Millions of immigrants were attracted to the Canadian West by promotional literature from the government in the late 19th century to the First World War bringing with them visions of opportunity to create a Utopian society or a chance to take control of their own destinies.

There is a wonderful fascination about mountains. Their massive grandeur, majesty of lofty height, splendour of striking outline crag and pinnacle and precipice seem to appeal both to the intellect and to the inmost soul of man, and to compel a mingled reverence and love ... James Outram First published in 1923, In the Heart of the Canadian Rockies is Outram's record of his adventures and exploits in the early years of the 20th century among the massive mountains straddling the Alberta/British Columbia boundary. Throughout his time in western Canada, Outram crossed paths with numerous colourful characters Swiss guides, hunters, cowboys and outfitters, as well as previous climbers and explorers, whose journeys he discusses at length. It is this comprehensive detailing, not only of Outram's own climbs but also those of mountaineers who preceded him, that gives In the Heart of the Canadian Rockies the air of a grand overview of the early years of climbing in western Canada. With its many references also to burgeoning alpine towns in both Alberta and British Columbia, this third volume in the Mountain Classics Collection is an open invitation for readers, climbers and adventurers to follow in the footsteps of this avid early mountaineer and passionate outdoorsman into the rugged, beautiful landscape of the western Canadian mountains.

The traveller going westwards from the prairie finds the way blocked by a grim wall of cliffs rising 7,000 or 8,000 feet above the sea and justifying the name of the "Rockies" given to our greatest chain of mountains. Toward the end of the summer these desolate precipices are snowless and except for a glimpse of white peaks through some pass there is scarcely a suggestion of the glacier region within. Then the train enters the "Gap" and before long the summits around show fields or patches of midsummer snow; and as one draws nearer to the heart of the Rockies there is blue ice to be seen clinging to the cliffs or reaching as glaciers down into the wooded valleys, and one is thrilled with the wild charm of alpine scenery. However, engineers are strict utilitarians and always choose the lowest pass for a railway, so that the passenger in the observation car catches only tantalizing glimpses of the wonders and beauties of the ice world a few miles away and a few thousand feet above the valley. One must stop at some place like lake Louise in the southern Rockies or Tête Jaune in the north or Glacier in the Selkirks to come into real contact with snow fields and glaciers. What a joy it is to get rid of the hot and dusty everyday world of cities for a while and come close to Nature in one of her wildest moods! It is not only the mountaineer who feels the seduction of the cool, clean solitudes where glaciers are born and do their wonderful work. Every healthy manor woman must yield to the delight of living in those inspiring surroundings. It is worthwhile to put on warm strong clothes and hob-nailed shoes and fill your lungs with mountain air in a scramble up to the snow fields to see how the glacial machinery works, machinery which some thousands of years ago shaped almost the whole surface of Canada, doing its work on the plains as 4 well as the mountains and leaving it the splendid land of lakes and rivers and fertile prairies and rolling hills which it is to-day.

The traveller going westwards from the prairie finds the way blocked by a grim wall of cliffs rising 7,000 or 8,000 feet above the sea and justifying the name of the "Rockies" given to our greatest chain of mountains. Toward the end of the summer these desolate precipices are snowless and except for a glimpse of white peaks through some pass there is scarcely a suggestion of the glacier region within. Then the train enters the "Gap" and before long the summits around show fields or patches of midsummer snow; and as one draws nearer to the heart of the Rockies there is blue ice to be seen clinging to the cliffs or reaching as glaciers down into the wooded valleys, and one is thrilled with the wild charm of alpine scenery.