The Headwaters

The Basin has always been awash with pioneers, free spirits, explorers, adventurers, and innovators. We kick off season three with stories that celebrate the trailblazers among us. You’ll hear about inventions that changed the world, the process of naming a mountain, legendary mountain ascents, and harrowing river descents. Grab your pack, your favourite pair of boots, and let’s hit the trail!

The Columbia River Treaty governs the water that flows from the headwaters of the Columbia
River, through the Kootenays, to where it ends in the United States. It profoundly changed the
Basin, turning once fertile valleys into lakes and altering river ecosystems forever, while at the
same time, preventing catastrophic flooding and generating billions of dollars in hydroelectric
revenue. The treaty that shaped this place is up for renegotiation. We talk to families
disenfranchised by treaty dams, politicians who negotiated ways to mitigate its impacts, and
writers lobbying for a better future.

Before our insatiable addiction to the almighty car, getting around the Basin was a much
different affair. We were transported on trains and paddle-wheelers, a mode of travel that was
often an adventure in itself. In this episode, we look at all the ways we move around: we
explore an ancient hiking route over a mighty mountain range, relive train travel, ride bikes
with seniors, and learn about the history of moving across big water.

Although the Basin is blessed with thousands of square kilometres of wilderness, our human
impact on the land has been profound: we are changing the landscape and significantly
affecting many Kootenay animal species. In this episode, we head into the woods and the water
to meet the people who are working to save keystone animals, like the sturgeon, the mountain
caribou, and big-horn sheep. We’ll also find out why stink bugs are taking over!

The Kootenays always produce amazing musical talent, and in this episode, we find out the story runs much deeper. We have an internationally recognized music school here in the Basin, where we’ll meet some talented musicians who’ve emerged from Selkirk College’s Contemporary Music and Technology program. We’ll also take a unique trip into the world of the Kootenay luthier, craftspeople who put many hours of talent and passion into making some of the world’s finest stringed instruments.

It is a largely forgotten blemish on British Columbia’s and Canada’s history, one that creates a
potent stigma in the Columbia River Basin. During both the First and Second World Wars,
thousands of people, many of them Canadian citizens, were interned in makeshift camps
throughout the region. Russian Doukhobors, Austrians, Germans, and Japanese were
considered threats to the country and so the government uprooted them, changing their lives
forever. This episode features a New Denver man who made a documentary about the letters
written during internment that he found in an old church. We also discover a book titled The
Kissing Fence, about Doukhobor parents separated from their children, and we look back on the
dark years of Kootenay internment.

There’s something in our mountain water that’s driving a groundswell in comedic talent
throughout the Basin. Never have more people wanted to make others laugh in our little slice
of the hinterland. In this episode, you’ll hear our own host on stage and in character, and we
visit a raucous amateur comedy night in Nelson, where the scene is exploding. We also
interview Golden’s Ricky Diamonds, whose comedic crooning keeps his audiences
laughing—and groaning—and we check in with social-media giggle disruptor Katie Burrell and
her take on this decidedly difficult but hilarious profession.

People like to do things a little differently out in the back 40. Perhaps it’s the open spaces that
create different opportunities when it comes to business, community living, and recreation. In
this episode, you’ll hear about an outlier who infiltrated a Slocan Valley commune, Australian
entrepreneurs who moved to Canal Flats in search of cryptocurrency, an uncommon residential
development, and a woman who runs. And runs. And then runs some more.

We’ve got some yarns to tell you. Some real beauties. We swear some are true, while others
we can’t quite confirm, except through legend. You’ll hear about rogue circus elephants from
100 years ago and cheetahs in the snow just a few winters back. There’s a mysterious giant
golden nugget that fell into the depths of Kootenay Lake, and a homemade sub that might find
it. And to round it out, we have a story about the world’s first “unofficial” helicopter. You have
to hear it to believe it.

In the Kootenays, we are blessed with an abundance of forests and a multitude of tree species,
with some individual trees over a thousand years old. We revere these towering giants, we also
depend on them as a resource. In this episode, we dive into the state of old growth with Craig
Pettitt and Rachel Holt, two biologists who have dedicated their lives to helping preserve the
ancients among us. Through another tree crusader, we learn about the fascinating Whitebark
pine, which relies on a particular bird to germinate, and we travel to Fernie to meet the author
of a big-tree guidebook.