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...

A number of years ago I happened to be driving through Hay River, NWT . It was noon, so I grabbed a sandwich at a local coffee shop and sat myself down on a park bench to enjoy a leisurely lunch. Within minutes, five or six Common Ravens had gathered around me in a perfect semicircle and fixed me wi...

Moose are huge! With a dark-brown body, super long legs, large head with an elongated nose, generous lips and big ears...there is just no mistaking a moose.   Males (or bulls) can weigh up to 600 kilograms (1,300 pounds) and grow a heavy set of antlers every year which are shed after the mating seas...

Recently I’ve been watching Alone , a reality TV show where 10 people have to survive in the wilderness, by themselves, with no food or water and minimal gear. The last person standing is the winner. To give himself the best chance of winning, one of the participants (a Canadian) adopted an unusual ...

Parks Canada is reminding the picnicking public to remain vigilant in bear country. On Monday, July 24, a family of grizzly bears approached a family of visitors who had just laid out their lunch on a picnic table at Lake Annette. When the bears got close, the people bolted, leaving their food and e...

The Miette Road is still closed after significant damage sustained from a snowstorm one month ago. In a statement, a Parks Canada spokesperson said the agency is awaiting the results of tests to determine if and when the road can be opened. “If the report determines that a portion of the road can sa...

“Hey Mark, check out these little loons!” Garth, a Parks Canada resource conservation staffer, had just walked into my office. On his camera were photos of a couple of small, black, fuzzy loon babies. Rescuing injured, lost or otherwise needy birds was not all that unusual for Parks staff, but the l...

All over Jasper National Park, bears are waking up…and they’re hungry. Wildlife photographer Simone Heinrich spotted this black bear—her first such sighting of the season—late in the evening, just as the sun was setting. It was snacking on the sticky buds of low hanging balsam branches and not reall...

May 4 is an auspicious day for Star Wars fans, but it also has special meaning for local bird watchers: it’s approximately when hummingbirds start to arrive in Jasper. In many ways, hummingbirds are like Jedi Masters. They’re fierce warriors, extremely powerful for their size, and can fly in ways th...

“Hold on!” the pilot yelled. We had been surveying arctic caribou from a Dehavilland Beaver (often referred to as the best bush plane ever built). This particular aircraft’s “tundra tires” allowed its pilot to land just about anywhere, but our makeshift landing strip would be a real test. The ridget...

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...

Photos by Patrick Barker for The Jasper Local An elk that fell through a partly frozen lake in Jasper National Park was given a new lease on life by Parks Canada staff. An elk fell through spring ice on Lac Beauvert April 17. // Patrick Barker On April 17 at approximately 5 p.m., a bull elk fell thr...

Photos by Maur Muzza Mere @ muzzadventures and Patrick Barker @ patrickrbarker The fifth annual Marmot’s Revenge skinned into Jasper National Park March 31-April 2 where guests at Marmot Basin got a close up view of the sport of ski mountaineering. Three dozen or so speed suit-clad racers climbed, b...

For ruffed grouse, winter in the Rockies can be a grind This ruffed grouse is getting some good lift off to get to those tasty rose hips. But wait, don’t they have wings for that? They do, but…a ruffed grouse’s wing feathers are designed to give them quick and powerful bursts of flight—maybe you’ve ...

Marmot Basin has always been known as a family friendly resort. With the opening of new, rugged terrain, is it time to start giving the Jasper National Park ski area more credit as a destination for hardcore huckers? The first time he rode the Knob Chairlift at Marmot Basin, Jasper skier, Pierre Ant...

“Mark, are you absolutely sure you need more photos of those grey birds sitting on grey rocks?” My wife was in the kitchen of our Jasper condo, clutching a steaming cup of coffee while watching me prep my gear for yet another day of photographing American Dippers. Advertisement inquires: andrea@rave...

Aurora alert! Jasper residents and visitors who got the magical memo on February 26 that the night sky would be lit up with auroras were not disappointed. Jasper Local freelance photographer Simone Heinrich was one of several Rockies shooters getting a kaleidoscopic dose of light therapy as the nort...

Fifteen teams and one soloist signed up for the Winter Pentathlon Hivernal on February 4, the five-event festival that was organized once again by the local francophone association, ACFA . Playing out on the snow-covered shores, sun-polished ice and tramped-down trails surrounding Mildred Lake at th...

It was a chilly evening in the winter of 2008. I was crossing the railroad tracks on the way home from work when I suddenly found myself in the middle of a flock of perhaps 2,000 birds. I had inadvertently startled a huge flock of birds that had recently irrupted! Grey-crowned Rosy Finches darken th...

On February 4, bike, ski, snowshoe, skate, run…and eat maple taffy! The Jasper Winter Pentathlon is a made-in-Jasper event that brings together much of what makes the community great: diverse culture, outdoor recreation, connection to nature and community spirit. The Pentathlon is a great way to try...