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Legendary mountain man captured in book
The remarkable adventures of legendary mountain man Cody Tegart, who left his mark on a disappearing way of life, are now colourfully laid out in the book Mountain Man: The Life of a Guide Outfitter by Hiram Cody Tegart with Andrew Bruce Richards.
Life was one big adventure for Hiram Cody Tegart. At times unbelievable and just downright impressive, Mountain Man is the celebration of a legend of a man and a legendary way of life that is quickly disappearing.
Cody was born in 1950 on a ranch in the Columbia Valley. The bush that surrounded his family’s farm was the best playground any kid could ask for. Growing up with wildlife, guns and one misadventure after another, he quickly gained the skills he needed to help his father manage their guiding
Located around the Palliser River, his father’s guiding territory extended to the Kootenay National Park and Alberta border. Cody eventually purchased the hunting business and built it into one of the most prosperous in B.C. By 1984 he had an unprecedented success rate of 85% in elk hunts and an amazing 100% in goat hunts. This entertaining memoir is a collection of Cody’s most unruly, shocking and hilarious escapades.
Cody summed up his well-lived outdoor life with his favourite saying: “Get tough or die!”
In Mountain Man, co-author and friend Andrew “Andy” Bruce Richards collects tales written by Cody, but also includes his own memories and stories from other hunters, guides and friends to give a full account of this remarkable life. Mountain Man is an ode to Cody and a way of life that celebrates the thrill of a bull elk bugling on a frosty morning, the excitement of a hunt and the satisfaction of sitting in a smoky cabin afterwards with a strong drink and the smell of elk steaks on the grill lingering in the air.
Cody retired in 2017 and moved to Winfield, Alberta. He passed away in the spring of 2018.
Co-author Andrew Bruce Richards (Andy) was born in Hudson Bay, Saskatchewan, in 1953. He lived on a small farm there, then moved to Flin Flon, Manitoba, where he developed his love of the outdoors. At age 13 he moved with his mother to the Columbia Valley in British Columbia. He met Cody Tegart in high school, where they developed a close friendship that would last 10 years and rekindle 20 years later.
After guiding one season for Cody’s father, Andy went to work in the forestry industry. He later enrolled in the Journalism Arts Advertising Program at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology. Starting in 1980, he worked at weekly newspapers in Quesnel, Salmon Arm and Victoria before joining the Times Colonist Daily. In 2001, Andy and his wife moved to Summerland. After 16 years with the Penticton Herald, he retired in 2016.
Mountain Man: The Life of a Guide Outfitter by Hiram Cody Tegart with Andrew Bruce Richards is published by Caitlin Press.
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