He passed us, not a care in the world as if he were strolling on a tropical beach. He wore running shoes and just a pair of shorts. It was hot, boiling hot as it can be on a glacier with the sun blasting down. The four of us, roped and on the way down, were not in beachwear; we had crampons on and w...

A father and son’s five-year journey to summit mighty Mount Robson From a distance, Mount Robson looks like something painted onto the horizon. Mount Robson looms large from the Yellowhead Highway. // Creative Commons Its glaciated ridges and sheer cliffs dwarf everything around it. At 3,954 metres,...

En route to Jasper on July 23, 2024, as part of the Banff wildland firefighting team, Sara-Jay (SJ) Nogel was pretty sure she saw her dream going up in smoke .  Flying above Highway 93N, from her seat in the helicopter, SJ saw a dense plume of smoke up the Athabasca River valley, rising over Wabasso...

At 4:20 p.m. on July 24, 2025—three days after the 100th year anniversary of its first ascent— two men who had been making their way up the steep, crumbly, snow-covered rock of isolated Mount Alberta suddenly ran out of mountain to climb. With radiant smiles shining through the freezing rain, the cl...

A rare ascent of a local peak, a climber campaigning to honour his family, and an uncovered register of heralded names in Jasper National Park’s alpinist community. The ingredients of a mountain tale, if there ever were any. For the past two summers, 31-year-old Andrew Everett has hung his helmet ne...

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. It’s old (around 75 million years), but lightly used. It’s almost completely hidden from the Icefields Parkway—crowded in among more popular peaks—s...

A new alpine facility will be built at Robson Pass, in B.C.’s Mount Robson Provincial Park. The Alpine Club of Canada (ACC ) has the go-ahead to construct a two-storey, 12-person alpine hut near iconic Berg Lake , at the doorstep of mighty Mount Robson. “We’re super excited,” said Keith Haberl, the ...

Curtain Call, Polar Circus, Weeping Wall…Patricia Street? One of these Rocky Mountain ice climbing classics is not like the other. However, thanks to the creative minds at Rockaboo Mountain Adventures and with support from Travel Alberta, ice climbing is rising up in downtown Jasper. Along with ice ...

The Jasper wildfire was a fiery furnace, temperatures reaching almost 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit, hot enough to melt copper and gold.  With such atomic obliteration, will we ever see the forest come back within our lifetime, certainly within mine? In four days in August I would have my answer.  There ...

A painful slog out of Jasper’s backcountry has taught a party of skiers a lesson in being prepared for safe adventuring. Jasper’s John Ward has skied many a mile over many a mountain pass—and made most of his tracks and turns without incident. “I’ve never required any assistance,” Ward said. John Wa...

This is the sequel to Poetry in the Snow , from February 9, 2024. Next day we skied  to the alpine and came across fresh grizzly tracks. One of the things I enjoyed about snow camping was the comforting thought that all the bears were tucked up snugly in their dens and I could get a good night's sle...

Local climbers and Jasper history buffs are gearing up for an exciting tribute to one of the 20th Century’s most significant alpine accomplishments. The Jasper/Hinton section of the Alpine Club of Canada, in conjunction with the Jasper-Yellowhead Historical Society, are hosting a panel discussion on...

Campers, get ready to be happy. Starting next week, Parks Canada’s reservation system opens up and campers looking to enjoy the natural beauty of Jasper National Park, among other national parks and historic sites, will be able to book their trips. The reservation system for Jasper National Park fro...

Backcountry enthusiast says he won't give up fight to restore historic trail Jasper National Park’s superintendent is standing firm on his refusal to replace a bridge to Athabasca Pass Historical Site. A letter from JNP superintendent Alan Fehr's office told backcountry enthusiast and professional e...

August 31. A blue moon tonight, the second full moon of the month. The weather is not looking good. As I trudge up the summit slope cloud sweeps in as if sucked by a vacuum cleaner. One moment I have a view, the next I'm in a whiteout and flakes of snow splatter on the rocks. I don't know why the he...

Hopping from rock to rock, our laden backpacks jostling uncomfortably, the trail finally disappeared in a backwater channel of Jasper National Park’s Whirlpool River.  We gave up trying to keep our feet dry and simply waded in. On the Athabasca Pass Trail in Jasper National Park. // Tania Millen Sud...

Skiers, horseback riders and hikers lose out; backcountry lodges forced into disrepair Riding across Maccarib Pass into the Tonquin Valley feels like passing through a mist-filled portal into Narnia, a magical place populated by mythical creatures, including grizzly bears, wolverines and endangered ...

August 2 update: Andrew Cotterell finished his hike of the 1130 km Great Divide Trail in 20 days and 7 hours, a new fastest known time. This story is from the August 1, 2021 Jasper Local Every time that Canmore’s Andrew Cotterell told a fellow hiker that he was headed to Jasper National Park’s Skyli...

Two climbers are dead after an avalanche on Mount Andromeda on Sunday, May 30. Parks Canada confirmed the deaths today (Sunday, May 30). Spokesperson Steve Young said EMS ambulances, STARS air ambulance and Alpine helicopters responded to an accident at around 8:30 a.m. Two strike teams from Jasper ...

Walking into the Maligne Canyon on a frigid winter day feels like stepping into another world. As the canyon’s walls rear up above you, pale blue ice pours back down, a cascade of water quite literally frozen in time. This beguiling paradox lends the place an otherworldly allure: gargantuan ice stru...