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John Sumner Townsend Gibson

1915 -

John Sumner Townsend Gibson was born at Sproughton near Ipswich in Suffolk, England on Aug 1, 1915 and from an early age enjoyed walking and scrambling in the hills, however, in his late teens he found rock climbing and began visiting crags in the Lake District, North Wales, Skye and the West Highlands of Scotland.

John went on to Oxford University where he obtained a B.A (which was later converted to M.A.) in Zoology and joined the Oxford University Mountaineering Club. In 1936 John's aunt met the leader of an expedition to Greenland with the Oxford University Exploration Club and was told there were two biologists going and they wanted a third. Although John was not a member of the club he received and accepted an invitation to join them that summer. The following three summer's holidays were spent climbing in the Alps. In 1937 he went to Courmayeur and climbed the Aiguille du Geant with a guide, then to Cogne in the Italian Alps and with a guide, his aunt and sister climbed Erbetet, Grand Paradise with a guide, and then Grivola (guideless) with his sister Helen. In 1938 he went to Finhaut and climbed Aiguille du Tour, and in Arolla climbed Pigne d'Arolla, Eveque and the dent Perroc, all according to John relatively easy guideless climbs. In 1939 he went to the French Alps and attempted the Ecrins but was turned back by steep ice and difficult climbing. In Chamonix the trip was cut short by impending war. That year John joined the Alpine Club (UK, of which his father and one grandfather had both been members) and stayed a member until 1970.

In 1940 John joined the RAF and was trained as pilot and flying instructor. His posting in Carlisle allowed him to climb in the Lake District and then the Highlands on weekends while stationed in Perth (Scotland). In 1942 he was posted to Alberta where he first went to Pearce near Fort McLeod and then de Winton south of Calgary. During his journey from Pearce to de Winton, John and an RAF friend, detoured through Kootenay Park and bivouacked by Floe Lake. John then climbed Foster Peak solo. This was probably the first ascent from Floe Lake. Before leaving England he met with his Godfather, the respected mountaineer R.L.G.Irving, who gave him an introduction to Arthur Wheeler. He thereafter had a standing invitation to visit Wheeler and his wife at Banff whenever on leave.

That year (1942) Arthur Wheeler invited John as a weekend guest to the ACC camp and it was there he met Eric Brooks, the ACC President at the time. At the camp he also met John Wheeler, Arthur's Wheeler's grandson, who was spending his summer holidays with his grandfather, and he and John became regular climbing partner whenever possible during John's wartime posting in Canada. The following year Eric Brook's invited him to attend the ACC camp at Little Yoho. Although he only had two weeks leave from the RAF, it was extended to three by helping to teach reluctant Army conscripts to climb. At the camp he also met Rusty Westmorland who was in charge of the packtrain that took supplies into the camp. After the 1943 military camp John planned a climb of Mount Hector with John Wheeler, Henry Hall Jr. and Rex Gibson, but they woke up to a flat tire in his car and decided not to continue along the 100 miles of gravel road any further. John continued to climb and ski in the Rockies whenever he had leave and many ascents were with John Wheeler. Some of their climbs included Mount Norquay, Mount Louis and Mount Edith via the South Ridge which John believes was before Bob Hind's official first ascent of the route. John also made a solo ascent of Mount Fifi.

John returned to England in December 1944 and married Mary Williams. He was released from the RAF in December 1945 and returned to Canada in 1947 with his family. As immigrants they had to be sponsored into Canada and Arthur Wheelers widow Emily agreed to sign the papers for them. After spending a few days in Banff they went on to Vancouver and stayed with Eric Brooks. Eric suggested Ferris Neave, who he had met at the Little Yoho camp in 1943, might help John get a job. With an honours degree in Zoology, Neave was able to help John obtained a position as a junior fisheries biologist at the Pacific Biological Station in Nanaimo. However, while working up the coast near Bella Bella he observed that fishing seemed to be more profitable than biology. With his adventurous wife and infant son, he bought a small gillnet-troller and set out with four months leave of absence in the summer of 1948. Although fishing was fun it was not very profitable but he quit his reliable government job and trolled for salmon from 1948 to 1967. At this time he resigned from the ACC because there was no time or funds to attend club camps.

In 1952 the Gibson's built a house at Kyuquot and lived there till 1967. In 1967, John took time off fishing to go to the second general mountaineering camp of the Yukon Alpine Centennial Expedition. Although he was still not a member of ACC, he had kept in touch with Eric Brooks over the years, and at his suggestion John applied and was accepted on the expedition and enjoyed leading the less ambitious climbs. John retired from fishing in 1967 and moved to the Duncan where he built a house.

After moving to Duncan, John rejoined the Alpine Club of Canada and resumed climbing. It was on a combined Island Mountain Ramblers and ACC Vancouver Island Section trip to Mount Cokely that John met Syd Watts. After that Syd and John started a climbing partnership that continued for the next thirty years. Together they made first recorded ascents of the following peaks on Vancouver Island: Mount Abel, Mount Hapush, Watchtower Peak, Malaspina Peak, Bonanza Peak, Mount Alston, Mount Romeo and Mount Adrian. They also explored many other areas which have been well documented in John's diaries, and Vancouver Island Section trip reports during the 1970's and 80's. In 1974 John Gibson became the Chairman of the Vancouver Island section of the ACC for one year.

Sources:
Gibson, John. Personal communication. 1993, 2004 and 2007.

Gibson, John. "Mount Parsons." Timberline Tales. Published by the Island Mountain Ramblers. Nanaimo, B.C. No 6, January 1971. p. 18.

Gibson, J.S.T. "Pinder Peak Reconnaissance." Canadian Alpine Journal. Vol. 55. The Alpine Club of Canada. Banff, Alberta. 1972. p. 69.

Gibson, J.S.T. "Schoen Lake Area." Canadian Alpine Journal. Vol. 55. The Alpine Club of Canada. Banff, Alberta. 1972. p. 69.

Gibson, J.S.T. "Rugged Mountain." Canadian Alpine Journal. Vol. 59. The Alpine Club of Canada. Banff, Alberta. 1976. p. 57-58.

Gibson, J.S.T. "Mount Whymper, by the Great Circle Route." Timberline Tales. Published by the Island Mountain Ramblers. Nanaimo, B.C. No. 8, January 1973. p. 5-6.

Gibson, J.S.T. "Mount Whymper, by the Great Circle Route." Timberline Tales. Published by the Island Mountain Ramblers. Nanaimo, B.C. No. 8, January 1973. p. 5-6.

Gibson, John. "Rugged Mountain." The Island Bushwhacker. The Alpine Club of Canada Vancouver Island section newsletter. (October 1975) Vol. 3:4. p. 4-5.

Gibson, John. "Malaspina Peak (South Summit) and Tahsis Mountain." The Island Bushwhacker. The Alpine Club of Canada Vancouver Island section newsletter. (September 1976) Vol. 4:3. p. 3-4.

Syroid, Cliff. "Comox Glacier (Red Pillar)." The Island Bushwhacker. The Alpine Club of Canada Vancouver Island section newsletter. (November 1976) Vol. 4:4. p. 7.

Gibson, J.S.T. "Elkhorn, Ashwood, Maquilla Peaks." The Island Bushwhacker. The Alpine Club of Canada Vancouver Island section newsletter. (November 1976) Vol. 4:4. p. 6-7.

Gibson, John. "Mt. Matchlee." Island Bushwhacker. The Alpine Club of Canada Vancouver Island section newsletter. (October 1978) Vol. 6:5. p. 1-2.

Gibson, John. "Bonanza Peak (Mt. Ashwood North)." Island Bushwhacker. The Alpine Club of Canada Vancouver Island section newsletter. (October 1979) Vol. 7:5. p. 13.

Brown, Ian. "Following our noses on Shepherd Ridge." Island Bushwhacker. The Alpine Club of Canada Vancouver Island section newsletter. (Autumn 1984) Vol. 12:3. p. 2-3.

Gibson, John. "A Traverse of Conuma Peak." Island Bushwhacker. The Alpine Club of Canada Vancouver Island section newsletter. (Fall 1989) Vol. 17:4. p. 20-21.

Watts, Syd. "A Reconnoiter of a Route to Mts. Alava and Bate via Sebalhall Creek." Island Bushwhacker. The Alpine Club of Canada Vancouver Island section newsletter. (Fall 1989) Vol. 17:4. p. 22.

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