)
Climbing to remember her father
One year ago today, Larissa Arthur’s father fell about 100 metres while scrambling down Turquoise Lake. Sixty-five-year-old Ken had been hiking a trail near the lake, which is located about 20 kilometres north of Lake Louise.
Devastated, Larissa — who is a clinical instructor in the School of Health and Wellness — says she needed to visit the very spot where it happened. She and a friend hiked there over a 10-hour day.
“It reminded me how much my dad loved doing those things,” she says. “It was the only thing that made me feel better.”
Her friend had an idea. Larissa should do a tribute to her dad. That’s what led to #onehundredhikesfordad, Larissa’s tribute to Ken on Instagram.
“It's the day of Instagram, that's what came to my head,” Larissa adds. “Something that I could post things in memory of him and dedicate it to him.”
On September 29, 2017, Larissa hiked the first of the 100 hikes she’ll climb. To date, she has completed 53.
Among them is a once unnamed peak right above Turquoise Lake. Larissa and her boyfriend reached the summit on August 1, 2018. There, they placed a summit book, which is a record of visitors to the top of a mountain. They called the area Arthur Peak.
“I hope that others will follow and get to experience this incredibly beautiful place in person,” Larissa shared on Instagram. “This mountain is ours Dad.”
Posted on August 21, 2018
Story by Julie-Anne Cleyn, photos by Donna Boyko and Ken Dalton
