Town of Banff

Chic Scott, Mountaineer, Guide, Writer

Chic Scott was born in Calgary in 1945, a member of a fourth-generation Alberta family. He made first winter ascents of Mt. Hungabee and Mt. Assiniboine, before spending five summers in Europe working with Dougal Haston at the International School of Mountaineering in Leysin, Switzerland. His climbs over this period included the Dent d' Herens north face, the Gervesutti Pillar on Mont Blanc du Tacul, the north face of the Aiguille du Dru, and the Swiss Direct route on the north face of Les Courtes.

He also worked for Universal Studios during the making of Clint Eastwood's film, The Eiger Sanction. He was part of a British expedition to Dhaulagiri IV (7661 metres) in Nepal and, in 1978, completed the first alpine-style ascent of the Mount Logan's East Ridge.
 
Chic is widely recognized for his early ski expeditions, beginning in 1967 when he completed the first 21-day, 350-kilometre traverse from Jasper to Lake Louise. This was followed in 1973 by a 130-kilometre high-level ski traverse from Rogers Pass to the Bugaboos. Three years later he completed a 200-kilometre ski traverse of the Northern Selkirks.

He is the author of  Ski Trails in the Canadian Rockies (1992), Summits and Icefields (1994), and Pushing the Limits: The Story of Canadian Mountaineering (2000).

Chic is founder of the Canadian Himalayan Foundation and was one of the originators of the Banff Mountain Film Festival.
 
He is an Honorary Member of the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides, past President and Honorary Member of the Calgary Mountain Club and was recently inducted as an honorary member of the Alpine Club of Canada.