My Valley the Kananaskis Ruth Oltmann

This updated Valley of Rumours relates the fascinating history of Alberta's Kananaskis Valley from the Neolithic Indians to the present-day tourist. In the mid 1800s Sinclair and Palliser travelled the valley in search of a pass across the Rocky Mountains. Later the valley was a source of lumber, coal and power, and POWs were housed in the valley during WW II. Nowadays the valley is part of Kananaskis Country, a wildland recreation area. The author has pieced together the story through archival records and by talking with people who have lived and worked in the valley.

Ruth Oltmann came to Alberta thirty-five years ago from eastern Canada and has been hiking and climbing in the Rocky Mountains every since. She moved to the mountains ìfor six monthsî in 1970, and since then has run youth hostels at Spray River, Castle Mountain, and Ribbon Creek and worked as a cook at Skoki Lodge, Bugaboo Lodge, and the Kananaskis Centre for Environmental Research. She is the author of a history of the region, The Kananaskis Story.