A man of many firsts

It speaks volumes that a simple, largely self-taught man who lived a century ago is still a legend today.

In large measure this is due to his character and the significant impact he had on his client, friend and biographer J. Monroe Thorington who published Where the Clouds Can Go in 1935, noting, “That his life story should have been preserved is merest chance: some of it in German, some in English, written in broken diaries and on scraps of paper in a dozen countries of the world.”

While it may have been mere chance that the analog record of Kain’s story was preserved, he should be given ample credit for producing it to begin with.

His only formal education was from age 7 to 14 in a village school which had “100 students but only one teacher.” Characteristically, he later noted, “It was my fault and not that of the teacher that I could scarcely write my name when I left school.”

During much of his life Kain was a dedicated diarist. For 27 years, as he adventured the world, he kept up a steady correspondence with his Austrian friend Amelie Malek, who fortunately saved 144 of his letters. These were translated and collected in Conrad Kain: Letters from a Wandering Mountain Guide, published in 2014.

While there was no social media as we know it at the turn of the 20th century, Kain, like professional climbers and mountaineers today, was certainly an influencer.

Nearly every climb or exploratory survey that Conrad Kain guided or accompanied was significant enough to be described in alpine and geographical journals. These articles were written by participant climbers or expedition leaders soon after the event, so they serve as a detailed record of these historical adventures.

Articles on the first ascents of Mounts Whitehorn and Robson were authored by Kain himself, as were “Reminiscences” of his early days in Canada, published in 1932. He wrote accounts of his exploits for magazines and other alpine journals which were typed and edited by his friend Malek.

And like adventuresome influencers today, Kain was a masterful and entertaining story teller, well known for amusing friends and clients on the trail and around the campfire.

A selection of the accounts of his climbs may be read below.

First Ascent of Mt. Whitehorn (1911) by Conrad Kain

The First Ascent of Mt. Robson, the Highest Peak of the Rockies (1913) by Conrad Kain

Mount Robson (1913) by W.W. Foster

A Traverse of Mount Cook (1916) by Mrs. J. Thomson

The Howser and Bugaboo Spires, Purcell Range (1916) by A.H. MacCarthy

The First Ascent of Mount Louis (1916) by A.H. MacCarthy

First Ascent of Mt. Robson by Lady Members (1924) by Phyllis Munday

Reminiscences of Seven Summers in Canada by Conrad Kain

In Memorium: Conrad Kain 1883-1934 by J. Monroe Thorington

Conrad Kain poem by Earle Birney

Memories of Conrad Kain (2009) by Shelagh Dehart