Conrad Kain

Conrad Kain, mountaineer (b 10 Aug 1883 at Nasswald, Austria; d 2 Feb 1934 at Cranbrook, BC). Conrad Kain is considered one of the most daring climbers of his generation. Dubbed "Canada's First Super-Guide," Kain was a rogue guide that did more demanding climbs than the Swiss Guides. Kain was born in Austria to a poor family that lived in dire circumstances. His father died when he was a young boy, and he did much to support his family as a goatherder and quarryman, poaching animals when money was tight. Kain discovered early on that his real passion was being in the mountains, climbing and guiding. He received his guiding certificate (or "Fuhrerbuch") in 1906 when he was 23 years old. Source: http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/articles/conrad-kain Zac Robinson is a historian and Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation at the University of Alberta in Edmonton. He currently serves as Vice-President for Mountain Culture for the Alpine Club of Canada. Maria Koch studied and graduated at the University of Würzburg in West Germany and taught high school there until she emigrated to Canada in 1957. In 1964, she resumed her teaching career at the University of Alberta as a lecturer of German. She taught at the UofA for twenty-seven years until retirement. Originally from Germany John Koch attended the University of Würzburg and emigrated to Canada in 1954. After further studies at the University of British Columbia, where he obtained a masters degree in social work, John worked in the social welfare and health-care fields in the provinces of British Columbia, Saskatchewan, and, since 1964, Alberta. John retired in 1987, and since has written and published books on German history, as well as Martin Nordegg: The Uncommon Immigrant (1997) and most recently No Escape: My Young Years Under Hitler's Shadow (2004). John and Maria currently live in Edmonton.

"Zac Robinson’s edition of Conrad Kain: Letters from a Wandering Mountain Guide, 1906–1933 is an important new work. It is imbued with a level of intimacy that was edited out of Kain’s classic biography, Where the Clouds Can Go. Robinson's erudite annotations and freshly discovered photos help shed new light on the life and times of one of our country's greatest mountain guides and raconteurs."

• CONTENTSForewordConrad Kain, Guide and MountaineerChic ScottAcknowledgementsMapsAustria; the Canadian Rockies and Columbias; the Southern Alps of New ZealandIntroductionLetters from the ArchivesPart OneA Young Guide in Europe, 1906–1909Part TwoYour Friend in the Western Woods, 1909–1912Part ThreeThe Wanderer, 1912–1916Part FourWith Greetings, From Wilmer, 1920–1933EpilogueThe Kain-Malek Correspondence: Provenance, 1934–2005Don BourdonBibliographyIndex