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Updating the Whistler model

Somewhere between last January’s Icon Gone event and the increasingly frequent horror stories about the labour shortage — that few people east of the Prairies seem to have heard about — a mind grown damp and mouldy from the summer of rain generated j

Somewhere between last January’s Icon Gone event and the increasingly frequent horror stories about the labour shortage — that few people east of the Prairies seem to have heard about — a mind grown damp and mouldy from the summer of rain generated just enough heat to conceptualize a recruitment poster for Whistler.

That poster was a head-on shot of a guy on a mountain bike, airborne, wearing all the pads, and a little cloud of dust behind him as he traveled at mach speed. One hand held a cell phone up to an ear; the other utilized two fingers to grip a latte (in a travel mug) while also maintaining a loose hold on the handlebars. Underneath this image were words first heard uttered by John Nadeau: “Whistler: Population 10,000. Type A personalities, 9,900.”

This may not be the kind of person Whistler needs to recruit more of, although in the labour climate of 2007 anyone willing to work and resourceful enough to find a home is welcome.

More to the point, this is the type of person Whistler has always attracted. The DNA of the adrenaline-fuelled, multi-tasking mountain biker is a close match with the DNA of the people behind Whistler’s five Olympic bids. It’s linked to the DNA of the people who decided they could build an international mountain resort on a garbage dump and create a brand new ski area right next to an existing one. The idea of stringing a gondola from one mountain to another grew from the same gene pool that spawned the current efforts to build the arts and culture in Whistler. There may even be a link to the genetic disposition that Highway 99 drivers have for tailgating at NASCAR speeds.

Not every effort that has its foundation in these chromosomes is successful, of course. Even the best mountain bikers crash once in a while. But don’t underestimate Whistlerites’ determination, as the Vancouver Sun did during the devastating recession of the early ’80s. “It’s too bad that Whistler’s bubble has burst, but that’s what happens when people get over-ambitious and try to do too much too soon,” a July 22, 1982 editorial stated. “If the village hadn’t tried to turn itself into a world class ski resort almost overnight, it wouldn’t be in the difficulties it’s in now.”

In fact, Whistler probably couldn’t help itself, it was born to defy the odds and aim higher than conventional wisdom dictated. Evidence that this is still the case can be seen today at Meadow Park arena and the Air Dome, where a second generation of Whistler athletes is performing jumps and playing hockey at levels that leave their very competitive parents in the dust.

Whether these people are drawn to the mountains or they grow up in them, the concentration of ambitious, successful achievers in resort towns is not new or unique to Whistler. A decade and a half ago Park City’s Myles Rademan described how that translates to politics in mountain towns: every issue seems to be immediate and life-changing.

Given the personality makeup of Whistler, and other mountain towns, it is perhaps not surprising that we continually try to grow out of our problems. We know our environment has physical limitations, but we are also gripped by the western frontier mentality that believes there is always something more, something new or different just over the next ridge. And mountain people are always pushing to see what’s over that next ridge. The valley is too small to contain all those ambitions.

Whistler has had a limit on development, or more accurately, a series of limits, for more than 30 years. Ten years ago, as Village North was nearing completion, discussion began about how close we were to the ceiling on development. That cap has been adjusted slightly in the last decade, to allow for things like the Emerald Forest/Four Seasons deal and the still-proposed Rainbow development, but we aren’t any closer to build out. In fact, the 2010 Olympics have spurred the biggest wave of development since the provincial government started selling Village North parcels at bargain prices.

The assumption seems to be that once we get past the Olympics things will slow down. But that assumption ignores the development rights the Lil’wat and Squamish Nations will still hold. And whether we’ve got the formula right — enough accommodation for employees, enough visitors to fill all the hotel rooms, enough services and facilities for all — will also be an issue. One solution that will inevitably be proposed is more development.

It’s difficult to predict exactly what Whistler life will be like on the other side of 2010. There could well be a whole new generation of people running businesses, municipal hall and Whistler-Blackcomb. Another generation of parents and children may be competing for ice time and determining school board policies. They may be less ambitious and less driven than previous generations that have shaped Whistler, but don’t bet on it.

In the meantime, if anyone is looking for an alternative model to the multi-tasking mountain biker, may we suggest the slow food movement. Nurture what we are naturally blessed with, appreciate where it comes from, savour quality over quantity.