Phyllis Munday
Encyclopedia
Phyllis B Munday, CM
(née James) (1894 – 1990) was a Canadian mountaineer
, explorer, naturalist
and humanitarian, famed for being the first woman to reach the summit of Mount Robson
(with Annette Buck) in 1924, and with her husband Don
for discovering Mount Waddington
, and exploring the area around it via the Franklin River
and the Homathko River
. Awarded the Order of Canada
in 1972 for her work with the Girl Guides of Canada
and St. John's Ambulance as well as for her mountaineering career.
Mount Munday
is named after Don and Phyllis Munday, and Baby Munday Peak is named for their daughter Edith
, moved to the British Columbia
interior in 1901, and then to Vancouver in 1907.
In 1912 she climbed Grouse Mountain
with her Girl Guide company.
In 1915, at 21, Phyllis joined the British Columbia Mountaineering Club
and began going on club trips to such places as Mount Seymour
, The Lions
, Mount Tantalus
and Mount Garibaldi
.
They married in February 1920, spending their honeymoon in a cabin on Dam Mountain near Vancouver. Their daughter, Edith was born in 1921, and at 11 weeks she was carried to the top of Crown Mountain
.
From 1923 to 1926 the Mundays lived in a tent, and then a cabin on Grouse Mountain
where Don worked cutting a trail from Lonsdale Avenue in North Vancouver, British Columbia
to the summit, while Phyllis ran the Alpine Lodge, serving hot drinks and meals to hikers.
, Vancouver Island
, Don
and Phyllis Munday spotted what they believed to be a peak taller than Mount Robson
, the then accepted tallest peak entirely within British Columbia
. In the words of Don Munday
"The compass showed the alluring peak stood along a line passing a little east of Bute Inlet
and perhaps 150 miles away, where blank spaces on the map left ample room for many nameless mountains." While there is some debate as to whether the peak they saw was indeed Mount Waddington (in fact, Don Munday himself observed that the feat is impossible), they almost certainly saw a peak in the Waddington Range
, and this led the Mundays to explore that area, and discover the mountain in fact.
Over the next decade, the Munday's mounted several expeditions into the area in an attempt to climb it. Known to them as "The Mystery Mountain", in 1927 the height was measured at 13,260 feet (by triangulation), and the Canadian Geographic Board gave it the name Mount Waddington after Alfred Waddington
who was a proponent of a railway through the Homathko River
valley. They reached the lower summit in 1928, deeming the main summit too risky.
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
(née James) (1894 – 1990) was a Canadian mountaineer
Mountaineer
-Sports:*Mountaineering, the sport, hobby or profession of walking, hiking, trekking and climbing up mountains, also known as alpinism-University athletic teams and mascots:*Appalachian State Mountaineers, the athletic teams of Appalachian State University...
, explorer, naturalist
Natural history
Natural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards observational rather than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, natural history is the systematic study...
and humanitarian, famed for being the first woman to reach the summit of Mount Robson
Mount Robson
Mount Robson is the most prominent mountain in North America's Rocky Mountain range; it is also the highest point in the Canadian Rockies. The mountain is located entirely within Mount Robson Provincial Park of British Columbia, and is part of the Rainbow Range. It is commonly thought to be the...
(with Annette Buck) in 1924, and with her husband Don
Don Munday
Walter Alfred Don Munday was a Canadian explorer, naturalist and mountaineer famous for his explorations of the Coast Mountains with his wife Phyllis, and especially for the exploration of the Waddington Range....
for discovering Mount Waddington
Mount Waddington
Mount Waddington, once known as Mystery Mountain, is the highest peak in the Coast Mountains of British Columbia, Canada. Although Mount Fairweather and Mount Quincy Adams, which straddle the US border between Alaska and British Columbia are taller, Mount Waddington is the highest peak that lies...
, and exploring the area around it via the Franklin River
Franklin River
The Franklin River lies in the Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park at the mid northern area of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area. Its source is situated at the western edge of the Central Highlands and it continues west towards the West Coast of Tasmania...
and the Homathko River
Homathko River
The Homathko River is one of the major rivers of the southern Coast Mountains of British Columbia, and one of the few rivers that penetrates the range from the Chilcotin Plateau to the coastal inlets, entering the sea at the head of Bute Inlet adjacent to the mouth of the Southgate River, just to...
. Awarded the Order of Canada
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
in 1972 for her work with the Girl Guides of Canada
Girl Guides of Canada
Girl Guides of Canada - Guides du Canada is the national Guiding association of Canada. Guiding in Canada started in 1910 and was among the founding members of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts in 1928. As of 2006, the association had 116,206 members.-History:Mary Malcolmson...
and St. John's Ambulance as well as for her mountaineering career.
Mount Munday
Mount Munday
Mount Munday is one of the principal summits of the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains in British Columbia, Canada. It is in elevation and stands in the Waddington Range six kilometres southeast of Mount Waddington , which is the highest summit in the Coast Mountains.The peak was named by...
is named after Don and Phyllis Munday, and Baby Munday Peak is named for their daughter Edith
Early life
Phyllis was born in Sri LankaSri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
, moved to the British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
interior in 1901, and then to Vancouver in 1907.
In 1912 she climbed Grouse Mountain
Grouse Mountain
Grouse Mountain is one of the North Shore Mountains of the Pacific Ranges in North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Exceeding 1,200 m in altitude at its peak, is the site of an alpine ski area in the winter season overlooking Greater Vancouver with four chairlifts facilitating 26 runs...
with her Girl Guide company.
In 1915, at 21, Phyllis joined the British Columbia Mountaineering Club
British Columbia Mountaineering Club
The British Columbia Mountaineering Club is a mountaineering organization, based in Vancouver, British Columbia. Founded on October 28, 1907 as the Vancouver Mountaineering Club, it became one of the centres of Canadian Mountaineering, particularly in the Coast Mountains of British Columbia...
and began going on club trips to such places as Mount Seymour
Mount Seymour
Mount Seymour is a mountain located in Mount Seymour Provincial Park in the District of North Vancouver, British Columbia. It is a part of the North Shore Mountains, rising to the north from the shores of Burrard Inlet and Indian Arm to a summit of above the Indian River and Deep Cove neighbourhoods...
, The Lions
The Lions (Peaks)
The Lions are a pair of pointed peaks along the North Shore Mountains in Metro Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. They can be seen from much of the Greater Vancouver area, as far as Robert Burnaby Park in East Burnaby, south to parts of Surrey, and from the west on the Howe Sound Islands and the...
, Mount Tantalus
Mount Tantalus
Mount Tantalus is a mountain in southwestern British Columbia, Canada, located southeast of Falk Lake and south of Monmouth Mountain. It is the highest mountain in the Tantalus Range of the Pacific Ranges and is famous for its snow covered face....
and Mount Garibaldi
Mount Garibaldi
Mount Garibaldi is a potentially active stratovolcano in the Sea to Sky Country of British Columbia, north of Vancouver, Canada. Located in the southernmost Coast Mountains, it is one of the most recognized peaks in the South Coast region, as well as British Columbia's best known volcano...
.
Meeting Don
Phyllis met her future husband in 1918. While on a mountaineering trip an incident occurred which, in Don's words, "lends itself readily to being given a romantic aspect." Don lost his footing on a glacial moraine, and was in danger of slipping into a crevasse. Phyllis jumped to help him restore his balance, and in so doing lost hers. Don managed to grab and steady her until she could regain her feet.They married in February 1920, spending their honeymoon in a cabin on Dam Mountain near Vancouver. Their daughter, Edith was born in 1921, and at 11 weeks she was carried to the top of Crown Mountain
Crown Mountain
Crown Mountain may refer to:*A mountain summit in Canada:**Crown Mountain, one of the North Shore Mountains in British Columbia.**Crown Mountain in Strathcona Provincial Park, Vancouver Island, British Columbia....
.
From 1923 to 1926 the Mundays lived in a tent, and then a cabin on Grouse Mountain
Grouse Mountain
Grouse Mountain is one of the North Shore Mountains of the Pacific Ranges in North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Exceeding 1,200 m in altitude at its peak, is the site of an alpine ski area in the winter season overlooking Greater Vancouver with four chairlifts facilitating 26 runs...
where Don worked cutting a trail from Lonsdale Avenue in North Vancouver, British Columbia
North Vancouver, British Columbia
There are two municipalities in the Greater Vancouver region of British Columbia, Canada, that use the name North Vancouver. These are:*The City of North Vancouver...
to the summit, while Phyllis ran the Alpine Lodge, serving hot drinks and meals to hikers.
Exploration of the Waddington Range
In 1925, while on a trip to Mount ArrowsmithMount Arrowsmith
Mount Arrowsmith is the largest mountain on southern Vancouver Island. Its dominant rock is basalt. The mountain is contained within a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and as of September 18, 2009 is designated part of 1,300 hectare Mt. Arrowsmith Regional Park....
, Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island is a large island in British Columbia, Canada. It is one of several North American locations named after George Vancouver, the British Royal Navy officer who explored the Pacific Northwest coast of North America between 1791 and 1794...
, Don
Don Munday
Walter Alfred Don Munday was a Canadian explorer, naturalist and mountaineer famous for his explorations of the Coast Mountains with his wife Phyllis, and especially for the exploration of the Waddington Range....
and Phyllis Munday spotted what they believed to be a peak taller than Mount Robson
Mount Robson
Mount Robson is the most prominent mountain in North America's Rocky Mountain range; it is also the highest point in the Canadian Rockies. The mountain is located entirely within Mount Robson Provincial Park of British Columbia, and is part of the Rainbow Range. It is commonly thought to be the...
, the then accepted tallest peak entirely within British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
. In the words of Don Munday
"The compass showed the alluring peak stood along a line passing a little east of Bute Inlet
Bute Inlet
Bute Inlet is one of the principal inlets of the British Columbia Coast. It is 80 km long from its head at the mouths of the Homathko and Southgate Rivers to the continental headlands at its mouth, where it is nearly blocked by Stuart Island, and it averages about 4 km in width...
and perhaps 150 miles away, where blank spaces on the map left ample room for many nameless mountains." While there is some debate as to whether the peak they saw was indeed Mount Waddington (in fact, Don Munday himself observed that the feat is impossible), they almost certainly saw a peak in the Waddington Range
Waddington Range
The Waddington Range is a subrange of the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains in southwestern British Columbia, Canada. It is only about 4000 km² in area, relatively small in area within the expanse of the range, but it is the highest area of the Pacific Ranges and of the Coast Mountains, being...
, and this led the Mundays to explore that area, and discover the mountain in fact.
Over the next decade, the Munday's mounted several expeditions into the area in an attempt to climb it. Known to them as "The Mystery Mountain", in 1927 the height was measured at 13,260 feet (by triangulation), and the Canadian Geographic Board gave it the name Mount Waddington after Alfred Waddington
Alfred Waddington
Alfred Penderell Waddington was born in 1801 in the Brompton, Kensington, district of London, England. During his later years, Waddington was actively involved in the Colony of Vancouver Island in what later became the province of British Columbia, Canada....
who was a proponent of a railway through the Homathko River
Homathko River
The Homathko River is one of the major rivers of the southern Coast Mountains of British Columbia, and one of the few rivers that penetrates the range from the Chilcotin Plateau to the coastal inlets, entering the sea at the head of Bute Inlet adjacent to the mouth of the Southgate River, just to...
valley. They reached the lower summit in 1928, deeming the main summit too risky.
Significant Events
- 1894 born in Sri Lanka
- 1916 founded the Girl Guide movement in British ColumbiaBritish ColumbiaBritish Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
- 1920 established the first St. John Ambulance brigade in North Vancouver, British ColumbiaNorth Vancouver, British ColumbiaThere are two municipalities in the Greater Vancouver region of British Columbia, Canada, that use the name North Vancouver. These are:*The City of North Vancouver...
- 1938 honorary lifetime membership in the Alpine Club of CanadaAlpine Club of CanadaThe Alpine Club of Canada is a mountain club with a National Office in Canmore, Alberta that has been a focal point for Canadian mountaineering since its founding in 1906. The club was co-founded by Arthur Oliver Wheeler, who served as its first president, and Elizabeth Parker, a journalist for...
- 1972 inducted into the Order of CanadaOrder of CanadaThe Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
- 1998 stamp imprinted in her honour
First Ascents
- 1922 Parapet Peak
- 1922 Isosceles Peak
- 1923 Blackcomb PeakBlackcomb PeakBlackcomb Peak is a mountain located east of Whistler, British Columbia and forms the boundary between the Whistler Blackcomb ski resort and Garibaldi Provincial Park...
- 1924 Foley Peak
- 1930 Mount MundayMount MundayMount Munday is one of the principal summits of the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains in British Columbia, Canada. It is in elevation and stands in the Waddington Range six kilometres southeast of Mount Waddington , which is the highest summit in the Coast Mountains.The peak was named by...
- 1931 Sockeye Peak
- 1936 Silverthrone Mountain
- 1942 Mount Queen Bess
- 1946 Reliance Mountain