Mountain Life
  • Daily Content
    • Trips & Expeditions
    • Climbing
    • Mountain Biking
    • Mountain Lifer
    • Multiplicity
    • On The Trail
    • Paddling
    • Photography
    • Skiing
    • Snowboarding
    • Stay & Play
    • Surfing
    • The Great Outdoors
    • The ML Interview
    • Travel
  • GEAR
  • VIDEOS
  • STORE
  • Magazines
    • ML Coast Mountains
    • ML Rocky Mountains
    • Vie En Montagne
    • ML Blue Mountains
    • ML Annual
    • ML Subscriptions
  • ABOUT
    • What is ML?
    • Our Team
    • Newsletter
    • Adventure Grant
    • Distribution
  • Podcast
  • Contests
  • CONTACT
    • ML Agency
    • Advertising
    • Contribute
Subscription Form

Get notified of the best News

Social Links
Instagram 22K Followers
Facebook 25K Likes
Twitter 5K Followers
Pinterest 1K Followers
Vimeo 34 Followers
LinkedIn
22K Followers
25K Likes
5K Followers
1K Followers
Mountain Life
Mountain Life
  • Daily Content
    • Trips & Expeditions
    • Climbing
    • Mountain Biking
    • Mountain Lifer
    • Multiplicity
    • On The Trail
    • Paddling
    • Photography
    • Skiing
    • Snowboarding
    • Stay & Play
    • Surfing
    • The Great Outdoors
    • The ML Interview
    • Travel
  • GEAR
  • VIDEOS
  • STORE
  • Magazines
    • ML Coast Mountains
    • ML Rocky Mountains
    • Vie En Montagne
    • ML Blue Mountains
    • ML Annual
    • ML Subscriptions
  • ABOUT
    • What is ML?
    • Our Team
    • Newsletter
    • Adventure Grant
    • Distribution
  • Podcast
  • Contests
  • CONTACT
    • ML Agency
    • Advertising
    • Contribute
  • CLIMBING

Movin’ On Up: Filipino-Canadians Build Community in the Rockies

  • March 21, 2022
  • Mountain Life Media
Total
5
Shares
5
0
0
0
0
0
Total
5
Shares
Share 5
Tweet 0
Pin it 0
Share 0
Share 0
Share 0

Words & photos :: Leonard Maglalang.

Nearly 3,000 individuals that permanently settled in Canada between 2011 and 2016 did so in the mountain towns of the Rockies. Eight-hundred and fifteen Filipinos came to call the Rockies home and Tagalog, the national language of the Philippines, has become one of the most commonly spoken languages in Banff (behind only English and Japanese). Leonard Maglalang arrived in Calgary with his family in 2014, from the Filipino city of San Pedro, exchanging beaches and humidity for mountains and snow. –ML

Most Filipinos left the Philippines with their families—both immediate and extended—seeking the Canadian standards of access to health care, free education and respect for civil liberties, in hopes their children’s quality of life would surpass their own.

Rockies-Leonard-Maglalang-photo-Crevasse-Rescue
Levi Ramos and Adrian Andoy maneuvering in Athabasca Glacier during the First Crevasse Rescue Training of the K8 Mountaineering Club of Alberta.

The first time seeing the Canadian Rockies was an incredible feeling, and I wondered early on what it would feel like to stand on top of a peak. But with the costs of providing day-to-day support to family back in the Philippines, the idea of spending hundreds if not thousands of dollars on mountaineering gear is a distant dream for many of us. 

Prabhat Bhatt climbing Johnston Canyon Waterfall.

Filipino-Canadian Levi Ramos, the founder and chairman of K8 Mountaineering Club of Alberta, can empathize. Ramos immigrated to Canada in 2014 when he was 30. That same year, he hiked Banff’s popular Tunnel Mountain trail with his friend Archer Tinambacan and the idea to form the K8 club was born. 

“We saw a gap between Filipino immigrant mountaineers and the Canadian climbing community concerning the skills, knowledge, experience, and equipment needed to perform climbing safely and comfortably,” says Ramos. “We envisioned filling that gap so Filipino immigrants can continue their passion for climbing and achieve their dream to climb the Canadian Rockies.”  

Levi Ramos providing information about mountaineering equipment to K8 next generation, Sophia Ramos, Louise Ramos and KC Francisco.

K8 Mountaineering Club of Alberta is now a non-profit organization and second home to many Filipino-Canadian mountaineers. The club organizes hikes, scrambles and climbing (sport, alpine and ice) for its 40 members and goes beyond that to provide camaraderie, kinship, and community. The club’s vision is to help its members access the mountains and become self-reliant in their pursuits. It is a support system for Filipinos wrestling with the emotional and psychological toll of resettling through the healing power of the mountains.

Waterfall-Rockies-Leonard-Maglalang-photo
K8 visiting the toe of the Glacier in Wapta Icefield near ACC Bow Hut.

Hailing from such a distinctly different landscape, Filipino-Canadians must undergo a metamorphosis to arrive at a place of comfort and control high in the Canadian alpine. The K8 club continually proves through mountaineering, it is possible to transcend the perceived limits of our cultures and ourselves. 

To find out more, check out the K8 Mountaineering Club of Alberta on Facebook.

New ML Rocky Mountains Mag Has Dropped!
Total
5
Shares
Share 5
Tweet 0
Pin it 0
Share 0
Share 0
Share 0
Related Topics
  • Banff
  • Filipino-Canadian
  • Mountain Life Rocky Mountains
  • Rockies
Mountain Life Media

Previous Article
Therm-a-Rest-self-inflating-early-pad-Seventies-crop
  • CAMPING GEAR
  • THE GEAR SHED

Therm-a-Rest at 50

  • March 19, 2022
  • Ned Morgan
View Post
Next Article
Ryan-Carter-surfers-walking-Lake-Huron-Ontario
  • CLIMBING
  • Ontario
  • Paddling
  • Photography
  • Skiing
  • Surfing

Paddle, Climb, Surf, Shred: Winter in Ontario

  • March 22, 2022
  • Mountain Life Media
View Post
You May Also Like
Jason-Hardrath-Journey-to-100-standing-peak
View Post
  • CLIMBING
  • Videos

Friday Flick: Journey to 100

  • Mountain Life Media
  • May 20, 2022
Full-Circle-Everest-The-North-Face-Nepal-prayer-flags
View Post
  • CLIMBING
  • Trips & Expeditions

Full Circle: First All-Black Team Attempts to Summit Everest

  • Mountain Life Media
  • May 9, 2022
Ryan-Carter-surfers-walking-Lake-Huron-Ontario
View Post
  • CLIMBING
  • Ontario
  • Paddling
  • Photography
  • Skiing
  • Surfing

Paddle, Climb, Surf, Shred: Winter in Ontario

  • Mountain Life Media
  • March 22, 2022
Will-Gadd-Helmcken-Falls-in-Wells-Gray-Provincial-Park-BC-CHRISTIAN-PONDELLA-RED-BULL-CONTENT-POOL
View Post
  • CLIMBING
  • Mountain Lifer

Risking It All: Are the Mountains Worth Dying For?

  • Mountain Life Media
  • December 16, 2021
Life-Lived-Wild-Adventure-at-the-Edge-of-the-Map-Rick-Ridgeway-patagonia-Books-cover_roskelley_PR
View Post
  • CLIMBING
  • Mountain Lifer

Life Lived Wild: Adventures at the Edge of the Map

  • Mountain Life Media
  • October 5, 2021
Summer-of-Heights-Baffin-Island-Backyard-Adventures-Erik-Boomer-Sarah-McNair-Landry-yellow-kayak
View Post
  • CLIMBING
  • Features
  • On The Trail

The Summer of Heights: Baffin Island Backyard Adventures

  • Mountain Life Media
  • September 2, 2021
Long-line-search-and-rescue-CLINT-TRAHAN-feature-crop
View Post
  • CLIMBING
  • Mountain Lifer
  • On The Trail
  • Trips & Expeditions

The Changing Landscape of Search and Rescue

  • Mountain Life Media
  • July 23, 2021
Chief Final Low Res
View Post
  • CLIMBING
  • Videos

Friday Flick: ILLUMINATE

  • Sarah Bulford
  • May 28, 2021
Featured Posts
  • Jason-Hardrath-Journey-to-100-standing-peak 1
    Friday Flick: Journey to 100
    • May 20, 2022
  • 2
    Friday Flick: Waterproofing 101
    • May 13, 2022
  • Jamie-Mocrazy-portrait 3
    Jamie MoCrazy: Thriving after Traumatic Brain Injury
    • May 17, 2022
  • River-crossing-Cambria-Icefield-ABBY-COOPER 4
    Kwhlixhoosa’anskw: A River Runs Through
    • May 19, 2022
  • Jordan-Manley-Chad-Sayers-airport 5
    Leave Jet Lag Behind
    • May 24, 2022
RECENT POSTS
  • Helly Hansen Presents: Adventure Planning 101 with Squamish SAR
    • May 16, 2022
  • Relic-The-Beachcombers-Ben-Tour-illustration
    Requiem for a Relic
    • May 16, 2022
  • Dynafit-Sea-to-Summit-Delphi-harbor-revised
    Friday Flick: Skiing with the Gods of Delphi
    • May 13, 2022
Social Links
Instagram 22K Followers
Facebook 25K Likes
Twitter 5K Followers
Pinterest 1K Followers
Vimeo 34 Followers
LinkedIn
INSTAGRAM
mountainlifemedia
22K Followers
✨GIVEAWAY TIME✨We've teamed up with @rab.equipment to give you a chance to win an epic prize to kick-off your summer adventures and See More Sunrises!
Jet lag can be a beast. It throws off our body clock leaving us drained of energy and constipated; the prime recipe for irritability. Not exactly the ideal vacation vibe, right? In our quest to ensure you don’t get stuck trudging through your day like a zombie, missing first chair, and sleeping through those short, precious daylight hours, we consulted the pros: snowboarder and Canadian Olympian, @spencerobrien spends roughly 200 days a year on the road and just as many in the snow.
Last day of the season @whistlerblackcomb! How was your season on the mountain? #whistlerblackcomb #mountainlifer
We hope this long weekend took you somewhere this beautiful 😍 #mountainlifer
Weekend motivation with @skifelix + @yankaczynski #mountainlifer
FRIDAY FLICK! @jasonhardrath has spent his entire life in motion: whether that was on sports teams as a young boy, as a triathlete through his early adulthood, or in the mountains, through today.
#ThrowbackThursday 👉Rhythmic raindrops pounded on the truck’s canopy. Wet snow avalanches growled down the slopes, and the river echoed its roar—evidence the Nass Valley’s spirit was very alive. According to the Nisga’a people, K’alii-Aksim-Lisims (the Nass River, one of BC’s richest river systems) is as much a part of them as their own flesh and blood, flowing through their land and lives.
Join us to hear from the Squamish Search & Rescue on trip planning, outdoor safety, outing ideas, and tips for backcountry travel while enjoying local beer and good company at @hellyhansenwhistler tomorrow eve! #Linkinbio to register!
@jamiemocrazy’s traumatic brain injury (TBI) occurred on her second competition run in slopestyle skiing at the finals of the World Ski & Snowboard Festival in Whistler in April, 2015.
Reel Rock 16 is coming to #Squamish! There are two showings 👉 May 20th and June 1st at the Eagle Eye Theatre, Howe Sound Secondary School, in beautiful Squamish supported by @climbonsquamish! #Linkinbio to get your tickets! #climbing #film #filmfest #climbers #adventure #climbon #adventure #squamishbc #tickets
Follow

Subscribe

Subscribe now to our newsletter

✨GIVEAWAY TIME✨We've teamed up with @rab.equipment to give you a chance to win an epic prize to kick-off your summer adventures and See More Sunrises!
Jet lag can be a beast. It throws off our body clock leaving us drained of energy and constipated; the prime recipe for irritability. Not exactly the ideal vacation vibe, right? In our quest to ensure you don’t get stuck trudging through your day like a zombie, missing first chair, and sleeping through those short, precious daylight hours, we consulted the pros: snowboarder and Canadian Olympian, @spencerobrien spends roughly 200 days a year on the road and just as many in the snow.
Last day of the season @whistlerblackcomb! How was your season on the mountain? #whistlerblackcomb #mountainlifer
We hope this long weekend took you somewhere this beautiful 😍 #mountainlifer
Weekend motivation with @skifelix + @yankaczynski #mountainlifer
FRIDAY FLICK! @jasonhardrath has spent his entire life in motion: whether that was on sports teams as a young boy, as a triathlete through his early adulthood, or in the mountains, through today.
Mountain Life
  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Subscribe
  • Advertising

Input your search keywords and press Enter.