Alberta Readers' Choice Award

Alberta Readers' Choice Award Top 5

"The Forgotten Explorer: Samuel
  Prescott Fay's 1914 Expedition
  to the Northern Rockies"
   by Samuel Fay (Fall 2009)

North of Jasper, in the Canadian Rockies, is a large, roadless and spectacular wilderness of alpine flower meadows, glaciated peaks, canyons, waterfalls and abundant wildlife. Compared to the millions each year who visit Banff and Jasper national parks immediately to the south, this northern area sees few visitors. Fewer still have ever attempted to travel through this wilderness in one continuous trip. The first to do so was Samuel Prescott Fay in 1914. To this day, his exact route has never been duplicated.

Fay and his party set out from Jasper on June 26, 1914, with five saddle horses and 16 pack horses. After a treacherous, slogging journey of 1,200 kilometres through wild, uncharted country they reached their destination on October 15, 1914, with the outfit completely intact.

During his expedition, Fay kept a detailed journal (currently held at the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC), which he provided to the US Biological Survey (now known as the US Fish & Wildlife Service) and to various Canadian government authorities. He also published several magazine articles about his discoveries. However, the journal in its entirety, with all his day-to-day observations, struggles and concerns, has never been published. Similarly, his maps, photographs and wildlife records have been preserved in various Canadian and US archives but never exhibited to a wider audience. Brought together for the first time in book form, they provide an early and dynamic record of an area that remains little known to this day.

Complete with a large selection of never-before published photos and maps, The Forgotten Explorer is destined to become a classic of North American exploration history.

Media
The Forgotten Explorer Book Trailer (video)

About the Author
Samuel Prescott Fay was born in Boston on May 27, 1884. Fay was an early member of the American Alpine Club and visited the Rockies to climb in the Lake Louise and Lake O'Hara areas starting in 1906, making numerous trips with outfitter Fred Brewster. Fay died on August 11, 1971, at his home in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts.

About Rocky Mountain Books
Since its inception in 1979 at the hands of passionate and renowned mountaineers Tony and Gillean Daffern, RMB (Rocky Mountain Books) has published work that focuses on the dynamic and unique aspects of mountain culture, outdoor adventure and "writing of place", including volumes on hiking, climbing, skiing and outdoor recreation; history, art, memoir, biography, travel and environmental writing. At RMB we "Think Outside."

The continuing goal of RMB is to expose readers to the forgotten, established and contemporary voices of various mountain, outdoor and environmental writers, artists and thinkers. This is being done by bringing back into print vital works from the early 20th century, along with continuing to publish and reprint writing from the late 20th century, all the while working toward giving voice to new writers, artists and communities as they are evolving in the 21st century.

RMB is strongly immersed in Canada's publishing industry and we look forward to exploring the multi-layered aspects of outdoor culture in order to offer readers glimpses into the thoughts and lives of the people that comprise our world in the Mountain West and beyond.