Ottawa - It's a sport that pushes the physical limits of the body harder than any other, where even a small mistake can be serious, and where experience is the most important piece of equipment. Yet mountaineering enthusiasts share a love of the outdoors and a camaraderie of spirit that makes them love their sport like no other. Canada Post will recognize this hardy sport, and the centennial of the country's premier climbing club, with a domestic-rate postage stamp that will be available for sale in post offices across the country on July 19.
The Alpine Club of Canada (ACC) is a national voluntary organization with more than 10,000 members. As Canada's national mountaineering organization, it has promoted alpine recreation activities and supported Canadians in their pursuit of mountaineering by providing training and infrastructure. Since 1906, Canadians have learned climbing skills from experienced guides at ACC mountaineering camps. In addition, the ACC has built and maintained a system of backcountry huts to help make some of Canada's more remote and spectacular alpine environments accessible. As a proponent of mountain culture, the club has a longstanding interest in the conservation of mountain environments and the scientific study of alpine landforms and flora and fauna. The ACC has published the Canadian Alpine Journal since 1907, a newsletter since 1921 and several books about Canadian mountaineers and mountaineering history. Through the organization of various festivals, the ACC has celebrated mountain art, photography and film and remains imbued with a sense of national pride.
The stamp was designed by Xerxes Irani, of Nonfiction Design in Calgary, who noted the design challenge was to combine old and new subject elements in a different way. The strong vertical format of the stamp symbolizes climbing, as it arches upwards towards the sky, while the large white space gives the stamp an alpine feel. The two distinct sections depict both the early climbs in the 1900s and today's mountaineering culture (by using a photo). On the additional materials (OFDC, stamp booklet), the map is an old topographical survey and there are elements of a climbing scrapbook. Additional recognizable climbing symbols, such as carabiners and ice picks, were used as either directional or functional elements. Overall, the design approach was to achieve a sense of vastness, both in the 100-year history of the organization and the mountaineering challenges of the future.
Available for sale at post offices across the country on July 19, 2006, the self-adhesive stamp measures 29 mm x 46 mm (vertical), and will be sold in a booklet of 8 stamps. Lowe-Martin printed 4 million of the stamps, using 7-colour lithography and spot gloss varnish on Tullis Russell Coatings paper. The stamp is general tagged on all four sides. The Official First Day Cover will read CANMORE, ALBERTA (the location of the ACC's head office).
Additional information about Canadian stamps can be found in the Newsroom section of Canada Post's website, and a downloadable high-resolution photo of the Mountaineering stamp is in the Newsroom's Photo Centre. Stamps and Official First Day Covers will be available at participating post offices, can be ordered online by following the links at Canada Post's website www.canadapost.ca, or by mail-order from the National Philatelic Centre. From Canada and the USA call toll-free: 1 800 565-4362 and from other countries call:
902 863-6550.
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