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Preface

I first “met” Phyllis Munday when Phyl’s daughter, Edith Wickham, deposited her parents’ records in the BC Archives, some fifteen years ago. As I worked to organize, sort, and inventory the photos and albums, what struck me most intensely were the thousands of powerful photographic images – panoramic views of jagged snowcapped peaks and icy glacier valleys, carefully annotated and labelled. This was my introduction to the majestic world of Mount Waddington, and to the Mundays’ pioneering exploration into the heart of the Coast Mountains. Later, I included Phyllis Munday in two separate archival exhibitions that I researched and created, but several more years passed before I had the opportunity to undertake extensive research in preparation for writing this book.

Phyllis Munday left behind an extraordinary legacy. Her physical prowess legitimized her in the largely male world of mountain climbing and inspired generations of women to follow in her footsteps. The time she spent in the forests, on mountaintops, on glaciers, and in alpine meadows, convinced her that our world is precious. Through her gentle teachings about the wonders and beauties of this natural world she touched many. Girl Guides, mountaineers, and the general public all benefitted from her nature lectures. Phyl Munday was an inspiring public speaker especially when she gave “lantern slide” shows featuring her exquisite nature photography. She was more at home in the outdoors setting, where she never lost an opportunity to combine hiking with observations of nature. A spontaneous, hour-long, engrossing examination of a nurse log on the edge of a trail leading to the beach remains a cherished memory for one lucky Girl Guide.

“Taken at my front door,” Grouse Mountain, 1924.

A confident Phyllis Munday poses for the camera

not long before her triumphant ascent of Mount Robson.

Phyl took photos and kept diaries and wrote up some of her adventures. She was also interviewed several times by historians and mountain climbers. These records (combined with those created by her husband, Don, a professional writer and journalist) are rich, intimate, primary source materials that complement the public archival records.

Phyl’s own words, as written in her diaries and other writings and spoken in her oral reminiscences and conversations taped during interviews in the 1970s, provided me with raw material, which I then refashioned within the dialogue and commentary in the book. Many descriptive details about Guide camp adventures, climbing, and family life are Phyl’s own words. All I have done is place them in the present tense and integrate them into the story. Thus the book is a blending of historical facts and Phyl’s own words.

Writing this book has been a great joy because of the process that combined examination of the archival records documenting Phyllis Munday’s life with the opportunity to speak directly with many who knew and loved her.

Phyllis Munday on the moraine of the Franklin Glacier

carrying a 32-kilogram pack, 1927.