The Jasper Local December 1, 2020 by The Jasper Local

ALTERNATIVE +

LOCAL + INDEPENDENT

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2020 // ISSUE 178

VEINS OF ICE // Pro climber Stas Beskin was in Jasper last month to climb the rarely forming ice route in the WAD Valley known as Softly Softly, Cagey Monkey. Local climbers watched the bold ascent in awe.// TRISTAN NISSEN

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PAGE A2 //

The Jasper Local // ISSUE 178 // TUESDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2020

EDITORIAL //

Local Vocal Anyone else embarrassed to be an Albertan these days? I was born and raised in this province, but the egregious displays of anti-social partisanship when it comes to disobeying health guidelines have me feeling sick to my belt buckle. Anti-maskers say they’re “rising up” against government control, but all I see are deliberately-uninformed misanthropes putting our population at risk. These people aren’t red pilled freedom fighters, they’re entitled brats. How ironic that “freedom rallies” and the attitudes of those who attend are ensuring government emergency measures stay in place even longer? I understand I may be preaching to the choir here; if doctors and scientists can’t convince the so-called “patriots” to expand their view, it’s hardly likely a *socialist* newspaper columnist in libtard national park is going to hit the magic notes. But with COVID-19 creeping into the community at an unprecedented rate, finding its way into our schools, our hospitals and our seniors homes, those of us with a platform should be shouting from it: for the health and safety of us all, and particularly for the vulnerable, we’ve got to do a better job of flattening the curve. That means all of us. Because as much as Jasperites would like to believe this rests on the visiting public, the latest spreads have come from within the community. The biggest hot spots have shown to be social gatherings and workplaces. We all have lockdown fatigue, but you and me and our families and friends have all got to buckle down and follow the directives broadcast by our health officials. This isn’t the time to mess around. Resort towns have a significant knock against them when it comes to virus transmission: namely, we’ve got lots of people living in close quarters, i.e. staff accommodations. Here’s where it’s going to be hard for those living in these situations to resist the pressure to hang out, to socialize, to party. But dudes and dudettes, you’ve simply got to. I know everyone feels invincible in our 20s, but we can all admit our aunts, our grandfathers and our parents are not. We’ve got to look up, as a community, and realize who our actions are hurting. As much as we have factors working against us in Jasper, we can also consider ourselves lucky. We’ve got big, open spaces around us. We’ve got a connected network of community partners who are working in our best interests. We’ve got good community buy-in. But we need to make sure we remain vigilant. Cultivate a culture of good practices. Don’t give in to pressure to let your guard down. We’re at a critical point. We know the stakes. We have nothing to be embarrassed about if we act like it. BOB COVEY // bob@thejasperlocal.com

Our local Post Office hours inadaquate Dear Editor

Our Post Office’s hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. It has become apparent this an inadequate timeframe to properly service its customers. Why has Canada Post cut their hours at the Jasper branch, especially at this time

of year? People have packages to mail and packages to pick up, tasks which, because of the lack of staff, sometimes take up to 45 minutes. As it stands, people must line up outside, and the cold weather hasn’t even started yet! Why can’t the Post Office hire more

help? Why can’t they get their hours back to normal? I’m sure many people are extremely frustrated with this. I know staff work as fast as they can, but hiring extra staff this time of the year should be a priority.

- Flo Willis, Jasper

Editor's note: after passing on Ms. Willis' concerns to Canada Post, The Jasper Local received the following message: “Effective December 1, the post office will return to its regular customer hours, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The hours had been reduced to allow time for our employees to clean, restock and provide relief.”

The Jasper Local //

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// LOCAL GOVERNMENT

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2020 // ISSUE 178 // The Jasper Local // PAGE A3 PREDICTABLE// This image comes from the Municipality of Jasper’s Wayfinding and Signage Guidelines project, a document commissioned in 2015 and which was approved by two iterations of Jasper town council. There was ample opportunity for public involvement, MOJ staff say. // SUPPLIED

We are here: a wayfinding story Last issue The Jasper Local had a bit of a field day commenting on the look of Jasper’s new entrance signs. The comments and emojis poured in on social media; everyone had a good chuckle. But our editorial was missing some context. This edition, we report on how the signs came to be in the first place. Christine Nadon knows—all too well, perhaps—Jasper’s new entrance signs aren’t exactly a hit among residents.

“We’re paying attention,” the Municipality of Jasper’s Director of Legislative Services says. “They’re clearly contentious.” This newspaper and other commenters were quick to criticize the generic nature of the new signage, but Nadon, who was part of the committee that helped bring the signs to light, said she stands behind the public process. “We didn’t draw this up on the side our our desks,” she said. On the contrary, the signs were part of the MOJ’s

wayfinding and signage guidelines project, an initiative that had been on the books, by way of the capital budget, since 2010. In 2015, the MOJ developed a RFP to build a spec book for the town to be able to implement wayfinding signage. Experience Design Group, from Vancouver, won the bid. Their final report (available on the MOJ website) was approved by the council of the day. At that time, Tourism Jasper had just launched a new brand (Venture Beyond). Some commenters were miffed why the municipality wouldn’t attach itself to that new identity, but Nadon said that the town was looking at investing in community wayfinding that would “remain in place for much longer than a tourism brand is likely to last.” However, the Wayfinding and Signage Guidelines project did end up taking on the primary and secondary brand colours developed by Tourism Jasper’s brand consultant. The organizations which were represented on the focus group that worked

directly with consultants included MOJ councillors, MOJ staff, Parks Canada, Friends of JNP and the Jasper Museum and when the final design and guidelines document again went to (the current) council, it was again approved. This would have been the opportunity for the public to share questions or concerns, Nadon said. “We didn’t hear anything,” Nadon said. “There was some media coverage at the time.” Last year, following the approval of the wayfinding document, MOJ’s current Director of Operations commissioned the new entrance signs as per the document’s specifications. The price tag was $50,000 per sign. In the wake of the firestorm of criticism, Nadon said it’s understandable to have negative feedback on public signage, but it’s also the nature of public process. “For the expected outcome and the process we went through, these signs are good,” she said. “If we were to go to a large engagement process again I think we’d land on something similar.” BOB COVEY // thejasperlocal@gmail.com

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The Jasper Local // ISSUE 178 // TUESDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2020

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

New CAO approaching position as strategic influencer Jasper’s incoming Chief Administrative Officer doesn’t see local government as politics.

“Government is about public service,” Bill Given says. “Partisanship doesn’t benefit anybody.” He’s speaking from experience. Now 43-years-old, at 24, Given was the youngest person to ever be elected to public office when he was voted in as a Grande Prairie alderman. Three terms and nine years later, he became the mayor. Now, Given is taking a stab at the administrative side of local government. His first day on the job as Jasper’s new CAO in Jasper is January 1. “I have a great deal of respect for the community of Jasper,” he said. “I’m looking forward to getting an inside view.” If Jasperites are skeptical that Given’s resumé doesn’t contain any formal administrative experience, the father of two says that’s fair. However, he points out that nearly a decade spent in the mayor’s chair—a full time role in the city of 64,000 people—has given him plenty of opportunities to work with senior management and team leaders, duties which will serve him well in his new post. “To be able to accomplish the things that I’ve accomplished, with my council colleagues, have had to come through guiding, assisting, mentoring, encouraging and cajoling people—without positional authority,” he said. “I think my role [as CAO] is to provide that leadership, insight and use those informal leadership skills that I think I’ve demonstrated.” High on that list of accomplishments, Jasper ratepayers will be keen to learn, is that over his tenure as mayor, Grande Prairie recorded the lowest tax increases in the city’s history—and even netted a reduction in the tax requisition over the last four-year term. While it’s not fair to compare the double-digit hike currently being considered by Jasper officials to the 4.1 per cent decrease recently approved by GP, Given did say a “priority-based budgeting” approach was key to

achieving such outcomes. “It’s a process where there’s a deep examination of the services delivered by the municipality and a scoring of those services against a strategic plan set by council. The idea is to look at the services most closely aligned … with the community’s priorities … and to reprofile spending away from the services that are less aligned.” Without pre-empting the work ahead of the current council, that deep conversation would likely take place with the 2021 slate of elected officials, Given suggested. “I don’t approach this with an ideology,” he added. “This is about ensuring the money that residents and businesses contribute in the form of property taxes is spent on the things that residents and businesses most desire.” Given’s political track record also demonstrates he doesn’t necessarily swing left or right. He ran in the 2006 federal election as an independent candidate.

GIVEN TO SUCCESS// Bill Given is Jasper’s new CAO. He starts January 1. Given, the current Mayor of Grande Prairie, was the youngest councillor to ever be elected, when he first sought public office in 2001. // SUPPLIED

“That was a time where it seemed as though our region of Alberta—which can feel like we’re at the back of the bus in terms of federal recognition— might have an opportunity to have more representation at the federal government.” Fourteen years later, Given may have another opportunity to influence Ottawa. Given is well-aware of the unique power-sharing structure in Jasper when it comes to land use and development authority. He said he’s looking forward to working with Parks Canada and, more importantly, exploring if there’s any way to leverage that relationship. “I think that relationship may present some special

opportunities that may not be available to other municipalities,” he said. As Given wraps up his obligations as Grande Prairie’s mayor (a leave he does not take lightly, he insisted), he will look forward to the special opportunities of becoming a resident of Jasper. A born-and-raised Albertan, he has many memories of visiting the national park. But he’s very much anticipating getting to know more intimately the community and the people who drive it. “I’m looking forward to exploring Jasper as a local,” he said. BOB COVEY

// thejasperlocal@gmail.com

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TUESDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2020 // ISSUE 178 // The Jasper Local // PAGE B2

LOCAL ARTS AND RECREATION

Pandemic pivot: Familiar events to be delivered digitally Two more IRL (In Real Life) events in Jasper are going virtual. For 25 years, every December, the Chaba Theatre would be packed for a night of mountain movies when the world-famous Best of the Banff Mountain Film Festival would roll into town.

purchasable through the Chaba’s website (www.chabatheatre.ca).

present themselves on that day.”

For $15 or $28, adventure film lovers can purchase a package to view on-demand. Part of the proceeds will trickle back to the Chaba.

A four-month window to complete the challenges means that trail conditions—and participants’ fitness—will vary greatly as the winter progresses. Knowing that, racers shouldn’t be too concerned with getting the best time, Fitzgerald said. Instead, they should be satisfied they’re staying fit while helping out a community need. Proceeds of the race will go to the Jasper Healthcare Foundation.

“It’s still a great program, we’re just delivering it a little differently this year,” Wacko said.

On the night of the show, a rainbow of puffy jacket-wearing locals would line up down the block in The same goes order to be part of for Jasper “People’s motivation is down the festival action. Physiotherapy Chaba Theatre right now. We thought ‘let’s and Health owner Dwain Wacko Centre’s 2020 create something that looked forward to racing circuit. encourages people to get out hosting the ampedon the trails.” Sean Fitzgerald, up crowd. In a owner and lead calendar year filled physiotherapist with Hollywood of the Connaught Drive business, is blockbusters, the Best of the Banff was an organizing five different races on local outlier that gave Jasper’s mountain culture trails this year. The COVID catch? a chance to shine, he said. Participants will be racing alone, tracking “The town really supports it,” Wacko said. their times with their smartphone. “It always sold out.” “People’s motivation is down right now, This year, thanks to the COVID we need to social distance, we thought pandemic, theatre attendance is in the ‘let’s create something that encourages dumps. The Chaba is only doing 10 per people to get out on the trails.’” cent of its normal ticket sales, Wacko said. From December 15 to April 15, “It’s challenging, it’s discouraging. We’re participants will have the chance to enter trying to weather through it all.” a friendly race with fellow athletes. Using To help improve The Chaba’s chance of their smartphone’s Strava app, a virtual survival, Wacko has had to be creative. racing platform which tracks users’ Along with booking out the theatre for progress along designated routes with private showings, the Chaba is once again GPS data, racers will record their times signed up as a BBMFF host. However, on a variety of trails, using a variety of rather than welcoming folks into the mediums. Fitzgerald is gearing the races theatre, the Chaba is facilitating the to snowshoers, cross country skiers, watching of films at home. runners and cyclists. The Banff Mountain Film Festival has three programs viewers can choose from,

“There’s no set race day,” he said. “You do it when you can, in whatever conditions

Jasper Physio’s Sean Fitzgerald is promoting the clinic’s virtural racing program starting Dec 15, and this year (below) the Chaba Theatre is a host of the Best of Banff’s virtual edition. // BC

“This is about filling in the gaps where Alberta Health Services can’t,” Fitzgerald said. And the virtual races are about filling gaps where following COVID guidelines has made it difficult to come together as local athletes normally would. To register with Jasper Physio’s virtual racing series, visit jaspervirtualracing.ca bob@thejasperlocal.com

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PAGE B3 + B4 //

The Jasper Local // ISSUE 178 // TUESDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2020

FEATURE // LOCAL MOUNTAIN SAFETY // STORY + PHOTOS BY BOB COVEY

THE LONG GAME: BUILDING A LIBRARY OF AVALANCHE SKILLS

On a cold day in mid November, Jasper mountain guide Matt Reynolds plants his ski pole in the relatively shallow snowpack at Parkers Ridge. His upward progress halted, Reynolds turns to the group of seven skiers and split boarders following in his track. Pivoting his gaze to the slopes above, where trees are intermittently spaced along a gradually steepening incline, Reynolds asks his charge a seemingly innocuous question: “What do you guys think…are we in avalanche terrain?”

If we feel uneasy that it took us so long to come to a decision, we shouldn’t, Reynolds assures us. Recognizing avalanche terrain is a lifelong study, he says. As an example, he tells us that 20 years ago he was the most qualified avalanche professional at Marmot Basin. “But when I think of all I’ve learned since then, in retrospect, I hardly knew anything at all.” It’s a perspective that reminds us that the mountains aren’t impressed by how many days we’ve had with touring skis or splitboards under our feet. What matters are the choices we make to ensure we have a safe day out. An avalanche course gives us tools to make better-informed decisions.

For a long moment, the only audible response is from the southwest wind as it whistles through the tenacious spruce trees, but as the group feels the weight of the collective silence growing heavier, a voice from the back of the pack rises up.

shovel and probe.

But more than vearnin terminology and how we learn how to build help us create a strateg on trips in the mounta to identify hazards bef boots on. We discuss h decisions based on sno potential avalanche tr or rapidly accumulatin for example), and we h conversation about the landscape, without wh science and terrain ev irrelevant: us. For an a concern, unless it is ha potentially happen, in travelling.

“I don’t think it’s steep enough to be avalanche terrain,” comes the reply. “Although…I’m not really sure.”

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That response—tentatively delivered, swollen with uncertainty and desperately seeking confirmation or denial— encapsulates more than simply the inexperience of participants in Reynolds’ Avalanche Skills and Training (1) course. After all, everyone who ventures into the winter backcountry, seeking the freedom of the hills and the glory of gliding down a powder-strewn playground, has to start somewhere. Rather, the waffling, unsure answer of whether or not we are now venturing into a place where the very snow beneath our feet is vulnerable to suddenly breaking away and—let’s not mince words—killing us, summarizes one of the biggest take-aways of the two-evening, two-day course: learning to identify the areas where an avalanche could occur might sound easy; however, it is anything but.

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As Reynolds prompts more discussion, the group recalls some of the classroom exercises we practiced two nights earlier via Zoom. We look for clues that might give us an indication one way or another of terrain where an avalanche could occur: are there signs of past avalanches— snapped off trees, perhaps, or snow debris? Is there a start zone above us? If there is a start zone, would an avalanche that occurs there run all the way down to where we now stand? By involving all parties in the conversation, and by encouraging a culture that casts aside the fear of being wrong, we eventually settle on an answer that everyone agrees on. No, this isn’t avalanche terrain. “I agree. Let’s keep moving,” Reynolds says.

“All it takes is one moment of complacency,” Reynolds says.

“You’re building your library,” Reynolds says. “And if you do it slowly and deliberately you’ll be able to do this for a long time.”

The structured format of an AST1 course is an anecdote to complacency, simply because there’s a lot to keep in mind. As participants, we learn about the basic components of an avalanche, how different avalanches are classified in terms of size and type and on which slope angles avalanches most commonly occur. We dive headlong into how the build up of a winter’s worth of snow interfaces with the layers contained within, and how weak layers can compromise the integrity of the entire snowpack, making for a potentially deadly recipe if the terrain is steep enough to slide. And we practice companion rescue—how to search, locate and extricate a burial victim—using the tools every person who travels in avalanche country ought to carry: a transceiver,

The hu the co can be of a va stiffes most d persis everyd hand techniques we employ commute or complete may result in a bad de don’t typically pose a d Avalanche professiona using such rules of thu deadly, and to suss out traps,” they’ve identifi all-too common, unco patterns which often le backcountry. Relying to guide their choices unwilling to alter one’ day, in the face of info warn you otherwise, is make up but two of six

In a year when interest in backcountry skiing and snowboarding is set to eclipse already-spiking levels of participation, avalanche skills and training courses are filling up fast. BOB COVEY joined a recent AST1 session and has this report:

ng the technical to dig a snow pit, a routine that will gy for embarking ains. We learn how fore we get our how we can make owpack, terrain and iggers (high winds ng temperature, have an extended e element on the hich, all of the snow valuation would be avalanche is of little appening, or could n a place where we are

human element, in ontext of ski touring, e as complicated ariable as the st windslab or the deeply-buried stent weak layer. In day life, the shortdecision making y to fast track a e a task at work ecision, but they danger to our lives. als have shown that umb can in fact be t these “heuristic fied a handful of onscious thought lead to trouble in the on one’s familiarity is one; being ’s ski goals for the ormation that should s another. These x heuristic traps

identified by the avalanche community. “I’ve noticed that whenever a female is part of a group that is otherwise all male, the guys tend to make more aggressive choices,” Reynolds adds. Duly noted. On our second field day, a meandering loop of the Lovatt Scouts Trail in the Bald Hills area, we forgo the avalanche

way” to negotiate challenging or complex avalanche terrain, and encourages us to look at our decision-making as simply risk management. At our lunch spot, we try to take a bird’s-eye view of the landscape in front of us to help guide our route-finding. An hour later, when we get to the top of a high ridge, poised to either dip into a north-facing glade or traverse around the slope to find our exit point, he points out that we were able to make our way around the entire circuit without once exposing ourselves to avalanche terrain. Fist bumps all around. As we ski back to the cars, we reflect on what we’ve learned in the past week. Some of us lament that even though we can understand why we made decisions at Parkers Ridge or the Bald Hills on these particular days, with this particular snowpack, the next day out will come with a whole new avalanche bulletin, new terrain choices and new human factors to sort out—without a guide to help us along.

transceiver practice and snow pit studies and concentrate on decision making in avalanche terrain. Each participant takes a turn leading the group, explaining why they are choosing to climb this piece of terrain or avoid that slope. It’s stressful being in front of the pack, putting in a skin track that you know is not only being evaluated by the course participants, but—until a fresh blanket of snow covers it up—judged (and perhaps used) by future ski tourers travelling in the area. Reynolds is adamant there is no “right

That’s all part of the game, Reynolds says. Regardless of where we are on our path of learning, we are all creating a graduallyaccumulating catalogue of experiences and knowledge, from which our future selves will draw upon when making decisions and, ultimately, mitigating the risk of encountering an avalanche. “You’re building your library,” Reynolds says. “And if you do it slowly and deliberately you’ll be able to do this for a long time.” BOB COVEY

// thejasperlocal@gmail.com

PAGE B5 //

The Jasper Local // ISSUE 178 // TUESDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2020

LOCAL COMMUNITY

End of an era: Patricia Circle Rink memories hold a special place in local hockey families’ hearts If you search for Jasper in google maps and zoom in on Patricia Circle you can still see the boards at Patricia Circle Rink, or Pat Circle, as it is known colloquially. Although it’s gone now, the tiny outdoor rink had been around for many decades. If they could talk, the disassembled boards at Pat Circle would have stories to tell—stories of some of the greatest dangles to know humankind, of missed goals and three on three hockey. First slap shots and annual traditions have all been seen at Pat Circle, until this past September when the rink was torn down. Much like any outdoor rink, having Pat Circle as a place to play hockey and socialize with friends was something that was important for Jasperites growing up. Local Jess Prinn might suggest having a rink around does not keep kids out of trouble, rather, it lets “It was always so heart-warming to see, the older kids would invite [the younger kids] to play. It was the type of place where you would see the older kids being leaders.” them get into just the right amount of trouble. “My sis and I spent many nights down there with the boys,” Prinn recalled. “Even if it was minus 40, we were out there after dinner playing around.” Lesleigh Campbell, mom to twin boys and a little girl in Jasper, spent many days out at Patricia Circle, watching games of shinny. “It was always so heart-warming to see,” she said. “The older kids would invite [the younger kids] to play. It was the type of place where you would see the older kids being leaders.”

For the Campbell family, Patricia Circle was convenient, it had boards and nets and was walking distance from their home. But ultimately, Trans Mountain, the pipeline company which first built the rink to serve as an amenity to the block of Patricia Circle staff housing that was erected in the 1950s, saw the rink as inconvenient. Although there was some discussion about renovating the rink after the boards fell into disrepair— and the company even went PASSES TO ASHES // In September, Parks Canada approved a demolition permit for the so far as to purchase the Patricia Circle rink. The area is zoned for residential property. // SUPPLIED lumber that would help bring it back up to a safe, “The first thing I thought about when I heard it was playable standard—the writing was on the wall for closing was the fact that my boys wouldn’t get to spend the rink when Parks Canada granted a demolition endless hours down there learning how to skate and permit this past summer. It should surprise no one play the game. I just always pictured them being able that making room for future residential housing to say “Mom we’re heading out to play hockey,” and takes priority in a town with a zero percent vacancy knowing exactly where they were going and how rate. much fun they’d be having!” Of course this doesn’t satisfy the people in whose Campbell, too will have to be satisfied with her hearts the rink holds such a special spot. Nor does it family’s many Patricia Circle memories. soothe their pain that Trans Mountain has put big “It was a little convenience we may have just taken bucks into community initiatives in other towns, for granted,” she said. such as a skatepark in the hamlet of Androssan and As the temperature dips and the skies remain clear a pumptrack in the hamlet of Robb. But to put the in early December, a shovelled-off pond on Lake decision at the feet of the Municipality of Jasper or Edith is getting some use from Jasper skaters who, Parks Canada is simply incorrect. Much like outdoor years ago, might have otherwise been skating on skating on big, open lakes in Jasper has an end date Patricia Circle. every season, so too, unfortunately, did Pat Circle. The end-date on outdoor skating hasn’t come up yet Jess Prinn is all grown up now and a mom herself. in Jasper. Let’s not take that for granted. She was disappointed when she heard that the rink at Patricia Circle was closing down.

EMILIE ST-PIERRE

// thejasperlocal@gmail.com

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HEAD UP JIMMY! // The Campbells are one of many families in Jasper with wonderful memories of the Patricia Circle rink. // SUPPLIED

LOCAL WILDLIFE

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2020 // ISSUE 178 // The Jasper Local // PAGE B6

CREATURE FEATURE // Big horn sheep, Pine Martins and juvenille bald eagles found themselves in the viewfinder of local wildlife photographer Simone Heinrich lately. Sheep, who are still in the rutting season, can mistake vehicles for fellow combatents. Visitors who encounter these burly beasts should be wary of their one-tracked minds this time of year and always stay in their vehicle. Action shots like the one above are best achieved with a long, telephoto lens. // SIMONE HEINRICH