The Jasper Local, October 15, 2020

ALTERNATIVE +

LOCAL + INDEPENDENT

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2020 // ISSUE 175

CHIP OFF THE OL’ BLOCK// Regular Jasper Local cover boy, Michael Jurik, felt rather insignificant when paddling toward a sky-high block of compressed glacial ice in this alpine tarn recently. // LADA D PHOTOGRAPHY

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The Jasper Local // ISSUE 175 // THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2020

EDITORIAL //

Local Vocal We all know that couple where one partner does the lion’s share of the housework, all the grocery shopping, cooks 90 per cent of the meals and bears most of the responsibility of disciplining the children.

Meanwhile, the other partner does a crappy job of loading the dishwasher, tends to waltz in for playtime and is happy to take credit when people comment on how polite and thoughtful the kids are.

Exhibit A is the relationship between the Municipality of Jasper and Parks Canada.

Take Jasper’s composting program, for example.

The town is currently trying to determine how to best tackle this significant portion of the residential waste stream. The problem is the bins freeze up in the winter and become impossible to unload. But whether or not the town figures out how to move organics from Jasper households to the transfer station, it doesn’t change the fact that when the product arrives at the Parks Canada-run facility, it’s not being dealt with properly. The machine that is supposed to screen compost has been broken for years. As a result, Jasper’s waste-diversion rate is abysmal, rendering the entire composting program nearly valueless.

Or take the latest bugbear at council: Parks Canada’s downloading of winter sani-dump services. It used to be that Parks Canada had its own station for visitors to safely off-load their grey and black water into a sanitary sewer. But—this just in—Wapiti Campground will be closed this winter and with it, Parks Canada’s only winter sani-dump. The MOJ is waiting for grant funding to build a new facility, but in the meantime, Parks Canada, like that halfinterested parent showing up late to pick the kids up from gymnastics, is shrugging its shoulders and mumbling “I thought you were gonna do it.”

Nearly two decades ago, when the Municipality of Jasper inherited from Parks Canada the infrastructure and responsibilities becoming of a specialized municipality, officials knew there were always going to be burdens to bear. That’s the nature of such a massive transaction and MOJ managers have the ancient underground pipes and asbestoslined buildings to prove it.

As important to MOJ’s empowerment and (quasi) independence is the acknowledgement that the municipality and the park share common goals and interests. Both agencies have committed, formally, to advancing a mutually-beneficial relationship.

However, until we start seeing some action from Parks Canada on some of the issues that affect residents and visitors in their households and pocketbooks, I’m inclined to see those commitments as little more than meaningless words.

It’s your turn to cook, Parks Canada.

BOB COVEY // thejasperlocal@gmail.com

Taste test for food recovery program Dear Editor, Concerned Jasperites are trying to start up a food recovery program in Jasper and need your help. Together with local businesses, these folks want to divert perfectly good food from going into the garbage bins. The salvaged food could in turn be given to those in our community who are in need.

Food waste is The Jasper Local //

discarded or uneaten food, lost along various stages of the value chain, from production to consumption. In Canada almost 40 per cent of all food, or 170 kilograms of food per Canadian, is tossed into the garbage each year! This kind of blatant waste inflates the prices of everyone’s groceries.

With careful scrutiny, much of that food

could be salvaged for consumption. All people have a right to nutritionally adequate and safe food. With cooperation between the “salvagers” and community businesses, food could safely get to families who would be grateful to receive it.

A few local businesses are on board to assist.

This is encouraging and there is hope more ...cont. on A3

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// LOCAL BUSINESS

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2020 // ISSUE 175 // The Jasper Local // PAGE A3 AROOGAH// It’s rutting season for elk and besides demonstrating their vocal abilities, big boys such as this bull have had their way with vehicles.

Keep your hide and ride scratch free by giving these beautiful beasts plenty of space. // SIMONE HEINRICH

Local businesses to be honoured virtually The Jasper Park Chamber of Commerce is handing out its business awards from a safe social distance this year.

The Chamber has nixed its annual gala and is instead creating a series of videos to honour members of the business community for their commitments in 2020.

“We’re disappointed but we had to look at being responsible,” JPCC general manager Pattie Pavlov told The Jasper Local October 13. “Jasper’s been so good as a business community in regards to being COVID safe, we want to continue that trend.”

Instead of hosting an

in-person evening of celebration, the Chamber will debut five nights of short videos to honour award winners in their respective categories. The categories, this year, have been pared down, from 12 to five.

The 2020 nominees are as follows: Individual Award of Distinction: Sean and Joy Proctor (Jasper Hikes and Tours), Kelly Bossio (Alpine Communications), Kelly Dawson (Jasper Emergency Services) and Bruno Ritter (Whistlers Inn).

Non-profit Organization of the Year: Jasper Food Bank, Jasper Community Team Society, L’Association

Canadienne Française de Jasper (ACFA), and the Jasper Employment and Education Centre (JEEC).

Survival to Revival Award: Downstream Lounge, Bearfoot in the Park, Earls in the Rockies, Tekarra Colour Lab, Jasper Event Management and Elysion Florals.

Corporate Citizen Award: Coco’s Cafe, Pursuit Banff/ Jasper, Jasper Inn and Suites.

Business of the Year: Nero Mechanical Services, Evil Dave’s Grill and JFI Foods.

Pavlov said the videos will be on YouTube from October 16-22, viewable through the Jasper Park Chamber of Commerce’s Facebook page.

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// LETTER CONT.

will contribute as community awareness grows for this program.

this program will grow into something amazing that many can be a part of.

Many communities already have food recovery programs that are up and running. This idea works! I am very optimistic that

I am excited to think of what the future holds and what we can do as a community. The location for this valuable service

is already secured in the Anglican Church Hall.

If you would like to get involved, please contact jasper@rescuefood.ca - Melody Gaboury, Jasper, AB

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The Jasper Local // ISSUE 175 // THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2020

LOCAL DARK SKY FESTIVAL

When you wish upon a star: 2020 Dark Sky primer The events may be smaller but Jasper National Park as a dark sky preserve is still just as spectacular.

The Jasper Dark Sky Festival is going forward in 2020 and while this year—the festival’s 10th anniversary—things will look a little different, guests will still experience what the festival has become famous for, namely star-studded line-ups and legions of amateur astronomers getting together in the mountains.

To get you hyped, The Jasper Local has whittled down the week long schedule to a few of our favourite events. Do yourself a solid and check out the following: Symphony Under The Sun October 18, Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge; Brunch 9 -11 a.m.; Concert 12-4 p.m.

The magic of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra is well known to its patrons, and those who’ve heard the sounds of one of Canada’s foremost orchestral ensembles, amplified by one of nature’s most beautiful conductors, Lac Beauvert, have already scooped up tickets for the evening show. This year, the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge is combining a daytime concert with brunch at Orso Trattoria. Can you say perfect pitch?

combine food and atmosphere and there’s no better dining room than the big Jasper wild. Learn how to do gourmet in the backcountry and wash down your dinner with a big glass of milky way while taking in a star gazing presentation by The Jasper Planetarium.

Under the Alpine Night Sky October 17 and 24, Jasper SkyTram; 8-11 p.m.

Blast off to the upper terminal with astronomy experts from The Jasper Planetarium for an exclusive dining and stargazing experience atop the Jasper SkyTram. The flight takes you nearly one kilometre closer to the stars above, where you’ll have the opportunity to look through the most powerful telescopes in the Canadian Rockies.

Science for Breakfast with Dr. Shawna Pandya October 25, Lobstick Hotel; 9-10 a.m.

In our world, a wholesome breakfast includes a florentine frittata, Alberta bacon and an engaging talk about space medicine and the hazards of space travel. Join Dr. Shawna Pandya as she leads a discussion on what we’re learning from emerging research on the International Space Station and the science-fiction technologies that will need to become reality in order to get people off earth.

Peak-Nic Under the Stars October 22, Departs from the Old Fort Point parking lot; 7-10 p.m.

Jasper Food Tours knows how to

Go to jasperdarksky.travel/ schedule for a full list of events and to purchase tickets.

BEAM ME UP// The Athabasca River Valley hasn’t frozen over yet, but the Dark Sky Festival is a sure sign frigid temperatures aren’t far off. // JEFF LEWIS

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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2020 // ISSUE 175 // The Jasper Local // PAGE B2

LOCAL DINING

Evil Dave’s Grill taken off the Jasper dinner menu…for now A cornerstone of Jasper’s restaurant industry has eighty-sixed itself from the local dining scene.

On October 11, after 13 years of serving up globally-inspired “wicked food” and cultivating a loyal clientele, Evil Dave’s Grill served its last cowboy sushi roll in their 622 Patricia Street location.

“We’ve shed a lot of tears in the last few days,” said owner Cyndi Day on October 8. “But we’re telling people this isn’t ‘goodbye,’ it’s ‘see you later.’”

The tears have been well earned.

Mike and Cyndi Day not only cut their teeth as restaurant owners when they purchased Evil Dave’s in 2007, they practically raised their family there. All five of their children have worked in the restaurant at one time or another—whether it was washing dishes, serving tables or managing the front-of-house. Working at Evil Dave’s helped put their eldest through university, while it taught at least one of their younger kids that the restaurant industry is not for them.

“Not everyone in the family took to it quite so naturally,” Cyndi laughed.

As for the restaurant itself however, when it burst upon the local dining milieu, Evil Dave’s quickly found its niche.

Originally set up as a quick-turn, burgers and sandwiches joint—albeit with a funky, “notorious” theme—not long after they purchased Evil Dave’s, the Days realized they had a problem:

the limited kitchen space would never be able to keep up with the fastpaced dining times their menu was promoting.

“We hit our max in the kitchen,” Mike remembered. “We couldn’t put out more food.”

In response, they tweaked their concept. It would be risky, but they wanted to offer an enhanced eating experience—more bistro, less burgers—with a cocktail and wine list to compliment the longer anticipated dining times.

“We knew that there was a market that wanted to sit and dine,” Mike said.

They were also remembering their own experiences at their favourite “special occasion” restaurants and knew that if they grew in the right way, they could develop a clientele that would want to celebrate birthdays, anniversaries and annual

“We’re telling people this isn’t ‘goodbye,’ it’s ‘see you later.’”

get-togethers, year after year.

Wine reps and industry players encouraged them to take the leap and soon enough, their instincts proved correct. It wasn’t long before Evil Dave’s was turning all 24 tables

TRANSITION PERIOD // Cyndi and Mike Day operated Evil Dave’s Grill at 622 Patricia Street for the last 13 years. They are currently looking for a new home for the iconic Jasper eatery. // BOB COVEY

every night in the summer and jumping up the Trip Advisor ranks in Alberta. However, their greatest accomplishment, Mike and Cyndi agreed, was giving 10 people in the community full time work.

“We helped six people who came from other countries become permanent residents,” Mike added.

As Evil’s established itself, the Days were eventually in a position to purchase Tekarra Restaurant, which they did in 2016.

“That was our next big challenge,” Mike said.

And now, of course, the challenge is figuring out what Evil Dave’s 2.0 will look like. In the wake of COVID-19

disruptions, the Days couldn’t come to terms with their 622 Patricia Street landlords, Joe and Frances Caputo.

The failed negotiation has left both sides disheartened, but resolute in their respective business plans: the Caputos are welcoming new tenants and the Days are looking for commercial space to reboot the next Evil iteration.

“We’ve got brand equity, we haven’t lost that,” Mike said.

Until they open again, Jasper locals and visitors alike will feel the loss of one of the town’s premier dinner destinations.

BOB COVEY // thejasperlocal@gmail.com

SYMPHONY UNDER THE SUN

AT FAIRMONT JASPER PARK LODGE Day passes are now available! Enjoy Sunday brunch in the Beauvert Ballroom, followed by an afternoon concert on the Beauvert Plateau.

Don’t miss the autumn sunshine dancing on the sparkling waters of Lac Beauvert as the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra is amplified by the towering peaks of the surrounding mountains.

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 18 | $149 PER PERSON BRUNCH - 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM CONCERT - 12:00 PM

SPACE IS LIMITED | BOOK YOUR TICKETS NOW Call our Concierge Team at 780 852 6091

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The Jasper Local // ISSUE 175 // THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2020

FEATURE // LOCAL HISTORY // PHOTOS BY DAVID HARRAP

Bear Country Is Not Bandit Country

BY DAVID HARRAP

Nothing brings you up sharper than a pile of bear shit on the trail. It’s like suddenly discovering you’ve walked slap into the middle of a mine field.

PROMOTIONAL

You’ve seen the notices, read the pamphlets: “This Is Bear Country.”

Nevertheless, you’re still startled when you come across their calling card, as if it were Disneyland that you had been travelling through. This scat hasn’t been left by Mickey Mouse. It’s the reality check that you are not wandering some theme park, that you are, indeed, in the presence of the King of the Mountains.

That’s the thrill awaiting knight errants in search of adventure.

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Liam!” We were at death’s door. I could have clouted him. “Is it?” I yelled.

“Yeah, I’m nervous all pretend; Liam knew h

I was going mad. At such times Liam knows it is best to ignore me. Actually, I was in the second stage of panic, which is next door to collapse. I tried feeling my pulse. It was impossible with the thick gardening gloves. I checked my heart; it couldn’t take any more shocks.

“That poop’s pretty bla might be a day or two

He took off his monocle, furled his umbrella (he was deliberately annoying his father), and declared it fresh as today’s milk.

“Are you sure?”

We were travelling lonely lands, and had just finished fighting not windmills but willows that came way above our heads. We walked beneath SIMONE HEINRICH PHOTOGRAPHY a glacier, across gravel flats scented with purple sweet vetch.

“See Dad, the plants underneath haven’t Heightened alert, antenna up, eyes gone white yet.” But I had. swivelling, mouth dry, pulse racing, listening, listening, listening . . . But just “Uumm, I see what you mean.” Beneath the silence of water running—AND A the big dump the vegetation was still PILE OF SHIT BIG ENOUGH TO FILL A green. I did frantic sums in my head to TURKEY PLATTER. figure where the big fella might be at that very moment: Scat at most three hours old I gulped. . . . bear travels one and half miles an hour Liam bent to inspect it. It looked like . . .he’d be . . . four and half miles away by cylinders of black mud mixed with straw, now?—Phew! Unless he’s doing laps around alfalfa, and dotted with currants and dried these gravel flats . . . Damn. cranberries. It had no smell. It could have Red Alert. Attack imminent. Repeat. been for making bricks, which I almost Attack imminent. Suddenly a thicket did. cracks, head and shoulders of cinnamon I turned to my squire.”Well?” grizzly, roar loud enough to put pants “Well what?” around ankles, lightning smash of “Is it fresh, man?” The boy’s an idiot. Did powerful paw— I was in a pink funk. he think I was asking if you could eat it?

“You’re nervous, aren’t you Dad,” smirked He prodded and rolled the scat with his hiking stick in an expert fashion, sniffed the air, spat and farted extempore. “Christ,

Liam, as we crossed two of the braids and made for the slope on the other side of the gravel flats.

We have spent a lot of bear scat and fathomin Although we have pro more times than right we still reckoned ourselves experts in the field. If we could get a government grant and do more

serious studies, such as weighing the product, calculating rate of evaporation thereby deducing exact time of deposit, I’d go for it Sherpa.

We reviewed our exit s a bear encounter. If th hind legs and sniffs th alarmed: it’s just inqui from gas. Back up slow Liam asked if it made we said. “Not in the sli matter if you tell it to ‘ brute’, as long as you s If the bear starts walk

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l right.” Why his dad.

ack, Dad. Actually, it old.”

time inspecting ng its implications. obably been wrong t,

t. But I’d insist on a

strategy in case of he bear stands on he air don’t be overly isitive or suffering wly, talk to it quietly. a difference what ightest. Doesn’t ‘clear off you mangy say it nice and quiet.” king towards us, it

doesn’t look good. Lie on ground, and start praying—won’t make a blind bit of difference but it does concentrate the mind wonderfully. If bear charges full bore, head down and roaring, then we’d activate our Captain Marvel jet packs and blast off for Manitoba . . .

Twenty-five years ago bear bells were

they were driving me mad. By day twelve I had tinnitus ( from which I have never recovered).

Today, just about everyone is packing heat. Bear spray. Even tourists wandering around town might be seen with cans dangling from belts. The same stuff that makes smoke come out your ears when you take the ultimate challenge of those molten lava Carolina Reaper chicken wings (best have the fire department standing by or a big bucket of milk to douse your head in) is in bear spray. Capsaicin, from chili peppers, and the active ingredient that will have poor old bruin fleeing in fiery pain if he dares take a run at you. But bear spray is better than having to blast Griz to kingdom come with an assault rifle.

For he’ll still be alive next morning, and so will you.

“Once a grizzly sow and cubs tried busting into our tent in broad daylight; but they heard us coming and fled. The paw prints on the fly were still dripping!”

This isn’t The Revenant: a grizzly hiding in the bushes waiting to pounce. Given half a chance they’ll smell and hear you coming and melt away as though they were never there at all.

Once a grizzly sow and cubs tried busting into our tent in broad daylight; but they heard us coming and fled. The paw prints on the fly were still dripping!

I came across a young knightly fellow this summer with a holster of Yukon Magnum bear spray on each hip and bear bangers strapped to his chest. He was definitely loaded for bear. Another time I met a chivalrous Parks employee gingerly leading two girls down the trail, weapon drawn so he’d have the drop on Ursus arctos horribilis in case he was waiting around the corner.

the thing. They didn’t work that great, especially if you were beside a stream, but you did feel more secure tintinnabulating up the trail. A friend came on a twelveday hike with us once. She attached a bear bell to each boot.

By day three, had I a gun I would have shot the ruddy things;

You see their diggings, their scat, their rock rollings everywhere. Our mountains thrum with the magic of Big Bear. Yep, this sure is bear country—but it ain’t bandit country as some imagine.

Jasper’s David Harrap is the author of the soon-to-be-published book Over The Mountains, Under The Stars. His grant application for a new bear scat study has thus far been denied.

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The Jasper Local // ISSUE 175 // THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2020

LOCAL COVID-19

A lifetime of experiences: Jasper mountain biker back in Canada Cory Wallace is back in Canada, out of quarantine and riding his bike.

The 36-year-old world champion mountain biker calls the Rockies of Jasper National Park home, but for the past six months Wallace was living in COVID lockdown amongst different mountain peaks: the Himalayas of Nepal.

And while being stuck, indefinitely, in a crowded, developing country where the government’s response to the pandemic has varied from cavalier to militaristic might seem less-thanideal, Wallace, ever the marathon

man, didn’t just survive‚ he thrived.

“That time spent in the mountains was the most refreshing thing I’ve ever lived through,” Wallace said from his dad’s ranch near McBride, where he just emerged from two weeks spent in quarantine. “It was like going to the backcountry for a month.”

It didn’t start out quite so relaxed.

Like many Canadians abroad in early 2020, Wallace was following the news with increasing concern as the COVID-19 pandemic swept across Asia, shutting down borders and cancelling flights in its wake.

While living at 3,000 m Wallace was in the best shape of his life. Everyday he would rise at 6 a.m. to the chanting of the monks before embarking on his training ride. He eventually had to bike 240 km to Kathmandu, which presented its own challenges. // SUPPLIED

Wallace, who was nursing a shoulder In the end, he stayed. For the first injury in Solukhumbu, the remote six weeks, Wallace roomed with part of the country home to Mount another ex-pat who had also heeded Everest, was taking a break from the call of the mountains rather the bike when PM Justin Trudeau than that of his prime minister. called Canadians home on March But the accommodations were only 18. Wallace remembers being torn temporary, and when Wallace was as to whether he should stay put faced with the prospect of having and risk an to move to interminable delay Kathmandu, in an unpredictable where he’d be country, or cast holed up in a hot, “When you’re a bike racer off into a stormy tiny flophouse in you’re pretty much a monk sea of crowded, the notoriously anyway.” panicked airports polluted city of a and gamble that million and a half he wouldn’t be people, he knew exposed to the he had to find a disease and bring it back to his aging better solution. parents.

“Being stuck in Kathmandu was not Jasper’s Cory Wallace lived at a Buddhist monastery for a month during his COVID-lockdown in Nepal. “It was the most refreshing thing I’ve lived through,” he said. // SUPPLIED

“It was a tough call,” he said. “Those were definitely the hardest days of the whole ordeal.”

the place to be,” he said.

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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2020 // ISSUE 175 // The Jasper Local // PAGE B6

LOCAL COVID-19

Cory Wallace spent six months in lockdown in Nepal CONTINUED FROM B5

Instead, he had a different place in mind.

High above his temporary crash pad was a monastery, where a community of Buddhist monks lived. Wallace had been there before on training rides (the monastery was 1,100 m above his temporary accommodations) and had made, he thought, a good first impression on the small community.

His instinct was correct. When he asked, with the help of his Nepali friend, if he could stay, the head Lama said yes.

“When you’re a bike racer you’re pretty much a monk anyway,” he laughed.

Eventually, however, the life in the clouds had to come to an end and in June, Wallace understood, along with the rest of the world, that COVID-19 wasn’t going anywhere and he ought to book his flight back to Canada.

If it were only that simple. First he had to bike to Kathmandu, which meant being authorized by the police to clear various checkpoints from the monastery to the city, 240 km away.

That didn’t always go as planned, and after getting turned around “I settled in at 3,000 metres,” Wallace multiple times by officials who didn’t said. recognize his permits, he Walled in by eventually made mountains and “Driving up the Icefields it to the city’s with a beautifully outskirts, where simple daily Parkway on a beautiful fall he holed up and routine, Wallace day was like a dream.“ sought out travel quickly got used to agents. That his new monastic endeavour came lifestyle. At 6 a.m. with its own set of issues, and by the everyday the monks would begin their day with a chant. Tea was served time he realized these agents didn’t at 7, after which Wallace would go out have his best interests in mind, he had four different flights cancelled on a ride. The afternoon he’d spend variously with the monks, working on on him and his visa was in danger of expiring. his computer or studying Nepalese.

Once a day he could use the kitchen “I had to start looking for my own to make eggs—a needed protein way out,” he said. boost for keeping muscle on—but In the meantime, Wallace was making otherwise he was living on a basic the most of his situation. The city of diet of potatoes, wheat balls, lentils Kathmandu, to him, had never looked and beans. He wasn’t wearing saffron so beautiful—for once there was no robes and he didn’t shave his head, traffic, no pollution and no tourists. but living like a monk suited the 24 The mountain biking around the Hour Solo Mountain Bike World outer rim of the city was spectacular, Champion just fine. and to show his gratitude for the

BACK IN THE SADDLE // Cory Wallace at his dad’s ranch near McBride, B.C. // BOB COVEY

hospitality of his adopted country, Wallace organized several endurancebiking-related fundraisers, donations from which went to the monastery that hosted him and to feeding the poor.

“It was good to have a few projects during the lockdown,” he said.

And make no mistake, it was a lockdown. While the Nepali authorities were originally rather laissez faire in their COVID-19 response, in August they instituted a strict curfew, wherein police could detain anyone they found outside in public after the morning’s essential services closed. It was temporary, but the police had broad powers, including the government’s support to use force. The crackdown was enough for Wallace to make haste to book his flights, and when he learned that airlines were once again flying out of

Kathmandu, he didn’t hesitate.

“I had mixed feelings leaving, for sure,” he said. “But driving up the Icefields Parkway on a beautiful fall day was like a dream.”

Today, Wallace, whose mountain bike racing lifestyle would be considered unique by any measure, looks back on the entire experience as though it was a dream. Living at the monastery, spending time with the young monks, biking around the Himalayas while the entire world was at a standstill and breathing in clean Kathmandu air, the likes of which the city’s residents had not inhaled in decades, are things he’ll never forget.

A year ago, Nepal was promoting its 2020 tourism season with the slogan ‘A lifetime of experiences.’

“They delivered on that one for sure,” Wallace said.

BOB COVEY // thejasperlocal@gmail.com

Stars & Smoke OCTOBER 23RD | 5:30 PM, 7 PM, & 8:30 PM

Join us for a Dark Sky themed dinner in our modern but rustic dining space at the edge of Maligne Canyon. After dinner, stargaze through telescopes and enjoy fireside stories and songs.

Leave the driving to Open Top Touring to make it the perfect evening under a sea of stars.

MALIGNECAN YON.COM