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I co-founded Highline Magazine in 2008 and was publisher and creative director from that time until it’s close in 2016.
Amidst towering mountain peaks, snow-filled couloirs and fast-running rivers, Canada’s Rocky Mountain Parks inspire people to embrace life in wild spaces. And mountain towns have long been magnets for talented and creative individuals.
Highline was a window into the wild culture that thrives in the Rockies. Its stories, images, and local events embodied the playful, community-minded, and earth-friendly spirit of the people who call the Rockies home. The Highline team provided a fun, friendly mountain culture experience for locals and visitors, building lasting relationships with our readers.
Highline Magazine was a free, semi-annual print magazine distributed in local hotspots throughout the Rockies. The mag was known for its unconventional storytelling, knack for finding off-the-beaten-path perspectives on mountain issues, beautiful and intelligent design and photography, and our wild and well-loved local events.
My partner and I love this mountain town of Canmore, but do not enjoy its expensive rental market. We brainstormed ideas to make our desired lifestyle possible without going broke. We identified the things we really wanted and required for day to day living and downsizing all that other stuff that seemed to be forced into our world by culture, society or our own misguided habits.
Read MoreThe Bow Valley has its very own The Dude. Just like The Big Lebowski’s heroic lead character, this local rocks Cowichan sweaters and is more laid back than an evening spent at a backcountry hut. While we forgot to ask whether he’s prone to White Russians or not, we do know for a fact that this man has never met a stranger.
Read MoreWhen you ask members of the Jasper Parks Canada visitor safety team if they remember the search for George Joachim, a common response is a deep sigh, and something like: “Ah yes…George.” Four years later, the name still conjures head shaking and wary glances.
Read MoreMount Waddington is the highest and not to be denied monarch of the British Columbia Coastal Mountains. A network of extensive glaciers spread out in all directions and snow crowned peaks bow before this lord of the mountain manor.
Read MoreLifting the lid on waste in the Rockies.
Read MoreIt has been twenty years now since the seed of a connected future for the Rockies from the Yellowstone to the Yukon took root in our local mountain culture. Here’s a history of how the vision for Y2Y came to life.
Read MoreIn February 2010, Mike Robertson, a Canmore, AB-based snowboard cross national team athlete, stood on the Olympic podium in Vancouver with a silver medal around his neck. But, as a result of ensuing snowboarding-related head injuries, and a lack of knowledge regarding recovery-management, it turned out to be the last time he would compete on the circuit.
Read MoreIf you run into Jim Davies at the post office or on the streets of Banff, you will never suspect that he has had one of the most exciting and adventurous lives in the Bow Valley. Quiet, calm and watchful, Jim keeps to himself and lets the others get the fame and the attention. But as the pioneer pilot of the heli-ski industry, and as the first mountain rescue pilot in the National Parks, he has made a huge contribution to our mountain community and has earned the respect of everyone.
Read MoreWith lipstick the shade of a wild rose, high heels taller than Mount Temple and a personality bigger than the Aurora Borealis, Miss Ellen Q is Rocky-Mountain-fabulous. Named in honour of Edmonton’s Loud & Queer Cabaret, Miss Ellen Q (Miss L ‘n’ Q) made her Bow Valley debut in Fall 2013 at the Banff Pride event.
Read MoreHow has a process so crucial to our survival come to feel like a criminal act? Get the dirty on the local food scene here in the Bow Valley. Buying local and eating local is on the rise, and we’ve got all the details.
Read MoreThe Highline crew is tapped into the soul of the Rockies, connecting mountain people to inside stories, inspirational imagery, and epic events since 2008.
Read MoreSeven stories of bear spray attempts gone painfully wrong. Literally NO bears were harmed in the making of this article.
Read MoreHow a cave specialist and a paleontologist are piecing together Alberta’s post-glacial fossil record by exploring mountain caves.
Read MoreThe Windtower — if you glimpse it while driving the Trans-Canada just south of Canmore — looms like a monster in a child’s nightmare. It’s so sharp and vertical that hiking to the summit seems laughably impossible.
Yet Windtower is hikeable from the other side. Starting at Spray Lakes Reservoir, a trail ascends to West Wind Pass. From there, a boot-beaten route leads to the summit, which grants an aerial perspective of the Bow and Spray Valleys.
Read MoreThese activities are adaptable to your environment, contributing to why they have helped combat the effects of cabin fever (Cottage Nuts) for over 55,000 years. The real key to successfully dealing with the phenomenon of going Cottage Nuts is to be creative, playful and adventurous. And being a little crazy doesn’t hurt either.
Read MoreLearn to spot the difference between a raven and a crow.
Read MoreDo you dread that feeling of straggling behind your friends in the backcountry? Have you ever considered manipulating the dynamics of the group for the sake of your own enjoyment? If you answered yes to either of these questions, rest assured that you are not alone in your wily ways.
Read MoreAnd now for something completely different. . . the larch tree. So goes the Monty Python skit. And biologists agree: the larch is different. Larches are one of only a few deciduous (seasonally dropping leaves/needles) conifers (pinecone bearing trees). The needles on larch trees change colour from green to yellow and look particularly vibrant against a clear blue sky. September is a great time to head out on a hike and enjoy the beauty of the larch tree!
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