“He brought glamour and imagination into the sport of mountaineering as few guides have done before him. Recalling his personality and amusing stories one should not forget that his approach to mountains was first and foremost an esthetic one; he saw a peak first as something beautiful—the technical problem was always secondary—and nothing counted beside that vision”
Honouring Conrad Kain, by Pat Morrow
My interest in the expat Austrian mountain guide Conrad Kain began to develop in the late ‘60s during my youth in Kimberley. Lilah and Bob O'Brien introduced me to mountaineering, and further ignited my passion by loaning me their tattered copy of the 1935 edition of the Kain biography, "Where the Clouds Can Go". Forty years later it was an absolute privilege, as you can imagine, for me to write the foreword to the 4th edition of the book. That printing sold out a few years ago, and this summer Rocky Mountain Books kindly agreed to a reprint.
Conrad Kain's remarkable achievements encompass three iconic first ascents in western Canada—Mount Robson (1913), Mount Louis (1916), and Bugaboo Spire (1916). These feats are especially extraordinary considering the limited climbing equipment of his time and the fact that they were accomplished while guiding amateur mountaineers. Kain's legacy extends to over 60 first ascents and new routes in the Canadian Rockies and B.C.’s Purcell Range. Furthermore, he embarked on three journeys to New Zealand between 1913 and 1916, guiding over 25 first ascents and summiting the country's highest peak, Mount Cook, twice.
Dr. Cora Best, Audrey Shippam and Conrad Kain at mouth of ice cave in Starbird (Horsethief) Glacier, 1922.
Conrad Kain and two unidentified climbers on gendarme of Resplendent Mountain, Robson-ACC Camp, 1913.
Conrad Kain on the third ascent of Mount Darby (N.E. Arête), 1914. H.O. Frind photo. Hocken Collections, University of Otago Library.
While Conrad Kain is well-known among the pre-Goretex generation here, and in New Zealand, by the turn of the 21st century his name had faded among younger climbers. In a bid to rekindle interest in the lore surrounding the Golden Age of Mountaineering in our country, Hermann Mauthner, an Austrian expat based in Wilmer initiated the Conrad Kain Centennial Society in 2008. Wilmer is near Invermere, where Kain was based until his death in 1934 - he launched weeks-long horse packing expeditions from there into the Purcells and Rockies with his principal clients, Thorington and the MacCarthys.
In 2009, we held a festive bratwurst blowout in Wilmer. Drawing more than 400 from the climbing and skiing communities in the Columbia Valley, Banff, and Calgary, the event kindled a “pay it forward” momentum. Through the CKCS, in the past 13 years we've been able to offer Columbia Valley teens an annual all-expense paid basic mountaineering program in the Bugaboos, supported by CMH, ACMG, ACC, BC Parks, and other organizations.
Janine Harach rappels on lower wall of Snowpatch Spire, Hounds Tooth and Marmolata peaks behind. ACC/ACMG/CKCS/BC Parks climbing camp celebration of 100th Anniversary of Conrad Kain’s first ascent of Bugaboo Spire, at Conrad Kain hut in Bugaboo Provincial Park, hosted by the Alpine Club of Canada and attended by CKCS Bugaboos Teens alumni, Sept 8-13, 2016.
The "Bugaboos Teens Climbing Program" has introduced 120+ youth to Conrad's now famous Bugaboo granite, with a dozen or more of them gaining the confidence to pursue mountain and nature related careers. Hermann's son Kirk Mauthner, an ACMG guide and rope rescue instructor and inventor, has acted as the lead guide throughout. Kirk has made other valuable contributions to the mountaineering community, including modernising the B.C. Emergency Management handbook in collaboration with HeliCat ED Ross Cloutier.
Outdoor Education teacher Leigh Cormier, Joy Johnson, and Guide Tim McAllister on ascent of the Houndstooth, 2014 Conrad Kain Centennial Society Bugaboos Teens outing to the Bugaboos, Purcell Mountain Range, British Columbia.
Teens, guides and BC Park rangers enjoy a bluebird day atop Eastpost Spire, Snowpatch Spire and Bugaboo Spire in background. Annual Bugaboos Teens climbing program offered by Conrad Kain Centennial Society, BC Parks, BC Hydro, The Alpine Club of Canada, Canadian Mountain Holidays and private sponsors.
At HeliCat Canada’s 2023 Spring Meeting in Penticton, I had the honour of delivering an AV presentation based on Kain's legacy, and suggested that the DNA of his "guiding spirit" has worked its way into the fabric of the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides. And through osmosis, into the outdoor guiding/hospitality industry at large.
Hans Gmoser, a committee member during the ACMG’s establishment in 1963, drew inspiration from reading about Kain's personal philosophy and climbing prowess in "Where The Clouds Can Go", having appeared on the Canadian mountaineering scene 20 years after Kain's passing. (Hans and Margaret were moved to name one of their sons Conrad, the other Robson). The book serves as a gateway to understanding Conrad's holistic approach to guiding and nature. It also depicts the colourful pioneering life in the Purcells and Rockies in the early 1900s and gives us a candid and light-hearted glimpse at the nascent guiding scene in the European and New Zealand Alps.
I am deeply grateful to HeliCat Canada for having given me the opportunity to share the Conrad Kain story with their members.
Words and photos By Pat Morrow
Photo Credit: for all historic photos, with the exception of the photo taken in New Zealand, credit goes to Byron Harmon, courtesy of the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies.
Snowpatch the "crevasse poodle" susses out the route, Mt Farnham in background, ascent of Redline Peak glacier, headwaters of McDonald Creek, Purcell Range near Invermere, BC during annual Conrad Kain Teen climbing camp.
ACC/ACMG/CKCS/BC Parks climbing camp celebration of 100th Anniversary of Conrad Kain’s first ascent of Bugaboo Spire, and ACC-AGM at Conrad Kain hut in Bugaboo Provincial Park, hosted by the Alpine Club of Canada and attended by CKCS Bugaboos Teens alumni, Sept 8-13, 2016.