K-Country marks 40 years, millions of visitors with free cake, celebrations

The grand unveiling was supposed to showcase natural splendour of the area's magnificent ranges, valleys and rushing waters.

But Mother Nature had her own plans.

On Sept. 22, 1978, a flash snowstorm swept through the Kananaskis Valley, dashing then-premier Peter Lougheed's hopes for the official opening ceremony for Alberta's newest provincial park.

Dozens of parks officials, government staff and reporters crammed indoors to escape the miserable blizzard. Standing at the podium before them,Lougheed began his opening remarks with a twinge ofdisappointment.

He'd brought his hiking boots with him in the helicopter, Lougheed said, and now he wouldn't have a chance to use them.

"I wanted to challenge the dozen or so of you ... to just see whether or not we could keep up the pace,' Lougheed told the crowd. "But they tell me, 'No, we don't get the chance to do that.'"

Still, he expressed enthusiasm. The day marked the culmination of years's of work.

To mark the anniversary, the government is hosting celebrations includingfree cake at both the Barrier Visitor Information Centre and the PeterLougheedPark Discovery Centre beginning at 11:30 a.m. Saturday.

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Since the late '60s, discussions had been underway to create a protected recreational and ecological reserve in the area.

It would striveto balance the needs of industry, ranching and tourismwith the province's mandate to preserve the natural ecosystem.

In 1978after receiving nearly 50,000 survey responses and pumping millions into the project, the province was ready toopen its new facility to the public.

In the exactly 40 years since,K-Countryhas welcomedmore than 75 million visitors, according to the Alberta government.

Long history

TheStoney-Nakoda,Siksika, Blood, andKootenaiFirst Nations all have deep connection to theland.

The region's name comes from the Cree word, "Kin-e-a-kis," which is the name of a warrior, who was survived being struck in the head with an axe.

The jagged peaks and U-shaped valleys of the region are remnants of the last ice agesome 12,000 years ago.

Archaeological evidence of humans in Kananaskis Country datesback more than 8,000 years.

Ancient coral reefs, oyster beds and shark teeth have been discovered in the area. Creatures lived hundreds of millions of years ago in the inland sea that covered southern Alberta.

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