Pique Newsmagazine 2806

FEBRUARY 11, 2021 ISSUE 28.06

WWW.PIQUENEWSMAGAZINE.COM

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Genera

t on the ions g lacier

How on buddie e group o genera s spawned f mounta the We tional pr a multi-ineering dgemou oject nt Gla monito ring cier

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WHISTLER’S RECOVERY

Community

members strategize for the future

15

WORK SAFE

Workplaces get called on

their pandemic preparedness

56

COVER UP

Quebec musician Jonathan

Roy hiked to the Train Wreck to record

LET’S STAY HOME! Let’s all do our part to stay safe, stay healthy, and support local by staying home!

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THIS WEEK IN PIQUE

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42 Generations on the glacier How one group of mountaineering buddies spawned a multi-generational project monitoring the Wedgemount Glacier. - By Alyssa Noel

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ON THE MEND

One year into the COVID-19

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STARTING THE PROCESS

The Village

pandemic, Whistler’s recovery has been a true community effort—but the

of Pemberton is opening its Official Community Plan review process by

fight is far from finished.

soliciting feedback on how to approach its affordable housing shortage.

15

PANDEMIC SAFE?

WorkSafe BC COVID-19

52 CRUISING CANUCK

Whistler Freeride Club

safety blitz finds infractions, while ski-industry working group underway to

alum Tom Peiffer is getting set for his third season on the Freeride

address B.C. resort challenges.

World Tour.

18

HAVE YOUR SAY

A controversial employee

56

COVER UP

Quebec musician Jonathan Roy hiked to

housing project on Alta Lake Road is headed to a public hearing on

the Trainwreck site during a cross-country trip last summer where he

February 23.

climbed inside a car and brought a ‘90s favourite back to life.

COVER In light of all these receding glaciers and climate turmoil I have happily discovered the benefits of riding an ebike year round. The biggest? Never having to worry about finding a place to park in the creekside underground. - By Jon Parris 4 FEBRUARY 11, 2021

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THIS WEEK IN PIQUE

Opinion & Columns 08 OPENING REMARKS With COVID-19 rife in Whistler, stakeholders say they are working on a

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plan, while in the background we face a federal budget and election.

Founding Publishers KATHY & BOB BARNETT

10 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Letter writers this week argue it is time to shut the resort to

Publisher SARAH STROTHER - sstrother@wplpmedia.com

tourists for our own good and theirs, and a young-adult survey organizer asks respondents to get on board.

Editor CLARE OGILVIE - edit@piquenewsmagazine.com Assistant Editor ALYSSA NOEL - arts@piquenewsmagazine.com Sales Manager SUSAN HUTCHINSON - shutchinson@wplpmedia.com Production Manager KARL PARTINGTON - kpartington@wplpmedia.com Art Director JON PARRIS - jparris@wplpmedia.com Advertising Representatives

13 PIQUE’N YER INTEREST Columnist Dan Falloon describes a New Year’s resolution to use very short homemade videos as a way to capture good memories as the pandemic continues.

70 MAXED OUT There is no doubt about the fact that finding love in this ski resort presents all sorts of unique challenges as Max describes it.

AMY ALLEN - aallen@wplpmedia.com TESSA SWEENEY - tsweeney@wplpmedia.com Digital/Sales Coordinator AMELA DIZDARIC - traffic@wplpmedia.com Production production@piquenewsmagazine.com LOU O’BRIEN - lstevens@wplpmedia.com

Environment & Adventure

Arts & Entertainment Editor ALYSSA NOEL arts@piquenewsmagazine.com

40 RANGE ROVER Leslie Anthony takes a trip down memory lane and recalls why Bella Coola Heli

Sports Editor DAN FALLOON - sports@piquenewsmagazine.com

Sports is No.1 in the world.

Features Editor BRANDON BARRETT - bbarrett@piquenewsmagazine.com Reporters

Lifestyle & Arts

BRADEN DUPUIS - bdupuis@piquenewsmagazine.com BRANDON BARRETT - bbarrett@piquenewsmagazine.com MEGAN LALONDE - mlalonde@wplpmedia.com

54 VELOCITY PROJECT Writer Lisa Richardson encourages us to speak the wild words and use our

Classifieds and Reception mail@piquenewsmagazine.com Office and Accounts Manager HEIDI RODE - hrode@wplpmedia.com I.T. and Webmaster KARL PARTINGTON Contributors G.D. MAXWELL, GLENDA BARTOSH, FEET BANKS, LESLIE ANTHONY, ANDREW MITCHELL, ALISON TAYLOR, VINCE SHULEY, LISA RICHARDSON

words to conjure the more beautiful world your heart knows is possible.

58 MUSEUM MUSINGS Naturalist, explorer and longtime Whistlerite Karl Ricker has donated the journals of the UBC Varsity Outdoor Club from 1964 to 1968 to the museum.

President, Whistler Publishing LP SARAH STROTHER - sstrother@wplpmedia.com Pique Newsmagazine (a publication of Whistler Publishing Limited Partnership, a division of Glacier Media) distributed to over 130 locations in Whistler and to over 200 locations from Vancouver to D’Arcy.

The entire contents of Pique Newsmagazine are copyright 2021 by Pique Newsmagazine (a publication of WPLP, a division of Glacier Media). No portion may be reproduced in whole or in part by any means, including electronic retrieval systems, without the express written permission of the Publisher.

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In no event shall unsolicited material subject this publication to any claim or fees. Copyright in letters and other (unsolicited) materials submitted and accepted for publication remains with the author but the publisher and its licensees may freely reproduce them in print, electronic or other forms.

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Pique Newsmagazine is a member of the National Newsmedia Council, which is an independent organization established to deal with acceptable journalistic practices and ethical behaviour. If you have concerns about editorial content, please contact (edit@ piquenewsmagazine.com). If you are not satisfied with the response and wish to file a formal complaint, visit the web site at mediacouncil. ca or call toll-free 1-844-877-1163 for additional information.

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OPENING REMARKS

Planning and making choices at every level IT

WAS WITH INTEREST that the community heard last week that the province, Vancouver Coastal Health, stakeholders and our local government are in talks to address, “way, way, way too many cases” of coronavirus in Whistler, according to B.C. Health Minister Adrian Dix. Of course the community has been commenting on this and asking for action for weeks.

Many have been calling for months for the Sea to Sky Highway to be closed to non-local traffic, or for Whistler Blackcomb,

BY CLARE OGILVIE edit@piquenewsmagazine.com

accommodation providers and others to only take bookings from people who could legitimately call Whistler a local destination.

While the intent of these suggestions is treated sympathetically on all fronts, there is also the understanding that Whistler’s workers need the resort to stay open for economic reasons.

in December, with visitation taking a further plunge once the calendar changed over to 2021. (January numbers have not been finalized.)

And while Whistler Blackcomb’s parent company Vail Resorts won’t share localmountain financials or skier numbers, last month it reported that season-to-date total skier visits were down 16.6 per cent across the company compared to the same period the year prior.

Vail Resorts’ season-to-date total lift ticket revenue, including an allocated portion of season pass revenue for each applicable period, was down 20.9 per cent; season-to-date ski school revenue was down 52.6 per cent and dining revenue was down 66.2 per cent and retail/rental revenue for North American resort and ski area store locations was down 39.2 per cent.

On Feb. 5, Fernie announced its own cluster of COVID-19 cases, with more than 97 cases at that time.

According to health authorities, cases in ski resorts are mainly spreading due to communal living and social activities. In Whistler’s case, it could be argued that we are actually spreading it now to the visitors.

In Whistler’s case, it could be argued that we are actually spreading it now to the visitors.

Whistler is by no means alone in experiencing rising case numbers of coronavirus as a ski resort, though it is by far the largest, registering 547 cases from the beginning of the year to Feb. 5. Officials in Big White (235 reported cases of COVID-19, as of Feb. 5) told Global News recently that the resort estimates losses at $7.3 million since the November pandemic advisory, not including such things as food and beverage. Occupancy is at about 14 per cent compared to a normal of about 88 per cent for this time of year.

Tourism Whistler has said previously that Whistler was at 27-per-cent capacity

The pandemic is taking a toll on everyone in Canada and on every business and sector; we know that.

But there is no escaping that places like Whistler (or Fernie or Revelstoke or Big White or Tofino), reliant as they are on one industry, tourism, are standing on a precipice in a way more diversified towns are not.

We also need that mix of destination and rubber-tire traffic to return in order to get back on our feet long-term.

So, getting our vaccine program kicked into high gear should be priority. (As of

Feb. 4, our vaccine dose rate per 100 people was 2.70, making Canada 34th in the world.

Israel is No. 1 at 58.53.)

Failing to address the delays and challenges of the vaccine rollout here could have serious political fallout as the likelihood of a federal election looms.

For now, the Liberal Party is ahead in the polls, but if the current delays continue to plague the immunization program, that could change—threatening the Prime Minister’s hopes of getting a majority.

Clearly, holding an election while the country remains firmly in the grip of the pandemic will not be a popular decision, though we have already seen several, including right here in B.C. And Elections Canada is preparing with legislation to allow multi-day weekend voting, more mail-in voting, and tailored voting services in long-term care facilities to suit “unique circumstances.”

Before we have to deal with any election, we will see a federal budget.

It’s tempting to want to hunker down and ignore it. But just as most of us have done the right thing and followed the public-health guidelines to fight the spread of COVID-19, we should consider the budget and weigh in on how our tax dollars are spent. Right now you can visit letstalkbudget2021.ca to fill out a questionnaire about what is most important to you. Take the time to do this.

When you do, I would urge you to speak up for our environment and changes that need to be supported to fight the climate crisis.

Last month, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau officially directed Canada’s finance minister to create a recovery plan from COVID-19 that includes “actions to transition to a greener, more inclusive and more prosperous economy.”

Said environmental activist (and Pique columnist) David Suzuki: “The government is mapping out a $100-billion recovery plan. We need to ensure that investing in nature and a low-carbon economy is at its foundation.” n

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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Whistler has gone from being a victim to being a spreader of the coronavirus It is time for Whistler Blackcomb to close to travellers.

By remaining open we continue to condone “gatherings and non-essential travel” and facilitate the spreading of the virus throughout the rest of B.C. and Canada. Our world-class resort creates an irresistible draw. But it draws crowds, folks mingle, folks forget rules. They tell their friends it is all OK. Our current rates speak for themselves and may not even come close to representing the true prevalence in Whistler.

Understandably the younger crowd is not showing up to be tested unless forced by their employers to do so. If they test positive, it screws up all of their mates who will get “pinged.” That means no work, or skiing for all of them. I would have probably done the same thing if I were in my 20s. This is not being critical of them, just a reality, but [it] leads to underreporting.

The writing is on the wall from the rest of the world. By mid March we will be in the grips of a new, more-transmissible and deadlier variant of coronavirus (cmmid.github.io/topics/ covid19/uk-novel-variant.html). We cannot be naïve about this. Think back to January 2020 when the belief was that the original COVID-19 would not proliferate in Canada. Britain saw its expediential growth with the new variant under the strictest lockdown measures (coronavirus. data.gov.uk). We have had our lesson. We can be

to be proactive and stop being a community that spreads transmission of the coronavirus.

Every Sunday night we all witness the constant flow of traffic, heading south to Vancouver, carrying Whistler’s COVID-19 with it.

Slowly but surely we spread infection to the rest of the province and Canada.

The sooner we get through this, the faster we can see a return to social integration.

It is time for Whistler to do the responsible thing. It is time for us to rescind our welcome to those wanting to ski our slopes. If we become known to the world as enablers of the spread of this pandemic, our reputation will be forever tarnished. Most importantly we will be responsible for needless illness and the death of Canadians.

Paul Wright, MD // Whistler

Time to close resort down to visitors proactive, rather than reactive this time around.

The cheapest and most effective Public Health Measure as proven around the world is to limit crowds (www.who.int/publications/i/item/ covid-19-strategy-update---14-april-2020). Why should we be exempt from this?

I love to be on snow as much as anyone.

That is one of the main reasons we all live here. We have already enjoyed what the rest of the world envies: an open world-class resort.

But we now need to be accepting and socially responsible. Eliminate the temptation to have crowds gathering. Not only from our province, but the rest of Canada.

We cannot sit back and wait for the rollout of vaccines to contain this and mitigate the

inevitable morbidity and mortality that results. We can expect a slowdown in roll out of vaccines as companies adjust their production to specifically target the new variants. There will be more variants coming. Already the companies are talking of new booster shots for the variants (www.bbc.com/news/uk-55976037).

Exceptionally stringent regulations for COVID-19 control have been undertaken on our mountains. Our mayor had been clear and consistent: “stay home.” He is recognized within our province as a shining light. This situation has not arisen from a lack of planning and vision on behalf of the community of Whistler.

But, the virus and virus variants are stronger and more deadly than all of our efforts. It is time

With more COVID-19 cases than Vancouver, Whistler is now at a crossroads.

It is time for Whistler, and the B.C. government to take the responsible course.

The harsh reality is that out of necessity many of our local workers live and work in an environment that is conducive to the spread of COVID-19.

The present policy of open tourism to Whistler to “preserve the ski industry” will lead to two scenarios both ending with the same devastating outcome: 1. We (Whistler) are a major source of infection to the rest of B.C. and Canada. [Result]:Public opinion and provincial premiers will pressure B.C. to close Whistler down.

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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR JU

2. British and South African highly contagious variants get here sooner than vaccines crippling the work force. [Result]: Whistler is shut down since not enough staff and/or Medical Officers of Health dictate a full shut down.

Or… we stop tourism to Whistler limiting the spread into and out of Whistler.

We will have a better chance of keeping the mountain open, staff employed, helping our local businesses stay open and our population safer.

Neither option is ideal but at least we have a fighting chance by stopping tourism.

Charles Monk, MD // Whistler

Work to keep us safe appreciated Today I was at the 7th Heaven chair when a ski patroller asked a 50-plus-year-old snowboarder to put on his mask. The boarder responded with, “I can’t fu...king hear you.”

The patroller had the lift stopped and requested the boarder to put on his mask and said that he was here to ensure everyone’s safety.

In addition [he added] that ski areas were being scrutinized for following [COVID-19] guidelines.

After a brief argument between the two, whilst the ski patroller acted calmly and professionally, the entire lift line began to cheer and show support for the ski patroller.

Most of us are trying to do our best. We appreciate all the work Vail Resorts’ employees and the municipality is doing to keep Whistler Blackcomb open.

Lloyd Hedemann // Whistler

Young adults—have your say!

Communities That Care Whistler (CTCW) is currently undertaking an updated Young Adult Survey for Whistler Residents aged 18 to 30. This age group encompasses the backbone of our workforce and our future community leadership.

We have not sought their feedback since 2016 and in these pandemic times it is imperative to understand the effects of isolation, the disease itself as well as the issues that existed before and during COVID-19.

We are asking some very personal questions and want to assure those thinking about taking the survey and those that already have—that their responses are completely confidential. It is important though, if possible, that the survey be answered in full and as accurately as possible.

Currently we are at 60 per cent female and 37 per cent male as respondents but we are are missing some key data from more than 100 responses about which sex they identify as— this is just one missing piece of the puzzle, there are others.

The data will be used to identify issues that are important to Whistlerites and areas that they feel require more support. CTCW has a history of advocacy and programming that will be used to address these important community issues. We would like to acknowledge the support of the CTCW board members who are public service stakeholders.

We would like to thank Whistler Community Services Society for sponsoring the survey— and acknowledge the care they provide to the community as a whole. Its capacity has been

tested during the pandemic and it strives to meet the demand and answer the needs of the community. WCSS demonstrates, we are in this together!

We are offering daily prizes and decided that we would not ask for donations from businesses, nevertheless some businesses have given— TNT Barber, Coastal Culture, Vallea Lumina, XC Connection/RMOW and Epic Promise. This has allowed us to increase our Grand Prize to a $500 Whistler Blackcomb Gift Certificate.

So please fill out the survey all the way—it is for your benefit, not the Boomers! Boomers— please tell the 20-somethings in your lives about the survey.

Check out our ad in this week’s Pique for a QR code or go to www.surveymonkey.com/r/whistleryoung-adult We will release a report on the survey to the community in about two to three months.

Cathy Jewett // Chair, Communities That Care Whistler

School District needs a math lesson School District 48 is in the process of adopting an operational policy that prohibits schools from offering “streamed courses,” which they believe limits a student’s post-secondary opportunities (ie: going to university).

Currently for students entering Grade 10 there are two ministry-designed and approvedcourse options for students: Workplace Math 10 and Foundations & Pre-Calculus Mathematics 10. When these courses were first implemented, they were offered as different pathways and deliberately not referred to as streams.

Adopting this operational policy would remove the option for students to select Workplace Math 10 and require all students to take the Foundations and Pre-Calculus pathway.

As a math teacher I see many students who have been traumatized to some degree by mathematics. I see parents, adults and even some teachers who have had a negative experience with mathematics and are quick to respond with: “I hate math” or “I never got math” or “I don’t have a math brain.”

My job involves sharing with students the value of being numerate and breaking down their negative experiences and societal stigmas towards mathematics. The Workplace Math 10 course is intended to provide exposure to real-world math applications. The two available options are different enough in content to warrant taking multiple math courses and they are designed intentionally to provide skills to students entering the workforce, pursuing trades, or entering college programs after high school.

These workplace classes traditionally have a higher percentage of at-risk students because it serves the need to provide a supportive environment while breaking down math anxiety and stigma.

If the intent of the decision to remove Workplace 10 is to improve student success, to be inclusive of all learning abilities and to provide viable postsecondary options, then I believe that those making the decision may be confused as to what this course offers our most vulnerable students.

Simply showing up in class is an

Write to us! Letters to the editor must contain the writer’s name, address and a daytime telephone number. Maximum length is 450 words. Pique Newsmagazine reserves the right to edit, condense or refrain from publishing any contribution. Letters reflect the opinion of the writer and not that of Pique Newsmagazine.

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accomplishment for some. The workplace classes are a safe place for students to overcome the stigma of not only mathematics, but also education.

Workplace Math is essential in building confidence and providing some opportunity of success. I fear that if we take this option away from our children who already identify mathematics as a source of anxiety and despair then they will be the ones who suffer the most.

I am concerned that this decision is being made without any meaningful consultation. It would seem advantageous to have mathematics educators involved in conversations regarding mathematics education in the district.

With purposeful communication, we could design a solution that could address the needs of our students and would not involve eliminating a valuable course.

If you share the concern about the removal of options for our children without proper consultation, I encourage you to write or speak to your school trustees: Rick Price: rprice@ sd48.bc.ca, Ian Kent: ikent@sd48.bc.ca, Rebecca Barley: rbarley@sd48.bc.ca, Celeste Bickford: cbickford@sd48.bc.ca, Rachel Lythe: rlythe@sd48.bc.ca, David Walden: dwalden@ sd48.bc.ca and Cynthia Higgins: chiggins@ sd48.bc.ca David Gregr // Math Teacher, Howe Sound Secondary

Nita Lake needs your help I am writing to bring much-needed attention to the rezoning application and proposed new development on the west side of Nita Lake.

As I walked the Valley Trail along Nita Lake with my young children, I truly could see the impact this development will have and I worry about not my own enjoyment of Whistler but what kind of Whistler we will leave for

future generations if the overdevelopment of our lakes continues. The public hearing about this development is scheduled for Feb. 23 and it is now or never that we make our voices heard to protect this beautiful part of our community.

Whistler exists and thrives because of our mountains and our lakes. This natural beauty is why people choose to live in Whistler and why tourists flock to visit. It’s part of what makes Whistler special as an international resort destination.

Our chain of lakes is the gem of our town, and it is in the best interest of everyone, both residents and businesses, that their splendour and attraction are spared from overdevelopment.

My fear is that the proposed rezoning, which represents a substantial increase in density over existing development rights, is just too much for this small, precious lake.

I am not against the appropriate development of this land, but I am concerned that a full five acres of property near the lake will be clear cut.

Council should extract binding assurances now to preserve the trees and protect the forested appearance of the lakeshore. In addition, concerns raised by the independent environmental report have not yet been fully resolved.

Building a better and more-thoughtful proposal would be a big win for everyone: the council, the neighbourhood, the community and even the developer. With the current proposal before council the cost to Whistler and the irreversible damage to Nita Lake are both too high. As a community, we can do better. We can make this development be better.

A lot of my concerns are expressed at www. nitalake.ca. I encourage my fellow residents to write to the mayor and council, or plan to speak at the public hearing [on Feb. 23] to help protect Nita Lake.

If Whistler gets this wrong, there is no going back.

Jennifer Follows // Whistler ■

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AS OF WEDNESDAY FEB 10 There’s snow at the end of the tunnel!

A week of clear skies and chilly temperatures in Whistler almost certainly has you pining for the dark and stormy days of winter to return.

There’s some good news in store! Over the weekend we are expecting a change of scenery as our embedded arctic air finally yields to a Pacific low-pressure system that is set to deliver some new snow to the region.

Unfortunately, the cold and clear period between our last snowfall and the upcoming storms has created a bit of a problematic setup.

The cold means our snow surface has gradually evolved into dry, sugary, and generally weak, faceted snow. The clear means we almost certainly have some new and slippery sun crusts formed on solar aspects, and the combo of cold and clear overnight periods has more than likely formed a fragile new layer of feathery surface hoar in more sheltered areas away from wind or sun exposure.

Not ideal!

The setup isn’t perfect, but I bet you’re more than happy to manage a new avalanche

problem in exchange for a top up of new snow.

To manage the evolving situation, start by carefully monitoring accumulations. Up to about 10 or 15 centimetres, instabilities from the new snow will likely be fairly limited to areas where the wind is actively loading snow. Think about the immediate leeward side of ridges and windexposed terrain features. Not only does snow add up faster here, it’s much more likely to take on the character of an unstable slab that’s easily triggered by a person or machine.

If we’re lucky enough to receive around 20 cm or more of new snow, start narrowing your terrain options to low-angled slopes where avalanches are unlikely to run, as well as doing more to limit your exposure to overhead avalanche terrain.

While the amount of new snow we ultimately see from these storms is still a bit uncertain, it seems pretty clear that the motley crew of weak grains and slippery surfaces it lands on will make for active avalanche conditions.

You might not need to sell your soul for this new snow—but you will need to keep a close eye on conditions to stay safe!■

CONDITIONS MAY VARY AND CAN CHANGE RAPIDLY Check for the most current conditions before heading out into the backcountry. Daily updates for the areas adjacent to Whistler Blackcomb are available at 604-938-7676, or surf to www.whistlerblackcomb.com/mountaininfo/snow-report#backcountry or go to www.avalanche.ca.

PIQUE N’ YER INTEREST

Creating happier habits a moment at a time AS WE CLOSE in on a year of the COVID19 pandemic in the Sea to Sky, it’s perhaps time to take stock of some of the smaller, potentially less noticeable changes we’ve seen as a result of the global health crisis.

There are, of course, the macro changes of adhering to health protocols, adapting to emerging mental health

BY DAN FALLOON sports@piquenewsmagazine.com

challenges, spending more time at home than ever before and taking in stride significant shifts in workplace dynamics, whether you’re bravely facing the public and all that brings or have demolished any semblance of proper posture by tapping away on a laptop sprawled, un-ergonomically, across a sofa.

Some of the pandemic’s knock-on effects include, for many, bringing into focus what they truly want out of life and mapping out a plan to achieve it.

Once you’ve been corralled into a new situation in familiar surroundings, you can’t help but take stock of it all. It’s in the form of a continually hot housing market, as some choose to upgrade to improve their home lives (while others

have, sadly, been forced to downsize after being put through the financial wringer); it’s to do with decisions analyzing the satisfaction of everything from careers to relationships.

But collectively we were also, for better or worse, jarred from our habits.

On a personal level, my wife and I have weathered the pandemic with our lives

times instead of taking pains to get up and rush out the door), while others (actually planning for lunch in advance as opposed to mindlessly packing a turkey sandwich and an apple for weeks on end) took a bit more initiative.

It’s been a time to ponder even small, low-stakes changes. At the start of the first lockdown, my wife was inspired to

At a time when life has been changing, often for the worse, at a break-neck pace, clawing back any sort of small victory is more than welcome. mostly intact. We woke up later without having to commute, ate hot lunch (and even cooked a proper breakfast) most days, and enjoyed one another’s company even at times when our main focuses were the task at hand. On the flipside, there were occasions, especially in the early days, where we made the decision to forego our daily walks in the name of safety.

Some of the positives were clearly path of least resistance (hitting snooze a couple

download the 1 Second Everyday (1SE) application, where you take a small snippet of video every day and it helps you document the year that was.

Even though I document the goings-on of the Sea to Sky by writing stories and taking photos, I’d failed to do much of that in my own life, often espousing a “do you need to record everything you’re doing?” attitude in a very old-man-yells-at-cloud manner.

Seeing my wife’s 2020 retrospective

and—odd as it may be to say in an undoubtedly challenging year—being reminded of the happy memories we’d made together prodded me to start a project on New Year’s Day. I technically haven’t missed a day yet (though, in displaying how it was a tougher habit to break into, the only Jan. 4 file I had when looking to catch up was a downloaded photo of Dolly Parton). After an adjustment period, though, I’ve been better about finding a little something to document each day about life in 2021. It’s been mostly goofy clips of our three pets, but there’s also a snippet of a municipal council meeting and a quick flyover of a taco feast.

It’s mostly innocuous stuff, but looking back at it brings me a smile and there are already a few treasured memories.

And, perhaps slightly more importantly, it’s a small nudge on the path to being the person I’d like to be.

At a time when life has been changing, often for the worse, at a break-neck pace, clawing back any sort of small victory is more than welcome. This teensy project may have sprouted in the dawn of January, arguably as a resolution to do something different at the outset of a new year, but the timing’s beside the point. If you find yourself saying, “Taking a few seconds each day to do X or Y will bring me a little more joy,” it’s time to take the initiative to do it. ■

FEBRUARY 11, 2021

13

NEWS WHISTLER

Whistler officials eye ‘strategic’ recovery as COVID fatigue sinks in WHISTLER RECOVERY WORKING GROUP PROVIDES UPDATE ON BUSINESS, LABOUR AND MORE

BY BRADEN DUPUIS A FULL YEAR since the COVID-19 pandemic arrived in B.C., the fatigue is very much real in Whistler.

“Everyone in our town, I think, is tired of dealing with COVID,” said Mayor Jack Crompton.

“But I’m buoyed by the response of Whistlerites, even in the face of that COVID exhaustion. When we reached out and said redouble efforts, people have taken it on.

That’s inspiring, because it is not easy.”

Case in point: The Resort Municipality of Whistler’s (RMOW) Recovery Working Group—a community collaboration bringing in more than 20 volunteers from across the resort to work towards a common purpose.

“It’s been really amazing to see what we’re able to accomplish as a community just by meeting together and sharing what we’re seeing, where the needs are in the community and how we can support them,” Virginia Cullen, the RMOW’s Chief Administrative Officer told Pique.

The pandemic has had the effect of amplifying some of tomorrow’s issues today, she added—things like mental health and labour shortages among them— and responding to them has required more agility than some may be used to.

“I would call it an emergent process,” Cullen said. “So we’re paying close

ON THE STROLL A lonely dog wanders an unnervingly quiet Village Stroll in April 2020. Whistler officials say they are planning for a strategic resort recovery as the pandemic enters its second year.

PHOTO BY BRAD KASSELMAN / COAST MOUNTAIN PHOTOGRAPHY

14 FEBRUARY 11, 2021

attention to how things are changing in the community, and watching to see what’s emerging as important, and then paying attention and responding to that.”

That being said, Cullen wants Whistler’s recovery to be strategic rather than reactive.

In a reactive recovery, you run the danger of being too preoccupied with responding to various problems and crises that suddenly you find yourself in an unplanned (and potentially unmanageable) future, she explained.

But a strategic recovery keeps one eye focused on the big picture, steering the resort towards a preferred outcome.

Said another way, if you spend the whole fight on the defensive, constantly blocking and dodging blows, you’re likely to lose by judge’s decision (or worse).

So you’d best make sure you’re throwing some, too.

“Across the community, people have risen to the challenge and worked together, and that’s encouraging,” Crompton said.

“I’m deeply grateful for people’s willingness to work on behalf of our community when they have so much going on taking care of their families and businesses as it is.”

COMMUNITY WELL-BEING Four members of the Recovery Working Group were onhand for the Feb 2. Committee of the Whole meeting to provide updates, each representing a different sub-group: Jackie Dickinson (community well-being); James Retty (local business survival); Joel Chevalier (labour market) and Dave Clark (tourism sustainability).

The immense need seen at the Whistler Community Services Society (WCSS) and

its food bank at the outset of the pandemic never really went away—and like the pandemic itself, it has come in waves, said Dickinson, WCSS’ executive director.

“We are on track to serve just as much food in the next four weeks as we did in April, except in a different way, in a different format,” she said.

“Because we don’t need a conference centre anymore, we need delivery trucks, and lots of them.”

As COVID cases have exploded in Whistler, WCSS has shifted much of its food bank efforts to delivering to those who are self-isolating.

“Our need now is the same, [but] it looks different, and it’s established itself differently in our community,” Dickinson said.

“And as always, our staff is very privileged and very grateful to do this work, and it continues to be a sign of strength in our community, but we need to communicate the urgency of the type of need that’s being impacted through COVID19 in Whistler now.”

Read more, or make a donation, at mywcss.org.

“Local businesses, most of them are smaller in their scope, and you’ve got people who have a lot of skin in the game.

They’re paying mortgages and putting their kids through school, and they have a deep connection to the community … but I have to say that there were so many pull-points on this challenged group over the fall, that it was very hard for us to pull together.”

Business owners have had to contend with bullish landlords, unpredictable supply lines, drastic income losses and challenges with staffing—not to mention their own mental health.

Support and guidance from the RMOW and Whistler Chamber of Commerce was “crucial for a lot of people,” Retty added— but the challenges persist.

While in any normal year, February, March and April start to get stronger, business-wise, “we don’t know what’s going on this year,” Retty said.

“But those sources of support that were presented by the Chamber, in this case, were well-received, and I know a lot of people, including artists, did take advantage.”

LOCAL BUSINESS SURVIVAL

LABOUR MARKET

Many of Whistler’s entrepreneurs saw disastrous losses in 2020, and were left to sort through an avalanche of confusing relief programs while trying desperately just to keep their doors open and their staff healthy.

The result was a group that was difficult to fully engage, said Escape Route’s James Retty.

“On the business survival side of things, it has been extremely challenging,” Retty said.

While Whistler has struggled with staffing for years, the pandemic added new wrinkles to the plot.

“For the first time in many years, Whistler businesses were struggling with an inability to predict how busy or not busy they would be, and in turn how many staff they would need or not need,” said Joel Chevalier, HR professional and founder of Culinary Recruitment International.

SEE PAGE 15

>>

SO LD !

NEWS WHISTLER

WorkSafe BC COVID-19 safety blitz finds infractions

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BY ALYSSA NOEL MORE THAN HALF of the Whistler businesses WorkSafe BC visited as part of an inspection blitz Jan. 30 and 31 were cited for violations of COVID-19 regulations.

Inspectors wrote orders for 35 of the 62 workplaces they visited, said Al Johnson, head of prevention services.

“An order is written when there’s a violation to the regulation,” he said.

“Generally speaking, what an order would mean is part of their COVID-safety plan needed improvement.”

Some common infractions included employers not conducting proper health checks, not having proper equipment available or used correctly, and infractions to occupancy limits, particularly in places like lunchrooms or washrooms for employees.

“We were a little surprised out of 62 inspections, a handful didn’t have a COVID safety plan,” Johnson said. “That is basic.

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After a year of us and everyone else saying, ‘You need a COVID safety plan,’ we were surprised a few didn’t have a plan. That’s not to say they weren’t doing something; they didn’t have a written plan.”

In addition to the seven prevention officers who visited Whistler, nine consultants also called 38 local businesses for phone consultations.

At the same time, Vancouver Coastal Health sent public health officers to inspect primarily bars and restaurants.

“I would say businesses were fairly receptive of us doing our Whistler inspection initiative,” Johnson said. “No one likes to see a WorkSafe inspector, so to speak, on any worksite on any issue, but we really are there to try to ensure they’re doing what they need to do and know what they need to do.”

The workplace inspections were centred in high-density areas and focused on retail, grocery and liquor stores, hotels, and ski operations said the Whistler Chamber of

SEE PAGE 17

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RECOVERY WORKING GROUP FROM PAGE 14 While an absence of international labour from Australia, the U.K. and New Zealand—typically Whistler’s bread and butter—was largely filled by a surge in applicants from Quebec and Ontario, those applicants were mostly directed at the resort’s larger employers, Chevalier said.

“So the problem that we focused on was less about recruitment, which is usually the case with dealing with the labour market, and more of a utilization of available applicants,” he said, “Larger employers such as the Fairmont Chateau Whistler and the Westin Resort and Spa that were seeing a huge amount of applications, we were able to have those employers redirect the applicants that they didn’t need anymore to the Whistler Chamber of Commerce job board, as well as the go2HR job board out of Vancouver.”

Anecdotally the system has been a success, with many smaller employers seeing an uptake in applications after it was put in place, Chevalier said.

“Although this was designed to be a short-term, quick-to-implement solution, this tool has the capacity to be a legacy tool for the community beyond the pandemic recovery period, given that we know if we can get back to some semblance of normal we’re still going to need to work to fill these roles that are so crucial to visitation in Whistler,” he said.

TOURISM SUSTAINABILITY If Retty’s group is the CPR of Whistler’s recovery, Dave Clark, founder and race director of the Whistler Half Marathon, sees his group as the physiotherapy.

Whereas the other groups have mostly been focused on the here and now, “we’re looking at this opportunity, of the pandemic, to realign how Whistler is presented, and what we can do to be smarter going forward,” Clark said.

“We are very interested in diving deeper into being a source of direction, I maybe would say, in helping future business or tourism experiences be authentic, be something that is additive to our community versus taking away from.”

To that end, one initiative being planned by the group is a “Tourism Diversity Lab” that will encourage and enable local talent and ideas that support mountain culture and tourism.

In the present, the lab could assist businesses with everything from shifting online to connecting them with resources, Clark said as an example.

Further down the road, it could consider ways to grow Whistler’s tourism economy that are sustainable, additive to the community and reflective of the local mountain culture.

Watch the full Feb. 2 Committee of the Whole presentation at www.whistler.ca/ municipal-gov/council/meeting-agendasand-minutes. n

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NEWS WHISTLER << FROM PAGE 15 Commerce in its Feb.8 newsletter.

“If business owners need any help in developing and implementing their COVID19 Safety Plan, go2HR’s COVID-19 Safety Plan Review Initiative is an excellent resource, and is complimentary and confidential,” said the Chamber.

“The Whistler Chamber, WorkSafe BC and go2HR will continue to collaborate to provide Whistler businesses with all the support and resources they need in fulfilling these obligations.”

According to Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry, the blitz worked.

On Wednesday, Feb. 10, Vancouver Coastal Health confirmed numbers are down with 43 new cases, (as of Feb. 8) and 24 older cases that had earlier symptom onset, for a total of 614 cases since Jan. 1.

“There is still transmission happening and I know there was quite an impact from what WorkSafe and Environmental Health Officers did with a number of the restaurants, bars, and retail outlets last weekend,” Henry said. “From what we hear, it was a reasonable weekend. There are still long lines waiting for … the lifts to the ski hill. That’s something that is challenging for people and I think there’s more that still needs to be done to engage with the community so that, for the next number of weeks of the season, there’s a reasonable approach.”

That comment was in stark contrast with the provincial press conference on

Friday, Feb. 5 during which Health Minister Adrian Dix revealed there had been 547 cases in Whistler from Jan. 1 to Feb. 2.

Only two cases required short stays in the hospital and none resulted in deaths.

“Almost all the recent cases that are associated with transmission [occurred] within households and social settings, according to our contact tracing,” he added.

“Dr. Henry and I spent time and were working with the mayor of Whistler, Jack Crompton, who’s played an extraordinary leadership role … I want to acknowledge his work.”

WORKING GROUP UNDERWAY Dix also alluded to a “full action plan” that the Ministry of Tourism is expected to release soon to reduce transmission at ski hills across the province.

“We want to take those actions and focus in on the source of transmission and limit transmission and not have to take broader action with respect to the entire industry,” he said.

That said, Dix reiterated that transmission appears to be coming from social settings.

“It’s not skiing on the mountain that’s been the principal source of transmission,” he said. “We’ll continue increasing [inspections]—and I think you’ll see an increase in communications, more details of the plan, both from the industry, involving

health authorities, but also the Ministry of Tourism—to target transmission in the coming weeks. I think it’s very important we do that because no one wants to take broader action that would curtail the season.”

“But we need to take action now …

That’s way, way, way too many cases.”

The Ministry of Tourism is working alongside health officials and the ski industry to come up with a plan to address not only safety, but also problems like non-locals with ski passes travelling to resorts outside of what’s considered their local mountain.

Said Crompton: “All of the agencies we’ve had the privilege of working with over the last little while I have found to be extremely professional, focused and collaborative.”

SELF-ISOLATION HOUSING AVAILABLE The Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW) has been working in collaboration with BC Housing, Vancouver Coastal Health, and Whistler Community Services Society (WCSS) to address the challenges many locals face with self-isolating in high-density shared houses.

Back in November, when Whistler’s COVID-19 cases surged, WCSS began to collect information and data from people using its services to find out what kind of help they needed during this challenging time.

That led to several initiatives—from hygiene kits to food bank deliveries, an electronic assistance program (in which

people without cellphones to access their COVID-19 test results are given phones) and self-isolation housing.

“I think high-density housing has always been something WCSS and our frontline staff have been aware of,” said Jackie Dickinson, executive director of WCSS, “The [issues] that have come out of the pandemic are not new; they’ve come to the forefront and ask us to take a look at the challenges any community faces.”

Details on the location of the emergency self-isolation housing are not being shared to protect the privacy of those using it, but Dickinson confirms it is located in Whistler.

“There are a variety of different factors that determine a reference for this program,” she added. “Sometimes it does depend on a lot of factors people disclose—whether they can safely isolate is a big one. Sharing accommodation rooms or bathrooms with others is one to consider.”

The housing also serves anyone at risk for homelessness due to their COVID-19 status or anyone who is already homeless and unable to care for their health properly.

After testing positive or being instructed by officials to self-isolate, individuals in need can connect with WCSS to learn more about the available housing.

“Our site is in the community,” Dickinson said. “Through this project we’re learning all the time what our next steps are—how to keep working with these partners, how to bring the need for emergency housing to the forefront.” n

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• End unit townhouse • Built in 2019 • Next to estuary & trails

• 4 level split, views for days • 5 Bed | 6.5 Bath | 6.855 Sq. Ft. • Ski-in, ski-out, work of art

• Fully renovated turn-key property • 4 Bed house with 1 bed revenue suite • Nightly rentals allowed • Views of Alta Lake and Rainbow Mtn. • Outdoor heated pool, hot tub & sauna • fully furnished and ready to move in

$3,779,000

KRISTEN DILLON

DANA FRIESEN SMITH, PREC*

JEREMY FAIRLEY

HANNAH GARCIA, PREC*

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jeremy@jeremyfairley.ca

This communication is not intended to cause or induce the breach of an existing agency relationship

*Personal Real Estate Corporation

hannah@hannahgarcia.com

NEWS WHISTLER

Cannabis retail on Whistler’s 2021 work plan—resources permitting COUNCIL BRIEFS: A YEAR ON ZOOM (AND COUNTING); IT’S NEVER TOO EARLY TO THINK FIRESMART

BY BRADEN DUPUIS IS WHISTLER’S MAYOR and council out of touch when it comes to the (ahem) needs of guests and residents?

More specifically, why are there still no cannabis retail stores in Whistler, more than two years after federal legalization?

It’s a question oft repeated in online forums, and one posed by local resident Tyler Follett in a Jan. 24 letter to council.

“I am curious why you are so vehemently opposed to allowing a legal cannabis dispensary to open up in Whistler.

Meanwhile, it seems like any time a bar would like to open on the stroll, the red carpet is rolled out for them. Why the drastic difference?” he wrote, in part.

“With all due respect, it really seems like this is a council that is out of touch with the residents.”

While Whistler passed a zoning amendment bylaw in early 2018 prohibiting the retail sale of cannabis, allowing local officials to control where and when pot shops are introduced to the resort, the lack of action on the file is not due to council being out of touch, according to Mayor Jack Crompton.

“COVID-19 is the lens through which we see everything, and certainly housing, climate and community balance, affordability, remain our highest priorities,” he said.

“Non-medical cannabis retail and licencing is in the Resort Municipality of Whistler’s current work plan, and is identified for consideration in 2021. But a lot depends on resources available.”

Is it possible that a cannabis retail store opens in Whistler before the end of the year?

“I don’t want to get out ahead of council on what will ultimately be decided,” Crompton said.

“My hope is that we’ll see consideration of our cannabis policy in 2021.”

A YEAR ON ZOOM (AND COUNTING) What’s that old saying about not knowing what you’ve got until it’s gone?

Let’s just say this Pique reporter never thought he’d miss the cold mundanities of in-person council meetings at the Maury Young Arts Centre—until he had to spend a year covering council over Zoom. (Has it really been a year? How is that possible?)

And yet, the last time Whistler’s mayor and council met in person was Feb. 18, 2020.

At its Feb. 2, 2021 meeting (held over

Zoom), council heard a short update from general manager of corporate and community services Ted Battiston regarding a potential return to the Maury Young Arts Centre.

“The formal guidance to municipalities [from the provincial ministry of municipal affairs] is that all meeting participants ... are strongly encouraged to attend electronically,” Battiston said. “So that’s the landscape of where we are right now.”

Alas.

After Battiston’s presentation, council passed a resolution directing staff to bring forward another update when public health orders around gatherings and guidance from the ministry allow for in-person meetings.

Council’s next meeting is Tuesday, Feb. 16 at 5:30 p.m.

IT’S NEVER TOO EARLY TO THINK FIRESMART A new $10-million provincial FireSmart Economic Recovery Fund is being welcomed in Whistler.

Administered by the Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM), the fund will

“I don’t want to get ahead of council...”

- JACK CROMPTON

pay for projects that encourage economic development, reduce wildfire risks, allow people to develop new job skills and help protect forests and communities from harm.

“Programs like this have been used extensively by Whistler in the past,” Crompton said. “Our hope is to access this program again.”

The RMOW has three fuel-thinning projects on tap for 2021: at Cheakamus Lake Road (about 20 hectares left to thin), on Nesters Hill (14.8 ha.) and at Taluswood (11 ha.).

“It’s critically important that we protect ourselves from fires,” Crompton said.

“I would ask every person in this community to consider their property and whether it is going to be safe in the event of a fire. If you’re uncertain, please reach out for help to determine whether or not your property is FireSmart.”

Head to whistler.ca/firesmart for more. n

FEBRUARY 11, 2021

19

NEWS WHISTLER

Vancouver man seeking damages after allegedly being struck by cart at Whistler Golf Club CIVIL SUIT NAMES OCCUPANTS OF CART, ALONG WITH RMOW AND TOURISM WHISTLER

BY BRANDON BARRETT A

VANCOUVER MAN has filed a civil claim in B.C. Supreme Court after he was allegedly struck and injured by a golf cart at the Whistler Golf Club in 2018.

Filed Feb. 4, the suit alleges that Vancouver salesman Adam James French was at the Whistler Golf Club on or about Sept. 12, 2018 when he was struck by a golf cart on the 15th hole. The court filing said he sustained injuries to his right knee, including a torn ACL and partially torn MCL and TCL, as well as whiplash and mental injury.

Named in the suit are Matthew Hayden Clark, who is listed as the marketing manager for the Westin Resort & Spa, and Australian resident Bart Van Iersel, who

both had rented the cart and, according to the suit, “negligently and without any warning or provocation” drove the cart into the plaintiff. The suit alleged Clark and/ or Iersel operated the cart in an unsafe manner, drove at an excessive speed, and failed to give any audible or visible warning of their approach.

The Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW), which owns the property, and Tourism Whistler, which manages and operates the golf course, are also named.

The suit claimed the incident was caused by the negligence of the RMOW and Tourism Whistler, in part, because a golf cart was rented to Clark and Iersel while knowing, or having the means to know, that they were “not adequately informed of the peculiar capacities and manoeuvring abilities of stopping and braking features”

CIVIL SUIT A Vancouver man who was allegedly struck and injured by a cart at the Whistler Golf Club in 2018 is seeking damages from the cart’s occupants, as well as the RMOW, which owns the course, and Tourism Whistler, which manages and operates it.

FACEBOOK/ WHISTLER GOLF CLUB

of the cart; by consenting to the use of the cart by Clark and/or Iersel while knowing or having the means to know they were “visibly intoxicated”; and by failing to install, utilize or maintain barriers to limit or restrict drivers of golf carts from accessing unsafe areas of the property.

French is seeking general, special, punitive and aggravated damages, including for loss of past and prospective income; loss of capacity to perform jobs around the home; future care costs; as well as other related costs.

“The deliberate and reckless nature

of the Incident has left the Plaintiff feeling humiliated and distraught, thereby warranting an award for aggravated damages against Clark and/or Iersel,” the suit went on.

None of the above claims have been proven in court.

Clark, Tourism Whistler, the RMOW and the legal counsel representing French declined to comment with the matter before the courts. Pique was unable to find contact details for Iersel.

The defendants have 35 days from the date the suit was filed to respond. n

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NEWS WHISTLER

Whistler Blackcomb cited as significant industrial water user CANADIAN CENTRE FOR POLICY ALTERNATIVES PUSHING FOR MORE RIGOROUS WATER METERING

BY DAN FALLOON AND BRANDON BARRETT WHISTLER BLACKCOMB (WB) was given as an example of a major industrial water user in a Feb. 3 report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA).

Ben Parfitt’s report, titled “Thirsting for information: reforms to industrial water use badly needed,” noted that as British Columbia feels the effects of climatechange-induced drought, several industries continue to run the tap.

Using government data, Parfitt’s report analyzes 10 industries: industrial; processing and manufacturing; forestry; snowmaking; mining; fishing; freshwater bottling; oil and gas; well drilling; and lawn, fairway and garden.

Whistler Blackcomb was Parfitt’s example in the snowmaking industry, listed as a “big user.” According to Parfitt’s report, referencing 2019 data from the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development, WB has licenced water

rights north of 13 million cubic metres for which it paid just over $29,000. He noted that it’s the equivalent of paying $5.62 for every Olympic-sized swimming pool of water.

“It is important to note that all water users may or may not use the maximum amount of water that they are entitled to under their licences,” Parfitt explained in an email. “However, they pay based on the maximums assigned to them. In this case, Whistler Blackcomb had the highest volume of water assigned to it of all users in that category.”

In the bigger picture, Parfitt noted that most industries, with pulp and paper being a notable exception, are not required to meter their water use. “[A]n overall lack of water metering means that understaffed and underbudgeted provincial civil servants must carry out compliance and enforcement efforts with one arm firmly tied behind their backs,” the report said. “How can they hold companies to account that are withdrawing the equivalent of tens of thousands of Olympic swimming pools’ worth of water when there is no verifiable data to check on?”

Creek, where, since 2010, it has partnered on a renewable energy project that sees an estimated 32 gigawatt hours of electricity a year returned to the grid, the equivalent of WB’s yearly energy consumption.

Parfitt said he was prompted to do this research after looking into water use in the fracking industry and finding “very clear evidence” that water use and damming rules weren’t being following, and that “the water being used by that industry isn’t being well tracked.”

One of the ways Parfitt recommended getting a handle on industrial water usage is for the province to raise its rental rates, “even modestly,” and then funnelling those funds back into water management and conservation.

“Approximately $100 million per year in provincial revenues is generated from water rentals,” he said. “Even a 10-percent increase in water rental fees, which is a tiny, tiny percentage of the overall operating costs of the industries I profile in my research, would generate a modest amount of money that could be channelled into hiring much-needed provincial government staff.” n

In a statement, a WB spokesperson said: “Water is a significant component of snowmaking and a critical resource that supports the health of ecosystems and communities. Unlike water use in other industries, most of the water used for snowmaking is non-consumptive. This means that it returns to the local watershed via snowmelt and is then available for immediate use.

“At Whistler Blackcomb, we monitor our water withdrawal to ensure we do not exceed our water rights.”

Whistler Blackcomb declined to share its water usage metrics when asked

by Pique in December 2019, though at the time, Grouse Mountain reported, “it takes about 180,000 gallons (681,374 litres) of water to cover one acre with one foot (30 centimetres) of snow.”

Parfitt acknowledged in a follow-up phone call that while the water WB uses for snowmaking does return to the landscape in some form, “it’s not the same thing as pulling water out of a particular source and returning the water to that source.”

WB sources the majority of its snowmaking water from the Fitzsimmons

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Wag would like to extend our heartfelt THANK YOU to everyone who made our Holiday Matching Campaign a huge success! Thanks to our donors, we reached (and surpassed!) our fundraising goal of $10,000, which allowed our partners, Zog’s and Moguls Coffee House, to match the donations for over $20,000 raised in the month of December – WOW! This year has been tough on everyone and WAG is no exception, but thanks to your support, we are starting 2021 off on the right paw!

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NEWS WHISTLER

Public hearing set for Alta Lake Rd. housing project UPDATED TRAFFIC STUDY UNDER REVIEW

BY BRADEN DUPUIS A CONTROVERSIAL housing project at 5298 Alta Lake Road is heading to a public hearing as Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW) staff reviews an updated traffic impact study.

The project—which proposes 11 market tourist-accommodation units, 11 market residential units and 21 employee-restricted units on the lakefront site—was back on the Feb. 2 council agenda for minor amendments to the rezoning bylaw.

The first two readings of the bylaw (which council gave on June 23, 2020) were rescinded, and replaced with updated versions that include details about a planned park amenity and standards for a Valley Trail amenity.

A public hearing—likely to be a marathon, given the feedback from the public so far—is set for Tuesday, Feb. 23 on Zoom.

All correspondence received to date will be considered as part of the public hearing process.

The first traffic impact study conducted for the project—on Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2019—raised red flags for nearby residents, who argued the study wasn’t

representative of peak periods.

Council has generally been supportive of the project since it was first introduced, with some councillors noting that the developer is already entitled to build a hotel and several cabins under the site’s current zoning.

“What would be the repercussions to the municipality if we decided to downzone this?” Councillor Cathy Jewett asked at the Feb. 2 meeting. “There seems to be a thought that we could just change things like this, and it’s very difficult, of course, because there’s already zoning on this.”

The RMOW would have to initiate that rezoning itself, said senior planner Melissa Laidlaw.

“The parcel currently has significant development rights, so a rezoning such as that would have to go through a typical zoning amendment process,” she said. “And without review of the Official Community Plan, I cannot confirm at this time whether such a proposal would be consistent with the OCP land-use map.”

A RECENT HISTORY REFRESHER Earlier at the Feb. 2 meeting, local resident Dawn Titus raised questions about the project during the public Q and A, including

proponent Michael Hutchison’s previous involvement with the Mayor’s Task Force on Resident Housing.

Guidelines for employee housing projects from private developers were one of seven recommendations unveiled by the task force in November 2017.

A rezoning application for the Alta Lake Road site was first submitted under the task force’s original guidelines in the spring of 2018, but was withdrawn before council could consider it.

According to a staff report from the Sept. 18 council meeting, the applicants “determined that one or more of the evaluation criteria did not fit with their development goals for the property.”

While council approved five other private-developer employee-housing projects for further review at that meeting, lawmakers would later grapple with three of the proposals, and on Feb. 26, 2019, council instructed staff to “broaden the scope” of the guidelines.

On March 26, 2019, council adopted new guidelines removing the requirement that all projects in question must be 100-percent employee housing, and permitting limited amounts of new, unrestricted market housing to support project viability.

Council got its first look at the

proposal for 5298 (then 15 three-bedroom employee-housing-restricted townhomes and 22 three-bedroom market-touristaccommodation townhomes) on Sept. 17, 2019—a meeting attended by more than a dozen concerned residents.

The revised application was presented to council in its current form in February 2020, and subsequently authorized for further review.

The Feb. 23 public hearing marks the last legislative step—and the last chance for public input—before consideration of third reading and then adoption.

PROPONENT WEIGHS IN The task force, which last met on Nov. 16, 2017, prior to the election of a new mayor and council in the fall of 2018, had an official code of conduct that stated that “all participants must not engage in any financial transactions, contracts, or private arrangements for personal profit, which accrue from or are based upon confidential or non-public information,” Titus pointed out at the Feb. 2 meeting.

All of the task force’s meetings were closed to the public, she added.

“How did somebody who had that much engagement with the task force and

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NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

the development of these opportunities, now come before you looking for rezoning on a property where there’s going to be lots of money made?” she asked.

Mayor and council will be “very careful” that no one is using privileged information gained from volunteer roles with the RMOW, said Mayor Jack Crompton.

“We will be dealing with this on the merits of the rezoning,” he said. “We’ll be considering the input of the neighbours, and the details of the proposal, and so I think it’s fair to say this will get a fair hearing in front of this table.”

Reached by phone, Hutchison said he only attended two of the task force’s meetings, noting he was one of 19 people sitting around a table for an hour each time.

“It was public consultation,” he said.

“We simply gave our opinions of different forms of housing. That’s it, that’s all.

They wanted a developer on there to talk about infill housing and different types of housing.”

Hutchison added that 5298 is “hardly an undisturbed site,” and has held its current zoning (permitting a boutique hotel and associated cabins) since 2002.

“Finding housing, even back when I got here in 1988, was astoundingly difficult, and it has been astoundingly difficult for the past 40 years,” he said. “If we don’t continue to work to bring [more housing online], then there are no young people coming here and having families and creating a community.” n

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2021 – 5:30P.M. If the Government of British Columbia lifts the Provincial State of Emergency currently in place before February 23, 2021, this Public Hearing will be held at the following location: MAURY YOUNG ARTS CENTRE Franz Wilhelmsen Theatre, 4335 Blackcomb Way, Whistler, BC OFFICIAL COMMUNITY PLAN AMENDMENT BYLAW (5298 ALTA LAKE ROAD) NO. 2289, 2020 And ZONING AMENDMENT BYLAW (5298 ALTA LAKE ROAD) NO. 2283, 2020 SUBJECT LANDS: The parcel that is the subject of the proposed Bylaws is 5298 Alta Lake Road, Whistler, described as LOT B (REFERENCE PLAN 2643) EXCEPT PART DEDICATED ROAD ON PLAN BCP7865, DISTRICT LOT 2246, GROUP 1 NEW WESTMINSTER DISTRICT. The parcel is identified as “subject property” on the map attached to this notice.

PURPOSE: In general terms, the purpose of the proposed Official Community Plan Amendment Bylaw is to amend Schedule “A” (Whistler Land Use Map and Designations)of Whistler’s Official Community Plan to change the land use designation of the subject lands from Visitor Accommodation to Protected Natural Area, Parks and Recreation, Residential and Visitor Accommodation, and Residential Low to Medium.

In general terms, the purpose of the proposed Zoning Amendment Bylaw is to amend the TA17 Zone (Tourist Accommodation Seventeen) to provide for 21 employee housing dwelling units, 11 tourist accommodation dwelling units, 11 residential dwelling units and an amenity building on a 1.93 hectare portion of the subject lands conditional on the provision of amenities. The amenities entitling the owner to the greater density of development are transfer to the Resort Municipality of Whistler of a 1.44 hectare portion of the subject lands for nature conservation park and community park and a 0.5 hectare portion of the subject lands for future employee housing, construction of valley trail on the subject lands, relocation and restoration of two heritage structures on the subject lands,construction of the community park on the subject lands, and construction of 21 employee housing dwelling units on the subject lands.

INSPECTION OF DOCUMENTS: A copy of the proposed Bylaws and relevant background documentation along with written submissions received may be inspected at the Reception Desk of Municipal Hall at 4325 Blackcomb Way, Whistler, BC, during regular office hours of 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday to Friday (statutory holidays excluded) from February 11, 2021 to and including February 22, 2021, and on February 23, 2021 from 8:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

A copy of the proposed Bylaws and relevant background documentation along with written submissions received may also be viewed online on the Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW) website at: whistler.ca/RZ001157 PUBLIC PARTICIPATION: All persons who believe that their interest in property is affected by the proposed Bylaws will be afforded a reasonable opportunity to be heard by Council at the Public Hearing. All persons can: 1) submit written comments to Council; and/or 2) make oral representations LIVE via online video or phone conferencing. (Your image will not be broadcast to Council or the public.)

1. Submit Written Comments to Council Written comments must be addressed to “Mayor and Council”, and include your name and mailing address.

Until 3:30 p.m. on February 23, 2021, written submissions will be received at the following: Email: Fax: Hard Copy:

corporate@whistler.ca 604-935-8109 Resort Municipality of Whistler Legislative Services Department 4325 Blackcomb Way Whistler BC V8E 0X5

Written submissions will also be accepted on February 23, 2021 between 3:30 p.m. and the time when the motion to close the Public Hearing is made.

During this timeframe, written comments must be submitted by email to: corporate@whistler.ca All submissions will form part of the Public Hearing record and will be added to the Public Hearing Package as they are received. The Public Hearing Package will be available on the RMOW website at: whistler.ca/RZ001157 2. Participate LIVE via Online Video or Phone Conferencing The live Public Hearing will take place February 23, 2021 at 5:30 p.m. via online video and phone conferencing. The Public Hearing will be conducted using Zoom and can be accessed via either online video or phone conferencing. No registration is required.

If you wish to make oral representations to Council on the proposed Bylaws by online video or by phone, please use the Public Hearing web link or one of the phone numbers (including Webinar ID) provided below.

• The web link for the Public Hearing online video option is: https://whistler.zoom.us/j/68829595622 • The phone numbers to access the Public Hearing phone conferencing option are as follows: +1 778 907 2071 +1-647-374-4685 • The Webinar ID is: 688 2959 5622 Instructions for Participating via Zoom Online Video or Phone Conferencing

We’ve got you covered.

•

Online video: It is possible to access the Public Hearing on a computer, tablet or smartphone using the web link above. Your camera will not be available, but your microphone will need to be enabled. To indicate that you wish to make an oral representation, click on the ‘raise hand’ feature.

The moderator will allow each person to speak in turn. When it is your turn to speak, your microphone will be unmuted and you will be asked to provide your name and address for the public record. Please be patient as there may be others in the queue before you.

•

Phone conferencing: To access the Public Hearing by phone, use one of the phone numbers above along with the Webinar ID as prompted. To indicate that you wish to make an oral representation, use the ‘raise hand’ feature by dialing [*9]. When it is your turn to speak, the moderator will announce the last three digits of your phone number, and your line will be unmuted. You will be asked to provide your name and address for the public record. Please be patient as there may be others in the queue before you.

After the conclusion of this Public Hearing, Council cannot receive representations from the public on the proposed Bylaws.

General information on participating in the RMOW’s electronic public hearings is available here: https://www.whistler.ca/municipal-gov/council/public-hearings Members of the public can also view the Live Stream of the Public Hearing at: https://www.whistler.ca/municipal-gov/council/meeting-agendas-and-minutes OFFICIAL COMMUNITY PLAN AMENDMENT BYLAW (5298 ALTA LAKE ROAD) NO. 2289, 2020 And ZONING AMENDMENT BYLAW (5298 ALTA LAKE ROAD) NO. 2283, 2020 Map showing Subject Lands

Pick up the latest issue of your favourite read in Whistler.

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Resort Municipality of Whistler whistler.ca FEBRUARY 11, 2021

25

NEWS WHISTLER

‘She always has something to give’ INDIGENOUS ACTIVIST AND SISTERS IN SPIRIT VIGIL FOUNDER LINDA EPP LEAVING WHISTLER AFTER 24 YEARS

BY BRANDON BARRETT IF IT WAS TRAGEDY that first brought Linda Epp to Whistler, it’s triumph that’s sending her on to the next step in her career.

Indigenous activist and arts booster Epp is leaving the community she has called home, off and on, for nearly a quarter-century to work as job placement coordinator and recruitment specialist at Vancouver’s Native Education College, the same campus she graduated from in her 30s and found her first real sense of belonging as an Indigenous woman.

“Because I was brought up in a CanadianGerman Mennonite family, I didn’t know smallpox happened. I didn’t know all this stuff,” she said. “It gave me a desire to learn more and be surrounded by my culture.

That’s what I need now and I think that’s why this opportunity opened itself to me. Now I’m back at the Native Education College and I’m helping other Indigenous students.”

A Sixties Scoop survivor, Epp and her twin sister were separated from their birth parents and placed into foster care, where they were adopted by a white couple and raised to deny their First Nations heritage, Epp said, telling people they were Filipina.

EPPIC JOURNEY Although she’s leaving the resort after many years to pursue a career supporting Indigenous students, local activist Linda Epp says, “a lot of my heart is still going to be here.”

PHOTO SUBMITTED

Leaving her abusive home at 16, it wasn’t until Grade 12 that Epp learned what nation she belonged to: the shíshálh (Sechelt) Nation.

“We both struggled with our cultural identity,” Epp said of her and her sister.

“They wanted to take the Indian out of the Indian, and that’s what they did.”

By the time she landed in Whistler in 1997, Epp was working as an exotic dancer in Vancouver, and, after a string of deaths of people close to her, she said she was headed down a bad road.

It was friend and resort restaurateur Kike Redondo who urged Epp to relocate to

Whistler to work at his now-shuttered Greek restaurant, Kypriaki Norte.

“I stayed with Kike for a week until I found a place in Alpine,” she said. “It changed my life, because I was going down a dark road. Whistler has changed my life.”

In the intervening years, Epp has made a remarkable transformation, and her laundry list of accomplishments is almost too long to mention: raising awareness of Canada’s Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women through the founding of Whistler’s Sisters in Spirit Vigil and local Red Dress Project. Successfully lobbying

for Indigenous singers and drummers to lead the convocation procession as Capilano University, where she worked as a First Nations student liaison. Delivering speeches at the 2019 Indigenous Women Leader’s Summit as well as TEDx Talk at Quest University the year before. Penning a children’s book called Hang Me A Red Dress detailing her friendship with a local girl that addresses issues of Truth and Reconciliation.

“I just like to make [things] happen,” Epp said, before noting that she plans to continue organizing the Sisters in Spirit Vigil every October.

“I’m going to be leaving physically out of the community, but a lot of my heart is still going to be here.”

Straddling both Indigenous and nonIndigenous communities, along with her previous work for the Lil’wat Nation, Epp has served as an important link between two historically disparate worlds, explained Maureen Douglas, executive director of Arts Whistler, which has supported the vigil over the years.

“Any folks bringing Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities together, there are people both on the Indigenous and non-Indigenous side who have that more open view, that open heart, who maybe see that future of collaboration together a little

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clearer, and who become bridges,” she said.

“They’re referred to as that: so and so is a real bridge person, and that is absolutely Linda.”

Along with her advocacy work, Epp is a major supporter of Whistler’s arts scene, appearing in several local plays over the years and continuing to serve on the board at The Point Artist-Run Centre. (She is a talented singer and plays a mean ukulele, too.)

Most recently, Epp has been battling a number of major health scares, since being diagnosed with a brain aneurysm in late 2019. As she was readying for brain surgery, doctors discovered she had breast cancer and, on top of that, she had to have emergency eye surgery on a detached retina. She said it was Whistler’s continued support that got her through the ordeal.

“Whistler has just been there for me. It’s given me the strength—especially with the health stuff,” she said. “If I was in Vancouver, I don’t know. The Beacon did a fundraiser for me, [former Whistlerite] Angie [Nolan] did a GoFundMe. It’s just having the community here, the relationships and the acceptance.”

And yet, even with the litany of issues she was facing, Epp still found time to help those around her.

“When she was going through her worst, I was having a difficult time and she really rose to that. Those were times when she was helping me that she seemed to be able to really gather strength and still give something. She always has something to give,” said friend and musician Susan Holden.

“You can’t help but be inspired.” n

DEVELOPMENT OF A PEST MANAGEMENT PLAN (PMP) APPLICATION #: MOTI-SCM-PMP-2021/2026 Applicant: B.C. Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, South Coast Region, 310-1500 Woolridge Street, Coquitlam, B.C., V3K 0B8.

Agent: ADC Plant Science, 32 Falshire Terrace NE, Calgary, A.B., T3J 3B1, telephone: 1-833-852-3939, email: pmpconsultation@outlook.com.

The purpose of the proposed multi-agency PMP is to manage invasive alien plants and/or noxious weeds on Provincial public land in the South Coastal Mainland of B.C. The PMP applies to areas located in the Metro Vancouver, Fraser Valley and Sunshine Coast Regional Districts, the southwest half of the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District, and a small area in the southwest region of the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen.

The PMP applies to areas near the communities of Vancouver, Burnaby, New Westminster, Port Moody, Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, Pitt Meadows, Maple Ridge, Mission, Harrison Hot Springs, Richmond, Delta, Surrey, White Rock, Langley, Aldergrove, Abbotsford, Chilliwack, Agassiz, Hope, Eastgate, Boston Bar, North Vancouver, Bowen Island, Squamish, Whistler, Pemberton, Gibsons and Sechelt.

The pest management methods proposed for use include mechanical, cultural and biological control, and use of herbicides within the area to which the PMP applies. The active ingredients and examples of the trade names of herbicides proposed for use under this plan include: aminocyclopyrachlor (Truvist, Navius VM), aminopyralid (Milestone, Restore A, Clearview, Reclaim II A), chlorsulfuron (Truvist), clopyralid (Lontrel 360), dicamba (DyVel, Vanquish, Banvel II), diflufenzopyr (Overdrive), flazasulfuron (LongRun 25WG), flumioxazin and pyroxasulfone (Torpedo EZ), fluroxypyr (Starane, Pulsar, Sightline B), glyphosate (Roundup WeatherMAX, Vantage Plus MAX, Vantage XRT, VP480, Roundup Transorb HC), halosulfuron (Sandea WG), imazapyr (Arsenal, Arsenal Powerline, Habitat), indaziflam (Esplanade SC), MCPA (DyVel), mecoprop-p (Trillion, DyVel DSp), metsulfuronmethyl (Escort, Navius VM, Clearview, Reclaim II A), picloram (Tordon 22K, Grazon XC), rimsulfuron (Prism SG), triclopyr (Garlon XRT), 2,4-D (2,4-D Amine 600, Grazon XC, Restore B, Reclaim II B), and rinskor (Rinskor Active). Selective application methods include: backpack, handheld and vehicle mounted sprayers and wick/wipe on, cut surface and injection tool applications.

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The proposed duration of the PMP is from June 1, 2021, to May 31, 2026.

A draft copy of the proposed PMP and a map of the proposed treatment area may be viewed at the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure’s South Coast Regional Office listed above, online at gov.bc.ca/plantpestmanagementplan, or by contacting the Agent listed above.

A person wishing to contribute information about a proposed treatment site, relevant to the development of the pest management plan, may send copies of the information to the Agent at the address above within 30 days of the publication of this notice.

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27

NEWS WHISTLER

Checking in with new fisheries critic Jordan Sturdy MLA CALLS FOR MORE SCIENCE IN FISHERIES MANAGEMENT, CLOSER RELATIONSHIP WITH DFO

BY BRANDON BARRETT AS THE B.C. LIBERALS’ newly appointed fisheries critic, Whistler MLA Jordan Sturdy has hope the NDP is starting its second term on the right foot when it comes to the fisheries file—but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a lot of work still to be done.

“I haven’t really seen a lot of participation from this government in any fisheries issue, really. It’s nice, though, that they have appointed somebody that will have some responsibility for oceans,” said Sturdy, referring to the appointment of Burnaby-North Seymour MP Terry Beech as the parliamentary secretary to the fisheries minister.

Sturdy is hopeful the move signals tightening bonds between Victoria and the federal decision makers at Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO).

“I think the top priority has got to be a closer relationship with DFO, because so much of what we do is integrated and many responsibilities overlap. There can be tension there as well—or not,” he said.

“Being the biggest stakeholder for the Pacific side, there should be a strong focus

[on British Columbia] and a coordinated approach.”

Like many in the conservation community, Sturdy has joined the chorus that has, for years, called for a more science-based approach to decisionmaking at the DFO. “We need to be focusing on the science for all of these issues, and good data, and figuring out a way to do it that’s sustainable,” said Sturdy. “But ultimately, we operate, like many things, in a global environment, but specifically on the Pacific fishery, there’s other jurisdictions that have enormous influence on our outcome. We’re not entirely in control of our own destiny, I think it’s fair to say.”

Wildlife groups and anglers decried the decision, last summer, to restrict Chinook fishing in the South Coast, arguing that the decision was more of a public show of action than a coherent management approach.

“Broadly, the BCWF is concerned the public fishery has been marginalized, with science taking a back seat to political agendas,” read a letter last June from the BC Wildlife Federation to federal fisheries minister Bernadette Jordan.

Local angler and Sea to Sky Sport Fish Advisory Committee member Dave Brown believes the closures fail to recognize not

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just the social value of sport fishing to B.C., but the scientific value as well.

“We’re only asking for opportunities to fish for one hatchery fish, which has a huge value in being caught in that the information collected from the catch is used by DFO,” he said.

“We need to be focusing on the science for all these issues, and good data, and figuring out a way to do it that’s sustainable.”

- JORDAN STURDY

Anyone fishing for salmon in B.C. must pay for a Salmon Conservation Stamp, with the funds going back to the Pacific Salmon Foundation, while anglers also commonly provide valuable data on their catch.

“All of the salmon I catch, I sample and supply that information to the DFO. That’s all being lost and there’s not a justification for there not to be opportunities. We’re being used as a scapegoat,” Brown said.

Understanding the different variables at play in salmon management is essential, said Sturdy, who recently saw a presentation by provincial biologist Robert Bison on the growing pinniped population and its impacts on salmon numbers in B.C. “There is always cause and effect and obviously predation is one of those pieces we could manage if we choose to, but you’d have to make a sound decision about going down that route,” he said.

Ramping events at BC Hydro’s Daisy Lake Dam have also led to stranding of fish fry in recent years, something both Sturdy and Brown want to see more pushback from the province on.

“It’s certainly something we need to keep an eye on and work with BC Hydro to make sure those losses are minimized, because I think we all recognize there’s just no way you’re going to operate a dam hydro facility without some environmental impact, and some of the fish happen to be victims of it,” said Sturdy. “It can be managed better and I think BC Hydro is getting better at it as well.” n

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Notice of Application Wedgewoods Utilities Inc. NOTICE OF APPLICATION TO THE COMPTROLLER OF WATER RIGHTS UNDER THE WATER UTILITY ACT AND THE UTILITIES COMMISSION NOTICE is hereby given by Wedgewoods Utilities Inc. that an application has been made to the Comptroller of Water Rights for a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity for the proposed construction and operation of an expanded waterworks distribution system to serve residents in the area of WedgeWoods Whistler, Strata BCS3916 located in the Squamish Lillooet Regional District.

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29

NEWS PEMBERTON & THE VALLEY

Pemberton affordable housing in spotlight VILLAGE SEEKING FEEDBACK AS OFFICIAL COMMUNITY PLAN REVIEW PROCESS OPENS

BY DAN FALLOON ONE MIGHT THINK that as the Village of Pemberton (VOP) sets off on its twoyear journey of analyzing every facet of its Official Community Plan (OCP), it would be a challenge to land on a natural starting point.

Not so, according to Mayor Mike Richman, as the VOP launched the process by seeking community feedback on how to approach its affordable housing shortage. By targeting what it can do to facilitate projects on “all parts of the housing spectrum,” Richman said the VOP hopes to nail down some actionable decisions even before the OCP review is complete.

“There’s a lot of work to be done yet, but it doesn’t mean we have to wait,” he said.

“We’re active on it now.

“If things emerge through the process that council wants to look at implementing right away, then we’ll have that conversation,” he added.

The VOP has analyzed the situation in recent years, completing an age-friendly affordable housing needs assessment and action plan as well as a general background report, all in 2019. All the documents are available on the VOP’s Have Your Say site

STARTING THE PROCESS The Village of Pemberton is opening its Official Community Plan review process by soliciting feedback on how to approach its affordable housing shortage.

PHOTO SUBMITTED

30 FEBRUARY 11, 2021

(haveyoursay.pemberton.ca). Richman added that the VOP is working with Sea to Sky Community Services to investigate completing a project together.

At this point, however, the VOP is seeking direction from residents as to what their priorities are. The municipality held an information session via Zoom on Jan. 26 with roughly 50 accounts tuning in (some accounts had multiple viewers) before launching a survey that closes on

survey is eligible to win a $25 gift card to a local business.

Richman acknowledges that there’s a sense of fatigue and burnout within the community, but hopes people take the time to complete the survey.

“For the OCP process to work, we need as much engagement as possible,” he said. “We really hope people will take those opportunities and help us identify the North Stars.”

“For the OCP process to work, we need as much engagement as possible.”

- MIKE RICHMAN

Feb. 17.

The survey asks respondents for opinions on: the perception of what affects housing affordability and what solutions are reasonable for the community, allowing an increase in maximum apartment building height from the current three storeys and in what situations, if any, it would be appropriate to vary parking requirements.

The survey also offers residents an opportunity to express any concerns they have with expanding housing offerings in existing neighbourhoods.

Roughly 40 people had completed the survey as of Feb. 8. Anyone who answers the

ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS During the Jan. 26 presentation, manager of development services Lisa Pedrini said the VOP is open to new types of housing that could impact the character of the village, ranging from apartment buildings to tiny houses to secondary suites in duplexes, that could provide more residents with affordable options (defined by the VOP as 30 per cent of income before taxes).

“It’s important that we check in with you and get a sense of your willingness or tolerance for changes that could impact you but could also greatly benefit the community at large,” she said.

In a flash poll during the presentation, more than a quarter of attendees identified an acute need for affordable options as their main reason for tuning in.

Pedrini said the Village is becoming more aware of the issue all the time, noting that Pemberton was recently in top 20 per cent of most expensive communities in Canada, and generally trends higherthan-provincial average.

As well, the 2019 background study found that prices have increased significantly in recent years, with local businesses being challenged because employees can’t secure housing.

Acknowledging that prices have increased subsequently, between 2008 and 2018, single detached home sale prices in Pemberton went up 56 per cent while townhouse prices jumped 89 per cent and apartments were up 99 per cent.

“It’s looking pretty dire if you’re having trouble affording housing in Pemberton,” she said.

Pedrini added that Pemberton faces unique challenges in addressing the issue, citing the floodplain, lands that are part of the agricultural land reserve and topographical conditions as complicating factors. Planning consultant Cameron Chalmers noted that labour and economic conditions also play a role.

While the VOP has completed some analysis of the situation, Chalmers added that relevant projects still to come, in addition to the OCP review, include a

SEE PAGE 32

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Lorry Eldon Talbot It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of Lorry Eldon Talbot Lorry was born May 27th 1927 in Pasqua Saskatchewan. Moved to Steinbach Manitoba, lived there till he was 12 years old. Then moved to Vancouver B.C. He worked at a small sawmill at Websters Corners where he met his wife Betty. They were married for 72 years. They lived in Vancouver for a few years and their first son Eldon was born in New Westminster.

The family moved all around B.C. doing log hauling. Worked in the Skagit Valley, Kispiox Valley, Gabriola Island, Hornby Island, and Saltspring Island where their 2nd son Weldon was born. Moved to Pemberton in 1960, where he started a logging business in the Miller Creek area. Which still operates today. He had pilot licences for both airplane and helicopter and owned a small airplane. He was an excellent mechanic and could fix or build almost anything. He enjoyed his family, friends, and neighbours through out the 60+ years he lived in Pemberton. Pemberton was a special place for him.

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Survived by: wife – Betty, sons – Eldon (Ruth) Weldon (Gail) 3 Grandsons – Neal (Charlene) Dwaine (Gina) Thomas (Megan) & Granddaughter – Laura 2 Great grand children – Ben and Gray Betty would like to thank God, Jesus and his Ministers.

Special thanks to: Dr. Fuller and all the staff at the Pemberton Health Clinic for all the excellent care they gave him.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Pemberton Health Care Foundation in Lorry’s name. To write condolences to the family visit www.squamishfuneralchapel.com

604 894 5166 WHISTLERREALESTATE.CA FEBRUARY 11, 2021

31

NEWS PEMBERTON & THE VALLEY

Pemberton council OKs nature centre grant application COUNCIL BRIEFS: FOURTH-QUARTER DEPARTMENTAL REPORTS

BY DAN FALLOON THE ONE MILE LAKE Nature Centre could soon see some upgrades if a recently submitted grant application comes through.

At the Village of Pemberton’s (VOP) regular council meeting on Feb. 2, communications and grant coordinator Vinka Hutchinson reported that she drafted and submitted an application for infrastructure upgrades to the centre to the federal government’s COVID-19 Resilience Infrastructure Stream to hit the intake’s Jan. 27 deadline. She presented to council to ask for its endorsement.

Among the proposed upgrades are: installation and tie-in of a new water main, sanitary-force main and electrical line to the centre, which is owned and operated by the Stewardship Pemberton Society (SPS) on lands it leases from the VOP. All of the upgrades were previously identified as priorities in the 2016 One Mile Lake Master Plan.

The total budget for the project is $622,800, with $614,550 eligible to be covered by the grant. The remaining $8,500 is in-kind labour from the public works and communications departments. Projects

32 FEBRUARY 11, 2021

must be underway by Sept. 30 and finished by the end of the year.

Chief administrative officer Nikki Gilmore said the SPS had previously presented council with a Class C estimate for the projects in 2019.

“They are basically an off-grid operation,” she said. “They have a compostable toilet and they have solar power.

“Part of the issue is they aren’t able to deliver as many services year-round, especially in the winter.”

Gilmore added that in recent years, the nature centre has hosted children’s afterschool and summer-camp programming and the upgrades would allow it to expand its offerings.

“They aren’t able to meet everything that

they’d like to achieve at the current location without having some additional assistance with water, sewer and power,” she said. “This funding application came about. It had a really quick turnaround time and the idea is that those projects that were shovel-ready would be the ones that would qualify.”

SEE PAGE 34

>>

AFFORDABLE HOUSING FROM PAGE 30 housing options study, a development cost charge (DCC) review and an amenity policy review.

Among the options the VOP is considering is waiving DCCs on affordable projects to make them more palatable for developers to create.

“The challenge of affordable housing is someone has to build it and someone, presumably, has to make profit off of it,” he said.

Planner Joanna Rees, meanwhile, provided a rundown of potential options for filling in the gaps.

She noted that types of housing currently allowed in Pemberton are: detached dwellings, duplexes, townhouses, apartments, mixed-use

buildings, mobile homes, secondary suites and carriage houses.

While tiny homes have emerged in recent years, Rees noted that they’re not specifically addressed in building codes and often struggle to meet size requirements.

As well, regulation challenges make it difficult to find locations and connect to services and it may be harder to get construction loans and insurance.

Other options being considered are secondary suites in duplexes and lock-off suites, which are similar to a hotel room, typically roughly 300 square feet in size and include a kitchenette.

The full slate of staff presentations are available on the Have Your Say site, though the subsequent Q&A portion was not recorded.

REVIEW OVERVIEW Residents can expect further requests for input as the VOP continues to review the OCP, which also addresses topics such as land use, transportation, sustainability and climate change impacts.

The Have Your Say site already includes climate change and OCP review portals in addition to the affordable housing section.

“The OCP needs an update on all levels. It’s been a number of years and Pemberton has changed a lot over the last few years,” Richman said. “[It] represents the vision of Pemberton by the locals, by the residents, what their vision of Pemberton is as we continue to grow.” n

Electoral Area C Agricultural Advisory Committee - Call for Volunteers

40TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION IS HERE! IN PRINT AND ONLINE!

• • • • • •

WHAT? The SLRD is looking for interested residents of Pemberton and Electoral Area C to serve on the SLRD Electoral Area C Agricultural Advisory Commi�ee (AAC).

Covid ’19’ Things To Do Comfort food Long-term locals Backcountry Bounty The Evolution of Ski Style Whistler Classic Homes

WHO? Anyone with an interest or exper�se in agriculture and related ma�ers is welcome to apply. Applicants should: • •

AND MUCH MORE!

Look for it in select hotel rooms, on stands, in shops… or call us if you would like copies delivered. cpower@whistlermagazine.com

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HOW? Applica�on forms can be obtained on the SLRD website, or by contac�ng the SLRD office. Please submit your applica�on no later than 5pm on February 25, 2021.

Whistler’s premier visitor magazine since 1980 whistlermagazine.com

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Be a land owner and/or permanent resident of Electoral Area C or Pemberton Have an interest in preserving the viability of farming in the Pemberton Valley and surrounding area Be from the farming and ranching community (op�onal) Posess a clear understanding and knowledge of topics affec�ng agricultural land Be available to commit to roughly 4-6 mee�ngs per year, for a one year or two year term

For a��i�onal informa�on please contact:

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David Kyobe, Planner Squamish-Lillooet Regional District Tel: 604-894-6371, ext. 249 Fax: 604-894-6526 E-mail: dkyobe@slrd.bc.ca

FER PLACE SA D N A R E T T E B A R MAKE WHISTLE & PLAY. K R O W , E V LI O T S LT FOR YOUNG AD-UDAILY PRIZE DRAW LOOKING FOR...

Lauren Bramley Aaron Schwarz Luis Velutini Hans Gfeller Daniel Boismier Katherine Kingsford or anyone knowing of their whereabouts is asked to contact Whistler’s Storall Ltd. immediately at 604-938-1313 regarding their stored goods.

Unless payment is received on overdue rent by February 19, 2021 the stored goods will be sold.

ur chance to win! yo r fo ll fu in y ey ve rv su is hi Complete th EY M ON KE Y. CO M HT TP S:/ /W W W.SU RV

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Whistler’s Storall Ltd, 1216 Alpha Lake Rd., Whistler FEBRUARY 11, 2021

33

NEWS PEMBERTON & THE VALLEY

PUBLIC NOTICE

Water Flushing in the Village of Pemberton Public Works crews are undertaking watermain flushing from Tuesday, February 16th until Friday, February 19th throughout the Village of Pemberton, which may result in some discolouration of water. Residents are advised to run their water until it's clear before using.

Water main flushing is an important part of water distribution maintenance as it aids in the improvement of water quality.

Flushing involves isolating a section of the water distribution system and opening hydrants to release water at a high flow rate. The increased water flow aids in the removal of material that has built up over time in water mains.

If you have any questions, please email admin@pemberton.ca.

VillageofPemberton

www.pemberton.ca

<< FROM PAGE 32 Nature centre executive director Sarah Jones said that the upgrades would allow the centre to welcome additional programming, including filling after-school and professional-development-day gaps.

“The hope would be that we would hold our nature education camp yearround for the community,” she said.

“They’re very much sought after in the spring, summer and fall. Unfortunately, just with the amount of power draw needed to keep the space warm and keep the lights on, it’s just too much for our current capacity.”

Jones added that the upgrades could mean the centre could operate an educational hatchery, noting that the current systems don’t allow for it.

DEPARTMENTS PRESENT FOURTHQUARTER REPORTS With lower-than-expected snowfall in the October-to-December fourth quarter (aside from an early dump and then consistent precipitation starting around Christmas), manager of operations and projects Tom Csima said his staff members were able to take on other priorities during autumn.

That included bringing the sand that was removed during the wastewater treatment plant outfall project to the beach at One Mile Lake.

“In the spring, we expect for people to be quite pleased with that. There was quite a bit of erosion and the sand was pretty

funding application for the soccer fields.

Each exploration well runs about $30,000, and that while the search for wells hasn’t been abandoned, staff is trying to proceed in the most prudent manner, explained Csima. Tapping into the high-water table in the area could also be an option.

“For each attempt that I make, we’re then approaching exceeding the budget to actually develop a well,” said Csima.

“We tried to pick a location that would be the most probable to not have this issue and we still hit bedrock at 108 feet [33 metres].”

On another front Csima noted that, to lift people’s spirits, more time and effort went into Christmas lights this year.

“We tried to go a little bit further with it and we hope to continue that over the years,” he said, adding that in the coming years, he plans to allocate some budget for “new, flashy light bulbs” to further improve the display.

Meanwhile, manager of recreation services Christine Burns said the department’s after-school program has been full most days.

“We’ve created more consistency in children’s programming as a result of those things, with consistent staffing and everything else,” she said, adding that fitness programs with modified capacity had a wait list while December saw seniors’ programming start to return.

She’s also been impressed with how staff members have adapted during the pandemic, particularly during a closure of the community centre earlier this month as a precaution against rising case counts.

“I’m pretty proud of the team. It’s been a roller coaster. Some decisions that weren’t easy to make were made.”

- CHRISTINE BURNS

rocky,” he said.

Csima also reported that the quarter saw a sewer back-up in The Glen, though it did not end up creating major issues.

“We had an issue where there was a large amount of grease at the outlet of one of the last manholes to the lift station. As a result, pretty much the whole Glen sewage system backed up,” he said. “Luckily, the [spillage] went into a ditch and an enclosed culvert, so it was relatively isolated.”

As well, Csima said crews explored the site for a well at the Pemberton & District Recreation Site to irrigate the soccer fields, but ran into issues.

“Unfortunately, we did not manage to successfully find a good water source there,” he said. “With the bedrock, you’re kind of guessing, to put it lightly. We don’t want to spend too much money and the first attempt failed, so we’re going to have to regroup and perhaps look at irrigation ponds or some other way to reduce our water usage out there.”

Mayor Mike Richman noted that well exploration was included as part of a

34 FEBRUARY 11, 2021

“I’m pretty proud of the team. It’s been a roller coaster,” she said. “Some decisions that weren’t easy to make were made.”

Meanwhile, manager of development services Lisa Pedrini said the department continued to be red-hot, with 37 building permits issued with a construction value of more than $11 million and just over $91,000 in permit fees collected.

All told in 2020, the VOP issued 100 building permits, up from 87 in 2019.

As for development cost charges, the department collected nearly $14,000 in the quarter with more than $110,000 brought in over the year, which was up 136 per cent from 2019.

“COVID definitely did not stop or slow down the building world. We were quite busy,” Pedrini said.

Lastly, Pemberton Fire Rescue Chief Robert Grossman said the 81 incidents in the quarter was a decrease of 19 from the same period in 2019, chalking it up in large part to people staying home more often and the department not responding to medical emergencies during the pandemic. n

ELIZABETH CHAPLIN

elizabeth@elizabethchaplin.com | 604 932 1311

#25 LAKEVIEW DRIVE

8733 IDYLWOOD PLACE

#4-2126 SARAJEVO DRIVE

Bedrooms: 5 Bathrooms: 2 Square Feet: 1,825

Bedrooms: 5 Bathrooms: 3 Square Feet: 2,620

Bedrooms: 1 Bathrooms: 1 Square Feet: 396

PINECREST ESTATES

ALPINE MEADOWS

CREEKSIDE

Located just 15 minutes south of Whistler, in the peaceful and gated community of Pinecrest Estates. Very friendly and quiet neighbourhood. The 5 bedroom house is a stone’s throw away from the private lake with beach house and dock!

This bright and charming four bed, two bath chalet is located in a quiet cul-de-sac in the peaceful residential area of Alpine Meadows. Featuring a 1.5 Bed 1 Bath suite with separate entrance. Imagine sitting on your large back deck; and taking in all the sounds of nature.

Gondola Village is steps away from the Creekside gondola. This is a phase one property, so you have the ability to live in it or rent. This property comes with a washer, dryer, window A/C unit, plates, dishes, basically everything you see is yours!

Detached Home

Detached Home

Condominium

$1,495,000

$2,195,000

$549,900

SOLD

LISA HILTON

Personal Real Estate Corporation

lisah@wrec.com | 604 902 4589

9698 DEVINE ST.REET

2672 BLACKWATER ROAD

1357 GREENWOOD

Lot Size: 1.82

Lot Size: 120.51

Bedrooms: 6 Bathrooms: 5 Square Feet: 3,149

DEVINE

BLACKWATER LAKE AREA

Acres

PEMBERTON

Acres

First time listed! This 1.82 acres minutes from Anderson Lake on a quiet residential street that offers municipal water. Driveway is in place as is a rustic off the grid cabin for weekends or to enjoy while you build your dream getaway!

Looking for tranquility and off grid living? Look no further than this 120.51 acres located on the way into Birkenhead Provincial Park. Year-round recreation is at your doorstep! Property has 6.5 acres on which to build & offers old growth trees, farmland, pond & stream.

Custom 6 bed, 5 bath home with a legal suite in sought after Benchlands nestled on a cul-de-sac in the hills above downtown Pemberton. Cathedral ceilings, hardwood floors, custom kitchen, oversized windows and much more. SOLD for FULL PRICE in 26 days!

Acreage

Acreage

Detached Home

$358,000

TRACEY CRUZ

tracey@wrec.com | 604 905 9552

Happy Family Day!

$850,000

SOLD

$1,279,000

NEW LISTING

L o e your Bubble

#322 GLACIER LODGE

#203 PODIUM

Bedrooms: 1.5 Bathrooms: 1 Square Feet: 828

Bedrooms: 2 Bathrooms: 2 Square Feet: 965

BLACKCOMB BENCHLANDS

Photo credit: Robin O’Neil

CHEAKAMUS

Location is key in this fabulous updated 1 bedroom and loft home. Glacier Lodge has Phase 1 zoning allowing for full time living and it has excellent revenues from nightly rentals. Year-round saltwater heated pool and hot tub.

Highly desired and beautifully upgraded end unit.

Enjoy a large deck facing southwest with views overlooking Bayley Park and the Tantalus Mountain Range. Don’t Wait!

Condominium

Condominium

$1,195,000

$1,079,000

SOLD

SOLD

SOLD

Bedrooms: 2 Bathrooms: 1 Square Feet: 883

Lot Size: 2.5

Bedrooms: 1 Bathrooms: 1 Square Feet: 550

PEMBERTON

Acres

Located right in the heart of town, this property has a private deck, high ceilings, a modern kitchen, and large windows. The property offers underground parking and a roof top deck with iconic Mount Currie views!

Bright forested building lot with large established trees, a small creek and views of the surrounding mountains.

There is an existing well and driveway. Build your dream home with recreation at your doorstep!

Enjoy the stunning view of Mount Currie from the living area, bedroom and private balcony. This property is a spacious 550 square feet with a full kitchen and bathroom plus a private storage room.

Condominium

Building Lot

Condominium

$495,000

$519,000

$348,000

selling your property, now is the time.

Call me for a market evaluation.

JILL NOTMAN COLPITTS

very low and sales and prices are strong. If you’re considering

From my family to yours, enjoy your time on the hill skiing this Family Day weekend!

KAREN VAGELATOS

Timing in real estate is critical. Currently, the listing inventory is

jill@wrec.com | 604 932 1372

ARE YOU THINKING OF SELLING?

karen@wrec.com | 604 902 2520

Reserved for your property

DANIELLE MENZEL

#209 GATEWAY

IVY LAKE

Personal Real Estate Corporation

1721 REID ROAD

PEMBERTON

danielle@wrec.com | 604 698 5128

#218 ELEMENTS

Photo credit: Darby Magill

Wishing your family a safe and happy Family day weekend.

SOLD

#418C-2036 LONDON LANE, - LEGENDS WHISTLER CREEKSIDE

Bedrooms: 1 Bathrooms: 1 Square Feet: 587 This top floor one bedroom unit has a quiet, river view, while the base of the Creekside Gondola is just steps away. The Legends features many great amenities: 24-hour Front Desk/Concierge service, family games room, underground parking, year-round outdoor pool and hot tub, in-suite laundry and owner ski locker.

Condominium

$115,000

SOLD

#24 CREEKSIDE VILLAGE 24-1400 PARK STREET, PEMBERTON

JANE HEIM

jane@wrec.com | 604 935 0802

Bedrooms: 3 Bathrooms: 2.5 Square Feet: 1,350 Welcome to #24 Creekside Village, a coveted riverside three bedroom townhome. This complex is ideally located just off Highway 99 right on the edge of town, perfect for locals and commuters alike. This unit has had many recent updates including flooring, (heated in the entryway and master-bath), Tile work, solar blinds, appliances, LED lighting, Kitchen countertops, paint, trim and closet organizers. The back deck and stairs are brand new and the garage door and motor have both been replaced. The bathrooms are all updated with new sinks, faucets, toilets and countertops. There is ample parking with the two car garage and two spaces in front of the garage. #24 backs on to the complex green space which is bordered by Pemberton Creek; a beautiful and serene location under the view of Mount Currie.

Townhome

$679,000

KEITH MCIVOR

keith@wrec.com | 604 935 2650

2924 BIG TIMBER COURT

#44-4000 SUNSTONE WAY - ELEVATE

Bedrooms: 5 Bathrooms: 6 Square Feet: 5,000 Ski-in, ski-out to Chateau Mondeau in Kadenwood, Whistler’s most prestigious neighbourhood - with a private gondola connecting you to Creekside Village. Take in the expansive views of the coastal mountains and the peak of Whistler from this timeless mountain chalet, with a forested private yard next to Big Timber Park.

Bedrooms: 3 Bathrooms: 3 Square Feet: 2,026 This spacious, elegant duplex features an open-concept layout complete with designer finishes and expansive deck to enjoy unobstructed mountain views. Thoughtfully designed for your active Pemberton lifestyle, Elevate duplexes are ideal for growing families or the perfect weekend home with plenty of room to entertain.

KADENWOOD

Chalet

$8,495,000

PEMBERTON

Duplex

$999,000

Personal Real Estate Corporation

DAN SCARRATT

dan@wrec.com | 604 938 4444

2220 LAKE PLACID ROAD

7374 PEMBERTON FARM RD EAST

1749 PINEWOOD DRIVE

Bedrooms: 5 Bathrooms: 5.5 Square Feet: 3,865

Bedrooms: 7 Bathrooms: 5 Square Feet: 5,260

Bedrooms: 5.5 Bathrooms: 3.5 Square Feet: 2,345

Location, Recreation, Relaxation. This amazing home and property is just a short walk to the Creekside Gondola, pubs, restaurants, and shopping, or an even shorter stroll to Alpha Lake.

Amazing family home on 8.1 acres beside the new Sunstone recreational field, Friendship Trail, and close to Pemberton! Above the valley with southern exposure, this property has everything you need in a private family estate while still having easy access to all amenities.

Enjoy all the Pemberton Plateau has to offer in this desirable family neighbourhood with easy access to the Mackenzie Basin trail system, the new recreational field, and the Friendship Trail.

Chalet

Chalet

Chalet

CREEKSIDE

$4,395,000

PEMBERTON

$3,199,000

PEMBERTON

$1,399,000

SCIENCE MATTERS

Finding wisdom in science and Indigenous knowledge I WAS ONCE at the cutting edge of genetics

Image: Brad Flowerdew

P O R T O B E L LO AT FA I R M O N T C H AT E A U W H I S T L E R P R E S E N T S :

VALENTINE’S DAY

To -Go

AVAILABLE SAT U RDAY, FEBRUARY 13 AND SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14 ONLY

research. The textbook I co-authored was the most widely used in the world. But we ended up writing numerous editions to keep up with evolving knowledge. Newer versions had to account for information that had become irrelevant, or correct for ideas that were later disproven.

That’s not to denigrate our research or any other. It’s how science progresses. We try to make sense of what we observe by setting up a hypothesis, then testing it with

F O U R - C O U R S E , TO - G O M E N U I N C L U D E S :

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COMPLETE TO-GO MEAL

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• • • • • • •

AVAILABLE SUND

Roasted Pear & Arugula Salad Jumbo Prawn Cocktail Applewood-smoked, Braised Beef Short Ribs Fully-loaded Mashed Potato Roasted Root Vegetables Cherry Chocolate Cake Sweet Treats (candies, cookies, chocolates)

PICK UP BETWEEN 4:00 - 8:00 P.M. AT PORTOBELLO IN WHISTLER’S UPPER VILLAGE. 24 HOURS ADVANCE NOTICE REQUIRED.

TO ORDER PLEASE CALL 604-902-2998 OR EMAIL: CWRPORTOBELLOCAPTAINS@FAIRMONT.COM

*Taxes and service charge extra. Full, non-refundable pre-payment is required at the time of booking.

the Whistler Museum presents

BC Family Day Kids Après!

Activities for families of all ages.

While supplies last.

At Home Edition February 12th - 15th

Come by the Whistler Museum to pick up your Family Day Kids Après pack, including our Kids Après Activity Book and materials for t wo Family Day crafts!

Whistler Museum

38 FEBRUARY 11, 2021

BY DAVID SUZUKI

experiments and further observation. Then we modify or throw out the hypothesis, depending on the findings or in response to subsequent research.

Like much of everything, science can be influenced by money and profit. So there’s often a rush to patent every new insight to get something to market even if its application might turn out to be ineffective or harmful. Think of thalidomide, a drug used to help pregnant women sleep better.

It resulted in babies born with severe limb malformations.

Geneticists in the early 20th century extrapolated from studies of heredity in insects and plants to human intelligence and behaviour. Their claims were used to justify laws that discriminated against immigrants from nations believed to

that acknowledges our ignorance. Not long ago, marine biologists assumed microscopic phytoplankton were the base of the marine food chain. In the mid-1980s, they found cells 10 times smaller than phytoplankton called “picoplankton” that went through the mesh in their nets. Picoplankton are so abundant, they may produce as much oxygen as all phytoplankton. Yet until recently, we didn’t know they existed.

As useful a tool as science is, it often fails to consider the big picture. Paul Mueller won a Nobel Prize in 1948 for developing the insecticide DDT. As its use ramped up, Swiss company Geigy made a lot of money, and DDT knocked the hell out of insects. But over time, birdwatchers began to notice bird populations were declining. Biologists tracked it to DDT accumulating in shell glands, making eggshells thinner and prone to breaking.

They had discovered biomagnification, a phenomenon that scientists didn’t know about until DDT was used.

Science is often considered to be objective, but that means it can be used for good, bad or indifferent purposes. We need more observational science, but we have to recognize its fundamental weaknesses and inadequacies, and scientists must be careful not to confuse their biases with truths. Science is a specific way of knowing that must be situated within a broader context to be significant and relevant.

In many ways, Indigenous knowledge is more encompassing and profound than science. It embraces gratitude, love, respect and a deep sense of responsibility.

Science is often considered to be objective, but that means it can be used for good, bad or indifferent purposes. be inferior, sterilization of people in psychiatric institutions, incarceration of Japanese people born and raised in North America, and the slaughter of Roma, Jews and homosexuals in Nazi Germany. Some scientists continue to claim that criminality, differences in intelligence, alcoholism, etc. are inherited.

When scientists focus on a fragment of nature, they gain powerful insights into a bit of how the world works. We discover all kinds of things because we often start from a place of relative ignorance. The late Cornell University professor Thomas Eisner, a leading insect expert, told me he could discover a new insect species in New York City’s Central Park any day—in one of the biggest cities in the world.

Think of how little we know about life in the Amazon rainforest, the Great Bear Rainforest or the oceans.

Science is great at description. But every discovery needs to be put in a perspective

Scientists scrub such emotions in the name of objectivity and try to find universal principles that can be replicated anywhere.

Indigenous knowledge is the accumulated observations, trials and errors, successes and failures of people living in place. It’s critical for a peoples’ survival and has been tested by their presence over thousands of years.

It’s also deeply subjective and meaningful, considering the web of relationships with all other animal and plant species, and air, water, soil and sunlight. The element of reciprocity, of responsibility, is missing in contemporary science, and society in general.

We need both science and Indigenous knowledge for a fuller understanding of our place in the world.

David Suzuki is a scientist, broadcaster, author and co-founder of the David Suzuki Foundation. ■

NOTICE OF WAIVING OF PUBLIC HEARING ELECTORAL AREA C Ponderosa Estates Public Notice is hereby given in accordance with Section 467 of the Local Government Act that a Public Hearing will be waived regarding the following bylaw: 1. Squamish-Lillooet Regional District Electoral Area C Zoning Bylaw No. 765, 2002, Amendment Bylaw No. 1695-2020 The zoning amendments address the provincial requirements for land use contract termination by June 30, 2024. Local governments are required to have zoning bylaws in place by June 30, 2022 that will apply to the land once the land use contracts are terminated. The proposed zoning amendments will replace the underlying Rural 1 zone with a zone that reflects the current development on the property. The zoning amendments will apply to 26 properties that are subject to the Ponderosa Estates Land Use Contract Bylaw No. 117, 1977.

These 26 strata lots will now be subject to the Electoral Area C Zoning Bylaw No. 765, 2002 and specifically regulations set out in the RR Pon Zone (Ponderosa Estates)

NOTICE OF WAIVING OF PUBLIC HEARING ELECTORAL AREA C McGillivray Falls Public Notice is hereby given in accordance with Section 467 of the Local Government Act that a Public Hearing will be waived regarding the following bylaw: 1.

Squamish-Lillooet Regional District Electoral Area C Zoning Bylaw No. 765, 2002, Amendment Bylaw No. 1696-2020

The zoning amendments address the provincial requirements for land use contract termination by June 30, 2024. Local governments are required to have zoning bylaws in place by June 30, 2022 that will apply to the land once the land use contracts are terminated. The proposed zoning amendments will replace the underlying Rural 1 zone with a zone that reflects the development on the property. The zoning amendments will apply to 43 properties that are subject to the McGillivray Falls Land Use Contract Bylaw No. 87, 1976.

These 43 strata lots will now be subject to the Electoral Area C Zoning Bylaw No. 765, 2002 and specifically regulations set out in the RR MCG Zone (McGillivray Falls)

The bylaw also introduces the following housekeeping amendments: • Updated Electoral Area C Zoning Bylaw No. 765, 2002 numbering system, • Addition of standard Temporary Use Permit language • Replacement of the current Agriculture definition with an updated Agriculture definition that is aligned with the ALC definition • Replacement of the existing Driveway Gradient regulations with updated regulations Replacement of the current Campground definition with an updated Campground definition INFORMATION & SUBMISSIONS? The proposed bylaw and relevant background documents may be inspected on pages 170 to 184 of the following Board Agenda: https://slrd.civicweb.net/document/128290 Third reading of Bylaw No. 1695-2020 is scheduled for Wednesday 24 February, 2021. All persons who believe that their interest in the property is affected by the proposed bylaw shall be afforded a reasonable opportunity to present written submissions respecting matters contained in the bylaw. Written submissions (mail or email) must be received at the SLRD office no later than 9 am Wednesday February 24, 2021.

Squamish-Lillooet Regional District Box 219, 1350 Aster Street, Pemberton, BC, V0N 2L0 • www.slrd.bc.ca P: 604-894-6371 • TF: 1-800-298-7753 F: 604-894-6526 • E: info@slrd.bc.ca

INFORMATION & SUBMISSIONS? The proposed bylaw and relevant background documents may be inspected on pages 185 to 196 of the following Board Agenda: https://slrd.civicweb.net/document/128290 Third reading of Bylaw No. 1696-2020 is scheduled for Wednesday February 24, 2021. All persons who believe that their interest in the property is affected by the proposed bylaw shall be afforded a reasonable opportunity to present written submissions respecting matters contained in the bylaw. Written submissions (mail or email) must be received at the SLRD office no later than 9 am Wednesday February 24, 2021.

Squamish-Lillooet Regional District Box 219, 1350 Aster Street, Pemberton, BC, V0N 2L0 • www.slrd.bc.ca P: 604-894-6371 • TF: 1-800-298-7753 F: 604-894-6526 • E: info@slrd.bc.ca FEBRUARY 11, 2021

39

RANGE ROVER

Top Gun? A FEW YEARS AGO, on a bluebird winter day, breakfast wrapped up quickly. Along with a second round of eggs benedict came the all clear to fly until the North Pacific’s next meteorological tantrum arrived. Skiers scattered excitedly for the cabins fronting historic Tweedsmuir Lodge outside the Central Coast town of Bella Coola. Soon,

BY LESLIE ANTHONY groups of four-plus-guide had assembled at flagged landing areas, and the whup-whup of rotor-wash echoed from the valley’s rocky walls. It was go-time at Bella Coola Heli Sports (BCHS).

Starting on snowy pillows close to the lodge, each subsequent lift staged us farther out onto long, languishing glaciers and the ridges that cradled them.

There were no complaints about the snow: it was the kind that could change your life. Around noon, we flew into a glacier-gouged valley where a scalloped forest edge traced the phantom shoreline of a one-time lake that had drained—as though someone suddenly pulled a plug— into the craggy labyrinth below. Landing beside the heavily fractured Jacobsen’s Glacier, we skied knee-deep powder on a 100,000-year-old base, mindful of the apartment-block ice tumbling in suspended animation beside us.

When we went around again, I recalled the short plane ride from Vancouver,

GO TIME Bella Coola Heli Sports offers visitors some of the best skiing in the entire world.

PHOTO BY LESLIE ANTHONY

40 FEBRUARY 11, 2021

where the view had revealed a torture of mountains and valleys swirling in every direction. At its centre, the Monarch Icecap stretched between peaks like a sheet pulled taut on a giant bed, with scrunched-blanket glaciers rippling at its corners. Now, standing at its edge, the scale was surreal. Here, amidst peaks so titanic they warped puny human perspectives, films like K2 and Seven Years in Tibet were shot, while first descents and unnamed runs lurked on every horizon.

The high-fiving that ensued after each run confirmed this paean to discovery, but the loud, loquacious group I was with seemed particularly excited. And with good reason: the terrain was theirs, so to speak. BCHS founders Christian Begin, Pete

for a less-crowded venue, their eyes were widened by the mountains around Bella Coola, and they made a deal with a funky 1920s hunting-and-fishing lodge to pay a fee for every head they brought in. “You could barely drag tourists here in the summer and suddenly we were bringing in people in the winter,” recalls Swede. “No one in town really knew what was going on above treeline because they’d never been up there—it was all a bit mysterious.”

It was a long, hard road to become heli-skiing’s ne plus ultra destination, but more than mountains made BCHS special: there was also the deep history and culture of the Nuxalk First Nation, excellent fishing, and abundant wildlife.

The musty, kitsch-filled Tweedsmuir Lodge

“We saw small-group heli-skiing as the future. Now it’s the standard.”

- CHRISTIAN BEGIN

“Swede” Mattson, and Beat Steiner were not only enjoying an infrequent day out together, but a last hurrah; after 20 years, Begin and Mattson were moving on while Steiner remained to steer the ship. But not before they’d received just recognition for their efforts: the World Ski Awards had just ranked BCHS the No.1 Heli-ski Operation in the World. High praise, it was also validation for the three amigos who’d forged their friendship in the active outdoor filmmaking industry around Whistler.

In the late 1990s, Begin and Steiner were cinematographers with a string of high-profile movie credits, while Swede guided their backcountry shoots. Searching

was eventually renovated as central hub of a base constellated with high-end cabins, hot tub, sweat lodge, fitness room and firepit.

The culinary and wine offerings ratcheted up, and they expanded into the Pantheon Range surrounding Mt. Waddington—B.C.’s highest peak at 4,019 metres—capping an astonishing 2.64 million-acre tenure to which they added more exclusive, smallgroup bases—Eagle Lodge, Pantheon Heli Ranch, Mystery Mountain Lodge. Then, just as they were getting good at it, someone had decided they were the best.

Having carried that title four-years running as of 2020, it’s hard to imagine the operation relinquishing it—particularly

given BCHS’ recent addressing of heliskiing’s obvious carbon profligacy by becoming the world’s first “climatepositive” heli-ski operation, purchasing offsets that help preserve old-growth forest while supporting local First Nations and educational platforms that encourage others to fight climate change.

Pinned down as predicted by the next storm on that long-ago trip, we kept busy with pool games, fishing, mountain biking, visits to Nuxalk mask-carvers, and hikes to the Polynesian-like petroglyphs of Thorsen Creek—once speculated over by no less than Norwegian explorer Thor Heyerdahl.

Frisbee golf, archery, hot-tubbing and hilarity filled the interstices. In the lodge, Begin held forth on the revolutionary nature of BCHS’s original A-star B2 helicopter program, one of the first to carry four to five guests as opposed to the 12-person industry standard—a taxi versus bus approach. “We saw small-group heli-skiing as the future,” he’d said. “Now it’s the standard.”

When the storm dissipated the next morning, we started again on the same nearby pillows, finding them 60 centimetres fluffier than our last visit. We skied big glaciers until lunch then bumped out to a zone called Cloudbreak, where the great skiing became magnificent—snow so intoxicating we lingered until the horizon flamed crimson.

In the end, it was one of the best ski days of my life. And though that didn’t automatically qualify BCHS as the world’s best heli-ski destination, another transcendent day in incomparable mountains was pretty convincing.

Leslie Anthony is a Whistler-based author, editor, biologist and bon vivant who has never met a mountain he didn’t like. ■

What:

Cheakamus Water Use Plan Order Review information session

When:

February 17, 2021

Time:

6 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Where:

Online

!

IN ST LI W E N

BC Hydro public meeting

G

You’re invited

37-7124 NANCY GREENE DRIVE Fitzsimmons Walk 4 BEDROOMS

3.5 BATHROOMS

2888 SQFT

On February 17, you’re invited to learn more about the Cheakamus Water Use Plan Order Review including engagement timelines and key milestones for the next year.

The Cheakamus Water Use Plan (WUP) has been in place since 2006 and was developed through a multi-year consultative process to provide a better balance between competing water uses. The WUP Order Review is the final step in implementing the provincial Water Use Planning guidelines.

We look forward to discussing the Cheakamus Water Use Plan Order Review with you.

To register for this information session, please visit bchydro.com/cheakamuswatershed.

If you have questions or comments, please contact us at projects@bchydro.com or 1 866 647 3334.

Fitzsimmons Walk is located in the most sought after neighbourhood of White Gold.

Walking distance to Whistler Village, across from Nesters Market, and overlooks the Valley Trail. Features include a fully equipped gourmet kitchen, oversized granite counters, high quality appliances, media room with bar, gas / wood burning fireplaces and steam shower. The master bedroom has a double sided fireplace, soaker tub, heated marbled floors, and mountain views. A proven revenue producer, Fitzsimmons Walk enjoys unrestricted Phase-1 zoning which allows you the opportunity to rent out nightly or simply enjoy personally with family and friends.

$3,499,000

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41

FEATURE STORY

42 FEBRUARY 11, 2021

FEATURE STORY

Geneonra ti on s the glacier How one group of mountaineering buddies spawned a multigenerational project monitoring the Wedgemount Glacier By Alyssa Noel

T

he trail to the Wedgemount Glacier isn’t easy.

With an elevation gain of over 1,160 metres in just six kilometres, it’s mostly straight up through the forest without a view until the alpine.

That’s why Dave Lyon was skeptical when his son, Graeme, wanted to tag along on his annual glaciermonitoring mission.

“When he was 11, I relented because he kept pestering me to head up there,” Dave says. “He started coming up and he wanted to come up every year.”

After that first taste of a weekend in the mountains alongside his dad and a group of likeminded outdoorspeople dedicated to the task of measuring the rapidly receding glacier,

Graeme was hooked.

“It was my first time backpacking,” he recalls.

“And then watching Karl [Ricker] do these calculations and directing the operation, that was pretty neat. It was over my head at that point. I went up every year until I was 17. It’s been more sporadic since them.”

Now a student at the University of British Columbia studying Natural Resources Conservation—inspired by his years hiking and camping— he stills tries to take part in the annual effort whenever he can.

“I loved that kind of stuff,” he says. “It’s a pretty incredible thing. It’s cool to be part of something bigger than yourself. It’s nice to catch up, too. It’s kind of about the community, being outside, getting out there.”

FEBRUARY 11, 2021

43

FEATURE STORY Karl Ricker (left) and Rob Tupper hard at work in 2007. Photo submitted

“We noticed this lake with a glacier flowing into it on the north side of the mountain. The map we had showed no such lake. We thought, ‘Well this is interesting.’”- Karl Ricker

From left: Karl Ricker, Ellie Tupper, Rob Tupper, and Dave Lyon in 2020. Photo submitted

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FEATURE STORY

HOW IT ALL STARTED Graeme is part of the third generation of Lyons to take part in efforts to monitor the Wedgemount Glacier. While there’s no official documentation, it is likely poised to be the longest-running glacier-monitoring project in the country.

It all started back in 1965, when Karl Ricker, geologist by trade, and also a glaciologist, geographer, and birder in his spare time, made an ascent of Wedge Mountain. Back then, there was no highway beyond Whistler or hiking trail maintained

by BC Parks; he and his crew simply hopped in their Volkswagen and navigated as far up powerline roads as they could, with some instruction from the famous mountaineer Neal Carter, who made the first known ascent of the mountain in 1923.

After making their way to the peak, “we noticed this lake with a glacier flowing into it on the north side of the mountain,” Ricker recalls. “The map we had showed no such lake. We thought, ‘Well this is interesting.’”

(Keep in mind, while the lake the glacier directly flows into these days is unofficially named Tupper Lake, back then the glacier actually extended further down to the main Wedgemount Lake—but more on that later.)

Ricker had a lot of projects underway, but the desire to further investigate that glacier stuck. In 1973, he hooked up with his old mountaineering buddy, Bill Tupper, and they set out to see what they could find.

While the mission allowed them to confirm the glacier was certainly there, flowing into the lake, thick fog made it difficult on that trip to do any measurements.

“We hiked our way to the top of Mount Weart,” Ricker says. “Everything below us was still in the clouds. We couldn’t do angle measurements.”

In the spring of 1975, they decided to try once again and ski-tour up to the glacier with some friends.

“The lake was frozen over, so with climbing ropes, we measured the distance from the glacier to the west end of the lake,” he says. “That was the start of our monitoring at the lake. We went back with equipment every year thereafter—Bill and I, and Don Lyon being one key friend. We went and did our work on Wedgemount.”

For his part, Bill Tupper taught

photogrammetry, which uses photography for surveying and mapping, at BCIT in Vancouver, so the project put his expertise to use.

Like Graeme Lyon, Rob Tupper, Bill’s son, first went up to help with monitoring weekend when he was just 10 or 11, with a young Dave Lyon also in tow.

“I didn’t understand the significance, but I understood the legacy of this group of friends who had met in the Rockies and were part of the Varsity Outdoor Club— their contribution to B.C. and Canadian mountaineering was significant,” Rob says.

In 1986, Bill received some grant money to take a helicopter to the summit of Wedge in an effort to replicate the first known photograph of the area in the 1920s.

“He wanted to try to recreate the same photograph with the same methodology to contrast the 1920s and the 1980s,” Rob says.

In prior years, though, Bill would sometimes bring his students and even colleagues up to help—something that’s continued on and off to this day.

Rob remembers his role as a little more basic. “We were probably given the end of the tape measure to do something rudimentary,” he says. “It was a family endeavour, I guess would be the best way to put it.”

That wound up being doubly true when he brought his daughter Ellie, who’s in Grade 12, up to help with the monitoring this past year. (He hopes to bring his older daughter, Brooklyn, up some day as well, but she’s at the University of Victoria studying earth sciences, which makes logistics tricky.)

“Ellie loved it,” he says. “She got to ride in the helicopter with Karl. She would’ve made the climb but the seat was available. Karl has a way of bringing people in and having them be involved. No one gets left behind.”

(This might be a good time to bring up the fact that Ricker, who is 85, most recently made the gruelling hike up at 80 years old.

Since then, he’s been helicoptering up, but awe seems to be the standard for his longlasting fitness.)

“As I got older, I was more interested in what they were monitoring,” Ellie says. “I thought it was really neat what they were doing. It’s cool to carry on a tradition started [in part] by my grandpa and be the third generation of Tuppers up there.”

While Rob—who grew up to be a surveyor,

From left: Dave Lyon, Marilynn C., and Karl Ricker in 2015.

Photo submitted

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FEATURE STORY

Karl Ricker and Graeme Lyon in 2016. Photo submitted

offering his professional skills to the project like his father, living for nearly two decades in Vernon—aimed to make it for the trip at least every second year, depending on family, work, and travel, it wasn’t until after Bill’s passing in 2005 that Dave became extra devoted to the yearly task.

He recalls first going up as a teen in 1979. Ricker remembers in the early days Dave once pushing a measuring wheel during the hike up while his dad nailed kilometre markers to the trees.

“I remember being very impressed with it. I don’t think anyone ever forgets the trail up there,” Dave laughs. “The monitoring of the glacier appealed to me, but I was moving into a point in my life when things got very busy. I graduated, went to university, travelled, got married, had kids.”

His next trip back up was in 2006.

“I came back to it after Bill passed away,” he says. “I went to his funeral. Obviously my mom and dad were there, his wife was there, [his sons] Ken and Rob. It got me thinking—this was a neat project. That generation was getting old back then, let alone now. I remember thinking, ‘If we want this to carry on, we better be prepared to carry the baton or carry the torch to help support carrying it on.’”

BEARING WITNESS Anyone who has hiked to the glacier, which is another 30 minutes or so from the small hut overlooking the lake, over multiple years can tell you the value of measuring— and simply witnessing—its spectacular journey back up the mountain.

46 FEBRUARY 11, 2021

“I think there’s a legacy to it. There’s something tangible when you’re there with a compass taking basic measurements ... and doing something constructive and writing it down and having that be a legacy.”- Rob Tupper In September 2020, monitoring revealed that the glacier had receded 30 metres since 2019—that’s almost five metres more than the 10-year average.

That’s in addition to the 585 metres—more than half a kilometre—it has receded since monitoring first began.

“I’d like to see it keep going in one way or another,” Ricker says of the monitoring effort. “I don’t want to see it become a satellite exercise, strictly. That would be painful for me. Ground control is essential in all of these surveying projects.”

That might be true from a logistical standpoint, but also the idea of generations of families and friends bearing witness to this disappearing glacier also feels somehow essential—and poignant.

“I think there’s a legacy to it,” Rob

says. “There’s something tangible when you’re there with a compass taking basic measurements … and doing something constructive and writing it down and having that be a legacy.”

Ricker took it into his own hands to give Bill Tupper his own unique legacy when he started calling the new lake—first recorded in 2013—at the bottom of the glacier Tupper Lake. (Over the last seven years, the body of water has grown by about four hectares, increasing 18 per cent since 2019.)

“It’s not an official name,” Ricker says. “It hasn’t been approved by official authorities … We had to do something for Bill to commemorate his great efforts and the 10 to 15 years he spent on the project. He was a natural.”

While Rob thinks the gesture would’ve

made his dad smile, “he probably would say, ‘It should really be named Ricker Lake.’

Those two had mutual admiration for each other.” (As a side note: national authorities no longer allow the naming of geographic features after living people.)

Bill wouldn’t be alone. Everyone involved in this project has admiration for Ricker’s longstanding dedication and passion. While he tentatively announced his “retirement” from monitoring after last year’s trip, he doesn’t seem entirely sold on the idea.

“I’m 85 years old,” he says. “I’m not going to last forever … I’ll go as long as I can do it—as long as I can get a helicopter ride.”

(Kristina Swerhun, also involved in the monitoring, and the Whistler Naturalists alongside Ricker, has helped organize that ride the last several years through funding from the Whistler Community Foundation.

Everyone involved also heaps praise on her effort and commitment.)

Practical value aside, the project has also tied the Tuppers and Lyons to each other and their fathers’ mountain adventure friend for decades.

Whether that September weekend saw them huddled in the tiny cabin riding out a violent storm, enjoying the alpenglow on the peaks around them, or weathering a snowstorm (then attempting to find the edge of the snow-covered glacier), it was always a time to come together in the mountains.

“Karl is a special guy and he’s got a passion for this. I’m going to get emotional,” Rob says, pausing for a moment. “These guys had this idea [nearly] 50 years ago. It was a different era.

They came up with this idea and it’s not insignificant what they did. When you see the change in the glacier from the mid1970s until now, it’s stunning.” ■

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n i e v Lo EESSTT T N O T C N O G C IN G IT IN R T IT WR DDAAYY W EE'S S ' 'S IN T N N I IN E T L N A E V L L A V A AANNNNUUAL 2020 was a year like no other. Daily life was turned upside down as we retreated to our homes with orders to lockdown and sit tight.

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My Boyfriend's Sticky Toffee Pudding Situation

Singles Hour at Nesters

BY IRENE RANKIN

BY VANESSA JENKINS When my doorbell rang, it broke my extended power nap. I checked the peephole. No one. But, when I opened the door, to my delight, I found a big basket of goodies and fancy take-out! The note accompanying it read “We love you! Love Mom and Dad”.

I hadn’t been out of the house in ages and the cupboards were looking very grim. Chocolates, wine, bodywash.. berry-rose scent? Whatever, Mom you’re the best!! I dialed her number “You’ve reached Carolyn…”

Darn, voicemail.

I ploughed into the food. It had been weeks, maybe even months since I’d eaten like this. I felt like a prince! No, a king! Yes, I was the King of Whistler!! Everything was delicious, I could barely breathe; it was like Christmas morning! I loosened my pants a little, and checked the basket again.. bath salts, cucumber facemask?.. hmm odd, but okay Mom, I get it. Maybe a bath is in order.

The food coma lasted a long time, well into the morning when the doorbell rang again. Groggy from the wine and blinded by the unfamiliar sunlight, a petite, masked girl with big, Bambi eyes stood at my doorstep.

I wiped the sticky toffee pudding remains from my chin.

“Uh, Hello?”

“Hey.. sorry to bother you. I live next door at 4B. My parents said they sent a care package for me, but I didn’t receive it.”

“Umm.. like pudding and chocolates and stuff?”

“Yeah!” she replied.

“Um.. oh no, I thought it was for me. I ate it. I’m sorry.”

“Oh.” she sighed. Bambi eyes, with now slumped shoulders, walked away.

I closed the door. In that moment the food didn’t taste so good. I immediately called my Mom and she just laughed and laughed.

“Thanks Mom. NOW WHAT?” I yelled.

“FIX IT!” she said.

So I called around, trying to get the same items together, even a bunch of flowers, to make up for my daft mistake and the following day, I left a gift box with a card (apologizing profusely) by her door.

Over the next few weeks, despite the initial confusion, we somehow made it into each other’s lives. Months have now past and we’re still “bubbling” happily together. Now, we share a lot more than that first accidental mishap... cooking nights, sticky toffee pudding, bath salts...

I’m over lockdown, but I’m definitely not over Bambi eyes!

When the pandemic started to seriously hinder my ability to meet… anyone, I started thinking the grocery store was the only place to meet someone special.

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I decided on 5:45pm on Mondays and Wednesdays at Nesters. I was thinking it would be nice to meet someone with a stable job during the VID. It didn't exactly go to plan but at least it was entertaining (if slightly embarrassing). I made flirty innuendo chat about fruits and vegetable, cheekily dropped my car keys so I could bend over to retrieve them, placed only the sexiest of items in my basket like strawberries, cream, egg plants, melons, nuts.

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Troy is the sweetest, kindest, hottest man. Best of all he’s got a thing for creepy girls in grocery stores like me. The only thing likely to separate soon are his eyebrows…

TRAVEL & ADVENTURE

road trip South india

Part 4: The hill country of Tamil Nadu and Kerala

50 FEBRUARY 11, 2021

TRAVEL & ADVENTURE

Story and photos by Tim Morch

A peaceful morning motorcycle ride through the countryside concluded with a hectic, horn-honking, light-flashing, crazy-yet-exhilarating burst to Palani.

My travelling partner Astried Huebner discovered a bolt had worked itself out. A led the charge, boldly splitting lanes and nearby shop upended the magic bucket shooting every possible gap in traffic. I of hardware and we found a suitable bolt. was glued to her rear tire.

The boy screwed it in and—voila—no Palani marks the beginning of hill more rattle. We shook hands, smiled, and country and is famous for Murugan carried on.

Temple, dedicated to the Hindu war Heading down the other side of the god Kartikeya. Hordes flock in worship, mountains, a second rattle started, and accompanied by endless rows of trinket I found another bolt loosening. At a and trash stalls, and blaring music. A prospective shop, I said “Allen key?” He few hours of beggars, touts, and temple stared blankly. The steel door adjacent madness are more than enough. rolled up and a guy stepped out saying, Next morning, stopping to oil the “I am a mechanic.” I borrowed tools, chains was another reminder of how kind examining all the rack bolts, and finding people are here. When I asked how much, a third bolt missing a lock washer. As the the man turned his hands down. I insisted. mechanic searched, a glimmer from the He smiled ruefully and said, “10 rupees, ground identified the perfect washer in firm”—a few cents. I said: “two bikes,” the dust. gave him 20 and we took off.

It was a long, slow descent to Teni, Palm plantations and rice paddies but I spotted a hand-written sign to lined the road approaching Palani “Periyakulam” and thought, “Shortcut.”

Hills. The climb twists and turns and The ubiquitous chai stall owner assured the vegetation grows dense. A pack of us, with an enthusiastic circular nod, we monkeys on the road fight over freshly could ride through. The dirt road was fallen fruit. A misty cascade tumbled under construction, but we were up for down a granite face in the distance. We an adventure. paused at “Relax Corner” chai stall to The first construction crew said we admire the view. could make it through, and an engineer Kodaikanal, literally “The Gift of the further along said “yes,” so we carried on.

Forest,” is the Princess of Hill Stations, a The dirt road varied from bad to worse, place where Missionaries and British but the views were amazing. The original bureaucrats retired during the hot season. track terminated at a village six kilometres There are plenty of lodges, but the freedom onward, but they were punching through that comes with riding allows broader to access the coffee plantations ringing choice. Quaint stone cottages on the edge the mountain. of town offered a view northeast over the We saw three motorcycles and two hills. The night guard offered extra blankets Jeeps over 25 kilometres. I can confidently and informed us he would make hot water state we were the first foreigners on this in the morning between 8 and 10 a.m. only. road, confirmed occasionally when we “Very much work, sir,” he added. waited for the crew to complete sections At 2,133 metres above sea level, the and continue. weather is fresh and Astried bought two At a cluster of shacks, the rough track sweaters at the Tibetan shop at touristic dropped steeply, and progress was slow.

Kodai Lake. Nearby Coaker’s Walk and Astried was challenged by the conditions, Pillar Rocks are unimpressive. The real but we finally reached the plains below highlight is Mother Nature herself in the and drove into the heart of massive mango, forest reserves outside town. Extensive coconut palm, and rice plantations. pine and eucalyptus groves create a lovely Longer time, fewer kilometres to Teni, aroma, enhancing the winding roads but what an adventure! We found a quiet and great views. We passed several small lodge, the owners going out of their way groups of women half-jogging down the to ensure our comfort, proudly noting we road, their heads loaded with wood. A were their first foreign guests. daily task for these stalwarts who keep the fires burning for cooking and warmth.

For 28 days and more than 2,600 Road construction stopped traffic kilometres, Tim and his companion in the middle of nowhere, so we drank explored rural Tamil Nadu and Kerala chai. As the woman pounded fresh masala, (in 2017). Few foreigners ride the back we noticed small bottles of eucalyptus roads of southern India and they certainly oil. Fifty metres away, we poked our attracted a lot of attention. From chai-stall heads through a narrow door to view the stares to schoolchildren’s cheers and even extraction process, and Astried promptly newspaper coverage. For more on Tim’s purchased the 100-per-cent pure oil. adventures, go to piquenewsmagazine.

My bike developed a rattle and I com and timmorch.com. ■

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FEBRUARY 11, 2021

51

SPORTS THE SCORE

Whistler Freeride alums set for World Tour PEIFFER LOOKS TO REJOIN TOP 10; BATHGATE READY FOR ROOKIE CAMPAIGN

BY DAN FALLOON WITH THE later-than-usual start to the 2021 Freeride World Tour (FWT) season, Tom Peiffer admittedly has mixed feelings about taking off for Europe for a late-February start to the season.

It’s not so much to do with any hesitance to start his third season; rather, the extended time at home in Whistler has been a reminder of how good the best skiing of the year is here.

“Our [Whistler] season is off to a sweet start, so it’s just one of those things where everything is working out really well here,” he said. “I’ve felt really active and productive. It’s been nice to have another month here at home.

“It is a little bit difficult thinking about leaving home right now with the way our season’s going … but it’s part of the job.”

While there was never a doubt Peiffer would head over to Europe, calling competing on the FWT “a passion and a dream,” he acknowledged that there are some feelings of apprehension of participating during the pandemic.

“I’m sure once I’m there, I’ll never wanna leave,” he said. “Specifically, this year, with how complex everything is and

CRUISING CANUCK Whistler Freeride Club alum Tom Peiffer is getting set for his third season on the Freeride World Tour.

PHOTO BY JEREMY BERNARD/FREERIDE WORLD TOUR

52 FEBRUARY 11, 2021

how it’s not going to be the normal type of season over there.

“Everything feels a little more comfortable and normal here.”

Meanwhile, Cooper Bathgate is excited to join his former Whistler Freeride Club teammate on the world’s top tour in 2021. While this season, operating in a pandemic, is unprecedented, Bathgate said there are several intricacies that Peiffer will help with.

“It’s definitely nice having someone to bounce ideas off of,” he said. “He’s been every place we’re going before, so he knows the ins and outs of the best way to get there, places to go through, where we should stay.”

As for Bathgate’s aspirations in his freshman season, he also looks to Peiffer for inspiration.

“In his rookie season, he got third, so obviously, I’m trying to get second,” he said.

GETTING PREPARED Even though there are a number of curveballs that competitors have faced and, potentially, more ahead, Bathgate said he’s treating the upcoming campaign like any other year.

Bathgate, who’s living in Pemberton, is working fulltime until the start of February, then hitting the snow hard.

To this point, he’s still been able to go sled skiing in the backcountry in an attempt to discover terrain that will help him prepare for the season, especially with visual inspection, as FWT riders cannot preride the course like North American juniors can.

“I’m heading out in the backcountry to find stuff that is more similar to what a visual inspection competition would be because I’ve skied everything on the hills a bunch,” he said. “I’m just trying to explore new zones and feel it out.”

Peiffer, meanwhile, explained that his snowmobile was inactive for a few weeks, but he’s still been able to get into the backcountry on Blackcomb, Rainbow, Black Tusk and Garibaldi mountains.

“Every time I go out into the backcountry, I might know the area, but it’s still unfamiliar territory, which is why I’m trying to get out there a lot,” he said. “I’m trying to get out there a lot to get out of my comfort zone. I start to ski lines and do stuff that I don’t know how it will go.”

Peiffer has also been skiing in-bounds at Whistler Blackcomb, noting that while it helps to get his legs under him, that type of skiing doesn’t help with his “fear factor.”

LOOKING AHEAD The 2021 FWT campaign is set to start with a competition at Ordino-Arcalís, Andorra between Feb. 20 and 26, with the pair heading to Europe in mid-February.

As it stands now, there will only be one other competition at Fieberbrunn, Austria before the tour roster is cut before the final event at Verbier, Switzerland at the end of March, though if conditions allow, there could be two events at the Andorran and Austrian stops.

With little margin for failure, Peiffer said

his approach will be to rein things in and ensure that he’s still part of the tour in 2022.

“As it stands now, we only have two competitions so you have to land both your runs. There’s not a lot of room for error and it’s going to be really interesting to see how this plays out, from a competitive standpoint, with skiing,” he said. “The tour likes us to push the sport and try new things and do big stuff, but consistency is also a massive asset as a competitor.

“I really want to be in the starting gate next season when we get a full tour back.”

Peiffer will be looking for a bit of a bounceback. After taking sixth overall in his rookie year, Peiffer slipped to 11th in 2020.

Still, it was high enough to be asked back.

“To always re-qualify is a huge one,” he said. “I always try to aim for top 10, if not top five, in the overall rankings.”

With the tour skipping its Kicking Horse stop this year, requalifying for 2022 is a particularly key focus for Bathgate.

“The main focus of this year is qualifying for next year so I can compete in B.C.,” he said.

Both riders feel confident in the tour’s protocols and safety measures, as in addition to common requirements like wearing a mask and keeping physical distance, they’ve set up three bubbles: riders and camera operators; staff and local organizers; and sponsors and media.

They also appreciate that the FWT is covering such costs as hotel rooms for quarantine for athletes who are making the trip overseas. n

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Businesses that STANDOUT Tips on finding a lawyer who is right for you capable of taking your matter to open court or prefers to go the out-of-court settlement route.

Other tips on finding the right lawyer include:

So, you need to find a lawyer.

Outside of perhaps handling the purchase of a new home, or drawing up a will, this could potentially be a harrowing experience when you require someone to represent you on a potentially serious matter.

So, how do you go about finding one, and what characteristics should you be looking for?

Anthony Eden, an associate at Hammerco Lawyers in Vancouver, has some advice on how you can find the right legal match.

“Overall, you are in search of a legal representative who has a good reputation, and the simple way of checking that is through Google,” says Eden. “That’s a quick and effective way to get reviews of their work.”

Another, more in-depth method of researching a lawyer’s track record is by logging on to CanLII: Canadian Legal Information Institute.

“CanLII gives you the ability to search for published judgements and see if the lawyer has represented clients all the way to a trial,” Eden says.

“That’s an important consideration, especially if you are hiring a litigator, a lawyer who argues cases in the courtroom.”

You can determine if your lawyer is prepared and

Free Consultations “What you are looking for during that initial, nocharge period is not just a sense of their knowledge of the law, but their compatibility to work with you as a team, because that’s essentially the most important part,” Eden says. “Some people think that you hire a lawyer and all of your problems magically disappear.

That’s not how it works.

“It’s about working together and striving for the same goal. There should be an element of synchronicity between the lawyer and client.”

Get a word of mouth referral “If you know someone who has used a lawyer and achieved good results, chances are it’s a good representation of their competency and performance as a lawyer,” Eden says. “Just seeing an ad on TV is not necessarily the best way, but talking with past clients can be a significant help.”

Resist the temptation to go it alone Acting as your own lawyer is the stuff of TV scripts; in reality, it’s not a very wise decision, Eden explains.

“It’s a pretty tall task for anyone,” he adds.

“Someone who chooses this route quickly realizes it can be complicated, onerous, and often even a recipe for disaster.”

But there are odd times where it can make sense, for example, in a small claims court involving matters under $35,000, he says.

For more information about finding a lawyer who’s right for you, visit hammerco.net/our-firm/ anthony-eden.

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VELOCITY PROJECT

Speak the wild words USE YOUR WORDS TO CONJURE THE MORE BEAUTIFUL WORLD YOUR HEART KNOWS IS POSSIBLE. HER NAME WAS Brooke. It had been a name chosen carefully for her by her father, so when she read that the word “brook” was being struck from the dictionary, along with a host of other words “redundantly” featuring nature, it felt personal. The fact that it was the Oxford Junior Dictionary, and the words were being

BY LISA RICHARDSON plutoed (downgraded in status, like a certain former planet) to make room for attachment, cut and paste, chatroom, database and MP3 player, made it political, too.

So Brooke Smith did what she knows best—after crying and ranting and stomping her feet and going for a lot of long walks on her Bend, Oregon property. She wrote a picture book—every page, a combined act of love and protest, reaffirming the necessity of these words—brook, dandelion, monarch, lavender. Notably, neither “chatroom” nor “database” made an appearance in the text for The Keeper of Wild Words, but setting the story as a kind of scavenger hunt in her grandmother’s garden ensured plenty of nature medicine. The Keeper of Wild Words came out March 10, 2020, officially a terrible time to launch a new book into the world, and

WILD WORDS In The Lost Spells, Welsh artist Jackie Morris invokes the magic of words and paint to summon us back into relationship with the natural world.

PHOTO SUBMITTED

54 FEBRUARY 11, 2021

yet, it arrived at a time when the medicine of time spent in nature was quietly underscored to a world in sudden lockdown.

Brooke Smith was not the only person to use her words to protest the undervaluing of the connection between humans and the natural world. In 2015, 28 authors and artists, including Margaret Atwood, wrote a protest letter to the Oxford University Press, asking them to consider reinstating the wild words. The Press declined, citing page counts, priorities, frequency of use.

The words were being culled because no one was using them anymore.

Welsh artist Jackie Morris was one of the signatories of the letter, and she couldn’t let it rest. So she took a different approach to protest. She partnered with Robert Macfarlane, who had just written a book, Landmarks, exploring the relationship between nature and language, to create another kind of picture book.

The Lost Words is a huge format book, one McFarlane jokes is big enough to “use as a rain shelter or a coffee table”—and was conceived as a “spell book” to conjure back 20 of the lost words, that had been excised from the dictionary. Morris would learn the poems or spells McFarlane wrote, by heart, to paint them. She said, “A book of poetry is hard and intimidating to read for someone like me, who has dyslexia… but giving words space is much more inviting.”

Through the magic of word and paint, and the invitation to speak the words aloud, the pair sought to summon those words back into being.

They weren’t protesting against the dictionary. They were protesting loss, and

their artful approach sparked an unexpected torrent of support—a crowdfunding campaign was started to put a copy of the book in every primary school across the country. Musicians gathered to turn it into an album. It inspired a symphony. The artworks were painted on hospital walls. It became a huge bestseller, a cultural phenomenon.

In October, its sequel The Lost Spells was published, to “continue the conversation, continue the enchantment,” and continue flexing into a form of environmental protest that is less about shouting, crying or doing without, and more about making, singing, dancing, and invoking joy.

It, too, has tapped into a hunger to respond to the losses of our times with something more than feeble rage. As McFarlane writes, “Loss is the tune of our age, hard to miss and hard to bear. Creatures, places and words disappear, day after day, year on year. But there has always been singing in dark times—and wonder is needed now more than ever. ‘To enchant’ means both to make magic and to sing out. So let these spells ring far and wide; speak their words and see their art, let the wild world into your eyes, your voice, your heart.”

In this gesture of craftivism, people are invited to share the space of loss, by appreciating the way loss and grief and befuddlement can be spun into creative offerings, beautifully rendered. Craftivism is a kind of anathema to slacktivism, which is the more common path of protest these days—yelling loudly into Facebook to try and effect change. Craftivism is quieter and gentler, it generates art and artefacts, and is about creating a better world, note by note, stitch by stitch. It’s about putting something

into the world that is more than just your rage or your despair—something that people can approach with curiosity, and engage with.

The intention behind these books compelled me. But it’s their reception that has made me pay attention. You’d think it would be obvious that a writer would believe in the magic of words… but this past year has woken me up to the idea that I actually need magic, I need to believe in magic, I need to believe with my entire body that the way we shape words and sentences and the energy and emotion and intention we align behind them, actually has a potency, and can impact the world. Playing with words is not just an indulgence. It’s not just a nice little pastime. It’s not just of value if you have a corporate client paying for it. It can energize those things when you greet a violet or a cedar or a snowfall by name, by words spoken aloud. It can give them pleasure, maybe, or an immune boost.

Creative offerings can bring people together. And that—people coming together—is what can change the world.

I think a lot of us went into 2021 with this singular spell on our tongues: “Fuck you, 2020.” And that has maybe whipped back around and slapped us in our faces.

Maybe we need a do-over.

What “spell” might we cast for 2021, just these few weeks into it? After we stomp our feet and yell and cry and lament the unfairness, the loss, the stupidity… what might we want to call into being? What might we conjure forth? What might we urge into existence, with a prayer, a spell, a song, a poem? What might we save or protect? Just say it. Out loud. ■

MEADOW PARK SPORTS CENTRE SWIM • SKATE • SWEAT • SQUASH OPEN DAILY: 6 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Timeslots can be booked up to 72 hours in advance

whistler.ca/MPSC

GROUP FITNESS SCHEDULE FEBRUARY 11 THURSDAY

I Strength Builder 7:15-8:15 a.m.

Louise

FEBRUARY 12 FRIDAY

I Low Impact Strength and Stretch 7:15-8:15 a.m.

Beth

FEBRUARY 13 SATURDAY

FEBRUARY 14 SUNDAY

FEBRUARY 15 MONDAY

I Strong Glutes and Core 7:45-8:45 a.m.

Jess *ONLINE

I Low Impact I Open Strength and Studio Stretch 8:45-9:45 a.m.

8:45-9:45 a.m.

Beth Louise

NO CLASSES – FAMILY DAY

I Low Impact Strength and Stretch 9:15 -10:15 a.m.

Jess *ONLINE I Aqua Fit Shallow 10-11 a.m.

Marie-Anne

FEBRUARY 16 TUESDAY

I Open Studio 7:15-8:45 a.m.

Beth

I Low Impact Strength and Stretch 7:15-8:15 a.m.

Andy

I Low Impact Strength and Stretch 8:45-9:45 a.m.

Beth

I Low Impact Strength and Stretch 8:45-9:45 a.m.

Andy F Barre 10:15-11:15 a.m.

Marie-Anne

I Aqua Fit Deep End 10-11 a.m.

Marie-Anne

I Slow Flow Yoga 10:15-11:15 a.m.

Laura

F Barre 10:15-11:15 a.m.

Marie-Anne

F FLEXIBLE REGISTRATION

R Gentle Fit for Seniors 1-2 p.m.

Marie-Anne *ONLINE I Strong Glutes and Core 5:15-6:15 p.m.

Jess *ONLINE

Flex-reg’ classes have a separate fee and allow you to register for classes on the days that fit your schedule.

R Ballet for

Children 4-6 yrs old 3-3:45 p.m.

Jane

R Ballet for Children 7-10 yrs old 4:15-5 p.m.

Jane

I INCLUDED FITNESS These classes are included with your price of admission for no extra charge.

See exact schedule of classes at the sports centre or online at: whistler.ca/recreation

R Gentle Fit for Seniors 11-12 p.m.

Diana *ONLINE

I Tighten and Tone 10:15-11:15 a.m.

Beth

WAYS TO PLAY THIS FAMILY DAY! The Resort Municipality of Whistler has a variety of options to help you celebrate Family Day on Monday, February 15.

Learn more at whistler.ca/familyday

@RMWhistler |

@rmwhistler |

@rmowhistler

F Subtle Power Yoga 1-2 p.m.

Laura

R REGISTERED FITNESS Registered fitness classes have a separate fee and a defined start and end date.

Pre-registration is required for the entire set of classes.

FEBRUARY 17 WEDNESDAY

I Mountain Ready Strength and Structure 5:15-6:15 p.m.

Steve *ONLINE

I Low Impact Strength and Stretch 5:15-6:15 p.m.

Garret *ONLINE

I Mind and Body Stretch 6:45-7:45 p.m.

Heather *ONLINE

I Slow Flow Yoga 6:45-7:45 p.m.

Laura

ARENA PUBLIC SKATE SCHEDULE THU 11

FRI 12

SAT 13

SUN 14

MON 15

TUE 16

WED 17

12:15-1:45 p.m.

12:15-1:15 p.m.

12:15-1:15 p.m.

12:15-1:15 p.m.

12:15-1:15 p.m.

12:15-1:15 p.m.

12:15-1:15 p.m.

1:45-2:45 p.m.

1:45-2:45 p.m.

1:45-2:45 p.m.

1:45-2:45 p.m.

1:45-2:45 p.m.

1:45-2:45 p.m.

6:30-7:30 p.m.

6:30-7:30 p.m.

3:15-4:15 p.m.

6:30-7:30 p.m.

ARENA STICK AND PUCK SCHEDULE THU 11

FRI 12

SAT 13

SUN 14

8:15-9:30 a.m.

(Adult)

MON 15

TUE 16

8:15-9:30a.m.

(Adult)

10:15-11:45 a.m.

(Adult)

10:15 – 11:45 a.m.

(Family)

WED 17 8:15-9:30 a.m.

(Adult)

10:15-11:45 a.m.

(Adult)

POOL SCHEDULE

Lap swim and family swim times available daily by reservation only at whistler.ca/swim.

whistler.ca/recreation | whistler.ca/notices | 604-935-7529 @RMWhistler |

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AFFORDABLE PLAY! The Resort Municipality of Whistler offers many affordable opportunities to be active and play.

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ARTS SCENE

Jonathan Roy finds inspiration at Whistler’s Train Wreck QUEBEC SINGER-SONGWRITER RELEASES VIDEO COVER OF ‘IRIS’ FROM SUMMER SESSION

BY ALYSSA NOEL LAST

SUMMER Quebec musician Jonathan Roy was on a cross-country RV road trip when he made a stop in Whistler.

After a night in one of the resort’s famous parking lots, he and his bandmates decided they wanted to go for a little hike.

“A buddy of mine was like, ‘Hey, there’s a train wreck in the woods. We could set up shop there and play some songs,’” Roy recalls. “It was a beautiful little hike—with that river and you walk across the bridge to the train cars.”

Initially, they envisioned performing and recording a song around or on top of one of the cars, but when they arrived, inspiration struck.

“We saw this train car you could get in and the sound was awesome inside,” he says.

“We set up and started playing some tunes.”

On the fly, they landed on the plaintive

ON TRACK Singer-songwriter Jonathan Roy shot a video with his band at the Train Wreck site last summer.

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56 FEBRUARY 11, 2021

‘90s ballad “Iris” by the Goo Goo Dolls. “I was still reading the lyrics off the sheet as we were doing it,” Roy says. “It was really fresh. I used to sing that song as a kid; I was a big fan of them.”

Adding to the improvised element, one band member grabbed a stick and began

“It’s cool it’s getting around,” Roy says.

“It’s getting some attraction.”

The singer-songwriter has had success with other videos recently too. The clip for his single “Keeping Me Alive” drew more than 40 million views and, more recently, he launched the single “Lost.” That video

“We saw this train car you could get in and the sound was awesome inside. We set up and started playing some tunes.”

- JONATHAN ROY

playing percussion on the side of the car wall. He also grabbed some rocks and made a shaker. “It sounded really cool,” Roy says.

While Whistler locals might be familiar with the popular spot, through Roy’s lens—paired with his updated take on the decades-old hit—it seems at once eerie and peaceful.

The video debuted last week and already has garnered more than 100,000 views, along with a profile on ET Canada.

takes on an entire storyline, starting with group therapy.

Roy (who, fun fact, is the son of hockey player Patrick Roy) says his music has found more depth and personal resonance since he was dropped by Warner Music Canada three years ago, after he decided to head in a new direction—both musically and literally.

“I was living in Toronto, sold everything, bought an RV and lived in it for three years,” he says.

During that time, he travelled through the U.S. and Mexico before his most recent travels across Canada.

“It turned out to be all right,” he says of parting ways with the label. “It was the best decision I made for myself. I’m thankful for the opportunity they gave me, but it was time for me to go out on my own and do my own thing. I was trying to figure out who I was as an artist for a while. When I wrote ‘Keeping Me Alive’ and these songs I’m doing, I feel locked into something solid. It comes from my soul. It’s my art and my creation.”

Since the summer, Roy and his wife have purchased a farmhouse outside of Montreal with plans to stay put.

“The last couple of years I’ve really focused on who I am outside of music and really focusing on me as a human being,” he says. “[During COVID-19], I’m in the middle of the woods, I’m happy, I’m doing my thing, keeping myself busy. We’ve all had to evolve and figure things out. We decided to put content out there for people that are watching and want to see new things—keep people busy.”

To check out all of the videos, visit jonathanroyofficial.com. n

ARTS SCENE

GET CRAFTY The Whistler Museum is putting a new virtual spin on its Family Day Kids Après this year.

SCREENSHOT

Whistler Museum hosts Family Day Kids Après RESORT MUNICIPALITY OF WHISTLER LAUNCHES NEW COMMUNITY INITIATIVES TO CONNECT LOCALS

BY ALYSSA NOEL AND BRADEN DUPUIS THE WHISTLER MUSEUM has come up with a COVID-friendly way to host its Kids Après on Family Day Weekend.

Instead of in-person activities, families can drop by the museum on Friday, Feb. 12, starting at 11 a.m. to pick up a Family Day Kids Après package, complete with an activity book and supplies for two crafts.

“On Friday, February 12 we’ll post craft videos … so that you can craft along with us from home at your convenience,” the museum says on its website.

The activity book will share stories from the museum’s exhibits along with colouring pages, trivia, and mazes.

The packages are free and available as long as supplies last. The videos, meanwhile, will be posted on the museum Facebook, YouTube page, and whistlermuseum.org.

WHISTLER HAS HEART The Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW) is hoping three new community initiatives will help Whistlerites weather the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic: Whistler Has Heart, Experience Whistler at Home and light-up woodland animal features.

“I encourage all Whistler residents to enjoy these safe initiatives,” said Mayor Jack Crompton, in a release.

“Now more than ever, let’s keep our connection strong and our spirits high, as we weather this current difficult phase of the pandemic within our community.”

The Whistler Has Heart project will display 100 painted, wooden hearts at different locations throughout the valley. The hearts will be painted by local artists, Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre

ambassadors and residents as a way of thanking essential workers.

Those who find the display are encouraged to share photos to Instagram with #mywhistler. The hearts will be displayed from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Wednesday to Saturday, at different parks in Whistler.

An accompanying QR code will also allow people to donate to the Whistler Health Care Foundation.

Whistlerites can participate from home by downloading their own hearts to decorate and post in their windows.

Secondly, the RMOW is looking to support local artists and musicians through its Experience Whistler at Home project. The initiative will task local artists with painting life-sized, threedimensional wooden tree structures, while simultaneously creating a video of the process to share with the community.

Local musicians will be tapped to provide a piece of original music for the videos.

The videos will be shared through RMOW social media channels, and the trees will eventually be displayed on the Village Stroll.

Lastly, a pair of illuminated woodland creatures can now be spotted in Whistler— an oversized moose and stag light-up display have been set up at Whistler Olympic Plaza and Rebagliati Park.

According to the RMOW, the displays are over four metres tall each, and lit up with hundreds of white LEDs. “Please stay safe, wear your masks, get tested if you feel sick and isolate at home if you have been asked to by Vancouver Coastal Health,” Crompton said.

“We’ll be singing and dancing together in Whistler Olympic Plaza before you know it.”

The initiatives are part of the RMOW’s Festivals, Events and Animation programming. n

FEBRUARY 11, 2021

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NCE MEX RIE IC E O XP IN

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ISTLER WH

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THE WRITE STUFF Karl Ricker in the midst of the museum’s recording set-up, with distancing protocols in place and masks for anyone not in front of the camera. Ricker has just donated the journals of the UBC Varsity Outdoor Club from 1964 to 1968.

PHOTO SUBMITTED.

Museum receives Outdoor Club’s journals for collection

BY ALLYN PRINGLE BACK IN SEPTEMBER, we posted photos on our social media of exploratory trips taken by the UBC Varsity Outdoor Club (VOC) in 1964 and the construction of the VOC Cabin from 1965. The photos were donated by Karl Ricker, a VOC member who had substantial involvement in the VOC Cabin.

Recently, Ricker brought in copies of the VOC journal from 1964 to 1968 to add to our research collection and, though we’ve only taken a quick look so far (and are looking forward to examining the journals more closely), they appear to be a very valuable addition.

The journals cover a period during which the VOC was exploring the possibility of a cabin in Whistler, its construction and beginning to put the lodging to use.

According to the club’s journal of 1964, the VOC Cabin on Mount Seymour was rarely being used as a ski cabin, as members could drive right up to the lifts, and skiing on Seymour was becoming increasingly crowded. They also found that Seymour was “inadequate as an area for ski touring, for hiking, or for mountaineering,” the “most important activities of an outdoor club.”

Building a cabin in the Whistler area was thought to be an improvement, as the long drive from Vancouver ensured most skiers would stay overnight, there was a proposal to develop lifts on Whistler Mountain, and the surrounding mountains would “present spectacular opportunities for touring and hiking.” Members of the VOC made their first reconnaissance trips to the area throughout 1964 and began construction of the cabin in 1965.

Skimming the journals, mentions of progress on the VOC Cabin are frequent and, as far as we’ve seen, optimistic. In 1967, then VOC President Paul Sims

wrote in his report about the upcoming completion of the cabin, saying: “When the last shake is nailed to the wall, and the last stone mortared into the fireplace, the construction at Whistler will be of a different nature. The shaking will continue but from dances, pots and pans, sing-songs, laughter and conversation. The building will bulge with eager and exhausted outdoor groups instead of construction crews.”

The journals were brought in by Ricker when he came to the museum to record an interview for an upcoming exhibition by the Museum of North Vancouver. We were excited to help facilitate the recording as it gave us a chance to try out equipment we’ll be using in our upcoming virtual events.

Friday, Feb. 12 marks the beginning of our BC Family Day Kids Après: At Home Edition. Rather than invite families to the museum, we’ve created Kids Après Packs that can bring parts of the museum to you. Packs can be picked up for free at the museum and include materials for two crafts and a Kids Après Activity Book, which combines stories from our exhibits with colouring pages, mazes, trivia and more.

We’ll also be releasing craft videos online so that you can craft along from home, creating your own skiing snowpeople and a (non-edible) mug of hot chocolate, a staple of Kids Après.

Next week we’ll be hosting our first Virtual Speaker Series of 2021, kicking off the series with Whistler Pride: A Look Back with Dean Nelson.

Though the Whistler Ski & Pride Festival was not able to go ahead this year, you could still see the spirit of the festival in the flags along Village Gate Boulevard and we’ll be learning more about how the festival started and how it has grown with one of its long-time organizers. Go to our website to register for the free event and find out about the rest of our Speaker Series line up for 2021. n

PARTIAL RECALL

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1 MAGIC MOUNTAINS As if the snowy peaks of the Coast Mountains aren’t breathtaking enough on their own, the mountains were lit up by a stunning, fiery backdrop as the sun set on Friday, Feb. 5th. PHOTO BY LINDSAY GOUGH. 2 ICE DANCER When ideal ice conditions and a glowing sunset come together in Whistler, striking a pose and snapping a photo is mandatory. PHOTO SUBMITTED. 3 DOUG DOG Douglas (formerly known as Kokanee, a member of WAG’s mountain litter) was tired out after a full day spent playing in Whistler with his new family. PHOTO SUBMITTED. 4 FUNDRAISING FIREFIGHTERS Whistler Firefighters kicked off the month of February by supporting their local community and presenting a $1,500 donation to the Whistler Community Services Society. The cheque was accepted by WCSS operations manager Lori Pyne. PHOTO SUBMITTED. 5 DOUBLE SUNDOG Skiers and riders were treated to a unique sight over Blackcomb Mountain last week, courtesy of the sun’s rays shining through a mist of ice crystals. “I wasn’t able to capture all the rainbows on my phone, but it was a double sun dog with a rainbow above and two reverse rainbows curving upwards,” writes the photographer. PHOTO BY ANNE-ELISE KEEFER. 6

BOBCAT STALKER This bobcat kept a keen eye on a couple of Whistler housecats (through the safe barrier of a window) when it strolled through a Whistler neighbourhood recently. PHOTO BY ÉMY ROY.

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ASTROLOGY

Free Will Astrology WEEK OF FEBRUARY 11 BY ROB BREZSNY

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ARIES (March 21-April 19): Author Anton Chekhov made a radical proposal: ”Perhaps the feelings we experience when we are in love represent a normal state. Being in love shows people who they should be.” In accordance with astrological potentials, my beloved Aries darling, I invite you to act as if Chekhov’s proposal were absolutely true for at least the next two weeks. Be animated by a generous lust for life. Assume that your intelligence will reach a peak as you express excited kindness and affectionate compassion. Be a fount of fond feelings and cheerful empathy and nourishing ardour.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Poet and filmmaker Jean Cocteau told the following story about Taurus composer Erik Satie (1866–1925). When Satie died, his old friends, many of whom were highly accomplished people, came to visit his apartment. There they discovered that all the letters they had sent him over the years were unopened.

Satie had never read them! How sad that he missed out on all that lively exchange. I beg you not to do anything that even remotely resembles such a lack of receptivity during the coming weeks, Taurus. In fact, please do just the opposite: Make yourself as open as possible to engagement and influence. I understand that the pandemic somewhat limits your social interactions. Just do the best you can.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): On behalf of the cosmic omens, I demand that the important people in your life be reliable and generous toward you in the coming weeks. You can tell them I said so. Tell them that you are doing pretty well, but that in order to transform pretty well into very well, you need them to boost their support and encouragement. Read them the following words from author Alan Cohen: “Those who love you are not fooled by mistakes you have made or dark images you hold about yourself. They remember your beauty when you feel ugly; your wholeness when you are broken; your innocence when you feel guilty; and your purpose when you are confused.”

CANCER (June 21-July 22): For a while, poet Alfred de Musset (1810–1857) was the sexual partner of Cancerian novelist George Sand (1804–1876), also known as Aurore Dupin. He said that after intense love-making sessions, he would fall asleep and wake up to find her sitting at her desk, engrossed in working on her next book. Maybe the erotic exchange inspired her creativity? In accordance with current astrological potentials, I recommend Sand’s approach to you. Vigorous pleasure will coordinate well with hard work. As will deep release with strong focus.

As will tender intimacy with clear thinking. (PS: I know your options for pleasure and intimacy may be somewhat limited because of the pandemic. Call on your ingenuity and resourcefulness to work the best magic possible.)

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Leo poet Warsan Shire suggests, “Document the moments you feel most in love with yourself—what you’re wearing, who you’re around, what you’re doing. Recreate and repeat.” This would be an excellent exercise for you to carry out during this Valentine season. You’re in a phase when you’re likely to enhance your lovability and attract extra support simply by intensifying and refining the affectionate compassion you feel and express toward yourself.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): I wish the pandemic would give us a short break so we could celebrate the Valentine season with maximum sensual revelry and extravagant displays of joyful tenderness. I wish we could rip off our masks and forget about social distancing and hug and kiss everyone who wants to be hugged and kissed. But that’s not going to happen. If we hope to be free to indulge in a Lush Love and Lust Festival by Valentine Season in 2022, we’ve got to be cautious and controlled now. And we are all counting on you Virgos to show us how to be as wildly, lyrically romantic as possible while still observing the necessary limitations.

That’s your special task.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Author Raymond Carver wrote, “It ought to make us feel ashamed when we talk like we know what we’re talking about when we talk about love.” That seems like a harsh oversimplification to me. Personally, I think it’s fun and interesting to pretend we know what we’re talking about when we talk about love. And I think that will be especially true for you in the coming weeks. In my astrological opinion, you should be discussing love extensively and boldly and imaginatively. You should redefine what love means to you. You should re-evaluate how you express it and reconfigure the way it works in your life.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): I’m turning over this horoscope to psychologist John Welwood. His words are the medicine you need at this juncture in the evolution of intimacy. Study the following quote and interpret it in ways that help illuminate your relationship with togetherness: “A soul connection is a resonance between two people who respond to the essential beauty of each other’s individual natures, behind their facades, and who connect on this deeper level. This kind of mutual recognition provides the catalyst for a potent alchemy.

It is a sacred alliance whose purpose is to help both partners discover and realize their deepest potentials.”

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Transform yourself with the sweetest challenge you can dream up. Give yourself a blessing that will compel you to get smarter and wilder.

Dazzle yourself as you dare to graduate from your history.

Rile yourself up with a push to become your better self, your best self, your amazingly fulfilled and masterful self.

Ask yourself to leap over the threshold of ordinary magic and into the realm of spooky good magic. And if all that works out well, Sagittarius, direct similar energy toward someone you care about. In other words, transform them with the sweetest challenge you can dream up. Dare them to graduate from their history. And so on.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): I invite you to compose a message to a person you’d like to be closer to and whom you’re sure would like to be closer to you. Be inspired by what poet Clementine von Radics wrote to the man she was dating, telling him why she thought they could start living together. Here’s her note: “Because you texted me a haiku about the moon when you were drunk. Because you cried at the end of the movie Die Hard on Christmas eve. Because when I’m sick you bring me fruit, kiss me on the mouth, and hold me even though I’m gross. Because you bring me flowers for no reason but on Valentine’s Day you gave me a bouquet of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. Because every time I show you a poem I love you’ve read it already.”

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): I’ve adopted some lines from poet Walt Whitman for you to use in composing a love note. Send it to a person you know and love, or to a person you want to know and love, or a person you will know and love in the future. Here it is: “We are oaks growing in the openings side by side. We are two fishes swimming together. We are two predatory hawks, soaring above and looking down. We are two clouds driving overhead. We are seas mingling, two cheerful waves rolling over each other. We are snow, rain, cold, darkness.

We circle and circle till arriving home again, voiding all but freedom and our own joy.”

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): “To heal is to touch with love that which was previously touched by fear,” wrote author Stephen Levine. I propose you make this theme a keynote for your best relationships in the coming days.

What can you do to alleviate the anxiety and agitation of the people you care for? How might they do the same for you? If you play along with the cosmic rhythms, you will have extraordinary power to chase away fear with love.

Homework: How has the pandemic changed your approach to getting and giving love? How have the restrictions on our ability to mingle with each other altered the ways you seek intimacy? FreeWillAstrology.com

In addition to this column, Rob Brezsny creates

EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPES In-depth weekly forecasts designed to inspire and uplift you. To buy access, phone 1-888-499-4425. Once you’ve chosen the Block of Time you like, call 1-888-682-8777 to hear Rob’s forecasts. www.freewillastrology.com

61 FEBRUARY 11, 2021

Hair Cut Men / Women / Kids

NOTICE OF AGM AND NOMINATIONS ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING:

Colour, Highlight, touch up, Ombré, Balayage, bleach out, Full and partial threading, Keratin Japanese straightening

Wednesday, May 19, 2021 - 5:30pm Location TBC

CALL FOR NOMINATIONS for Directors: Candidates should have strategic leadership skills, previous board experience, knowledge or experience in governance, and familiarity with Arts Whistler’s mandate and operations.

Deadline for nominations to the Board of Directors: March 26, 2021

Tel: 778-279-7818 Email: lionsbayhairsalon@gmail.com

For more information please contact Mo Douglas at mdouglas@artswhistler.com

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62 FEBRUARY 11, 2021

The N’Quatqua First Nation is seeking 2 qualified Early Childhood Educators. One is a full-time permanent position, the other is a full time maternity leave position at N’Quatqua Child and Family Development Centre. The successful candidates will join our NCFDC team. The Early Childhood Educators work as team members with other child care setting staff and with all the children and families providing general support to the whole program to ensure effective inclusion of the children.

The successful candidate will have demonstrated ability in: • Ability to develop and maintain a warm, caring, responsive relationship with the child.

• Ability to establish and maintain supportive, collaborative relationships with families and staff.

PRE-LOVED RE-LOVED = COMMUNITY LOVE RE-USE-IT CENTRE Donations daily 10 am to 3 pm Accepting pre-loved clothing, gear and household items.

Shopping daily 11 am to 6 pm 8000 Nesters Road 604-932-1121

RE-BUILD-IT CENTRE Donations daily 10 am to 6 pm Accepting pre-loved furniture, tools and building supplies Shopping daily 10 am to 5 pm 1003 Lynham Road 604-932-1125 Visit mywcss.org and our social channels for updates.

• Ability to maintain confidentiality, positive, professional, nonjudgmental attitude.

• Physically ability to carry out the duties of the position.

• Planning and implementing developmentally appropriate curriculum that supports community, inclusion and is culturally significant for young Aboriginal children • Understanding and working knowledge of Child Care Licensing regulations • Interpersonal, written, oral communication skills and maintaining positive communication with parents • Collaborating with community service providers, Self-directed and able to initiate and complete projects In addition, the Early Childhood Educators will have: • A minimum of 2 years work experience in a child care setting • Valid Early Childhood Educator Certificate, ECE Licence to Practice or going to school to take Early Childhood Educator courses.

• Clear Criminal Records Check & Current First Aid • Food Safe or willingness to obtain • Some knowledge of curriculum and philosophies in First Nations Early Childhood settings.

Terms of Employment: • Full-time, Monday to Friday hours to be determined • Start Date: As soon as possible • Wage: (negotiable depending on experience)

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Cover Letter & Resume to: Title: Lisa Sambo, Manager Agency: N’Quatqua Child and Family Development Centre Email: lisa.sambo@nquatqua.ca Fax: 604-452-3295/3280

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Ray Wiebe 604.935.2432 Pat Wiebe 604.902.9300 raymondo99.69@gmail.com

Office Administrator Take a culinary trip down the Mekong river through Thailand and Vietnam and experience the ebb and flow of a bubbling South East Asian kitchen with 88Mekong Restaurant, opening this spring/summer in Creekside!

We are an upscale casual dining restaurant, and we are currently looking to hire the following leadership positions for our opening team: General Manager - Must have 3-5 years of existing GM experience in a similar restaurant Assistant GM/Bar Manager - Must have 2-3 years of restaurant

management experience

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Cooks- Must have 2-3 years of line cook experience, preferably in Thai or Vietnamese cuisine If you want to be a part of a dynamic, fun and driven leadership team, please send your resume to jobs@infinityenterprises.ca

Family owned & operated

Open Monday through Friday 8:30 - 4:30 Saturday 10:00 -4:00 Sundays and Evenings by appointment only.

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FACILITIES ENGINEER Full Time, Year Round

The Facilities Engineer is responsible for the oversight, maintenance, repairs and efficient operations of all main mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems, and the overall common areas at the Whistler Conference Centre, Whistler Golf Course and Driving Range.

This position requires an individual who possesses a 4th Class Power Engineering Certificate (or is currently enrolled), complimented with five years of related experience gained in a commercial building or hotel. Experience and knowledge of direct digital controls, energy management systems and green initiatives is also important. Previous leadership experience, with knowledge of applicable buildings codes and health and safety practices is an asset.

We are also recruiting for: Network Administrator (Full Time, Year Round).

big or small we do it all!

Call 604-902-MOVE www.alltimemoving.ca

To view our career opportunities, and to apply, visit us online at whistler.com/careers.

GIBBONS WHISTLER IS HIRING F U L L T I M E A C C O U N TA N T ABOUT THE ROLE: • FULL-TIME, YEAR-ROUND POSITION, 5 DAYS PER WEEK, FLEXIBLE SCHEDULE • SALARY WILL BE COMPETITIVE BASED ON EXPERIENCE • WORK WITH ONE OF THE BIGGEST AND MOST FUN TEAMS IN TOWN.

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STORAGE Teppan Village is hiring an Assistant Manager.

The Assistant Manager is responsible for managing the daily operations of our restaurant, including the selection, development and performance management of employees.

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JOB DUTIES:

Oversee and manage all areas of the restaurant and make final decisions on matters of importance to guest service.

Adhere to company standards and service levels to increase sales and minimize costs, including food, beverage, supply, utility and labour costs.

Responsible for ensuring consistent high quality of service.

Maintain professional restaurant image, including restaurant cleanliness, uniforms, and appearance standards.

Respond to complaints, taking any and all appropriate actions to turn dissatisfied guests into return guests.

Ensure security procedures are in place to protect employees, guests and company assets.

Ensure a safe working and guest environment to reduce the risk of injury and accidents.

Manage shifts which includes daily decision making, planning while upholding standards, product quality and cleanliness.

Provide direction to employees regarding operational and procedural issues.

Oversee the training of new employees.

Maintain an accurate and up-to-date plan of restaurant staffing needs. Prepare schedules.

Reports to the General Manager and Owner of the business.

QUALIFICATIONS: • Completion of high school, College diploma as asset.

• Valid Serving It Right Certificate.

• 2 years of experience as a Food Service Supervisor or Assistant Manager in the food industry • 3 years of experience in the food service industry.

All season, Permanent Full-time, 30 hours per week $25 per hour 4% vacation pay Start Date: As soon as possible.

Language of work is English Address: 301-4293 Mountain Square, Whistler, BC, V0N 1B4 Apply by email at teppanvillage@shaw.ca

STORAGE SPACE AVAILABLE

Part-time Sales Representative: Lead Generation

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• Extremely effective time management • Detail-oriented, multi-tasker • Ability to work in a fast-paced environment • Personable, understanding, objective and honest • Outstanding relationship-building skills

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Job Functions

• To research digital leads and provide them to the sales team • Understand best practices as it relates to digital marketing and advertising • Understand the competitive landscape and be able to appropriately position our service relative to competitors

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This is a 10 hour week, contract position reporting to the sales manager.

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Public Engagement Specialist – Regular Full-Time Support stakeholder engagement in local decision-making!

Engineering Technician – Regular Full-Time Support local infrastructure and engineering projects!

Utilities Technician – Regular Part-Time Oversee the District’s water conservation program!

Find out more by visiting squamish.ca/careers

64 FEBRUARY 11, 2021

Services

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The Sea to Sky corridor’s top civil construction company.

HEALTH & WELLBEING COUNSELLING LV Counselling

We are currently recruiting professionally minded people to join our team.

Required: Construction Labourers Pipelayers Please send resume to: Email: info@whistlerexcavations.com

Therapeutic online counselling for anxiety ~ self esteem ~ coping skills "Welcome, I offer compassionate support on your way back to your empowered self." - Lindy 587-604-0908 info@lindyvanderburg.ca https://lindyvanderburg.ca/

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# 49 adopt?

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ROTARY CLUBS OF WHISTLER

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Please support The Rotary Clubsthe of Rotary Whistler Club Whistler Spirit Night are of now meeting virtually.

Fundraiser to purchase The Whistler Club a mobile refrigeration Tuesdays at 3. unit for the Food Bank.

The Millennium Club Mix Cocktails, Raffle, Thursdays at 12:15.and Auction, - Registration Contact us at information info@Whistler-rotary.org https://bit.ly/399PocP for log in info. All welcome.

8

2 5 9 6 9 2 7 9 1 3 1 4MEETING PLACE 4 7 3 5 8 9 6 2

Welcome Centre at Whistler Public Library - Information, support, community connections and ESL practice groups for newcomers and immigrants. Meet people, make connections, volunteer, build your communication skills in English.

Multicultural Meet Up every Friday 9.3012pm. 604-698-5960 info@welcomewhistler.com FB: WhistlerWelcomeCentre

# 51 Big Brothers, Big Sisters Sea to Sky Volunteer to Mentor- just 1hr/week - and make a difference in a child's life. Call 604-892-3125.

# 50

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in Whistler.

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Infinity Enterprises Group is growing its F&B portfolio this spring/summer with an authentic Thai Vietnamese Restaurant in Creekside, called 88 Mekong. We are looking for an experienced General Manager to make the magic happen every day in our upscale casual dining establishment.

Prepare and cook Teppanyaki and other Japanese food including Sushi.

Ensure food meets quality standards.

Estimate food requirements and cooking time.

Instruct Kitchen Helpers and Cooks in preparation, cooking, and presentation of food.

Assist Head Chef and supervise cooks and kitchen helpers.

Inspecting ingredients for quality and freshness and supervising all food preparation.

Create new menu, recipes and specials.

Ensure to provide excellent live cooking presentation and customer services at the Teppanyaki bar.

Work as a team and ensure orders are completed in timely manner.

Ensure Teppan cooking presentations are performed in most safe environment.

V. EASY

The General Manger will oversee all of 88 Mekong’s restaurant operations. This position will provide leadership and motivation to ensure that all team members are “Guest Focused”, by setting high standards and establishing a fun and positive work atmosphere to create successful day to day operations.

ROLE REQUIREMENTS: • Minimum 3-5 years of experience required as an existing restaurant General Manager of a full service restaurant specializing in upscale casual dinning.

• Restaurant opening experience highly desirable.

• Post-secondary education in Hospitality/Tourism Management or Culinary highly desirable.

• Proven experience in hiring top talent, training, coaching, mentoring, and onboarding new team members in order to build productive motivated teams.

• Experience in managing the restaurant’s financials and make recommendations to improve flow through, increase average guest check, increase covers, and tighten food & beverage controls.

• Experience in managing inventory levels, and vendor relations.

• Ability to develop SOPs, training manuals, job descriptions, job duty checklists.

• Develops marketing and sales strategies to increase restaurant top line revenue.

• Proven ability to maintain high guest satisfaction and drive Trip Advisor scores.

• Trouble shoots problems independently as they arise and can operate with little to no supervision.

# 50

QUALIFICATIONS

All season, Permanent Full-time, 30 hours per week $25 per hour 4% vacation pay Start Date: As soon as possible.

Language of work is English Address: 301-4293 Mountain Square, Whistler, BC, V0N 1B4

7 1 3 2Apply by email at9teppanvillage@shaw.ca 4 3 4 5 6 2 4 5 2 8 6 3 1 4 7 3 5 4 1 8 5 9 7 8 6 9

V. EASY IRRIGATION TECHNICIAN

9 8

These are some of the benefits available for this opportunity: • Competitive salary + performance-based incentives.

• Fully paid covered Extended Medical Benefits, which includes: Dental, Vision, Practitioner Services (RMT, Acupuncture, Physio, Naturopath, Chiropractic, and much more), and life insurance.

• A generous amount of paid and unpaid time off.

• Cell Phone allowance.

• Lifestyle pass or Ski pass.

• Complimentary shift meal.

• 40% discount with the La Cantina restaurant chain & The Mexican Corner Restaurant.

• Learning and development leadership training opportunities.

5 2 3

Infinity Enterprises has ambitious expansion plans in the sea to sky corridor, and there will be other career opportunities for successful leaders in the future. We are sophisticated in the area of finance, and run efficient and dynamic operations.

# 52

The Irrigation Technician is involved with all facets of maintaining and operating the irrigation system, and works closely with the Superintendent and Assistant Superintendent on all irrigation repairs, troubleshooting, programming, and planning.

If you are interested in personal and professional growth and are ambitious, driven, and results oriented, you will enjoy being part of our team.

This position requires an individual with formal education in Turfgrass Management, or experience in golf course maintenance and/or irrigation; an understanding of golf and how it pertains to the set up and maintenance of the course; and an ability to deliver “Whistler’s Attitude”!

1 2 8 3 4 9 6 7 5

SELL

2

Full Time, Summer Seasonal (April – October)

VOLUNTEERS

DRIVE

THE FIRST PLACE TO LOOK FOR LOCAL JOB OPENINGS

• Completion of secondary school and 2-3 years or more experience as a cook/chef.

• Experience as a Teppanyaki Cook/Chef an asset.

• Good understanding of Japanese food and Teppanyaki food.

GENERAL NOTICES

FIX

JAPANESE TEPPANYAKI CHEFS

www.whistlerwag.com Community

WORK

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES

HEALTH & WELLBEING

8NEW INCLUDED 3 5 CLASS ADDED: 4 Tighten & Tone with Beth Tues 10:15 a.m.

9 1 Only $5 ~ Barre with Marie-Anne 4 Wed & Fri 10:15 a.m.

5 $5 ~ Subtle 8 Power Only Yoga with Laura 3 1 Wed 1 p.m.

2 www.whistler.ca/fitness 604-935-PLAY (7529) 1 2 7 8

RENT

We would love to hear from you.

Please send your resume and cover letter to jobs@infinityenterprises.ca

# 51 We 4are2 also 6 1recruiting 7 9 5 for: 8 3Grounds# 52 7 1 8(Full 4 Time 2 3 &6 5 9 Maintenance

Part3 Time, Gardener (Full 5 9 Seasonal), 4 6 8 1Assistant 7 2 2 Time, 5 6 Seasonal), 9 7 1 3 Volunteers 8 1 7(Seasonal).

2 5 3 9 4 6 9 3 4 8 5 6 2 1 3 5please 9 2 email 4 8 your 6 7cover letter and 4resume 7 5 to 2 Andrew 3 8 9 To apply, Arseneault, andrew@whistlergolf.com.

6 4 2 Assistant 5 8 7 Superintendent: 3 9 1 1 6 2 7 9 5 8 9 8 6 list 3 of1 summer 4 2 5positions at 3 8 9 1 6 4 7 For a7 complete the Whistler 2 6 1 Golf 8 4Club, 5 7 3 9 6 2 3 5 4 9 1 visit:9whistlergolf.com/careers.

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WHISTLER WHISTLER PUBLISHING PUBLISHING Limited Partnership

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Now Hiring Skilled Carpenters Projects in Whistler and Squamish Offering Competitive Wages Responsibility and wage will depend on skills and experience. info@crdesignandbuild.com

NORTH ARM FARM FARM FIELD LABOURER

Weeding, irrigating, harvesting and processing fruits & vegetables.

More than one season of agricultural experience required. Looking for hardworking individuals able to work in all types of outside conditions.

Minimum 40hrs/wk over a minimum 5 days/wk. $14.60-17.25/hr.

Job Duration: 32 weeks March 3rd-November 3rd, 2021.

Applicants can mail, or email resumes to North Arm Farm PO BOX 165, Pemberton, BC V0N 2L0 Email: info@northarmfarm.com

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Whistler’s award winning publications are seeking a full-time production manager.

We have a rare opportunity for a talented individual interested in managing a bustling production department with Pique Newsmagazine and our sister publications.

Suitable candidates will have the following qualifications: • Advanced knowledge of Adobe InDesign, Photoshop and Illustrator.

• Strong understanding of newspaper printing process, including how to design for newsprint, how to preflight artwork for newsprint and glossy output, how to troubleshoot and correct submitted artwork.

• Minimum 5 years experience in the graphic design industry, specifically in print/publishing.

• Digital product creation skills for responsive ad design and social media platforms.

• College diploma or equivalent experience in the area of graphic design.

• Team and project management skills.

• Experience managing IT resources and office assets.

• Illustration skills an asset.

The chosen candidate will be comfortable working to strict deadlines and show attention to detail, while working in a fun and collegial office atmosphere.

To apply, please send your resume and relevant portfolio by 5:00pm on Wednesday, February 17 to:

EMPLOYMENT EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES Bucha Brew Administrative assistant -Job Responsability/ requirements - Prepare, edit, invoices - Create and organize deliveries route - Search grants and procces applications -Knowledge of fermentation, kombucha -Must have knowledge and experience of Beverage manufacturing industry - Spanish/ English speaking -Own computer with Microsoft -Quickbooks, Basecamp, social media -6 months experience in a Kombucha Company -Salary: 21.50$/h. -30h./ per week -More information and contact :https://bit.ly/3p7cF4F ***Local Automotive*** Automotive technician for year round position in Whistler. 604-905-9109 steve@localautomotive.com Pemberton crane hire mobile hydraulic crane operator Must have class 3 licence 604-9673207 info@pembertoncranehire.com www.pembertoncranehire.com

Vista Integrated Systems Apprentice Technician Vista Security (Integrated Systems Inc.) is expanding and looking for new people to join our team of integrators working with Access Control, CCTV Video, and Intrusion systems.

We are looking for individuals with experience in security installations, Low voltage electrical installs, or basic electrical foundations to learn and grow with us.

We are a dynamic, creative, and fun company that work hard and play harder. Excellent wages, phone, health benefits, vehicle and bonus structure for the right person. info@vistasecurity.ca www.vistasecurity.ca

Sarah Strother sstrother@wplpmedia.com No phone calls please

Call Pique at (604) 938-0202, or email sales@piquenewsmagazine.com

Dirty Doggy?

Drop by the shelter and give your dog a bath in one of WAG’S do-it-yourself waist level tubs. Each bath is by $15 donation to WAG. Please call ahead to book a time.

PLAY HERE

» piquenewsmagazine.com/jobs 66 FEBRUARY 11, 2021

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EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES PIQUENEWSMAGAZINE.COM/JOBS

THE FIRST PLACE TO LOOK FOR LOCAL JOB OPENINGS

PLANNING AND BUILDING ASSISTANT

We’re looking for a Community Engagement Facilitator to work on a temporary, part-time contract basis.

For details go to www.sscs.ca and click on Job Postings under the Work with Us tab.

Resort Municipality of Whistler

Employment Opportunities • Supervisor, Facility Construction Management • Engineering Technologist • Journeyman Heavy Duty Mechanic • Computer Systems Technician – Helpdesk Resort Municipality of Whistler whistler.ca/careers

We are looking for an energetic, results-oriented individual with great customer service and interpersonal skills and a can-do attitude to join our busy department. As a Planning and Building Assistant you will help out with a number of tasks, such as: answering and directing phone calls (~15 per day), scheduling inspections, receiving and sorting communications, managing files, tracking applications and departmental statistics, helping to research property information and property titles, taking minutes (on occasion), uploading documents to the SLRD website, and a variety of other tasks that may arise.

The ideal candidate will be an upbeat team player with great attention to detail. You will also possess: • Some post-secondary training, preferably with an office administration diploma as well as experience with Microsoft Office software (including Word and Excel, and preferably, Publisher or InDesign), or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

• Experience in a planning, municipal or local government environment will be an asset but we are willing to train the right individual.

• Ability to work through interruptions and to work with minimal supervision.

• Ability to communicate tactfully, clearly, and effectively, both verbally and in writing.

• Ability to exercise mature judgment when dealing with colleagues, Elected Officials, clients and the general public.

• Ability to positively contribute and work in a team-oriented environment.

• An ability and willingness to identify what needs to get done, and to initiate positive improvements.

This is a full-time position. The SLRD offers a flexible 9-day fortnight and a benefits package.

A full job description is available on the SLRD website here: http://www.slrd.bc.ca/inside-slrd/ employment If you are interested in this opportunity, please submit a cover letter and resume via email by 5 p.m. February 12th to: Squamish Lillooet Regional District Attention: Nathalie Klein Email: nklein@slrd.bc.ca Website: www.slrd.bc.ca We thank all applicants for their interest; however, only those selected for an interview will be contacted.

LOVE YOUR JOB AND YOUR LIFE

Join Our Team Employment Opportunity VOP-portuni es!

Are you a natural?

Become one of the Village of Pemberton’s most valuable natural resources – our people.

FRONT OF HOUSE MANAGER Full Time, Summer Seasonal

Reporting to the Food & Beverage Manager, the Front of House Manager leads the front of house food & beverage team in delivering an exceptional product and service to our guests, both on the course and in Palmer’s Gallery Bar & Grill.

Our ideal candidate has experience in food and beverage leadership; experience with budgeting, scheduling and controls; excellent customer service skills and the ability to deliver “Whistler’s Attitude”!

To apply for this position, please visit: www.whistler.com/careers.

Bylaw Enforcement & Animal Control Officer – 2 Year Term, Full-Time Posi on: Under the direc on of the Manager of Corporate & Legisla ve Services, the Term Bylaw Enforcement & Animal Control Officer is responsible for monitoring compliance to Village bylaws and regula ons. This posi on involves regular patrolling of the Village and extensive contact with the community, with a focus on public educa on. This posi on assumes enforcement du es to ensure compliance with animal control, parking, and other Village regula ons as required. As a front-line representa ve of the Village, a key component of this role is to inform the public and maintain posi ve rela onships within the community.

If you’re able to provide best in class interpersonal and communica on skills, conflict resolu on and knowledge of our Animal Control Bylaw, related legisla on and other Municipal bylaws, let’s talk.

Please send your resume and cover le er to recrui ng@pemberton.ca by 5pm Sunday, February 21st, 2021.

For a full job descrip on and to learn more about the Village of Pemberton, please visit www.pemberton.c p

VillageOfPemberton

www.pemberton.ca FEBRUARY 11, 2021

67

CALL THE EXPERTS

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Custom Window Treatments Contact us today for a free quote or consultation info@suncrestwindowcoverings.com

CARPET CLEANING

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CLEANING

BLACK BEAR CARPET CLEANING LTD. • CARPETS • UPHOLSTERY

• TILES • CAR INTERIORS

Coast Mountain Cleaning • Full service cleaning • Residential & Commercial • Carpet & Upholstery Cleaning • Property Maintenance • Established 2011 Insured & Bondable • Criminal background checks on all staff

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FURNITURE

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REAL ESTATE

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SURVEYING

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68 FEBRUARY 11, 2021

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PUZZLES ACROSS 1 6 10 15 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 32 34 36 37 40 41 42 44 48 49 50 52 54 55 57 58 60 62 63 64 65 66 68

69 70 73 74 77 80 81 82 83 85 86 88 92 93 94 95 96 99 101 102 103

Cantina toast Soft mineral Wedge Cook Nutty Knickknack Bummer of a car Rack up, as debt Jung’s inner self Cook’s attire Start the day Tempestuous Award for bravery Intended Rich vein (2 wds.)

Hard, as a gaze Bounders Decimal base Greasy dirt Unduly View from Innsbruck “Golly!”

“Oh, gross!”

Cousteau’s summer -- Vegas Grating Major oil hub Ostrich look-alike Brewing need Watch part Wails Monastery Tomato jelly Work clothes More than bad Pottery fragments Observed Formulate a scheme

107 108 109 110 111 112 114 115 116 117 119 120 122 123 124 126

127 129 133 135 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150

Cellar contents Small dog, briefly “That -- -- lie!”

Omelet cooker Went fishing In time past Smile broadly Stout Large bell sound Fictional collie Fraidy-cat Eras Durable wood Little pie Raised-edge container Furniture buildup Antique photograph Women’s garment Look at impertinently Things to crack Undergo chemical change Grassy areas Nasty laugh Snake’s warning Sombrero go-with Small music maker, briefly Bond statistic Matador’s foe Beginning blossom Actor’s prompt Hire a decorator Main rd.

Rigging support Lively Dublin dance $$$ dispensers Greek P Pitcher part

Knew intuitively Vase or bowl Got nosy Marked a ballot -- yoga Long-plumed heron Stare angrily Luncheonette lure Keep away from Like chiffon Food consumer Overalls material Gets healthy again Light brown Raced Marks up an article

DOWN 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 21 31

Where Anna taught Diarist -- Frank Fixed the table Reveal Bought and sold Mississippi town Clothe Zoo favorite Aircraft followers Refuse to say (2 wds.)

Parade honorees Drops Blackjack Body joint Hunter’s need Like some bagels Did great “You bet!”

Take a crack at Antique brooches Tpks.

33 35 37 38 39 42 43 45 46 47 49 50 51 52 53 56 57 58 59 61 63 65 67 68 70 71 72 75 76 78 79 81 84 87 89 90 91

Oregon, to Yves Prehistoric Japanese clog Rocky Mountain people Tide type Shore flyer Urban people-movers Rain gear Dorm denizen Scarpetta and Starr Crazy Shell out Police busts String Exclaiming over Fragrant tree Leave hastily Cried loudly Egg-shaped Explosive noise Elvis’ daughter Elegant Wild shirt pattern (hyph.)

Jet jockey Snow boot Psyche component Bowed and scraped Former German monarch Juicy steaks (hyph.)

Bunny feature Banned bug spray Loud and rude Nutritious grains Make -- -- for it Moved inch by inch Hold sway Ramp alternative

93 97 98 99 100 101 102 104 105 106 108 110 113 114 115 118 120

Summer job seeker In that case (2 wds.)

Nudge Make hazy Campsite locale Sole Dearths S&L deposit Buddy Boot parts Embroider Wrinkle-nosed dogs Flapjack chain Sigma follower Notebook Corsage choice Internal organ

121 122 123 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 134 136 137 138 139

Verse Abused vocally Loved madly Lettuce buys Bookcase-kit item Zip over the ice Sidestep Talk wildly British prep school Experiment Ottoman title Sharp blow Cager -- Kukoc Throw off heat Equine mothers Buffet standby

LAST WEEKS’ ANSWERS

Enter a digit from 1 through 9 in each cell, in such a way that: • Each horizontal row contains each digit exactly once • Each vertical column contains each digit exactly once • Each 3x3 box contains each digit exactly once Solving a sudoku puzzle does not require any mathematics; simple logic suffices.

LEVEL OF DIFFICULTY: VERY EASY

3

5

4

8

1

9

6

2

5 2 9 6 1 9 7 5 3 9 1 2 4 3 5 6 9 1 7 3 9 8 3 7 6 8 2 4

V. EASY Solution, tips and computer program at www.sudoku.com# 50

ANSWERS ON PAGE 65

FEBRUARY 11, 2021

69

MAXED OUT

The challenges of love in Tiny Town OH, TO BE IN WHISTLER now that Valentine’s Day is near. Just kidding.

I don’t know anyone, OK, any man, who won’t admit to being ambivalent, if not downright freaked out about Valentine’s Day. Whether straight, gay, undecided, fluid, happily embroiled in a long-term relationship or on the prowl, Valentine’s Day is a time many, OK, most men tumble in the stew of mixed emotions, the highs and lows, the slides up and down and the herky-jerky passages in between that are affairs of the heart.

All we need, according to John Lennon,

BY G.D. MAXWELL is love. But love is life’s big lottery. It’s easy to play and hard to win. Harder still in a town such as this where, if you’re a guy, you stumble into any relationship with the heavy burden of proving you’re not a hopeless ski bum, a Peter Pan wannabe who will never grow up, a substance-abusing jerk looking for a quick lay, or a closet conservative. Ironically, the harder you try to overcome that burden, the more you prove the point.

But don’t take heart, ladies. Your path to true love’s even harder. Though mathematically, at least in this town, you’re on the winning end of the lottery, you’ve probably spent way too much of your life being brainwashed into believing whatever you have isn’t quite good enough. If that seems, well, harsh, ask yourself what exactly it is that keeps the beauty-care, esthetics, eating-disorder and self-help juggernaut, to name just a few, in business? And if you’ve thrown off the shackles of those guilt trips—and I’m happy to say many, OK, most Whistler women have—let us not forget the rallying cry of ski-town women everywhere: The odds may be good but the goods are definitely odd.

Let’s be honest. Who among us has wandered the path of love in an unwavering, sober line, a true course, a prairie highway?

Chances are better than rain in October your personal path of love looks more like the meandering of a blind dog sniffing his way through a Whistler neighbourhood, a strong scent here, a weak scent there, memories of old friends and vicious fights and finally, hopefully, a loving mate and maybe a warm home.

And now consider what we might call the Couples Privilege, privilege being such a hot-button social indictment these days.

For those of you enmeshed in a partnership that hasn’t grown too frayed at the edges, imagine trying to conjure love in the time of pandemic. As good as it is, just placing the words Zoom and Sex together is highly unsatisfactory.

70 FEBRUARY 11, 2021

GETTYIMAGES.CA

I once met a man who claimed to be not the least bit worried, ambivalent or spooked

by Valentine’s Day. Never having met a man so self-assured before when it came to the single most anxiety-inducing day of the year for most men, I asked him his secret.

Turned out he was a priest in plainclothes.

I felt both cheated and vindicated and left him pondering this question: “What would Jesus do to impress his love on St. Valentine’s Day?” I suspect the answer may involve a miracle. Nice work if you can get it... but most of us can’t and would consider it a cheat.

Actually I knew one other man generally at peace with the day of love. J.J. Geddyup, Whistler’s only private eye, never trusted anyone, man, woman, child, dog, enough to care about the day, although he freely

He admitted that the one year he’d actually accosted me to ask my advice about what women liked at Valentines. It was a year much like this one where the weather had turned clear and cold several days before Feb. 14.

Bumping into him in the village, I didn’t recognize him until he spoke. Actually, until he said it was him. Even then, since he greeted me with a, “Beautiful day, isn’t it, bro?” I wasn’t certain who it was.

Gone was the three-day stubble, the hang-dog, rheumy eyes, the sallow complexion of a man who drank too much and slept too little. Gone was the greasy winter coat that looked like it had been used to bag shore birds killed by a grounded tanker’s oil slick. Gone was the voice that sounded like Tom Waits played at too slow

As good as it is, just placing the words Zoom and Sex together is highly unsatisfactory. admitted to buying himself, OK, stealing, heart-shaped boxes of chocolates during that time of year. It wasn’t so much the chocolate—and after all, what really good chocolate comes in heart-shaped boxes?—it was the boxes themselves.

J.J. hid important things in them. As he explained, “Who would think a former covert ops spook would hide anything important, or deadly, in Valentine candy boxes?”

a speed, the lingering smell of unfiltered Gauloises Blues. J.J. was a new man and if you knew him around then, you’d have said it was about time.

I asked him what happened. I half expected religious conversion but imagined undercover operation was more likely.

“I’ve taken The Cure,” he said, smiling, something I’d never actually seen him do before.

“We talkin’ some 12-step program the

CIA has for derelict ex-operatives?” I asked.

“No. This is Love,” he replied, in caps.

“Love, Love, Love. I’m in Love like I’ve never been in Love before. The real thing.

The steal my soul and have my baby, I can’t live without you passion play to end all passion plays.”

I was kinda freaked by this. J.J. had, frequently—and always after the third beer—waxed eloquent about being strictly catch-and-release when it came to the fishin’ hole of love. Some nonsense about not wanting to have a loved one whose life could be put in danger to bring him to heel.

“That J.J. is dead, ol’ buddy. Killed

by Cupid’s arrows, pierced through the unfeeling, world-weary, stone cold heart. I am born again,” he said, raising one hand and both eyes skyward.

He explained he’d met her on an assignment, tailing a suit selling penny mining stock out of a boiler room in Vancouver down to Seattle. Seems the mark met his money man at a WWE match down there and while J.J. was trying to take a couple of surreptitious photos, his camera focused on one of the wrestlers.

J.J. was head over heels in love with a wrestler. And she was coming to Whistler the next day to see him.

“I don’t know what to do, bro,” he said, touch of panic in his voice.

I managed to finagle him a reservation at the Rim Rock. I’m sure what happened there was absolutely no fault of anyone but J.J., but the next time I saw him, the remains of sticky toffee pudding was still visible in his left ear. Love was history.

I hope your Valentine’s Day is more rewarding. But then, I like long shots. ■

FOLLOW YOUR DREAM, HOME G L O B A L R E AC H , L O C A L K N O W L E D G E NEW TO MARKET

NORDIC 2C - 2300 Nordic Dr Own a 1/10th share of this slope-side duplex at Whistler’s ‘At Nature’s Door’. Home 2 features 2,706 sq ft - 4 bedrooms + media room & 5 bathrooms.

Enjoy 5 weeks per year, an Owner’s Lodge and Fairmont amenities and benefits! $289,000

Katherine Currall

VILLAGE NORTH 213-4369 Main Street Spacious Alpenglow studio with an oversized sunny balcony. This Phase II property offers the owners the ability to do self rental or use a property manager. Perfectly located in the Village. Strata fees include hydro and gas. $399,000

604-966-1364 Allyson Sutton

604-932-7609 Ruby Jiang *PREC

NEW TO MARKET

778-834-2002

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ALPINE MEADOWS 8504 Drifter Way Gently sloping view lot offers a generous 75 feet frontage and is approximately 9750 square feet. Take a dvantage of morning sun and beautiful views of Wedge and Armchair Mountains. Call for more details. $1,285,000

Laura Wetaski

WHISTLER VILLAGE 6693 Tapley Place “Serenity”– A true custom built gem situated on a 3/4 acre of flat lot, with best craftmanship and finest quality materials. 5900 sqft house is well designed with amazing details. Easy walk to valley trail, school and village Center. $9,990,000

EMERALD ESTATES 9508 Emerald Drive Welcome to “Raven-Hut” the epitome of mountain modern design. Interior living spaces flow seamlessly with the outdoor living spaces. 3 Bedrooms & 2 bathroom house with a lovely 2 bedroom & 1 bathroom suite $3,995,000

604-938-3798 Maggi Thornhill *PREC

EMERALD 9205 Lakeshore Drive This beautiful log home on Green Lake has sold to lucky new buyers, who will get to enjoy all the wonderful things Whistler lake life has to offer. Contact Gina today to learn more about Whistler lakefront real estate opportunities! $4,300,000

604-905-8199 Gina Daggett

778-998-2357

INVESTOR ALERT

SUNSTONE, PEMBERTON 7677 Cerulean Drive Home of the 2020 PNE Prize Home, Sunstone is one of Pemberton’s newest communities boasting all day sun and sweeping 180 degree views of Mt. Currie and the valley. Zoning allows for a carriage house and nightly rentals. $399,000

PEMBERTON 2045 Tiyata Blvd Live on the happiest street in Pemberton in this 2261 sq. ft. brand new 5 bed/4.5 bathroom home.

Scheduled for completion in August, now is the time to bring your ideas to the design. $1,050,000

Suzanne Wilson

Ken Achenbach

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SQUAMISH 101-1909 Maple Drive Prime office location, corner unit, 2 separate entrys, bright with private bathroom, kitchen, 3 private offices, a reception area and tons of parking.

More parking available than any other building in town $489,900

604-966-7640 Valerie Phillipson

Whistler Village Shop

Whistler Creekside Shop

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36-4314 Main Street · Whistler BC V8E 1A8 · Phone +1 604-932-1875

325-2063 Lake Placid Road · Whistler BC V8E 0B6 · Phone +1 604-932-1875

150-1200 Hunter Place · Squamish BC V8B 0G8 · Phone +1 778-733-0611

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Engel & Völkers Whistler *PERSONAL REAL ESTATE CORPORATION ©2019 Engel & Völkers. All rights reserved. Each brokerage independently owned and operated. Engel & Völkers and its independent License Partners are Equal Opportunity Employers and fully support the principles of the Fair Housing Act.

604-698-5899

#418 - 4369 Main Street

$645,000

A conveniently located studio suite right on the edge of Whistler Village, 308 Granite Court is an ideal revenue and vacation property! The forested setting allows a peaceful retreat, and being close enough to all that Whistler has to offer makes for a great getaway spot for owners and guests.

Madison Perry

.5

778 .919.7653

#202B - 2020 London Lane

$229,900

Quarter Ownership in a modern well appointed condo at the base of Whistler Mountain. Overlooking Whistler Creekside Village, this unit has a great kitchen, open floor plan, and is pet friendly. Use your unit 1 week every month, or allow it to be rented out for revenue.

Matt Chiasson

2

604.935.9171

9099 Corduroy Run Court

$1,495,000

Located just 12 minutes north of Whistler Village the lots at Wedgewoods offer privacy, views and light. Each property has been carefully designed to have the best building site available and the services are at the lot line.

Meg McLean

604.907.2223

3D Tour - rem.ax/107woodrun

#101 - 4220 Gateway Drive

$280,000

A renovated 635 sq ft studio right in the heart of Whistler Village and within a 2 minute walk to the ski lifts. These fully furnished properties include a fully equipped kitchen and sleep 6. Blackcomb Lodge has undergone extensive renovations and upgrades to the indoor swimming pool, hot tub and other Common Area facilities.

Michael d’Artois

.5

604.905.9337

#107 - 4910 Spearhead Drive

$1,799,000

The Woodrun is one of the few concrete buildings in Whistler and #107 is conveniently located on the ground floor facing the green belt. The unit features a boot heater, huge owner locker, Washer, and Dryer in suite and the gym and pool access is just across the hallway.

Richard Christiansen

604.907.2717

2

7201 Fitzsimmons Road S.

$4,788,000

Walk to the Village from this completely renovated 4 bedroom and den home in White Gold. The den could easily be used as a 5th bedroom for extended family groups. This spacious home is located on a large, flat 12,159 square foot corner lot, right on the Fitzsimmons Creek.

Sally Warner*

604.905.6326

4.5

3D Tour - rem.ax/3282arbutus

3282 Arbutus Drive

$2,399,000

Bright family home within walking distance to Whistler Village with beautiful Blackcomb Mountain views. Open concept floor plan is perfect for entertaining.

Flex room could be used for an office or bedroom plus master bedroom are situated on the main level. The upper level showcases 3 bedrooms with a loft.

Ursula Morel*

7

604.932.8629

9281 Siskin Street

$1,493,850

$315,500

Ann Chiasson

Bob Cameron*

604.932.7651

#333 - 4905 Spearhead Pl.

$1,588,000

Ski-in Ski-out, 2 bedroom, 2 bath, at the coveted Greystone Lodge. Children can ski to the Magic Chair and Whistler Kids in mere minutes. Walking distance to all the Upper Village amenities, 5-star hotels, Lost Lake and world class golf. Super location. Move-in-ready, or generate nightly revenues.

Bruce Watt

Darryl Bowie

1.5

WHISTLER OFFICE 106 - 7015 Nesters Road, Whistler, BC V8E 0X1 604.932.2300 or Toll Free 1.888.689.0070 *PERSONAL REAL ESTATE CORPORATION

If you are a home owner, buyer, tenant, landlord, or small business in need of help during this time, please see our updated list of resources at: remax-whistler.com/resources

604.220.5751

1

604.935.2214

3D Tour - rem.ax/208mktpavilion

Enjoy your central village location in this bright corner of the building. It boasts a spacious sleeping loft, with ensuite bathroom, a separate den with TV and pullout couch, full kitchen and flexible living-dining area. Eight hundred square feet of living space is a rare find this close to both mountains, make this a must-see.

604.905.0737

$125,000

This 1 bed/1 bath QUARTER OWNERSHIP property in Evolution offers custom finishings, contemporary design & comes fully equipped. Building amenities include: outdoor pool, hot tub, sauna, steam room, games room, exercise room & media room. Enjoy 13 weeks per year of personal use and/or rental income.

3D Tour - rem.ax/333greystone

#256 - 4425 Sundial Place

#105D - 2020 London Lane

WedgeWoods is a private 108 lot community with unique privacy and many larger properties. You can build a family home as well as an auxiliary building of 2150 sq. ft. A select group of properties located in The Highlands at WedgeWoods have just been launched and offer beautiful views.

2

#208/209 - 4368 Main St.

Comm.Lease

CentrallylocatedsecondfloorspaceintheheartofWhistlerVillageattheMarketPavilion.

AmpleparkingforguestsandclientsonMainStreetoratWhistlersMarketplace.Thespace isdemisedintosmallerspacesforofficesortreatmentrooms.Thisisagreatopportunityto bepartoftheMarketPavilion’sestablishedtenantandbusinessmix.

Dave Beattie*

604.905.88 55

PEMBERTON OFFICE 1411 Portage Road, Pemberton, BC V0N 2L1 604.894.6616 or Toll Free 1.888.689.0070