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Time Traveller: Grouse Mountain's 'Red Shack' stands tall in primeval forest

Shack was where mountaineers would gather and swap stories of their experiences or plan their next climbs
Time Traveller, Aug4WEB

The image shows "The Red Shack" on Grouse Mountain, close to completion in 1907.

A group of local hikers built the cabin as a base camp near Mosquito Creek. The cabin would be a place where the hikers could warm up, dry out, and perhaps spend the night. Notice the stone fireplace with the wood pole chimney, used in winter only when the snow was deep.

In October 1907, The Red Shack group of hikers and other local mountaineers formed the Vancouver Mountaineering Club (now the BC Mountaineering Club).

Used throughout the year, The Red Shack was where the mountaineers would gather and swap stories of their experiences or plan their next climbs. The Red Shack served as their clubhouse until 1910 when a larger cabin was built.

One member of the group, Fred Mills, described it decades later: “This cabin was located in the midst of a fine stand of primeval forest ... to the right of the Grouse Mountain trail, elevation about 2,500 feet. We named it ‘The Red Shack.'"

Visit the MONOVA website for more information about the history of the North Shore and to learn about MONOVA: Museum of North Vancouver opening in 2021.

Currently, MONOVA: Archives of North Vancouver at 3203 Institute Rd. in Lynn Valley is open by appointment only. Contact: archives@monova.ca

Navigate culture on the North Shore by using the North Shore Culture Compass.