The Jasper Local October 15, 2018

a lt e r n at i v e +

LOCAL + independent

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thejasperlocal.com

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monday, october 15, 2018 // ISSUE 131

CANADIAN CAR WASH // THESE MOOSE WERE INSPECTING SALT CONTENT ON PASSING MOTORISTS’ VEHICLES ON THE MALIGNE LAKE ROAD OCTOBER 13. // SIMONE HEINRICH

Jasper organizations receive industry accolades Four Jasper organizations have been nominated for an Alto Award, Travel Alberta’s tourism industry top honour.

Meanwhile, the Jasper Park Chamber of Commerce recognized outstanding local individuals and businesses in their annual JPCC Ambassador Awards.

The Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge, Pine Bungalows and Pursuit’s Columbia Icefield Discovery Centre are finalists for an Alto in Outstanding Sustainable Tourism. Sustainable tourism development “meets the needs of visitors and local communities while protecting and enhancing the environment,” according to Travel Alberta. Parks Canada sponsors the Outstanding Sustainable Tourism award.

Tourism Jasper was named as a finalist for its part in the “Sneeuwzeker Deals” marketing campaign, a promotion

designed to make it easier for Dutch guests to visit the Canadian Rockies. Finally, the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge will vie for the Alto celebrating the Tourism Event or Festival of the Year with its long-standing Christmas in November campaign.

Winners will be announced October 23.

Locally, the JPPC recognized the following individuals and businesses: Loni Klettl (Community Ambassador); Glenda MacDowell (Individual Award of Distinction); PSAV conference services (Corporate Citizen); The Bear Paw/Other Paw Bakeries (Business of the Year); Travis Chorley (Young Entrepreneur); Jasper Motorcycle Tours (Communities in Bloom); Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge (Booking.com); Marmot Basin (Jasper the Bear Booster); Doug McPhee (Pioneer); and Wildflowers Childcare (People’s Choice). The non-profit of the year was awarded to The Jasper Community Team. bob covey // bob@thejasperlocal.com

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page A2 // the jasper local // issue 131 // monday, october 15, 2018

editorial //

Local Vocal “homelessness in Jasper?”

In a big city, homelessness is laid bare. Men and women experiencing homelessness are right there, on the sidewalks, in the city parks, under the bridges. In rural communities, the problem is much less visible. However, every night in Jasper someone is sleeping in their vehicle, underneath a balcony or in the bush. Although the case can probably be made that the broader, contributing issues to homelessness are neglected across the board, the fact is, large urban centres in Alberta have a much better idea of their homeless population than do their smaller, rural counterparts.

But just because there are no “point in time” counts in Jasper to gauge the number of people without a permanent dwelling, that does not mean that there aren’t people unable to acquire and maintain regular, safe and secure housing here.

Several years ago, I met a gentleman who had hitchhiked to Jasper. He told me he had spent the last two nights sleeping outside. This was not a young adventurer looking to rack up travel tales, this was a guy down on his luck. It was December 30th and dipping well below minus 20 degrees Celsius in the evening. His rucksack was half frozen. Local support service offices were closed.

Apprehensively, I let him crash at my place. Let’s just say it wasn’t ideal.

But no one was hurt and I got a sense of what it must be like for someone to roll into Jasper with no plan and no support and no one to call on for help.

It’s not just transient folks who suffer from homelessness, however. Often, accommodation in Jasper is tied to one’s job and if something happens where that job is terminated, so too is the place to hang one’s hat. Often by midnight of the same day.

Wildflowers Childcare: We salute you!

At drop off in the morning your smiles are always bright You greet our little darlings with interest and delight Parents rushing back and forth, always in a hurry What a treat to get in there and never have to worry

All day long you care for them, as if they were your own You dry their tears, you wipe their bums and get their noses blown You organize the diaper bags, you sort out all the shoes And always seem to find the socks and mittens that we lose

And let not your stereotype of young vagabonds colour your idea of who make up Jasper’s homeless population. Community Development staff say that it could just as likely be a baby boomer as a millennial; homelessness doesn’t discriminate.

The Jasper Local //

Neither do addictions or mental health issues, the compounding of which can send people into crisis.

Editor / Publisher

So for the sake of our shadow population of people whose housing situations are unsafe, insecure or inadequate, let’s put homelessness and unstable housing on our radars. It’s the first step in helping understand—and hopefully addressing—the issues’ underlying causes. bob covey // bob@thejasperlocal.com

The exercise and social skills our kids get plenty of are complimented by healthy food, made with lots of love When kids come home with new words to share or new songs they like to sing We always tip our hats to you: Wildflowers is amazing!

So thank you, thank you, daycare staff, for everything you do It can’t be easy on your backs; Lord knows you see lots of poo Your dedication to the kids is something for which we’re blessed On behalf of all the Jasper parents: you folks are the best!-BC

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

Nicole covey......................................................................... nicole@thejasperlocal.com Advertising + sales

Email us today...........................................................................ads@thejasperlocal.com cartoonist

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monday, october 15, 2018 // issue 131 // the jasper local// page A3

we need the funk// five alarm funk blew the doors off the Jasper Legion Oct 11. The sold out show was the 8-piece band’s third time in Jasper after debuting at the 2013 folk fest. // b covey

Jasper surveying on homelessness Jasper wants to get a sense of what homelessness looks like in this community.

Along with 21 other rural centres in Alberta, Jasper is gathering data on homelessness so officials can gauge what kind of supports might be necessary here.

where to prioritize resources.

“The hope is that when we’ve gathered this data, if and when we ask for funding— for whatever that might be—we have the statistics to back that up,” Pelletier said.

Currently, if someone comes into the Community and Family Services office Leanne Pelletier, the Municipality of Jasper’s with an accommodation crisis, Community Community Development Coordinator, says Outreach Workers can direct them to Jasperites might be surprised by the fact that Alberta Supports, which may help put the person up for the night. Sometimes, help Jasper has a homeless population. comes in the way of a bus ticket or a grocery “It’s easy for us to think that homelessness card. doesn’t happen here but it absolutely does,” “There is an ability to help,” Pelletier said.

Pelletier said.

Moreover, people living in “unstable housing” is even more common. Unstable housing might mean a tenant has difficulty paying rent, has frequent moves, lives in overcrowded conditions or is forced to double up with friends and relatives.

Pelletier and the town want to collect data on both homelessness and unstable housing.

As such, since September 17, several service agencies around Jasper have been asking clients to fill out a Homelessness Estimation Count survey.

The initiative comes from the Alberta Rural Development Network (ARDN). By conducting the surveys across 21 rural communities in the province, ARDN will be able to compare data, figure out which communities are most impacted and decide

But Jasper doesn’t have a homeless shelter or a soup kitchen. For most of the acute situations seen at CFS, the fix is temporary.

The problem of unstable housing is often not temporary, however. Furthermore, if a person is experiencing health issues, adding unstable housing and/or homelessness to their challenges can send them into crisis, Pelletier said.

That’s why it’s important to start collecting data.

The anonymous surveys, available at Community Outreach Services, the library, the Jasper Employment and Education Centre, the Jasper Foodbank and Alpine Summit Seniors Lodge, are open until October 17. bob covey // bob@thejasperlocal.com

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page B1 // the jasper local // issue 131 // monday, october 15, 2018

Local art //

Night sky exhibition an interstellar portal to imagination and healing

They did, but it wasn’t as easy as that. Her marriage ended. Her teenage children went back to Canada. Her university examiner But for oil painter Destanne Norris, whose told her that her masters project needed current exhibition Stellar depicts a mind bending marriage of science and imagination, more work. When Norris finally obtained her degree, she was carrying with her much her big picture perspective began to take more than a piece of paper—she was carrying form many years before she began painting with her the belief that she could achieve her her interpretations of the cosmos’ greatest dreams. mysteries.

From the outer reaches of the galaxy, everything seems small.

Norris, whose artistic career first bloomed in Jasper in the 1990s, had her life turned upside down when her 19-month daughter, Leah, drowned. In the wake of the tragedy, Norris resolved to honour her daughter’s memory by making a meaningful life for herself and her family.

“My inner voice told me ‘I’m supposed to paint.’“ “My inner voice told me ‘I’m supposed to paint,’” she said.

She did, cultivating a relationship with local art promoter Wendy Wacko and embarking on a successful commercial career. But after five years of devoting herself to gallery exhibitions, she was starting to feel restless.

Her goal of pursuing higher education‚ which was put on hold when she got married, was gnawing at her. At 42-years-old, she asked her family to follow her to the University of Tasmania, in Australia.

“It taught me to have faith in myself,” she said. “That I could persevere.”

When she started afresh in Silver Star, near Kamloops, B.C., Norris needed to draw from that well once again. A family friend took his own life. Having been primarily a landscape artist, she now looked heavenward for inspiration. Her canvasses began reflecting the star scapes of the night sky, the interstellar photography from the Hubble Telescope and her interpretations of the creation of distant galaxies. Like she did after her daughter’s death, she let her work guide her through the grief.

“When we see twinkling dots of light that shine bright through the darkness over unfathomable distances, we are actually witnessing the past meeting the present,” she said.

Like wise, her own past is always with her.

Although her daughter left this world 23 years ago, Norris still creates with the promise to honour Leah’s life.

“That means living my life deeper, with passion and with the intention of making a difference,” she said.

That viewpoint took some time to achieve, but now that she’s gained it—like looking down at earth from the outer edges of the galaxy—everything else is put in perspective. bob covey // bob@thejasperlocal.com

Stellar is showing at the Jasper Yellowhead Museum and Archives. Norris will present on the series Saturday, Oct 20 at 6 p.m.

DESTANNE NORRIS WILL SPEAK ABOUT HER EXHIBITION, STELLAR, ON OCT 20 AT THE JASPER YELLOWHEAD MUSEUM & ARCHIVES. // SUPPLIED

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monday, october 15, 2018 // issue 131 // the jasper local// page B2

Local mountain culture //

Celebrating the anti-expedition: harmonizing with the mountain landscape versus conquering it Why climb a mountain?

George Mallory, the English mountaineer who made several attempts on Mount Everest in the early 20th century and eventually lost his life to the pursuit, famously answered “because it is there.”

For many, the mountains represent objectives; challenges to be overcome. But while fixated on bagging the peak, climbing the most aesthetic line or posting the fastest time on Strava, we render the mountains

“The anti-expedition put into practice the belief that there is inherent value in untouched nature and that we, as humans, are at our most whole when we are in it.”

playing fields for largely egodriven sports and in the process neglect their most precious and important gifts.

So argued a group of Norwegian “eco-philosophers” who, in the 1960s, began meeting at the Norwegian Mountaineering School to discuss their concerns about the industrialization of society and its ecological impacts. The group drew on an eclectic range of philosophical traditions – from Gandhian non-violence to the traditional Norwegian concept of “friluftsliv” or “free air life” – as they crafted ideas about how to live in a way that is connected with nature and resists the “complications” of industrial, consumerist society.

On September 27, two disciples of this ecological vision – Bob Henderson and Aage Jensen – visited the Jasper Museum to share the story of a 1971 “antiexpedition” to Nepal. It was during this journey that three leaders of the eco-philosophical movement—Sigmund Kvaloy Setreng, Nils Faarland and Arne Naess—put their alternative conception of being in nature into practice. A film of the anti-expedition shot by Setreng served as the centrepeice for the talk and showed an approach to mountaineering that stands in stark contrast with the usual high-adventure fare of mountain filmmaking.

To the extent that the Norwegians had an objective for the trip, it was to spend time on and around Tseringma: a 7,100-meter peak in the Himalaya that is the holiest mountain in the tradition of the

Sherpa people. However, while Tseringma may have been the orienting point of the journey, the film makes it clear that the climbers’ primary commitment was to harmonize with the rhythm and cadence of the mountains and the people who inhabit them.

The journey began with an eight-day trek from Kathmandu to Beding at the foot of Tseringma (known also as Gauri Shankar). From there, the film shows the team lingering in a Sherpa village, observing and participating in a local way of life predicated on mutual assistance and deep appreciation for the gifts of nature and community. Only then do the climbers head toward the mountain, in the company of Sherpa men not hired as porters but invited to join as friends.

On the mountain, the film shows the group taking their time, moving slowly and taking the conscious decision to halt their climb at 6,000 meters, out of respect for the holiness of the peak. The trip was intended as a counterpoint to the military siege-style attempts on the world’s highest peaks that had become the norm in the mid-20th century. On the anti-expedition, the journey itself was the destination.

A LEADING PROPONENT OF THE ECO-PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVE, SIGMUND KVALOY SETRENG TRIED TO ESCAPE THE ACADEMIC ECHO CHAMBER BY COMMUNICATING HIS PHILOSOPHY IN DRAWINGS.

a pair of boots, a rucksack and a commitment to head out into the hills with no objective in mind.

Doug olthof //

info@thejasperlocal.com

The anti-expedition put into practice the belief that there is inherent value in untouched nature and that we, as humans, are at our most whole when we are in it. The emphasis is very squarely on being present in nature. A preoccupation with goals—yearning for the fruit of one’s actions—narrows the field of vision and obscures the essential wisdom available to those who are content to simply exist in the natural environment.

As any hiker, climber or backcountry skier can tell you, recent years have witnessed an explosion in the popularity of these and other mountain-based activities. Perhaps this is an indication that the ideas of the Norwegian eco-philosophers are finally catching on as more and more people recognize the value of a life spent in the free air of nature. On the other hand, the successful commodification of mountain lifestyles by car and smartphone companies as well as the widespread impulse to broadcast our outdoor “achievements” via social media suggest that we still have much to learn about being in nature before we can begin accessing all there is to learn from nature.

Perhaps all we need to do this is

bob covey // bob@thejaspterlocal.com

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page b3+B4 // the jasper local // issue 131 // monday, october 15, 2018

FEATURE // STORY BY DAVID HARRAP, PHOTOS BY LAURENS PUT

THE TERRIFIC TURKEY TROT HOW TO COOK A MOIST TURKEY: HIKE SEVERAL KILOMETERS THROUGH DEEP SNOW CARRYING THE TURKEY ON YOUR BACK THEN ROAST IT OVER A CAMPFIRE. OR PADDLE A CANOE FOR HALF A DAY BEFORE COOKING THE THANKSGIVING BIRD. It’s the eighth annual Turkey Trot. The first was on the B.C. coast. That was a disaster.

It rained non-stop, the fire wouldn’t go, a mouse got at the turkey, and when Jake brought out the half-cooked bird it leaked all over his sleeping bag. Other venues were Manning Park, Kananaskis, Algonquin Park and woods near Ottawa.

waffles and bacon for breakfast.

Liam and Jacky are in charge of the turkey.

It’s an all-day production. Cavities are stuffed with onion and lemon. A herbal buttery mixture is smeared between skin and meat. The turkey is placed in three stacked roasting trays (so air circulates to prevent burning) then wrapped in half-amile of foil.

Check on the bird from time to time while enjoying the mulled wine (which is gently heating on the side of the grate), the sourdough loaf stuffed with brie and rosemary, the bacon-wrapped jalapeno

It’s my first TT; my pack is incredibly heavy for, like the 22 other Trotters, we’re hauling in all the grub and camping gear for two nights. There’s metres of tin foil, aluminum roasting pans and baking trays, a waffle iron, strainers, carving knife and fork, plastic bowls—and oh, don’t forget the litres of boxed wine.

Jacky and Alex have broken trail. Alex is an F-18 fighter pilot, Jacky an air traffic controller, both from Cold Lake. Others have come from Kelowna, Kimberley, Edmonton, Calgary, Nelson, Wainwright—a long way to come for a turkey dinner. But this isn’t your regular Thanksgiving bash: this is a banquet, a feast, an outdoor spread that would shame the hotels and restaurants with their $35 buffets.

A cold night. Minus 15 C. Sourdough

poppers or Emily’s fabulous homemade filled chocolates.

Biologist Dave—“I’m not much of a cook”— is head hatchet man

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chopping huge logs into sizeable chunks; Cara and Mark are playing guitars; four of the trotters are playing Dutch Blitz in the sun; and Murphy, Boots and Jessa are on

the scrounge hoping to get lucky.

Turkey’s looking good. Bacon laid over the breast. A bit more cooking, then resting the bird for an hour a la the Gordon Ramsay secret method to moistness.

Liam’s making gravy. Five pies (pastry made from hand-rendered tallow), the pork and pineapple stuffing and the baked ham are all warming up on the grate.

Around the other fire the braised cabbage, butternut squash, parsnips, cheese and potato casserole, all wrapped in foil, are cooking under the careful gaze of the guys. One girl is making chive and bacon pancakes, another, chicken and waffles with maple syrup and hot sauce. The cranberry sauce is ready.

Big flat-sided logs ”Eat your heart make the table, fir fronds the cloth. out Jasper, you Dishes are laid, won’t find better and it’s almost dark as Liam than this.” carves the turkey . . . and Murphy makes a grab for the ham. Eat your heart out Jasper, you won’t find better than this.

David Harrap// info@thejasperlocal.com

Jasper’s David Harrap is the author of The Littlest Hiker in the Canadian Rockies. Unlike Boots the dog, rarely does he find himself on the scrounge, hoping to get lucky.

TOLFA Law Office & EED

Barristers | Solicitors | Notaries

JASPER

780 852-2242

HINTON

780 865-1070

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local wildlife //

The triathletes of the animal kingdom Moose aren’t exactly on the loose in Jasper National Park, but they certainly make theirselves a lot more visible in the fall.

Jasper photographer Simone Heinrich has been spotted spotting these gorgeouslygangly creatures, and was kind enough to share her experiences with The Jasper Local.

The first thing Heinrich noted was the fact that the two moose

calves she photographed in the spring had made it through the summer. They were looking spry and energetic, she said.

Not so in the case of two bulls who had just been fighting, however. Heinrich said she heard the clackity-clack of antlers in the woods but when she eventually saw the big boys they were all tuckered out.

“They kept yawning and snoozing off,” she laughed.

Moose—the second largest land mammal in North America,

after the bison—are, as Lenny Pepperbottom would say, pretty neat.

They are fast runners (they top out at more than 50 km/hr over short distances); effective swimmers (they can stay under water for up to 30 seconds when searching for plants); and because their front legs are shorter than their back, they are adapted to hurdling deadfall and whatever else gets in their way. They can also ride a bike (citation needed).

Unlike most other deer species, moose are solitary animals. You won’t ever see a herd of moose. If you do though, let us know.

If you do get a glimpse of these special animals, keep your distance. Their hair might be hollow (to help with insulation) but if you get between a mom and its calf, this warning will not ring so.

Check out Simone’s instagram for more moost-see pictures: @simoneheinrichphotography Jasper Local Staff // bob@thejasperlocal.com

INSTA: @SIMONEHEINRICHPHOTOGRAPHY

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monday, october 15, 2018 // issue 131 // the jasper local// page B6

local opinion //

Shredding the Bench: The dichotomy of Parks Canada There will be big changes to the Pyramid Bench due to the mountain pine beetle but one factor wont change: the Bench is crucial to wildlife both as habitat and as a corridor around the town of Jasper and wildlife will continue to use it.

According to a seminal study (Coen, 1983) the east side of the Bench is of ‘critical’ importance for large mammal movements. It is also recognized as habitat for very high densities of breeding birds.

dogs have been killed by wolves in an area once shown as an important wolf corridor on the Pyramid Bench and one wolf was killed there by Parks Canada when it was considered a potential danger to runners.

Under the title Jasper National Park: Animals, Parks Canada recently published the following: “The United Nations created the Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks World Heritage Site partly because of the incredible diversity of animals found here. Jasper National Park is home to 53 species of mammals, mammals that rely on a variety of habitats, some of which we share with them. Their continued health and survival relies on us making as little impact on their home as possible.

The Athabasca Valley covers less than seven per cent of the park but its wetlands, grasslands and aspen forests provide almost all of the habitat for Jasper’s prey species as well as their predators. Early greening vegetation attracts ungulates, elk calves attract grizzlies and prolific berry crops attract both grizzlies and black bears.

National Parks help protect uniquely Canadian In spite of this, Parks Canada has allowed an landscapes along with the ecosystems that unreasonable number of trails on the Bench, some wildlife depend upon for their survival. When of them only 100 metres from a parallel trail, our actions making it increasingly difficult for wary predators to feed and move “While protected areas through the area.

For example, the so-called “Razorback” trail was originally made by wildlife, “improved” by hikers and bikers; signed as a “Wildlands Trail” and finally designated as an official Parks Canada trail (8f). Where wildlife goes, humans follow—until animals are either excluded from preferred habitat or attempt to go on using it, possibly leading to dangerous encounters.

In 2008 the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) warned of a growing problem in the Three Valley Confluence: “Development has led to a disturbance in ungulate migration routes around the town, the destruction of key habitats as well as conflicts between bears and humans.”

can have recreational and cultural value for humans, their greatest value comes as intact ecological reserves for wildlife.”

corridor’ on either the hiking or the mountain biking map.

Although Parks Canada states: “The chance of seeing wildlife is one of the most exciting things about visiting the mountain national parks” and more than 80 per cent of visitors come for just that reason, the agency’s attitude towards fragmentation of critical wildlife habitat ignores its own warning that “Wildlife are extremely sensitive to the stress of human activity.”

A 2017 report by the World Wildlife Fund indicates half of Canada’s monitored wildlife populations are in decline and the greatest threat to these populations is habitat loss. Regarding national parks the report pointed out: “While protected areas can have recreational and cultural value for humans, their greatest value comes as intact ecological reserves for wildlife.

Long-term persistence of wildlife species requires that we make sufficient space available to ensure their habitat remains intact, with core areas for critical activities like feeding and breeding free from disturbance from human activity, and spacious enough for movement like migration or dispersal.”

To follow its mandate, Parks Canada must manage human use.

This does not mean preventing visitors or residents from using the park. It means measuring where the impacts are great and unsustainable, and reducing the number of trails in those areas.

Jasper’s trail plan was meant to do this, but it overachieved in response to pressure from local recreationists.

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INSTA: @SIMONEHEINRICHPHOTOGRAPHY

In 2008/2009 Parks Canada closed some of the unofficial trails on the western and northern periphery of the Pyramid Bench, the south rim of the Maligne Canyon and the Keith Lake area below Signal Mountain but has since allowed almost unlimited new trails on the eastern side of the Bench.

World-wide research indicates many species shift their activities to sub-optimal places or times to avoid people. This is also true of Jasper, but Parks Canada appears to be ignoring the evidence—no longer counting trails or measuring conflicts.

Increased visitation can only add to this pressure on trails. Changes to technology with fat bikes, e-bikes and powerful headlamps means there is no time of day or season where the trails don’t see high-speed use.

In recent years, there have been several incidents in the Three Valley Confluence of grizzly bears confronting or attacking mountain bikers. Two

reduce an animal’s wildness, the natural character of our national parks diminishes.”

Jasper’s management plan stresses that protection of ‘ecological integrity’ is the agency’s first priority and that ‘importance of improving grizzly bear habitat security’ is a key strategy. However, the ongoing sanctioning of new trails and ignoring many illegal trails would suggest these assurances are primarily to distract the public from the fact that the agency is doing the opposite.

Identified wildlife corridors around the Three Valley Confluence (the west and north sides of Pyramid Lake, Signal Mountain above Trail 7 and above the Maligne horse range) are not marked on maps as being ‘closed to all human use’ and has in fact allowed a trail (7i) through the centre of the Signal Mountain corridor about 200 m from a wolf-denning area. A fourth critical corridor—the slopes of The Whistlers to the west of the Whistlers campground—is not even marked as a ‘wildlife

Under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, “The Three Valley Confluence Trail Network Plan will be reviewed and updated in order to ensure implementation achieves the goals of improved ecological integrity and visitor experience of the area.” It is time to see this review happen.

De-shredding the Three Valley Confluence will benefit wildlife and add to the quality of human experience in what is primarily wildlife habitat.

People who come to Jasper to engage with nature expect something more than hiking a maze of informal, semi-formal and official trails devoid of the wilderness values that has brought them to Jasper in the first place.

Jill seaton //

info@thejasperlocal.com Jill Seaton has been a defender of Jasper’s wildlife since she moved here in the early 1990s.