Fonds consists of materials pertaining to Ben Gadd's personal life and career as an environmental researcher, educator, interpretive guide, publisher, public speaker and author, ca.1956-2018. Fonds includes maps, research materials, publication notes/drafts, correspondence, contracts, photographs, …
ca. 7.9 metres of textual records -- ca. 274 maps -- 29 VHS tapes -- ca.15 discs with digital files -- 21 cassettes -- photographs -- oversized materials -- USB stick with 15 sldeshows
History / Biographical
Ben Gadd (1946-) is a retired naturalist, guide, geologist, instructor, freelance writer and award-winning author based in the Canadian Rockies.
Ben was born in Colorado Springs, Colorado in 1946. He met his wife, Cia (Langdon) Gadd at Colorado College in 1965, and the couple married four weeks later. Ben and Cia had two sons, Will and Toby. Ben and his family relocated to Jasper in the late 1960s. Ben later attended the University of Lethbridge and graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Earth Science in 1972.
Between 1976 and 1980, Ben taught classes at Mount Royal College and the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology; he later taught additional classes at Grant MacEwan College and Lakeland College. From 1981, Ben also worked as a seasonal naturalist/guide for Parks Canada. Ben left Parks Canada in 1985 to start an independent naturalist guiding business with Cia based in Jasper and other parts of the Canadian Rockies, which the couple continued to operate for over two decades.
Ben published his best-known work, "Handbook of the Canadian Rockies", through his publishing company Corax Press in 1986. The second edition of "Handbook of the Canadian Rockies" received multiple awards after its release in 1995. Ben's fiction book, "Raven's End" won the title of Best Canadian Rockies Book at the Banff Mountain Film and Book Festival in 2001 and became a Canadian bestseller. Overall, Ben has authored or co-authored 11 books and received nearly one dozen awards for his achievements as a writer, researcher and guide.
Ben continued to lead guided hikes and school programs until his retirement in 2016.
Scope & Content
Fonds consists of materials pertaining to Ben Gadd's personal life and career as an environmental researcher, educator, interpretive guide, publisher, public speaker and author, ca.1956-2018. Fonds includes maps, research materials, publication notes/drafts, correspondence, contracts, photographs, video and sound recordings, and other related material. Materials donated in 2024 include one USB stick containing
Notes
Ben Gadd fonds arrangement:
Series I : Personal records
- Subseries A : Travel guides and maps
- Subseries B : Education and early writings
- Subseries C : Personal interest files
- Subseries D : Other personal and collected
Series II : Research and publication records
- Subseries A : Handbook of the Canadian Rockies
- Subseries B : Other publications
Series III : Professional records
- Subseries A : Parks Canada Records
- Subseries B : Interpretive guiding
- Subseries C : Teaching records
- Subseries D : Other contracts and projects
Series IV : Legal and financial records
- Subseries A : Legal records
- Subseries B : Financial records
File consists of schedules, lists of images and photograph locations, and illustrations by artists Lonnie Springer and Deke Hammell. Materials in file were used in the creation of Ben Gadd's book, "The Canadian Hiker's and Backpacker's Guide".
Illustrations produced by Lonnie Springer, Deke Hammell
Date Range
2004
2007
Physical Description
0.3 cm of textual records -- 6 illustrations
Scope & Content
File consists of schedules, lists of images and photograph locations, and illustrations by artists Lonnie Springer and Deke Hammell. Materials in file were used in the creation of Ben Gadd's book, "The Canadian Hiker's and Backpacker's Guide".
A charcoal drawing of a black horse with head down is drawn in 3/4 view emerging from the left side of the paper. It’s hooves are left unfinished and dissolve into loose wisps. It’s mane is loose and flowing.
A charcoal drawing of a black horse with head down is drawn in 3/4 view emerging from the left side of the paper. It’s hooves are left unfinished and dissolve into loose wisps. It’s mane is loose and flowing.
File consists of textual records pertaining to trips led by the Trail Riders of the Canadian Rockies. Includes an annotated skit performed on a 1982 trail ride, drafts of possible content for newsletters, freelance writing samples, and accounts of specific trail rides. Most items list author(s) and…
File consists of textual records pertaining to trips led by the Trail Riders of the Canadian Rockies. Includes an annotated skit performed on a 1982 trail ride, drafts of possible content for newsletters, freelance writing samples, and accounts of specific trail rides. Most items list author(s) and date. File also includes several annotated sketches depicting trail riders.
Notes
File contains duplicates which have been attached to each other
Fonds consists of 27 limited edition prints of pen and pencil drawings by Glen Boles, 1994-2002. Content of prints include Mt. Assiniboine, Mt. Fay, Mt. Louis, Mt. Alberta, Abbot Pass & Victoria Glacier, Snowpatch Spire, Howser Spires, Mt. Finger, Three Sisters, Tower of Babel, Eisenhower Tower, Mt…
Glen Boles (1934-2022), was born in St. Stephen, New Brunswick and moved to Calgary, Alberta in 1953. In 1957 he was persuaded to climb with co-worker and mountain guide Heinz Kahl, a native Bavarian. Heinz Kahl and English climber Brian Greenwood introduced Boles to more difficult climbing. Boles has climbed extensively in the Rockies, summiting over 400 peaks including many new routes and first ascents. He has also climbed in the Interior Ranges of British Columbia as well as the St. Elias Range of Alaska and the Alps. Boles is also an avid skier and spent 13 years on the Canadian Ski Patrol System and is a member of the Ski Friends program in Lake Louise.
Boles retired from the City of Calgary Waterworks Engineering Division in 1991 after thirty-five years employment. Boles and his wife (married in 1965) reside in Cochrane, Alberta. From his mountain experiences, Glen has developed an interest in photography, drawing and writing and has co-authored "The Climbing Guide to the Canadian Rockies-South" and "Place Names of the Canadian Alps" with Bill Putnam and Roger Laurilla.
Scope & Content
Fonds consists of 27 limited edition prints of pen and pencil drawings by Glen Boles, 1994-2002. Content of prints include Mt. Assiniboine, Mt. Fay, Mt. Louis, Mt. Alberta, Abbot Pass & Victoria Glacier, Snowpatch Spire, Howser Spires, Mt. Finger, Three Sisters, Tower of Babel, Eisenhower Tower, Mt. Stephen, Bugaboos, Bighorn Sheep, Cougar, Timber Wolf, Grizzly Bear, Mt. Robson, Berg Lake, and Yamnuska. Fonds also includes approximately 40 diaries, ca. 1967-2021 and 16.5 cm. of correspondence 1987-2010
Notes
27 drawing prints moved to Oversize infofile storage under title "Artists - Glen Boles"
A pencil sketch of a landscape on paper with intact sketchbook binding holes at the top. The upper section of the mountain range extends from the trhc to the bottom centre and is empty within the outline. The bottom section of the image is darkly shaded. The artist’s signature is in the brhc. Au v…
A pencil sketch of a landscape on paper with intact sketchbook binding holes at the top. The upper section of the mountain range extends from the trhc to the bottom centre and is empty within the outline. The bottom section of the image is darkly shaded. The artist’s signature is in the brhc. Au verso, written in pencil in the tlhc, “48/K-5”.
A pencil sketch of a landscape on paper with intact sketchbook binding holes at the top. The mountain peak is in the top centre, below which the lower peak on the left is shaded. The artist’s signature is in the brhc. Au verso, written in pencil in the tlhc, “48/H-5”.
A pencil sketch of a landscape on paper with intact sketchbook binding holes at the top. The mountain peak is in the top centre, below which the lower peak on the left is shaded. The artist’s signature is in the brhc. Au verso, written in pencil in the tlhc, “48/H-5”.