When Dwain Gilzene came to Canada from Jamaica, he had $40 to his name. He was 25-years-old, had never been out of his home country and was hoping that by following his sister to Jasper, he’d be able to create a better life for himself and his daughter. Because he was relocating halfway across the w...

My last thought before falling asleep after a long, cold day on the trail was “heaven is a lasagna of sleeping bags.” At least that’s what my last thought was supposed to be. Instead, as I zipped myself into three layers of down-lined, thermal quilts, supported by two air mattresses in a finally-war...

Back in Jack Pugh’s day, there was no such thing as lycra or carbon fibre. Ski bindings tightened with lugs and cables, and after you climbed up a mountain with 215 cm wooden skis on your “bedroom slipper” lace-up boots, you wrapped your seal hide skins around your waist to descend. Jack will be 90 ...

If Alberta’s beer industry was a batch of microbrew, in 2005, when the Jasper Brew Pub opened its doors, the batch’s barley would have had scarcely made it to the mill. Today, not only has the mash been converted, the yeast been added to the wort and the beer been filtered, carbonated and cellared, ...

The Jasper Folk Music Festival is singing a new tune these days. The festival, which was cancelled last year for a lack of a suitable location, is in talks with the Municipality of Jasper to host the event on the yet-to-be-named Exchange Lands. “So far everything is on course,” said vice-chairperson...

Estelle Blanchette wants the world to eat in Jasper. For the last few years, as part of her overseas marketing work with Tourism Jasper, Estelle Blanchette would often hear about up-and-coming trends in tourism. Like wine, some of these were half corked (segway tours, anyone?), while others seemed t...

Night of Lies—an evening featuring tales of struggles, near misses and debauchery while working and playing in the Rockies—is coming to Jasper. The event originated in Calgary 17 years ago before finding a permanent home in the Bow Valley. Now, thanks to Rockaboo Mountain Adventures, Night of Lies i...

It started with Pyramid Mountain. And a two-dollar child seat on the back of my Rocky Mountain Blizzard. We’d been in Jasper for two months yet I hadn’t really noticed the mountain before. Then all of a sudden, as though the mountain had dropped from Heaven the previous night, I saw it for the first...

“In the theatre, there’s a name for people who create together- it’s called an ensemble. Take a look around the circle.  “This is your ensemble for the week. And because they’re in your ensemble, it’s your job to take care of them onstage. Each one of your jobs is to raise the rest of your ensemble ...

It’s 10 minutes before noon at the Jasper Curry House. Owner and head chef, Gopal Shelke, is busy making naan bread. His hands move like he’s playing a tabla: rhythmic, graceful and lightning fast. Shelke turns the dough, slaps it, rolls it out and portions it off. He dabs the segments with butter a...