The Columbia Valley Pioneer • 3
September 21, 2007
VALLEY NEWS
MUMBO JUMBO—This graffiti, on a roadside barrier at the top of Athalmer hill, seems a popular sentiment regarding the embattled resort proposal.
Photo by Brian Geis
The fight against Jumbo heats up, as the proposed resort cruises toward approval By Brian Geis Pioneer Staff With the target date for a signed master development agreement just weeks away, opposition is surging again against the proposed Jumbo Glacier Resort. Re-energized in their fight against the $700-million resort by a sleeper study that found the grizzly bear is close to a “threatened species” status in that area, Jumbo opponents are also enjoying the support of a major celebrity spokesman, hockey player Scott Niedermayer of Cranbrook. Last week, though, in a move described as good business practice, the provincial government put R. K. Heli-ski chief executive Tom Brinkerhoff on notice that if he wants to continue to do business in Jumbo, he will have to start paying rent to Jumbo Glacier Resorts owner Oberto Oberti. In a press release issue four days later, Mr. Brinkerhoff—who co-owns R. K. Heli-ski with fellow Alberta oil barons Hank Swartout and George Gosbee—said the company has reached an agreement with Jumbo Glacier Resorts to continue their heli-skiing activities in and around the Jumbo Valley.
R. K. Heli-ski—a 37-year-old heli-skiing company based in Panorama with 60 employees during peak season—is well-entrenched in the Jumbo Valley with gladed ski runs on both sides, fuelling depots and multiple landing sites. Last week’s letter from Peter Walter, Executive Director of the Tourism and Resort Development Division of the Ministry of Tourism, Sport and the Arts, warned Mr. Brinkerhoff that, after the resort master development agreement is signed, R. K.’s 350,000acre license of occupation will be amended to remove the portion which falls within Jumbo Glacier Resort’s 15,000-acre controlled recreation area. R. K. Heli-ski fought the resort for years on the grounds that it robs them of half of their best, mostski-able terrain. This spring, R. K. lost the appeal of the lawsuit it filed over the loss of its tenure. In his follow-up press release, Mr. Brinkerhoff said: “I have met with a representative of Jumbo Glacier Resort and they pledged their full cooperation in accommodating the operations of our business on a go-forward basis after the signing of the master development agreement.” In fact, Jumbo Glacier Resorts is bound by terms
contained in the master development agreement to make room for R. K. Heli-ski. “Glacier Resorts Ltd. has made a number of commitments to R. K. through the Environmental Assessment Certificate,” Glacier Resorts Vice-president Grant Costello commented, “which includes offering R. K. the opportunity to continue operating inside (Jumbo boundaries), subject to safety and reasonable management precautions.” Both parties are expecting a phased reduction of R. K. Heli-ski operations within the Jumbo Resort boundaries as development of the resort progresses over the next few years. A similar version of the letter, Mr. Costello said, was sent to the Calgary Olympic Development Association, which operates Camp Green, a high-performance training facility on Farnham Glacier. R. K. Heli-ski Director of Operations Rod Gibbons said that after 20 years of debate, letters are the first signs of changes on the ground. “We’ve always hoped that Jumbo wouldn’t go through. We put all our energy into stopping it,” he said. Continued on Page 15 . . .