Skip to content

Time Traveller: Phyllis Munday was a mountaineering legend

Just look at her ready to rock with a pick axe and massive pack, along with little daughter Edith
Phyllis Munday

This photo, ca. 1923, shows mountaineer Phyllis Munday with a 58-pound pack, ice axe, and her daughter Edith in tow. Phyllis and her husband Don Munday were mountaineering pioneers.

In 1924, Phyllis and Annette Buck became the first women to reach the summit of Mount Robson. Phyllis also founded a local Girl Guide troop in 1910, and North Vancouver's first St. John Ambulance Brigade in 1920.

She was also inducted as an official and unofficial member of numerous alpine organizations over her life. Phyllis was inducted into the Order of Canada in 1972.

Visit the MONOVA website for more information about the history of the North Shore and to plan your visit to MONOVA: Museum of North Vancouver now open at 115 West Esplanade in The Shipyards.

Currently, MONOVA: Archives of North Vancouver at 3203 Institute Road 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.

Correction: March 7, 2022
This story has been updated from a previous version that said the rock spire Phyllis's Engine was named after Phyllis Munday. In fact, Phyllis's Engine was named after Phyllis Beltz, another member of the B.C. Mountaineering Club.