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The next piece in the W/B puzzle: Cheakamus Rising

You cannot step twice into the same river; for fresh waters are ever flowing in upon you.” The ancient Greeks seemed to understand cause and effect much better than we do.
1601alta

You cannot step twice into the same river; for fresh waters are ever flowing in upon you.”

The ancient Greeks seemed to understand cause and effect much better than we do. Indeed, long before Plato sat at the feet of Socrates — centuries even before Athens became the centre of the Hellenic universe — these early thinkers clearly understood the fundamental inter-connectedness of things. For them it was obvious: no matter how hard we humans try to control our surroundings, we can’t just change one thing. Call it the Law of Unintended Consequences. Or call it karma. Whatever. But we moderns still struggle with that concept...

Consider today’s mountain tourism business. Heck, you might set out to build a new on-mountain lift to solve one problem and realize that it has created a whole set of other problems in its turn. But then you could discover a new world of opportunities too. You just never know.

That’s why I thought I’d drop Hugh Smythe a quick note about W/B’s latest mechanical mountain toy. It’s all about unintended consequences. Read on. Who knows? It could make for fun New Year’s Eve chitchat.

 

Dear Hugh:

Season’s Greetings! I’m sure you’re wondering why you haven’t heard from me of late. But then I know you understand. What with all the hullabaloo surrounding the opening of the Treeline Gondola (sorry, I just can’t get my head around the ‘p2p’ moniker), I figured you were getting all the positive reinforcement you needed for pulling off such a bold move.

And what a vintage Smythe move that was. Forget Fortress. Forget the current leadership at Intrawest. This was all you. What a fitting 21 st century sequel to the story of the guy who defied his Aspen bosses 23 years ago and stole a lift from Fortress Mountain to give Blackcomb the crucial alpine edge it needed to survive. You know Hugh, I’ve always believed that Whistler’s modern era was born on the day you launched the 7th Heaven T-Bar…

I know. I know. I was highly critical of your decision to build the Treeline Gondola. Didn’t believe Whistler needed it frankly. More importantly, I really didn’t believe Whistler could afford it. Still don’t. I mean, I get a real buzz from riding in my buddy’s Ferrari — love all the shiny buttons and beautiful paint job and hand-tooled leather seats and that great road-hugging feel as we go spinning through the countryside — but I also know I’ll never own one myself. Why? Because it’s not within my means.

I feel exactly the same way about the Treeline Gondola. Silly me, I still worry about who is going to be stuck with the bill for this extravagant piece of horizontal transportation…

It’s too late to cry over spilled dollars however. The thing got built. People seem to like it (after all, what’s not to like about this shiny new Christmas toy?). So now what?

It’s been quite interesting of late to listen to all the verbiage on how much the Treeline Gondola will change the skiing/riding experience at Whistler Blackcomb. And though we all know — wink-wink — that the thing wasn’t built for skiers and riders, it’s pretty obvious that there will be big changes in the way people access their favourite slopes from now on. But like the ancients also warned, beware of strangers bearing gifts.

Think about it. As your star acolyte Dave Brownlie put it so well the other day, there’s no reason for Vancouverites (and other rubber-tire visitors) to come into the town centre anymore. They can now park at Creekside and access the entirety of the W/B goods to their heart’s content. And given the municipality’s contentious decision to charge for parking in the old day lots, the incentive to park at the south of town will only grow. But what does that really mean?

Serious congestion. Don’t you think Hugh? I mean, consider the current configuration of the mountains’ uphill transportation capacity.   Let’s see now: at last count, there were four ways (five if you count the Magic Chair) to access the slopes from the towncentre — two on Whistler and two on Blackcomb. Not so at Creekside. Alas, the venerable six-seater gondola is the only form of uphill access we have on that side of town. So what is it going to look like on a big powder morning when both locals and Vancouverites are fighting for a spot in the lineup? Nasty…

Know what I mean? The gondola is already being taxed beyond its capacity on busy days. It can’t really take a lot more stress. As for putting up a new lift there, I don’t think that would work. Not enough room at the bottom anymore. So if you’re really serious about maximizing the TG’s potential, Hugh, you need another southside base. It only makes sense.

And it makes sense from a variety of perspectives. Consider your winter market. Given the state of the economy, local day-users are going to become increasingly important players in your business. So what are urban (and suburban) riders focused on when they’re driving into the mountains for their three or four hours of snoweating fun? Quick access! Want to make these visitors happy — all these rubber-tired customers from Vancouver and Surrey and Bellingham and Chilliwack and Abbotsford and Squamish — that you so desperately need right now? Give them easy parking (and/or easy admission to public transportation) and get them up the mountain as fast as possible.

As for the summer business, same thing. With the improved highway will come a much stronger flow of four-season traffic. The local bike riding market will grow significantly too. And for these customers, getting up the mountain early will be just as important as for their winter counterparts. What better way to answer their needs than a new southside lift that delivers them to a sub-alpine network of trails and roads that all lead eventually to the TG?

It also brings some serious side benefits to the Whistler community. Think of the drop in local car traffic if most mountain day-users are encouraged to leave their cars at the south end of town and use the lifts (or their bikes or the busses or a combination thereof) for transportation. Now that’s a pedestrian village…

The new base is a no-brainer, Hugh. An idea whose time has come. And the sooner Whistlerites realize it, the sooner we can start making it happen.

So here’s my pitch. The year is 2015. Imagine, if you can, a high-capacity gondola located at the edge of Cheakamus Crossing (you know, that new legacy neighbourhood the muni is creating across the highway from Function). Visualize a four-season lift that carries mountain enthusiasts from the valley floor all the way to timberline on the sheltered west flank of Whistler Mountain. Now picture a roomy, rustic day-lodge located right at the base of the lift with ample parking and bus access; at the other end, a funky 50-seater restaurant sits on a ridge just above the upper terminal with to-die-for views in all direction. In wintertime, the Redline Chair is just an easy slide away on Highway 86. In summer, it’s a short ride on your bike…

And if you want to go higher, no problem.   A skein of trails leads across the summit of Whistler and all the way around the Musical Bumps towards Singing Pass and the Spearhead Traverse. Along the way hikers and riders can access a network of small refuges and teahouses (open on a seasonal basis of course). Locally owned and operated, they work on a concession basis with the current W/B management. It’s an arrangement that works well on all sides.

Guests rave about the experience. Urban working people (UWPPIES), particularly, speak highly of the new facilities. I mean, it’s never been easier for city dwellers to get their Whistler buzz! You can now catch a bus in downtown Vancouver and be stepping into the new Garibaldi Gondola in less than 90 minutes. From the Horseshoe Bay ferry terminal, it’s barely an hour’s drive away. And that ease of access has translated into a W/B season ticket sales boom in the Lower Mainland that few could have predicted beforehand. As one local wag put it: “The Garibaldi Gondola has completely revolutionized the way Vancouverites approach their mountain sports!”

And it perfectly complements the Whistler 2020 Vision. After all, this is right down the much-ballyhooed sustainability path. More importantly, with nearly 2000 full-time residents living in Cheakamus Crossing (plus those living in Function Junction), the new lift has become a legitimate form of local transportation.

I can already see you shaking your head Hugh. I know — you and your Intrawest colleagues rejected the idea of a Cheakamus lift when it was proposed in the early iterations of the Legacy Village vision three years ago. Too expensive to build you said then — especially with no bed-units attached as sweetener. But so much has changed in the intervening years. Surely it’s worth considering all over again. After all, as ol’ Heraclitus taught: ‘fresh waters are ever flowing in upon you’…

Looking forward to hearing from you soon.

Regards,

Michel