Mount Assiniboine – The Story
By Chic Scott Assiniboine Lodge, 2021
Assiniboine Lodge commissioned award-winning Banff-based Chic Scott to write a book about the history of Mount Assiniboine. Aware of the task at hand, Scott, who’s famously written in-depth historical books like Pushing the Limits and The Yam, took on the monumental project. When I first heard of it, I wondered how Scott handled the history of a mountain, one mountain; a task he’d never taken on. The mountains of Canada have stories that date back much farther than the opening of lodges. Many of Canada’s most famous peaks have colonial names, but their histories go back thousands of years to when Indigenous people referred to them different names.
The first page of editorialized text is on page 11. It’s titled First Nations History at Mount Assiniboine. In the short introduction to the book, Scott notes that white surveyors had found evidence of Indigenous inhabitants in the forms of stacked rocks, but that there was no recorded history in the area. Scott makes sure the reader knows that there was human presence long before white people arrived, and he leaves the pre-colonial history at that.
The hardcover coffeetable book is big, weighing five pounds, and takes up a big space on the bookshelf. The large text is easy to read and the photos educational. There are over 300 of them, but Scott told me that he had to cut over 100. The book then goes into the years between 1800 and 1910. Scott found that a Belgian-born priest Pierre-jean De Smet was the first to make reference to the mountain. Scott then moves to the naming of the peak and the history of mountaineering in the area.
After that, he focuses on the Wheeler Years and the building of Assiniboine Lodge. There’s an overwhelming amount of important information between the pages. Some have old photos from the early 20th century, and others have images of hand-written letters. We’re introduced to Caroline Hinman, who brought Off the Beaten Track tours from New Jersey to Canada in 1917. We then move on to the 1930s and ’40s, where we meet more amazing characters, like Erling Strom, who’s name was given to the peak next to Assiniboine. There’s backcountry skiing, dogsledding, hiking, horseback riding, epics, death, fishing, survival, plane crashes, alpine climbing, lovers meeting and more.
By the time Hans Gmoser arrives in the 1950s, Assiniboine already had a book-worthy history of legends and unbelievable stories. The book moves on to Ken Johns, the first park ranger, and the construction of the Hind Hut, where I’ve stayed during many stormy nights. We read about winter ascents and climbers, like Dave Cheesmond and Billy Davidson. The last bit of the book is about the Renner family, and the future of the lodge.
To me, this is the best book ever written about the history of a Canadian mountain. I couldn’t imagine how one could pack more into the over 300 pages. Scott deserves a lot of credit for his attention to detail, tireless research and contributions to the climbing community. Because of his hard work, younger generations get to appreciate what came before. I recommend Mount Assiniboine – The Story for anyone who enjoys climbing, skiing, history or Canada. A masterpiece in the world of climbing literature.—bp