More than a ribbon of tar and gravel, the Icefields Parkway is a meandering journey of stories and adventures. In 1971, Rory Flanagan was fed up. More than 40 years after the first shovel turned the rocky soil to construct a road to connect Jasper to Banff, the route still didn’t have a name. That w...

Naked Olympians. Do we have your attention yet? The tradition of the Ancient Olympics, begun in 776 BCE, and maintained for a 1,000-year run, was that athletes competed in the nude. Naked pankration wrestlers on a ceramic kylix, ca. 480 BC. London, British Museum // Image via Wikimedia It goes witho...

Principal among the gathering spaces that were lost in the 2024 Jasper Wildfire were the Jasper Anglican Church and its former neighbour, the McCready Centre. The Anglican Church at the corner of Miette Ave and Geikie St was a cultural institution in Jasper that hosted many theatrical productions si...

Jasperites turned out in the hundreds to observe Remembrance Day ceremonies at the Jasper Activity Centre on November 11. Captain (retired) Greg Key from The Jasper Legion emceed the event, noting that the hostilities of the First World War ceased on November 11, 1918, at 11 a.m.—the eleventh hour o...

Ice skating is physics. A narrow blade applying an exact pressure on the ice, enough to melt it quickly but briefly, lubricating the metal, allowing the skater to enjoy almost frictionless travel. Physics fundamentals: Ice floats and kids slide. // Bob Covey The freezing of lakes and rivers itself i...

Jasperites came together with members of the Kelly Lake Cree Nation on Tuesday, September 30. National Truth and Reconciliation Day recognizes the atrocities and multi-generational effects of the Canadian Indian residential school system. This year, after rain dampened planned outside activities, th...

Part 3: Seeing the forest floor through the trees In  Part 1 of our Walking Through Fire series , we discussed how post-fire vegetation bounces back. In Part 2 we looked at animals' attraction to fire . But what did the fire uncover about the landscape itself? The Jasper 2024 fire exposed an epic st...

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...

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...

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 Scotland to prevent soldiers from skipping out on archery practice. What should have ended there was revived 50 years later by his grandson, King James IV—p...

As much as Jasper’s recent history has been shaped by its status as a national park, Jasper is very much a railroad town. For more than 100 years, the parallel tracks that slash through this landscape have shaped Jasper’s story, delivering the goods and equipment that built Jasper, transporting the ...

History is having a moment in Jasper. Students and teachers of history understand that what gets remembered —the moments that society marks—are frequently rare, collectively experienced, and often, traumatic events. July 24, 2024 was this . That day will be a “moment” in Jasper history that will be ...

Margot Finley’s Uncle Charlie’s house was one of the more than 350 structures destroyed by the wildfire that swept through Jasper, Alberta on July 24, 2024.  But “structure” is a terribly empty word for what's gone, Margot writes. At a dinner last winter I learned that our waiter had spent time in J...

Death struck deeply into those who waded ashore on June 6, 1944. Struggling to quickly move from their landing craft to the sand of Normandy beach, burdened by the heavy weight of their equipment and the sights and sounds around them, before them lay a terrifying array of obstacles waiting to trap, ...

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...

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...

The sky was mauve, a pale bluish purple. A colour you only see in winter. Mauve, the colour of cold. This was the night the temperature was forecast to hit minus 30 degrees Celsius.  As we struggled up from the valley the forecast seemed spot on.     I caught the smell of woodsmoke and figured our b...

Jasper students helped ensure that No Stone was Left Alone in Jasper’s cemetery recently. On November 7, with the help of Jasper’s Royal Canadian Legion, more than three dozen young people from Jasper Jr./Sr. High School helped keep alive the memories of men and women who served their country in uni...

A new exhibition in the Jasper Yellowhead Museum and Archives (JYMA) details the complex history of the Ukrainian diaspora living in Jasper. Ukrainians in Jasper: Past and Present, is a reflection on the circle of life, shared history, and cultural and community values of Ukrainians in Jasper. The w...

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...