E.W.D. Holway

(1853-1923) An American banker, Edward Willett Dorland Holway climbed extensively in the Selkirks and the Canadian Rockies. After visiting the Alps, he journeyed to the Canadian Rockies in 1901, spending much of his time in Banff but visiting Lake Louise where he climbed Mount Victoria. The following year he met the guide Jacob Muller and travelled extensively throughout the Lake Louise area. Later, Holway climbed widely in the Selkirks in the company of Howard Palmer. The two did much of the early exploration in the Selkirks from 1908 to 1912, completing the first ascent of Mount Sir Sandford, the highest mountain in the Selkirk Range. These trips involved incredible struggles through devil's club and other thick underbrush in order to reach their objectives. Fred Butters, one of Holway's companions, wrote, "On the trail and in the mountains the only fault to be found with him was that his unfailing energy sometimes wore out us mere mortals who tried in vain to keep up the pace. Holway's biography entitled, "Edward W.D. Holway -A Pioneer of the Canadian Alps," was written by his long-time climbing companion Howard Palmer. [Additional Information: Palmer, Howard. "Mountaineering and Exploration in the Selkirks." G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1914] [Additional Information: Palmer, Howard. "Edward W.D. Holway". University of Minnesota Press, 1931]