Ali Howat, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter | [email protected]
Christian Roy, an outdoorsman at heart, was born April 1974 in the northern, French part of New Brunswick.
Once Roy finished high school, he went on to study in Halifax. But for Roy, it just wasn鈥檛 the path he wanted to take. He wanted to explore.
Roy travelled around for a bit, ending up in Europe and eventually making his way here to Jasper in 1994.
His first time in Jasper, Roy started working with friends over at the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge for his first job. But working in hotels was just not what Roy wanted to do.
Roy continued to move around a lot throughout Alberta and British Columbia. But in all that moving around, he kept finding himself back in Jasper.
鈥淚 just kept coming back, something kept bringing me back.鈥澛�
In 2006, Roy was introduced to guiding at Maligne Lake doing boat cruises and it was love at first sight for him.
鈥淚t was my first guiding job and right away I fell in love with it. I knew this is what I wanted to do.鈥�
Roy was then introduced to hiking as a guide through friends who owned and operated the Maligne Canyon Icewalks.
鈥淭his was the thing I did the most and I just really enjoyed it.鈥�
Roy worked for the boat cruises for two years and worked for eight winters with the ice walk.
Over the last nine years, Roy started his own hiking company, Canadian Skyline Adventures, with his business partner Sarah Peterson.
鈥淲e are locals just trying to offer a great local experience.鈥�
Canadian Skyline Adventures endeavours to offer a unique experience for all visitors and locals in Jasper.
They do day hikes for all different levels, backpacking trips and trail running.
Both Roy and Peterson do all the guiding within the company.
鈥淓verybody who hires a guide realizes what a worthwhile experience it is.鈥�
Also, at the start of the COVID pandemic, Roy handmade around 900 face masks for the community of Jasper.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know how it started really. I knew there was a bit of a need and sewing was a hobby of mine that I learned from my grandma.鈥澛�
Roy started out making masks for himself, his girlfriend and some close friends. He then put out an advertisement and interest for his masks blew up.
鈥淭he challenging part about making masks is doing it by hand because you don鈥檛 know what size to make them.鈥澛�
Roy made masks for about two months, reaching out to all the local stores that were essential and needed to stay open.
鈥淚 wanted to provide a cure for locals and the companies.鈥�
Once able to keep up with the demand in Jasper, Roy sent out 60 masks to some hospitals out in Toronto who were also in need.
From mountain biking to rock climbing and trial running, Roy has learned to love all that Jasper has to offer.
鈥淏eing both peaceful and active, I鈥檝e chosen the middle path. Balancing work life with love of nature, I鈥檓 always happy to share with others the amazing outdoor experiences available in the Canadian Rockies.鈥澛�
For more information about Canadian Skyline Adventures, call 780-883-0465 or 780-820-0772, or visit
