Hollyburn:
The Mountain and the City
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by Francis Mansbridge
Ronsdale Press, Vancouver, 2008, $24.95
Frances Mansbridge’s book Hollyburn: The Mountain and the City tells the fascinating history of the area located above West Vancouver leading to Hollyburn Peak. Hollyburn has been a popular destination for skiers, snowshoers, hikers, and climbers since the 1920s. Now part of Cypress Provincial Park, the area is known for its fantastic trails and spectacular views.
Mansbridge clearly illustrates, through her words and with the many photos included in the book, that Hollyburn is an area steeped in history — from the first attempts at logging in the 1870s, to use by early outdoor enthusiasts, to the community that has grown there over the years.
There have been conflicting views about how the vicinity should be developed. Mansbridge explains how groups such as Friends of Cypress Provincial Park have attempted to preserve the area’s topography and wildlife.
The book narrates the tragic clear-cutting of the old-growth forests in the 1960s and 1970s. It also tells of some of the great names in sports who have honed their athletic abilities at Hollyburn and about the many sporting events that have been held there. Mansbridge identifies the 2010 Olympic events that will take place at Hollyburn.
Most interesting are the pictures showing vintage log cabins and portraying some of the many colourful characters who inhabited this region. Sadly, the book’s history of the district seems to start at European inhabitation and makes scant mention of the region’s First Nations people.
However, for the most part the book is very thorough, and it will certainly make readers want to pay a visit to the district — whether to take in an Olympic event or for outdoor pursuits of their own.
— Beverley Tallon (Read bio)
Beverley Tallon is a freelance writer and the former Assistant Editor for Canada's History.