and it was my privilege to introduce him to the Canadian Rockies during a preliminary reconnaissance, which we carried out in the Columbia Icefield area in October, 1943. During the course of this survey we climbed Wilcox Peak (9463 ft.), Sunwapta Peak (10,875 ft.), and Mt. Athabaska (11,542 ft.). Given fine weather major peaks can be climbed with enjoyment as late in the year as October, but it must be remembered that snow- covered glaciers present special hazards in the fall, as usually enough snow has fallen to hide narrow crevasses effectually, while the bridges thus formed have not enough strength to support a climber’s weight. This I found out to my cost on a trip up to the Columbia Icefield via the Athabaska Glacier on October 21st, when I fell into a hidden crevasse and dangled on the rope for fifteen minutes before Frank and Corporal Black succeeded in extricating me. A careful inspection of the spot failed to reveal any surface indications of the crevasse and the place where I broke through had borne the weight of the whole party on the way up. Constant and unremitting probing is the only method by which such hidden traps can be discovered.

During the three weeks’ pilot course we did our best to teach skiers to mountaineer and mountain climbers to ski—the latter proving the more difficult task. Thanks to a spell of unseasonably warm weather we made rapid and satisfactory progress. We were able to weed out a few unsuitables and eventually build up a fine body of instructors, both officers and men, numbering eighty all told. Our aim was to have one instructor to every ten men. This was necessary as we had the formidable task ahead of us of teaching 800 men to ski in six weeks. The ski instruction per sc was not required as part of the troops’ military training in high mountain warfare, but it was forced upon us, as skiing was the only satisfactory means of getting around in the high country in mid-winter; for reasons best known to themselves the “powers that be” at the War Office had decided to carry out this training at this season.

When the main body of the Lovat Scouts arrived in Jasper on January 9th, 1944, we had everything ready for them and the training began in earnest. With 800 men in the battalion and 200 Canadian Army personnel in the Winter Training School, a considerable amount of accommodation was required. We took over all the staff quarters of Jasper Park Lodge, the Canadian National Railways' beautiful summer resort on the shores of Lac Beauvert. The golf clubhouse made an admirable officers’ mess and from its windows we could watch the beginners learning kick-turns and snowplows on the snow-covered fairways of the golf course. Unfortunately the snow did not last long in Jasper itself and we were obliged to establish outlying camps even during the preliminary instruction period. Six such camps were set up at the following places: Mt. Edith Cavell Chalet, Chrome Lake (Tonquin Valley), Maligne Lake Chalet, Watchtower Valley, Snowbowl Valley, and Columbia Icefield Chalet. This last had been the venue for the Canadian instructors’ Pilot course and with the addition of winterized tents had accommodation for 200 men.

On completion of the ski instruction period, which was carried out on a carefully prepared syllabus, a competition was held with teams entering from each squadron and points were aggregated for the championship by combining three events: 1. A slalom race over a difficult course with a 900-ft. difference in elevation. 2. A four-mile cross country race. 3. A military four-man patrol race, which included rifle shooting at targets at 200 yards range. In this event points were granted for good marksmanship. The competition was extremely keen and “D” squadron were the eventual winners. Most of the men in the Lovat Scouts were good marksmen, as they had been recruited largely from the highland ghillies and deer-stalkers of the north of Scotland. Quite a number of men spoke Gaelic among themselves and the remainder had such a broad Scotch accent that one almost needed an interpreter. However, speaking generally, they were tough and used to the big hills and were of a most suitable type for mountain warfare.

Once the ski instruction was completed and a sufficient mastery of the hickory blades had been acquired to confer reasonable mobility on the troops in deep-snow country, the training swung over to more definite military operations, and after a period of troop (platoon) exercises more ambitious schemes were undertaken.

By using snow holes troops were able to camp in comparative comfort on the Columbia Icefield at elevations of 10,000 ft. during the coldest part of the winter. These snow holes or snow caves deserve a word of explanation. They are not igloos and do not call for any special skill in their construction. The snow hole is simply a cave dug down into the névé snow to a depth of about eight feet, leaving approximately 18 inches of head cover. Radiating from the central cave are recesses in which the occupants can place their sleeping bags. Insulation was provided by the U. S. Army fibre-filled waterproof mats, and with the Primus stove going temperatures were easily raised to 35° F. in spite of the high altitude. It took about two hours to dig a cave big enough to hold six men. When completed these caves have many advantages over the two-man mountain tent issued to mountain troops by the American Army. They are warmer, immune to the effects of wind, and no condensation of the occupants’ breath occurs in them. After a night in the tent in extreme cold weather, one’s frozen breath resembles a miniature snowstorm and in a short time sleeping-bags, tent walls, etc., all become wringing wet. Other advantages are that no tent has to be carried, and an unlimited water supply is readily available inside the shelter by the simple process of digging out a piece of the wall. The lower down the snow is taken the higher is the water content of the snow crystals.

During the course of the training a great deal of winter mountaineering was carried out and thanks to the excellent design and well tested quality of the U. S. Army ski clothing and equipment no serious cases of frostbite were recorded. Parties of troops made winter ascents of the following big peaks in the Icefield region: Mt. Columbia, 12,294 ft. (first winter ascent) ; Mt. Kitchener, 11,500 ft. (first winter ascent) ; Mt. Athabaska, 11,452 ft.; Snow Dome, 11,340 ft.; “Mt. Andromeda,” 11,200 ft. (first winter ascent) ; Nigel Peak, 10,535 ft. (first winter ascent). The ascent of Columbia was completed on March 14th, 1944, by about thirty men led by Major Doug. Groff of Winnipeg, during the course of a three-day patrol on the Icefield, using snow holes as sleeping quarters.

In the Tonquin-Chrome Lake area winter ascents were made of McDonell Peak (10,700 ft.) and of several smaller peaks. Mt. Bennington (10,726 ft.), however, resolutely refused to be conquered, though climbing parties led by Captain Peacock, a member of the Alpine Club (London), made three attempts on it.

In the Maligne Lake region most of the training was carried out on the Bald Hills and the only major peak ascended was Mt. Charlton (10,554 ft.) on February 23rd. A party of four led by the writer made the ascent on skis (to the 9800-ft. level) and reached the summit in six and one-quarter hours from the lake shore. The U. S. Army amphibian snowmobile (known as the T 29 or Weasel) w'as used throughout the winter to keep the camps at Maligne, Watchtower, Snowbowl and Chrome Lake supplied. Trucks handled the supply to the camps at Mt. Edith Cavell and the Columbia Icefield. The Canadian Army packhorse train was also employed in packing supplies in to Chrome Lake and Snowbowl. It was found quite feasible to operate horses in three feet of snow once a good trail was broken by them.

The American Army and Air Corps were represented at Winter Training School by a number of officers and men including some first class ski instructors from Camp Hale. Major Walter A. Wood gave us the benefit of his unique experience in the aerial delivery of supplies in high mountain country. Major Innes Taylor and Mr. Belmore Browne both made a valuable contribution by their extensive knowledge of the far north and cold weather conditions generally. Belmore Browne’s inimitable drawings illustrating the finer points of mountain technique, how to use and how not to use iceaxe, rope, crampons, etc., were real works of art, and will. I hope, be preserved for posterity in some future Manual of Military Mountaineering. Lieutenant Ben Thompson, with Sergeants Behnke, Coyte, Luginbuhl, Stoen and Walther, all of the U. S. Mountain Infantry, rendered valuable assistance. All were very favorably impressed with the nature of our terrain and the extent and number of our snowfields and glaciers in spite of the comparatively low altitude of most of the peaks. The difference in latitude (with its consequent effect on the altitude of timber line) between Jasper Park and the mountains around Camp Hale, Colorado, is of course the determining factor. No doubt also our mountains receive a great deal more precipitation.

The R. C. A. F. placed two Norsemen aircraft at our disposal, with three experienced “bush’' pilots, two of whom, F. O. Braun and F. O. Pat Ivey, were Americans. During March and April these machines were kept busy doing photographic work and reconnaissance. Supplies were dropped with and without parachutes to troops on extended patrols and ski landings were made on Maligne, Amethyst and Brazeau Lakes. Some magnificent movies and stills of the high peaks of the continental divide were made from the planes by cameramen of the Canadian National Film Board. In all a total of 85 sorties were flown and 13,000 pounds of freight carried.

Considering the nature of the terrain and the complete inexperience of the trainees our casualties were very light and only one fatality has to be recorded. A snow-slide which fell off Nigel Peak on January 20th caused the death of Corporal Collie of the Lovats. If the troops had been supplied with the thin red avalanche cord, which Swiss troops trail behind them when crossing dangerous slopes, its use might have enabled the other men in the party to find the victim quickly and dig him out in time to save his life. This simple, light and inexpensive safeguard should be carried by all ski-mountaineers who have occasion to cross avalanche slopes. It has saved a great many lives in Switzerland. Several other parties were involved in snow-slides during the course of the winter, but except for the loss of equipment, skis, rifles, etc., and one broken leg, no serious casualties resulted.

A number of crevasse mishaps occurred, but careful use of the rope prevented serious consequences. The most dangerous time of all is in the late fall, when there is enough snow to mask many crevasses but not enough to bridge them securely. Mid-winter and spring conditions are far safer. It must, however, be borne in mind that as the crevasse hazard decreases so the snow-slide danger increases. The price of safety is constant vigilance.

The training of the U. S. Army mountain troops at Camp Hale and elsewhere, and the Lovat Scout training in the Jasper area, has laid a solid foundation of mountain warfare technique and this was put to good use against the enemy in the campaign in the Apennines in Italy, where the 10th Mountain Infantry Division won signal distinction. It is a matter of personal satisfaction to many members of both the A. C. C. and the A. A. C. that they had a hand in the training of troops in the art of mountaineering, and it is to be hoped that many of those who fought with distinction in the mountains of Italy will come back and test their mettle and their skill against worthy mountain opponents in this fair land. We still have hundreds of unclimbed peaks in the Canadian Rockies and great areas of unexplored mountain country.

There remaineth yet very much land to be possessed.