SWISS GUIDES

Opening Reception of the exhibition: Swiss Mountain Guides

The opening reception of the Touring Exhibition Swiss Guides: Shaping Mountain Culture in Western Canada took place on April 8th, 2010, at the Harbour Center in Vancouver. The evening, which was a remarkable success, started with a warm welcome note by the Consul General Walter Deplazes.

We had the pleasure of having Urs Boxler, our honorary guest speaker; say a few words on climate, mountains and alpinism. An introduction to the exhibition was delivered by Ms. Ilona Spaar (PhD. Cand.), curator of the exhibit.

The exhibit, which consists of 10 panels and 2 showcases, and will be displayed in the Harbour Center until April 18th, 2010, illustrated guests the remarkable history of Swiss mountain guides and skiers in the Canadian Rocky, Columbia and Coastal Mountains, and their pioneering methods in mountain guiding, mountain safety, skiing and helicopter skiing. After Vancouver, the exhibition will be travelling to Golden, Lake Louise, Banff, Jasper, Prince George, Smithers, Calgary and to Eastern Canada.

Shaping Mountain Culture in Western Canada

Swiss Guides: Shaping Mountain Culture in Western Canada was curated by Ms. Ilona Spaar, PhD (Cand.) for the Consulate General of Switzerland in Vancouver.

This exhibition illustrates the remarkable history of Swiss mountain guides and Swiss mountaineers in the Canadian Rocky, Columbia and Coastal Mountains and documents their pioneering methods in mountain guiding, mountain safety, skiing and helicopter-skiing. The Swiss guides and Swiss mountaineers contributed signiﬁcantly to a mountain culture for which western Canada is renowned today.

The mountain guides that came from the Swiss Alps to work for Canadian Paciﬁc Railway (CPR) hotels between 1899 and 1954 led hundreds of ﬁrst ascents and taught safe climbing techniques to thousands of climbers. The legacy of these early Swiss pioneers continued to live on in the 1950s and 1960s when a younger generation of Swiss mountaineers became crucial for the development of modern mountain rescue, avalanche control, skiing and helicopter skiing.

Most importantly however, the Swiss guides helped cultivate a common appreciation of Canada’s majestic western mountains and of an environment to be both preserved and revered.

To view the exhibition catalogue click here...

We would like to thank our sponsors whose generous donations made this project possible

Presenting Sponsor

At Pacific Arbour we are grateful to the Swiss pioneers for sharing their passion for mountains and helping us develop our distinct Canadian mountain culture. This mountain culture is an essential component of our Western Canadian identity. Many of the seniors who live in Pacific Arbour retirement residences have grand stories of mountain adventures. We thank those early Swiss guides for the role they played in creating both these memories and our Western Canadian identity.