I first heard of Helen Burns during my Alpine Club of Canada (ACC) Edmonton Section photo competition research this past summer and was intrigued by her climbing and club accomplishments. She was the first female Chair of the Edmonton Section, but little else was written about her. Intrigued, I set about researching details of her life as written in newspaper accounts and other sources. My research revealed that she was an integral member of the climbing community here in Edmonton, making her story an important piece of ACC history that should be remembered.
Helen Aleda Burns was born in Caledonia, Ontario on December 21, 1899 to Louise and Wesley J. Burns. Her father, a medical doctor, passed away when she was just twelve years old. After completion of high school Burns went on to attend Normal School in Toronto, after which she took on teaching positions in Ontario, similar to her two older sisters. In 1921 she moved to Edmonton and was appointed to the teaching staff at John A. McDougall School that served a population of elementary aged pupils. During her career she also worked at Ritchie School, taking on the Vice Principal role, and King Edward School. She taught several grades and specialized in English, music and physical training. She was dedicated to her role and promoted sports for girls through her position as a Vice Principal representative on the Public-School Athletic Association.
Outside of teaching she was a pivotal leader within Alberta’s Girl Guide movement. She took on the Lieutenant position with the Garneau based Fifth Edmonton Girl Guide Company in 1925, moving up to the captain position in 1925. She volunteered with the Girl Guides for many years and in doing so inspired generations of young girls. She took her Girl Guide Company to Victoria to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Canada’s confederation and spent her springs planning and implementing annual camps that took place in locations such as Lake Wabamun, and Gull Lake. As a leader, Burns forged connections with her members and their mothers through mentorship, fun and adventure. The Edmonton Journal reported in 1926 that “it is not very difficult to tell that the troop is not only proud of Miss Burns, but deeply in love with her.” In 1960 she was awarded the long service award for her dedication to the Girl Guides of Canada. Her volunteer efforts included the Vice Presidency of the Fort Augustue Chapter of the Imperial Order Daughters of the Empire (I.O.D.E), membership and presidency with the Volunteer Aid Detachment (VAD) and Superintendent of the nursing division for the St. John’s Ambulance Association. She also helped the Kinsmen Club organize a preventarium camp for sick children. These roles showcase Burn’s deep desire to give back to, and serve, her community. She gave freely of her time as she assisted numerous organizations in Edmonton. While many of her volunteer efforts were focused on youth, she also dedicated substantial time as a member and leader of the Edmonton Section of the ACC.
Her connection to the ACC can be traced back to 1924 when she participated in an ACC trip to Mount Robson and stayed at the YMCA camp at Lake Edith in Jasper National Park with other Edmonton section members. Her occupation as a teacher gave her the freedom to participate in ACC summer camps in the Rockies which she did for many years. In fact, she was part of the climbing group that made the first complete traverse of Mount Simon and Mount McDonnell in the Tonquin Valley in 1929. She took on challenging routes and became the first woman to ascend Mount Edith Cavell by way of the east ridge. She participated in the second ascent of Mount Randolph Bruch in the Purcell range, and the first ascent of Inkwell Peak, as well as many others. In 1931 she stayed with Dr. H. E. Bulyea on Mount Geikie for 42 hours awaiting a rescue team, after he broke his leg during a fall. The Canadian Council of Girl Guides actually presented Burns with a Gilt Cross award in recognition of the assistance she provided Bulyea during his accident. The Edmonton Journal suggested that Burns was “one of the most accomplished climbers of the Edmonton Section” highlighting her climbing achievements up to 1935. Burns was also a leader who served as the Edmonton section Chair from 1936 to 1938. Under her direction the club inaugurated a yearly “skigatta” day, that included friendly relay, slalom, cross country ski and hill climbing competitions. As Chair she also opened the ACC hut near Whitemud Creek that served as a headquarters for club hiking, skiing and climbing activities. The Edmonton Bulletin commented on Burn’s accomplishments by writing, “Since the inception of the club she has been a leader in their many activities, attended winter skiing parties and hikes, and annually at the Alpine Club camp in the Rockies. She has been one of the most enthusiastic to dare the highest peaks.” Her dedication to photography became apparent when she donated the Helen Burns Photography Cup that was to be given out each year during the section’s annual photo competition.
As a member of the Edmonton section, she recreated closely with other climbers keen on exploring the mountains. As such the Edmonton section became a close-knit group of mountain enthusiasts. Historian PearlAnn Reichwein wrote about the ACC Edmonton section in her book Climbers Paradise: Making Canada’s Mountain Parks, 1906-1974 by saying “In Jasper National Park, the Edmonton Section had staked out its own ski terrain with a focus on the upper Tonquin Valley, supported by an alpine hut. Cyril Wates, Rex Gibson, Helen Burns, and H.E. Bulyea were Edmonton club members committed to making repeated trips to climb and ski in the area encompassing Eremite Valley, the Ramparts, and Mount Geikie, set on making first ascents and finding new route variations, which were still possible in these back valleys of Jasper Park in the 1930s.”1 Burns attended annual section banquets where members celebrated the adventures of the previous year and in 1932 she showcased her knowledge of the mountains by winning the women’s section of the Alpine Intelligence competition held during one of the annual banquets. Her climbing skills were honed during frequent trips to the mountains and her experience was recognized when the ACC awarded her the Alpine Badge, an award only given to expert climbers.
The leadership and organizational skills Burns refined during her time with the ACC, and within all of her volunteer roles, would have translated well to her work as a member of the Women’s Royal Canadian Naval Service (WRCNS). She was the first women in Edmonton, and second in Alberta, to join the WRCNS in 1942, starting as a Third Officer before being promoted to Sub-Lieutenant and then Lieutenant in 1944. In 1944 Burns travelled from her post in the U.S. Capital, Washington, D.C., to Edmonton for her marriage to well-known ACC member, and fellow climber, Cyril Wates. An interesting story in the WRCNS newsletter The Tiddley Times, details Burns’s journey to her wedding:
“The wedding was timed for 10.30, on the morning of the 7th, the day she arrived. At precisely 10.35, Lieutenant Helen Burns was pacing up and down the length of the train, wondering feverishly whether she should take a chance and bribe the engine driver with all the cash she had on her, or just quietly sneak up behind him, bop him one and take the engine over herself (don’t think she couldn’t do it either!) Suddenly the train crawled into the station. Edmonton! She leaped to the train exit. It was piled up with luggage so that only by standing on tip-toe could she see over the top. As she stands five feet and seven inches, it must have been quite a mound. The sympathetic porter noticed her agony. “Dat’s all right, lady” he said soothingly. “In just few minutes dis’ll all be cleared away– “l believe you”, said she, right back at him. “But I was to have been married seven minutes ago. I want off NOW.” The porter’s eyes popped. “Lawd sakes, Missey! You figure you could climb over dis here baggage?”. In one second flat, Lieutenant Almost Wates –who has climbed more famous mountains than you or I could shake a stick at– was over the top and out of sight. The porter shook his head from side to side in an ecstasy of admiration. “Boy oh Boy!”, he said feelingly, “de Navy ladies sure beats dam all. I figure I seen all de service ladies and de Navy ones beats ’em all. Yasuh! how she c1umb!”
On discharge from the Navy in 1945, she returned to Edmonton and teaching. Tragically, her new husband Cyril passed away the next year in 1946, leaving Burns widowed after only two years of marriage. She continued to volunteer and took up travel in her later years, exploring Africa, Asia and the Caribbean. Her dedication to service was recognized with several awards, one of which was the St. John’s Ambulance 30-year Service Award, the longest service award that had been given out in Western Canada in 1957.
Helen Burns’s life reveals how one woman’s dedication to teaching, volunteerism, and mountaineering helped shape both Edmonton’s community and the history of the Alpine Club of Canada. From her early years as an educator and Girl Guide leader to her pioneering climbs, club leadership, and wartime naval service, she consistently stepped into roles that demanded courage, organization, and compassion. Her many awards and long record of service demonstrate not only personal achievement but also a lasting legacy of mentorship, adventure, and public service that continues to inspire those who follow in her footsteps. She was a pioneer in many ways and an ACC Edmonton section member to remember.
- PearlAnn Reichwein, Climber’s Paradise: Making Canada’s Mountain Parks, 1906-1974 (University of Alberta Press, 2014), 176-177. https://doi.org/10.1515/9781772120257. ↩︎
Helen Burns and Cyril Wates exploring the ice caves of Para Glacier, Mount Bennington, Eremite Valley, 1934. Ingenium Archives, CN Images of Canada Collection, 00765, http://collection.ingenium.ca/en/id/00765/
Cyril Wates, Helen Burns, Grace A. Brownwell, S. R. Valance and S. R. Armington at Memorial Hut, the Alpine Club outpost at Penstock Creek, 1934. Ingenium Archives, CN Images of Canada Collection, 00761, http://collection.ingenium.ca/en/id/00761/
Sources
Primary Sources
- The Edmonton Journal
- The Edmonton Bulletin
- The Edmonton Public School Archives and Museum
- Girl Guides Alberta Archives and Musuem
Secondary Sources
- Reichwein, PearlAnn. Climber’s Paradise: Making Canada’s Mountain Parks, 1906-1974. Alberta, Canada: The University of Alberta Press, 2014. https://doi.org/10.1515/9781772120257.
- The Tiddley Times, The W.R.C.N.S Magazine, Apr. May 1944. https://navalandmilitarymuseum.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/CFB-Esquimalt-Museum-Tiddley-Times-1944-April-May.pdf
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