Rafting on the Kicking Horse River is a major tourism draw for Golden, B.C.Dave Best
Whitewater rafting guides in Golden, B.C., are trusted to get their clients safely down the wild rapids of the Kicking Horse River – but not to get them safely across the railway tracks.
For more than 35 years the guides who run the class-four rapids in the river's lower canyon have accessed the water by crossing Canadian Pacific Railway tracks just outside the small town on the western edge of the Rocky Mountains.
But the national rail carrier recently announced it was closing the rafting guides' only access point after Transport Canada cautioned the company last year about safety concerns related to the informal crossing.
The decision has sent shock waves through the small town, where the economy is increasingly driven by tourism. A delegation from the town will meet with CP Rail officials Friday in hopes of finding a compromise before rafting season opens on the May long weekend.
About 40,000 people a year raft the Kicking Horse River, with 15,000 of those running the lower canyon.
"Rafting is one of the main draws for people coming through here, and with the lower canyon being the crown jewel of the Kicking Horse River, not having access to that is a definite blow," Andy Brown of Tourism Golden said Tuesday.
He said whitewater tourism generates an estimated $3-million to $5.8-million a year in the community.
"When you are talking a town of just over 4,000 people, to have a significant blow to one of the main attractions of the summer it's a big deal for us and it's troublesome," said Mr. Brown.
Lori Baxendale, who helps manage Kicking Horse Lodging, which has the largest hotel in town with 150 rooms, said river rafting is a key draw, but the issue is not just about business.
"Many people other than just the [commercial] rafters use these rivers," she said. "It's a community issue."
Golden Mayor Ron Oszust said the sudden closure by CP Rail has upset people in a way he hasn't seen for decades.
"My mind quickly goes to an event or situation the community had 15 or 20 years ago with regards to the timber industry," he said. "This community at that time blockaded the Trans-Canada Highway … This is a community that can rise to the occasion, that historically has been willing to use civil disobedience. In that context I would say we have had nothing that major since [then]."
Mr. Oszust said he's had several meetings with CP Rail officials and he's urging people to stay cool.
"We are trying to manage peoples' emotions," he said.
Mr. Oszust noted there is a community rally planned for April 30, and the event will either be a celebration or a protest, depending on whether or not CP Rail agrees to a plan that would allow rafters to cross the tracks this year, with a commitment to perhaps build an alternate route for the longer term.
In a brief e-mail, CP Rail spokesman Jeremy Berry said his company "continues to be at the table working closely with stakeholders."
He said there is not a designated crossing at the site.
But rafters have established one, and a video posted on Facebook by a group called Save The Lower Canyon shows a flat parking area on one side of the tracks, and on the other side, a wide trail leading down to the river.
In an e-mail, Sara Johnston of Transport Canada said rail inspectors became concerned after they observed "a very large group of people crossing and moving supplies and equipment across the railway tracks."
Ryan Johannesen, a river guide and owner of Glacier Rafting Co., said he's floated the lower canyon about 800 times and has safely guided over 4,000 people down the river.
"And the tracks, we take them seriously … we do it safely," he said of the crossing. "Then we've got the rapids to worry about after that, which we also have to do safely."
Mr. Johannesen hopes the Friday talks lead to a solution.
"I'm excited we are going to have a meeting," he said. "I think [CP] are coming back because there's been so much [public] support … and they are feeling like it's time to try and figure this out with us."