Documentary: "Swiss Guides in the Canadian Rockies - Beyond Adventure"

Around 1900, the Canadian Rocky Mountains were merely viewed as an obstacle. This perception drastically changed when the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) hired Swiss Mountain Guides in order to make the Rocky Mountains accessible for mountaineering tourism.

The mountain guides that came from the Swiss Alps to work for CPR hotels between 1899 and 1954 led hundreds of first ascents and taught safe climbing techniques to thousands of climbers. The legacy of these early Swiss pioneers continued to live on in the 1950s and 1960s when a younger generation of Swiss mountaineers became crucial for the development of modern mountain rescue, avalanche control, skiing and helicopter skiing.
Most importantly however, the Swiss Guides helped cultivate a common appreciation of Canada’s majestic Western mountains and of an
environment to be both preserved and revered.

The documentary "Swiss Guides in the Canadian Rockies - Beyond Adventure" (2013) tells the story of these early Swiss Guides and their legacy that still keeps shaping Canadian mountain culture.

A film by: Counting Ants Productions
Director: Josias Tschanz
Executive Producer: Consulate General of Switzerland in Vancouver

+++ Update 2022:
Further information regarding the Edelweiss Village in Golden, BC:

The Edelweiss Village is the historic home of the pioneering Swiss Mountain Guides in the Rocky Mountains. The property is currently on sale, which has prompted an interest group to take action. In order to prevent the loss of this historically signifcant site, a group of Swiss-Canadian stakeholders has launched the campaign "Saving Edelweiss Village in Canada".
Find more information on their website: https://www.swissvillage.ca/