Trailblazers

Renowned historian Ted Hart’s Trailblazers: Legendary Guides and Outfitters of the Canadian Rockies is the story of the intrepid men who blazed and opened the trails of Banff, Jasper, and Waterton national parks from the 1880s to the 1950s

As the tourist trade developed in the Canadian Rockies in the late 1800s, a special breed of men emerged to lead wealthy, latter-day explorers into the Canadian Rockies wilderness. These guides and outfitters were often as undisciplined and unkempt as their clients were refined and polished. But together this unlikely alliance forged the last chapter in the history of exploration of the Canadian Rockies.

Trailblazers describes the colourful lives and times of

• Tom Wilson
• the Brewster family
• Curly Phillips
• Jimmy Simpson
• Bert Riggall
• Andy Russell

These were true mountain men of the Canadian West, who each played a significant role in making the mountain west accessible to those who came to experience its glories.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

The history of Banff has dominated E.J. (Ted) Hart's life and career. Born and educated in Edmonton, Alberta, Ted earned a Master's in Western Canadian History from the University of Alberta in 1971. The following year, he was hired by the late Maryalice Stewart to work in the archives at what was then known as the Peter Whyte Foundation, beginning a 50-year career involved with the cultural history of Banff and the Canadian Rockies.

Encouraged by noted mountain poet Jon Whyte, Ted published his first book on Canadian Rockies history, Diamond Hitch, in 1975. In 1976, Hart assumed leadership of the Whyte Foundation, a position that evolved into Director of the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies, a role he held until 2008. During this period Hart, authored 12 books related to Banff and the Rockies, including his award-winning The Selling of Canada: The CPR and the Beginnings of Canadian Tourism; Jimmy Simpson, Legend of the Rockies and a work of fiction, Ain't it Hell: Bill Peyto's Mountain Journal. Between 2008 and 2010, Ted continued to oversee the archives at the Whyte Museum and work on a major biography of Dominion Parks Commissioner J. B. Harkin. In 2026, he authored two books, History of Banff and Trailblazers: Legendary Guides and Outfitters of the Canadian Rockies.

Ted retired from the Whyte Museum in 2010 and now lives with his wife, Pat, south of Calgary in the foothills town of Okotoks.

For more books by Ted Hart, click here.