riveralchemy
Mountains are to the Psyche
Rivers what are to the Soul
2002 is the International Year of the Mountains
“When we speak of land, we talk about our lives, but when we speak of rivers, we talk about life.”
—William Least, Heat-Moon T
he summer of 1996 found me guiding our company’s first commercial trip on
the Yukon’s Hess River. Although travelled before us, our expedition had the air of exploration.We had little firsthand informa- tion and there were many unknowns to us over its 400 kilometre length. It was our first descent. A grueling three-day ascent of Jeff Creek opened onto the headwaters plateau. Snow capped peaks bathed in alpine glow all night, our ridge camp separated water that flowed north and south;we were on top of the world and the only way down was the
18
www.rapidmag.com
small,unnamed tributary before us and then onto the Hess. What followed was a river trip and a mountain journey, one that pro- vided answers but raised even more ques- tions.
T
he United Nations designated 2002 as the International
Year of the
Mountains. The year-long event has been raising awareness of mountain issues, con- centrating the focus on responsible moun- tain development.While this may mean one thing for Canmore,Whistler and the long list of other North American mountain towns under intense pressure, it means something
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66