Published in the Alpine Club of Canada Gazette Fall/Winter 2009

http://www.alpineclubofcanada.ca/gazette/gazettes/Winter2009.pdf

Scottish project to honour Canadian Rockies pioneer

by Lynn Martel

Amidst the peaks of the Canadian Rockies, Norman J. Collie was a giant of a man.

Collie participated in 21 first ascents of major Rockies’ peaks between 1897 and 1911, including the highest peak entirely within the boundaries of Banff National Park, 3612-metre Mount Forbes, as well as the landmark Mount Victoria, backdrop to one of the world’s most photographed sites, Lake Louise, and Mount Gordon, nowadays among the most popular ski ascents of the Wapta Icefields area. 

On top of that, it was Collie, who in 1898, made the first ascent with Herman Woolley of Mount Athabasca - a full traverse following the northeast ridge, descending by the northwest ridge and north glacier back to their camp. It was from that 3492-metre summit, now among the most frequently climbed alpine peaks in the Rockies, that Collie and Woolley saw what no man had recorded witnessing before - the massive expanse of the Columbia Icefields, a virtual ocean of snow stretching before them, not to mention dozens of unclimbed peaks including Mount Columbia, at 3747 metres, second only to the Rockies’ highest, 3954-metre Mount Robson.  

Collie however, was not only known for his explorations that contributed greatly to the mapping and development of travel corridors in the Canadian Rockies, which led to his being named among the first of the Alpine Club of Canada’s honorary members in the club’s inaugural year, 1906, but he was also a respected Himalayan explorer and a skilled climber who made notable ascents in his homeland of Scotland, particularly in the popular mountaineering centre of Sligachan on the Isle of Skye.

For the past three years, the Isle of Sky-based Collie Mackenzie Sculpture Group has been working to celebrate the huge contributions of Collie and his frequent climbing partner and guide John Mackenzie, the first native Scot to become a professional guide. Four large hydro poles were scheduled to be removed in September to make way for the erection of a bronze statue that will not only honour Collie and Mackenzie, but also help promote the value and connection of the local landscape, wild places and unique Gaelic culture.

To help raise funds for the materials required for the two figures – 400 kilos at a cost of £1000 per kilo, or $1875 CDN for a total cost of about $750,000 CDN – the group is issuing certificates to donors stating they have donated money to purchase a certain weight in bronze. Certificates will be available starting at £10 for 10 grams, or $18.75 CDN for 10 grams.

“This will be a chance for people from around the world to buy in to a piece of history in the making here in Scotland,” said group member Steve Tinney.

As well, 16 schools on Skye are involved in developing projects that relate to the stories of both climbers, Tinney said, and are hoping schools from the Canadian Rockies would be interested in partnering with them.