Ruth OltmannRuth Oltmann came to Alberta thirty-five years ago from eastern Canada and has been hiking and climbing in the Rocky Mountains every since. She moved to the mountains -- for six months -- in 1970, and since then has run youth hostels at Spray iver, Castle Mountain, and Ribbon Creek and worked as a cook at Skoki Lodge, Bugaboo Lodge, and the Kananaskis Centre for Environmental Research. She is the author of a history of the region, The Kananaskis Story. Known as "Ruthie" to her many friends, she says ìmy life took a turn for the better when I moved to the mountains six months ago!