Memoirs of a Mountain Man

by Andy Russell

Andy Russell has been a trapper, cowboy, bronco-buster, trail guide, grizzly hunter, nature photographer and filmmaker, lecturer, and fighter for the environment.
This is the story of his adventures as a trail guide in the "standing-on-end country" of southern Alberta and British Columbia, and into the Yukon and Alaska. He recounts his experiences shepherding rich "sports" through the primeval wilderness in search of fish and game, often finding more than they bargained for. Above all, the book is about the immense changes that have transformed life in the Canadian Rockies over the past century.
Memoirs of a Mountain Man is a lively, sensitively-observed account of outdoors life in some of the most awesome landscapes on the planet.

305 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1988

Reviews

[Tom Oman]

It’s great to read about the area where I was born and spent the first few years of my life. Andy’s book “Grizzly Country” was endlessly fascinating, and I was intrigued by the man himself. He must be one of the toughest people who’s ever lived. And one of the last to come from the real frontier lifestyle. He spent most of his life trekking and working in the deepest and most difficult wilderness imaginable. He’s a great writer and knows just what to include to make it interesting. His style of self taught wisdom is also very refreshing.

[Sonja Seeber]

Very interesting stories of growing up fishing, riding horses, hunting and horses in Southern Alberta near Lethbridge in the Rocky Mountains, where there are no roads yet in the 1930s. Around 1985 changed the landscape due to oil and gas development. Author did videophotography, animals and also grizzlies, with his sons. There are some funny encounters.

[Mary Mackie]

What an amazing book! I highly recommend it. Easy to read, with a vaguely humorous style, full of wonderful descriptions and thoughtful philosophy. Covers his years of acivity as a farmhand, a guide, a film maker, and an environmentally concerned activist.