With the horses picking up weight and strength all the way, we cantered into Banff on October 24th, 10 weeks after our departure from Lake Louise. Not one horse had been lost; not one had been permanently lamed, in the whole course of what was probably the roughest continuous pack-train journey made in the Rockies since the time of the pioneers.

First published in 1925, On the Roof of the Rockies details the amazing efforts undertaken by Lewis Freeman and Byron Harmon to scientifically explore and comprehensively photograph during their 70-day, 500-mile journey the most stunning regions of the Canadian Rockies and Columbia Mountains. With a guide, a wrangler, a cook, 16 horses, two dogs, some carrier pigeons and hundreds of pounds of what was then state-of-the-art photography, moviemaking and radio equipment, the group journeyed through the area contemplating the routes of earlier explorers, facing violent storms and ultimately preserving historic views of pristine wilderness for future generations.

Lewis Freeman's profile page

Emerson Sanford, originally from Nova Scotia, first visited the mountains of western Canada in the summer of 1961. Eleven years later, he moved to Alberta and has been hiking ever since. Emerson has solo hiked every historic route and most long trails between Mount Robson and the Kananaskis Lakes—over 3000 km in the past five years! He now lives in Canmore with his wife, Cheryl.

Emerson Sanford's profile page

Byron Harmon (1876–1942) was an American photographer who spent a majority of his professional life in the mountains of western Canada. His ambition was to photograph the area’s major peaks and glaciers. Along the way, he became an accomplished mountaineer and an internationally respected photographer and filmmaker whose work is sought after to this day.

Byron Harmon's profile page