The Jasper Local September 1, 2018

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thejasperlocal.com

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Saturday, september 1, 2018 // ISSUE 128

Hiker dies after falling into Two Valley canyon

FLOAT ON// MICHAL JURIK TAKES HIS PACK RAFT FOR A SPIN ON THE SECOND OF THE GERALDINE LAKES. // LADA D PHOTOGRAPHY

A 41-year-old female was pronounced dead after falling into a canyon in Jasper National Park August 26.

The distress call came in shortly before 3 p.m.

The woman was hiking with her partner when she slipped on the steep scree next to the gorge known as BS Canyon, or Two Valley Canyon.

Two Valley Canyon is approximately 4 km north of Maligne Canyon.

It is used as a local climbing crag and features rudimentary hiking trails on the north and south sides above the steep walls which

plummet to the canyon floor below.

In the summer, water constantly runs through the canyon.

Cpl Chris Warren from the RCMP’s K Division, out of Grande Prairie, confirmed the cause of death was an accidental fall.

Parks Canada responded to the scene. The RCMP takes the lead on such accidents when a death is involved.

Cpl Warren extended his colleagues’ sympathies to the families affected.

“This is an extremely difficult time for the families and also for the first responders who came onto the scene,” he said. bob covey //

bob@thejasperlocal.com

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page A2 // the jasper local // issue 128 // saturday, September 1, 2018

editorial //

Local Vocal Recycling in Jasper is a mixed bag.

On one hand, the cardboard our community fetches a pretty penny because it’s relatively clean and contaminant-free.

On the flip side, our paper and plastic streams are practically worthless, since we don’t have a Materials Recovery Facility to sort out the white paper from the brown, and the high grade number two plastics from the flimsy film.

Waste stream management isn’t the sexiest subject when it comes to scoring political points, which is perhaps how we got into this mess, but one thing’s clear: Our penchant for putting things out of sight and therefore out of mind, is no longer a feasible strategy.

At the municipality’s environmental services compound, both plastics and paper are piling up and facility managers can only hope the brokers who facilitate the off-loading of our refuse don’t look too closely to see if Jasperites have been sorting diligently or not.

In a small community such as ours, we simply don’t have the capacity to sort our recycling as thoroughly as it needs to be.

All of this means that if we want to get serious about reducing our environmental footprint, we need to implement systems that are easy for people to use while continuing to educate residents and visitors on the benefits of responsible recycling. It’s not just to feel good, either. Improper waste management causes a serious strain on public coffers.

Jasper has a suite of tools to promote and facilitate environmental stewardship, and dedicated personnel to implement the ideas.

But recently, Parks Canada quietly withdrew its support of the Environmental Stewardship Coordinator position in Jasper, saying the agency will be bringing the various initiatives which were co-funded by them and the town into their operations. Yeah, right.

As we can see, there are a host of evolving issues related to waste management which a halffunded Environmental Stewardship position simply won’t have the capacity to tackle. If Parks Canada withdraws their commitment in the new year as they’ve said, that will leave the municipality to pick up the slack.

Just like turning out the lights, using less water and properly diverting your waste, even though it’s the right thing to do, it’s hard to see the effect our individual efforts have on the big picture. But in this case, a little effort will go a long way. Dig that scrap of recycled paper out of your bin and write your local elected official a letter. Tell them to make Jasper’s Environmental Stewardship programming a priority in 2019. bob covey // bob@thejasperlocal.com

Festival Local The Jasper Folk Music Festival is right around the corner and what’s that? You’re not sure if you’re going to go yet?

Here’s why you should change your tune. Besides the fact that the organizers have been working all year to create an amazing event, you should go because this festival is 100 per cent local. Your volunteers are from town, your sponsors are local businesses and the fundraisers are taking place in your community. This festival emboldens our music culture, it strengthens our community.

So what if you’ve never heard of

some of the bands? This is an opportunity to find new acts to love.

This is a chance to welcome some new folks to the place we all call home. This is yet another reason to be proud of something Jasper has created.

After having to cancel last year’s event, 2018 is looking to restart the JFMF momentum. And organizers have listened to feedback: prices have come down significantly.

So bring your reusable mug, shoulder your best blanket and park your lawn chair. JFMF 2018 is yours to enjoy!

- Bob Covey

The Jasper Local //

Jasper’s independent alternative newspaper 780.852.9474 • thejasperlocal.com • po box 2046, jasper ab, t0e 1e0

Published on the 1st and 15th of each month Editor / Publisher

Bob Covey.................................................................................... bob@thejasperlocal.com Art Director

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//environment

saturday, september 1, 2018 // issue 128 // the jasper local// page A3

JASPER’S ENVIRO STEWARDSHIP COORDINATOR JANET COOPER HAS BEEN HAVING TROUBLE SHIPPING JASPER’S RECYCLED PAPER SINCE CHINA IMPLEMENTED STRICT IMPORT STANDARDS.

Jasper’s paper refuse being refused Jasper has a paper problem.

Since the beginning of 2018, new restrictions imposed by Chinese importers on paper, plastic and aluminum have meant that our old standard of recycled goods suddenly aren’t good enough to ship there anymore.

In Jasper, bales of mixed paper have been stacking up with nowhere to go.

“It’s been catastrophic,” said Janet Cooper, Jasper’s Environmental Stewardship Coordinator. In previous years, Cooper would work with brokers to get the best price possible on products diverted from Jasper’s waste stream. Mixed paper, historically, would fetch up to $120 per cubic metre. But since China implemented its “National Sword” policy, which bans 24 types of solid waste, including various plastics and unsorted mixed papers, and sets a much tougher standard for contamination levels, communities all over Canada have been stuck with their recycling.

The problem compounded in the spring, when eventually, Jasper had nowhere to put its mixed paper bales. For safety reasons, operators can only store bales in stacks of three. They couldn’t put it outside, lest it get wet. Once there was no more room in the compound, Cooper said, they had little choice but to landfill it.

“Some of it was going directly into the waste stream,” she said.

Things have gotten somewhat better. Since April, Cooper has been able to find shippers who will take the paper. But no longer is the municipality receiving money for it. Instead, we pay to have it removed.

“We’re getting back on track,” she said. “Our

paper is clean as opposed to big cities.”

Many large municipalities employ onestream recycling, meaning residents put all of their recycling—cardboard, plastic, paper, etc—into one bin, which is then hauled away. A centralized Materials Recycling Facility (MRF, pronounced murf) then sorts the diverted waste, but the quality of the end product is less than ideal, Cooper said. Imagine greasy pizza boxes smearing otherwise clean recycled office paper.

“It gets gucky,” Cooper said. “It gets slimed.

It gets contaminated.”

By those standards, Jasper’s user-sorted paper recycling is much cleaner. But it’s far from perfect. One of Cooper’s challenges will be how to further improve the quality of our diverted waste.

“It’s all about cleaning up the streams,” she said.

That means she isn’t asking residents who recycle to change their ways, despite the uncertain future of their recycling. Far from it. She points to the market for glass which, like paper today, had no market just a few years ago. Glass was being landfilled at that time but as Cooper points out, glass is inert, and it doesn’t degrade, so it wasn’t a big deal to stockpile it. Currently, Jasper sends its glass to a facility in Quesnel, B.C., which crushes it to make a sandblasting abrasive.

Cooper is hoping that mixed paper in Jasper will, similarly, find a second life.

“It’s all a new game right now,” she said.

“The brokers will let us know if they can take it.” bob covey // bob@thejasperlocal.com

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page B1 // the jasper local // issue 128 // saturday, September 1, 2018

Local community //

The Rockies’ Mackenzie Evans stretches out to beat the runner, the Jasper Barley Kings’ Amanda Schultz, while pitcher Matt Flannery looks on.

On August 28 the Rockies upset the former champs in semi final action before besting the Royals to take the Jasper Mixed Slow Pitch 2018 crown.

Healthcare Foundation pumps community support for hospital heart monitor Thanks to money raised at the Jasper Half Marathon, the Jasper Healthcare Foundation has purchased medical equipment that could help save an infant’s life.

In April, more than 1,000 athletes gathered in Jasper to run MultiSport Canada’s third annual Jasper Half-Marathon. Thousands of collective kilometres later, the athletes had raised $13,000 for the Jasper Healthcare Foundation (JHF). This would not have been possible without the many volunteers who supported the race this year, said Sean FitzGerald of the Jasper Healthcare Foundation.

“We’ve been really lucky that people have been so supportive.”

Thanks to the community stepping up in a big way, this year, the JFH purchased a fetal heart monitor, an instrument which can tune in to the tiny heartbeats inside the womb. Medical staff using the equipment will be able to pick up signs of distress or indications that labour is beginning. It’s a tool that most small hospitals don’t have access to, Fitzgerald said.

With the success of this year’s half-marathon comes a hint of sadness as the JHF is losing one of its board members, Connie Tiesenhausen. Fitzgerald

said the JHF has appreciated Tiesenhausen’s for her organization, dedication and commitment during her time on the board.

“She’s been a big part of the success of the foundation’s fundraising,” he said.

If you have organizational skills just begging to be exercised this year, the Jasper Health Foundation is looking for one or two more board members and would love to hear from you. Those interested can reach out to Eleanor Baraniuk or call FitzGerald, 780931-6196.

Megan Warren // info@thejasperlocal.com

Celebrating 25 Years in Canadian Fine Art

WILD AND SACRED PLACES AN EXHIBITION & SALE OF NEW WORK BY TOP CANADIAN ARTISTS

FAIRMONT JASPER PARK LODGE

Brent Lynch

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saturday, september 1, 2018 // issue 128 // the jasper local// page B2

Local arts //

Stage is set for new chapter of Jasper Folk Music Festival Jasper Folk Music Festival organizers have been busy putting the pieces together for the upcoming September 7-9 festival.

There’s just one thing missing to help make sure it goes off without a hitch: you.

Organizers are still seeking volunteers and putting the call out for Jasperites to get involved. Festival chairperson Cristin Murphy says volunteering is an excellent way to lend a hand and be right in the mix of music and events.

“The festival has been able to deliver a fun, inclusive event,” Murphy said. “Our volunteers are definitely a big part of how we are able to give a warm welcome.”

The well-rounded, diverse line-up at JFMF 2018 offers a little bit for everyone, Murphy said. From the fulsome, heartwarming sound of Calgary-based singer songwriter Michael Bernard Fitzgerald (the Saturday night “Our volunteers are headliner) to the definitely a big part of stripped down how we are able to give sparseness of a warm welcome.”

Swift Current, Saskatchewan’s Bears in Hazenmore, Murphy is proud of the bill JFMF organizers have pulled together.

“We’re excited to share this new, evolved festival,” she said.

Indeed, Jasper’s folk festival has transformed.

No longer held in mid-summer and with a more

modest—and more manageable—budget, the focus since its revival in 2013 has been on local musical collaboration and creating a familyfriendly atmosphere.

The JFMF works with local venues throughout the year to foster a folk music culture in Jasper. The culmination of those partnerships is the September festival, when after a busy summer “everybody could use a bit more dancing in their lives,” according to Murphy.

DANCE OFF! // SHOWTIME DANCE PROMOTIONS HOSTS AN ANNUAL JASPER DANCE CAMP. IN EARLY AUGUST, MORE THAN 100 CAMPERS WERE LEARNING NEW MOVES TO TAKE BACK TO THEIR HOME TOWNS ACROSS CANADA. //BOB COVEY

This iteration of the JFMF had a hiccup last year when the event had to be cancelled due to lack of a suitable festival location. The Municipality of Jasper was re-thinking its field use policies and a rehabilitation of Centennial Park, the previous home of the festival, meant there was nowhere for JFMF to go.

This year, the newly-named Commemoration Park will be the host venue. It’s smaller, yes, but Murphy thinks that will lend to a more intimate atmosphere. Moreover, the kitty-corner Jasper Legion will provide an extension of the festival grounds, hosting music workshops, organizer powwows and an artists’ greenroom.

Other changes in 2018 include a Kids Zone, “after dark” parties at the Downstream Lounge

and Legion and a downtown parade to kick-off the weekend. The parade will start at 3:30 p.m. at the Big White Rock on the Discovery Trail (Connaught Dr. and Hazel Ave.). Food vendors will find space on Pyramid Lake Road, adjacent from the festival stage and instead of tapering the festival off on Sunday as has been tradition, the event will go out with a bang thanks to headliners The Hearts and Mr. Fantastik.

“A little Sunday afternoon reggae with beer and sunshine?” Murphy pondered. “Sounds like a pretty good place to be.”

Tickets for the festival are available on the JFMF website, jasperfolkmusicfestival.ca and the festival volunteer meeting takes place September 4 at 7 p.m. at the Jasper Legion. bob covey // bob@thejasperlocal.com

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page b3+B4 // the jasper local // issue 128 // saturday, september 1, 2018

FEATURE // PHOTOS BY SIMONE HEINRICH

KIDS LICK THE DARNDEST THINGS That’s one shaggy nanny!

WITH WINTER AROUND THE CORNER (NOOOOO!) IT’S TIME FOR MOUNTAIN GOATS TO START GROWING THAT FULL, WOOLY, DOUBLE COAT WHICH WILL PROTECT THEM FROM THE ELEMENTS.

months—but depending on when they come into this world, their survival

But first they have to shed their spring slicker! Mountain goats (males are called billies, females are called nannies) might look a bit funky this time of year, but the bed head is worth it when it’s minus 46 degrees celsius in the alpine in January and the wind is honking at 160 km/hr.

Kids (the human kind), listen up: kids (the goat kind) are born in late May or early June. At birth they weigh about seven pounds and within hours begin to run and climb. They are mostly weaned within a month. Talk about tough love! Nannies usually give birth to just a single offspring.

Bighorn sheep, meanwhile (mix them up and face ridicule by Jasperites who’ve lived here for more than four months) are called ewes (female) and rams (male). Males are easily identified for their large, curved horns (females have shorter versions).

Newborn lambs are a bit bigger than mountain goats and can also walk within hours. They hang out with mom a bit longer—four to six

“It’s amazing to see them following mom on the steep ledges,” Heinrich said. “And of course they are extremely cute.”

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rate differs. Those born earlier are more likely to make it through their first year. Ewes keep their little

ones on high, steep ledges when they are first born to protect them from predators such as wolves, cougars and coyotes.

Jasper photographer Simone Heinrich loves to watch the baby sheep and goats traversing these steep rocky faces. She has been able to photograph them as they approach the highway, looking for salt to lick.

“It’s amazing to see them following mom on the steep ledges,” Heinrich said. “And of course they are extremely cute.” bob covey // bob@thejasperlocal.com

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page B5 // the jasper local // issue 128 // saturday, September 1, 2018

Local literature //

A Purpose Ridden: Late Adventure Cyclist’s Memoir Hints at Deeper Lessons There reached a point in Ryan Correy’s 2008 “Race Across America” when he had had enough.

He could manage physical agony that accompanies cycling over 4823 km in less than a dozen days, but the prolonged sleep deprivation was

cyclist bent on “changing the world” through superhuman feats of endurance. Inspired by Canadian hero Terry Fox, the young athlete searches for a purpose to give meaning to his passion. His journey begins with a 14,000 km tour around North America to raise money in support of the Childhood Cancer Canada Foundation and continues through a tick-list of the most gruelling cycling challenges the world has to offer.

“Correy writes with deep emotional honesty, interlacing harrowing accounts of the trials of long distance cycling with introspectives on interfamily dynamics.“ beginning to take its toll. He decided to quit.

It was at that point that his father, an uncompromising man who had introduced Ryan to long distance cycling as “manhood training” some 12 years earlier, mounted Ryan’s spare bicycle and implored his beleaguered son to ride along with him “[just] to the next time station.”

Upon completing the race four days later, Correy began to wonder if this strained father-son dynamic at the heart of his cycling journey had finally come full-circle.

In his 2015 memoir “A Purpose Ridden,” Correy recounts his transformation from a reluctant hockey prospect to an adventure

Early attempts at “changing the world” fail to live up to the athlete’s lofty aspirations and pressure mounts on the young man to “grow up” (his father prefers a more colourful term). Nevertheless, he persists. Dogged, almost pathological persistence is, after all, a required personality trait for the ultra-athlete.

It is a trait that Correy puts on display on a record-breaking ride from Alaska to the southern tip of Argentina, the Race Across America, the Tour Divide race from Banff to Antelope Wells, New Mexico and a near-deadly world record attempt involving peddling a stationary bike for almost a week straight.

drivers and conflicts with his parents, the author seems torn by the question of whether his exploits, tied though they are to charitable goals, are ultimately selfish in nature.

Unfortunately, that underlying tension is never fully explored. Nor is the question of what drives people like Correy to subject themselves to intense physical and mental pain for days and weeks on end in pursuit of abstract goals. As a result, the book lacks an overarching theme that might tie the series of adventures together into a satisfyingly unified story.

In the book’s closing chapter, the author reflects on his relationship with his father, wondering aloud if that rocky relationship might have been the common thread that tied all his adventures together. Tacked on to the end of the book, this important realization leaves the reader wishing that the relationship had received more and deeper consideration throughout.

We hear plenty about father and son butting heads, but little about how their tumultuous relationship grew or changed over time.

Ultimately, this appears to be a problem of editing. Correy—who passed away earlier this year after a battle with bowel cancer—was a Correy writes with deep emotional gifted writer. But without a clear honesty, interlacing harrowing narrative arc, the book’s 475 pages can accounts of the of trials of long distance sometimes feel like a series of welladventure cycling with introspective written travelogues. The father-son reflections on interfamily dynamics. As dynamic could have supplied that arc, he recounts fallings out with support had an editor pushed the author to

weave it more evenly throughout his story.

Enthusiasts of endurance sports will be drawn to Correy’s accounts of physical and mental struggle.

His ability to push through mental and physical anguish hovers in the realm of the superhuman. For those with more of a passing interest, however, even condensed accounts of these cycling epics can begin meld into a blur of missed turns, uncomfortable bivouacs and saddle sores. The journey is gripping, but the destination is not always clear.

A Purpose Ridden By Ryan Correy is available from Rocky Mountain Books.

doug olthof // doug@thejasperlocal.com

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saturday, september 1, 2018 // issue 128 // the jasper local// page B6

local mountaineering //

HITTING THE BRAKES: Staying safe while rappelling “I HATE YOU MATT! I F***ING HATE YOU!!”

Those were the unforgettable shouts being drowned out by a waterfall high in the alpine in Jasper National Park.

My climbing partner was halfway down a long rappel which required full submersion in pretty cold water. We were part way down Mt. Geraldine, which I had grossly underestimated.

We ran out of time well before the summit and turned back, aiming for a descent gully that was not part of our initial plan. Things didn’t improve when the rope got stuck. I tried to pull it free from the rappel anchor above but it was no use. We were off route with a fair bit of technical ground to cover, and that rope was kind of important to our descent. I took a deep breath and climbed up the waterfall as high as I could before pulling my knife out. The shortened rope was just enough to get us through our 20plus hour learning experience.

Rappelling has often made the hair on the back of my neck stand tall. Often the technique is employed when I’m tired or in full retreat from weather or darkness. There’s a lot that can go wrong, illustrated some 25 years ago on that fateful Mt Geraldine trip. You can find other examples by perusing ‘Accidents in North American Mountaineering,’ published annually since 1948.

For mountaineers, this publication is educational reading. Learning from others’ unfortunate circumstances and situations is important, but it hits home when the events happen to you or someone close to you. Now more than ever, I try not to place blame when I hear of an incident, but instead look at how I can change my own behaviour when I’m out in the hills, based on a growing foundation of knowledge.

Given a choice between walking down and rappelling, my preference is still to walk. However, if I am choosing to rappel, I firmly believe in pre-rigging everyone’s rappel device before anyone starts their descent. This way we can have multiple sets of eyes looking for potential errors in everyone’s rigging. I am also a proponent of having one person rappel at a time, avoiding simul-rappels.

Rappelling is one of the rare times when you can’t use the rope to secure yourself, so having a stretchy tether like the Petzl connect-adjust lanyard or the Purcell Prussik are good examples of dynamic lanyards to use. The DMM website

has a great video called ‘How to break Nylon and Dyneema slings,” highlighting just how dangerous it can be to use regular slings as a personal attachment system.

There are several nuances to mountaineering descents that can only be learned through experience. Managing rockfall, people, anchor stations and the rope can be tricky business.

Having experience is good, but having a system to follow as well as experience is even better. My good friend and mentor, Cyril Shokoples, has an amazing brain for teaching mountaineering skills.

Through many years of thoughtful experience, leadership training and research, Cyril has developed an excellent memory aid, The BRAKES acronym. The BRAKES check is a //Rappelling is often employed when mountaineers are in retreat, all helpful rappelling tool the more reason to have a reliable safety system. // supplied to go along with training and experience. CyrBRAKES check efficiently, but it’s time well il has a more comprehensive article on BRAKES spent when you consider how important it is to found on his website www.rescuedynamics.ca, be thorough on rappel. Just look through ‘Acbut the quick version is as follows: cidents in North American Mountaineering’ to realize how many people have learned the hard B – Check the Buckles on all harnesses. way so that we don’t have to.

Make sure the waist is still snug.

R – Check Rappel Devices for proper rigging Matt Reynolds is a Jasper based ACMG certiwith carabiners locked.

A – Check the Anchor K – Check each and every Knot in the entire

fied Mountain Guide. Matt specializes in custom mountain adventures for small groups in alpine terrain.

system

E – Are the Ends of your rope equal with a knot in each end

S – Consider using a Safety backup or belay and look for Sharp edges

Buckles, Rappel Device, Anchor, Knots, Ends, Safety backup and Sharp edges. It takes a bit of training and repetition to go through the

matt reynolds // info@thejasperlocal.com

Matt Reynolds is a Jasper based ACMG certified Mountain Guide. Matt specializes in custom mountain adventures for small groups