Holiday 1909

In 1909, four climbing enthusiasts set out into the mountains north of Vancouver for their summer holidays. On their backs they carried cameras, watercolour paints, fifty-pound packs, surveying equipment, one rifle and a pie.

Their goal was to reach the headwaters of the Seymour Creek, to climb peaks there and to map the area. Over the two weeks they battled thousands of mosquitos, dodged bear and cougar, met the miners of Jungle Town and reveled in the mountain views.

Holiday, 1909 is the journal of one of these climbers, Charles Chapman. Written with wry humour, it tells the story of danger, hardship, and a few practical jokes. There are rousing poems, historic maps, and dozens of breathtaking photos from the peaks of mountains and of the men who climbed there in 1909.