Lawrence Grassi

Lawrence Grassi (Andrea Lorenzo Grassi) was an Italian immigrant and trail builder whose handiwork defines the Lake O’Hara basin and the Skoki area. Known as the “Little Superman” and “Little Italian Superman,” he possessed legendary strength and refused payment for guiding, believing the mountains were a communal gift. His philosophy: a trail should be part of the mountain, not an intrusion upon it. Jon Whyte compared his stonework to “stone poems.”

Origins. Born December 20, 1890, in Falmenta, Piedmont, Italy, Grassi immigrated to Canada in 1912 (age 22), reportedly to find work and avoid compulsory military service. He laboured as a section hand for the Canadian Pacific Railway near Kicking Horse Pass before settling in Canmore in 1916. For the next 30 years he worked as a coal miner for the Canmore Coal Company. The gruelling subterranean work forged his strength and funded his passion for the high country.

Mountaineering. Grassi made 32 ascents of Mount Louis, a technical limestone spire near Banff, and completed the first solo ascent of Mount Assiniboine (“Matterhorn of the Rockies”) in 1925 during a five-day weekend from the mine. He carried an injured Dr. R.D. Williams two miles across a glacier and moraine in the Tonquin Valley, and single-handedly hauled a cast-iron stove up the trail to the Elizabeth Parker Hut. He guided at Alpine Club of Canada camps without pay.

Trail building. Grassi sculpted trails rather than merely cutting them. He worked alone with a crowbar, mattock, shovel, and wheelbarrow, shunning heavy machinery. He selected flat-faced stones (some over 100 kg) and heaved them into place with brute force and surgical precision. His stairs have resisted erosion for nearly a century. He wanted the elderly and average hiker to reach vistas once reserved for elite mountaineers.

Lake O’Hara (1956–1960). After retiring from the mines at 65, Grassi spent five summers as Assistant Warden at Lake O’Hara. His masterpiece era. He built the Lake Oesa trail (massive rock staircases replacing dangerous wooden ladders), the Wiwaxy approach, and the Lake McArthur trail. When Major F. Longstaff lamented he might not return due to old age, Grassi replied: “Oh Major, hundreds of years from now, I’ll be meeting you coming round these trails.”

Skoki and Lake Merlin. Grassi built the “Grassi Highline” trail to Merlin Lake, a route prized for expert side-hilling through boulder fields. He was closely associated with Skoki Lodge pioneers like Cliff White; his access trails helped transition Skoki from a rugged outpost into a world-renowned destination for hikers and early ski tourers.

Legacy. Grassi died in 1980. The Lake O’Hara Trails Club (LOTC) maintains the standards he set (see Lake O’Hara Lodge). Landmarks named in his honour: Mount Lawrence Grassi (2,685 m) overlooking Canmore; Grassi Lakes, two turquoise tarns above Canmore; Lawrence Grassi Middle School in Canmore. While the Swiss guides brought professional expertise to the Rockies, Grassi provided its soul.