How My Dad Saved the Smoke Bluffs

When I was one year old in 1984, my dad, John Randall helped save the Smoke Bluffs in Squamish. At that point in his life, my dad was 40, an accountant, husband and father of three, wilderness enthusiast and president of the Federation of Mountain Clubs of British Columbia (FMCBC). It ran climbing courses (Peter Croft was an instructor), lobbied for conservation and access rights, built paths and fought to protect British Columbia’s mountain wilderness.

Jim Rutter, manager of the FMCBC, discovered that the Smoke Bluffs were to be bought by a property developer and closed to the public for good. Unfortunately, the FMCBC didn’t have the money to purchase the bluffs. After some discussion, there was a pause as dad tallied up his life savings then said, “Tell them I’ll offer $70,000.” And to their surprise the offer was accepted. Suddenly the Smoke Bluffs belonged to Mr. John Randall and were safe.

But Mr. and Mrs. Randall weren’t in a financial position to purchase crags willy-nilly. My dad’s actions gave the FMCBC time to act, and it agreed to purchase the bluffs from him. With Jim Rutter’s efforts in securing a loan from Mountain Equipment Co-op, the Smoke Bluffs became the property of the federation, who quickly put fundraising schemes into motion to permanently secure the area.