Maligne Lake Boathouse at Dusk

Photo Copyright: Stephen A. Nelson

The Loon's Necklace: Patricia Lake, Jasper

Copyright: Photo by Stephen A. Nelson

Maligne Lake in Jasper National Park, a Different Point of View

China Plate Blue

Photo by Stephen A. Nelson

An accidental crop of Maligne Lake Boathouse at dusk.

Jasper in January, Winter in the Canadian Rockies: Those who love it, love it a lot

photo from Tourism Jasper

Stephen A. Nelson

For The Edmonton Journal

JASPER - Those who love it, love it a lot.

And for those who love winter in the Great Outdoors – there's a lot to love at Jasper in January, Alberta's own unique answer to Quebec's Winter Carnival and Winnipeg's Festival du Voyageur.

The festival is a two-week showcase for everything that's great about the Rockies in Winter.

This is where the adventure of Great Outdoors meets the arts and culture of the Great Indoors – a party in the park that's become “Western Canada's premiere winter festival.” 

Read the Full Story in the Edmonton Journal

The Story on Canada.com

See my Facebook Page: Stephen A. Nelson - Writer, Editor, Traveller and More

Canadian Railway Journey: Living the National Dream, Travelling on Canada's Orient Express

There is a time in this fair land
when the railroad does still run

 By Stephen A. Nelson 

For the Brandon Sun

Once upon a time ... in a land from sea to sea, Canada's railways were not only the more human way to travel -- they were the only way to travel. Trains from the Canadian Pacific Railway and Canadian National Railway ran daily from coast to coast, as passengers carried on their steamy love affair with trains.

These days, it seems, the love is gone. It's hard not to notice the abandoned tracks and derelict railway stations -- strewn across the country like bouquets left behind by jilted girlfriends and forgotten lovers.

Yet -- despite Canadians' auto-erotic relationship with the car and affair with air -- travelling by train remains alluring to overseas visitors drawn by the romance of Canada's National Dream. Sure, the old gal may not be what she used to be -- but these visitors still love her. To them, this Brief Encounter is the journey of a lifetime.
 

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Stephen-A-Nelson-Writer-Editor-and-More/374226352256

 

This Is Paradise: Maligne Lake, Jasper Tramway/ The Whistlers in Jasper National Park

By Stephen A. Nelson

For the Brandon Sun

“If I’ve only got one day in Jasper, what’s the one thing I MUST do?”
Well, if you were my guest in Jasper, I would hope you would stay more than one day. Six days of (re)creation would be suitable for a place many believe to be Paradise.
But if you have only a short time in Jasper, here’s what I would show you...

Roche Bonhomme: The Old Man of Jasper

Look Through Your Window...

The Stone Guardian of Jasper, as seen from my room with a view.

Jasper Lutheran Church and Lutheran House

Rocky Mountain Gothic

This edifice began its life in 1924 as the home for the Roman Catholic congregation in Jasper - Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church.

It has a firm foundation of field stone and exterior walls of brick.

The upper part of the tower and the nave have exterior wooden shingles.

The presbytery (residence) was completed in 1927.

While many people have sung in this church, the most famous is Bing Crosby. Der Bingle fell in love with Jasper while he was here filming The Emperor's Waltz. He often worshipped and sang at this church when in Jasper and - through the church -made some sizable donations to the community .

In 1967, this edifice became Jasper Lutheran Church - home to the Lutheran congregation - largely through the efforts of Pastor John Ekstedt. Under his guidance, much of the interior was refurbished to make the church look and feel more Protestant and not so much Catholic.

The baptismal font, altar candle-holders and wooden cross were all made from local materials by members of the congregation.

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the residence (manse) was used as a retreat centre in winter. In summer, it was home to Lutheran House - a group of young adults living together in Christian community.

In 2008, John Ekstedt returned  as pastor of the Jasper congregation. On his last Sunday (June 2010), the church got a new cross for its steeple - replacing the one that been there since the building first became Jasper Lutheran Church.

Little White Church in the Rockies: Jasper Park Baptist Church and Bedford Inn Coffeehouse

This church in Jasper, Alberta was originally home to the "Union" church in Jasper - a congregation of Protestant Christians who weren't members of the Church of England in Canada (Anglican) congregation.

Famed author, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Sherlock Holmes), laid the cornerstone in 1914, while he was visiting Jasper. The church was officially opened in the fall of 1915, but it took several years to complete.

In 1925, the Union Church in Jasper voted to join the newly formed United Church of Canada - a merger of the Presbyterian, Congregationalist and Methodist churches in Canada.

In 1939, the Jasper United Church was visited by another famed author, John Buchan (The 39 Steps). Of course, at the time he was known as  Governor General of Canada, Lord Tweedsmuir, and was accompanied by Lady Tweedsmuir.

In the early 1940s, the place became known as "The Little White Church in the Rockies."

 In 1965, this building was sold and became home to the Jasper Park Baptist Church congregation. 

For many summers (1968 to the mid-1980s) the church basement was home to to the Bedford Inn Coffeehouse. The coffeehouse, styled like a 17th Century English inn, was named after Bedford, England - the home of another famous author, John Bunyan (The Pilgrim's Progress).

Coming Soon: Real Wild Ride with Jasper Motorcycle Tours

Keep that motor running! Head out on the highway!

It takes more than going down to your local video store and renting Easy Rider to become a rebel. And it takes more than riding on a bus to truly experience the Canadian Rockies.

To be a real rebel, you have to get on the road, off the beaten track, and take the road less travelled. And to experience the Rockies, sometimes you have to have to do that on a motorcycle – preferably a Harley Davidson.

But, of course, not everyone has a bike. And not everyone who has a one can bring it to Jasper. So for we Rebels Without A Cycle, there is Jasper Motorcycle Tours.

I could have rented a bike and leather gear and hit the open road looking like James Dean in Rebel Without A Cause or Marlon Brando in The Wild One. OK, maybe more like Dennis Hopper in Flashback!

But since I don't have my licence, I was most fortunate to get Candace for my guide; I sat in the sidecar, feeling like Robin next to her BatGirl.

Coming Soon: This Is Paradise Spirit Island at Maligne Lake

When explorer Mary Schäffer (a.k.a. Mary Schäffer Warren) first reached the end of Maligne Lake, she was awestruck and almost at a loss for words.

When she found the words, she could hardly contain herself:
“There burst upon us... the finest view any of us had ever beheld in the Rockies. Those miles and miles of lake, the unnamed peaks rising above us, one following the other, each more beautiful than the last... We could have looked ahead and aloft and said, 'This is Paradise.' ”

Schäffer – sometimes known as “Jasper's first tourist” – had explored just about everything between Banff and Jasper. She had seen many magnificent mountains, gazed at glorious glaciers and looked at lots of lakes.

But this, it seemed, was beyond compare.

Ice Age 2 - The Big Melt: Touring the Columbia Icefield

Sno-Coach Tours and Icefield Explorers
on the Athabasca Glacier

Looking like a Volkswagen on a bulldozer track, this is one of the original Bombardier snowmobiles used for tours of the Athabasca Glacier (Columbia Icefield) in the 1960s and 1970s.

Note that the front skis have been replaced by two wheels, since the Bombardier is no longer used for touring the glacier - only for display.

These vintage "lunar rovers" have been replaced by modern "Icefield Explorers" or "Sno-Coaches" that let you visit the glacier in comfort.

full story:
http://brandonsunnews.blogspot.com/2009/10/highway-to-heaven-travelling-canadian.html

more stories:
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Coming Soon: Touring the Icefields Parkway Athabasca Falls - Let Justice Flow Like Water

Flowing from the glaciers of the Columbia Icefield all the way to the Arctic Ocean, the Athabasca River is the largest river system in Jasper National Park. As such, it is a living textbook of Canada's natural and human history.

Surely the highlight of any tour of the Jasper and the Icefields Parkway has to be a stop at Athabasca Falls, just half an hour south of Jasper's townsite.

The 23-metre Athabasca Falls is not very high by Canadian Rockies standards, but the size of the river makes it one of the most powerful falls to be found in the mountain national parks.
Niagara Falls are bigger, but these are more wild.

Coming Soon: Touring the Icefields Parkway Emerald Waters at Lake Louise

Lake Louise, with the Victoria Glacier in the background.
It's one of the highlights of my Highway to Heaven trip with Brewster Tours. Think of it as armchair mountain adventure.

Lake Louise is at the southern end of the Icefields Parkway that runs from Jasper to Lake Louise. National Geographic says The Icefields Parkway is one of the 10 greatest drives in the World.

Coming Soon: Touring the Icefields Parkway Athabasca Glacier from Old Bridge

An unusual view of the Athabasca Glacier at the Columbia Icefield. The Athabasca Glacier is the most visited glacier in North America.
But most people won't see it from this perspective. To see this, you have to get out of the car or bus and put your hiking shoes on. And that's a lot easier if you've stayed at the Glacier View Inn or a nearby campground.

A Taste of Heaven: Walking in Jasper's Winter Wonderland

A Taste of Heaven
By Stephen A. Nelson

The Brandon Sun
March 21, 2009

For many visitors to the True North, the Rocky Mountains define Canada. And Jasper National Park, in the heart of the Canadian Rockies, is for many Canadians the jewel of the mountain parks. Formed by continental drift and sculpted by glaciers, geologists say it took Nature billions of years to form, cut and polish this jewel. It’s been about 10,000 years since the last great ice age began its retreat, giving Jasper the shape it has today. But when looking at the handiwork, it would be just as easy to believe poets and others who say it took the Creator six days. Such writers have called it “a taste of heaven” and “a winter paradise.”

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, in a famous anecdote, even suggested that heaven would be a disappointment for those who had been to Jasper. Vast icefields and glaciers are the heart of this paradise — and the melt waters from the glaciers are the lifeblood, pumped through rivers and creeks, turning the lakes into vibrant shades of turquoise, sapphire and emerald.

In addition, the icefields create their own micro-climate, where snow-capped peaks look like layers of icing on a cake overlooking meadows and valleys teeming with wildlife. But global warming is rapidly changing the face of these mountains. As the majestic glaciers shrink and retreat, the mountain parks we know now could be gone in less than a generation.

In this story, the first in a periodic series, former Brandon Sun journalist Stephen A. Nelson highlights some of the wonder and adventure to be experienced in Jasper — while there’s still time.

Walking in a winter wonderland

JASPER NATIONAL PARK — Most people who think of Jasper automatically think of its world-class skiing. And 98 per cent of visitors to Jasper never get more than two
kilometres from the highway. But this is definitely off the beaten track and far from the madding crowds at the ski hill.

We’re down at the bottom of a deep canyon, a place of miracles, where walking on water is possible and where water really comes out of the rock. The steep limestone walls, worn smooth by eons of erosion, tower above us like the ruins of an ancient temple. As we move along, the passage opens into a large room, an almost holy place where the walls form a domed ceiling above us. An opening in the ceiling allows us to look up to the heavens. No wonder
this place is nicknamed The Cathedral.

In the summer and fall, such an experience would be impossible. The raging torrents of the Maligne River roar through the canyon, flooding the Cathedral and turning it into a giant
whirlpool. Steep waterfalls make this part of the canyon inaccessible to all but the most intrepid kayakers.

Warm-weather visitors to Jasper usually start their treks at the famous tea house, located near the top of the canyon. They stick to the well-marked paths, where interpretive signs guide
the way. A network of bridges and fences is designed to keep over-enthusiastic photographers from getting too close to the edge. But in winter, we are off the beaten path, over the fence, and over the edge.

Walking upstream under a pale blue sky, we find that the water in the canyon is frozen over, although — as we’re about to learn — not completely frozen through.

The canyon is constantly being fed by a labyrinth of underground rivers draining from nearby Medicine Lake. In fact, we learn, many geologists think that this canyon was once part of
this subterranean system. But when the glaciers receded at the end of the last great ice age, they peeled back the roof of this cave, exposing it to the sky and to the elements. That’s probably why a foray into the canyon feels more like walking into a vast cave — a spelunking experience for the claustrophobic.

In midsummer, the water gushes into the canyon, churning in whirlpools and rushing over rapids. In winter, the water trickles in and freezes to form an ever-changing and challenging ice path. In places, the ice is rock hard and slick. In other places, huge air pockets can form between the ice and the frigid waters below. If you’re not careful, you can find yourself falling through the ice.

The Ice Planet
Walking on water, even frozen water, can be treacherous. But equipped with cleats and
waterproof winter boots, our guide leads us into a sci-fi world. Hoth, the Ice Planet from Star Wars, perhaps. Maybe Superman’s Fortress of Solitude.

Our first venture into this Ice World is a daytime trip with Murray Morgan, owner of the Jasper
Adventure Centre. He’s likely the most experienced guide in the canyon, and more than
an enthusiastic: He is part raconteur, part adventurer, part caretaker of the canyon. If the
Maligne Canyon were an ice rink, you get the feeling he’d be the one driving the Zamboni.

Murray says that those who miss out on the canyon Ice Walk are missing out on one of the
best things about Jasper. The trekkers concur. Even those who have seen the canyon in summer are struck by fantasy-novel waterfalls — crystalized in an instant by a wave of the Ice
Queen’s wand.

We turn a corner to see ice climbers — dressed like futuristic star troopers — scaling a frozen wall of water rising 30 metres or more from the floor of the canyon. Thirty metres is a long way down when you’re suspended from a rope and clinging to an ice axe. Ice climbers come from all over the world to challenge these crystal cascades.

The expert climbers’ favourite fall is the majestic Queen of Maligne that rises up from the canyon floor like a giant column of carved ivory. Nearby is the beginners’ favourite, the much smaller and accessible Angel Icefall. At Niagara Falls, you can walk behind the falls. Here you can walk behind them — and on them.

These natural ice sculptures mark the apex of the tour. We turn back and head out of the
canyon, stopping along the way to take more photos. An Australian journalist remarks that he
has never seen anything like it in all his travel adventures.

Even winter-weary Canadians — who generally find snow and ice to be commonplace and even
annoying — are using words like “amazing” and “breathtaking” to describe this winter trek.

Day and Night, Night and Day
But we have heard that a night time venture into the canyon is a completely different experience. You might say the difference is like night and day. So that evening, we are back in the canyon. This time our guide is Chris Roy from Overland Trekking and Tours. He says that daytime tours and night tours “both have their advantages” but he really enjoys the night tours.

Chris is an enthusiastic and experienced guide, who conveys just the right balance of confidence and caution. In the summertime, he used to give boat tours on Maligne Lake, where the headwaters of the Maligne River form. He tells us that he likes the idea that in winter he can walk on the same water that he sailed on in summertime.

Chris is also an avid ice climber who loves the challenge of scaling his favourite frozen falls. He
lights up when we make it to the highlight of the tour. Our headlamps cast an eerie light down the canyon. The air is still. The sounds of running water echo from behind the frozen waterfalls and from underneath the ice.

At night, the Angel Icefall looks more ghostly than angelic. The Queen of Maligne now looks
more Gothic than majestic. Fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, or the Twilight novels would love this place.

On our way out, we pause at The Cathedral. With our headlamps turned off, the eerie open-roofed cave feels like less like a sacred space and more like something out of Tim Burton’s Batman.

Still, the view of the sky is awe-inspiring. Far from the city lights, we make out Orion, the Hunter. And Venus, the Evening Star, shines so brightly that some mistake it for a UFO.

For a moment, there’s a kind of holy hush. For some, it’s like being in church. For others, like
looking out through the dome of a natural observatory.

But for one man, it’s more like something from Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey.
“My God,” he says, “it’s full of stars.”
 

FACT BOX
The Maligne (MUH-leen) River gets its name from an early explorer, Belgian priest Father Pierre-Jean De Smet (1801-1873).

After a treacherous crossing of the river, in which he lost both gear and horses, Father De Smet called the river maligne, meaning “wicked”or “evil”. The name stuck, and was later applied not only to the river and canyon, but also to the glacial lake at the river’s headwaters.

Seems an unfortunate name for such a beautiful place.

If you go ...

WHERE
The town of Jasper, in the heart of Jasper National Park, is
360 km (about 3.5 to 4 hours) southwest of Edmonton on the
Yellowhead Highway. Maligne Canyon is just outside the town.
www.jaspercanadianrockies.com/

WHEN TO GO
Ice walks in the canyon generally run from Late November to
April, depending on the weather and ice conditions.
Tours are available morning, afternoon and evening.
Transportation, boots, cleats and headlamp (for the evening
tour) are provided.
Tour companies offer free pick-up service from your
accommodations in Jasper.
Tours cost about $50-$55 for adults, about $25 for children.

WHO TO CONTACT
Overlander Trekking & Tours
Tel: (1) 780-852-0167
www.overlandertrekking.com

Jasper Adventure Centre
Tel: (1) 780-852-5595,
1-(800)-565-7547
www.jasperadventurecentre.com

How to get to Jasper
SunDog Tours runs daily buses to
Jasper, from Edmonton and
Calgary, Banff and Lake Louise
Tel: 780 852-4056
Email: tours@sundogtours.com

Getting Around Town
Mr. Taxi
Tel: 780 931 2931
Photo supplies
and local guide books
Jasper Camera & Gift
Tel: 780 852 3165

Where to Stay
Straight Shooter’s
Mountain Inn
Tel: (1) 780 852 4641
www.bbcanada.com/9131.html
Email: str8shtr@telus.net



Stephen A. Nelson is a former Brandon Sun writer and editor, who still considers Brandon to be his “other home.” After eight years in Asia, he now lives in Jasper, Alberta, where he writes about everything from Taiwanese politics to life in “almost heaven.”
Some of his writing is featured in a new book, World Religions Today, published by Oxford University Press.

Contact: stephena.nelson@gmail.com

Railway Journey... Across the Great Divide: Riding the Rails to Robson

All aboard for trip of a lifetime with VIA Rail

It’s been said that the Jasper-Mount Robson region is a taste of heaven — and that travelling through the Canadian Rockies is like living inside a Group of Seven Painting.

So, like characters from a Narnia story, we are about to be drawn in by the magic of Mount Robson’s striking colours and bold form.

full story: 
http://brandonsunnews.blogspot.com/2009/06/across-great-divide-train-trip-from.html

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