The Final Spire

Overview

In 1934, four mountaineers from Manitoba piled into their Plymouth and pointed its headlights west to Tatlayoko Lake in British Columbia. Their goal? To conquer B.C.’s tallest mountain.These young adventurers were following in the footsteps of the courageous, sometimes tragic, attempts made by other climbers to summit “Mystery Mountain.” But one tantalizing challenge remained: the main tower. This central spire was a nightmarish image for any climber; a sheer column of barren rock encased in ice. But the irresistible allure of “Mystery Mountain” electrified the public and the race was on.

Reviews

Praise for Trevor’s previous book "Capturing the Summit"

“With the help of both Laing’s and Lambart’s diaries, Hughes delivers two adventure stories for the price of one.” —Vancouver Sun

“From his extensive research, Hughes weaves the tale of two concurrent, never repeated events into one story for the reader.” —Paul Geddes, Canadian Alpine Journal

Hughes “writes with a strong sense of the epic that at times leaves one holding one’s breath with anticipation or fear, at times wanting to clap and cheer for the participants out loud, and at times smiling or even chuckling at an event that feels well-deserved, or shows the resourceful strategies used to circumvent a potential downfall or to amuse the person or persons involved.” —Miramichi Reader

“Trevor Marc Hughes tracks the connection of Laing’s story with natural history and photography amid changes in ornithology and conservation in early-twentieth-century Canada.” —BC Studies

“Trevor Marc Hughes uncovers a decade-long story of discovery and death in attempting to reach the highest summit within British Columbia.” —Paul Geddes, Life Member, The Alpine Club of Canada

“By telling these largely forgotten stories, Trevor Hughes has made an excellent contribution to the growing library of books about Canadian mountaineering.” —Chic Scott, Mountaineer and Historian

“Trevor Marc Hughes deftly weaves accounts of very individualistic expeditions and their members who ventured into challenging landscapes, way-finding on their own, relying on weather, their own physical prowess, and sometimes just plain luck.” —Kathryn Bridge, PhD, curator emerita, History and Art, Royal British Columbia Museum

Author Biography

While riding a motorcycle across BC for over a decade, Trevor Marc Hughes began writing about the history of his home province. He then developed naturalist Hamilton Mack Laing's account of his 1915 motorcycle travels across the US for Riding the Continent. In Capturing the Summit, he looked into Laing's expedition career while he was "tail of the kite" during one of his greatest adventures, accompanying the mountaineers who made the first ascent of Mount Logan, Canada's tallest peak. Hughes is currently the non-fiction editor and video segment producer for The British Columbia Review.