Joanne McQuarrie, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter | [email protected]
A winter storytelling series at the Jasper-Yellowhead Historical Museum & Archives, "Stories from the Mountains," continued on Feb. 9 as renowned alpine climber Dana Ruddy shared his experiences with a sold out (and masked) audience.
Peter Amann, a certified mountain guide with over 40 years of climbing and guiding experiences, kicked off the first session in December, also to a sold-out audience.
The full-sized crowds at both sessions show how engrossing it is to hear about such incredible adventures.
The “Stories from the Mountains” series is a partnership between the museum and the Association of Jasper Climbers to bring Jasper’s climbing and mountaineering history to the community.
Rob Hubick, general manager at the museum, said climbing and mountaineering are part of the exhibits there.
He shared “The Legion of the Silver Ice Axe,” about mountain climbers from Japan who were the first to summit Mount Alberta.
“They successfully climbed it in 1925 and left a silver ice axe,” Hubick said.
“Then, in 1948, two Americans climbed it and found the axe wasn’t silver. It was a Swiss-made axe.”
The series is proving to be popular, and Hubick said there are other benefits.
“It’s a fundraiser for us and gives the public exposure to the museum. We’re getting a lot of young people in here, which is nice.”
The organizer of the series is Sarah Ray, co-chair of the Association of Jasper Climbers, and a climber herself. Four years in, she said, “I’m still new to the sport.”
Ray said the association supports people who are new to climbing and mountaineering, and shares the enjoyment and thrill of the pursuit, which is a huge part of Jasper’s history.
“The idea was borne from conversations I had with climbers, talking with Karen, looking at photos,” she said.
“Jasper has the coolest, richest climbing history. I have a few connections, people who were climbing years ago. I was looking at books from 1927. There was an expedition in the Tonquin Valley. It was an epic adventure. Such a cool time to have been there. Then, the Tonquin Valley had been largely unexplored.”
As well, the search was on for photos to post on the association’s social media page.
Armed with the goal of not letting all these stories be lost, Ray got busy finding a way for them to be heard first-hand, and “Stories from the Mountains” came to be.
“It’s fulfilling to be in a room full of people who have the same interest,” she said, noting both storytelling sessions were a mixture of young and older folks.
The next story telling session is scheduled for March 9 at the museum, a collaboration with Protect Our Winters, which has a new Jasper chapter.
That presentation will be followed by one on April 13.
