This 1912 photograph shows the Second Company of the Vancouver Girl Guides with company leader Phyllis Munday (right) on a Grouse Mountain hiking trip. Phyllis Munday (née James, 1894-1990) was a pioneering female mountaineer. In 1910, at just 16 years of age, she founded the local company of Girl Guides.
In 1915 Munday became a member of the BCMC (BC Mountaineering Club), climbing the western peak of the Lions the next year as her first big challenge. She married mountaineer Don Munday in 1920. For their honeymoon, they hiked to a cabin Don had built on the west ridge of Dam Mountain. Together, the couple ascended over 100 peaks in the province, often with their young daughter, Edith, in tow.
The Geographical Name Board of Canada named a peak adjacent to British Columbia's Mount Waddington after the Mundays, in gratitude for the large amounts of field information they provided. In 1973 Phyllis received the Order of Canada for her work with the Girl Guides and St. John Ambulance, and as a pioneering mountaineer.
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.
