Pique Newsmagazine 3021

Bracing for a deadly bat fungus

Scientists are racing to measure the health and abundance of B.C.’s bats before a deadly fungus makes it to the province. - By Stefan Labbé

14 STEPPING UP

A new bylaw update at Whistler’s municipal hall will move the resort closer to a zero-carbon future.

22 LAND

15 HEALTHY HIKERS The Hike for Health fundraiser is seeking sponsors ahead of its second annual instalment on Sunday, June 18.

16 SOFT SUMMER? Whistler’s summer hotel booking pace is “softening” heading into June, according to Tourism Whistler.

OF

PLENTY Pemberton’s mayor and council weigh in on the Village’s proposed Benchlands development.

30 BALANCING

ACT Whistler ski-cross racer

Emeline Bennett is keeping it all in perspective after reaching new heights in 2023.

34 SCHLOCK TALK

Burnaby Q. Orbax and Sweet Pepper Klopek bring their unique mix of science and freak show to Whistler on May 27 and 28.

COVER I think bats get a bad rap. One horror movie and they’re vilified for eternity? - By Jon Parris // @jon.parris.art

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Opinion & Columns

08 OPENING REMARKS There is much to unpack in Whistler’s new Housing Action Plan, but the prospect of a revamped infill housing programs carries big implications, writes editor Braden Dupuis.

10 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

This week’s letter writers bemoan the loss of Whistler’s beloved Canada Day parade, and call for more action to protect Lost Lake’s migrating toads.

13 PIQUE’N YER INTEREST After a recent trip to her home province of Alberta, columnist Alyssa Noel reflects on the fact that, yes, other places do exist.

54 MAXED OUT As the Resort Municipality of Whistler prepares to dig deeper on its Whistler Sessions planning scenarios, it’s time for the community to get involved, writes G.D. Maxwell.

Environment & Adventure

25 THE OUTSIDER After a few weeks of hot, dry weather, Vince Shuley is praying for some rain—for the sake of Whistler’s forests.

Lifestyle & Arts

32 FORK IN THE ROAD Columnist Glenda Bartosh explores the hugely diverse diet of the Indigenous Yanomami people—and lessons for our own modern diets.

38 MUSEUM MUSINGS The deal that created Whistler’s Emerald Forest in the late 1990s was a three-way affair.

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When will Whistler have its fill?

IF YOU’VE

YET TO

DIVE IN to Whistler’s new Housing Action Plan, presented to mayor and council on May 16, well… we don’t blame you.

The mid-May weather was spectacular, so you are forgiven for eschewing dreary, stifling council meetings and long staff presentations for sun-drenched bike rides and lake days.

You work hard, and you’ve earned a break.

But with the temperatures dropping and some clouds in the forecast, why not take this time to learn more about Whistler’s current

BY BRADEN DUPUIS

housing situation, and how local officials are working to make it better?

The new plan presented on May 16 covers familiar territory, serving almost as a catch-all for Whistler’s various housing initiatives.

To put it lightly, there is a lot to unpack, and Pique is planning a series of followup stories based on the information in the report (watch for that in the weeks to come).

But one aspect in particular comes with some heavy baggage attached: a commitment to revisit infill housing in the resort.

For some, the very mention of infill housing can inspire anxiety—the prospect of densifying properties and transformed neighbourhoods is the stuff of nightmares for NIMBYs near and far, and in a place like Whistler it has proved a near non-starter.

Even though the resort has had an official infill pilot program on the books in Alpine since 2008, you can name on one hand the number of successful infill housing applications that have come through Whistler’s municipal hall in the past decade and a half.

“We’re never going to know whether infill housing works, because we never approve them,” Councillor Ralph Forsyth opined at a council meeting in March 2019—one of the rare occasions in which council actually

approved an infill housing application (in that case, allowing the owners of a lot in Emerald to subdivide it into one employeerestricted lot and one market lot—and yes, the neighbours opposed it).

“The assumption is always that it’s going to be a disaster, and somebody is going to build a 5,000-square-foot house on a parcel that’s too small, when the only example we have turned out beautifully—the two skinny lots were subdivided, and two local families got to raise their kids in Whistler, when they otherwise wouldn’t have.”

The concept of infill housing is contentious at its core, conspiring as it does with two primal anxieties we all must carry, somewhere deep down: a fear of aggressive, irreversible change; and a fear of that which we cannot control.

It’s not hard to see why someone would be opposed to their neighbour one day waking up and deciding that their house is about to become two (or more)—how will that affect my quality of life? My property value? The shape and form and feel of my neighbourhood? The noise levels and fire risk and parking?

the application came to council at all was because of a minor variance permit.

And yet, arguably stepping outside of its bounds, council voted 5 to 1 to nix the application outright, and then put a moratorium on the infill program altogether—a vote a senior municipal manager referred to after the meeting as a “trainwreck.”

The homeowners were blindsided by the decision.

“This has taken six months, it’s taken a lot of money. We’ve gone on the advice of the municipality. There are no guarantees obviously, but it fits within the zoning,” they told Pique at the time.

“So how they can just shoot it down like that, I don’t know. It did sound to me like the decisions were already made.”

So, even if you follow all the rules and do everything by the book, you could still be subject to the personal whims of mayor and council. At least in the past.

If Whistler’s new Housing Action Plan is any indication, the resort will soon revisit the program on a broader scale—but we’re a long way out from specifics.

“The way we’re looking at it is to offer

rental prices.

“We want to be able to reduce the impediments to the uptake, but at the same time we’re not looking at creating new units for people to come up for the weekend and go skiing, we’re looking to create units for employee housing,” he said.

Lost in the mix is a pledge from the provincial government last month to impose provincewide zoning regulations to allow for the densification of single-family home neighbourhoods.

At this point, the specifics of that legislation—and if it will include Whistler— also remain unclear.

Whistler’s municipal staff plan to begin work on a new infill program for the resort right away, “and we’ll just have to see what is taking place at the provincial level, and how widely applicable that may be, and make sure that we’re not marching down a path that might just be superceded by something that the provincial government would be doing,” Kirkegaard said.

Whistlerites will have plenty of chances to weigh in on the new housing plan and its various initiatives, including specific

The implications are many, so the process must be transparent and equitable for all.

But even with transparency and structure firmly in place, Whistler has struggled with the very concept of infill housing.

Take a perfectly serviceable application from 2016, in which a Whistler family attempted to use Alpine’s infill zoning to subdivide their newly purchased lot into two. Everything was above board as far as the infill policy was concerned, and staff recommended approval. The only reason

choice to homeowners and expand the range of opportunities. So hopefully there will be uptake,” said director of planning Mike Kirkegaard at the May 16 meeting.

“We know businesses have interest in properties, we know that homeowners under certain circumstances would be interested in a second suite or a subdivision of their suite.”

As for the program’s limited uptake to date, Kirkegaard attributed it to covenant restrictions on things like resale and

community engagement opportunities around the new infill program, the rezoning at 4500 Northlands, and a new long-term housing strategy—an aspect of the plan Mayor Jack Crompton said will “provide great insights on what is working and what can be improved.

“That said, we can’t afford to hold off action until the strategy is done,” Crompton told Pique.

“On housing, it’s planning and action now and in parallel.” ■

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Loss of Whistler’s Canada Day parade represents a ‘sad day’

Canada Day Parade cancelled. Gobsmacked!

I cannot begin to fathom the convoluted decision-making that resulted in the Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW) cancelling one of our community’s most iconic and just plain fun events.

For me, there are three events on the Whistler calendar that speak to and witness mass “locals” participation. Events where you are guaranteed to say hello to friends and neighbours who generally avoid the village and tourist-driven events:

• Halloween at Tapley’s Farm;

• Remembrance Day Service;

• Canada Day Parade.

The common thread is that they all began organically as simple, nearly zero-cost, nongovernmental, “local” celebrations.

These are (were) community-driven events. Community celebrations conceived by, organized by and run by locals for locals—not Whistler Blackcomb, not the RMOW or Tourism Whistler, but by those who built the very foundation of our community.

The RMOW puts out surveys nonstop: “What do you think?” “What would you like to see?” “How can we make it better?”

Disappointedly, on this quintessentially

foundational question/decision, we get “we know best, forget about it” in response from muni hall.

So now we are instructed to “Enjoy the People’s Parade!” What harebrained, navelgazing, goofy process did this evolve from?

Thirty-five kids on decorated bikes, a couple of fire trucks, the Whistler Museum & Archives, First Nations (invited), the library, Girl Guides and Scouts, RCMP Colour Party and Nesters staff tossing out apples— there’s your Canada Day Parade for 2023!

“Declining participation,” “worker shortages”—please, don’t piss on my shoes and tell me it’s raining.

Sad day.

Brian Buchholz // Tapley’s Farm

Watch your step (and wheels) for toads this summer

My grandchildren have delighted in helping rescue a few of the lost toadlets at Lost Lake in Whistler, and the Resort Municipality of

Whistler (RMOW) team do an incredible amount of work closing areas off and warning visitors to the park to watch where they step!

Sadly, our Elders have not been able to join us on these trips, because the car park is closed during migration time, and it is just too far for them to walk into the area.

Every year signs are posted around the lake, and cyclists are instructed to please walk their bikes.

It is a fact that many toads still die because of the impact of foot and bike traffic in the area, and maybe the RMOW will need to look at ways of enforcing the no riding of bikes around Lost Lake while the migration is on.

I have to say that on our visits we have noticed how many families biking were respectful and they did dismount to walk the area, but then we also saw those that disregarded the signs. Again, it is the tiny Western toadlets who then suffer.

Lost Lake is one of our Lil’wat Nation’s treasures, and we need to do more to ensure we protect the area and all its wildlife. My question is what the RMOW is going to do this year to protect these small Western toads as the migration will soon happen again—signs obviously do not work!

Kúkwstumckacw (Thank you),

Rosa Andrew // Mount Currie

[Editor’s note: Whistler’s annual Western toad migration from the shores of Lost Lake to the

surrounding forests typically takes place in late July and early August each year. The RMOW has installed several permanent fixtures to assist with the migration, along with temporary structures and signage during the migration. Read more at whistler.ca/toads.]

Whistler locals take kindness ‘to a whole new level’

My introduction to Whistler came via a viral internet meme—a squirrel, standing upright and shrieking like a human. While I’ve yet to witness such a spectacle in person, Whistler, indeed, holds its own share of surprises. It has been a kaleidoscope of experiences, from exhilarating ski runs on the snow-cloaked peaks of winter, to sun-soaked lake days in the heat of summer, to the lively pulse of the village nightlife. As I’ve worked and lived in this vibrant tapestry of life over the past two years, I’ve found myself cultivating a deepseated gratitude for everything life has to offer and regaining childlike joy.

Coming from Hong Kong, a place where winter snow is a foreign concept, the privilege to enjoy skiing wasn’t in my birthright. But Whistler’s moniker as a Winter Wonderland began to make sense when I experienced my first snowfall. I’ll never forget the morning I woke up to a world transformed. A delicate, diamond-dusted blanket covered everything, turning the familiar landscape into a hushed, glittering scene. It was a far cry from the concrete jungle I grew up in. I was captivated, standing there in the soft silence, just drinking in the beauty of it all. If the village looked this magical under the snow, I could only dream about what the mountains would be like. I couldn’t wait for those gondolas to start running.

After several days of learning to ski in the beginners’ area, a sudden bout of reckless courage took hold of me. I decided to tackle 7th Heaven—the pinnacle of Blackcomb Mountain. As the chairlift swept me up towards the peak, I was greeted with a vista so extraordinary that it seemed almost

surreal. The world below seemed miniature under the vast, snow-blanketed expanse of nature’s grandeur.

While Whistler in winter is a snowlover’s paradise, the summer months unfurl a different kind of magic. I found myself irresistibly drawn to the tranquility of Lost Lake, the adrenaline rush of ziplining, and the allure of camping under the stars. And of course, there’s the local wildlife, particularly the bears. They’re the true landlords around here, casually reminding us that we’re just their summer tenants.

When it comes to the people of Whistler, I can’t emphasize enough how incredibly kind they are. Canadians are already famous for their warmth, but Whistler locals—and even the tourists—take it to a whole new level. It’s as if the very air here is infused with good vibes and cheerfulness. Walking down the street, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a sad face; instead, you’re greeted with genuine smiles and a sense of contagious happiness. It’s a place where strangers strike up conversations, laughter is shared freely, and camaraderie is the norm.

As I prepare to kiss this lovely land goodbye, I’m not weighed down by sadness but filled with immense gratitude. My heart swells with appreciation for Whistler, and all the cherished friends I’ve made here. The countless, treasured memories I’ve created within this community have shaped me into a more courageous individual, unafraid to step out of my comfort zone, with a deeper understanding of Carpe Diem. The chaotic tempo of city life once burdened me with stress, as efficiency was the primary concern. But Whistler, like a gentle mentor from nature, taught me to embrace every precious moment and savour life to the fullest.

Thank you, Whistler, for the memories, the lessons, and the inspiration. As I embark on my next adventure, I’ll carry the wisdom I’ve gained here, poised and ready to seize the day, no matter where my path leads.

Julian Chi Poon // Whistler n

Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere

AN INORDINATE NUMBER of long-term locals have left the Sea to Sky corridor in the last two years.

Having lived here more than 10 years now, I feel like I’ve put in the time to recognize a mass exodus when I see one.

It’s sad to watch as, one by one, the fibres that make up the community disentangle themselves and move on (many, if not most

BY ALYSSA

arts@piquenewsmagazine.com

that I’ve taken note of, have been integral to the arts community), but more than a feeling of loss, each time I hear of another departure, I’m left with one lingering question.

“But where do you go after you’ve lived here?”

No, it is not an easy place to live. There’s a housing crisis, a daycare shortage, and a lack of doctors—not to mention pretty much every staple is unaffordable. But whether your season of fun is winter or summer, if you’ve embraced mountain life, it really can feel like the centre of the universe.

Community aside, the most compelling reason to stay is how rooted you can find yourself in this place. One day you wake up, several years have passed, and you discover

you know what’s behind each peak, the plants that make up your morning walk, and the names of the rivers you cross each day.

You’ve become part of a place. That’s hard to leave behind.

This week I travelled back to visit family in Alberta for the first time in 10 months. I arrived in peak wildfire smoke, greeted by “I heart oilsands” bumper stickers and a warning from my aunt to not run alone in

it’s like and it’s kind of great.)

While I shouldn’t out myself as having any political leanings, let’s just say the lawns in my sister’s neighbourhood bear hardly any blue signs for the upcoming provincial election—and those houses, with multiple bedrooms and large backyards, are well under $600,000.

I spent the morning at the Muttart Conservatory with four kids under six

Sea to Sky.

The Whistlerites who have fled to the Island or Sunshine Coast might not have the same towering mountain ranges to play in, but they’ve traded them in for (slightly) more affordable land and picturesque beaches.

Those who have moved to the prairies are basking in their new square-footage and beefed-up bank accounts.

The few that have moved a little further down the highway to Vancouver are likely looking at more lucrative careers with room to grow.

They’re all legitimate reasons—even if they still have you scratching your head about why someone might abandon a place where you can ski, ride bikes, and hit the beach in the same day. Deep down, those big moves might also have you quietly questioning your own choice to stay, despite it all.

Edmonton’s River Valley as crime is on an uptick.

Let’s just say the city wasn’t selling itself.

But then… I watched my daughter run around with her cousins, smack dab in the middle of a large, chaotic family dinner. (Have you ever seen the TV show Parenthood? They all talk over each other and you can’t make out what anyone is saying and there is so much going on you almost can’t follow the plot sometimes. That’s pretty much exactly what

running around poking at plants and having a generally wonderful time. Yes, Whistler kids have a whole wild mountain backyard, but it’s also pretty nice to have multiple options for things to do on a random Thursday afternoon.

All this is not to say I’m packing my bags and heading back to Wild Rose Country anytime soon. Rather, it has reminded me that other places do exist—and they have all sorts of appeal that isn’t offered in the

But maybe that’s not such a bad thing. Reflecting on how your priorities, life, and goals have changed over the years—or even how the resort itself has changed in that time—can be a healthy thing, too. Change can certainly be scary, but that’s not a good enough reason to avoid it.

Yes, we live in the best place—and if you’ve managed to eke out a way to make a viable life here, hey, you should probably stay—but if you do find yourself heading down the Sea to Sky highway with your belongings in tow, you just might be making the right choice too. ■

NOEL [O]ther places do exist—and they have all sorts of appeal that isn’t offered in the Sea to Sky.

Whistler set to adopt new Zero Carbon Step Code

THE UPDATED CODE WILL TAKE EFFECT JAN. 1 TO ALLOW BUILDERS TIME TO ADJUST

BY ROBERT WISLA

LOCAL ENVIRONMENTAL advocates are applauding changes to the Resort Municipality of Whistler’s (RMOW) building bylaw that will move the resort closer to a zero-carbon future.

Whistler’s mayor and council gave first three readings to the new Zero Carbon Step Code bylaw at the May 16 council meeting.

Prior to the vote, Claire Ruddy, executive director of the Association of Whistler Area Residents for the Environment, addressed council in regards to the proposed change.

“Tonight’s proposed building and plumbing regulation amendment bylaw and the adoption of the Zero Carbon Step Code is a perfect example of policy action, of political action and a vote option opportunity that could influence our share of community greenhouse gas emissions for decades to come,” she said.

“Buildings last for decades. There are very few actions that council, with one decision, can enact that would lead to a nearly 10-percent reduction of emissions needed to reach our 2030 targets.”

The new decree for Whistler comes in tandem with the latest update to the British Columbia Building Code (BCBC), which, as of May 1, requires most new construction in

the province to be 20-per-cent more energy efficient than the base 2018 BC Building Code.

With those changes, the provincial government is also allowing local governments to opt-in to the new Zero Carbon Step Code (ZCSC), which will eventually be integrated into the BCBC.

With council’s assent on May 16, Whistler will opt-in to the ZCSC, establishing a more stringent standard for reducing operational greenhouse gas emissions in new buildings. All municipalities will be required to follow the new standard by 2032.

The ZCSC specifies progressively higher steps of GHG emissions limits for new builds in the resort: moderate, strong, and zero carbon.

Part 9 builds in Whistler will have two pathways under the ZCSC: either limit the overall quantity of annual GHG a building emits, or limit the intensity of GHG emissions a building produces.

For Part 3 buildings, the ZCSC specifies they meet a GHG intensity limit based on occupancy type (multi-unit residential, office, retail or hotel).

In a presentation to council, RMOW manager of climate and the environment Luisa Burhenne outlined the provincial government’s changes to the Step Code and what the ZCSC will achieve, citing the greenhouse gases produced by buildings across Whistler and the need for reduction to accomplish the municipality’s ambitious climate goals.

In 2021, buildings made up about 42 per cent of all emissions in the resort.

“As a local government, we have much

more authority over new buildings through low-carbon building requirements, and that makes our Big Move No. 4 a priority action,” Burhenne said, referencing the RMOW’s Climate Action Big Moves Strategy (and No. 4, specifically: Build zero-emission buildings).

“Big Move 4 has the goal that, by 2030, all new buildings will achieve the top step of the BC Energy Step Code, use only low-carbon heating systems and have embodied carbon emissions drop by 40 per cent,” she added.

While the ZCSC aims to reduce operational GHG emissions in new buildings, it does not address embodied carbon emissions or retrofitting existing buildings.

Whistler adopted Step 3 of B.C.’s Energy Step Code (ESC)—requiring single-family builds to be 20-per-cent more efficient than the base BC Building Code—in 2019.

Since then, staff have engaged with local builders, industry stakeholders and other municipal councils to inform next steps for Whistler.

“What we heard was general support for our approach, and really heard that the building industry was ready to move to a higher standard to tackle GHG emissions in new buildings,” Burhenne said.

“The main feedback points we received was that it’s really important that we provide clear implementation timelines and clarity on our implementation approach.”

As such, the RMOW has set Jan. 1, 2024 as the implementation date for the new ZCSC, and will also increase the ESC step for both Part 9 and residential Part 3 buildings on that day.

With those changes, Part 9 builds (single-

family, duplex or townhomes) will be required to meet Step 4 of the ESC, with strong carbon performance, while residential Part 3 builds must hit Step 3 with strong carbon performance.

According to RMOW climate action, planning and development services manager Dale Mikkelsen, building and rezoning applications already in process will not be affected by the new Step Code requirements, as they are all grandfathered into the code required at the time of their initial application.

“Typically, any in-stream application is grandfathered into the application date, and so one thing that we will monitor for is whether there will possibly be a scramble for applications to come in before the Jan. 1 date, and that would be through the building department, not necessarily [through] rezoning or planning [departments],” Mikkelsen said.

“If they already have a building permit and they came in for a significant amendment to their building permit that would constitute essentially a new building or development permit, then it would be held to the new codes as of Jan. 1.”

Council was similarly optimistic about implementing the new Step Code, and grateful to all the municipal departments for working together to develop the amended bylaw.

“Looking at those steps that we need to take to get down to where we need to be, we still have that gap,” said Councillor Cathy Jewett.

“I’m very hopeful that this will be a big contributor to get to our goals.”

Read more at whistler.ca/stepcode. n

A STEP UP A building under construction in Whistler’s Blueberry neighbourhood.

PHOTO BY ROBERT WISLA

Second annual Hike for Health fundraiser slated for June 18

WHISTLER HEALTH CARE FOUNDATION STILL LOOKING FOR EVENT SPONSORS TO HELP RAISE MONEY FOR PRIMARY CARE, AS WHISTLER 360 ACCEPTS MORE NEW PATIENTS

BY MEGAN LALONDE

LAST YEAR’S INAUGURAL Hike for Health fundraiser was a resounding success for the Whistler Health Care Foundation (WHCF). That wasn’t just due to a sold-out field of more than 200 participants who came out to enjoy what felt like the first sunny day in months, or the $80,000 the event raised for health-care in Whistler, but to its remarkable impact.

As Jen Black, vice-chair of the WHCF’s board of directors explained, those funds helped purchase new equipment for the Whistler Health Care Centre’s emergency department, including a GlideScope. Two days after staff were trained to use the device, the WHCF received a note: Whistler ER doctors had used the equipment to successfully treat a young patient suffering from a blocked shunt.

“So glad we had that upgraded tool to intubate him,” they wrote. “Please let the foundation know that their contribution saved another life.”

Organizers expect Hike for Health—and its impacts—to be even bigger and better when the event returns to Blackcomb Mountain’s Ascent Trails this year on Father’s Day, Sunday, June 18.

Hikers can choose between three distances—the Little Burn, Big Burn and Heartburn trails, weather permitting—or opt to skip the “hike” portion of the event and ride the Blackcomb Gondola instead. Entry fees include a single-day sightseeing pass and a $10 food voucher from Whistler Blackcomb, as well as refreshments at the trailhead and the finish line.

Organizers increased the registration cap to 300 this year. “We’re very grateful to Whistler Blackcomb for upping the number of sightseeing passes and food vouchers,” said Black. “We’re really hoping because of last year’s success, friends will tell friends and it’ll be a not-to-miss event on the 18th.”

Before hikers set off next month, organizers are seeking sponsors for the event. “Trailblazer” status will be bestowed on any individual, group or business that donates $500, $1,000, $5,000 or $10,000 to the cause. Trailblazers receive recognition on the day of the event, access to an exclusive checkin area the morning of, and limited-edition “trailblazer” merch.

“It’s just a really great way to put back into the local health-care system that has given us so much over the last number of years,” said Black.

With $20,000 from title sponsor the Touchet family already in the bank, the WHFC hopes to see Hike for Health’s overall tally hit $100,000 this time around.

All proceeds will benefit the WHFC’s Dr. Rob Burgess Primary Care Fund and, by extension, the Whistler 360 Health Collaborative Society, to help improve

primary care access in the community.

Since assuming operations of the Whistler Medical Clinic on Jan. 1, the innovative, locally-governed non-profit has welcomed two new doctors who are currently building up their own panel of patients, and opened a satellite clinic on Main Street. Whistler 360 will welcome a nurse practitioner to its staff next month, and is in the process of hiring another who would begin seeing patients in August or September.

Whistler 360 chair Carol Leacy said more than 2,000 locals seeking a primary care provider have added their name to Whistler 360’s patient registry since it opened this winter.

Of those, 650 have so far booked patientintake appointments with their new doctor. Eventually, each full-time care provider would see their panel max out at between 800 and 1,200 patients, said Leacy, but “you don’t want to sign up a whole bunch of people [at once], otherwise no one would ever have access, so it’s sort of a process to build it up.”

Leacy encouraged any Whistlerites without a general practitioner to add their name to the list if they haven’t already.

In particular, Leacy said an influx in funding from Hike for Health could “go a long way” in helping explore whether a team-based care model could work for Whistler 360.

“So instead of just [hiring] a doctor or nurse practitioner and then attaching 1,000 patients—because we still have limited doctors and nurse practitioners—there are some models that have been proven to be effective across the province where you introduce, say, a [registered] nurse into the practice … [who] works in conjunction with a doctor or two doctors to try and flip the patient demand of the day in a way where the nurse handles patients that would be more appropriately seen by a nurse, and the doctors work in tandem with them,” she explained. “It’s all still done under the same electronic medical records, but it [leads to] better patient outcomes; it should be a better patient experience and also allow greater patient throughput without needing to add another doctor.”

The model is intended to be cost-neutral over time, but to pilot a new process and hire a contract nurse requires upfront investment, Leacy added.

Even with the Hike for Health money flowing to primary care, the funding will still have positive spin-off effects for the acutecare situation in Whistler’s emergency room, said Black.

“As we have more primary care physicians through Whistler 360, it eases up the pressure on our health-care centre,” she explained. “So it really benefits everyone, whether or not you need a primary care provider in Whistler.”

Hike for Health tickets are $40 per adult, $25 for youth aged seven to 18, and free for kids under six. Visit whistlerhealthcarefoundation.org/hike-forhealth to register, or for more information about sponsoring the fundraiser. n

Summer hotel booking pace ‘softening,’ says Tourism Whistler CEO

WITH OTHER RESORT TOWNS AND CITIES REPORTING A SIMILAR COOL-DOWN, THE TREND ISN’T UNIQUE TO WHISTLER’S TOURISM INDUSTRY

BY MEGAN LALONDE

HEADING INTO the second consecutive summer free from border closures and lingering pandemic restrictions, many in Whistler’s tourism industry are anticipating a busy few months full of visitors making their warm-weather escape to the mountains. Whistler is a year-round resort, after all.

But in terms of hotel room bookings, preliminary numbers aren’t quite aligning with those predictions.

Whistler’s tourism outlook for the coming months is not as strong as it was ahead of the 2022-23 winter season, explained Tourism Whistler president and CEO Barrett Fisher. The resort is “seeing a softening in our pace for the upcoming summer,” she said.

Based on that data, the resort is not on track to break the visitation records it set in the years leading up to the pandemic. Whistler’s bookings this May are pacing “a little bit slower” than the pre-pandemic 2019, 2018, and 2017 summer seasons, “but even compared to last year, we’re pacing a little softer,” said Fisher. “We are anticipating when all is in and when our marketing programs are complete, that we will likely see similar visitation levels to 2022, maybe slightly higher.”

Despite British Columbia’s tourism

industry anticipating “a boost from international travellers this year,” as The Globe and Mail reported this week, Whistler isn’t the only locale observing fewer tourists locking in their summer holidays this year.

“We’re seeing this across North America,” Fisher said. “We’re hearing from other resort destinations and other city destinations [that are noticing] a softening in bookings.”

However, pacing “can always change,” she cautioned.

The current trend could be due to a combination of several factors, ranging from a tempering economy to rising interest rates and correspondingly higher debt loads, Fisher theorized.

Whistler traditionally sees a stronger long-haul market and more international visitors in the winter, while Canadians and regional visitors make up a higher proportion of overall visitors in summer. With that in mind, Tourism Whistler is expecting to see continued strength from B.C. and Canadian markets in the coming months, but is still waiting to see how the international and U.S. markets will perform. Ahead of schools’ summer breaks, Fisher said Tourism Whistler is setting its sights on West Coast states like Washington and California to help bump up those bookings.

“They have an exceptional exchange rate, which really gives them incredibly

good value for money,” she said. “So we are putting a greater focus on our West Coast U.S. markets, because we believe there’s an opportunity there. It’s really how we continue to strategically look at where the greatest opportunities are and how we can optimize those.”

But does this “softening” across the board fall in line with the sustainable tourism levels many in the Sea to Sky envisioned after years of record-breaking visitation? Not exactly, said Fisher.

“Tourism Whistler’s goal is really always about looking to find balance, and that balance means it is certainly a sustainable volume of visitation that feeds our businesses and our local jobs on a year-round basis,” she said. “One of the strategies that we’ve really been focusing a lot on has been how we can shift that weekend visitor to really be thinking about Whistler more as a vacation destination, or coming up midweek.”

The resort typically edges closer to capacity on weekends, fuelled by visitors driving up from the Lower Mainland. Through marketing campaigns, Tourism Whistler is working hard to manage visitor volume by enticing visitors to extend their weekend stay, or book a weekday getaway instead.

“What’s good for the community is also good for the visitor … Balancing visitation numbers over the seven days of the week creates a more positive experience for all,” said Fisher.

Tourism Whistler is starting to see those efforts pay off, she added. “We have actually seen a growth in midweek and some slight declines on the weekends, but this is sort of work in progress.” n

SUMMER HOLIDAYS According to Tourism Whistler data, summer bookings in the resort are pacing slightly behind 2022 levels.

PHOTO BY MIKE CRANE / GETTY IMAGES

Victoria Day call volume steady from last year, says Whistler RCMP

RCMP BRIEFS: LATE-NIGHT MARKETPLACE RESTAURANT HOTSPOT FOR MAY LONG MISCHIEF; BIKE THIEVES LOCATED

BY MEGAN LALONDE

IT APPEARS WHISTLER’S long-standing efforts to cool down Victoria Day chaos have resulted in lasting success, but police in the resort still had their hands full over the May long weekend.

Whistler RCMP received 89 calls for service over the Victoria Day weekend this year, according to a release. That’s down ever-so-slightly from the 91 calls made last year, but drastically lower than the 169 calls for service Whistler RCMP fielded throughout the 2015 May long weekend, and the 200 calls the detachment received during the same three-day period in 2014.

MAN ARRESTED FOR POSSESSING WEAPON

Several of those calls came in just before 4 a.m. on Sunday, May 21, alerting Whistler’s RCMP detachment to two men who were reportedly drunk and causing a disturbance in a restaurant located in the 4300 block of Lorimer Road, in the Marketplace area.

One man was caught wielding a pocketknife and “trying to give out drugs,” police explained in the release. RCMP arrested the man at the scene for possessing a weapon

for a dangerous purpose, and apprehended the other for public intoxication.

Both individuals have since been freed from custody. Police said the suspected pocketknife-brandisher was issued a future court date prior to his release.

ANTI-GANG UNIT RESOLVES DISTURBANCE IN WHISTLER VILLAGE RESTAURANT

The Sunday-morning incident marked the second time police officers visited a Marketplace eatery in a matter of hours. Earlier Saturday evening, at about 9:40 p.m. on May 20, police were called to deal with “a group of 10 youth” who were disturbing employees and patrons in a restaurant in the 4300 block of Lorimer Road.

B.C.’s provincial anti-gang agency, the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit, happened to be in the area, assisting Sea to Sky RCMP in preventing any conflict over the holiday weekend. According to RCMP, members of the uniformed gang enforcement team successfully “facilitated the group leaving without further incident.”

BIKE THIEVES LOCATED

Youth were also to blame for a mischief call that drew Whistler RCMP to the 70 block of

Retta Lake Rd, near Pinecrest Estates south of Whistler, on Sunday evening at about 5:15 p.m.

Police attended the scene after hearing reports of two youth kicking in a shed door and stealing a bike. Despite calling police, the complainant opted to take matters into their own hands: after locating the pair, the bike’s owner decided “to resolve this matter civilly” rather than through law enforcement, police said in the release.

Those events were among the 126 files Whistler RCMP opened in the seven days spanning from Tuesday, May 16 to Monday, May 22—for context, police dealt with 96 files the previous week, from May 9 to 15.

POLICE PULL IMPAIRED DRIVERS OFF ROADS

On Thursday, May 18, before the long weekend officially got underway, a member of Whistler’s RCMP detachment out on patrol noticed a rental SUV speeding down a Whistler road at 107 kilometres per hour. The issue? The driver was travelling through a 60 km/h zone.

After pulling over the vehicle, police presented its driver with a violation ticket for excessive speed and impounded the rental SUV for one week. The driver and his passengers decided to head back to the city in taxis, according to a release.

The lead-footed visitor wasn’t the only

motorist to have their vehicle sent to the tow yard last week, but a series of other impoundments were sparked by more than a need for speed. According to the release, Whistler RCMP investigated a total of four impaired driving files between May 16 and 22.

One investigation began when police pulled over “an aggressive driver” for a routine traffic check, police said. While interacting with the motorist, police noticed the man was displaying physical signs of impairment. Another traffic stop for excessive speeding resulted in the driver, a female from the Lower Mainland, failing a breath test, while a third instance began when a patrolling RCMP officer noticed two passengers “stagger” into a car. Police conducted a traffic stop and determined the driver, who was visiting the resort from out of the area, also had liquor on his breath.

Whistler RCMP handed each of the three drivers a 90-day driving prohibition and impounded their vehicles for a 30-day period.

In a fourth case, a Whistler RCMP officer out on patrol pulled over a driver after noticing the motorist was carrying passengers in the bed of his truck. “Contrary to his new driver restrictions,” police determined the driver had liquor in his system. The incident earned him a three-day driving prohibition, a violation ticket and an impounded truck. n

Longtime Whistler Animals Galore director Lindsay Suckling takes new role

NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR MICHELLE JENDRAL TAKES THE LEAD AT WHISTLER’S FAVOURITE NON-PROFIT

BY ROBERT WISLA

IN HER NEARLY 15 YEARS of involvement with Whistler Animals Galore (WAG), Lindsay Suckling has contributed to a long list of achievements at the local animal shelter—perennially voted favourite non-profit in Pique ’s annual Best of Whistler reader poll.

But it’s the animals and their stories that will stick with her in the long run.

“I think starting with WAG helped me find my absolute passion and purpose: animal rescue. So I’m just so grateful for that,” Suckling said. “Something I’ll take with me is just the animals’ stories. Over the years, I’ve met so many incredible animals that have been through so much and still somehow learn to trust, heal, and move from one family to another. There are so many very special animals that will stay with me forever.”

Suckling started at WAG in 2009 as a volunteer. She was hired as an employee in 2011, and became executive director in 2016. Now, she’s moving in to a new role with the charity: manager of animal welfare and behaviour.

According to longtime WAG volunteer Denise Wood, Suckling’s substantial list of achievements includes introducing animal

wellness clinics; a low-cost spay and neuter program; and expanding service to animals with behavioural issues, allowing WAG to take in animals often declined at other shelters.

“She’s advanced our knowledge and impact on animal behaviour cases

because of her certification in training and counselling. We’ve been able to just positively impact so many dogs with behavioural challenges and get them into great homes,” Wood said. “Being able to rehabilitate these animals and get them into

a place where they can move forward with a family is just incredible, and her knowledge and experience in that is just instrumental in finding these animals homes.”

Whistler local Michelle Jendral takes the reins as executive director. She brings a solid educational background to the position, having previously worked as a researcher and professor at the University of Dalhousie and the University of Alberta, specializing in livestock welfare.

Brought to B.C. by consulting work and a passion for the mountain lifestyle, Jendral has called the resort home since 2018. In her new role at WAG, she said she plans to expand existing programs and educational outreach.

“I want to see that the success that the team here has built continues, and to be able to not only support that, but also continue with the progress that they have made,” she said, adding that it’s important to ensure WAG has the resources available to continue developing its programs.

“I have a passion for education, because I feel that educating and awareness is how things are going to change, especially as we tap into our younger generations,” she said. “But also building important relationships with the community, and continuing the relationships that the team here has built.”

Read more at whistlerwag.com n

PAWS FOR APPLAUSE Whistler Animals Galore executive director Lindsay Suckling is moving into a new role with the local animal charity.

Fundraiser seeks support for Whistlerite paralyzed in snowboarding accident

BRENNAN NOETH, 28, SUFFERED THE LIFE-ALTERING INJURY WHILE RIDING BLACKCOMB ON MAY 12

BY MEGAN LALONDE

LOVED ONES ARE SEEKING support for a Whistler snowboarder after he suffered a lifealtering injury on the slopes this spring.

Brennan Noeth was enjoying sunny, warm conditions while riding Blackcomb Mountain on May 12 when the day suddenly took a hard turn. A jump went wrong. It was obvious Noeth had injured his spine.

Responders airlifted the snowboarder to Vancouver General Hospital (VGH), where medical staff rushed him into emergency surgery to stabilize his spine with a set of rods and plates. Despite their efforts, doctors determined the accident had damaged several of Noeth’s vertebrae and completely severed his spinal cord.

The injury paralyzed the 28-year-old from his mid-lower back down. Now, Noeth faces the difficult reality that he will never walk again.

Friends and family launched a GoFundMe campaign for Noeth and his partner, Terri, to ease financial strain on the couple as they navigate the significant challenges ahead, titled “Brennan Noeth Snowboarding Accident.” Originally from Saskatchewan, Noeth has lived in Whistler for six years, where he works as a maintenance supervisor at Crystal

Lodge in Whistler Village. According to the fundraiser, Noeth is now recovering in VGH’s spinal unit, where he will soon begin physical therapy with a team of specialists.

“Brennan will be staying in the hospital for an indeterminate amount of time after which he will transition into the G.F. Strong Rehab Centre to teach and rehabilitate him into his new life,” GoFundMe organizers explained in the campaign’s description. “This whole process could take anywhere from a few months to a couple of years.”

Noeth’s prognosis leads to a series of life-changing adjustments for both him and his loved ones, the description continues.

“Not only because his entire way of life will change, but his very active lifestyle has also come to a sudden halt,” it reads.

“Brennan has always loved and pursued an outdoor lifestyle including snowboarding, hiking, camping, cliff jumping, travelling, and exploring. Moving forward, there will be immense effort put forward to help support him in continuing to do what he loves, but it will need to be done in different ways.”

The couple “had plans to travel around America and move to Australia at the end of the year, which has now come to a halt,” friend Hannah Meade added in a Facebook post. “The financial aspect as you can imagine is going to be very hard on both of them, now having to unexpectedly move to

Vancouver for Brennan to go through rehab and then both adjust to their new lives.”

Adding to the financial pressure brought about by Noeth’s injury is the fact that his partner is currently deep in the arduous process of gaining Canadian permanent residency. Accessing government supports, meanwhile, often involves lengthy waits.

“Anyone who knows Brennan and Terri, knows how kind they are and that they would do anything for people in need, and now it’s time for them to get a bit of help back,” Meade explained.

In a direct message to Pique, Meade relayed Noeth’s admiration for the first responders that cared for him following the crash. “He really appreciates their help and how they responded so fast,” the friend wrote.

The GoFundMe’s description paints a picture of a man who is “beyond strong willed and always pushed himself to do better in whatever activity he was participating in.” Though this injury represents “the biggest change and challenge” he’s faced to date, Noeth’s “positive and patient attitude” is already shining through, organizers wrote.

“During recovery, he has already been discussing to what level he will be able to participate in sports again. We are all brainstorming ways he can adapt to continue doing the things he loves. Living his life to the fullest is everyone’s ultimate goal.”

As of Wednesday morning, May 24, the fundraiser had tallied more than $34,000 of its $80,000 goal.

Money raised will support the couple during their extended stay in Vancouver while both are unable to work. It will also help pay for pricey equipment and supports Noeth will inevitably require moving forward, like wheelchairs, accessible rental accommodations or renovations, and an accessible vehicle, to name just a few.

“We understand not everyone is in a position to donate, but would be grateful if you could please help by sharing this and spreading the word within your networks,” the GoFundMe concluded.

Donate to the fundraiser at tinyurl. com/57hnaw5f. n

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LONG ROAD Brennan Noeth suffered a life-altering spinal injury while riding Blackcomb on May 12.

PHOTO SUBMITTED

These 10 B.C. hiking trails saw the most search-and-rescue calls last year

WHILE HALF ARE IN THE SEA TO SKY CORRIDOR, THE RUBBLE CREEK TRAIL IN GARIBALDI PROVINCIAL PARK TOOK THE TOP SPOT

BY MEGAN LALONDE

HIKING SEASON is almost upon us in B.C.

With thousands of picturesque trails scattered across the province and higherthan-usual temperatures this May, plenty of hikers are no doubt itching to lace up their boots, pack their bags and head out into the wilderness in the coming months. Whether due to injury, illness or simply taking a wrong turn, some of those hikers will inevitably need help getting out of the remote terrain they ventured into—that’s where the province’s search-and-rescue (SAR) volunteers come in.

But those 78 ground search-and-rescue groups and their more than 3,400 highlytrained volunteers respond to more calls for help on some trails than others. Ahead of the May long weekend, the BC Search and Rescue Association (BCSARA) released a list of the 10 B.C. trails where rescuers responded to the highest number of hikingrelated incidents in 2022.

About half of those routes are in the Sea to Sky corridor—three in Whistler, two in Squamish—while three trailheads are located on Vancouver’s North Shore, and two more are on Vancouver Island. A total of 98 hiking-related incidents necessitated a

SAR response on these 10 trails, representing about one in every five hiking-related incidents that occurred across B.C. in 2022.

In ascending order of highest call volume, they are:

10. CAPE SCOTT TRAIL

The 23.6-kilometre trail in the rugged, coastal provincial park near Port Hardy, at the northwestern tip of Vancouver Island, takes hikers an average of 8.5 hours to complete one way. The original trail is also the gateway to the 43.1-km North Coast Trail, a multi-night wilderness route that backpackers usually take between five and eight days to complete.

SAR crews were called to the Cape Scott Trail on five occasions in 2022.

9. RAINBOW MOUNTAIN TRAIL

Whistler’s Rainbow Mountain Trail saw six hiking-related incidents requiring SAR assistance last year.

The trailhead might be a short jaunt from any one of the homes in Whistler’s Alpine Meadows neighbourhood, but the path’s 24.3-km distance and 1,731 metres of elevation gain brings hikers into far more remote alpine terrain on the west side of the Whistler Valley.

8. MOUNT SEYMOUR TRAIL

The 7.9-km, 555-m elevation trail in Mount Seymour Provincial Park might be rated as slightly less challenging compared to some other routes on this list, but its proximity to Vancouver means this trail sees high traffic in the summer months. Seven hikers called SAR crews for help on the trail in 2022.

7. WEDGEMOUNT LAKE TRAIL

Known as one of the steeper hikes in Whistler, Wedge Mountain’s reputation as a gruelling trek doesn’t do much to dissuade hikers from heading uphill to take in the icy blue Wedgemount Lake (and the rapidly receding glacier) at the top. The 12-km, 1,160-m elevation out-and-back in Garibaldi Provincial Park was the site of eight hikingrelated SAR incidents in 2022.

6. GROUSE GRIND

Referred to as “Nature’s Stairmaster” by some, the Grouse Grind is a highly popular, 2.5-km uphill-only route within North Vancouver city limits. SAR volunteers were called to help nine hikers on the Grind last year.

5. SEA TO SUMMIT TRAIL

This route winds its way uphill through

Squamish’s coastal rainforest, directly underneath the Sea to Sky Gondola. Like the Grouse Grind, that means hikers have the option to download from the summit via a gondola cabin rather than subject their knees to a brutal descent. Still, the trail’s 918 m of elevation gain over 7.5 km doesn’t make for an easy climb. Ten SAR incidents took place on the trail in 2022.

4. STAWAMUS CHIEF TRAIL

Directly beside the Sea to Summit route is one of the most popular hikes in the province, offering similarly panoramic views of the Howe Sound in exchange for a similarly steep trek. Once at the top of the Stawamus Chief massif, hikers can choose to bang out one, two or all three peaks, but a quick rip up the 600 m to its first peak and back to the car park usually takes about two hours (depending on each hiker’s fitness level, of course). Squamish SAR crews responded to 11 separate hiking incidents on the Chief last year.

3. JUAN DE FUCA MARINE TRAIL

The second Vancouver Island trail on the list is located in Juan de Fuca Provincial Park, on the southwest coast of the island about 80

km from Victoria. Hikers can choose to begin their multi-day hike at one of four trailheads along the 47-km route, though the area is just as popular for single-day visits. Thirteen incidents along the trail necessitated a SAR response in 2022.

2. HOWE SOUND CREST TRAIL

Tied with Juan de Fuca Marine Trail for the second-highest call volume is the Howe Sound Crest Trail (HSCT), which also recorded 13 hiking-related SAR calls last year.

The approximately 29-km point-to-point trail beginning in Cypress Provincial Park is just as popular among trail runners as it is with overnight hikers, despite its 2,502-m elevation gain traversing over several coastal summits. Some hikers choose to instead tackle a portion of the trail, for example the 5.5-km trek to St. Mark’s Summit. One end of the HSCT trail is situated on West Vancouver’s Cypress Mountain, while the other end pops out near Porteau Cove on the Sea to Sky highway, north of Lions Bay.

1. RUBBLE CREEK TRAIL

Out of all the hiking trails in B.C.—more than 7,500, according to AllTrails—the Rubble Creek Trail in Whistler saw the most traffic from SAR crews last year.

It’s a popular access point for many of the most stunning objectives accessible by foot in Garibaldi Provincial Park, like Garibaldi Lake (18-km round trip), Black Tusk (25.9-km loop) and Panorama Ridge (31.9-km out-and-back). The Rubble Creek trailhead is located 28 km south of Whistler Village, and a little over 36 km north of Squamish.

B.C. SAR volunteers visited the trail on 16 different occasions in 2022.

WHY ARE ALL OF THESE TRAILS IN SOUTHWEST B.C.?

It’s no surprise so many of those trails are located along B.C.’s South Coast. The region is B.C.’s most heavily populated, with 2.7 million residents, or 61 per cent of B.C.’s total population as of 2018.

Trail usage has also spiked considerably since the COVID-19 pandemic began a little over three years ago. A 2020 study conducted by Rec Sites & Trails BC that monitored visitor use on 21 hiking trails in the Sea to Sky Natural Resource District found usage on some of those local trails rose by more than 100 per cent year-over-year.

According to the province, visits to BC Parks on the South Coast skyrocketed to 10.3

million in 2019, up from 6.5 million in 2010.

In response to those increasing visitor numbers, B.C.’s Ministry of Environment implemented a free dayuse pass program in 2020 for some of its busiest backcountry destinations during high season. This summer, hikers need an individual pass to visit Joffre Lakes Provincial Park near Pemberton and several trailhead parking lots in Garibaldi Provincial Park, including Diamond Head, Rubble Creek and Cheakamus.

People can reserve a day-use pass at no cost through BC Parks’ reservation site, beginning two days before their arrival at 7 a.m.

WHAT CAUSES MOST OF B.C.’S HIKING-RELATED INCIDENTS?

BCSARA also shared the top three reasons why hikers across the province found themselves requiring SAR services last year. Out of the nearly 500 hiking calls SAR volunteers received in 2022, the most common emergency hikers experienced was getting lost without a map or navigation device. SAR volunteers responded to 107 calls from hikers in that situation.

The second most common emergency was poor footwear and/or footing leading to a slip or fall (94 calls) followed by hikers who exceeded their ability or were unaware of the trail’s difficulty rating (70 calls).

All three of those hiking emergencies are, for the most part, preventable with proper planning. To avoid the kind of incidents that require rescue, BCSARA encourages hikers to wear appropriate footwear, pack a navigation tool like a digital and/or paper map (and make sure you know how to use it), research the trail’s difficulty and conditions, and finally, use sound judgment and turn around if you find yourself getting tired or in over your head.

To help hikers prepare for their trip, BCSARA created safety-specific trail videos (tinyurl.com/bdd28rba) to give users an idea of the conditions they may encounter on six of those top-10 trails. That project was completed with the support of partners like Emergency Management and Climate Readiness, Metro Vancouver, the RCMP, Avalanche Canada, BC Parks and regional SAR groups.

Outdoor enthusiasts can also register for BC AdventureSmart’s summer safety webinar series (tinyurl.com/3e3phvu9) that began May 18. Running until Aug. 3, the webinars enlist a slate of special guests and industry experts to help inform backcountry users about personal preparedness and smart outdoor practices.  n

TOUGH HIKE The Rubble Creek Trail leads to Black Tusk in Whistler’s Garibaldi Provincial Park. More hikers required search and rescue on that trail than any other in B.C. in 2022.

VOP provides recommendations on Nkwúkwma Benchlands Development

AFFORDABLE HOUSING, A DIVERSITY OF BUILDING TYPES, TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT AND EGRESS OPTIONS WERE ALL CONCERNS RAISED BY MAYOR AND COUNCIL

BY ROBERT WISLA

A PROPOSED PLAN for a new development in Pemberton’s benchlands will receive substantial alterations in its final form following input from the Village of Pemberton’s (VOP) mayor and council.

On May 23, the VOP’s Committee of the Whole (COW) held a workshop discussion on the proposed Nkwúkwma (Benchlands) Draft Sub-Area Plan (DSAP) that allowed mayor and council to learn more details about the proposed 450-unit hillside development, as well as provide input and recommendations on how it should proceed.

Consulting planner Cameron Chalmers led the COW discussion, taking local representatives through the draft plan details and addressing representatives’ concerns.

“What we’re really hoping to achieve today is a real common understanding about the sub-area plan’s context, where it came from, why it’s happening, its role and process,” Chalmers said.

The main themes of the discussion included traffic challenges, community amenity contribution details, nature protection, housing diversity, and affordability.

HOUSING AFFORDABILITY AND DIVERSITY

The afforda bility and diversity of housing

formed one of the most significant parts of the discussion, as Pemberton’s mayor and council voiced their concerns about securing affordability for residents in the development.

Mayor Mike Richman asked staff to explore implementing a set percentage of affordable housing in the development. The exact rate will need to be worked out at a future point. Overall, Richman said he wants to see the development provide a greater diversity of housing options throughout the neighbourhood, both in

TRAFFIC CONCERNS

Councillor Katrina Nightingale highlighted the lack of an egress route for the development, as it is one of residents’ top concerns. According to Chalmers, the developer is looking into ways to address the issue.

“What’s happened now is that they’re [looking at] potential options that are being explored, and they provided several of them; I actually haven’t reviewed them myself to see how they can provide emergency access for this number of units,” Chalmers said.

“This number of units is kinda pushing

transportation allowances looking into the future, not just what we’ve got right now but with that development in 20 years.”

Richman added he could foresee people coming in and out of the neighbourhood in different types of vehicles in the future, and noted that the DSAP had no transit allowances.

“I don’t know if we want to put a transit bus up there, but I think we want to consider pull-outs and shuttle stops, be it for collecting people, HandyDART type service, that sort of thing for the future, I’d definitely like to see those allowances,” Richman said.

The COW meeting wrapped up with mayor and council providing several suggested alterations to the DSAP, including:

affordability and density, so that the variety of housing is not split into separate phases of the development.

“Personally, I’d very much like to see the neighbourhoods, each bench, and each neighbourhood, contain that diversity as opposed to having separate phases of that diversity,” Richman said.

“So, in other words, you walk down your street, you walk from your single-family home past a four-plex, past a townhouse, past an apartment building, whatever it be, and I know geography and topography will play a role in that, but making sure that the diversity is not split into very distinct phases and distinct areas [is important].”

the limit for single access; we typically don’t like to see them at that length. There are other ways to achieve the equivalent of a secondary access that has been done in many places that effectively boulevard the road or somehow separating it,” he added.

Richman also noted the challenges with traffic management in the neighbourhood, and recommended a robust active transportation plan, citing the need to catch up to other urban areas and limit automobile traffic in Pemberton.

“We know that traffic is a concern for the community; we want to limit cars coming in and out of the neighbourhood,” Richman said.

“So I really want to see robust, active

Exploring a set requirement for affordable housing percentage, either on-site or off-site, within a specific development phase; reviewing the unit count exception for affordable housing and applicability of housing agreements; exploring housing diversity options; implementing the climate action charter for the development permit; active transportation inclusion for alternative modes of transport; and specifics on Eagle Drive and safe and appropriate access.

Other suggestions include a focus on signage and education opportunities related to reconciliation; future flexibility to rezone in response to needs, and aligning with Pemberton’s upcoming housing needs assessment; reviewing the impact of provincial four-plex announcements; and a clarification of greenspace allocation.

Staff will work with the applicant to incorporate the input into the next draft of the DSAP and report back to the COW at a future date.

Find more info at haveyoursay.pemberton. ca/benchlands-sub-area-plan. ■

OFF THE BENCH A rendering of the proposed Benchlands development in Pemberton.

“We know that traffic is a concern for the community; we want to limit cars coming in and out of the neighbourhood.”

- MIKE RICHMAN

Clean energy transition sparks nuclear reaction

AS THE IMPACTS of climate disruption become more frequent and intense, we need a range of solutions. One that’s getting a lot of attention is nuclear power.

Industry is pushing hard for it, especially “small modular reactors,” and the federal government has offered support and tax incentives. After 30 years without building any new reactors, Ontario is also jumping onto the nuclear bandwagon again. How should we react?

Along with its many known problems, as an inflexible, costly baseload power source, nuclear is becoming as outdated as fossil fuels. Small modular reactors will create even

BY DAVID

more waste and cost more—and slow the necessary transition to renewable energy.

Many disadvantages of nuclear are well known. It can contribute to weapons proliferation. Radioactive waste remains highly toxic for a long time and must be carefully and permanently stored or disposed of. And while serious accidents are rare, they can be devastating and difficult to deal with, as the Chernobyl and Fukushima disasters demonstrated.

Uranium to fuel nuclear also raises problems, including high rates of lung cancer in miners and emissions from mining, transport and refining. Add that to the water vapour and heat it releases, and nuclear power produces “on average 23 times the emissions per unit electricity generated” as onshore wind, according to Stanford University professor Mark Jacobson.

$13 billion. In 1998, Ontario Hydro faced the equivalent of bankruptcy, in part because of Darlington.

Ontario’s experience isn’t unique. A Boston University study of more than 400 large-scale electricity projects around the world over the past 80 years found “on average, nuclear plants cost more than double their original budgets and took 64 per cent longer to build than projected,” the Toronto Star reports. “Wind and solar, by contrast, had average cost overruns of 7.7 per cent and 1.3 per cent, respectively.”

China has been building more nuclear power plants than any other country—50 over the past 20 years. But in half that time, it has added 13 times more wind and solar capacity.

As renewable energy, energy efficiency and storage technologies continue to rapidly improve and come down in price, costs for nuclear are rising. As we recently noted, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Sixth Assessment report shows that nuclear power delivers only 10 per cent of the results of wind and solar at far higher costs. In the time it takes to plan and build nuclear, including SMRs, and for much less money, we could be putting far more wind, solar and geothermal online, and developing and increasing storage capacity, grid flexibility and energy efficiency.

The amount it will cost to build out sufficient nuclear power—some of which must come in the form of taxpayer subsidies—could be better put to more quickly improving energy efficiency and developing renewable energy such as wind, solar and geothermal.

Putting money and resources into nuclear appears to be an attempt to stall renewable electricity uptake and grid modernization. Small modular reactors are likely to cost even more than large plants for

But the biggest issues are that nuclear power is expensive—at least five times more than wind and solar—and takes a long time to plan and build. Small modular reactors (SMR) are likely to be even more expensive, especially considering they’ll produce far less electricity than larger plants. And because the various models are still at the prototype stage, they won’t be available soon.

Because we’ve stalled for so long in getting off coal, oil and gas for electricity generation, we need solutions that can be scaled up quickly and affordably.

The last nuclear plant built in Ontario, Darlington, ended up costing $14.4 billion, almost four times the initial estimate. It took from 1981 to 1993 to construct (and years before that to plan) and is now being refurbished at an estimated cost of close to

the electricity they generate. And, because more will be required, they pose increased safety issues.

David Suzuki Foundation research shows how Canada could get 100 per cent reliable, affordable, emissions-free electricity by 2035—without resorting to expensive and potentially dangerous (and, in the case of SMRs, untested) technologies like nuclear.

New nuclear is a costly, time-consuming hurdle on the path to reliable, flexible, available, cost-effective renewable energy. The future is in renewables.

David Suzuki is a scientist, broadcaster, author and co-founder of the David Suzuki Foundation. Written with contributions from David Suzuki Foundation Senior Writer and Editor Ian Hanington. ■

[W]e need solutions that can be scaled up quickly and affordably.

SUZUKI

That guy who prays for rain

AT THE RISK of writing another weatherrelated column, I’m writing another weather-related column. Weather, after all, is the most common topic of conversation in our society, especially in a town where everyone’s fun hinges on a favourable forecast.

Let’s start with the positives. The spring-skiing season of 2023 turned out pretty well, the patchiness of the closing-

BY

weekend snowpack notwithstanding. I wasn’t participating on account of my injury, but I saw plenty of photos and social media posts of pond skimming, bucket hats and all-around alpine beach vibes. Lobster-coloured bodies toting skis around the village attested to both the amazing weather and lack of UV protection everyone was enjoying. With the legacy of Gaper Day alive and well, the final weekend of operations went down as another salute to a winter of good times, the incessant whining about spring mountain operations now fading like an overzealous spring skier’s sunburn.

On the less celebratory side of summer

getting its early kickoff, the floating-pooltoy convoys are already at it. My daily dog walk past the River of Golden Dreams has already met with clusters of disposable water craft, the high water levels whisking past the half-consumed beverage containers and lone flip-flops that manage to detach from their clueless owners.

Yet it isn’t the littering flotillas that make me anxious, it’s the prolonged stretches of high heat and beautiful

that sparked the burn all over Blackcomb’s Crystal Zone in 2009 (where you can now ski without hitting branches) was the first time I’d seen fires threaten the livelihood of our town. From then on, I realized that the less happy people are with our summer weather, the greater the chance it won’t all burn to the ground.

I don’t want to rain on everyone’s parade. But I do sometimes wish it would rain enough to affect our weekend plans on

should all consciously be searching for more efficient options that emit less carbon).

What I am doing is educating myself on what I can do around the home: limbing trees that are starting to creep closer to the roof and deck; cleaning up all those annoying piles of plant debris that seem to accumulate this time of year; and making sure our vehicle has at least half a tank of gas plus an emergency kit in case we need to evacuate Whistler in a hurry. There’s great info on whistler.ca/firesmart on ways you can be ready when (not if) the wildfires come for us.

weather. I don’t want to diminish the importance of the summer season for Canada—the population here deals with dark, gloomy and cold weather for six months of the year (sometimes more), and everyone deserves the beauty that our B.C. summers reward us with.

But when we’ve had weeks of elevated temperatures, wildfires ravaging Alberta with parts of B.C. already burning and most of our ski-town community basically built into a tinder-dry coastal rainforest… Well, you get the idea.

When I first started living in Whistler year-round about 15 years ago, we still had overly hot summers and our share of close calls with wildfires. The lightning strike

occasion. Or a week or two of deluge in our busiest, hottest months just to put some moisture back in the ground and settle the dust on our trails.

The hot, spring weather also has the potential to flood our communities. Earlier this month, Cache Creek was a casualty of overly warm spring temperatures that caused rapid snowpack melting and almost washed the entire town away. Pemberton has narrowly escaped such a disaster multiple times over the years.

So, what to do about it? Weather is never in our control, and the climate crisis isn’t going to miraculously resolve itself because I’m riding an e-bike to the grocery store instead of driving my car (though we

Another thing that many Whistler residents don’t bother with is tenant insurance. I know, I sound like your landlord (or worse, an alarmist insurance broker) right now. In my early ski-bum years, I never had much to my name except a couple of bikes and a closet full of skis. The number of possessions one accumulates can sneak up on you over the years, and when it all goes up in smoke, it can derail your life. For my partner and I, the moment it got real was when friends of ours had the basement suite they were renting perish in an electrical fire. Our friends had no insurance and lost pretty much everything. Thankfully, their family was unharmed. We bought an annual insurance policy later that month, and I’m glad we have it going into the 2023 wildfire season.

Enjoy your well-earned summer, Whistler. And don’t forget to pray for the occasional week of rain.

Vince Shuley. For questions, comments or suggestions for The Outsider email vince.shuley@ gmail.com or Instagram @whis_vince. ■

I don’t want to rain on everyone’s parade. But I do sometimes wish it would rain enough to affect our weekend plans on occasion.

VINCE SHULEY

AS RAIN Will we receive just enough rain to cool our summer wildfire hazards?

By Stefan Labbé

August 2022, Susan Dulc was working out of her Volkswagen camper van when she got a message: British Columbia’s government needed someone to scoop bat feces from under dozens of bridges.

“The timing worked out well,” Dulc said. “I happened to be travelling back from the Kootenays to Pender Island.”

Over eight days, the masters student from Thompson Rivers University shuffled under dozens of highway bridges adjacent to the Canada-U.S. border. Her target—pseudogymnoascus destructans, or Pd, a fungus estimated to have wiped out at least 5.7 million bats across North America.

Thriving in cool, damp caves, the fungus often creeps over the muzzle of a bat, “like athletes foot on your face,” as University of British Columbia bat researcher Aaron Aguirre put it. Roused from hibernation, the bat’s metabolic rate gets thrown out of whack, leading it to consume precious stores of winter fat.

The fungus can also spread to the membrane of the bat’s wing, where it eats away at the lean skin tissue and hinders their ability to fly. If bats can’t fly, they can’t forage for food. Without enough calories, the mammals risk starvation, freezing and often death.

Peering under B.C.’s border bridges last summer was about finding the fungus, an early warning sign the disease could come next. Sometimes, the end abutments were short enough Dulc and another technician along for the ride could reach the guano by hand. Other times, they used a Dixie cup mounted on the end of a golf-ball retriever—her dad’s idea—to scoop the bat droppings from concrete perches high above their

heads. Once collected, they would place the guano samples into sealed vials and store them in an ice box.

“I think I visited 108 bridges, including some by e-bike in Victoria,” said Dulc.

Eight months later, she received an email only a few hours before the news went public. A sample from Grand Forks had come back positive, the first conclusive evidence the deadly bat fungus had arrived in the province. Dulc remembers feeling dejected.

“We don’t know what’s going to happen,” she said. “I thought we had more time.”

Deadly fungus jumps west

What threatens bats cascades across everything from technological innovation to food production and an individual’s daily comfort.

The echo-location-wielding mammals have inspired blood-clot medications, navigational aids for the blind, and sonar. Some bats act as nighttime pollinators. Others disperse seeds or eat insects known to damage Boreal forests.

Bats also play an important pest-control role in the city (they eat mosquitoes) and are thought to provide at least $3.7 billion in savings to agriculture industry every year through their voracious consumption of crop-eating insects.

“The ecosystem service that bats provide is really hard to downplay,” said Aguirre.

Moving down the food chain, bats act as bellwether for insect health. A missing bat population could be a sign the insects it relies on are also in trouble.

“If you start seeing these declines in these insect populations, it’s gonna be a cascading effect,” Aguirre said.

“You have pollinators, you have insects as food sources for other animals. They’re recycling detritus. They’re one of the hardest workers [in] maintaining natural spaces.”

In 2006, that entire web of life faced an emerging

existential threat. That year, cave explorers near Albany, N.Y. first spotted white fuzz growing on bats’ noses. In 2007, biologists in the area observed bats dying in huge numbers. The fungus was eventually tracked back to Europe and Asia, where infected bats don’t appear to be negatively affected. But in North America, the next decade would prove deadly as the disease expanded north and west.

By 2016, white-nose syndrome had spread across five Canadian provinces and half the United States, killing millions of bats with up to a 95-per-cent mortality rate. That year, the disease was confirmed in Washington state’s King County, in what Cory Olson, a bat specialist with Wildlife Conservation Society of Canada, said was a sudden jump. It could have been a recreational caver carrying spores on her equipment, or a bat hitching a ride on a long-haul truck.

“We don’t really know. We just know that a bat doesn’t fly from one side of the continent to the other,” he said.

In 2021, Olson found the Pd fungus under a bridge in Saskatchewan, and in January 2023, another sample he collected came back positive in Alberta.

“There’s kind of two waves of spread right now: one coming from the east and another coming up from the U.S.,” Olson said, outlining the threats to B.C.

Little brown bats, northern-eared bats and tricoloured bats are all listed as endangered in Canada. Across North America, more than 90 per cent have been killed off. Another nine bat species are thought to be susceptible to the disease when hibernating, according to the first-ever State of the Bats North America report released last month.

In response, B.C. bat scientists have been working under heightened decontamination protocols since 2017. That year, community bat surveillance programs ramped up seasonal testing of dead bats and guano samples in roosts across the Canada-U.S. border. From September to the end of May, Community Bat Programs of BC asks residents to report any dead bats found across the province for testing.

Now that the fungus has been found, scientists like Dulc are scrambling to gather more data. Dulc said she is

SCIENTISTS ARE RACING TO MEASURE THE HEALTH AND ABUNDANCE OF B.C.’S BATS BEFORE A DEADLY FUNGUS MAKES IT TO THE PROVINCE

Biologists with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service enter a Massachusetts mine where bats were discovered with white-nose syndrome in 2008. PHOTO BY KIM MILLER / USGS NATIONAL WILDLIFE HEALTH CENTRE

getting sent back to test the bridges again at the end of May. Meanwhile, everyone in the bat-monitoring community has redoubled community outreach programs and surveillance near the Rocky Mountains and along the U.S. border.

West Coast bat caves remain poorly understood

There remain a lot of unanswered questions. Michael Anissimoff, a wildlife biologist and chair of Environment Canada’s bat conservation working group, recently learned 500,000 kilograms of bat guano was imported to Canada from places like the U.S. and Southeast Asia between 2008 and 2013.

“Roughly speaking, 90 to 95 per cent of that went to B.C., and 90 to 95 per cent of that went to Grand Forks,” said Anissimoff, who pulled data from the Canadian Border Services Agency.

In 2014, one of his colleagues noticed the practice and triggered a temporary bat guano importation ban that remains in place.

Andres Dean, whose parents used to run Gaia Green out of Grand Forks, confirmed the company brought in large quantities of guano to feed the cannabis industry.

“A lot of it was being blended and packaged to the U.S.,” he said, adding the company abandoned the use of even domestic guano because they didn’t want to risk transporting the fungus.

Anissimoff said there’s no evidence the import of guano is linked to the positive Pd sample found under a Grand Forks bridge, and even if there was, it would be impossible to trace it now. What matters, he said, is illicit bat guano could still be coming into Canada, with even larger volumes moving unrestricted across the country.

“Is there a threat in moving bat guano from Ontario to B.C.? We don’t know the answer to that question,” said Anissimoff. “The government won’t shut that down because we don’t have proper cause... It’s not substantiated enough.

“That’s my next step.”

That risk assessment is going to take significant time and money. Meanwhile, Anissimoff said researchers need to find

bats near the Grand Forks bridge where the positive guano sample was found, find and attach a transmitter to live bats, and trace them back to their hibernaculum. Once you find the case, then you can protect it from human activity and look for white-nose syndrome inside.

“The bigger picture is we’re not prepared,” he said.

Researchers haven’t yet observed West Coast bats facing mass die-offs as seen in the eastern reaches of North America, said Cori Lausen, an adjunct professor at Thompson Rivers University and director of the Wildlife Conservation Society’s bat conservation program.

There are some positive signs some of B.C.’s 13 species could be more resistant to the disease. Many of the province’s species tend to hibernate in smaller groups, sometimes under more exposed conditions. Silver haired bats, for example, have been seen hibernating in trees, where freezing temperatures would prevent the growth of the fungus, said Lausen.

At the same time, some of the most common bats in B.C., like the little brown bat, are also some of the most susceptible to the disease, and have already faced steep mortality in other parts of North America.

“There’s this whole suite of unknowns,” said Lausen. “We see mortalities in Washington now. But not in these mass dieoffs like they did in the east.

“Maybe it’s because the bats are all dying underground. It’s probably because there are so many caves in so many places.”

Finding a bat baseline

According to Aguirre, “it’s just a matter of time” before whitenose syndrome will be found on a bat in B.C.

In the meantime, bat scientists aren’t waiting. One group at the Wildlife Conservation Society is testing out a blend of fungi to inoculate bats. The idea is to place the fungi on the roofs of caves, where hibernating or roosting bats would rub against the probiotic cocktail. The mix of “good” fungi would spread across the micro-biome of a bat wing and crowd out the fungus that triggers white-nose syndrome. But even if that project proves successful, you first need to find the bats before you can treat them.

“They’re devilishly difficult to track,” said Aguirre.

To solve a slice of that problem, the scientist is looking to trace critical bat habitat in places the fungus hasn’t hit yet. Aguirre is planning to ramp up a bat monitoring project in Metro Vancouver, where urban development and natural areas often collide.

Some studies have shown bats prefer an urban-rural mix, an environment that often provides old buildings to roost. But light pollution and a lack of natural areas where bats can forage may outweigh those benefits. In other words, it’s not clear how much city is too much city for a bat.

“The sooner we can get an idea of these critical habitat areas, the better chance we have of monitoring and keeping track of these populations. And hopefully, monitoring the spread of white-nose syndrome,” he said.

Starting this month, Aguirre is looking to deploy dozens of ultrasonic acoustic sensors across more than 20 parks in Vancouver, Burnaby and Richmond.

Like high-pitched whale songs, bats contract their voice box or click their tongue to emit echolocation pulses. The sound waves bounce off their surroundings, such as a tree, building or insect, and echo back to the bat’s ear offering it a display of the world around them.

While bats can navigate and find their prey using their highly tuned ears and brain cells, the sounds are out of range of the human ear. Only when Aguirre lowers the frequencies with computer software, he said, can you hear a series of clicks—like someone smacking two stones together.

Past studies have shown places like Queen Elizabeth Park in Vancouver, Central Park in Burnaby or Terra Nova in Richmond are bat “hotspots,” Aguirre said. His plan is to monitor bat activity for a week in each park along transect lines that cross into more urbanized or more natural spaces.

He plans to take the results of the study to city planners and tell them what kind of parks best promote biodiversity. A small park next to a chain of housing developments might not offer the kind of habitat bats would receive in a big park with a water source, Aguirre said.

His work has already produced some short-term results. The Vancouver Park Board recently put on hold plans to renovate several field houses so they could be checked for bat roosts. Those small steps need to be expanded and expanded fast, added Aguirre.

“They’re doing all this great work for us in the insect control,” he said. “This could be an opportunity to coexist.” ■

“THE SOONER WE CAN GET AN IDEA OF THESE CRITICAL HABITAT AREAS, THE BETTER CHANCE WE HAVE OF MONITORING AND KEEPING TRACK OF THESE POPULATIONS. AND HOPEFULLY, MONITORING THE SPREAD OF WHITE-NOSE SYNDROME,”- AARON AGUIRRE POPULATIONS.

A little brown bat with white nose syndrome.

An adult female Yuma myotis, a species of vesper bat, captured in the Lower Mainland in 2023.

PHOTO BY AARON AGUIRRE

Whistler ski-cross racer Emeline Bennett keeps it all in perspective

BENNETT CREDITS 2010 OLYMPIC CHAMP ASHLEIGH MCIVOR FOR HELPING HER FIND BALANCE IN SPORT

BY DAVID SONG

SOME ATHLETES DISCOVER their lifelong passion in early childhood. Others need years, a few twists and turns, and a new experience or two to discern what they’re actually meant to do. Emeline Bennett falls into the latter category.

Bennett’s early life trajectory is ubiquitous among Whistlerites. Her parents put skis on her feet at a young age, and she took to the sport like a fish to water. While her younger brother, Lukas, despised skiing at first, Bennett quickly progressed through ski school and joined the Whistler Mountain Ski Club (WMSC) at age 11.

“She’s a really well-rounded skier,” said Lukas, who got over his initial hatred of powder to become a standout at the Whistler Freeride Club (WFC). “We could go skiing in

the alpine and she’d be wicked.”  Bennett spent seven years as a highlevel alpine skier, driving up from her native North Vancouver to the Sea to Sky whenever possible. Nowadays, the 19-year-old is firmly established in the Canadian national team pipeline—but not as an alpine athlete.

Instead, Bennett is now a ski cross racer, and a two-time Junior Worlds medallist at that.

But why did she switch disciplines in the first place? To answer that question, we must wind the clock back to 2019 and visit an unlikely location: Red Deer, Alta.

‘ANYBODY’S GAME’

At 16 years old, Bennett tried her hand at ski cross during a Youth Olympic Games qualifier at Canyon Ski Resort in Alberta. She showed promise, enough that—despite missing out on the 2020 Youth Olympics—a coach told her she had a future in the sport.

“At that time, I wasn’t really looking [for a change,] but it kept in the back of my mind,” Bennett remembered.

The Whistlerite raced two more years with FIS after her trip to Red Deer, and wished to keep skiing competitively after high school graduation. However, she felt that her days

in the alpine world were numbered—right around the time that her one-time WMSC coach Mat Leduc took a job with the Evolve Ski Cross Club.

Bennett decided to make the shift herself. In 2021, she moved into Leduc’s residence and committed to a new beginning in ski cross.

“Alpine is very, very individualistic, and it’s such a precision sport that … any single thing could break down an entire run,” she said when asked about changing disciplines. “And ski cross has that aspect of skiing ability, but there’s so many other factors that make it like anybody’s game. There are more people, and there’s distractions, and there’s jumps. It just kind of feels more well-rounded.”

Ski-cross athletes know that a race isn’t over until it’s over. Bennett does not give up when she falls, and occasionally that helps her advance to the next round of an event because someone else has fallen, too. This combination of grit and talent propelled her to second overall in the 2021-22 Nor-Am Cup standings and her first European Cup podium that same season.

Afterwards, Bennett and her coaches agreed that she could achieve more in her new sport. Former Olympic champion Ashleigh McIvor felt the same way.

OLD SCHOOL MENTORSHIP

Bennett connected with McIvor through the Old School Initiative, a program founded by local entrepreneur Beau Jarvis to support Sea to Sky athletes. Jarvis, whom Bennett describes as a friend and a “super awesome guy with a really, really big passion for promoting what Whistler has to offer,” helped her reach out to the 2010 Olympic ski-cross queen.

“He put me in touch with her because we kind of just felt that there was a lack of communication between the ski-cross leaders of the past and the next generation,” Bennett said.

She paused, before adding: “Not to selftitle, but hopefully that’s what we are.”

McIvor invited Bennett to her cabin last fall, where they swapped testimonies and discovered plenty of common ground between them. Both share a love of mountain biking in addition to skiing, and both have lived through the competing demands of sport and life.

“I felt like [Bennett] could learn from my tried, tested and true formula that allowed a thrill-seeking, fun-loving endorphin junkie and a multi-sport athlete like me to stay just focused enough to succeed in ski cross,” McIvor said. “There’s also the whole

ACROSS THE WORLD Whistler’s Emeline Bennett left alpine skiing behind to pursue ski cross, and she’s got two Junior World Championships medals to show for it.

PHOTO BY KEMBLE COWAN

conversation around sacrificing valuable time that could be spent in university, justifying our choices to ourselves and our families, etc.”

Bennett tends to feel overwhelmed when she fixates upon a single event or season, but McIvor reminded her that there’s more to life than just the next race. Each athlete must learn to find his or her identity outside of sport, as McIvor did when a severe knee injury ended her career in an untimely fashion.

Even practising other sports at different times of year can pay dividends for one’s mental health. For Bennett, mountain biking and pumping iron in the gym are a healthy change of pace from the rigours of a globetrotting ski-cross campaign.

“I honestly think it’s great to have the distraction,” she said. “Especially last year … I’d never had a season that long, or one that I’d been so invested in. I remember talking to one of my friends and was like: I don’t think I

ending up ninth and 24th respectively.

The accomplishment has finally begun to set in. “I’d been skiing well in the European Cups, but I never really put together a race that felt like I hit all my marks, and that was definitely the race where it kind of all came together for me,” she explained. “They made a couple of changes to the course’s start section the day before the race, and it definitely worked in my favour.”

Four days after her winning run, Bennett joined forces with Katrusiak to claim Junior Worlds silver in the mixed team event, overcoming France and falling just short of Switzerland.

The Whistlerite finished her season on a tear, placing sixth or higher in each of her last seven races and hitting the podium four times in that stretch (including at Junior Worlds). She draws confidence from her success, but knows to stay locked in rather than get carried

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could physically come off another year feeling like that and want to do it again.

“I definitely put myself in a better spot heading into this year, but then it’s also awesome to have something else to go to. I come off the ski season and I’m tired of skiing, but that doesn’t mean I’m tired of where I’m at.”

HITTING ALL THE MARKS

This year has already brought Bennett to new heights. On March 26, she struck gold in Passo San Pellegrino, Italy at the FIS Ski Cross Junior World Championships. It was a tacticallysound effort from an athlete who had matured considerably since her first Junior Worlds outing in 2022, when she was 10th.

Bennett was the only Canadian to win an individual medal at Junior Worlds this time around. Her fellow Whistlerites Nicholas Katrusiak and Jack Morrow had tougher luck,

away making assumptions about any of her performances.

Nor is Bennett one to burden herself with overly detailed goals for next season. She believes that results will come if she trains diligently and trusts the process. For now, Bennett plans to help coach a girlsonly mountain bike camp this summer with Vancouver-based Endless Biking—she remembers the male-dominated bike lessons of her youth and wants to give female riders someone to look up to.

Above all, the newly minted national teamer strives to keep in mind that she is more than just an athlete.

“Yeah, [ski cross] is super important to me, and I’m committed to this, and I’m going to do my best,” said Bennett. “But if it doesn’t work out, I have so many other passions in this life. There’s so many other things that I have going for me, and other opportunities that I could try.” n

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Sunday May 28, 2023

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PODIUM PURSUIT Emeline Bennett stands atop the podium at the 2023 FIS Ski Cross Junior World Championships in San Pellegrino, Italy.

PHOTO BY KEMBLE COWAN

“I definitely put myself in a better spot heading into this year...”

- EMELINE BENNETT

Good grief that’s great dessert!

SUPER CHEAP, SUPER TASTY, SUPER GOOD AND GOOD-FOR-YOU PLANTAINS

HAPPINESS IS FLEETING. Aim for fulfilment, advised “The Optimist” push email from The Washington Post in my inbox the other day. Huh. But I think I might have stumbled onto a dessert that delivers both— in spades.

It all sprang from an article from another trusted publication I’ve subscribed to for ages. (What else would you expect from an old journo?) New Scientist —one of the top

BY GLENDA BARTOSH

science and technology magazines in the world, published in London since 1956 and still one of the best literal take-aways I took away from a science journalism conference I attended in that city 100 years ago—recently ran a feature on the work of David Good.

David’s mom is Yanomami—Indigenous people who live in remote areas of the Amazon rainforest and still rely on huntergathering and small farms for their traditional diet. Back in the hippie glory days of the 1970s, the Yanomami were a source of endless fascination for ethnobotanists, mystics, shamans and other “seekers,” especially for their use of psychoactive drugs, including psilocybin mushrooms. Now they’re sought

out for having the healthiest, most diverse gut microbiomes in the world. How times change.

It’s a fascinating article, one alone worth subscribing to New Scientist , which might even get you hooked. Think of it as a gateway thing. But to get you through the tale in a nutshell, David’s mom, Yarima, is a member of the Irokai-teri community in the Venezuelan part of the Amazon rainforest. In the ’70s, his dad—who’s from the U.S., where David grew up—travelled to the Amazon to learn about the Yanomami’s protein intake.

What was supposed to be a research program for 15 months turned into 12 years. David’s dad fell in love with his mom as well as the Yanomami way of life—not an easy life, but a happy and stress-free one where everyone works together to find food in a way that’s social and fun. Sounds like living in a hippie communal house in Kitsilano or Soo Valley to me, or at least an antidote to today’s stressed-out, black mirror world.

According to the article, David’s family moved to the U.S., but eventually Yarima chose to return home. After “a life-changing reunion” with his mom in the Amazon, David is now doing a PhD in microbiology at the University of Guelph— home to one of the top food science departments in the world, certainly No. 1 in Canada, and a reliable source for many a food column I’ve written over the years, including one on food activist Anita Stewart, who started the annual Food Day Canada coming up on Aug. 5.

More on that later this summer, but back to David Good, whose research involves studying the Yanomami’s outstanding

microbiomes—the bacteria, viruses and fungi that live on and in our bodies. His goal: Develop new therapies for microbiomeassociated conditions.

These days, the health of our gut microbiomes is proving as fascinating as psilocybin was in the ’70s. Body weight, brain health (including memory function and your risk for Alzheimer’s disease), the way we digest fibre, the way babies digest breast milk—more and more, health issues like these are being connected to our gut microbiomes.

Of greatest interest to David are illnesses with an inflammatory component, like allergies, obesity, diabetes, cancer, Crohn’s and inflammatory bowel disease— all of which seldom or never occur in the Yanomami, with their much more diverse microbiomes.

In industrialized countries we eat oodles of processed foods containing simple carbs like the sugars and refined starches (sometimes called empty calories) found in sweets, white bread and rice, and the like. These foods are mainly absorbed in the small intestine.

But the Yanomami eat a hugely diverse diet, including everything from spiders to boa constrictors (reportedly good), but especially food that contains lots of fibre and resistant starches, a term familiar to diabetics and one more and more people are learning about. These starches resist digestion in your small intestine, then ferment in the large intestine, where they feed the “good” bacteria in your gut and produce beneficial metabolites that help reduce inflammation. Several studies have

shown they can also help you lose weight.

One of the main foods they eat with lots of fibre and resistant starches? You guessed it—plantains. Those, along with cassava, are at the heart of the Yanomami diet, which has barely changed for maybe a thousand years.

Yes, lots of foods have resistant starches, like raw oats rather than cereal; beans, peas and lentils versus pasta or white rice; and greener bananas instead of ripe ones. But I figure we humans are weak creatures, and the one area where we usually cave in is dessert.

Enter the mighty plantain, often seen in grocery stores but usually overlooked unless you’re Latin American. Search the web and you’ll find lots of tips, from boiling green ones to making crackers or mofongo. But for a super quick, super tasty dessert that can actually help your gut, lots of online cooks can show you how to bake or gently fry plantain slices to make a delicious treat in minutes.

The trick is the greener and less ripe the plantain, the better it is for you. For dessert, most online cooks suggest leaving plantains until they’re black, but that’s when more of the resistant starches have changed to regular starch. So play around. Greener plantains are more savoury; greenish yellow or yellow/black ones are sweet enough.

After a nice little serving for your next dessert, I promise—you’ll feel happy and fulfilled, and full. Your gut, your waistline and your brain will thank you.

Glenda Bartosh is an award-winning journalist who’s always preferred her bananas on the green side. n

THE GREENER THE BETTER Plantains are super healthy if you choose ones that are less ripe.

PHOTO BY VISOOT UTHAIRAM / GETTY IMAGES

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F FLEXIBLE REGISTRATION

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From sideshows to kids’ shows

ORBAX AND PEPPER BRING THEIR MIX OF SCIENCE AND FREAKSHOW TO WHISTLER ON MAY 27 AND 28

BY ALYSSA NOEL

BURNABY Q. ORBAX and Sweet Pepper

Klopek had been travelling the world with their sideshow for nearly two decades when, in 2017, they decided to create some kids’ shows.

Both “science enthusiasts” based in Ontario, when Orbax isn’t busy laying on a bed of nails while motorcycles jump over him, he teaches physics at the University of Guelph.

Mixing their passions for physical human feats, comedy, and science, the pair are travelling to Whistler to perform both as Monsters of Schlock for adults and offer two of their kidfocused science shows on May 27 and 28.

Pique caught up with the pair via Zoom ahead of their first trip to the resort to talk about making people cringe, laugh, and learn. The interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

PIQUE: So much of what you’re doing are these physical feats. Was it weird having a break [during the pandemic] and then putting your body through all this stuff? Not to mention touring on top of it.

ORBAX: With the two years off, I gained about 30 pounds and Pepper got diabetes, so it seems

like we have to be constantly doing stunts in order to be in healthy bodies.

KLOPEK: Our first gig back was TV in Italy. And talk about shot out of a cannon. We had done literally nothing and then we were doing very physical stunts onstage in front of a million viewers on TV. So it was quite a nerve-racking thing that felt good to be back out there. Once we hit the stage, we’re fine, but everything hurts so much more than I remember.

How much pain are you in doing these stunts?

ORBAX: Well, I think the sideshow toes the line [between uncomfortable and] painful. They call it mind over matter. But to an extent it’s preparedness, right? Like these are stunts that we know what to do and we know how we’re doing them in the same way that, you know, getting hit while you’re playing football or getting checked while you’re playing hockey is painful. But it’s something your body has come to adapt to as a result of having to play that sport. Well, as a result of us doing a stunt show where there’s stunts—they definitely take endurance to perform.

Does it ever get old watching your audience react? It must be crazy looking out and watching a crowd physically react to what you’re doing.

KLOPEK: There’s nothing more satisfying than looking out and half the audience is covering their eyes and just peeking.

ORBAX: What probably a lot of video of our acts doesn’t capture is primarily what we’re trying

to do is comedy. We just try to make people laugh. It’s a lot more vaudeville than it is spooky, scary.

How many Guinness World Records do you guys hold now?

ORBAX: I think we’ve broken 27 at this point, and that includes ones that we’ve beaten of our own. Pepper has broken the mousetrap record [for most mousetraps released on a tongue in one minute] three times now. So we’re Canada’s most prolific record-breaking duo. How’s spinning that for press?

Is there a stunt you’re most proud of?

KLOPEK: They’re all really hard, physical, pretty big, epic things. So they’re all really good. But for me, I think it’s the mousetrap thing because that was my first one. We’ve gotten to go all over the world with that one, which is really neat. And it’s kind of become like my signature thing. But I think Orbax’s motorcycles is probably—that’s the big show. Watch a guy get run over by 70 motorcycles while laying on a bed of nails. That’s beyond incredible.

Maybe it’s a good time to ask about your kids’ shows. What you do is so diverse. I see you have two different kids’ shows in Whistler as part of the Whistler Children’s Festival.

ORBAX: So I’m a physics instructor at the University of Guelph. And Pepper has been a lifelong science enthusiast as well. We’ve been wanting to do a science show for kids for years, but we just had never been able to bridge the gap between the freak show guys,

which is hilarious because most of our freak show stuff, 80 per cent of it, is done for allages audiences. You just clean up the language. We love smart kids. And so we’ve been wanting to do a science show for years. In 2017, we got the opportunity to work with Guinness World Records for a book they did called Guinness World Records: Science & Stuff … The idea was we were doing a section where families could do experiments with their kids at home and in the process some of these would be aimed towards getting a world record—so longest slime tail that you can make or the most marshmallows catapulted with a homemade catapult in a minute. So what we did was we shot all this stuff with them and then when they released the book, we ended up with like a 40-page spread of us showing kids how to make and develop experiments.

KLOPEK: That book opened doors immediately for elementary schools and libraries and theatres. It’s like, here we go, we’re off and running. We couldn’t be more thankful to Guinness World Records for that opportunity.

Catch the pair’s Monsters of Schlock After Dark 19-plus show on May 27 at 8 p.m. at the Maury Young Arts Centre.

They’re also hosting a family show called Orbax and Pepper Do Science on May 27 at 11 a.m. mixing comedy and interactive experiments as part of the Whistler Children’s Festival, as well as a workshop on May 28 at 1 p.m. called Orbax and Pepper Present: Rocket Science! where participants will learn how to build a baking soda rocket.

For tickets or more information, visit artswhistler.com/calendar-upcoming. n

SCHLOCK OF THE WALK Monsters of Schlock, featuring Burnaby Q. Orbax and Sweet Pepper Klopek, are set to perform in Whistler on May 27 and 28 with both their adult sideshow and kids’ shows.

PHOTO BY AUSTIN GIBSON

Local musician revives Music Together classes in Whistler

REGISTRATION FOR RACHEL LEWIS’ SUMMER SESSION OPENS ON MAY 29

BY ALYSSA NOEL

LONGTIME WHISTLER musician Rachel Lewis is reviving a children’s music program in the community.

Prior to the pandemic, Ira Pettle was running the resort’s popular Music Together classes, but “he convinced me I’d be a good candidate,” Lewis says.

Not only does she perform in local bands and offer vocal coaching, but Lewis also has two young sons of her own.

“It works out really well,” she adds.

So, this past spring, she attended training to become an official Music Together teacher and director of the Music Together Whistler Centre. Now, she’s set to run her first session from July 5 to Aug. 24 in her backyard in Alpine, before moving indoors to Myrtle Philip Community School for the fall.

The worldwide program has 12 unique collections of music, each based on a different instrument each session. (The Whistler summer session is “kazoo.”)

“You will not repeat a collection of classes until you’ve been going three years straight,” Lewis says. “The music is all Music Together music. When you come to my class, it’s not ‘Itsy Bitsy Spider.’ It’s not stuff you’ve necessarily heard before.”

On top of that, the classes are open to babies and kids up to five years old.

“My Music Together teacher said, ‘Kids are going to be separate in everything for the rest of their lives—school, ski school, bike camp.’ This is the one thing they can do together,” Lewis adds. “It’s beneficial to the young ones to have the older ones to look up to for a couple of reasons … The kids are role

models. Once they see a kid participating, they start mimicking that behaviour. The older kids become the teachers. They really do listen to each other.”

While the program is designed to build basic music competency in kids, in a way, it trains parents, too.

“It’s actually more parent education and giving them tools to help build this basic music competence at home,” Lewis says. “It’s really different. The parents’ involvement is really important. The kids are free to stand up and move around or dance, take an instrument, and walk away with it. We don’t want there to be any pressure on the parent or kid to do anything I’m telling them to do. The only thing I’m asking of anybody is asking the parents to be participants. They’re the role models for the children.”

Lewis is hosting a free demo class at the Whistler Public Library on June 3 from 10:30 to 11:15 a.m. Already, with little promotion, 18 families have signed up, leaving only two spots open.

“I made my first social media post about bringing [the program] back to the community this past Monday … and I got emails and personal messages and comments and likes,” she says. “The response was super encouraging, so I’m hopeful and optimistic the summer semester will have high enrolment and we’ll be ready to continue in the fall at Myrtle Philip.”

For more information or to register, email musictogetherwhistler@gmail.com or visit facebook.com/musictogetherwhistler. Registration opens on May 29 at 10 a.m. The classes run for 45 minutes on Wednesdays at 10 a.m. or 3:45 p.m., or Thursdays at 11 a.m.

To register for the free session at the library, email publicservices@ whistlerlibrary.ca. n

MUSIC MAKER Rachel Lewis is bringing Music Together classes back to Whistler starting in July with a summer session.

PHOTO SUBMITTED

Smartwool Store Whistler Village, June 3rd 7:30PM Tickets at www whistlerhalfmarathon com

PIQUE’S GUIDE TO LOCAL EVENTS & NIGHTLIFE

WHISTLER FARMERS’ MARKET

MAY28-JUN 01

WHISTLER FARMERS’ MARKET

A feast for your senses, the Whistler Farmers’ Market features local produce, tasty food, local artisans, live entertainment and family activities. Markets happen every Sunday until Thanksgiving.

> May 28, 11 a.m. - 4 p.m.

> Upper Village Stroll

> Free

WHISTLER WALK FOR ALZHEIMER’S

The IG Wealth Management Walk for Alzheimer’s, presented by Go Auto, returns to communities across British Columbia on Sunday, May 28, in support of the Alzheimer Society of B.C.

The walk is the largest annual fundraising event for the society and is a way to honour and remember people in our lives, and in our communities, who have been affected by the disease. Funds raised will help to provide programs and services for families on the journey, and contribute to research into the causes of, and possible treatments for, the disease.

In Whistler, this year we honour all caregivers in the community.

> May 28, 10:30 a.m., registration 10 a.m.

> Our Lady of the Mountains Catholic Church

> For more, email Erika Durlacher at whistlerwalkchair@alzheimerbc.org

SPRING YOGA AT THE AUDAIN ART MUSEUM

Join registered yoga instructor, Amanda Drage, amidst the stunning architecture of the Audain Art Museum for a calming Hatha practice that will expose you to a variety of poses at an easygoing pace. The classes will emphasize breathing, alignment, and ease as you stretch and strengthen your body and mind. Registration includes access to the museum galleries on the day of the yoga session from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Bring your own mat and enjoy some mind and body wellness!

> June 1, 9:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.

> Audain Art Museum

> $5 for museum members, $20 for nonmembers

GUIDED BAT WALK WITH WILDLIFE BIOLOGIST FELIX MARTINEZ

Join us for a guided bat walk with wildlife biologist Felix Martinez. Bats come out at dusk, and we will meet before the sun goes down to learn about bats, their habitat, and acoustics.

Participants will be standing and walking on some gravel trails, so we recommend comfortable, sturdy shoes. Bats are out late, so bring an extra layer and a flashlight or headlamp (and even a warm drink if the weather calls for it)! This event will take place in Whistler, with the exact meeting location sent to registered participants.

Registration is required, and spaces are limited! Email publicservices@whistlerlibrary.ca to sign up, maximum two spots per person. This event is for adults only.

> June 1, 8 - 9 p.m.

> Whistler Public Library

> Free

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE WHISTLER FARMERS’ MARKET

Here’s a quick look at some events happening in Whistler this week and beyond. FIND MORE LOCAL EVENT LISTINGS (and submit your own for free!) at piquenewsmagazine.com/local-events

Styles for Spring!

Creating Whistler’s Parks: The threeway deal for Emerald Forest

BY JILLIAN ROBERTS

NANCY WILHELM-MORDEN made many important decisions for the Whistler community during her time as councillor and mayor. However, one of the accomplishments she is most proud of from this time is the protection of the Emerald Forest.

Emerald Forest is the 56.3-hectare (139acre) protected area between Whistler Cay and Alpine. It is a significant habitat corridor for many of Whistler’s furry and feathered friends, and is also enjoyed by hikers and bikers.

Before 1972, when the BC Highways Department extended Alta Lake Road connecting Rainbow Lodge (now Rainbow Park) to Alpine, there was limited access to the area now known as the Emerald Forest. The extension of Alta Lake Road, along with the construction of the first section of the Valley Trail between Whistler Cay and Alpine, meant that the Emerald Forest Lands became more readily accessible to recreationists.

When mountain biking took off in the 1980s, the local trailbuilders started what are today Whistler’s world-renowned mountain bike trails. Many of the earliest trails were built through the Emerald Forest, despite it being privately owned land.

The lot had been bought by Decigon Corporation in the late 1970s. As the area became more popular with mountain bikes, “no trespassing” signs started to appear. There were additional challenges, as well, when a mountain biker broke their back in the early 1990s and brought a lawsuit against the landowners.

Decigon made multiple unsuccessful attempts at getting the land rezoned throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s. Then, in 1996, the municipality increased the minimum parcel size of land with the Rural Resource 1 Zoning (RR1) from 20 acres to 100 acres. This meant that parcels zoned RR1 could be subdivided into 100 acres at minimum. Trying to maximize its return on investment, Decigon came forward with proposals to develop the land before this change came into effect.

The company’s preferred plan was

for high-density development on a small section of the land. Forty single-family lots with a total of 240 bed units were proposed for 20 acres. Under this plan, the remaining undeveloped land would be protected as parkland, therefore retaining many of the bike trails. This would require rezoning of the land, and the municipality was reluctant to approve the proposal because the number of bed units exceeded the development cap.

Decigon’s alternative proposal involved subdividing the entire lot into 20-acre parcels for six single-family homes with 36 bed units. This fit within the RR1 zoning restrictions, but would result in a huge loss of established biking trails. Local community groups the Association of Whistler Area Residents for the Environment (AWARE) and the Whistler Off Road Cycling Association (WORCA) were also very active in campaigning for the protection of the forest for the environment and recreation.

Between 1996 and 1999, Decigon, led by the Houghton brothers, was constantly in the media trying to garner support from the Whistler community and council. However, they could not come to an acceptable agreement with the council of the day, and Decigon became more and more outraged as the years passed. Most meetings were held in-camera—meaning closed to the public—and rumours were swirling about an impending lawsuit against the municipality.

Then, in August 1999, it was finally announced that a deal had been made for the Emerald Forest lands. Unbeknownst to the community, Intrawest had been brought in as a third party to finally make the deal happen. In the three-way deal, Intrawest purchased the Emerald Forest lands from Decigon for an undisclosed sum. The municipality then paid Intrawest $1 million, and gave it approval for an additional 476 bed units so it could develop two further hotels in the Benchlands, in exchange for the Emerald Forest.

There was some disappointment toward this agreement, because it meant that Whistler would far exceed the development cap outlined in the Official Community Plan. However, the unique agreement succeeded in ensuring the Emerald Forest was protected in perpetuity. n

FORGE THROUGH THE FOREST Dan Swanstrom scanning a mountain bike trail. Swanstrom was responsible for building many of the popular trails through the Emerald Forest.

WHISTLER QUESTION COLLECTION

Free Will Astrology

WEEK OF MAY 26 BY ROB BREZSNY

ARIES (March 21-April 19): My reading of the astrological omens inspires me to make a series of paradoxical predictions for you. Here are five scenarios I foresee as being quite possible in the coming weeks. 1. An epic journey to a sanctuary close to home. 2. A boundary that doesn’t keep people apart but brings them closer. 3. A rambunctious intervention that calms you down and helps you feel more at peace. 4. A complex process that leads to simple clarity. 5. A visit to the past that empowers you to redesign the future.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Do you want a seed to fulfil its destiny? You must bury it in the ground. There, if it’s able to draw on water and the proper nutrients, it will break open and sprout. Its life as a seed will be over. The plant it eventually grows into will look nothing like its source. We take this process for granted, but it’s always a miracle. Now let’s invoke this story as a metaphor for what you are hopefully on the verge of, Taurus. I invite you to do all that’s helpful and necessary to ensure your seed germinates!

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Your meandering trek through the Unpromised Land wasn’t as demoralizing as you feared. The skirmish with the metaphorical dragon was a bit disruptive, but hey, you are still breathing and walking around—and even seem to have been energized by the weird thrill of the adventure. The only other possible downside was the new dent in your sweet dream. But I suspect that in the long run, that imperfection will inspire you to work even harder on behalf of your sweet dream— and this will be a blessing. Here’s another perk: The ordeal you endured effectively cleaned out stale old karma, freeing up space for a slew of fresh help and resources.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Testing time is ahead, but don’t get your nerves in an uproar with fantasy-spawned stress. For the most part, your challenges and trials will be interesting, not unsettling. There will be few, if any, trick questions. There will be straightforward prods to stretch your capacities and expand your understanding. Bonus! I bet you’ll get the brilliant impulse to shed the ball and chain you’ve been absentmindedly carrying around with you.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Biologist Edward O. Wilson said that the most social animals are ants, termites, and honeybees. He used the following criteria to define that description: “altruism, instincts devoted to social life, and the tightness of the bonds that turn colonies into virtual superorganisms.” I’m going to advocate that you regard ants, termites, and honeybees as teachers and role models for you. The coming weeks will be a great time to boost your skill at socializing and networking. You will be wise to ruminate about how you could improve your life by enhancing your ability to cooperate with others. And remember to boost your altruism!

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Jack Sarfatti is an authentic but maverick physicist born under the sign of Virgo. He suggests that if we make ourselves receptive and alert, we may get help from our future selves. They are trying to communicate good ideas to us back through time. Alas, most of us don’t believe such a thing is feasible, so we aren’t attuned to the potential help. I will encourage you to transcend any natural skepticism you might have about Sarfatti’s theory. As a fun experiment, imagine that the Future You has an important transmission for you—maybe several transmissions. For best results, formulate three specific questions to pose to the Future You.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): I have five points for your consideration. 1. You are alive in your mysterious, endlessly interesting life, and you are imbued with the fantastically potent power of awareness. How could you not feel thrilled?

2. You’re on a planet that’s always surprising, and you’re in an era when so many things are changing that you can’t help being fascinated. How could you not feel thrilled?

3. You have some intriguing project to look forward to, or some challenging but engaging work you’re doing, or

some mind-bending riddle you’re trying to solve. How could you not feel thrilled? 4. You’re playing the most enigmatic game in the universe, also known as your destiny on Earth, and you love ruminating on questions about what it all means. How could you not feel thrilled? 5. You never know what’s going to happen next. You’re like a hero in an epic movie that is endlessly entertaining. How could you not feel thrilled?

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): “Trust those that you have helped to help you in their turn,” advises Scorpio author Neil Gaiman. Let’s make that one of your mantras for the coming weeks. In my astrological understanding, you are due to cash in on favours you have bestowed on others. The generosity you have expressed should be streaming back your way in abundance. Be bold about welcoming the bounty. In fact, I hope you will nudge and prompt people, if necessary, to reward you for your past support and blessings.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): So many of us are starved to be listened to with full attention. So many of us yearn to be seen and heard and felt by people who are skilled at receptive empathy. How many of us? I’d say the figure is about 99.9 per cent. That’s the bad news, Sagittarius. The good news is that in the coming weeks, you will have an exceptional ability to win the attention of good listeners. To boost the potential healing effects of this opportunity, here’s what I recommend: Refine and deepen your own listening skills. Express them with panache.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Because you’re a Capricorn, earthiness is probably one of your strengths. It’s your birthright to be practical and sensible and well-grounded. Now and then, however, your earthiness devolves into muddiness. You get too sober and earnest. You’re bogged down in excess pragmatism. I suspect you may be susceptible to such a state these days. What to do? It may help if you add elements of air and fire to your constitution, just to balance things out. Give yourself a secret nickname with a fiery feel, like Blaze, or a crispy briskness, like Breezy. What else could you do to rouse fresh, glowing vigour, Breezy Blaze—even a touch of wildness?

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): I love to use metaphors in my writing, but I hate to mix unrelated metaphors. I thrive on referring to poetry, sometimes even surrealistic poetry, but I try to avoid sounding like a lunatic. However, at this juncture in your hero’s journey, Aquarius, I frankly feel that the most effective way to communicate with you is to offer you mixed metaphors and surrealist poetry that border on sounding lunatic. Why? Because you seem primed to wander around on the edges of reality. I’m guessing you’ll respond best to a message that’s aligned with your unruly mood. So here goes: Get ready to surf the spiritual undertow all the way to the teeming wilderness on the other side of the cracked mirror. Ignore the provocative wasteland on your left and the intriguing chaos on your right. Stay focused on the stars in your eyes and devote yourself to wild joy.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): “The gift of patience opens when our body, heart, and mind slow enough to move in unison.” So says Piscean poet Mark Nepo. I feel confident you are about to glide into such a grand harmony, dear Pisces. Through a blend of grace and your relaxed efforts to be true to your deepest desires, your body, heart, and mind will synchronize and synergize. Patience will be just one of the gifts you will receive. Others include: a clear vision of your most beautiful future; a lucid understanding of what will be most meaningful to you in the next three years; and a profound sense of feeling at home in the world wherever you go.

Homework: What is the most spiritually nourishing pleasure you should seek out but don’t? Newsletter. 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

welcome until 10pm ever y day, kids menu for 12 years old and under available

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Group Fitness Classes

Fridays – Boys Learn 2 Lift

7:15-8:15 am w Joah

Saturdays – Zumba

10:30-11:30 am w Susie

Mondays –Yin & Yang Yoga

9-10 am w Heidi

Tuesdays –  Mnt Ready

6:45-7:45 pm w Mel

Wednesdays – Gentle Fit

10:30- 11:30 am w Diana

Thursdays – Swim Fit

7:30-8:30 am with M-A EMPLOYMENT

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Warehouse Lien Act

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4. Joseph Marc Jette 1998 Subaru Legacy VIN: 4S3BK4251W7308118 $1920.00

5. Travis Hutton 2023 Chevrolet Trailblazer VIN:

For more information, please call Cooper’s Towing Ltd. @ 604-902-1930

Part-Time Work

• Fire Alarm Technician

• No Experience Necessary

• Training will be provided

• Apprenticeship available

The successful Candidate will have:

• Company Vehicle, Cell phone & iPad. Excellent Benefits Package

After completion of 4 years training

• Potential earnings between $80000-$100000 +.

• Minimum Requirements Grade 12/Post Secondary.

Fairmont Chateau

Whistler Resort is growing its Housing portfolio and sourcing additional Chalet and Condo Rental contracts for our Hotel Team Members. Our leaders are mature, career driven drivers that know the word respect. Contract terms for property Owners are stress free with no commissions and includes representation from our 4 person fulltime Housing Department working with you 24/7; maintaining all aspects of the tenancy including quarterly inspections.

A great next move for Whistler property Owners that have tired with the Airbnb game or Property Fees. Let’s see if we can make a match and develop a long-term relationship here. General inquiries please email mark.munn@fairmont.com

To apply or for more information contact whistler@vikingfire.ca 604-938-9594

Assistant Food & Beverage Manager

We are currently hiring the following positions for projects in WHISTLER.

We are currently hiring the following positions for projects in WHISTLER.

Journeymen Carpenters (5+ years)

Journeymen Carpenters (5+ years)

Skilled Labourers

Skilled Labourers

We offer competitive pay, a benefits package, company cell phone plan, interesting projects, a collaborative team environment, and a chance to improve your existing skills.

We offer competitive pay, a benefits package, company cell phone plan, interesting projects, a collaborative team environment, and a chance to improve your existing skills.

We are looking for dedicated team players who want to join a rapidly growing company and establish a long-term career in construction.

We are looking for dedicated team players who want to join a rapidly growing company and establish a long-term career in construction.

Please forward your resume to Lea@gccltd.ca

Please forward your resume to Lea@gccltd.ca

Introducing Whistler’s first ever purpose-built, fully serviced private lodge. Our 12,000 sq.ft. luxury residence and spa offers unparalleled exclusivity for corporate groups, weddings & celebrations and retreats. Offering Whistler’s most refined and iconic guest experience, we are seeking a proven and passionate hospitality leader in the role of Lodge Manager.

Our ideal candidate:

• 5+ years of leadership experience in the tourism and hospitality industry

• Thrives in high-end service culture, creating warm and lasting connections with guests and employees

• A relentless and exceptional eye for detail – creating memories and impact for all guests

• Results driven: Financial/Employee Engagement/ Guest Experience

• Astute operator, able to oversee varied departments from Maintenance and Housekeeping through to Events and Catering

Apply to careers@wedgemountainlodge.com

For more information on all we have to offer, please visit www.evrfinehomes.com or send your resume to info@evr finehomes.com

E-mail or drop in your resume to: rory_eunson@nestersmarket.com please cc bruce_stewart@nestersmarket.com or call us at 604-932-3545

PERKS

• Competitive wage – Depending on experience

• Flexible and set schedule

• Relative training

SOCIAL MEDIA CONTRACTOR

As a social media expert, you will bring your current industry knowledge to assist in curating our social media vision and strategy.

• Collaborate with our marketing team to plan and create content and execute marketing strategies in order to grow our social media presence on key platforms – Instagram, Facebook and Twitter

• Duties include: social publishing, content creation, customer engagement and analysis

• Part-time; located in Whistler

We appreciate the interest of all applicants. We will only contact those who meet the requirements for a follow-up to discuss steps for submission of a written proposal.

Please submit your expression of interest and previous work examples to zmartin@panpacific.com

LODGE MANAGER

• ROOM ATTENDANTS

• HOUSEKEEPING SUPERVISOR

Please reply by email: parmstrong@pinnaclehotels.ca

Current opportunities

Communications & Engagement Advisor | Full Time, Permanent Manager, Corporate & Legislative Services | Full Time, Permanent Parks Labourer | Full Time, Summer Seasonal Program Leader – Youth | Casual, Evening Work Project Engineer | Full Time, Permanent

Join the Village of Pemberton team and give back to this incredible community by being a part of the exciting projects taking place throughout the Village. In addition to the satisfaction of giving back to the community, take a look at what our benefit package has to offer for all full time, permanent staff:

• 9-Day Fortnight

• BC Municipal Pension Plan

• Extended Medical Benefits

• Dental Coverage

• Vision Benefits

• Free Fitness Centre access

• Keeping it Active Allowance

Interested? Send your resume to recruiting@pemberton.ca. For a full job description or to learn more, visit pemberton.ca/employment.

Red Door Bistro is Seeking a full time line/grill cook.

1-2 years experience working in a similar station an asset.

• Duties include prepping/portioning/cooking steaks, seafood and pan cooking.

• Imagine working in a well respected fine dining bistro which is well run, fun, and does 80 covers a night.

• Salary based on experience, plus tips. Medical & Dental benefits and staff discounts in Roland's Pub.

Email resume to info@reddoorbistro.ca

www.whistlerwag.com

Dogs and pick-up trucks don’t mix!

Dogs who are riding in the backs of pickup trucks may look like they’re having fun, but they are not safe. When you transport your dog in the open bed of your pickup, you endanger both your dog and other motorists. Even with a restraint your dog may be seriously injured or killed riding in the back of a pickup. Why risk your dog’s life? Put him in the cab with you in a travel crate, or if you have an extended cab, have your pet ride in the back portion of the cab where he will be away from the front windshield.

Roland’s Pub is looking for a Kitchen Manager

Position is full time, 40-50 hours per week. Must have line cooking experience in a fast paced kitchen, Food Safe Level 1, and some ordering & food costing experience. Salary is minimum $60,000/year to start or negotiable for qualified applicants, plus medical & dental benefits, gas allowance, phone allowance, ski or golf pass, and other perks.

Please email resume to  info@rolandswhistler.com Staff accommodation available.

Lil’wat Nation Director of Community Development

Status : Full time – Permanent

Reporting to : General Manager of Community Services

Salary : $93,475.20 - $101,556 annually

Under the direction of the General Manager of Community Services, the Director of Community Development is responsible for the overall operations of the Lil’wat Nation Community Development Department by providing services that will improve community members experience. The Director will be expected to be proactive and supportive of all Lil’wat Nation community policies and strategies and work closely with the General Manager of Community Services, the Chief Administrative Officer and Chiefs and Council regarding community development and services.

Closing date June 2nd

Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory –Candy Chef/Chocolatier – Starting Wage $24/hr

Do you want to round out your skill set and learn something totally new?

We're hiring a candy chef at The Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory! Learn to cook massive loaves of fudge and huge batches of caramel with a team of awesome people

Perks:

- Flexible schedule

- Be creative

- STAFF ACCOMODATION available for the right candidate

Beneficial but not required:

- Kitchen experience

- Food Safe Level 1 or equivalent

Drop off your resume today (across from the Whistler Village Gondola) or email whistler@rockychoc.com and be ready to have your wildest dreams come true!

We are the Spa for you

If you are looking for a new place to call home:

• We have a long term and loyal team

• We offer extended medical benefits

• You can enjoy $5.00 cafeteria meals

Vida Spa at the Fairmont Chateau Whistler is currently recruiting:

REGISTERED MASSAGE THERAPIST ESTHETICIAN SPA PRACTITIONER

GSA/SPA SUPERVISOR

To join our unique Vida family, email Bonnie@vidaspas.com

Vida Spas - Vancouver & Whistler Live well. Live long. vidaspas.com

Thank You for applying Only those considered will be contacted.

www.88mekong.ca

WE ARE HIRING: ALL FRONT-OF-HOUSE POSITIONS

Be part of the Infinity Group’s newest culinary adventure, as we bring the Ultimate Thai culinary experience to Whistler.

Opening July 1

Mekong’s menu is designed by highly acclaimed Chef Angus An, of Maenam restaurant in Vancouver.

our mission

To create an immersive, authentic Thai experience, delivered with deep care, and that’s where you come in.

Apply today

If you’re an enthusiastic, positive, growth-oriented hospitality professional, looking for an exciting new role, you’ll fit right in with our rockstar team! careers@infinityenterprises.ca

INSURANCE ADVISOR

Position in a growing Whistler Agency

♦ Strong salary, bonus and benefits package ♦ Unrivalled career development opportunities

We are a growing, dynamic organization with a great success story searching for like-minded individuals looking to build their career in the insurance business. We are searching for committed, driven and result-oriented sales professionals, with a passion for helping others. Successful candidates will have a strong customer service and sales background, can work individually and as part of a team. We have a fun, fast paced working environment, and attractive time schedule with built in work / life flexibility. Some insurance experience would be preferred, but not essential.

DAVID

Health

rule

Flexible schedule & awesome staff parties!

to

ACROSS

LAST WEEKS’ ANSWERS

Where does Whistler go from here?

WHY WHISTLER? What brought you to choose to live in Whistler? What keeps you here? What would make you decide to move somewhere else? If you’ve been living in Whistler for a decade or two and think back to what brought you to Whistler, would you be moving here now, given the way the town has developed?

These are more than just interesting questions to ask each other over a refreshing beverage, a nice dinner or a chairlift ride. They are the kinds of questions that

BY G.D. MAXWELL

illuminate the past, help explain the arc of growth and development and foreshadow the future. They are, at their root, the questions that will drive your thinking about what is being called the Whistler Sessions. More about that later.

Whistler is a unique place. While acknowledging and respecting those who came before—the First Nations that lay claim to the territory upon which the town has been built, the pioneers who trekked up from Vancouver to homestead, farm, log, mine and create early tourism opportunities in what would become the town of Alta Lake— Whistler itself is a recent invention, born in the 1960s from the dream of a handful of Vancouver businesspeople to create a ski resort to host a Winter Olympics.

If they’d chosen a different location or simply come to their senses and blown the whole idea off as a wacky pipe dream, none of us would be here today pondering the future of our town. Whistler would likely still be Alta Lake and would likely be a small town on the road to somewhere else.

For better or worse, Whistler is the centre of gravity in the Sea to Sky corridor, and the biggest card in the province’s deck of revenue-generating tourism destinations.

But what of the future? Decisions being pondered—or ignored—right now will set the stage for what the town will be like in the future.

Much of Whistler’s history, like its origin, has been decided ad hoc, which is to say, without understanding the long-term implications of actions taken. Early in the town’s development, planners recognized the vital importance of the resort having warm beds available for the tourists they hoped would come. Condo developments with restrictive covenants were built and sold to individuals who had limited rights on personal use. That step primed the development pump, but had future implications for rapid growth.

When the nascent town narrowly avoided bankruptcy in the early 1980s, it came at a cost of future land development rights negotiated by the province in return for bailing the town out. What was supposed to be a decade-long development of Village North and Marketplace happened, instead, in the blink of an eye.

Around the turn of this century, council of the day approved a wholesale redevelopment of Creekside.

Both of those events gave rise to a tsunami of new tourist accommodation. Since much of that accommodation was in the form of personally owned condos with restrictive covenants, the developers themselves had no stake in whether or not they were occupied by tourists. They pocketed their profit from simply completing the project. It was up to

The future has landed hard in the past week. The Resort Municipality of Whistler’s Housing Action Plan was released on May 16, and states up front, “policies and actions to meet housing needs must focus primarily on supporting Whistler’s workforce.”

The workforce to be housed is the workforce necessary to meet the evergrowing demand of Whistler’s businesses.

One of the keys to meeting current, and presumably future housing needs, is

about and discuss the various scenarios.

The mayor has invited you to “use these scenarios creatively; host a discussion night with friends, write a short story or contemplate how the scenarios may influence your day-to-day.” And, presumably, let him and council know what you think since this is the future you may end up living... or leaving.

You can access the four Whistler Sessions scenarios on the municipal website, and there are handy guides to hosting a workshop to discuss them with your friends, contemplate them in your spare time, scare the pants off you thinking about some of them or in other ways, enlighten yourself and get involved.

The scenarios themselves include a freemarket run amok called the Sky’s the Limit, that creates a dystopia of greed, wealth and the development of Whistler as a Mountain City.

The Weather the Storm scenario invites us to all join in and create a sustainable, netzero, kumbaya future where we all fit in and don’t destroy ourselves in the process.

someone else to put heads in beds.

And for decades, that was the driving metric behind many of the decisions made by councils of the day. Drive tourism. Put those heads in beds.

Which, naturally, gave rise to the ancillary businesses catering to those tourists—retail stores, restaurants, entertainment and services needed by the growing full-time population who owned and/or worked in those businesses. And that led to the need for more and more workerbees. And that led to the need for more and more housing for those workers.

And that led to where we are today. Pondering the future.

the development of a long-term housing strategy. Almost buried in the explanation of that is the statement, “the strategy may result in the contemplation of future OCP amendments.”

Would one of those amendments be either lifting the existing bed unit cap or simply excluding employee housing from it, as it was excluded in the past? I’m pretty sure it doesn’t include a limit or moratorium on business development.

Handily, that brings us back to the Whistler Sessions, and the question of what the town looks like as we march toward 2050. There were two sessions held at the library on May 25 for interested people to come hear

Growing Divide relies on a twist of compassionate conservatism in which wealthy philanthropists will create their own version of paradise and house workerbees in “out of town, high-density, dorm-style housing.”

And From the Ashes is a post-apocalyptic rebuilding of the town following a complete collapse. A do-over, if you will.

While in no way downplaying the importance of this effort, I take some solace in the fact I’ll not likely live long enough to see which scenario wins in the end. But you might, and if I were you, I’d be right in the thick of this. I probably will be anyway, but this is the future of many of you here now and hopefully many more to come.

Get involved. ■

If you’ve been living in Whistler for a decade or two and think back to what brought you to Whistler, would you be moving here now, given the way the town has developed?

ADOBE STOCK

NEWPRICE

3283 Arbutus Street: The perfect home for a large family OR staff accommodation Located just a short walk to the Village, this property offers everything a family could want for their Whistler home OR an amazing investment for rentals with NO strata fees! $1,999,000

Allyson Sutton PREC*

604-932-7609

1 - 2001 Nordic Place: A beautifully updated end unit townhome located by a quiet cul-de-sac in Nordic Estates 3BR/3.5BA, townhome with yard, double carport & storage shed Enjoy sunny afternoons on your deck Great as a family home or weekend getaway $2,109,000

Connie Spear

604-910-1103

702 & 704 - 4050 Whistler Way: Hilton Owners enjoy unlimited stays and a central village location offering all the amenities of a resort hotel. This lock-off 2 bed, 2 bathroom, with storage may also be rented nightly though the Hilton full-service, rental management program $949,000

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604-932-8899

1350 Cloudburst drive: Years lease available on this exquisite luxury rental in Whistler! 4 bed, 3 5 baths, a 2 car garage, movie room, steam shower, a/c, indoor/outdoor living and more. Close to amenities such as tennis courts, biking and hiking trails and Function Junction shops!$7,500/mo

Jake Breuer

604-698-7 259

812 - 4320 Sundial Crescent : Pan Pacific Mountainside is a superbly located full service hotel within the heart of Whistler Village There is no better place to spend your time while vacationing in Whistler - no matter the time of year!

$1,399,000

Maggi Thornhill PREC*

604-905-8199

4653 213 G2 & G3 Blackcomb Way: Enjoy 2 weeks every month in Horstman House on Blackcomb This quiet 1 bedroom offers owners the perfect home away from home with the option for nightly rental managed by the front desk. Price is per share $219,900

Sam Surowy

NEWTOMARKET

604-902-9754

1414 Pemberton Farm Rd, Pemberton: The one you’ve been waiting for! .921 acre south facing flat lot close to town with a 5bed/4bath home located at the end of a quiet road, steps to the Lillooet River walking trail and beach $2,299,000

Suzanne Wilson

604-966-8454

604-935-0700

47 - 4000 Sunstone Way, Pemberton: New in 2021, this beautiful 3 bed/3 bath duplex boasts designer finishes, A/C & sun drenched deck with mountain views Open concept is perfect for entertaining & a double garage is fully outfitted to organize all your tools and toys $1,459,000 GST exempt Janet Brown

205 - 397 7 1 Government Rd, Squamish: The Breeze! Built in 2022, 2 Bedroom + large loft, 2 bathroom, vaulted ceilings, south facing private deck, EV Charger, Elevator, automated window coverings $899,000 No GST

Vallerie Phillipson

604-698-5899