Following the completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1885, mountaineers began to explore the Rocky Mountains. Prominent British climbers included Green, Outram and Collie. Taking issue with Sandford’s interpretation, the appeal of the Rockies for British alpinists is examined. The Rockies were compared with the Alps, viewed as an alpine playground, and represented as an authentic wilderness. Superficial manifestations of imperialism need contextualizing within a shared mountaineering ethos that nevertheless accommodated differences of emphasis. Close organizational links between the Alpine Club and the Alpine Club of Canada culminated in the affiliation of the latter to the former in 1920.