Mountain

Kissing the clouds

with summer snow-filled slopes

– beckoning

Back in the late 1980s I took part in a program called “Shad Valley”, in which high school students from across Canada got to spend the month of July at a University campus and learn about innovation, science and technology, leadership, and other fascinating subjects. I attended the program at the University of Calgary and it was a life-changing and very positive experience. The following summer I returned to Calgary to take part in a follow-up project connected to my time at Shad Valley and during that summer I did some mountain climbing. One of the mountains we climbed was Mount Athabasca, which is located in Jasper National Park, along the Columbia Icefields. It is a beautiful mountain, and climbing it was truly astounding. Mountains remind me of my summers in Alberta.

The program mentioned above still exists (called Shad now), and McGill is one of the host institutions. Over the past few weeks I was able to take part in the program, acting as a Faculty Member for a few days during the program. It was really interesting and fun to re-engage with the program and see the energy, intelligence, and creativity among the high school students taking part in Shad. Although decades have passed, the program has retained its very best qualities, and it was an honour to be involved, even in a small way.

Getting involved with Shad again reminded me of those formative summers I spent in Calgary, including the time in the mountains, hence why I decided to draw Mount Athabasca and share it with you. I have been playing around with using coloured paper for some art, so the illustration above is on grey-tone paper and done just with some black ink, light wash, with some highlights done with a white brush pen. I hope you enjoy!

© Christopher M Buddle 2023