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 The Yam
50 Years of Climbing on Yamnuska
by Chic Scott, Dave Dornian & Ben Gadd
Recipient of the Banff Mountain
Book Festival's Canadian Rockies Award
The "great wall of stone" rising so prominently above the Trans-Canada Highway between Calgary and Banff, is the birthplace of modern rockclimbing in the Canadian Rockies. It was 50 years ago in 1952 that Hans Gmoser and Leo Grillmair first took up the challenge.
Since then Yam has been the scene of both triumph and tragedy, events meticulously documented by Scott and Dornian. Gadd gives us the background; the geology and human history and ends with a walk "up the backside", detailing the flora and fauna.
The authors are all seasoned climbers who learned to climb on Yamnuska. Chic Scott has written four books including the multi-award winner Pushing the Limits: The Story of Canadian Mountaineering. For his contribution to leadership and documenting Canada's climbing history he received the 2000 Summit of Excellence Award at the Banff Mountain Film Festival. Dave Dornian is a journalist and writer who regularly contributes to outdoor magazines across Canada and in the USA. He is presently Chair of the Alpine Club of Canada's Competition Committee and a director of the North American Council for Competition Climbing Ben Gadd is the author of the popular Handbook of the Canadian Rockies. His first novel, Raven's End, is a best-seller with much of the story taking place on Yamnuska. When not writing, Ben (a geologist) designs nature trails, produces interpretive signs for Parks Canada and advises protected area managers.
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