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History
What does outdoor adventure mean to you? Are you in awe as you gaze for miles from a high mountain peak? Or is it a rush of adrenaline while hanging off a rope on a vertical ice face? If these activities appeal to you, then you have something in common with some of North Vancouver’s early settlers.
To the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), səlil̓ilw̓ətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) and xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) Nations, these mountains have always been their homelands in which they live, hunt and harvest, since Time Immemorial.
To the European settlers who began exploring the mountains in the early 1900s, they saw the peaks as a place for recreation or to get away from city life. Enticed by wilderness, men and women explored farther and farther afield. There was danger in their activities, but glory from claiming “first ascents”. Spending a few weeks in expedition camps drove many to form close bonds, marriages, or lifelong friendships through clubs such as the BC Mountaineering Club.
Their courage, tenacity and drive led to legacies such as map surveys, preserved park areas and improved safety in the mountains.
Closer to the city, there was winter fun from skiing or snowshoeing on the slopes, even if that meant hiking up just to ski down — though some were lucky enough to have a cabin to stay in.
This selection of archives shows the passion for adventure and passion for place that Vancouverites have had for the mountains over the last century. From wonderful photos to early hand-drawn maps that chart the exploration of the mountains, and oral histories from the mountaineers themselves as just some examples, there is a wealth of story to show the evolution of outdoor adventure on the North Shore and beyond.