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Acknowledgements

I am indebted to many people for help with this book, notably Lillian Evanoff, who shared her memories of her husband, gave permission to include parts of George’s “Dall Rams” story, provided access to files, journals, and photographs, and most importantly, granted me the freedom to make of it what I would.

I am grateful also to George and Lillian’s son, Craig Evanoff, and to Craig’s partner, Bonnie Hooge, for their contributions; to George’s daughter, Delia Christianson, for sharing her first and later remembrances of her dad; to his granddaughters, Dana and Talia Christianson, for providing their poems of remembrance; to George’s siblings, Mary Nixon and John Evanoff; to his cousin, Robert “Bob” Evanoff; and to George’s outdoor friend and associate as a young man in Edmonton and Edson, Paul Kindiak. I especially wish to thank one of George’s principal hunting partners and long-time neighbour, Bob Wiseman, whose recounting of their adventures in northern British Columbia gave impetus to my early writing. I appreciate contributions to the book by George’s friends and associates, including Bob Buchanan, Don Buchanan, Jeff Burrows, Don Doern, Bill Floyd, Dayle Gilliatt, Gailand Hann, Dave King, Michael Kutyn, Brian Livsey, Rick Lowcay, Leslie Rodgers, Peter Schaerer, Bob Stowell, Jim Weed, and Val Weed.

I acknowledge the information about George Evanoff that was provided by the Alpine Club of Canada, the Applied Science Technologists and Technicians of British Columbia (ASTTBC), the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides (ACMG), the Canadian Avalanche Association, and the Canadian Ski Patrol System. I received unexpected bonuses from two of these organizations when the ASTTBC and the ACMG provided me with George Evanoff’s original applications for professional standing in the respective associations; one detailed his academic and work accomplishments and the other his outdoor achievements.

Early in the process, University of Northern British Columbia professor Dr. Dee Horne provided helpful thoughts on biographical styles, and University of Victoria professor Dr. Lynne Van Luven read part of a very early manuscript and offered words of encouragement during a writer’s workshop in Prince George. I thank Dr. Bob Nelson for his assistance in scanning old photographs, negatives, and slides for the book.

I received timely encouragement to write this book during a conversation with Dr. Peter Steele, biographer and author of Eric Shipton: Everest and Beyond, following his presentation of that book at the 1998 Banff International Mountain Book Festival, just twelve days after George’s death. I had travelled to Banff several times with George to attend the related mountain film festival and to help out with his North Rockies Ski Tours booth, and the 1998 Banff event, coming just days after George Evanoff’s death, boosted my resolve to undertake this project.

Most importantly, I am grateful to the book’s publisher, Barry Penhale, and editor, Jane Gibson, of Natural Heritage Books, a member of The Dundurn Group, who saw in George Evanoff’s story a tale worth telling, and who capably guided me through the editing process to bring his story to fruition.