Northern Ontario Climbing Mentor Jean-Marc Filion Passes

The Ontario climbing community was saddened to learn of Jean-Marc Filion’s passing on March 20, 2017. Jean-Marc developed many crags around North Bay, making hundreds of first ascents on rock and ice. The list includes classic routes at Mount Ruban, Peninsula Rock, Le Muir and Sentinel in the Powassan area, and George Lake in Killarney Park to mention just a few locations.

He authored or coauthored several guidebooks, and he wrote Belaying Theory – An Update lending his engineering insights to the analysis of belaying physics, going beyond Wexler’s ‘The Theory of Belaying’ from the American Alpine Journal.

He was a volunteer in the Ontario Rock Climbing Association, served for several years as president, and was a major contributor to the O.R.C.A. Rock Climbing Safety Manual.

Jean-Marc was head of the science department at École Secondaire Catholique Algonquin, was a published research scientist, and was involved in national and international science competitions for many years.

Throughout his life, Jean-Marc was deeply concerned with environmental issues and served in executive positions in the Lake Nipissing Partners in Conservation and the Trout Lake Conservation Association.

He received an honourary Ph.D., the Latornell Leadership Award and other accolades for his work. Jean-Marc is survived by his wife, Lois, his daughter, Renée Northrup, his three sons, Stéfane, Marc-André and Jean Michel and seven grandchildren. A generous teacher and friend to many, he will be missed.