"Bill Dobson leading the way out onto Garibaldi Lake, Jack Sutherland roped in the middle and Jim Irving taking the pictures as we explored. Easter week 1928."

A group of men and women mountaineers on the first recorded ascent of Fitzsimmons Peak, near Whistler, in 1924. What the photo does not show is that this peak is 2600 metres (~8500 feet) in elevation, making in impressive achievement.

Early settler mountaineers fell in love with the Garibaldi area. Their passion for this special place led them to advocate for its protection.

This love for the area is clear to see in the photo albums of Neal Carter, an early BC mountaineer. These pages are an extract from expeditions to the Garibaldi region. The care and attention he has put into these pages suggests just how much the mountains meant to him.

Nellie Chapman, Phyllis Dyke, Rachel Moore, Mable Burns and an "anchorman” named only as Phong. The group are on a glacier near Mount Garibaldi, 1910.

They may be on Sphinx Glacier or Phoenix Glacier, with Garibaldi Lake in the background.

Mountaineers on a glacier, looking towards "Castle Towers” near Garibaldi Lake, “at 8000 ft“ (approximately 2400 metres) in 1916.

One of the most intriguing things about this photo is the decorative hat and coat worn by the woman in the foreground. Why was this her choice? Were they old clothes no longer smart enough for city life? Was the hat's wide brim to keep her face out of the sun? Or did she just want to add a touch of class to her outdoor wear?

Holly (last name unknown), Nellie Chapman and two unnamed mountaineers on the slopes of Black Tusk. Nellie explains in the photo caption that she and Holly “climbed part way up the chimney and through the shale which slid from them”, which they found to be “rather exciting”. She also notes that the snow on the downslope is from a “moving glacier”. Taken in 1910.

When the BC Mountaineering Club hit the age of fifty, the members chose to produce a booklet of memories, and fortunately for us today, we can read them here.

This is a great account of the early years of the BCMC — memories of the intrepid explorers who made the mountains their home-from-home.

• Cabins, Camps and Climbs, 1907-1911, by Frank H. Smith
• Early Days of the BC Mountaineering Club, by R. M. Mills
• Recollections, by Charles Dickens
• Reminiscences, by Professor John Davidson
• The Conception and Birth of the Vancouver Natural History Society, by Professor John Davidson
• The Story of Garibaldi Park, by L. C. Ford
• Some Reminiscences of 1920-1926 With the BCMC, by Neal M. Carter
• Snow Peaks, Mount Judge Howay, by Tom Fyles
• Robie Reid, First Recorded Ascent, June 1925, by Elliot Henderson
• Waddington Diary - 1936, by Elliot Henderson
• Waddington Area - 1956, by Jo Yard
• Anniversary Peak, by Roy Mason
• Bushwacking, by R. A. Pilkington
• A Mountain (song), by R. Culbert

Getting closer to the summit of Mount Garibaldi and to achieving the first successful recorded ascent of the mountain. The mountaineers are roped up below the main peak. The party are Arthur Tinniswood Dalton, William Tinniswood Dalton, James John Trorey, Atwell Duncan Francis Joseph King, T. Pattison, and G. B. Warren.

Unknown mountaineers on the summit of Black Tusk (2319 metres) in 1914. The peak was first climbed in 1912, and although it is not known when the first woman reached the summit, it is likely that the woman in this photo may have been one of the first; being followed in later years by many more.

G. B. Warren, James John Trorey, and Atwell Duncan Francis Joseph King display a Union Jack flag on the summit of Mount Garibaldi, having claimed the first recorded ascent in 1907.

Also on the expedition, were Arthur Tinniswood Dalton, William Tinniswood Dalton, and T. Pattison.