Trevor Hughes
BIO
Biography

It was while riding a motorcycle across British Columbia for over a decade that Trevor Marc Hughes began writing about the history of his home province in Nearly 40 on the 37 and Zero Avenue to Peace Park. He then developed late B.C. naturalist Hamilton Mack Laing’s account of his 1915 motorcycle travels across the United States for the Ronsdale Press title Riding the Continent. In Capturing the Summit, Hughes looks into Laing’s expedition career while he was “the tail of the kite” during one of his greatest adventures, accompanying the mountaineers who made the first ascent of Canada’s tallest peak, Mount Logan.

Visit him at www.trevormarchughes.ca

ADDRESS
City: Vancouver, Province/Territory: British Columbia
EMAIL
GENRE
History
LANGUAGES
English
PUBLICATIONS
Publications
Title
Capturing the Summit: Hamilton Mack Laing and the Mount Logan Expedition of 1925
Publisher
Ronsdale Press
Year
2023
PUBLIC PRESENTATIONS AND WORKSHOPS
Presentation details
Audience Size
Audience size
20-100
Presentation Genre
Canadian history
Presentation Length
45 mins + Q&A
Presentation Description
Presentation description

Capturing the Summit: Hamilton Mack Laing and the Mount Logan Expedition of 1925

by Trevor Marc Hughes

A century ago, Hamilton Mack Laing was a successful freelance naturalist, photographer and writer. He would regularly be employed by museums on expeditions within Canada.

In April 1925, he was suddenly ushered in by the Victoria Memorial Museum to act as naturalist and cinematographer on the expedition attempting to make the first ascent of Mount Logan, the highest peak in the Dominion of Canada, with mountaineers such as W.W. Foster and Allen Carpe.

Soon Laing would be facing the challenge of the Alaskan wild. The mountaineers would face the test of their lives.

Author Trevor Marc Hughes will introduce the subject of Canadian mountaineering expeditions at this time. How, in their own historical context, they were focused on understanding the natural world, yet at the same time sought to conquer nature, and illustrate the challenges of mounting an expedition far away from human habitation, without the use of maps or today's transportation options, such as aircraft. It was a leap of faith, into the unknown.

Presentation Fee(s)
$150
Workshop details
Audience Size
15-20
Intended Audience
writers of non-fiction history
Workshop Length
45 mins , 15 mins discussion
Workshop Description
Workshop description

Capturing the Summit: historical writing from diary sources

presenter: Trevor Marc Hughes

A century ago, Hamilton Mack Laing was a successful freelance naturalist, photographer and writer. He would regularly be employed by museums on expeditions within Canada.

In April 1925, he was suddenly ushered in by the Victoria Memorial Museum to act as naturalist and cinematographer on the expedition attempting to make the first ascent of Mount Logan, the highest peak in the Dominion of Canada, with mountaineers such as W.W. Foster and Allen Carpe.

Soon Laing would be facing the challenge of the Alaskan wild. The mountaineers would face the test of their lives.

Author Trevor Marc Hughes will delve into the process of researching from diary sources, pulling from recent experience at British Columbia Archives and the Whyte Museum in Banff, Alberta. The diaries of two members of the expedition became key in setting the structure for a linear tale, and sources beyond that (including journals, reports, photography and correspondence) filled in the blanks.  When entering an archive building, what do you search for? How do you retain the information within diaries? What will the archival institution allow? What are the benefits/shortcomings of online/in-person research? How can diaries help flesh out the human story, including conflict, making for greater drama in your tale? This workshop will ideally allow participants to benefit from the recent experience of Trevor Marc Hughes while he wrote his tale of one of the greatest adventures in Canadian mountaineering history.

Workshop Fee(s)
$150
School presentation details
Audience Size
20-30
Intended Audience
Grade 4-7, history or social sciences students
Presentation Length
45 mins
Presentation Description
Presentation description

Capturing the Summit: Hamilton Mack Laing and the Mount Logan Expedition of 1925

by Trevor Marc Hughes

A century ago, Hamilton Mack Laing of Comox, British Columbiawas a successful freelance naturalist, photographer and writer. He would regularly be employed by museums on expeditions within Canada.

In April 1925, he was suddenly ushered in by the Victoria Memorial Museum to act as naturalist and cinematographer on the expedition attempting to make the first ascent of Mount Logan, the highest peak in the Dominion of Canada, with mountaineers such as W.W. Foster and Allen Carpe.

Soon Laing would be facing the challenge of the Alaskan wild. The mountaineers would face the test of their lives.

Author Trevor Marc Hughes will introduce the subject of mountaineering expeditions at this time, how, in their own historical context they were focused on understanding the natural world, yet at the same time sought to conquer nature, and illustrate the challenges of mounting an expedition far away from human habitation, without the use of maps or today's transportation options, such as aircraft. It was a leap of faith, into the unknown. The talk will also look at how the motion picture photography practiced during the expedition was very much a precursor to today's nature documentary and helped to pave the way to a more comprehensive, and less invasive, study of nature.

Presentation Fee(s)
$150
Programs & Interests
Interested in participating Union’s Ontario Writers-in-the-Schools program:
All members are eligible for the Union’s Ontario Writers-in-the-Schools program. Are you interested in participating in this pro
No
Interested in participating in the Northern Ontario WITS program:
The Union’s Northern Ontario Writers-in-the-Schools program funds in-person visits to northern Ontario schools when possible. Ar
No