Mountaintop women reach new heights

Pioneering women have always enjoyed adventure, with vertical heights being no exception. A group of local women with a lofty goal ascended to the peak of Mt. Evans
in the early 1930s – they were not the first local women to brave a climbing expedition.

Of their predecessors, the St. Paul Anglican Church Hiking group trekked to Mt. Robson
in 1914. It seems that outdoor adventure did not rest solely on the shoulders of men, but with a measure of equality, these brave souls journeyed together to the top of the Moyie Range west of Kimberley. The group featured men and women equally.

An anecdote from the 1930s Mt. Evans expedition demonstrates the skill, strength,determination, and curiosity of three exceptional women.

Marjean McLure writes – for five days, we slept and ate as only those who have spent a
hard day in the mountains can sleep and eat. These five grand and glorious days, which
comprised our holiday, were spent in the heart of the mountains, our headquarters being the Evans’ Brothers’ camp on White Fish creek…

Our greatest achievement was our ascent to the topmost pinnacle of Mt. Evans. Several men have scaled the mountain during the past few years, but only last week did the great peak succumb to womankind with Helen and me being the first two of our sex to ascend Mt. Evans fully.