Featured Contributors Carleen Smith We are pleased to have our resident photographer Dr. Robert Berdan return as bears his name, and the world-renowned Kananaskis Country Golf Course. our main Featured Contributor this issue, albeit in a slightly different role from With the help of Darren Robinson, the golf course’s General Manager, normal. Rob has contributed photography to both of this issue’s main articles: (pictured here to the right of Robert), we arranged a private guided tour some from his extensive archives; some from on-location photography. for Robert (via golf-cart), where he had free reign to shoot the course as he pleased. We are indeed thankful to both Robert for his additional time and To accompany this issue’s interview with the Honourable Peter Lougheed, we effort in putting together this issue, and to Darren for his gracious assistance wanted to include some current imagery from within the Provincial Park that and the unlimited access to facilities he granted us. The spectacular images of the iconic course on page 34 prove that it was worth the effort. In addition to , Robert contributes to other publications such as Photo Life, Outdoor Nature Photographer and Canadian Geographic, while serving as assistant professor at the University of Calgary. He also runs his own multimedia business, Science & Art, where he offers royalty-free CDs, prints, photography and video services, computer training and website development. Robert also provides practical workshops and one-on-one training for all skill levels throughout the year, covering a wide variety of wildlife, flora and fauna subject matter, in both local and distant locations. Contact him directly for more information on his upcoming workshops – as well as his online courses – or visit his website. www.canadiannaturephotographer.com/workshops.html (403) 247 2457 – [email protected] Viewpoint As one of our longest-serving featured As a Calgary-based professional nature A Seasonal Perspective of Bragg Creek and Kananaskis photographers, Chris Martin is the photographer, Rob McKay’s summer contributor of this issue’s Every Photo has been packed with running basic From its origin at Elbow Pass – located 2,100 metres above sea Tells a Story spread (page 48), proving that and advanced field workshops. Due to level – the Elbow River meanders through both K-Country when it comes to photography, you need demand, he recently created a specific and Bragg Creek. It flows 120 kilometres and drops an to be open to unexpected opportunities. website solely for his Birds of Prey incredible 1,060 metres, passing through Allen Bill Pond, workshops. See: Chris’s wildlife photography and dramatic Rocky Mountain landscapes www.owlworkshops.robmckayphotography.com. Forgetmenot Pond and Elbow Falls before it reaches its final are found in personal collections, businesses and magazines across North Rob is also proficient in mainstream photography services: products and destination in Calgary, where it merges with the Bow River. America. He’s available for group or individual workshops, commissioned fashion; agricultural and architectural; commercial and environmental; shoots and commercial photography. You can purchase prints via his personal and executive portraiture; weddings; and stock photography. website or at Branded Visuals Wildlife Gallery in Bragg Creek. Contact Rob at: [email protected] – (403) 700 1264 or visit www.christophermartinphotography.com – [email protected] – (403) 880 2411 www.robmckayphotography.com for DSLR workshops details and his blog. Rick Nash A widely-published nature photographer Gilles Korent is a nature and wildlife based in Calgary, Philippe Widling’s photographer based in Calgary. work has appeared in magazines, His patience and precision shows in the newspapers, calenders, postcards, books attention he puts into capturing the detail and on web pages around the world. and character of his wild subjects in their He recently completed editing hundreds of photos he captured from natural environment. a five-week summer road trip to Quebec’s coast, where he covered Gilles works primarily in the Calgary area and throughout the Foothills 14,000 kilometres across Canada and the US. His road-trip gallery is of Alberta. Capturing nature and its inhabitants is an activity that allows _________________________________________________________ available for viewing at www.pwidling-photography.com, along with him to combine photography and his passion for the outdoors. a multitude of his past galleries. A selection of his prints are available at the “Wildlife Gallery” in Bragg Philippe is available for assignments both locally and worldwide: email Creek, as well as via his website. Main photograph: As fall ends, the first sprinklings of snow him at [email protected], or find stock images at www.designpics.com. www.wildlife-expressions.com are seen on Mount Glasgow. Inset: An adorable pika greedily gathers vegetation for winter storage. 6 7 Gorgeous, and in comparison relatively rare to its Mule deer relatives, the White- tailed deer is native to North, Central and South America, being spotted at least as far south as Peru. It is most common east of the Rocky Mountains and found in relative abundance throughout Bragg Creek and Kananaskis. Named for the characteristic white underside on its tail, which it uses to signal alarm, the White-tailed deer sports a reddish-brown coat in spring/ summer and a gray-brown coat in fall/ winter. The charming spots seen on the young fawns (left) are present at birth, but fade during their first summer. White-tailed deer have one to three fawns in mid-to-late spring, which are weaned after eight to ten weeks. Males stay with their mothers for one year, and females for two years, before heading off on their own. Antlers are shed and regrown every year by the male deer, although one in 10,000 females will also grow antlers because of a hormone imbalance ________________________________________ Opposite page, top: An innocent White- Philippe Widling tailed fawn enjoys some attention from its mother near Kananaskis Village. This page, top: King Creek snakes peacefully through Peter Lougheed Provincial Park. Below from left: a K-Country sunset; a baby Horned Owl; fall colours; dancing water Rick Nash at Elbow Falls; a curious White-tailed doe; unique rock formations on Mount Allan Trail. Gerry Ambury Devin Featherstone John Kearsley Azram Chaudhry Ken Johnson Connie Singer 8 9 Connie Singer Cole Lord-MayCole Justin Atkins Rawson Lake (above) is a classic example Rawson Lake is located approximately of a mountain tarn lake. A tarn (derived 160 kilometres southwest of Calgary in from the Old Norse word “tjörn” for Peter Lougheed Provincial Park. The trail pond), is a mountain lake formed in a around it provides for an excellent day’s Ken Johnson cirque excavated by a glacier. Referring hike, taking approximately three hours to to a mountain lake as a “tarn” originates complete, with a modest elevation gain of from the term being used to describe less than 300 metres. all ponds in the mountainous regions of ________________________________________ northern England, particularly Cumbria. Opposite page from top: a fledgling The stunning emerald-green Rawson Blue Jay; Canadian Geese silhouetted by Lake is crystal-clear, thanks to the glacier the rising sun in the Bragg Creek area; runoff feeding it, and it is generously a Ruffed Grouse grubbing about near stocked with Cutthroat trout. The striking Beaver Flats’ campground; a pair of visage of Mount Sarrail rising up near the swallows get vocal near Bragg Creek. back of the lake, and the surrounding This page from top: the edge of Cole Lord-MayCole lush, green meadows provide for a prime Rawson Lake; young ospreys share Grizzly bear habitat. the catch of the day. Gilles Korent 10 11 Anyone familiar with Kananaskis knows Elbow Falls as a popular recreation spot. The picturesque Elbow Falls trail (left) connects the parking lot to the river, where you can get some fantastic vantage points of the spectacular falls. A leisurely stroll should take about half an hour, and there are interpretative signs posted along the way. Connie Singer Henrik Hansen Andrew Culin Gilles Korent Where Work Meets Three man-made lookout areas on the trail provide for fantastic views of both the falls Businesses, leaders and managers that leverage and stimulate learning have an edge in the marketplace and bring out the best in their people. Chris Martin and the river as it snakes towards Calgary. At Inside Out Experience we utilize an array of original activities which encourage experiential learning with powerful and lasting benefits that help Only 15 minutes west of Bragg Creek, you rejuvenate, relax and unwind with your employees or clients. Elbow Falls is an ideal family destination, with suitable picnic facilities and BBQ pits. Just remember to douse your embers in water before you leave. ________________________________________ Energize, inspire & connect This spread, clockwise from bottom left: We bring people from the inside out. The view during a hike back from Troll Falls; a quick glance at the camera before darting into the wild growth; Specializing in: Activities include: outdoor corporate excursions survival skills, fire & shelter building the view back from one of Elbow Falls’ team-building activities map & compass work three lookout areas; a Black Bear reward trips snowshoeing cub casually ambles along; a small creek empties into Sheep River Don Orchard upstream of the spectacular falls; [email protected] (403)949-3305 www.insideoutexperience.com 12 a small waterfall above Troll Falls. 13 Red-naped Sapsucker series – Ken MacDonald Rob McKay The striking Red-naped Sapsucker (above) lives in mixed forests elevations in the winter. Locals in the Bragg Creek area might across the Rocky Mountain and Great Basin regions of North have seen or heard them rat-a-tatting on their own homes, as America, and it is commonly found throughout K-Country.