Riding with the Locals

16 x 20, oil on gallery wrapped canvas

$600

The Griz is a local Legend in Fernie. Every winter he makes an appearance, especially around the “Griz Days” festival. He also leaves his mark at some point through the season, by way of blankets of fresh snow for skiers and snowboarders to enjoy.

Legend has it, that back in 1879, a baby boy was born in a grizzly cave on a cold cruel winter in the high alpine. Some time later, the grizzly awoke and he was very hungry. A great battle happened between the two. The next day, the townsfolk climbed the mountains to try and find the source of all the noise from the night before. One of the men thought he saw a young boy, with a grizzly coat and hat, leaping from peak to peak, but the others laughed at him and the incident was soon forgotten.

Years and years later, ski tourers were taking a breather when they spotted a figure with shoulders six feet wide, about 300 lbs and a bear hat pulled low over his eyes. He carried a giant musket that he pointed toward the sky and shot into the clouds. It made an enormous amount of snow dump. The kind of snow that skiers love…the powderlicious kind of snow.

It is said that sometimes you will find large bare-footed tracks along the peaks in Fernie…and if you look closely up at the ski hill, you can see his face appear in the rock face above the ski hill, making sure the snow lovers are having a good time.

In the winter, the Griz sometimes makes an appearance at the hill, and if you’re lucky enough, you can catch a lift with him. The little girl on this painting was inspired by the the onesie of superstar local Adia from That Mountain Life, but represents the wow-factor of any kid who is lucky enough to meet the Legend.

*The story of the Legend was adapted from Fernie Alpine Resort’s website.