Mount Begbie
Mount Begbie is the most identifiable piece of geography in Revelstoke and has become an icon for the community. The mountain is beloved by all, and everyone has their memories and stories about the mountain. The mountain has given its name to everything from schools to breweries to businesses over the years. We have all believed that the mountain would stand forever in its natural state, but it now appears that developers have set their sights on the mountain, putting its future in jeopardy. The Province of B.C. recently rejected a request by the City of Revelstoke and the Columbia Shuswap Regional District to create a Development and Protection Plan for the mountain. Next week in the B.C. Legislature, our MLA, Doug Clovechok, will present a petition asking that the government place an interim moratorium on all new commercial recreation development in this area until a Backcountry Recreation Access Plan is completed.
There were doubtless Indigenous names for the mountain, but because of the removal of the Sinixt from their traditional lands in Canada, that name has been lost. The name Mount Begbie appears on George Dawson’s map “West Kootenai” published in 1890 by the Geological Survey of Canada. The name was officially adopted on June 30, 1900.
The mountain is named in honour of Sir Matthew Baillie Begbie, first judge of the Crown Colony of British Columbia in 1858. Begbie gained the reputation as a “hanging judge” but he was quick to point out that it was the jury who were responsible for the hangings, as he had no other option in the case of a guilty verdict in a murder case. Begbie learned some of the Indigenous languages, introduced legislation giving rights to Indigenous women and called for the recognition of Indigenous land rights. However, the majority of the people that he sentenced to death were Indigenous men, leaving him with a complicated legacy.
Judge Begbie appeared in court in Revelstoke, then known as ‘Farwell’ in June of 1885. An article in the Victoria Colonist, in June 1885 described the visit: “His Lordship has won golden opinions from everyone here by his judicial learning and personal kindness… Sir Matthew expressed his unqualified satisfaction with the proceedings, and bore witness to the pervading quietness and order, and the remarkable absence of drunkenness.” Sir Matthew Baillie Begbie died in Victoria on June 11, 1894.
Mount Begbie and the City of Revelstoke, circa 1940s.
It is probable that there were earlier ascents of Mount Begbie, but the first recorded ascent was in June of 1907, when three members of the newly-formed Alpine Club of Canada climbed with Swiss guide, Edward Feuz, Jr. The climbers were Rev. Doctor James Chalmers Herdman of Calgary, who was credited with first ascents of Mount Macoun and Hermit Mountain; Rev. James Robert Robertson, minister of Knox Presbyterian Church in Revelstoke; and Rupert Haggen, a 19-year-old Revelstoke resident who went on to become a MLA for the Grand Forks – Greenwood Riding as a member of the CCF party.
Robertson wrote a detailed description of their climb that was printed in the Revelstoke Mail-Herald newspaper. He talked about the special place that Mount Begbie held in the community. “This mount catches the eye of every passing tourist and arouses his enthusiasm, but so far no tourist has essayed to climb it. This mount is the chief pride of the city of Revelstoke. For years her citizens have felt that in a peculiar sense Mount Begbie is their own.”
The climbers reached the summit at 4:00 pm, Tuesday, June 11, 1907, which coincidentally was the 13th anniversary of Sir Matthew Begbie’s death. Robertson reflected on their accomplishment. “There was not much time for meditation in the midst of a raging storm, nor much room for sentiment when perishing in wet clothes, nevertheless there was a peculiar sensation and a thrill of joy in standing on a height where man had never stood before.”
Subsequent ascents of Mount Begbie were few and far between for several years, with all of them considered newsworthy. C.B. Sissons, who was Revelstoke’s first high school teacher, climbed the mountain in 1910, and felt that more people should be attempting the climb. “There is no reason,” he said, “why every able-bodied, cool-headed man in Revelstoke should not ascend Mt. Begbie and enjoy a prospect hardly equalled anywhere in the mountains. The climb is neither hard nor dangerous. The difficulty of getting to the peak has been exaggerated.”
The first ski ascent of Mount Begbie was by local ski-jumping champion Bob Lymburne on May 15, 1932. He described his trip in the 1932 edition of the Alpine Club of Canada journal. “I enjoyed the wonderful skiing that is to be had on the long, smooth slopes of the glacier. After two hours skiing on the glacier, I halted and enjoyed my lunch. This consisted of raw eggs, oranges and raisins which, in my opinion, forms the most satisfactory lunch for strenuous exercise.” He made it to the summit by 2 pm, and enjoyed “many wild, swift rides down the mountain side.”
A fascinating legend continues to be told regarding an Iceman buried on Mount Begbie. The daughter of 1890s Revelstoke magistrate Thomas Livingstone Haig related a story told by her father. “He was shown by an Indian trapper the body of a completely preserved Indian trapper within the ice…he mentioned its preservation in complete condition…the gathering thickness of the ice had begun to make the body gradually less visible.” No documentation has ever been found to verify this story.
The story of the Iceman resurfaced with the opening of the Big Bend highway in 1940. National newspapers wrote about expeditions planned to seek out the iceman. Several versions of the story appeared. Perhaps he was a fur trader in the area in the early 1800s, or a gold seeker during the rush of the 1860s, or an Indigenous hunter. One account says that he was seen beneath the ice: a man powerful in build, black hair receding from a bald spot, a bushy beard descending almost to his waist. He was wearing a woollen hunters’ coat that came almost to his knees, and across his shoulders was an ancient flintlock rifle. No evidence has been found to back up any of these stories.
In 2007, to mark the 100th anniversary of the first recorded climb, a group of local climbers undertook a re-enactment of the original climb. They imitated the original group by reaching the base of the mountain by boat, and they encountered similar weather, including heavy snow. The Honourable Iona Campagnolo, Lieutenant Governor of B.C. presided over a ceremony to mark the Centennial. Plans for the Lieutenant Governor to plant a time capsule at the base of the glacier were thwarted by bad weather, but the time capsule was planted at a later date and remains there today.
Mount Begbie stands as a guardian for the community, and is a symbol of all that we value about Revelstoke – a spirit of determination, and even wildness, and steadfastness. Scrolling through the recently formed Facebook group, Protect Revelstoke, it is easy to see how important Mount Begbie is to those who live here now, or who grew up or lived here in the past. It is imperative that we do all that we can to protect it, and keep it in its natural state. That includes opposing inappropriate development on the mountain, as well as doing what we can to slow global warming, to ensure that the glacier of Mount Begbie will always stand watch over Revelstoke.