Skip to content
Join our Newsletter

Letters to the editor

On behalf of Whistler-Blackcomb, I would like to respond to the letter written by Dave Henderson in the January 31st issue of the Pique. Mr.

On behalf of Whistler-Blackcomb, I would like to respond to the letter written by Dave Henderson in the January 31st issue of the Pique. Mr. Henderson stated that there is a "W-B mandate to house internationals together, rather than mixing the housing on a first come first served basis." Mr. Henderson's statement is absolutely incorrect. The only Whistler-Blackcomb mandate is to house first season employees. The only Whistler-Blackcomb system for first season employee housing is first come, first serve.

A large number of international residents live in Residence, and many of them ask to live with the friends that they arrive with. So yes, it may seem like we put international residents together, but actually, our decisions are based solely on bed availability.

Whistler-Blackcomb is open to the comments and concerns of Whistler residents, but we hope that any assertions about Whistler-Blackcomb will be researched before publication.

Kirby Brown

Director of Employee Experience

Intrawest at Whistler-Blackcomb

 

Just be prepared…

A healthy community needs roots, heritage, traditions and people and a host of other things, including a bearable means to meet these needs. Our current means or business is tourism.

Most of us in Whistler realize that we are in the business of servicing other people’s needs. It's a fun way to make a living and to enjoy all the other things in life. However, a critical ingredient to our tourism success is having visitors. Optimistically the needs of our guests will be similar to ours for years to come. But are we prepared to shift our roots, heritage, and traditions if the needs of our visitors change at some point during the next 20 years?

The current trend is mountain communities, outdoor activities, being close to nature, and unique villages. What if the future mountain tourism trends are different… helicopter skiing, ATV tours, conquering nature, power boats, lots of pretty lights that light up the entire valley, warm weather destinations, and cookie cutter resorts like Disney? Or what if mountain destinations themselves just become an old trend? At what point are we prepared to change our way of life and traditions for tourists? Jokingly, are we prepared to lose mountain bike trails, bears, the South Side Deli, The Boot, the Lost Lake Docks, Garibaldi Park boundaries, natural features, and more local attractions and businesses if they don’t fit the desire of future tourists?

Tourism economies go through cycles; first attracting the explorers looking for an extremely unique experience, then all the way through the cycle to the end, attracting the mass tourist who wants a completely risk free vacation within their comfort zone. In most areas of the world this shift to mass tourism has also caused a loss of unique local character, traditional sites and culture. I remember an article I read in school about an Amish community that built a "mock" Amish community 15 miles before their real community started. The residents of the real community would travel to the mock community and entertain the tourists. All the while the tourist though it was the real community. They did this to protect their way of life and their traditions and their special places. The tourists were happy and so were the Amish.

Maybe Whistler won’t have to change; perhaps tourists will always enjoy our current attractions and unique sites and culture that we have in Whistler. Or perhaps Whistler will change, and all the community minded people starting families will move out to our neighbouring communities to live their lives, only travelling to Whistler to put on an eight-hour show similar to the Amish community described above. I hope there will always be a tourist need for a unique bar with the best live music in town, a nude dock, a local rope swing, local people, bears or a rustic restaurant with fair prices. But if Whistler’s past is any indication of the future we should probably be prepared for change.

Dan Wilson

Whistler

 

This letter is mainly to thank the folks at Extremely Canadian for hosting the Pimp ’n’ ho Party every year and providing a venue and outlet for some of us partiers and powder hounds to express our zaniness. The world needs more of that harmless kind of zaniness.

I also want to thank the TLH heliskiing folks at Tyax Lodge for putting up a prize well worth a public display of zaniness between consenting adults. Thanks Kobi, Mark, Cam (our guides) Gord (our pilot) and all the cool staff at the lodge, we had a blast last week and we would both go back and do it again.

I've been amused to notice the reactions of some people when they hear about the risks others take for powder. I've also noticed some intolerance in our community and our society by some people who don't understand another's idea of a good time. Aren't we all here to have a good time? Sure, you may want to raise a family, make money or inflate your ego but you're also having a good time right?

Some people's idea of a good time is face shots in a powder field, some people may also enjoy streaking down the magic chair or flashing their boobs in a bar. The prudes protest, they protest the nudie dock on lost lake, they protest an amateur strip night, and I'm sure they're offended by boys who'll take their pants off at the slightest invitation to "get naked!" I have to tell you that if you don't like it you might learn to tolerate it if you want to live here. It's all about having a good time and it's harmless.

Powder, some of us live for it, some of us die in it, some of us perform legendary feats just to get to it, and some just don't understand. Most Canadians can't afford to go heli-skiing, so we put on our backpacks and tranceivers and climb up to the powder or we do what we can to get it for free. It's all worth it. I'm with the guy who said it's better than dying of boredom sitting at home watching TV. So get out there and have a good time, whatever that means to you.

Leanne Lamour

Whistler

 

Last week Sasha Pellow wrote to say that she did not like my comments linking low incomes to the sex trades. O.K. fine, don't take my word for it. Have a look at Playboy’s "Women of Enron." Women who lost their jobs during the Enron scandal were able to "Take it all off" for this special feature. I suppose we should view this as some benign form of charity.

I take offence to being accused of insulting strippers. The truth is, if I have a negative attitude towards this industry it is because of all the negative feedback towards strippers I receive from men (for the record, not all men). All my life I have heard the jokes and lewd comments men make about strippers. Too old, too fat, nice body-ugly face, dances like a retarded giraffe, and everyone’s favorite – stupid and horny.

I am not the one that thinks this way, or makes these comments. I'm just sick of hearing it.

M. MacDonald

Whistler

 

A letter of frustration

Recently there have been a lot of letters in your magazine about animals and animal cruelty. Our hearts ache after each one, and we now feel it is our turn to write.

Our dog is outside a lot, but stays in the yard and when we are not home, he is inside. Our yard seems to be the "canine cove" of the neighbourhood with as many as six local dogs visiting at once. Some come more often than others and some stay longer than others. We’ve never had a problem with any of the dogs, and take pleasure in their visits. Most dogs in Whistler have phone numbers on their collars, and if their visit is long, we will call their owners, who have always come off as been friendly and caring towards their pets and never have a problem coming to pick them up.

I work at a bar in town and usually get home late. Twice at 4 a.m., there have been dogs on our porch. Both times the parents had gotten home late, let the dogs out, and they ran away. They were always happy to get the call and promptly came to get their pooch.

On Thursday, upon a visit to the Alpine Market, a lovely large white dog followed us home. We left him alone, in hopes that he would go back. By lunchtime, he was still at our place. He had a phone number and address on his tag, so we called his house. The only person home was a child on their lunch break. We left a message for them to call us when they got home. At 6 p.m. we called, once again, no parents home. The people at the store said that he was there fairly often. We decided to leave the dog in hopes he would go home, but felt wrong leaving him to roam, with the possibility of him getting hit by a car, or not having anyone to go home to.

The next day, the lovely white dog (lets call him "Rossi") was back in the early afternoon. We called his owners and the child answered again. He said they "would pick him up in 10 minutes." We left our number again, and waited for a call asking our address. By 5 p.m., still nothing. We called again, this time asking to speak with the parents. They weren’t home.

At 8 p.m. our roommate walked the dog home (half way across Alpine Meadows). Only the child was home.

When I got home from work on Friday night at 4 a.m., Rossi was scratching and barking at our back door. I called WAG and Bylaw. I left messages, but there really was nothing they would have been able to do till morning.

At 11 a.m. on Saturday, the bylaw department picked Rossi up. We were rather frustrated at this point, not at the dog, who was a loving, well behaved dog, but at the owners, and the fact that they hadn’t even called WAG to see if their dog was there, and their total disregard for Rossi’s well being. We asked the bylaw officers to please speak with the owners about their selfish and irresponsible behaviour.

On Sunday at 10 a.m. I was awoken by barking and scratching at the back door. Rossi was back again! We were disgusted. We could not fathom how anyone could treat their family pet with such neglect. We can understand if the dog got away and ran off for an adventure, or with outdoor dogs, but this is ridiculous. His family obviously doesn’t know or care about his whereabouts for hours on end, whether they are home or not.

We called the bylaw department again, and they came and picked him up, and explained to us that there really wasn’t anything they could do other than continue to pick to dog up and have the owner keep paying the escalating impound fee.

There have been several people hit on the highway this year. People understand the dangers of vehicles, and still get hit. But dogs don’t understand the dangers. We are writing this letter as a plea to Rossi’s owners and all other dog owners. Please take care of your dogs (and cats). They are the most loyal friends you will ever have. They are your children, they need your love, and they rely on you. If you cannot, or will not take care of your dog, WAG has an excellent adoption program.

Due to the complete disregard for Rossi’s safety we have become involved and care about him and his situation, and regretfully felt the need to write this letter.

Alison Ryan,

Monika Gokstorp,

Rachel Grainger,

Melissa Arnold

Whistler

 

Here's some advice we want to share

There's a shop in Marketplace Square

Where you can get all your gear

To hit the slopes this time of year.

If you wish that your wallet grew

Don’t want your budget in a stew

There's no chance they'll try to snow you

Just do their best to get you through.

An array of skis, poles and boots

There's some funky cool ski suits.

If it's a tune you’re gonna need

These babies soon will scream with speed.

Now if you’re one who likes to race

This has gotta be the place.

Pick up your sharpening tools

At a shop that really rules.

So what's the name you say

It's Snow Covers run by Jay

As you can see we're sure a fan

Cause he's definitely da man.

The Shuker Family

Whistler