The ACC Okanagan
Annual Pat Reiter and TJ Tessel and Jim Tanner Memorial Photo Contest
LIANNE CARON MARCH 18, 2021
On March 3rd, 2006, while skiing in the Valkyr Range of the Selkirk Mountains, an avalanche took the lives of Pat Reiter and TJ Tessel. The two inseparable friends were on an annual week-long backcountry ski trip with ten other members of the Okanagan section of the Alpine Club of Canada. Pat and TJ were enthusiastic participants in the section’s mountaineering and backcountry ski trips. Pat had a great passion for photography and TJ was his constant companion on their many mountain adventures.
The Okanagan Section decided to memorialize the two by establishing the annual Pat Reiter and TJ Tessel Memorial Photo Contest.
In the words of Okanagan Section member Andy McQuilkin:
Our section misses Pat and TJ. TJ for the way he would spring into action to help out, his boundless energy on our trips, his enthusiasm for adventure, his cups of tea, his bright green neon ski boots always breaking trail and his love for the mountains. Pat for his creativity, spontaneity and skill as a photographer coupled with his warm generosity of spirit that compelled him to photograph his friends and share those pictures with them. And the two of them together for their wit and rich sense of humour. Life is not just about the adventure; it is about the friends you make along the way.
The photo contest has been running since 2007 and has proven to be an event that section members look forward to every year. Jim Tanner volunteered to run the first contest and has been doing so ever since. The winners of the photo contest are voted upon by section members.
In September, 2022, Jim Tanner passed away after a short battle with cancer. Because of his his long time promotion and organisation of the photo competition, the Section Executive decided to add his name to the Competition as without his efforts, the competition would not have continued.
Here are the winning photos from the Pat Reiter and TJ Tessel and Jim Tanner Memorial Photo Contest.
Recently, ACC National requested the Okanagan Section to share the story of our section’s Annual Photo Contest along with this year’s winning photos. Section member Lianne Caron prepared and submitted a blog to “Aspects” the ACC National’s Blog Post. You can visit Aspects and read Lianne’s and other posts at the following link:
https://blog.alpineclubofcanada.ca/?author=6054c6802e51e91c380dfa24