The Jasper Local September 1, 2016

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thejasperlocal.com

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Thursday, september 1, 2016 // ISSUE 80

Jasper Warden Days snuffed For the first time in four decades, Warden Days have been cancelled in Jasper.

Until this year, the biennial tradition has been an opportunity for those connected to the national park warden service, in all of its various evolutions, to reconnect.

Participants would take part in friendly competitions, gather ‘round the campfire and share a tale or two about the “way of life” in the service. Alumni who cut their teeth decades ago in the deep woods of the national parks’ backcountry districts mixed with newly-hired wildlife conflict officers.

They were brought together by a love of the job, no matter how far apart their duties may be today.

Jasper National Park hosted the ceremonies until this year. Parks Canada was not able to say why the volunteer-run events were cancelled by the time of The Jasper Local’s deadline.

Don Mickle, a director on the Park Warden Service Alumni Society, based out of Sundre, has attended the festivities in the past. Although he’d learned the events were cancelled, he hadn’t heard the rationale.

“It has been, of course, a wonderful tradition throughout the decades and Jasper Wardens were always great hosts,” Mickle said.

ELLIOT VASSALLO STEPS ON THE GAS WHILE OUT FOR A RIDE ON JASPER TRAILS.// TOR BEGG

The last Warden Days took place in 2014. bob covey // bob@thejasperlocal.com

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page A2 // the jasper local // issue 80 // thursday, september 1, 2016

editorial //

Local Vocal TOURISM Jasper recently came out with a “Statement on Tourism.”

Although I was flattered by the personallyaddressed email, I assume it wasn’t just sent to me.

In the statement, managing director Kyle Harms gives a brief summation of how freakin’ awesome it is to be at peak tourism right now, how hotels and restaurants are full every night and how TJ is killing it, in general.

“Tourism in Jasper has reached an all-time high,” Harms pronounces. “We are incredibly lucky to have a booming tourist-based economy.”

What is going on here? Doesn’t our DMO have better things to do than tell me things I already know? Will I next get a press release informing me July was pretty rainy? This just in, folks…cats like cat food!

Sorry to be such a grouch but dude, it’s barely September. I recently had to drive around a local gas station in reverse to get my car out of a motorhome sandwich. Like a prowler, I’ve been taking to the alleys just to get from point A to point B. Unless it’s before 8 a.m., don’t even think about trying to grab a quick coffee downtown!

Maybe that’s the reason for TJ’s self-congratulating memorandum: to nip in the bud any ill-will towards the marketing destination that said they’d be pumping up our winter tires, not over-inflating the summer radials to the point of bursting. The question has certainly been on my mind lately: why are we promoting lakes and trams and hikes when the closest available hotel room is in Hinton?

Take a deep breath and get real Dear editor,

I am taken aback at the reaction to Monika Schaefer’s video re: the holocaust. This is obviously a touchy subject still to this day, however Monika has expressed an opinion based on her own research and, like all Canadians, have a right to do so. This is not a hate crime for heaven’s sake, yet Monika, right or wrong, has been vilified like she has committed a major crime.

Monika is a music teacher, has run for the Green party and I know her as a very sincere person. After her statements about the holocaust she has been denied a busking permit for the town, something she herself helped lobby for.

I do not believe that this is Perhaps TJ is feeling under-appreciated. Their the prevailing attitude in “statement” certainly indicates this could be a possibility: “Tourism Jasper...and our partners...

Jasper, but somebody needs have worked tirelessly to share Jasper’s beauty to take a deep breath and and excitement with the world,” it says. “This vast get real. global interest in our town has benefits to every Rocky Notnes, Hinton single person.”

Guys, we get it: rising tides float all boats, or The Jasper Local // Jasper’s independent alternative newspaper whatever aphorism you want to use. And you 780.852.9474 • thejasperlocal.com • po box 2046, jasper ab, t0e 1e0 know what? You do nice work. Like most people around here, I’m fired up for Dark Skies and am Published on the 1st and 15th of each month genuinely impressed each time I navigate your Editor / Publisher Bob Covey.................................................................................... bob@thejasperlocal.com website and see creative content promoting Jasper’s more unique adventures.

Art Director Nicole Gaboury.................................................................. nicole@thejasperlocal.com But do I want to read some fluffy propaganda about why getting my ankles rammed by unwieldy Advertising + sales shopping carts or trying to sneak through bear jams sydnee makowichuk...................................................... sydnee@thejasperlocal.com cartoonist or nearly getting run over crossing the street is Deke.................................................................................................deke@thejasperlocal.com the best thing ever? facebook.com/thejasperlocal @thejasperlocal Unless it’s for the purpose of writing a snarky editorial, no! bob covey // bob@thejasperlocal.com

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Local real estate //

thursday, september 1, 2016 // issue 80 // the jasper local// page A3

BACON FOR MORE// JASPER’S KIRA PEEL TAKES ONE OF SIX LAPS ON THE VALEMOUNT BIKE TRAIL NAMED BACON. THE TRAILS ARE PART OF WHAT’S DRAWING MORE INTEREST TO THE VILLAGE. GOVERNMENT APPROVAL FOR A 20,000 ACRE, ALL-SEASON GLACIER RESORT IS HELPING, TOO. // WENDY HALL

Speculation: Valemount Valemount real estate is red hot with the recent announcement of government approval for a four-season glacier resort.

Valemount realtor Shelly Battensby said the interest in property spiked as soon as the news of the resort’s approval dropped.

“You could tell just how much anticipation there was with people waiting for the announcement,” she said. “Within a couple of hours, I was getting calls from places I hadn’t heard from before.”

On August 17, Valemount’s Rocky Mountain Goat newspaper broke the news that the B.C. government approved the Master Plan for Valemount Glacier Destination’s 2,000-bed, 20,000 acre, year-round ski resort. While the announcement is in essence a rubber stamp, lead planner and consultant Tom Oberti has said it represents a major milestone.

Investors have come on board and Oberti says chairlifts will spin by Christmas, 2017.

Battensby said the mood in town varies— there are those who are excited, others who are cautiously optimistic and still others who worry for what change will bring to the village of 1,000 residents. In general, there has been no major opposition to the resort.

“I personally am quite excited as what change brings,” she said. “If this all goes through as proposed Valemount will never

look the same again.”

In 2006, Valemount’s largest employer, the sawmill, sawed its last board. Despite the tough economic blow, since then, the community has slowly and resiliently been coming into its own. The Valemount Community Forest, managed by the Village of Valemount, was established in 2009 and uses its harvest of surrounding crown timber to supply local manufacturers and sustain a community grant program. The local recreation association, VARDA, counts the area’s extensive groomed snowmobile trails and brand-new mountain bike trails as feathers in its cap. And the fast-growing Three Ranges Brewery is a must-stop for any craft beer connoisseur within 100 kilometres.

Battensby, who’s lived in the Robson Valley for most of her life, says that despite the increased real estate speculation, most of her clientele—several of whom are from Jasper—are looking to Valemount because it represents a quiet way of life.

“They aren’t looking because of the ski hill, they like the valley, the lifestyle, the vibe,” she said.

Even still, she admits it’s an exciting time to be in real estate in the Robson Valley.

“I’m being introduced to buyers we’ve never had before, we’re listing properties we’ve never had before,” she said. bob covey // bob@thejasperlocal.com

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page b3+B4 // the jasper local // issue 79 // monday, august 15, 2016

LOCAL FEATURE // STORY AND PHOTOS BY BOB COVEY

alpine a

Heli-painting ble with el

For Jasperite Wendy Wacko, painting has always been an excuse to be outside.

Throughout her life, her most cherished memories have included a paintbrush. Whether hiking in the Don Valley in Toronto as a young girl or paddling solo to the end of Maligne Lake, for Wacko, nature and art have always been inextricably linked.

“Painting’s always been an excuse to pack a lunch and take off for the day,” she said.

On August 19, Wacko, along with Brenda Tackaberry, a client from Calgary, were literally

years. Participating “heli-painters” are dropped into surreal Rocky Mountain environments, landscapes hand-picked by Wacko as having the perfect combination of colour, perspective and eye-popping visuals. Walled in by steep cliffs, the Kiwa Glacier area also has significant protection from rough weather, a pre-requisite for the pilots. As

APPRENTICESHIP BY AIR-SHIP // C MOUNTAIN GALLERIES’ WENDY WA

DYNAMIC DRAWING// CHANGING HUES IN THE WATER AND SKY OFFER A UNIQUE CHALLENGE FOR OUTDOOR PAINTERS// BOB COVEY

taking off for the day. The pair, along with 32-year-old helicopter pilot Nick Herbert and a lucky Jasper Local photographer, lifted off from the Yellowhead Helicopters base near Valemount, B.C. and flew over Mica Mountain, near the Premiere Ranges. With the wind flagging off of surrounding peaks, Herbert gently flew the Bell Jet Ranger into a hanging valley approximately 20 km northwest of the village. As the machine dropped down and banked left, their destination—the broken and bulging Kiwa Glacier—came into view.

Surrounded by rust-coloured rock and rich stands of green timber, the ancient ice led to an impossibly teal tarn, replete with calving icebergs. With the helicopter hovering and Herbert searching for a place to land, Tackaberry snapped off multiple shots with her phone.

“It’s stunning,” Tackaberry said over the headset.

The remote Kiwa Glacier is the setting for Wacko’s Introduction to Wilderness Painting, an opulent and exciting program offered through Mountain Galleries, Wacko’s business of 25

Wacko laid out her canvasses and dolloped a dozen or so rich colours on her palette, she explained what makes the Kiwa Glacier so special to paint is the area’s incredible fore, middle and background.

ROOM WITH A VIEW // THE ICEBER DESTINATION SO INSTRUCTIVE AND

“It’s really got everything,” she said. “You’ve got so many choices of what story to tell.”

Painting, after all, is story telling. Wacko says when a painter is first starting out, keeping the story simple is critical to a successful piece.

To demonstrate, she focused on the ochrecoloured earth that cradled the Kiwa Glacier’s long tongue.

“My first story that I think I want to talk about is the middleground. The colour variations of the tone in the earth are amazing. There’s not a lot of spots we can go and see that kind of tone,” she said.

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feature //

artistry

ends adrenaline legance

For Wacko, painting is about getting outside.

Not only does one get to feel, smell and taste the landscape, but painting in the wilderness

Tackaberry definitely saw the light.

“The best part was that so much was changing as we were painting it,” she said. “The lighting and the colours would change, the textures and the mood would change, and I think that really made me see my painting in a different way than if I was painting from a picture.”

Tackaberry, who described herself as a hobby painter, was gifted this trip—it was a Christmas present from her mother. Besides the adrenaline-pumping helicopter ride and the chance to see a remote glacier up close and personal, she cherished the opportunity to learn from Wacko.

CALGARY’S BRENDA TACKABERRY GOT THE CHANCE TO JOIN ACKO FOR A ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME PAINTING ADVENTURE.//BC

“Painting’s always been an excuse to pack a lunch and take off for the day.”

RGS CALVING OFF OF THE KIWA GLACIER MADE FOR AN IMPRESSIVE FOREGROUND, ONE OF MANY ELEMENTS WHICH MAKES THE D INSPIRING, ACCORDING TO ARTIST WENDY WACKO. // BOB COVEY

offers unique challenges, such as how to capture the dynamic light changes and how to manage your canvass when the wind comes up.

“When you paint from a photograph you miss the details,” she says.

Moreover, you’re missing the elemental beauty.

In two hours the scene in front of the duo changed from bright, radiant and sunny to moody, dramatic and foreboding.

“We’ve seen the sky go from cobalt blue where it’s kissing the glacier, now we’ve got this incredible dark patch of cloud that is framing the white and the glacier still seems to be lit up,” Wacko said.

“For me, it was a total adventure; something I wouldn’t have normally done or thought about doing.” she said. “Wendy provided a good framework for understanding watercolours and how they work, but really set no expectations on the outcome. This gave me confidence and allowed me to explore my own style.”

For her part, Wacko loves introducing budding artists to new mediums, but also to the glory of painting outdoors. She and her student toasted to many more brush strokes in the wilderness.

“Laying down watercolours isn’t easy, it’s about miles on your brush,” Wacko said. “And the only way to get it going is to start.”

Bob Covey// bob@thejasperlocal.com

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page B5 // the jasper local // issue 80 // thursday, september 1, 2016

Local sports//

STEER CLEAR! // ON AUGUST 17-20 THE JASPER HERITAGE RODEO ONCE AGAIN BUCKED ITS WAY INTO TOWN. FOR THE SECOND YEAR IN A ROW, THE RODEO GROUNDS WERE NEAR WHISTLERS’ CAMPGROUND. ATTENDANCE WAS DOWN DESPITE THE AWESOME ACTION AND THE STELLAR WEATHER. // VALERIE DOMAINE

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thursday, september 1, 2016 // issue 80 // the jasper local// page B6

Local history //

J. Norman Collie: A Mountaineering Pioneer In the summer of 1910, Collie came to the Berg Lake area where he attempted to climb Mt. Robson.

Unfortunately, the weather became too severe for a serious attempt, but he and his party did manage to climb Mumm Peak and Mount Phillips.

They also traversed Moose Pass and the Snake Indian River.

The 1890s marked the beginning of mountaineering as a sport in Canada. This was when mountaineer and educator Professor Charles Fay invited British climber, J. Noman Collie, to climb new peaks in the Rockies.

J. Norman Collie was a scientist of considerable eminence. Some have even suggested that he may have inspired some of the characteristics of Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes. As Professor of Chemistry at the University of London, Collie published more than 70 scientific papers.

He played a key role in the discovery of neon.

He also took the first x-ray photograph for medical diagnostic purposes. He once said that he wanted two things said about him in his obituary—that he had discovered neon and that he had taken the first x-ray photograph.

Collie had previously climbed in the British Isles (often in the Lake District of northern England or the Isle of Skye) and in the European Alps or Himalayas. His 1895 climb at Nanga Parbat in the Himalayas was the world’s first attempt at an 8,000-metre peak. He believed that his pipe-smoking helped him survive the great hardship on Nanga Parbat.

In 1897 and 1898, Collie’s party did first ascents on Mounts Lefroy, Victoria, and Athabasca in the Canadian Rockies. His party named Mount Athabasca and the Athabasca Glacier. They also discovered the Columbia Icefield, which is the greatest accumulation of ice in the Rocky Mountains (approximately 150 square miles). This great ice reservoir sits astride the Continental Divide. Its melt waters flow into Hudson’s Bay and the Arctic and Pacific oceans.

Service Directory

Collie’s Canadian expedition of 1911 marked the end of his mountaineering.

In total, he had undertaken six pioneering expeditions to the Rockies between 1897 to 1911; he had made 21 first ascents //SCIENTIST NORMAN COLLIE WAS A ROCKY MOUNTAIN PIONEER, AS WELL AS THE DISCOVERER OF NEON, SEEN HERE. // UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON AUTOCHROME in the Rockies; he had discovered the Collie also named Wilcox Pass and Wilcox Columbia Icefields; and he had named 30 peaks.

Mountain in honour of Walter Wilcox, who first Collie also wrote 24 articles for mountaineering ascended the mountain in 1896. Wilcox Pass today provides a pleasant upland walk for hikers and geographical journals and published two from the nearby Columbia Icefield Chalet. Collie books. also climbed Diadem and Snow Dome. In the His most famous mountaineering article is “In the Canadian Rocky Mountains North of the Yellowhead Pass” (Alpine Journal 26, 1912).

His party named Mount Athabasca and the Athabasca Glacier. summer of 1898, he and his party spent 40 days in the field and covered more than 320 miles.

Collie died in 1942 at the age of 83. Today, he lies in the Scottish village of Struan, on the Isle of Skye, not far from the mountains he loved.

Stuart Taylor // Stuart Taylor is an amateur historian and member of Hinton Town Council.

Let him know what you think of his historical features or suggest another subject for him to cover.

Email: info@thejasperlocal.com