Finalist for The Jon Whyte Award – Mountain Literature (non-fiction) at the 2022 Banff Mountain Book Competition

An intimate look at the life and climbs of Swiss alpine guide Edward Feuz Jr., patriarch of Canadian alpinism and genuine lover of mountains.

As a young Swiss boy, Edward Feuz Jr. (1884–1981) developed an insatiable passion for climbing. In time, he traded his Lausbub reputation for that of a responsible Swiss guide and was eventually drawn to Canada in the footsteps of his father, Edward Feuz Sr. (1859–1944), who was one of the first Swiss guides hired by the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1898 to develop the alpinism in western Canada.

Handsome and charismatic, Edward (while still in training for his trade) was instantly smitten with the Canadian landscape — and so were his guests. They raved about the young man who showed such exceptional skills. He guided them all — professors, women of independent means, students, newspaper people, a Hindu holy man, and even "Sherlock Holmes" — through untrailed forests, across roaring streams, up icy glaciers, and to the tops of rocky summits. Young and old, they were all enchanted, and so they returned time and again — to the mountains and to their friend Edward.

Edward Feuz Jr.: A Story of Enchantment transports the modern reader back to a simpler time, when mountaineering in North America was less about pushing personal limits and more about the splendour of grand vistas, wide open spaces, and the opening of the West.

Dr. D.L. (Donna) Stephen was brought up in Los Angeles, California. She earned a B.A., with a major in philosophy, from UCLA and a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Manitoba. Every summer, beginning at age three, she travelled by car with her family to the Canadian Rockies to hike, climb, and spend time with their good friends Edward and Martha Feuz. Donna is a practising psychologist who writes and climbs at every opportunity. She lives in Alberta's Bow Valley.

D.L. Stephen's profile page

Praise for Edward Feuz Jr.: A Story of Enchantment:

“It’s rare to come across an author whose formative years climbing in the Rockies reach back to, and intersect with, the life of an iconic Swiss mountain guide who was in the employ of the Canadian Pacific Railway. Donna Stephen and her adventuresome family were introduced to the wilds of the Canadian cordillera by none other than Edward Feuz Jr., who taught them how to pace themselves in order to properly absorb a love for the mountains. Rich in immigrant Swiss guide history, this book paints a 3D picture of what the guides and their guests sought, equipped with the most basic of climbing aids, decades before the advent of bear spray and the lottery system required to visit these now crowded destinations.” —Pat Morrow, adventure photographer, filmmaker, author of Beyond Everest: Quest for the Seven Summits and Searching For Tao Canyon

“The Swiss guides made mountaineering a profession and turned Canada into an alpine nation. Then they taught us to ski, which made the Canadian winter ours. A story of enchantment indeed!” —Robert William Sandford, author of The Columbia Icefield — 3rd Edition and Our Vanishing Glaciers: The Snows of Yesteryear and the Future Climate of the Mountain West

“This book is an excellent read from start to finish....” —Kathy Calvert / Dale Portman, authors of Vertical Reference, June Mickle, Ya Ha Tinda and Don Forest; and The Green Horse, respectively, and coauthors of Guardians of the Peaks

“A fascinating story about one of Canada’s most influential mountaineers. Feuz was known for his unmatched memory of the landscapes he visited, and Stephen has done him great justice with the in-depth research in Edward Feuz: A Story of Enchantment.” —Brandon Pullan, author of To Be a Warrior: The Adventurous Life and Mysterious Death of Billy Davidson and The Bold and Cold: A History of 25 Classic Climbs in the Canadian Rockies