By Kara-Leah Grant
It is a search that has been going on for as long as time itself, yet despite the extravagant claims by many companies, nobody has yet discovered the fountain of youth. You can eat a balanced diet packed with free radicals, use as many creams or potions as you like and swallow a multitude of pills and you will never cheat death. But something is going on in Whistler.
People still get older here and people still die here, but people dont age here. Or at least, they dont age in ways that regular society deems normal. The winner of Whistler-Blackcomb Living the Dream contest, awarded to the person that skied the most days during the season, was no adrenaline addicted 19-year-old but an 84-year-old named George Huxtable. He exemplifies the attitude that makes Whistler different from the rest of the world. Here, age is nothing more than digits on a drivers license.
Its Friday night at Tommy Africas and up on one of the podiums is a slim girl with long blonde hair. Shes furiously shaking her body to the latest hip hop, energetically moving through a broad selection of moves. No one on the dance floor has a hope of keeping up with her, although a few of the boys are trying. She looks like one of many young things in the bar, yet Ace MacKay-Smith has been doing this for over 10 years. Now 37 and dubbed Mama GoGo by the other dancers, Ace epitomizes somebody who defies age expectations.
"Of course Im surprised Im still go-go dancing," says MacKay-Smith. "Back when I was 20, I didnt even think Id want to go out on New Years 2000 because I thought at 34 I wouldnt want to go out anymore!"
But not only does MacKay-Smith still go out, shes the dancer everybody else is trying to keep up with. She dances regularly at Tommys and appears at parties all over town, including the biggest party of them all, the Big Air during the World Ski and Snowboard Festival.
"I think dancing keeps me younger because Im always surrounded by younger people," says MacKay-Smith. "Plus living in Whistler certainly helps because its not like real life here. Whistler is a young town. Even the people who are older, like Rabbit and Seppo, they were mentally young too."
Ace Mackay-Smith and George Huxtable represent merely the tip of the iceberg in Whistler. Take a good look around at your Whistler friends and while they may not be doing such extreme age-resistant activities, chances are, its hard to pin down whether theyre 25 or 35 or 45. They might even be 55 or 65, but according to Statistics Canada, almost half of Whistlers population is between 25 and 44.
James Barrett is representative of those people. Hes a bike mechanic working at Katmundu, and people always think hes younger than his age.
"I get anywhere from 25 to 28, but Im actually 33," says Barrett. "Everyone I work with is 26 or younger, except for the boss. If you hang out with younger people, it makes you feel younger and seem younger, plus people perceive you as being the same age as your friends."
Barrett says hes amazed at the number of pilots and highly educated people hes met in Whistler.
"Ive met more people with degrees in Whistler than I have ever met and they are all living outside the box because they havent chosen to pursue their career, theyve chosen to just cruise through life and evade any kind of responsibility and therefore remain young."
Barrett says he thinks the towns active lifestyle helps everyone stay young, and by extension, that contributes to a lack of stress in most peoples lives.
"People chose to come here because they are trying to escape the reality of a 9-to-5 job, theyd rather get paid $8 an hour to work on a lift than get paid the big bucks and get the wrinkles over the eyes," says Barrett. "Whistler is a lifestyle choice and this lifestyle keeps you young."
According to the experts Barrett is right, and it is lifestyle choices that keep people young.
"Until recently, we thought the best recipe for a long life was to have long-lived parents," Daniel Perry, founder and executive director of the Alliance for Aging Research told Discovery Channel Health this year. "Now we know that a vast amount is up to us, by our choices, our behaviours and the environment we live in."
We choose to live in Whistler because were addicted to sport and staying active keeps you young. We choose to live here because we dont like the fast-paced monotony of a 9-to-5 existence and avoiding stress keeps you young. We choose to live here because we dont necessarily buy into regular society the idea of going to university, getting a job, finding a partner, getting married, having kids and buying property. Only 32 per cent of people aged over 19 in Whistler are married, compared to 51 per cent in British Columbia. We just do things differently in Whistler, including aging.
There is no feeling here that when one reaches a certain age, its time to hang up the hockey skates, or put away the skis. Masters athletes thrive in Whistler. Randall Carpenter is one of those athletes.
"I ski race every week, including going to international events. My friends and I consider ourselves masters racers but we are completely different from other people our age because we are still competitive," says Carpenter. "A lot of us were athletes when we were younger and we still retain that competitive edge. A lot of people out there in the real world well, I would never consider letting myself get out of shape. Keeping my body really healthy is what enables me to have fun!"
After 11 years in town, Carpenter says she doesnt feel any older than when she first arrived and she certainly doesnt look it.
"People usually think I am 10 years younger than I am," says Carpenter, a voice-over actress who travels to Toronto to work a couple of times a year. "Im not surprised people think Im younger I think its the way I carry myself. I take care of myself, so there is a certain pride in the way I hold myself."
Carpenter says she thinks Whistler does keep people young, but it is also important to really look after your body, mind and soul.
"You have to discipline yourself in order to live in an environment like this because there are lots of temptations," says Carpenter. "I have never forgotten why I moved here because of nature. I really believe you have to smell the roses every day. You have to keep your sports and activities in focus. Really enjoy what you do, whether its competition or relaxing yoga, but enjoy and live in the now."
Carpenter, who declines to say exactly how old she is, says shes old enough to have a daughter who is a fully-trained heli-guide. She regularly competes in ski racing and says her mentor is her 70-year-old friend, Grace Oaks.
"When I ski out behind her on Peak to Creek, it sometimes gets pretty gnarly," says Carpenter. "Shell go over something with a big drop off and I cant see the landing but I think, well, I cant hear any screams and she did it, so I have to go too. Shes my mentor because she just loves to get out there and seize the day."
Carpenter says she doesnt believe age has any relevance in Whistler and the only time people notice theyre getting older is when the body starts to twinge.
"I think were all a bunch of Peter Pans," she says.
That eternal feeling of youthfulness can give you an advantage in Whistler business. Nobody knows this better than the godfather of Whistlers biggest festival, Doug Perry. Its a festival that is aimed squarely at the youth market, a market known for its sophistication and resistance to traditional advertising. Perry, who turned 40 this year, has the vim and vigour of a man half his age, and he uses that energy to stay on top of the trends.
"Running the World Ski and Snowboard Festival does keep me younger because we make a real effort to connect to people that are younger," says Perry. "But age means nothing here. In Whistler the stereotypes are broken down by people like Jim McConkey who are doing things on the mountain people a quarter of his age wouldnt do. This town is a magnet for people who care for and appreciate the outdoors. People first came here because of the sports and that love for sport never leaves you, its infectious."
Perry credits that love of the outdoors and sport as one of the major reasons Whistler is a young town. He says that unified love of the outdoors is something that connects the different generations in Whistler together.
"The younger generation have a lot of respect and admiration for those who came before them and blazed the trails, and the older generation welcome those who follow after them. Its part of what makes Whistler special."
Scott Musgrave, 32, is part of the younger generation, but after 12 years in town, hes friends with a lot of the older generation.
"One of the great things about this town is you meet people of every age, I have friends who are 19 and I have friends who are in their 60s and everything in between." says Musgrave. "People like Bob Switzer, who stokes the hell out of me. Switzer is in his 60s and he still ski races and he wins all the time. Age means nothing in Whistler."
Musgrave attributes this difference in attitude to the fact that everyone here is physically active.
"Back in Ontario, you do your activities on the weekend, but in Whistler, you do your activities all week and we let the tourists have the playground on the weekend," says Musgrave. "Our 9-to-5 is getting out there and enjoying nature. People like to talk about how living in Whistler is living inside the bubble, but I think we just live outside the box. Id rather be round than square! Its all about attitude."
And Whistler has a great attitude. It collectively keeps us young, simply because we act and believe we are young. MacKay-Smith giggles when asked how young she feels on the inside.
"I still feel like Im eight!" she laughs.
She may be joking, but shes also right. Most of us live like we feel young, hucking ourselves off cliffs, tearing down mountains on bikes, kayaking class four rapids, doing all those things our parents once hoped wed grow out of. Well, we didnt. And that may be the reason most of us are still so young. We refuse to grow up, we want to enjoy absolutely everything life has to offer and dont see any reason why we should start acting like a grown-up just because we hit 21.
Its probably why we moved here, and its definitely why we stay here.