Professor Charles Ernest Fay (1846–1931) was an American

alpinist Alpine climbing () is a type of mountaineering that uses any of a broad range of advanced climbing skills, including rock climbing, ice climbing, and/or mixed climbing, to summit typically large routes (e.g. multi-pitch or big wall) in an alpi ...

and educator.

Biography

He was born at

Roxbury, Massachusetts Roxbury () is a Neighborhoods in Boston, neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Roxbury is a Municipal annexation in the United States, dissolved municipality and one of 23 official neighborhoods of Boston used by the city for ne ...

. He graduated in 1868 at

Tufts College Tufts University is a Private university, private research university in Medford, Massachusetts, Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts, United States, with additional facilities in Boston and Grafton, Massachusetts, Grafton, as well as Talloire ...

and became instructor in mathematics there in 1869, and professor of modern languages in 1871. He was a founder of the

Modern Language Association The Modern Language Association of America, often referred to as the Modern Language Association (MLA), is widely considered the principal professional association in the United States for scholars of language and literature. The MLA aims to "str ...

of America; of the New England Modern Language Association, of which he was president in 1905; and of the New England Association of Colleges and Preparatory Schools (1885), of which he was president 1888–89. Fay first visited the

Canadian Rockies The Canadian Rockies () or Canadian Rocky Mountains, comprising both the Alberta Rockies and the British Columbian Rockies, is the Canadian segment of the North American Rocky Mountains. It is the easternmost part of the Canadian Cordillera, w ...

in 1890, and was a pioneer in the development of

mountaineering Mountaineering, mountain climbing, or alpinism is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas that have become mounta ...

in the

and the

Selkirks The Selkirk Mountains are a mountain range spanning the northern portion of the Idaho Panhandle, eastern Washington, and southeastern British Columbia which are part of a larger grouping of mountains, the Columbia Mountains. They begin at Mica Pe ...

. He was a founder of the

Appalachian Mountain Club Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) is the oldest outdoor group in the United States. Created in 1876 to explore and preserve the White Mountains (New Hampshire), White Mountains in New Hampshire, it has expanded throughout the northeastern U.S., wit ...

, and served as president in 1878, 1881, 1893, and 1905; he was also a founder and the first president of the

American Alpine Club The American Alpine Club (AAC) is a non-profit member organization with more than 26,000 members. The club is housed in the American Mountaineering Center (AMC) in Golden, Colorado. Through its members, the AAC advocates for American climbers d ...

(1902-1904). He also edited the publications of these two organizations, ''Appalachia'' and ''Alpina Americana'' respectively. For ''Appalachia'', he furnished numerous articles. For ''Alpina Americana'', he wrote the richly illustrated monograph ''The Rocky Mountains of Canada''. He was one of a party of four attempting to climb Mount Lefroy in 1896 when Phillip Stanley Abbott became the first mountaineering fatality in the Canadian Rockies. Fay made an, “impassioned defence of mountaineering at the inquiry into Abbot’s death that put an end to the grumbling in political circles that mountaineering ought to be banned in Canada.” Fay returned in 1897 to summit both Mounts Lefroy and

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

. In 1902 Peak #1 (Heejee) in the Valley of the Ten Peaks in Banff/Kootenay National Park was named Mount Fay in his honor. Fay made more than a dozen first ascents in western Canada's mountains "Continental Divide - A History of American Mountaineering" by Isserman,Maurice; W.W. Norton & Company; Date=2016 and continued climbing and mountaineering until well into his eighties. His activity as an alpinist was recognized abroad by his election as an honorary member of the English, Italian and Canadian Alpine Clubs. He was a frequent lecturer on literary and geographical subjects. The

Alpine Club of Canada The Alpine Club of Canada (ACC) is an amateur athletic association with its national office in Canmore, Alberta that has been a focal point for Canadian mountaineering since its founding in 1906. The club was co-founded by Arthur Oliver Wheeler, ...

named the Fay Hut located in

Kootenay National Park Kootenay National Park is a national park of Canada in southeastern British Columbia. The park consists of of the Canadian Rockies, including parts of the Kootenay and Park mountain ranges, the Kootenay River and the entirety of the Vermili ...

after him.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fay, Charles Ernest Linguists from the United States American mountain climbers 1846 births 1931 deaths