Mountain Cairns: A on the History and Culture of the Canadian Rocky Mountains

The mountain parks are for all Canadians for all time and their value cannot be measured in terms of how many access roads, motels, souvenir shops and golf courses we've provided. -Bob Jordan, 1971 The Alpine Club of Canada imagined the Rockies and neighbouring ranges to the west and the north as a "climber's paradise." Through a century of adventure and advocacy, the ACC led the way to mountain pursuits in spectacular regions. Historian and mountain studies specialist PearlAnn Reichwein's research is informed by her experiences mountaineering and by her interest in mountain culture. She presents a compelling case for understanding wild spaces and human activity within them as parts of a whole. A work of invaluable scholarship in the areas of environmental history, public policy, sport studies, recreation, and tourism, Climber's Paradise will appeal to many non-specialists, mountaineers, environmentalists, and travellers across Canada and beyond. Tenacious activism of the Alpine Club of Canada leads to mountain recreation and conservation. "At a time when civil society and environmental organizations are being vilified in the media as 'special interest groups,' it is important to understand the crucial roles played by the Alpine Club of Canada not only in the creation of our magnificent mountain parks but in shaping the Canadian identity." "Wilderness. Symbol of nationhood. Playground. Sanctuary. Revenue source. Over the last century Canada's mountain parks have been imagined and reimagined through a spectrum of meanings and contending desires. PearlAnn Reichwein's history of the Alpine Club of Canada explores these incarnations and tells the fascinating stories of the people who cared fiercely for the mountains and struggled over their use and value. Just as importantly, Reichwein traces out the less visible tracks of class, race, and gender that weave through the grand narratives of adventure and conquest. This is vital reading for anyone who cares about our vanishing wild heritage." "This is a remarkable story. It's about how a small group of urban, middle-class, Anglo Canadians, working through the Alpine Club of Canada, sought to assert their narratives of alpinism, the environment, nation, and interpersonal relations on Canada's western Canadian mountain parks, and the conditions they faced, the institutions they created, the political victories they achieved, and the struggles and setbacks they encountered. Professor Reichwein tells it brilliantly, bringing both a climbers' love of the mountains and a social historian's critical distance and research to her subject. Her analysis is illuminated with mini-biographies of the key players, grounded in their speeches and personal correspondence resourcefully dug out of archival collections, and an extensive collection of photographs. It's an important contribution to the history of Canadian sport and recreation and a telling case study of volunteering, but anyone who has ever holidayed or even contemplated a hike in a mountain national park would enjoy and benefit from this book." All the various design decisions contribute to an expansive, light, airy feel befitting of the book's content. The typography is clean and precise and creates an inviting reading experience." 80 B&W illustrations, 4 tables, 1 map, bibliography, notes, index "There has been a definite need for a finely crafted book on the relationship between the Alpine Club of Canada (ACC) and Canada's Mountain Parks: Climber's Paradise tells the tale in an exquisite manner and, in doing so, reveals much about the complex paradise of Canada's mountaineering history and ethos.... Reichwein has certainly emerged...as one of the primary keepers of the distinctive Canadian mountaineering tradition, and Climber's Paradise confirms yet again why this is the indubitable case." [Full review at bit.ly/1nYxnCK] "The social and cultural history of mountaineering can go far beyond the simple

Conrad Kain is a titan amongst climbers in Canada and is well-known in mountaineering circles all over the world. His letters to Amelie Malek-a life-long friend-offer a candid view into the deepest thoughts of the Austrian mountain guide, and are a perfect complement to his autobiography, Where the Clouds Can Go. The 144 letters provide a unique and personal view of what it meant to immigrate to Canada in the early part of the twentieth century. Kain's letters are ordered chronologically with annotations, keeping the sections in English untouched, while those in German have been carefully translated. Historians and mountain culture enthusiasts worldwide will appreciate Kain's genius for description, his passion for nature, his opinions, and his musings about his life. Foreword by Chic Scott. Epilogue by Don Bourdon. Conrad Kain's letters provide insights into the life and thoughts of this exemplary Austrian-Canadian mountaineer. Foreword, introduction, 30 B&W photographs, 3 maps, epilogue, notes, bibliography, index "Zac Robinson's edition of Conrad Kain: Letters from a Wandering Mountain Guide, 1906–1933 is an important new work. It is imbued with a level of intimacy that was edited out of Kain's classic biography, Where the Clouds Can Go. Robinson's erudite annotations and freshly discovered photos help shed new light on the life and times of one of our country's greatest mountain guides and raconteurs." "… A must have book for those interested in Conrad Kain, 1st generation Canadian mountaineering and Canadian mountain culture. Conrad Kain: Letters from a Wandering Mountain Guide, 1906-1933 has a splendid assortment of maps and photographs, but the prize jewel of the book are the many letters (142) written by Conrad Kain.… The letters to Amelie are touching and tender, informative and insightful, historic and charming. .. [T]he Robinson and Bourdon contributions are like exquisite book ends within which the evocative letters make for the literary centrepiece." [Full review at: http://www.conradkain.com/news/book-review-ron-dart] "Conrad Kain is a compelling title from University of Alberta Press. Kain is renowned among Canadian mountaineers as a pioneering guide so accomplished they named a British Columbia peak for him, Mount Conrad. He escaped grinding poverty as a miner's son in rural Austria and travelled the world from Honolulu to Ulaanbaatar.... Conrad Kain: Letters From A Wandering Mountain Guide takes readers page by page through a man's life and thoughts. It is a dark and absorbing narrative." [Full review at http://www.blacklocks.ca/book-review-the-unhappy-traveler] "In a culture that enjoys as many romantic figures as there are mountain peaks on the horizon as viewed from a lofty summit, Conrad Kain holds a special place in the historical landscape of western Canada's mountains. Robinson...makes no secret of his affection for Kain, and that's a good thing, because he handles the letters Kain wrote throughout his adult life while guiding in Canada and New Zealand to his dear friend in Austria, Amelie Malek, with the care and reverence they so richly deserve." "Conrad Kain was arguably the pre-eminent mountain guide in Canada in the early years of the 20th century and left a legacy of first ascents and epic climbs in his native Austria, in his adopted home in North America (e.g., Mount Robson), and in New Zealand's Southern Alps.... Robinson has ordered the letters chronologically and throughout the book has skillfully annotated them to fill in gaps or provide context.... From his letters, it's obvious that Kain loved climbing mountains for the physical challenge, to meet interesting people, to make a living, and for opportunities to travel around the world, but most especially because of his all-consuming love of the natural world." Vol. 129, No. 1 (2015) [Full review at http://canadianfieldnaturalist.ca/index.php/cfn] "Simple, beautiful, and thoughtfully handled volume of letters. Though t

In 1912, Mary Vaux, a botanist, glaciologist, painter, and photographer, wrote about her mountain adventures: "A day on the trail, or a scramble over the glacier, or even with a quiet day in camp to get things in order for the morrow's conquests? Some how when once this wild spirit enters the blood...I can hardly wait to be off again." Vaux's compulsion was shared by many women whose intellects, imaginations, and spirits rose to the challenge of the mountains between the late-nineteenth and mid-twentieth centuries. This Wild Spirit explores a sampling of women's creative responses--in fiction and travel writing, photographs and paintings, embroidery and beadwork, letters and diaries, poetry and posters--to their experiences in the Rocky Mountains of Canada. This popular book traces women's creative and cultural legacies in the Rocky Mountains of Canada. In 1912, Mary Vaux, a botanist, glaciologist, painter, and photographer, wrote about her life's passion: "A day on the trail, or a scramble over the glacier, or even with a quiet day in camp to get things in order for the morrow's conquests? Some how when once this wild spirit enters the blood...I can hardly wait to be off again." Vaux's compulsion was one shared by many women whose intellects, imaginations, and spirits rose to the challenge of the mountains between the late-nineteenth and mid-twentieth centuries. This Wild Spirit explores a sampling of women's creative responses in photographs and painting, embroidery and beadwork, novels and travel writing, letters and diaries, poetry, plays, and posters to their experiences in the Rocky Mountains of Canada. This Wild Spirit is a portable archive of the best writing that women have done about the golden age of discovery and adventure in the Canadian Rockies. It's a remarkable book. Read it in a national park campground, late at night, as the bears wander by." -Ben Gadd 18 colour photographs, 66 B&W photographs, 2 maps, bibliography, index "In addition to providing interesting and valuable views of the early Canadian Rockies, This Wild Spirit provides an almost equally valuable overview of that small, interrelated group of women who traveled west for their own reasons....[T]his collection is a valuable addition to any shelf of Rocky mountain history. The insights and observations are enjoyable and memorable reminders of a special time in the European 'discovery' of the blue Canadian Rockies." "The assorted journal entries, essays, letters, photos, drawings, paintings--even the script of a play--all illustrate the pluck and determination required by women who wanted to push the conventions of the time in pursuit of adventure and knowledge. In an era when independent travel by women was virtually unheard of, these pioneers achieved a series of significant milestones, from botanical fieldwork to cross-cultural friendships to the traversing of glaciers and high passes...often while wearing an ankle-length dress and bustle." "The editor has made an excellent selection for this book, providing a most readable and inspiring account of women and their relationship to the mountains." "Skidmore...examines women's encounters with the Rocky Mountains by investigating a diverse collection of material spanning the years from 1887 to 1993, most of which dates from the years 1907 to 1912....[She] has created an important resource and gives voice to the women who were drawn to the Rockies....Skidmore shows that women sought out the Rocky mountains for their own reasons, and on their own terms." "[This Wild Spirit] is both a good read and a welcome contribution to the history of Canadian Mountain literature....The collected materials of these women botanists, painters, essayists, novelists, photographers, glaciologists, geologists, teachers, physicians, hikers, climbers, cooks and lodge managers constitute a necessary and enlightening base camp, from which I ardently hope Skidmore will attempt an ascent on volume two, tracing the period from 19