New Western Canadian studies point to Banff's postwar modernist design

Congratulations to University of Calgary Press for its publication of Finding Directions West: Readings that Locate and Dislocate Western Canada's Past (2017). 

Editors George Colpitts and Heather Devine bring together a new anthology that "prompts readers to think differently about a region where ideas, people and communities were in a constant but energetic flux, and how newcomers converged...or moved on to new experiences to leave a significant legacy for the present-day."

In their contribution, professors PearlAnn Reichwein and Karen Wall investigate and analyze "the Banff School of Fine Arts campus as a postwar manifestation of an international modernist cultural landscape within a broader cultural landscape of a famous national park. They argue the construction of the campus reflects the intersections of capitalism and processes of spatialization in modernist Canada."  For Michelle Murphy's synopsis of their research, see Designing the Banff School of Fine Arts  on the Canadian Mountain Network portal.

New Book Review: Frostbitten on Canada’s Everest - Surviving Logan

by PearlAnn Reichwein

Fans of suspense and action in mountaineering non-fiction need to look no farther than Surviving Logan for a gripping read. In May 2005, a team of Canadian mountaineers was trapped by an extratropical cyclone on Mt. Logan (5959 m), Canada’s highest peak. This book, co-authored by Erik Bjarnason and Cathi (Bjarnason) Shaw, brings to life their survival in a non-stop page-turner.

Read more: Book Review in BCBookLook

Nature is Home at Canadian Parks Conference 2017

by PearlAnn Reichwein and Michelle Murphy


This year the Canadian Parks Conference 2017 was held in Banff National Park at the Banff Centre, overlooking Banff town and the Bow Valley from March 8-11.

Hosted by the Alberta Recreation and Parks Association(link is external) with its partners the Canadian Recreation and Parks Association, and the Canadian Parks Council, the conference, which included many invited speakers and three hundred attendees, was an inspired four days of discussion. As Edmonton members, we volunteered to represent Sierra Club Canada Foundation at the event.

Read about new research and our trip to the Canadian Parks Conference in March 2017:

Nature is Home at Canadian Parks Conference 2017

Return of the Buffalo for Canada’s 150 Celebrated at Canadian Parks Conference

by PearlAnn Reichwein and Michelle Murphy

Bison thundered back into the wild Panther Valley of Banff National Park on Feb. 1, 2017. It was a history making event. Bringing to life a long-held dream, the restoration of bison to their natural habitat is a move designed to promote biodiversity and cultural reconnections.

Read more: Return of the Buffalo for Canada's 150 Celebrated at Canadian Parks Conference

Paris Lectures on Canadian Mountain Studies Features UAP Author PearlAnn Reichwein

In Paris, historian PearlAnn Reichwein gave an international lecture on Canadian Mountain Studies on July 1. Her plenary address to the International Society for the History of Physical Education and Sport (ISHPES) annual congress meeting focused on the topic “Climber’s Paradise and Canada’s Mountain Parks: Adventure and Conservation in the 20th Century and Beyond.” In it she explored the history of Canada’s national mountaineering club and broader issues of national park and conservation history as it relates to global sustainability. “Physical educators, recreation, sport, and tourism all have a role to play understanding mountains and sustainability,” she stated. “With the largest national park system in the world, Canada has much knowledge to share but also needs to rethink its current directions for the future.”

“People are interested to hear more about nature, outdoor pursuits, and what Canada has to contribute, in so many ways, to further international discussion,” said Reichwein, an associate professor in the Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation. “I was delighted to spend Canada Day talking about Canadian Mountain Studies in Paris with colleagues from around the world. We have a lot to share in conversations about mountains around the world.”

Read more: Canada Day Talk Features UAlberta Press Author PearlAnn Reichwein

Paris Lectures on Canadian Mountain Studies

C’est un immense plaisir et un très grand honneur d’etre professeur invitée à l’Université de Paris Est Marne (UPEM) et le Congrès 2016 de la Societé Internationale d'Histoire du Sport et de l’Education Physique (ISHPES).

I look forward to lectures with a UPEM Laboratoire and the ISHPES Graduate Student Field School. On July 1, Canada Day, I will present to ISHPES Congress delegates.

Lecture Schedule

June 24, 10:00h: Les Etudes Canadiens des Montagnes et le Paradis des Alpinistes (séminar laboratoire)

June 29, 9:00h: The Yukon Alpine Centennial Expedition: Sport and Commemoration Politics (field school)
July 1, 9:00h: Climber's Paradise and Canada's Mountain Parks: Adventure and Conservation in the 20th Century                        and Beyond (plenary)

Je souhaite à tous les Canadiens une joyeuse Fête du Canada! Happy Canada Day from Le Dent du Geant in the Grandes Jorasses.

Convocation Congratulations to Xinjun Zhang

Mr. Xinjun Zhang convocated this month with a Master of Arts in Recreation and Leisure Studies. His capstone paper was "A Historical Analysis of Edmonton Winter Festivals, 1920-1980s."

Good luck and congratulations to Xinjun and his family.

New Publication on Lake Louise Ski Resort and National Park Environmental Politics

Congratulations to Qi Chen on his first publication in the May issue of Sport History Review.  Ski resort expansion debates in Canada's national parks is a timely topic relevant to current issues.

Qi completed his thesis "Who Won the Battle of Village Lake Louise? Parks Planning, Tourism Development, and the Downhill Ski Industry in Banff National Park, 1964-1979" last June and now works in Toronto.

Canadian Mountain Book Summits with International Honours for Ecology and Environment

Edmonton, AB – A Canadian mountain book is a blockbuster success this summer. Climber's Paradise: Making Canada's Mountain Parks, 1906-1974 was awarded the INDIEFAB Book of the Year Honourable Mention for Ecology and Environment for non fiction. The award recognizes PearlAnn Reichwein’s history of mountaineers and park conservation, published by University of Alberta Press.

INDIEFAB Book of the Year Awards are adjudicated by a select international panel of librarians and independent book sellers. Award winners were announced in San Francisco on June 26 at the annual American Library Association conference. Representing hundreds of independent and university presses of all sizes, the winners were selected after months of editorial deliberation over more than 1,500 entries in 63 categories. The winners exemplify the best work coming from today’s indie authors and publishers.

Reichwein says, “It’s remarkable to represent Canada among winning titles for Ecology and Environment. I am delighted to be recognized by librarians and booksellers. Being an IndieFAB author is an honour as well as a reminder of the ability of books to reimagine our changing world.” An associate professor at University of Alberta, her scholarship has broad appeal, and is a research strength in U of A’s Canadian Mountain Studies Initiative. 

Earlier in June the book was awarded the Canadian Historical Association’s prestigious Clio Prize (The Prairies) in Ottawa. It was a Finalist in the international Banff Mountain Film & Book Festival competition for Mountain and Wilderness Literature Non Fiction last fall.  Winner of an American Association of University Presses book design award, it is currently showing with an AAUP book exhibit on tour across North America. News Release

Climber's Paradise Awarded Prestigious Clio Prize at CHA Ceremonies in Ottawa

Climber's Paradise: Making Canada's Mountain Parks, 1904-1974 by PearlAnn Reichwein was awarded the prestigious Clio Prize. The 2015 competition prize winners were announced at the CHA Annual Meeting at the University of Ottawa on June 2. The annual awards are "for meritorious publications or for exceptional contributions by individuals or organizations to regional history." Dr. Reichwein attended the awards ceremony held during Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences. 

Franzoni's Clio (1819).

The book tells the story of mountaineers in Canada's national alpine club and its tenacious advocacy for conservation and parks. The award is named after Clio, Greek muse of history. The distinguished Clio Prize (Prairies) tops honours for her book that was a non-fiction finalist in Banff Mountain Film & Book Festival and IndieFAB Book of the Year (Environment and Ecology) competitions, along with winner of an American Association of University Presses book design award. 

Founded in 1922, the Canadian Historical Association / La Société historique du Canada is devoted to fostering the scholarly study and communication of history in Canada. It is the largest of its kind in the country. More Information. 

Climber's Paradise in the News for AAUP Award and IndieFAB Finals

It's an exciting year for Climber's Paradise and more news is out. The Association of American University Presses honoured the book among winners to tour the United States on exhibit beginning in Denver. About 275 books were entered, with only 46 books chosen by jurors as the very best in the pool of excellent design.  Read more. 
Also new, Climber's Paradise is a Finalist in Ecology and Environment (Adult Nonfiction) for the 2014 INDIEFAB Book of the Year Awards. Read more. It's also a Banff Mountain Film and Book Festival Finalist for Mountain and Wilderness Nonfiction. Read about the book.

Live from Banff Mountain Film and Book Festival - Climber's Paradise an Awards Finalist!

I am live at the Banff Festival with University of Alberta Press this weekend. My new book Climber's Paradise: Making Canada's Mountain Parks, 1906-1974 is a non fiction Finalist in this year's exciting Banff Festival. See more here for coverage.

Climber's Paradise - Book Launch Great Success - Draws in the Outdoors Crowd

The book launch for Climber’s Paradise: Making Canada’s Mountain Parks, 1906-1974 brought nearly a hundred people together on U of A main campus ready to celebrate more than 10 years of research by Dr. PearlAnn Reichwein. The book is a landmark study of the Alpine Club of Canada and Canadian parks. Panelists Dr. Julie Rak and Dr. Naomi Krogman responded to her reading and presentation, highlighting citizen advocacy for Canada's public space and sustainability. The author also underscored the importance of public history and CAUT's advocacy campaign Canada's Past Matters.

Dr. Lynette Shultz, Co-Director of the Centre for Global Citizenship Education and Research hosting the event with U of A Press on Oct. 8, commented that it is powerful “to come together across disciplines and sectors to discuss the issues that matter to us.” Guests mingled as the public and NGOs met with U of A communities and professors from three campuses - main campus, St. Jean, and Augustana - including members of the Canadian Mountain Studies Initiative as well as the Alpine Club of Canada. The new book is a Finalist in the Banff Mountain Film and Book Festival 2014. U of A Press News Link

Climber's Paradise - A Finalist in Banff Festival of Mountain Films and Books

The 2014 is an exceptional year for quality work and books at the Banff Mountain Film and Book Festival. Judges reviewed over 145 titles in five categories, and selected the top books in each category. Climber’s Paradise: Making Canada’s Mountain Parks, 1906-1974 is a finalist in the Mountain and Wilderness Literature – Non-Fiction category. The book looks at the Alpine Club of Canada (ACC) as a panoramic viewfinder on Canada’s changing outlook on recreation, land use and conservation. Category award winners will be announced in October leading to the Banff Festival of Mountain Films and Books in November. Reichwein will be signing books Nov. 8 at the Festival. More information: University of Alberta Press News

U of A Press Publishes New Book - Climber's Paradise: Making Canada's Mountain Parks, 1906-1974

The Alpine Club of Canada imagined the Rockies and neighbouring ranges to the west and the north as a "climber's paradise." Through a century of adventure and advocacy, the ACC led the way to mountain pursuits in spectacular regions. Informed by her experiences mountaineering, the author presents a compelling case for understanding wild places and human activity within them as parts of a whole. 

This book joins the Mountain Cairns series on culture and history of the Canadian Rockies.

Weblink to Climber's Paradise: 
University of Alberta Press

50th Anniversary Reception at NASSH

Congratulations to Dr. Ann Hall, distinguished presenter of the Maxwell L. and Reet Howell International Address at NASSH 2014.

Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation's 50th Anniversary coincided with her address. Both events were celebrated in style to honour Dr. Hall and Dr. Howell at the Hotel Colorado in Glenwood Springs on May 31.

U of A alumni were present to celebrate with members of North American Society for Sport History. Alumni and professors held a reunion with Ann Hall, Rob Hess, Stacy Lorenz,  Don Morrow, Vicky Paraschak, and Kevin Wamsley, along current faculty Lisa McDermott, Judy Davidson, and PearlAnn Reichwein. Door prizes sponsored by University of Alberta Press were enjoyed by all. And a prize balloon bouquet, for the next generation, was carried off by a five year old.

Here's to the next 50 years!

Walking with a Mountaineer's Gaze - An International Jane's Walk in Edmonton

Need fresh air? See nature and the city through the gaze of Edmonton mountaineers. 

Join me as your guide to wander from Belgravia to Whitemud Ravine.  We'll follow a route hiked by the local Alpine Club of Canada in Edmonton's early years, enjoying a mountaineer's tradition right near home. Discover panoramic views, dogs, horses, an old log cabin, forest secrets, and lost alpine huts -- right in the city. We'll talk about love for nature amid urban change. 

Edmonton, Sunday, May 4, 2014 at 10:00h

“I did find Calypso — but only once, far in the depths of the very wildest of Canadian dark woods.” 
John Muir


More information:  http://www.janeswalk.org/canada/edmonton/mountain-heritage-trails-city/ 

Mountain Expedition at Alberta Gallery of Art - "Byron Harmon's High Adventure, 1924"

High Adventure: Byron Harmon on the Columbia Icefield, 1924, is open at AGA. Guest-curated by Ruth Burns and Mary-Beth Laviolette, with assistance from the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies, the show tells a story of Harmon's photographic expedition.  A magnificent look at vanished landscapes, it feels like walking into Lewis Freeman's book On the Roof of the Rockies (1925). Harmon and Freeman formed a photographer-writer team for the trip, later publishing the story with compelling visual images.

"In 1924, Alberta artist Byron Harmon organized an expedition to take the first significant photographs and film-footage of a newly chartered territory: the Columbia Icefield. For Harmon, who had spent 20 years based in Banff, it was to be the crowning achievement of his career as a photographer. The mission was given added weight by the recent discovery that the massive Columbia Icefield fed rivers and streams that poured into three different oceans. The very first horse-pack to traverse the enormous icefield had done so the previous year. Harmon was determined to be the second, with the added challenge of carrying a 35 mm motion-picture camera and four still cameras, as well as the attendant film.

This exhibition traces the route Harmon took through the photographs, film, lantern and stereo-slides that were produced during the trip. It follows the expedition from its start in Lake Louise, up to Bow Lake, through Castleguard Valley to the Columbia Icefield, over to the head of the Athabasca River and ending at Maligne Lake—before returning to Banff.

This exhibition is being held in conjunction with the Art Gallery of Alberta’s 90^th anniversary. Inaugurated in 1924, the AGA opened the same year that Harmon and his team left for the Columbia Icefield."

See more at: http://www.youraga.ca/exhibit/byronharmon#sthash.6760S8L1.dpuf

Congratulations -- New MA Thesis on History of Play in Edmonton

Paulina Retamales successfully defended her MA thesis "Gyro Club Playgrounds and Children's Recreation in Edmonton, Alberta:  Outdoor Play, Civic Life, and Urban Reform, 1922-1949." It investigates play culture to re-interpret social relations in Edmonton's urban history.  Children and Gyro Club members were agents building social and cultural capital through play.

Research emerged in tandem with the Tipton Park Re-development Project conducted by Queen Alexandra Community League and City of Edmonton.  Congratulations and good luck to Paulina in her ongoing research and teaching.

Tipton Gyro Park, EHB Plaque detail, City of Edmonton Archives EA-792-492.

Congratulations -- New MA on Catharine Whyte's Museological Gaze

This month Katarina Welsch defended her thesis “Catharine R. Whyte et la preservation du patrimoine culturel des Rocheuses canadiennes: Une visionaire en avance sur son temps.”  

It investigates Catharine Whyte's influence on museums, collections, and cultural memory of the Canadian Rockies. Relations with First Nations are a focus in this research. Welsch conducted archival research at Banff's Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies. 

Watch for the movie "Drawing Home" coming out next spring for another look at the Whytes.

Peter and Catharine Whyte in from of their home in Banff, 
(V683-I.C.3-1(pd)), Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies.