Guardians of the Peaks

Book excerpt: Mountain rescue in western Canada developed through the Canadian Pacific Railway's use of Swiss guides to enhance the climbing experience in the early 1900s. These guides brought their knowledge of mountain rescue to the Canadian Rockies. As climbing gained in popularity with the emerging middle classes after the Second World War, tragic accidents became more common. Two accidents in 195455 (the deaths of a group of female climbers from Mexico on Mt. Victoria and a group of Philadelphia schoolboys on Mt. Temple) forced the government to develop a professional mountain rescue team through the Park Warden Service under the tutelage of Walter Perren (a Swiss guide and the father of mountain rescue in Canada). Perren essentially turned cowboys into competent rescue personnel, and the story takes off from there.Following five principal men through the first 50 years of mountain rescue in Canada, Guardians of the Peaks also looks at all aspects of the rescue experience. It is the story of personal tragedy and the ability of individuals to cope with this stress-laced, demanding occupation.