The Jasper Local issue 56 September 1 2015 by The Jasper Local

a lt e r n a t i v e + l o c a l + i n d e p e n d e n t //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

thejasperlocal.com

tuesday, september 1, 2015 // issue 56

Jasper's top administrator stepping down jasper national park is changing up its Supe of the day.

MIRROR, MIRROR, ON THE WALK // CARA BROCK FROM GLOBAL ROPE ACCESS IN CANMORE WAS ONE OF THREE TECHNICIANS CONTRACTED TO HELP CLEAN UP DEBRIS DROPPED FROM THE REFLECTIVE PLATFORM OF BREWSTER’S SKYWALK AUGUST 25. // BOB COVEY

Greg Fenton, who’s been Jasper’s Superintendent since 2007, has accepted an assignment as Special Advisor, Development Regulations, with Parks Canada. Replacing him will be Alan Fehr, who acted in the position when Fenton took a five month leave last November. Fenton will leave his position September 7; Fehr will take over November 1. After 35 years with Parks Canada, Fenton is looking forward to his new assignment prior to retiring from Parks Canada and the Federal Public Service, a memo from Parks Canada said. Fenton’s tenure has included its share of local controversy, including the consideration of commercial development at Maligne Lake, significant slashes to the local field unit in 2012 and sweeping winter closures to backcountry ski areas in the name of caribou conservation. Some of his legacy projects have included improved relations with First Nations stakeholders, increased collaboration with the Municipality of Jasper and ratifying the Jasper Partnership Initiative. Fenton and his wife, Libby Weir, will continue to make the community their home following his retirement. bob covey // bob@thejasperlocal.com

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editorial //

page A2 // the jasper local // issue 56 // september 1, 2015

Local Vocal MUNICIPAL OFFICIALS AND CONSTRUCTION BOSSES ARE STICKING WITH THEIR PROJECTED COMPLETION DATE FOR THE JASPER LIBRARY AND CULTURAL CENTRE; OCTOBER 2, THEY SAY. After seeing the holes in

the cedar finish, the stacks of ceiling tiles on the floor, the missing staircases, the untested machine room and the general lack of urgency on display at the construction site on August 24, I’m going to file that story in the to-becompleted fiction department. I am the furthest thing from a construction expert but I do know deadlines—and in particular, how to pacify a client who’s breathing down your neck. Throwing out a date, no matter how unrealistic, is much preferred to saying you’re not sure when it will be done. Why? It buys you time. A lot of things have to line up perfectly in order to hand over the keys in less than six weeks. However, in the contractor’s defence, one of the biggest things impeding the final stages of construction is that which hampers much of Jasper’s economic potential: our lack of rental housing. Jasper’s zero-vacancy rate during the summer has made it impossible for site supervisors to efficiently coordinate the trades schedule. In that same vein of empathy, and because I’m tired of all the griping (with the exception of the preceding three paragraphs), I’ve decided to try to shift the storyline on the Jasper library. Instead of looking at how disfunctional this project has been over the past five years, with the rifts between architects and builders, the long list of structural deficiencies and the botched designs for some of its most basic components, I propose that we start focusing on the idea that a new chapter—the first chapter of the Library and Cultural Centre, in fact—is about to begin. We can’t get (all of) the money back, and we certainly can’t get the time back, so let’s do what we can: move forward. Let’s not forget that the values with which council and administrators conceived this project seven years ago are still ones worth holding in high regard. We should be so lucky, in a rural community of 5,000 residents, to have in one building a blend of past and future, a space for business and art, a place for private study and public engagement. Instead of laughing at the problems, let’s dream of the possibilities. Instead of rejecting the mistakes of the construction, let’s project our faith in the constructive. The groups who will soon call the facility home are cultural capital specialists. Frankly, I’m excited to visit them. The preface has been interminable, to be sure, but as a keen reader, I’m confident that the real story of the Jasper Library and Cultural Centre won’t be defined by the narrative up to this point, but rather, in the pages yet to be turned. bob covey // bob@thejasperlocal.com

Letters to the editor One love Dear editor: CHAMPIONS! Thank you for being true journos by publishing Mr. Barrett’s truth.

You are loved! You are part of the real people. -Scott Wilding, Australia

Truthers say the darndest things Dear editor: Thank you for reporting on Kevin Barrett’s book tour and talk. You might wish to expand the theme and details of this and similarities to the shoot up at the parliamentary library corral. As a ‘climax’ to a series of such attacks, getting closer to Ottawa, a delegation of circumcised Nazis

were on a charm offensive and under close watch just to the south. The proof? Live Fox and CNN reports knew Ottawa was our capital and where it was (Canada as well)! Oh this wasn’t a set up. Hardly. Cheers & Bon chance -Todd Millions (Eastend SK).

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

Nicole Gaboury........................................................................nicole@thejasperlocal.com

Advertising + sales

rachel bailey.............................................................................rachel@thejasperlocal.com

cartoonist

deke......................................................................................................deke@thejasperlocal.com facebook.com/thejasperlocal

@thejasperlocal

Local development//

tuesday, september 1, 2015 // issue 56 // the jasper local// page A3

MOJ’S CLERK OF WORKS, GORD HUTTON, IS SATISFIED THAT THE BURNISHED CEMENT WALLS ARE NOW UP TO SNUFF. DELNOR’S BOB HOFFMANN (LEFT) AND JASPER’S CAO, MARK FERCHO, CAN BACK HIM UP. // BOB COVEY

Devil's in the details as library construction hits homestretch There is a light at the end of the tunnel for Jasper’s infamous, interminable construction project. However, builders at the Jasper Library and Cultural Centre aren’t out of the woods yet. Difficulties coordinating subcontractors, an airtight accommodation market and the availability of construction materials are the main factors which could thwart the library’s latest completion deadline of October 2. “That’s the target,” said site supervisor Bob Hoffmann of Delnor Construction. “I’m doing everything in my power and ability [to hit it].” That includes, at times, looking for places for his tradespeople to stay. Accommodations are scarce in Jasper during the summer; Hoffmann’s found that out the hard way. “It’s become a big issue,” he said. “[Contractors] not being here impacts another trade.” So does materials not being here. Where the elevator will eventually go, Hoffmann has been waiting for the ceiling to be tiled. But the ceiling

can’t get installed until the cedar clad that will go on the elevator is put in. The cedar is on hold until the elevator box shows up. And what’s taking the box so long? “That’s something you’ve got to ask the elevator company,” Hoffmann said. That’s just one example. Hoffmann said priorities can—and do—change on an hourly basis. “Everything is affecting everything else,” he said. The project has been plagued with issues, as Jasper readers well know. Three years and three million dollars over budget, last fall the municipality and the builders finally resolved the road blocks which were bogging things down, including uneven floors, shoddy concrete finishing on walls, mechanical room issues and disagreements on staircase design. However, even with all of the large deficiencies attended to, as the construction hits the homestretch, the devil is in the details. “So many variables change on a daily basis,” Hoffmann said. When it’s completed, the building will get two green thumbs-up from the regulators at Leadership in

Energy and Environmental Design (LEED). Parks Canada’s Federal Heritage Buildings Review Office (FHBRO) will slap their stamp of approval on the project too, as it has incorporated the original 1926 Tudor-style building which housed Jasper’s first RCMP detachment, then the library that generations of Jasperites grew up in. As if Hoffmann didn’t have enough paperwork to complete, documenting the site’s LEED and FHBRO commitments every step of the way has been cumbersome, to say the least. “At times it can cause conflicts with the trades,” he said. Conflict is something Hoffmann—and the municipality’s clerk of works, Gord Hutton—want to avoid. But Hoffmann knows the reality of a busy, complex construction site. “Sometimes it’s not just a matter of one trade being in the way of another, sometimes it’s a matter of people not getting along with each other,” he said. Painful as it’s been, all parties involved are anxious to see the keys handed over to the client. “Everybody will benefit,” Hoffmann said. “There’s just so much possibility.”

bob covey // bob@thejasperlocal.com

Local recreation //

page B1 // the jasper local // issue 56 // tuesday, september 1, 2015

High strung rope specialists gather Brewster walk waste Global rope access, a specialized rope access company based in canmore, was helping brewster travel clean up its act last week. For three days in late August, GRA was contracted by Brewster to pick up litter and other detritus from beneath the Glacier Skywalk. “We get into places that are hard to reach,” said technician Andrew Worthington. The Skywalk’s distinctive glass floored platform suspends visitors hundreds of feet above the Sunwapta Valley. To access the steep terrain where litter has accumulated over the course of the summer, GRA technicians suspended on 180-foot free-hanging ropes anchored to

the walkway. Two hours of foraging produced a bag full of sunglasses, cameras, hats, umbrellas and other waste. “I think this is yours,” Cara Brock joked as she handed a banged-up audio tour headset to Icefields Centre GM Rusty Noble. “I wonder if we can salvage that?” Noble BREWSTER’S RUSTY NOBLE CHECKS OUT A PAIR laughed. OF SHADES DISCOVERED The day before, the team BENEATH THE SKYWALK DURING AN ANNUAL found garbage that preCLEAN-UP // BOB COVEY dated the construction of the Skywalk: propane Brewster projected that approximately tanks, garbage cans, beverage contain200,000 guests would gape through ers and tires, for example. the glass into the gorge in 2015. This “It could definitely do with a clean-up,” is the second clean up that GRA has Worthington said. performed at the Skywalk. Next spring, The Columbia Icefields Centre is visited they will wash the underside of the glass by 300,000 visitors per year. platform. Bob Covey //bob@thejasperlocal.com

TREVOR SCHAPANSKY LEADS THE PACK DOWN TRAIL 3 DURING FREEWHEEL CYCLE’S “BREWP RIDE.” THE WEEKLY SOCIAL MT BIKING SESSION TAKES PLACE TUESDAYS AT 7 P.M. // BOB COVEY

Local events//

tuesday, september 1, 2015 // issue 56 //the jasper local// page B2

MAP A

Friday, September 4, 2015

Highway and Road Closures GRANDE CACHE

JEff Bartlett

Navigating Jasper during the Tour of Alberta you may have heard that the tour of alberta is coming to town.

This five-day competition is Canada’s top professional cycling event, attracting 120 of the world’s top racers and commanding the attention of some 45 million TV viewers world-wide. It’s a pretty big deal. When the Tour rolls into Jasper National Park on September 4 and 5, there will be disruptions to how visitors and residents get around—some minor, some less so. For those who want to take part in the festivities, we’ve compiled a short how-to guide for embracing the Tour. For those who are more interested in what makes Jasper wild year-round, it’s worth it to take a read below so you can maximize your enjoyment of the park without running into race delays. Either way, if you’re in Jasper for September long weekend, it’s going be busy. Practice patience and plan ahead.

Overview

For the most part, the Tour of Alberta will feature a “rolling closure” of major roadways, meaning that the closures will only be in effect as the racers pass through. Furthermore, traffic will follow the racers, at the speed of the cyclists. One 60 minute-long closure to eastbound traffic on Hwy 16 between 1 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. on Friday will be the exception to that rule. On Saturday, traffic will flow with the racers south on 93A and north on Hwy 93.

timeline

Thursday Thursday is set-up day for event staff and volunteers. The Info Centre lawn will turn into ground zero for event festivities but closures will be minimal, with the exception of a short section of the west-bound lane of Connaught. Friday One hundred and twenty of the world’s fastest cyclists will arrive at Jasper National Park’s east gate around 1:30 p.m. on Friday, September 4. There will be a 30 minute traffic delay where Hwy 40 meets Hwy 16, just outside of the park gate and a 60 minute road closure just before the Miette Hot Springs Road. The Miette Road will be closed to traffic all day; however, shuttles will be bringing spectators to the top of the mountain-top finish. Shuttles will depart from Hinton’s Freson Bros grocery store. Saturday On Saturday, September 5 the race begins in Jasper’s downtown at 11:30 a.m. and continues down the south highway(s). Two parade laps will take place in town before the peloton heads west on Connaught Drive. Racers will head to the west underpass, then they’ll take a left onto Sleepy Hollow Road, turning right at the new off-leash dog park Friday, September 4, 2015

Highway and Road Closures GRANDE CACHE

onto Hwy 93A. They’ll cross Highway 16, where JASPER the neutral start ends and the racing officially gets underway. Cyclists then turn south onto Hwy 93. NATIONAL That’s when the race should begin to open up. The PARK racers will turn right onto Hwy 93A and take that road to Athabasca Falls, wherein they’ll head back north on Hwy 93 until they get to the top of the loop again on 93A. They will perform this circuit two more times (three in total) before turning onto Eastbound: min delay the Marmot Basin Road from Hwy 93A.60This will between 1 P.M. - 2:30 P.M. be the start of the exciting mountain top finish at Marmot Basin.

local road closures

Closures will be minimal in the townsite on Thursday, but on Friday the Westbound lane of Connaught Drive will close to traffic (the eastbound lane will support traffic in both directions), as well as the downtown portion of Patricia Street and a small portion of Miette Avenue. The alleys will remain open but residents should walk or bike into the downtown area and visitors ought to take advantage of the public parking lots, marked detours and shuttles to overflow parking lots.

What it means to you:

Westbound: 30 min delay

between 1 P.M. - 2:30 and get whisked to P.M. the BBQ, band and beer sales at Marmot Basin. There will be a second Jumbo-tron broadcasting the race live from there. Organizers are also inviting spectators to cycle to prime viewing spots, such as the top of Portal Hill on Hwy 93A. From there, after watching the peloton zoom by for the first two laps, spectators can cycle up the Marmot Basin Road for the grande finale. If you are biking, remember to bring walking shoes, Pocahontas Cabins water, sunscreen (a book) and proper clothing Parkfood, Entrance Closed 8 A.M. - 4:30 P.M. Shuttles available to Miette Hot Springs to comfortably take in the all-day event at Marmot from Freson Brothers Hinton. www.jasperparkchamber.ca/bus Basin. Miette Hot Springs

MAP B

Saturday, September 5, 2015

Highway and Road Closures

Highway 16: 15 - 20 min delay, 11:30 A.M. - 12 P.M. Southbound: 15 - 20 min delay: 11:30 A.M. -12 P.M.

JASPER

Southbound: 20 - 30 min delays, 11:30 A.M. - 4 P.M. Traffic moves at speed of cyclists.

Marmot Basin

NATIONAL

Valley of the Five Lakes

PARK

Traffic flows northbound: 11:30 A.M. - 4 P.M.

Closed to cars: 8 A.M. - 4 P.M.

Cavell Road

Closed to cars: 8 A.M. - 4 P.M.

Wabasso Campground

Traffic flows southbound: 11:30 A.M. - 4 P.M. Horseshoe Lake

Northbound: 20 - 30 min delays, 12 P.M. - 4 P.M. Traffic moves at speed of cyclists.

Park Visitors If you don’t want your JNP experience impeded by the Tour of Alberta, plan on arriving to Jasper on Thursday or early Friday morning, visiting the south part of the park (Valley of the Five Lakes, Columbia Icefields Centre, Edith Cavell meadows) on Friday and the attractions which require travelling eastbound on Hwy 16 (Miette Hot Springs, Maligne and Medicine Lakes, Maligne Canyon) on Saturday. Head out before 11 a.m. and arrive back to town after 4 p.m. to avoid delays. Spectators For the best spectating experience on Friday, you’re going to want to either be at the top of the mountain when the racers arrive, or near the Jumbo-Tron at the Athabasca Park Info Centre, which will broadcast the live feed to viewers. To get to the top of the Miette Road, take a shuttle from the Freson Bros grocery store in Hinton (contact the Jasper Park Chamber of Commerce for more info). To get to the Info Centre, walk or bike. MAP A On Saturday, access to the mountain-top finish party at the top of the Marmot Basin Road will be decidedly easier. Shuttles will depart from the Jasper town site. Hop in for $10 return ($5 for kids)

Closed: 8 A.M. - 4 P.M.

Athabasca Falls

Miscellaneous info

Access to Miette Road from Pocahontas Cabins to Miette hot springs will be controlled from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; only staff and visitors with reservations at Pocahontas campground and Miette Hot Springs Bungalows will be allowed on the road. The road will remain open to cyclists, except during race time (approximately 2 p.m.-3 p.m.). The hot springs will be open all day on Friday, however, there is no vehicle road access or parking available. Cavell Road will be closed to vehicles from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday. Bicycles will be allowed on the road. The Horseshoe Lake parking lot will be closed to all use from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. as an official feed zone. The Marmot Road will be accessible for private vehicles to park on the right-hand side (going up) but rolling restrictions apply, and there will be no access from approximately 12 p.m. - 12:30 p.m. and again from 2 p.m. - 4:30 p.m., or when pro cyclists are on the course. See you at the finish! Information complied by bob covey from Source documents courtesy of Jasper LOC, Parks Canada, Tourism Jasper and the Municipality of Jasper.

Westbound: 30 min delay between 1 P.M. - 2:30 P.M.

JASPER NATIONAL PARK

Eastbound: 60 min delay between 1 P.M. - 2:30 P.M.

Pocahontas Cabins

Park Entrance

Closed 8 A.M. - 4:30 P.M. Shuttles available to Miette Hot Springs from Freson Brothers Hinton. www.jasperparkchamber.ca/bus

Miette Hot Springs

Saturday, September 5, 2015

Highway and Road Closures

MAP B

JEff Bartlett

page b3+B4 // the jasper local // issue 56 // tuesday, september 1, 2015

LOCAL FEATURE // CANYON CRAWL // STORY AND PHOTOS BY BOB C

TAKING THE

SPLASHING, SLIDING, DANGLING AND DIV

ESTELLE BLANCHETTE CATCHES HER BREATH AFTER JUMPING OFF A LEDGE INTO A DEEP POOL OF ICY WATER

“Just imagine you’re like a drop of water flowing down a crack in a mountain.”

oe Storms of the newly minted company Rocky Mountain Canyoning is briefing participants for the first ever commercially-guided canyoning trip in Jasper National Park.

Myself, Estelle from Tourism Jasper and Kirsty from Maligne Adventures are getting ready to splash, slip, rappel and swim through the slots, slides, drops and pools made by millennia of rushing water in Two Valley Canyon (locally referred to as BS Canyon). Clad in a black drysuit, draped in slings and carabiners and with miniature video cameras protruding from various pieces of his kit, Storms looks a bit like 007 as he does his final safety checks in the smooth-walled gorge just off the Maligne Lake Road. Storms’ business partner, Scott Campbell, looks equally as extreme with his various ascending and descending devices and specialized non-slip, rock-hopping footwear. As for Estelle, Kirsty and I, we’re decked in farmer john-style wetsuits, bright blue splash jackets and crotch-hugging, canyoning-specific harnesses. We might look like chicken-legged platypuses, but we’re actually aquatic guinea pigs. Commercial canyoning is big in Europe and New Zealand, Campbell says, but it’s relatively new to Canada. Rocky Mountain Canyoning got its permit to operate just four weeks ago. “This has been years in the making,” Campbell says. “It’s very exciting.” And beautiful. Having walked a few hundred metres down a sparkling hallway of limestone and bright green moss, our small group congregates at the first of what will be many ledges we have to ne-

gotiate. As crystal-clear Two Valley Campbell reminds us to find secure booties feel for solid connections be look for hand holds in the adjacent r outstretched arm from one of our gu pery spots we connect our harnesse or Campbell use to lower us down; a on the water-worn stone to facilitate through rock and ice climbing pursu of hours on a rope, is at ease self-rap deeper drops. For Kristy, it’s her first any type, let alone one which marks

“It tests people at a ps

“I can’t believe I’m doing this,” Kirst exclamation barely audible over the jumps from a three metre-high rock in over her head, she’ll repeat the sa

That sense of empowerment is w yoning is trying to foster for its a certain degree of fitness, but t and more mental, Campbell insi

“It tests people at a psychologic

feature //

COVEY

PLUNGE

VING IN JASPER’S HIDDEN CANYONS

creek spills over the short drop, e foot placements. Our neoprene eneath the cold water, and we rock wall, occasionally using an uides for leverage. At some slipes to a rope which either Storms at other points we sit and scoot e a smooth landing. Estelle, who, uits, has accumulated hundreds ppelling down some of the t time lowering off a ledge of s the top of a cascading waterfall.

psychological level.”

ty says, her Australian-accented e hydraulic rush. Later, when she k into a glacial pool and plunges ame sentence, only louder.

what Rocky Mountain Canclients. Canyoning requires the challenge is less physical ists.

cal level,” he says. “You’re in

KIRSTY WATSON SLIPS DOWN A NATURAL ROCK SLIDE

ROCKY MOUNTAIN CANYONING’S JOE STORMS LOWERS ESTELLE BLANCHETTE DOWN A 14 M WATERFALL. // BOB COVEY

a canyon, it’s narrow, there’s water, it’s noisy. It’s a part of the mountain environment that most people never see.” For Storms, canyoning is a special activity because it melds the terrestrial with the aquatic. That transition is what hooked him on the sport more than a decade ago. “There are certain technical movement skills required but you don’t need the same level of endurance as you would as a mountaineer, provided you’re OK with water and heights,” Storms says. Oh yes, the heights. For the most part, when we’re clipped into a rope, we’re being lowered down relatively short drops, between one and three metres. However, near the end of the four-hour outing, we come to a much larger precipice: a 14 metre sheer cliff which twists around a corner of the spiralling canyon so that you can’t see its bottom. I muster what remains of my nerve, sit back in my harness and air out. Less than a minute later, my hair dripping wet underneath my helmet, I’m high-fiving Estelle and basking in a sunny spot in the canyon. “You’re so extreme!” she laughs. “Just like a drop of water, going with the flow,” I stammer. Rocky Mountain Canyoning will operate out of the Maligne Adventures office starting in September.

Bob Covey //bob@thejasperlocal.com

page B5 // the jasper local //issue 56 // tuesday, september 1, 2015

local culture //

Folk fest headliner melds two hemispheres of sound Harry Manx will headline this year’s Jasper Folk Music Festival on Saturday, September 12. Manx, whose distinct sounds blend the groove of blues with the spiritual sounds of Indian classical music, is currently riding the dharma of his latest album, 20 Strings From the Truth. The record, the title of which references the 20-stringed guitar Manx has helped introduce to blues fans, is a departure from his usual sound in that it is highly instrumental. Speaking from his home on Salt Spring Island, B.C., the 60-year-old talked to The Jasper Local about his creative process, his 12-year tutelage in India and the genesis of his unique “roots-raga” sound. The Jasper Local: I’ve been enjoying listening to your new album, I was wondering if it was also a joy to create? Harry Manx: It was wonderful to make it because it’s a little different than all my other records. I wanted to see if I could create some soundtracks for people to enjoy while they’re doing other things in life.

JL: Your catalogue is very deep, with more than 12 albums in as many years. Did you ever think you’d be such a prolific recording artist when you were busking in Japan and Europe all those years ago? HM: I had no idea that was even a goal of mine then, to make all of these CDs. When I came back to Canada from India I found the studios to be very expensive! I made that first album (Dog My Cat, 2001) in 11 hours but you know at the Canadian Independent Blues Awards that became Blues Album of the Year!. That was a great inspiration for me. JL: Your fusion of two hemispheres of music is very unique, but you have said that your teacher, Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, opened your eyes after his collaboration with Ry Cooder. Tell me about that moment. HM: I loved blues as a kid, I worked in blues clubs and learned to play blues… I went to India in 1986 and stayed there until ’98. During that time, [Bhatt] went to America and made a record with Ry Cooder (Meeting By the River, 1993). That was the first time that I encountered blues and Indian music being mixed together. That was a big epiphany for me. All of my records are a result of wanting to explore that.

HM: I keep practicing. I’m enjoying the practice. My music goes further and further exploring the connection between blues and Indian music. New music comes out of that. I’m staying on that path. I’m still a young guy at 60 so I’m moving forward. Harry Manx plays The Jasper Folk Music Festival Saturday, September 12. Go to jasperfolkmusicfestival. ca for tickets. Bob Covey //bob@thejasperlocal.com

JL: Tell me about your creative space now at your home on Salt Spring Island. HM: I’ve lived in Tokyo and New Delhi and all these crazy, populated places. I love the peace and quite around me now. In fact I’m probably the only one making noise out here. JL: A lot of people describe your music as spiritual. How do you define spiritual? HM: I like that description because ultimately I think my purpose is to inspire people. I try to do it in a very subtle way, I don’t do much openly. You have to listen into the music to feel that. I have my own spiritual journey, and it’s strong, but I don’t share it with the public much.

Supplied

JL: What’s next for you? What’s exciting you these days personally or creatively?

UK nurses fly banner of care, commemorate Edith Cavell A broad range of uk-based adventurers have capped their commemorative week in jasper by flying the Edith Cavell

Nurses Trust banner atop the Jasper National Park mountain of the same name.

One hundred nurses, mid-wives and health care workers were in Jasper recently for the Cavell Challenge, the centrepiece of the Cavell Nurses Trust’s centennial celebrations to commemorate

several Nurses Trust teams summitted their namesake mountain during the Cavell Challenge. // Supplied

First World War heroine Edith Cavell. While the Challenge provided many different opportunities for members of the Nurses Trust to engage in outdoor experiences, reaching the summit of 3,363 m Mount Edith Cavell—the highest peak in the Jasper vicinity—was the climax of the group’s commemorative activities. “When you come to Jasper National Park the mountains are something else, said Cavell Challenge operations director Jon Penhale, a 16-year veteran of the British Army and a keen mountaineer himself. Penhale said although reaching the summit was a crowing achievement for those who did it, the true accomplishments, for those who participated, were realized internally. “A number of people over the last 48 hours have found themselves in situations they’ve never been before,” he said. “They’ve had to reach to their inner strengths. They’ve had to support each other. In terms of what that does for personal development among the nurses and midwives, this is helping them know and understand how to work with people.” The Cavell Challenge brought to Jasper a diverse group of Nurses Trust supporters. From executive officers of large financial companies to 18-year-old

nursing students, from unions to universities, “it is an eclectic bunch,” Penhale said. Participants of the trip used the Challenge as a way to raise money for the Trust, which was created 100 years ago after British nurse Edith Cavell was executed after she helped Allied soldiers escape from German-occupied Belgium during the First World War. Today, as Edith Cavell is celebrated for saving the lives of soldiers from both sides of the war without discrimination, the Trust helps care for nurses in times of hardship. “We’re bringing those people together for the first time, all under the banner of Edith Cavell and the banner of care and looking after people,” Penhale said. On Wednesday, August 26, Penhale was sharing the day’s highlights as members of the group rejoined the social atmosphere at MPL’s The Crimson hotel. Those assembled were still waiting for the first summit team to arrive after they flew the distinct purple banner over Jasper at 1 p.m. “Teams formed under adversity are strong. Those bonds are reinforced socially by stories that are told,” he said. “In my experience a few beers after a good day in the hills is really important.” Bob Covey //bob@thejasperlocal.com

Local history //

in 1858, gold was discovered in british columbia’s cariboo region and thousands flocked to the territory in search of riches.

tuesday, september 1, 2015 // issue 56 // the jasper local// page B6

THE LEATHER PASS, BY WILLIAM HIND (1862).LEATHER PASS WAS ALSO KNOWN AS YELLOWHEAD PASS. // COURTESY OF THE MCCORD MUSEUM

San Francisco practically emptied overnight as shiploads of hopeful prospectors sailed northwards. From the settlements in the East, the journey to the Cariboo was far more challenging, as it required travelling through a vast wilderness. However, in 1862, a large party of adventurers from eastern Canada set out to cross the continent in search of gold; they would forever be known as the Overlanders of ’62. It was a dangerous undertaking; they forged new paths through unknown territory and crossed the treacherous Continental Divide. Most importantly, their revival of the Yellowhead Pass as a travel corridor through the Rocky Mountains would have a lasting impact on the Jasper area and western Canada. In 1862 the vast domain of British North America was a loose assemblage of colonies. The eastern settlements of Upper and Lower Canada were separated from the newly created colony of British Columbia by Rupert’s Land, a tract of land nominally owned by the Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC). An Overland crossing involved travel through this sparsely populated territory, but this was perceived as more direct and cost effective than a lengthy sea voyage to the Pacific Coast. Thomas McMicking led the largest Overlander Party; setting forth from Fort Garry (Winnipeg) with 150 individuals, 97 Red River carts and livestock, it was the largest documented single group of people to cross the Canadian Prairies prior to the construction of the railway. Enduring eight weeks of travel across open prairie, the group reached Fort Edmonton. After seeking advice from traders and returning prospectors, it was decided that the most direct route over the Rockies was the Yellowhead Pass. Named after the Iroquois fur trader Tête Juane, the pass had formerly been an important HBC corridor, but had fallen into disuse. Knowing the path ahead would be fraught with challenges, the party hired a Métis guide named André Cardinal. Born at the HBC post of Jasper House, he was familiar with the region and agreed to lead the Overlanders over the Continental Divide to Tête Jaune Cache. At Lac Ste. Anne, they divested themselves of unnecessary baggage, exchanging the oxen and carts for horses and packsaddles. As prairie gave way to forested terrain, the efficient pace of the previous weeks was drastically slowed. Two weeks after leaving Fort Edmonton, the party had their first view of the Rocky Mountains. It was a sight unparalleled to anything they had seen before and the challenges of the arduous trail were momentarily forgotten, as they were captivated by the awe-inspiring view. As the group further penetrated the mountain valleys, André Cardinal presented the party with two alternate routes leading to the Yellowhead Pass. The first was to travel the south side of the Athabasca River, where they would ascend and descend a high and treacherous trail but cross only one river. The second option was to travel the north side of the Athabasca; the trail was less treacherous, but the party would have to ford two rivers. Faced with the prospect of fording two rivers, the party chose the perilous climb.

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The trail climbed 1,700 feet over the shoulder of Roche Miette. At its narrowest point, the horses’ packs brushed against the uphill side of the trail, threatening to push the animals over the edge. One horse lost its footing and slid 140 feet, narrowly escaping a 900-foot drop by landing against a tree. After descending, they travelled along Talbot and Jasper Lakes, camping at the foot of the Colin Range on the banks of the Athabasca. The next day the company constructed rafts and crossed the river. They followed the Athabasca to its confluence with the Miette River and trailing the Miette, the Overlanders commenced their journey over the Yellowhead Pass. Progress was slow, as they had to cross the Miette seven times. By the afternoon of the following day, they summited the Yellowhead Pass, the Continental Divide and had arrived in the colony of British Columbia. At Tête Jaune Cache, the Overlanders would embark on the final leg of their journey. Here they separated into two parties. One party travelled to Fort George (Prince George), choosing to navigate the unknown perils of the Fraser River. The other party chose to follow the Thompson River to Kamloops. Both groups made it to their destination despite the difficulties and dangers of navigating unfamiliar watercourses. However, their journeys would not be without tragedy; three men were lost on the Fraser and two men were lost on the Thompson. The Overlanders’ epic adventure spanned over 3,500 miles; through great resilience and determination they crossed a continent and overcame the mountains that divided it. Prior to 1862, the majority of people utilizing the Yellowhead Pass were associated with the fur trade; the Overlanders’ expedition revived the pass as a travel corridor, generating new interest that facilitated the movement of newcomers and cemented travel links between British Columbia and the east. With the later expansion of the railway, the Yellowhead Pass served as a major transport corridor, later still to be paralleled by the modern-day highway. The next time you are travelling over the Yellowhead Pass, take a moment to consider the Overlanders and their remarkable journey.