Konrad Cain
Konrad Kain (born August 10, 1883 in Hinternaßwald an der Rax , Austria ; † February 2, 1934 in Cranbrook , Canada ) was a mountaineer and mountain guide who is particularly respected in Canada. In his actual home he is rather unknown.
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In 1909 he emigrated to Canada, where he worked as a mountain guide in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia for the Alpine Club of Canada located there. The club paid well, but the season was short-lived. Between the seasons Konrad worked as a trapper and occasionally as a road worker.
Konrad Kain is credited with over 50 first ascents . The best known is probably the first ascent of Mount Robson , the highest mountain in the Canadian Rockies on August 12, 1913 with Albert MacCarthy and William Wasbrough Foster , but it has not been proven that this was actually the first ascent of this mountain.
He died of encephalitis in a hospital in Cranbrook, British Columbia , after six months of illness .
Appreciation
Although an excellent mountaineer and storyteller, he is largely admired for his personal qualities. After the first ascent of Mount Robson, he constantly tried to highlight the performance of the 1909 expedition, under Curly Phillips and George Kinney , who did not quite reach the summit. Above all, he saw a mountain primarily as something aesthetic. The sporting, technical challenge always came second. This is also reflected in the naming of mountains and lakes. One example is Wonder Peak .
His words on the summit of Mount Robson became legendary: “Gentlemen, I cannot take you further than this”.
His autobiography Where the clouds can go is one of the classics of Canadian mountain literature.
In 1934, Mount Kain (previously Needle Peak ) was named after him in his memory . A rock tower, known as the Finger of Kain , protrudes from its snow massif .
The inscription on his tombstone reads A mountain guide of rare spirit .
Web links
- Gerhard Schirmer: Konrad Kain, Holzknecht - Mountain Guide - Trapper on bergnews.com
- Personal folder on Konrad Kain (PDF) in the historical Alpine archive of the Alpine clubs in Germany, Austria and South Tyrol (temporarily offline)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Cain, Konrad |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Austrian-Canadian mountaineer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | August 10, 1883 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Hinternaßwald on the Rax , Austria |
| DATE OF DEATH | February 2, 1934 |
| Place of death | Cranbrook , Canada |