Early guides who trailblazed the Canadian Rockies get their story in new book

Historian Ted Hart has chronicled the lives of the gritty guides and outfitters who pioneered tourism in the Canadian Rockies in his latest book, Trailblazers: Legendary Guides and Outfitters of the Canadian Rockies.

The book tells the story of men who stood at the forefront of the "tourist period" in the Rockies from the 1880s to 1950s. From Tom Wilson, who became the first white man to see Lake Louise, to the Brewster brothers, Jimmy Simpson, Curly Phillips, Bert Riggall, and Andy Russell, each were drawn to the mountains and the opportunity to make a livelihood in their midst.

"Outfitting and guiding was one of the first really successful businesses in Banff," said Hart, former director of the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies and Banff's mayor from 1995-1998. "It was the only game in town."

Long days in the bush, wrangling pack horses and navigating unmapped mountains with paying clients in tow required a certain toughness. "[They were] basically fearless in the face of danger because they were in danger a lot of times from bears and other animals and crossing flooding rivers," Hart said. "They exhibited real bravery in some situations because they were taking care of people who'd come from England or elsewhere who had no experience with these things previously. The fate of their lives, in many cases, was in their hands."

Now, almost every major trail in the Canadian Rockies has seen the boot soles of these early guides. "Literally every trail that exists in the parks now was explored by these people," Hart said. "Sometimes they were just game trails at that time when they first went over them."

The most significant of their explorations would lead to the Banff-Jasper Highway — the men led horse trips as far as the Columbia Icefield and onto Jasper, originally named Fitzhugh. Landmarks from their era still stand, including Num-Ti-Ja Lodge (now the Lodge at Bow Lake), built by Jimmy Simpson in the 1920s, and the Maligne Lake boathouse constructed in 1928 by Curly Phillips.