A rundown of some notable cultural and outdoor happenings in the Rockies this summer.
A New Lens on the Godfather of Snowboarding
In his new book, author Eric Blehm tells the story of the man whose life changed snowboarding forever and whose tragic death was arguably the worst day in the sport’s history. The Darkest White: A Mountain Legend and the Avalanche That Took Him chronicles the meteoric ascent of winter sports icon Craig Kelly—the “Michael Jordan of snowboarding”—whose extraordinary and inspiring odyssey pushed him into the extreme environments that ultimately took his life.
Blehm, whose first book, The Last Season, was called one of the greatest adventure biographies ever written, has penned a tribute to Kelly’s starring role in the cultural explosion of snowboarding. But the book is also a journalistic enterprise, one which asks still-burning questions about the avalanche that took the life of Kelly and six other backcountry enthusiasts in January 2003.
Digging into that day brings readers into the darkness of loss, while getting to know Craig Kelly is the light. Blehm’s cautionary portrait of the mountains illustrates that Kelly’s passion for the untamed glory of powder surfing wasn’t reckless or foolhardy, but calculated and deliberate—just like his decision to walk away from the spotlight after helping launch snowboarding into the mainstream.
Blehm will discuss his mesmerizing and heartbreaking book at the 2024 Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival taking place this fall.
Revy in Bloom
“let us live like wildflowers
– Ellen Everett
wild and beautiful
and drenched in sun”
The Revelstoke Wildflower Festival takes place July 25 to 28 in downtown Revelstoke and the alpine meadows surrounding town. Come for the flowers, stay for the invasive species walk, farmer’s market and the shuttle to Mount Revelstoke. Make the most of the four-day event by brushing up on your wildflower knowledge ahead of the festival, with the Parks Canada online alpine wildflower guide available at seerevelstoke.com, where you can find more info about this fresh event.
Brush Up on Your Backcountry Skills
For the first time, the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides has released its technical manuals to the public. The ACMG is thought to be the first member of the International Federation of Mountain Guiding Associations to produce such a comprehensive suite of technical publications. There are five in total; from the popular Ski Guiding Manual to Core Guiding Skills and the Climbing Guide Manual, there’s something for almost every obsession. Check them out at acmg.ca.
Chockablock
The cost of traffic management at ever-popular Lake Louise nearly doubled in 2023 to almost $10 million. To encourage users to hop on a shuttle, Parks Canada is raising the daily parking fee to $36.75, up from $21 last year. The hope is that increased parking fees will help sustain the shuttle program while dissuading tourists from driving their own vehicle and contributing to congestion in the area. The parking fee is in effect from May 17 to October 14, from an alpine-start 3 a.m. until 7 p.m. More info here.
Fireside Chat
Warrior Women is the mother-daughter collective of Matricia and Mackenzie Brown, originally from Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation and now operating primarily in Jasper. Rooted in Cree tradition, Warrior Women encompasses education, corporate training, Indigenous tourism experiences and arts and craft workshops as well as a variety of Indigenous products including, art, beading, leatherwork and an Indigenous line of bitters.
During the summer months Warrior Women host fireside chats, sparking dialog about Indigenous culture with stories, drumming and songs.
Fictional Jasper
In Icefields, Thomas Wharton’s soulful reading of Jasper’s steady pulse yields a sense of longing for its early 20th-century setting: one where miracles can still be unearthed.
With beautiful tempo and a flair for expressing volumes by saying very little, Wharton brings readers to the fictional Arcturus Glacier, where the book’s main character, Edward Byrne, will find himself enraptured by the living ice and what secrets lie beneath it.
Weaving historic journeys with his eye for nature, maps and vanishing beauty, Wharton’s effort is worth every paragraph as he introduces compassionately crafted characters to well-known places within Jasper National Park. Though he prefaces the book with a note saying all details matching true events are coincidental, the mind’s eye travels with Wharton up familiar rivers, down area spur lines and into the hearts of the magnetic characters. If you’ve ever felt that mountains draw a special breed of person, Icefields’ cyclical and satisfying journey will affirm that thought. This is a wonderful read.
Twister of Tongue and Trail
Ten years ago, the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies reproduced The Animals’ Alpine Club, a picture book first published in 1910.
Kids—and kids’ books—were built differently a century ago. The rhyming schemes penned by Graham Clifton Bingham are less Frog on a Log, more Keats on the peaks. The book’s publishers weren’t afraid of getting a little dark, either—like when (spoiler alert!) Leo the lion seemingly falls to his death. Things lighten up when the critters reach the alpine chalet and get loose on cider (“They yodelled and sang/Till the rafters all rang”). But still, this is literary porridge: dense yet nourishing.
Like most successful mountaineering expeditions, the story’s twists—those of trail and tongue—are worth the effort. Perhaps that’s why the book was apparently a favourite of famed mountain guide Conrad Kain.
Wild Romp for Youth
The Western Canadian Youth Adventure Racing Championships will take place September 28 at the Canmore Nordic Centre. The four- to five-hour event features a run-bike-run format that will see teams of three or four use map and compass to navigate checkpoint to checkpoint throughout the park. The race is designed for youth ages 15 to 18 and is a fundraiser for Ever Active Schools. For more info or to register visit www.rockymountainar.com.
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