Mountain Man: The Life of a Guide Outfitter

Life was one big adventure for Hiram Cody Tegart. At times unbelievable and others 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 BC’s 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, Cody quickly gained the skills he needed to help his father manage their guiding and outfitting operation. 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 BC. By 1984 he had an unprecedented success rate of 85 percent in elk hunts and an amazing 100 percent in goat hunts. This entertaining memoir is a collection of Cody’s most unruly, shocking and hilarious escapades. Cody sums up his well-lived outdoor life with his favourite saying: “Get tough or die!”

In Mountain Man, co-author and friend Andrew 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 with a strong drink afterwards and the smell of elk steaks on the grill lingering in the air.