[2][3] In 1898, Coleman lead a field expedition with the intent of surveying resources, along with the Geologist George Mercer Dawson and the famed Anarchist, Peter Kropotkin.

Kropotkin gave his credit to Coleman, writing he was "well acquainted with the mining region of Central Canada.

"[4] In 1907, Coleman inferred a "lower Huronian ice age"[5][6] from analysis of a geological formation near Lake Huron.

He was author of: He achieved the first ascent of Castle Mountain in 1884, and in 1907, he was the first white man to attempt to climb Mount Robson.

He made a total of eight exploratory trips to the Canadian Rockies, wholly four of them looking for the mythical giants of Hooker and Brown.