Planned glampsite renews longstanding Canmore, Alta. concerns on growth pressures - BERITAJA

It sits connected apical of the signature ember excavation that made the Town of Canmore. But it’s the attraction of a glamour-camping conflict successful a Rocky Mountain organization trying to equilibrium value of life pinch the driver of its caller system – tourism.

John (Jay) Third, a partner and task head for “Trailhaus,” hopes the area –about an hour’s thrust westbound of Calgary — will yet go a 74-site glamping campground connected almost 10 hectares of backstage land.

“Below america is Canmore excavation Number 1 — a ember seam and respective different mines truthful the volition was to benignant of play connected the historical quality of the spot and the organization itself,” he said past week while tramping supra the mine.

The project, connected the Staircase Lands, was initially named “Miners Camp” and Third said it’s been successful the useful for a mates of years. He said the onshore has sat idle for 60 years and the task will beryllium observant to meet each readying and biology concerns.

The Canadian Anthracite Coal Company opened No. 1 successful 1887 to excavation precocious value ember utilized for steam engines earlier closing successful 1916. It’s the excavation that turned this organization connected the articulator of Banff National Park from a whistle extremity into a roar town.

But the ember is agelong gone and successful caller years Canmore has grown – exploded, really – into a tourism hub for hikers, bikers, campers, kayakers and more. The maturation has put unit connected scarce housing, not to mention the domino effects connected parking, infrastructure and the environment.

Canmore resident Wendy Walker says it’s clip to tie the statement astatine Trailhaus.

Walker, who lives successful an established neighbourhood about 5 minutes away, has launched a petition opposing the construction. She has 2,500 signatures.

“Enough is enough. Canmore is over-developed and we’re each desperately trying to slow it down,” Walker said successful an interview.

“We conscionable don’t person the infrastructure. We don’t person the staff. We don’t person the accommodation. Over-tourism is an issue.”

Glamping – short for glamorous camping — is fundamentally camping wherever you unsmooth it, but it’s not truthful rough. Campers slumber successful tents, cabins, yurts aliases different outdoor-style shelters, but often location are beds, possibly electricity, successful bid to acquisition quality pinch immoderate of the sharper edges smoothed out.

Trailhaus would person units build connected a wood level pinch a accepted hunting aliases outfitter style canvas tent. They would travel pinch beds, furnishings and immoderate would person bathrooms and showers.

“We looked astatine the increasing marketplace of glamping, not conscionable successful Canada, but passim each of North America and 1 of the cardinal aspects was it being connected the footsteps of Banff National Park arsenic good arsenic successful the bosom of the Canadian Rockies,” Third said about the site.

But Walker says location are large problems: wildlife and wildfire. She says the glampground could spot residents tally into carnivore and elk connected a adjacent wildlife corridor. And if location is simply a monolithic wildfire akin to the 1 that forced everyone successful the Rocky Mountain municipality of Jasper to fly 2 years ago, location could beryllium a very vulnerable bottleneck.

“There’s only 1 measurement successful and 1 measurement out, truthful successful position of removal plans we’re terrified particularly aft what happened successful Jasper,” Walker said.

Zachary Richardson, the managing partner who owns the Trailhaus property, says he understands concerns from residents.

Richardson said he spent a twelvemonth erstwhile he was successful his 20s driving crossed North America and sewage the glamping bug erstwhile he stayed successful a shelter adjacent Morocco successful the Sahara.

“I emotion camping and I emotion the outdoors successful Canmore. And I conscionable deliberation the 2 of them conscionable make sense,” Richardson said.

“The location is conscionable excessively difficult to walk up. It gives the consciousness that you’re secluded successful the woods but you’re adjacent to everything.”

McKenzie McMillan, pinch the Vancouver-based Travel Group, doesn’t book a batch of glamping trips wrong Canada, but said the Amangiri edifice successful Utah is celebrated arsenic good arsenic the Four Seasons successful Puerto Vallarta, which comes pinch character houses.

“It’s decidedly a marketplace conception that has expanding demand,” McMillan said pointing to respective properties successful B.C. that connection glamping.

“We each get to a definite property wherever yeah, we don’t want to slumber straight connected the crushed anymore.”