Women's History Month: Elizabeth von Rummel

October is Women’s History Month (Canada). Throughout the month of October we will be featuring and celebrating women. From mountaineers, to guides and artisans, let’s celebrate the diversity of women in the Canadian Rockies! 

Born to an aristocratic family in Germany, Elizabeth, later known as Lizzie came to Canada with her family for the first time in April of 1911. Eventually, the family moved permanently to Canada. Lizzie’s first experience in the back country of Assiniboine was in 1938, where she was a chambermaid, hostess, and guide. She participated in many activities such as climbing, hiking, and skiing. In 1943, she began the management of the Skoki Lodge. By 1947, she was managing the Temple Chalet, Lake Louise Ski Resort, and Skoki Lodge. In December 1950, at the age of 54, Lizzie was finally able to purchase her cabin at Sunburst Lake, near Assiniboine. She spent twenty years running the Sunburst Lake Camp. On December 20th 1979, she was awarded the Order of Canada. Her love of the mountains and her love of people makes her a special person in not only Banff history but in Canadian Rocky Mountain history. Even today, her legacy continues to make a lasting impact on the area. 

As close friend, Hans Gmoser said, “At Sunburst Lake Lizzie was completely at home. She was one with the trees, the flowers and the deer that would visit her in that place. In the winter she loved the snow that almost covered her cabin, and she enjoyed to glide on skis through the larches and over the hills around her. I think there has seldom been a situation where a person was so much a part of a place. In a way she was like Mount Assiniboine itself, she stood out above all around her—not domineering but like a beautiful spirit.”

Follow the discussion on Twitter @whytemuseum using the hashtag #WomensHistoryMonth and #MakeAnImpact



References

Oltmann, Ruth, Lizzie Rummel: Baroness of the Rockies, Exshaw: Ribbon Creek Publishing Company, 1983.

Elizabeth Rummel at Skoki Lodge, 1944, Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies, Elizabeth Rummel fonds (V554/IV/A/PA-894)