She has a teaching degree, she’s worked as a cook at a backcountry lodge, and as an air traffic controller.
She’s also just the seventh Canadian woman to earn full mountain guide certification with the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides. And last winter, after competing on the Ice Climbing World Cup circuit in 2013, Jen Olson represented Canada at the Winter Olympics’ ice climbing demonstration wall in Sochi, Russia.
If all that wasn’t nearly enough, Olson has accomplished a long and impressive list of elite level climbs in the Andes and the Alps, as well as first ascents on remote peaks in Alaska and Pakistan, where she climbed the East Face of Brakk Zang in the fabled Karakoram mountains in 2007 with fellow ACMG mountain guide Lilla Molnar.
Closer to home, Olson has put up numerous new climbing routes in the Rockies and the Bugaboos, including a new mixed rock and ice route she and her partner, Tim McAllister, climbed earlier this month on the northeast face of South Howser Tower, which she described as an occasion “where weather, conditions and partner line up like the planets aligning to create a rare event: a magical first ascent.”
“We called it Ethereal, and we’ve got awesome photos,” Olson said.
All this makes it fitting that Olson will share photos from this route and many of her other adventures as featured presenter at the Banff Mountain Film Festival’s Dirtbag Café on Wednesday (Nov. 5).
In addition to spectacular photos taken while climbing in some of the most exquisite mountain landscapes on the planet, Olson said her show will include short video clips and images accompanied by music.
Currently attending Mount Royal University three days a week where she’s enrolled in a TV and radio broadcasting course, Olson said she’s enjoying the balance of climbing and guiding outdoors and working inside learning how to operate a sound board and program her own radio show alongside students half her age.
“It’s really fun to be in school,” she said. “It feels great to be using my brain and it’s totally exciting, really hands-on.”
Having graduated with a teaching degree from the University of Calgary nearly two decades ago, Olson said it’s been interesting to notice how much the school environment has changed during that time, particularly in terms of demographics.
“It’s changed a lot, it’s super multicultural now and there’s a noticeable number of people with physical and mental disabilities,” she said. “It’s really different, and that’s cool.”
With the vast majority of her fellow students having no understanding of climbing, she added, she finds herself answering lots of questions about her passion for climbing, and about being outdoors in cold weather.
Looking forward to the BMFF, Olson said she’s thrilled to be chosen as this year’s Dirtbag Café presenter.
“I’m excited, to be associated with the Banff Mountain Film Festival,” Olson said.
In addition to her own event, she said she is also looking forward to attending others’ presentations, particularly Barry Blanchard’s talk on his book, The Calling, and Great Bear Wild, being presented by Ian McAllister (Tim’s brother), both scheduled as part of the Banff Mountain Book Festival on Nov. 6.
As well, Olson was interviewed by Banff Centre Radio senior producer Dominic Girard on Oct. 4.
Her Dirtbag Café presentation will be followed by the screening of one of the BMFF films in competition, Distilled, by Scottish filmmaker Paul Diffley.
For more info or for tickets, visit www.banffcentre.ca/mountainfestival/schedule.
