Shoulder Soldiers
Weather, or not, it’s get-out-and-go-time — by bike, boot, and boat. Creston-based Trench writer Danette Polzin outlines your East Kootenay early season adventure ops amongst the melt, mud, and springtime sizzle.
show & Tell
Fourteen East Kootenay photographers share snapshots of moments caught between land, sky, shadow, and seasons, each telling a tale from our vast corner of the world.
lusti, Mac, The Moms & The Mountain
Lives of far-off adventure have become full-time careers for Invermere’s Christina Lustenberger and Ian McIntosh. But a backyard expedition in 2021 — in plain sight of their hometown family and friends — still stands as an all-time achievement for both professional skiers. Two childhood friends reflect on a daydream turned dream day.
Alone & Alive
Greg Ovens ran away into the B.C. wilds when he was a kid. He told his parents not to look for him. He’d be happy, he said. Half a century later, he’s still out there. Just him. And 900,000 followers.
Rocks, Rifts & Pistols
Former MLA Tom Shypitka on the benefit of small town rivalries, B.C.’s stunning political upheaval, and his late, great days of punk rock love.
Super Powered: A Census of Sunshine
The sun. From 150 million kilometres away, it powers the East Kootenay’s regional economic engines, local history immemorial, even your own heartbeat and mindset. Senior Trench writer Dave Quinn squints skyward at the meaning of it all.
Gobbleshegone
With everyone’s favourite fall feast swaggering, East Kootenay’s wild turkey gangs are Alberta bound.
The Sole Providers
Talaria Footwear — with locations in both Kimberley and Cranbrook — helps you feel comfortable and supported at work.
The Skin Deep
Inside the ink of artist Ellie Rubincam.
DeCki Ljeta / Los Chicos De Verano {The Boys of Summer}
For local baseball old boys Roger Tierney and Paul Mrazek, the diamond is forever.
This Woman’s Work
Carrying the torch, saw, and shears, sisters are doing it for themselves. Writer and photographer Jenny Bateman rolled up her sleeves alongside nine local ladies making the grade in trades.
Slough Ride
How an Albertan water skiing phenom, turned HVAC king, dredged out his world-class dream.
Birdies and the Bugs
Welcome to Brisco. World famous. And not.
Why Jayli Wolf Survives
From the farm to Times Square, Rolling Stone to the 60s Scoop, the Creston singer and star lays tracks through stardom, dark days, and a father’s fate.
From Boyds to Men
Fathers and a son reflect on the Kootenays’ legendary and somewhat loose Boyd Haddad golf tourney.
Of Slapshots and Scorpions
He shattered records, bones, and probably a couple of wooden Sherwoods. But how was it that legendary motorcycle madman Evel Knievel made a Creston connection?
Old Crow, New World
To restore or recycle in the age of reconciliation? A historic highway-side landmark awaits its fate.
A Different Kind of Developer’s Vision for Cranbrook
River Valley Estates is committed to meeting Cranbrook’s growing needs through responsible development.
Beyond & Above
He was born into Cranbrook’s 1980s era snowboard and skate scene — both deemed unsavoury to the status quo, and all but illegal. Thirty years after travelling the globe as a crusader for ‘boarding’s cause, photographer Jeff Patterson has returned to the East Kootenay as one of the sport’s pioneer chroniclers and collectors. Today, with a new career flying high for Hollywood, the family man shares images and insights from his transworld transformation.
A Woman and a War
Cranbrook’s Jean Suey Zee, age 99, was a standout amongst Royal Canadian Air Force members, and a daughter of the city’s Chinese-Canadian community.
THE TRENCH | WINTER 2024/25
Life + Culture in the Columbia, Creston, and Elk Valleys