Bulkley Valley Museum

June 15, 2011

Swiss Guides:  Shaping Mountain Culture in Western Canada

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The Bulkley Valley Museum is proud to host the wonderful exhibition, Swiss Guides:  Shaping Mountain Culture in Western Canada, curated by Ilona Spaar and presented by the Consulate General of Switzerland, Vancouver.

This exhibition is dedicated to the remarkable history of Swiss mountain guides and ski instructors in the Canadian Rocky, Columbia, and Coastal Mountains dating from the 1900s to 1970s. Swiss Guides documents the role the Swiss guides played in the development of mountain guiding, safety, skiing and heli-skiing in Western Canada.  They were among the first to develop Canada as a world famous destination for recreational skiing as a winter pastime.

The exhibition curator, Ilona Spaar, explores a wondrous expedition of discovery as she exquisitely lays out the development of recreational mountaineering and skiing in Western Canada.  Beginning in the early 1900’s, Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) brought Swiss guides to the Rocky and Selkirk Mountains in response to a growing international interest in recreational mountaineering and skiing.

The Swiss influence in Canadian mountaineering continued into the 1970’s and the development of modern mountain rescue techniques in Canada’s national parks.

The Swiss Guides exhibition is presented as an exciting chapter in the BV Museum’s Culture Crawl in the beautiful alpine town of Smithers, B.C.  The Swiss Guides exhibition in located in Oscar’s Source for Sports, 1214, Main St, Smithers.  Oscar’s Source for Sports has a proud Swiss heritage.  Oscar Hidber, the original owner of Oscar’s Source for Sports, emigrated to Smithers from Switzerland with his parents at nine years of age in 1938.  Oscar’s son Steve carries on the family business and maintains annual visits to Switzerland and his Swiss family members.

The Bulkley Valley Museum is most appreciative of the support extended to our alpine community by Ilona Spaar, curator, and the Consulate General of Switzerland, Vancouver.