logo
  • News
    • Community
    • Local Government
    • Sports
    • Alberta Politics
    • Opinion
    • Deke
  • Events
  • Jasper Builds
  • Peaks & Valleys
    • Wildlife
    • Hiking and Climbing
    • Biking
    • Fishing
    • Snow Sports
  • Culture
    • Jasper Arts & Culture
    • Local Dining
    • Local Literature
  • Jasper History
  • Support
    • News
      • Community
      • Local Government
      • Sports
      • Alberta Politics
      • Opinion
      • Deke
    • Events
    • Jasper Builds
    • Peaks & Valleys
      • Wildlife
      • Hiking and Climbing
      • Biking
      • Fishing
      • Snow Sports
    • Culture
      • Jasper Arts & Culture
      • Local Dining
      • Local Literature
    • Jasper History
    • Support
Jasper’s Peter Amann to be honoured as ACC’s Mountain Guides Ball patron
Hiking and Climbing, Jasper History, News, Peaks & Valleys
By Bob Covey
Thursday, June 1, 2017
Jasper’s Peter Amann to be honoured as ACC’s Mountain Guides Ball patron

Peter Amann doesn’t have a bucket list.

The 62-year-old mountain guide doesn’t have a catalog of peaks he needs to climb to feel like he’s been successful in the mountains. He doesn’t concern himself with all the 11,000 foot summits, for example, and he doesn’t care much about what others regard as the “classics.” Nor is he in any particular rush to top out on Mount Athabasca for the 100th time (he does know he’s at 95, however).

Amann just isn’t competitive like that. He never has been. In fact, that’s the whole reason he got into mountain climbing in the first place. 

“I’ve never been a charger,” he said. “I don’t necessarily have big objectives.”

Call it humility, call it non-competitiveness…whatever it is, it’s the reason why being selected as the Alpine Club of Canada’s honorary patron for the upcoming Mountain Guide’s Ball was never on Amann’s radar.

“I almost felt like they had the wrong person,” he shrugged.

But it wasn’t a mistake; the ACC has selected Amann as the 2017 Patron of the Mountain Guides Ball. Like Chic Scott, Pat Morrow and Don Vockeroth before him, Amann is being honoured for his contribution to the mountain community over a lifetime spent in the alpine.

“The selection committee made a great choice in tapping Peter, and everyone is really psyched that he accepted to the role,” said Zac Robinson, vice-president for mountain culture of the ACC.

Forty-two years ago, Amann came to Jasper from Toronto with friends and picked up a job washing dishes at the Jasper Park Lodge. Soon he was exploring the mountains with “hippies and free-campers,” as he put it, gradually improving his skills as he gained experience in the alpine.

At one point, he took a guides’ course—and promptly failed it. But Amann chipped away at learning the trade and by the mid-1980s, he had a handful of certifications under his belt and was working part time with the Canmore-based Canadian School of Mountaineering and Yamnuska.

“I loved climbing,” he said. “It was the only thing I ever did that I never got sick of.”

Amann carved his own mountain path. He had to; for many years, after veteran Jasper guide Hans Schwarz retired, Amann was the only fully-certified guide in town. He was happy to take clients up local, well-known peaks such as Athabasca and Cavell, but the trips that truly made him feel alive were the ones of more of an exploratory nature. He liked ridges, rather than crags. He preferred adventures over goal-oriented missions.

“We took a rope and a rack and just went,” he recalled.

But Amann was no climbing bum. He volunteered tirelessly for the Alpine Club. He helped found the local section and was the Jasper/Hinton section chair for nearly 20 years. He had a lead role in the 2000 Mt. Alberta Project and today, he works with the ACC’s safety and leadership committee.

“There comes a time when everyone feels they want to put back into the club and the association,” Amann said.

Amann has occupied other important alpine posts: he was the head avalanche forecaster at Marmot Basin for 22 years; he has spent most of the past few decades training the Canadian Military Search and Rescue Technicians; he teaches ACMG courses for Thompson River University and since 1988, he has helped guide the ACC’s storied general mountaineering camps.

“These camps have gone on in Canadian mountaineering for 110 years,” he said. “What else has been that consistent in that period of time?”

The answer is: the men and women who have led them—of whom the 2017 Patron of the Mountain Guides Ball, Peter Amann, is wholly among.


Bob Covey // bob@thejasperlocal.com

Articles You May LIke ›
Most Read ›
Measles case in Jasper prompts health alert
Health
Measles case in Jasper prompts health alert
Tuesday, July 15, 2025
Public health officials have confirmed a person with measles has been in a public setting in Jasper while infectious. Yesterday (July 14, 2025), Alber...
this is a test
Pitch perfect: Jasper U15 Football Club provincial champs
News
Pitch perfect: Jasper U15 Football Club provincial champs
Lucas Habib 
Wednesday, July 9, 2025
Jasper soccer players have once again brought home a provincial soccer championship. Jaifred Mota was the first one to rush keeper Kieran Rudge after ...
this is a test
Mount Alberta centennial: standing on the shoulders of giants
Community
Mount Alberta centennial: standing on the shoulders of giants
John Wilmshurst, guest contributor 
Monday, July 14, 2025
Jasper roping up for celebrations of Mount Alberta's 1925 inaugural ascent If you are going to steal a mountain in Jasper, I’d recommend Mount Alberta...
this is a test
Letter: Jasper remains a wonderful place to visit
Community
Letter: Jasper remains a wonderful place to visit
Tuesday, July 15, 2025
It was with a feeling of trepidation that we approached Jasper this year. We have been regular visitors since 2001 and it’s become a kind of home away...
this is a test
Latest ›
Trail tech: The next generation
Biking
Trail tech: The next generation
Georgia Ristivojevic 
Monday, June 30, 2025
Rugged roads and twisting trails await those who seek. Thanks to its history of trail use by outfitters and recreationalists, Jasper has established i...
this is a test
Introducing Linwood Homes
Featured Builders
Introducing Linwood Homes
Saturday, June 28, 2025
How long have you been in business? Linwood Homes was founded i n 1968 in Alberta. Our business is over 55 years old. How many homes have you built? W...
this is a test
Finding their bearings: How bears use habitat
Environment
Finding their bearings: How bears use habitat
Mark Bradley 
Thursday, June 26, 2025
Dry grass crunched underfoot as the old grizzly searched for food. Her nostrils flared and her nose twitched as she tested her surroundings for anythi...
this is a test
Golf’s golden years at Jasper Park
Jasper History
Golf’s golden years at Jasper Park
John Wilmshurst, freelance contributor 
Monday, June 23, 2025
100 years ago, the Jasper Park Golf Club teed up its first round of the Royal and Ancient Game In 1457, King James II of England banned golf in Scotla...
this is a test

NEXT ARTICLE

Brewery birthing is thirsty work

Arts and Culture, Business, Local Dining, News

Most Read ›
Measles case in Jasper prompts health alert
Health
Measles case in Jasper prompts health alert
Tuesday, July 15, 2025
Public health officials have confirmed a person with measles has been in a public setting in Jasper while infectious. Yesterday (July 14, 2025), Alber...
this is a test
Pitch perfect: Jasper U15 Football Club provincial champs
News
Pitch perfect: Jasper U15 Football Club provincial champs
Lucas Habib 
Wednesday, July 9, 2025
Jasper soccer players have once again brought home a provincial soccer championship. Jaifred Mota was the first one to rush keeper Kieran Rudge after ...
this is a test
Mount Alberta centennial: standing on the shoulders of giants
Community
Mount Alberta centennial: standing on the shoulders of giants
John Wilmshurst, guest contributor 
Monday, July 14, 2025
Jasper roping up for celebrations of Mount Alberta's 1925 inaugural ascent If you are going to steal a mountain in Jasper, I’d recommend Mount Alberta...
this is a test
Letter: Jasper remains a wonderful place to visit
Community
Letter: Jasper remains a wonderful place to visit
Tuesday, July 15, 2025
It was with a feeling of trepidation that we approached Jasper this year. We have been regular visitors since 2001 and it’s become a kind of home away...
this is a test
Latest ›
Measles case in Jasper prompts health alert
Health
Measles case in Jasper prompts health alert
Tuesday, July 15, 2025
Public health officials have confirmed a person with measles has been in a public setting in Jasper while infectious. Yesterday (July 14, 2025), Alber...
this is a test
Letter: Jasper remains a wonderful place to visit
Community
Letter: Jasper remains a wonderful place to visit
Tuesday, July 15, 2025
It was with a feeling of trepidation that we approached Jasper this year. We have been regular visitors since 2001 and it’s become a kind of home away...
this is a test
Mount Alberta centennial: standing on the shoulders of giants
Community
Mount Alberta centennial: standing on the shoulders of giants
John Wilmshurst, guest contributor 
Monday, July 14, 2025
Jasper roping up for celebrations of Mount Alberta's 1925 inaugural ascent If you are going to steal a mountain in Jasper, I’d recommend Mount Alberta...
this is a test
Pitch perfect: Jasper U15 Football Club provincial champs
News
Pitch perfect: Jasper U15 Football Club provincial champs
Lucas Habib 
Wednesday, July 9, 2025
Jasper soccer players have once again brought home a provincial soccer championship. Jaifred Mota was the first one to rush keeper Kieran Rudge after ...
this is a test
This site complies with Jasper requirements
Contact us
Privacy Policy
Advertise With Us
About The Jasper Local
Accessibility Policy
Support

Follow Us

Advertise with us

Measurable, targeted, local. Email example@thejasperlocal.com

ePaper
coogle_play
app_store

© Copyright The Jasper Local