Skip to content
Join our Newsletter

Not looking for a handout

To clarify confusion around last week's article on the demise of the Nordic ski legacy, some history is required ( Pique Sept.8, 2011).

To clarify confusion around last week's article on the demise of the Nordic ski legacy, some history is required ( Pique Sept.8, 2011). Callaghan Country was instrumental in supporting the Olympic Games from its inception at the bid stage in May 1998 through to its eventual staging.

In order for the Whistler Olympic Park to be built, Callaghan Country was requested to forfeit all of the land required to do so, from its own cross-country ski area land license that the company had been operating on for twenty years.

As you might well imagine, the loss of prime x-country ski terrain was a tough pill to swallow and was eased only by the benefits the company was assured would flow from the conditions and understandings in the transfer documents. Implicit in all of the agreements was that both organizations (Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Games "VANOC" and Callaghan Country) would agree to co-operate and that by doing so, both would prosper by working together. Specifically, the Madeley Creek Forest Service Road was agreed to remain as a free access for Callaghan Country guests to access Madeley Lake and the company's tenure area beyond.

VANOC having agreed to this as a condition of the land transfer recognized that co-operation would yield better results and moved forward with the Customer Reciprocal Use Agreement. The basis of the Agreement is quite simple. Each ski area operator covers all its own costs for maintenance and provision of services within its respective tenure area, and retains the revenue at their gate. Skiers displaying valid trail passes from either organization are free to enjoy the full services of both facilities. By working closely together, the two organizations have produced a product that is of exceptional quality and extraordinary value. And as a result, over the course of the past four years, Nordic skier visitation to the Whistler area has increased almost threefold.

Last season Whistler Sports Legacies, the new owners of Whistler Olympic Park, and Callaghan Country decided to experiment with the concept of obtaining better efficiencies of service delivery through the integration of key operational aspects such as ticket sales, parking and grooming. WLS now claims that the cost of providing these services outweighs its benefits but, instead of agreeing to revert back to the original agreement, WSL has decided to revisit and test the original set of understandings that created Whistler Olympic Park and in doing so, has notified Callaghan Country of its intention to erect "physical separations or other means of access control" around its property.

WSL now claims it is not bound by agreements that Callaghan Country had entered into with VANOC. Callaghan Country does not share that belief and welcomes the opportunity to share the contents of those agreements with the taxpayers and residents of British Columbia.

After all it is their Legacy also.

WSL is, in fact, a public trust. Not only does it receive a huge annual allotment from the taxpayer funded Games Operating Trust. It also enjoys shelter from property taxes, land tenure fees and as if that was not enough, a first ever Nordic ski area designation that provides for the possibility of real estate development, should things get really bad.

Callaghan Country's objection is simple. If WSL wishes to act like a private sector entity and make market place decisions that limit the potential viability of other competing interests, then it should be made to forfeit its most favored status and quit hoovering up all the spoils of a taxpayer funded non profit society.

WSL is only as required as the community deems it to be. WSL needs to recognize that it has responsibilities to promote the best interests of the larger community that embraces its values. Legacies should not be confused with self-interest.

Callaghan Country is not looking for a hand out here. The Customer Reciprocal Use Agreement has no financial liabilities incumbent upon the other parties. Nor does it contribute to a loss of managerial focus or operational capacity. It is the basis of the agreement that allowed for WOP to be created, the Olympic Games to occur and the success that has followed.

Callaghan Country has a 3- year history of offering exceptional quality adventure products and value to its clients and will endeavor to continue to do so in to the future. The Reciprocal Use Agreement is just one of many tools the company has employed to advance participation in a whole new world of Nordic skiing. Stay tuned for more.

Brad Sills, President

Callaghan Country Wilderness Adventures Ltd.

 

 

 

Let's work together

One of the most exciting changes in the past four years was the completion of the road into the Callaghan. This allowed access to the existing trail system at Callaghan Country and then the new trails in the Olympic park.

In early November many of us eagerly look forward to the start of skiing in the Callaghan and being out the of valley monsoons for a few hours.

The two facilities complement each other perfectly.

Callaghan Country's lodge is an important part of the Whistler puzzle as we try to diversify and increase skiers and market share. In Eastern B.C. there are many of these lodges for ski touring, hiking and enjoying a backcountry experience.

There is no need for (Whistler Sports Legacies) to look at overnight accommodation. We can't fill our hotels in Whistler as it stands today and I don't think Callaghan Country is turning away that many bookings for their lodge to be looking at adding beds.

Also, at this point I haven't yet skied all the trails in either Callaghan Country or Whistler Olympic Park. We have 90 kilometres so there is no immediate need for WSL to think of expanding their trail base.

We have a world class Nordic ski facility that needs stronger marketing to bring in destination skiers.

Another opportunity is that as downhill skiing becomes increasingly more expensive Nordic skiing is an affordable opportunity for lower mainland families.

We witnessed this summer what works for bringing crowds into the resort. Events like the half-marathon, Warrior Dash and the RBC GranFondo Whistler sold out and filled the resort with families enjoying the outdoors. People want to participate in Whistler.

Lastly the statement by Keith Bennett, "that we're not comfortable having somebody else sell passes to our area and keep the funds" assumes that we all want to ski WOP.

When I bought my pass last November I expected the money to go to Callaghan Country as that is where I ski predominately. I'll be happy with a Callaghan Country pass this coming season. I won't have to drive an extra six-kilometres and I don't have to ski extra kilometres to get to the trails I like. I hope the WSL and CC can work through their differences so we can get on with increasing our skier visits.

Sharon Audley

Whistler

 

 

Something doesn't make sense

In last week's story on the Callaghan Nordic Ski Trails, the Whistler Sport Legacies Society claims to be surprised that you would allow someone else to sell your product and keep the revenue ( Pique Sept.8, 2011).

By their own admission a few sentences earlier, they state that the previous year, they themselves kept the gate money and allowed skiers access to the combined 90-kilometres of ski trails.

Something does not make sense here. It is a shame that they want to separate such a diverse network of trails.

Brian Xhignesse

Whistler

 

Here we go again

It's not enough that RMOW and Whistler Sport Legacies tried to blow $700,000 of taxpayers' money on a foolish restaurant idea in the Athletes' Village. Now the Whistler Sport Legacies bureaucrats are making a bold effort to break every moral obligation they can get their hands on, to screw Brad Sills and Callaghan Country.

Brad has worked hard over a period of 30 years to develop a tremendous facility. Keith Bennett (with a lot of help from Jim Godfrey I'm sure) is ignoring WSL's responsibility to Brad Sills for his development of the cross-country ski facilities in that area.

As a local businessman I find their conduct deplorable. Why would they want to hurt a local businessman like Brad who is a premier citizen of Whistler, when there is no gain for WSL?

I believe they feel if Brad Sills's operation can be shut down they can blame their ineptitude and mismanagement on someone else.

Why don't these people wear short pants so they look the way they act? Shame on you!

Don Wensley

Whistler

 

Misinformation or Fact

During my time with the Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW) I had the pleasure of working with a number of elected officials and there were several leadership traits I admired the most, in particular with the Mayor's position. I am speaking of individuals who demonstrated integrity, passion, honesty and respect for the office they held; familiar examples would be former mayors Drew Meredith, Hugh O'Reilly and more recently our current Mayor Ken Melamed.

I (have) just finished reading the final "Public Voice" (column in the Question newspaper Sept.8). Over the past several years the RMOW has had to respond from time to time to (replace) misinformation with fact on the opinions expressed by four-time Councillor Nancy Wilhelm-Morden (in this column).

Which brings me to the issue of the last column of September 8, 2011 titled "Three years, three dominant themes," and I quote, "In that first column I suggested that judging from the breakdown of the votes, the mayor did not have the support of the business community."

(Wilhelm-Morden) then goes on about how her advice to the mayor went unheeded. This all sounds fine and in fact I think that if such a breakdown of the votes were available to candidates running for council in the upcoming election they would find it very helpful.

Certainly had such detailed data been available to the current council and staff it would perhaps have helped in further focusing the delivery of services and development of policy for both business and the community.

Unfortunately, that is not the case. No such breakdown exists. It is misinformation for what purpose (again) I am not sure.

One thing I am sure of though is we expect all candidates for office to be factual, treat the electorate and each other with respect; those are the candidates that deserve the votes and trust of the community.

Bill Barratt

Whistler

 

Good Will Hunting...

With today's economy having as many peaks and valleys as our beautiful Sea to Sky corridor itself, it is imperative that the (Resort Municipality of Whistler) do what it can to generate revenue where it can.

That being said, will the cost of the GranFondo Lot 4 buyout ever be made public? Will the revenue generated by the buyout be put toward the ever-accumulating pay parking shortfall that we, the people, hear about so often? As a local who has been through the entire pay parking debacle, a good will gesture of free parking in Lot 3 for one day would have gone a LONG way to creating a more positive energy with the public.

Surely the staff at muni hall did not expect many (if any) local drivers to visit the village on race day.

An extremely minor loss of revenue from Lot 3 for that one Saturday could, easily, have been a gesture of good will toward the local populace who had their free parking option taken from them.

The generation of revenue is an absolute must and it is the job of the muni to seriously consider every option in front of them.

We, the people, simply wish to be assured that our interests are as important as the generation of revenue.

Thomas Davis

Whistler

(Editor's Note: Currently GranFondo organizers do not pay for the use of Lot 4 or for Whistler Olympic Plaza. The contract between the RMOW and event producers is done on a case-by-case basis considering the benefit to the resort as a whole.)

 

A lemmings ride?

The main and crucial difference between the Tour de France (the oldest of the three Grand bike tours in Europe) and the Whistler GranFondo is that the Tour would never use a major highways like Highway 99 that is the ONLY direct road between Vancouver, Squamish and Whistler.

Amateur bike races in Europe mostly use local roads that can be closed without inconveniencing too many people, besides being often challenging with a steep or twisting profile etc. The number of racers is also very limited. Even the Tour de France only has around 200 racers at most.

Seven thousand bike racers on Highway 99 is not a sporting event. It is a lemmings' run, by narcissists whose spandex shorts don't let enough blood go to their brains.

J-L Brussac

Coquitlam

 

Time for WhistlerU?

Michel Beaudry has it right in his Alta States column in the September 8 Pique .

We should open a university in Whistler by 2015 and this is what WhistlerU has been advocating for over five years.

To quote Michel's column: "Here's my billion-dollar question: when will Whistler council get its collective head out of its derrière and realize just how important launching a post-secondary education program here could be to our economy and spirit? And it's not going to happen overnight. If we're even a bit serious about attracting the world's learners to our valley, we have to get the groundwork done now."

Fortunately we have done a lot of that groundwork. We have the land, which was originally zoned for education. The full range of environmental studies have been done and deemed the land a good place for a learning campus.

We have the finances. We have the background and expertise led by former University of Victoria President David Strong.

We have listened to our community and proposed programs that support our major industry. We have met numerous times with the Department Qualification and Assessment Board to ensure we would meet the required standards as well as with the Minister of Tourism and Jobs who received the idea as a good news story.

We are in discussions with domestic and international universities on developing partnerships in delivery. We have been to the largest student and agent fairs in Europe, China, Japan and Korea to test the market. We have met with educational coordinators from both of our First Nations to ensure we take into account their needs.

We have worked diligently, transparently and collaboratively to bring such an opportunity to Whistler. We are ready and nowhere else, particularly in these economic times, will you find all of these conditions available so that Michel's suggested timelines could be met or beaten.

Michel has identified our only barrier. A mayor who says: "over my dead body," a mayoral candidate who says: "I will not vote for it," (and) councillors who say, "I am not sure it will work" or "I do not accept the wisdom of quality studies done by the likes of Cascade Environmental."

We will be fully prepared to go to an enlightened council after the election, provided one exists.

We encourage each of you to ask the candidates if they are in favour of a locally created Learning Campus anchored by a university on the Alpha Lands, lands that are already under development. Our economy needs this project, our youth will have more choice, our reputation will be enhanced, our visitors will increase year round, our local industry will benefit from programs offered and our environment will be protected.

In the meantime, we continue to involve our community in our planning. Beginning in the last week of September through to Thanksgiving, we will take anyone wanting a tour of the land through the site.

You be the judge and see for yourself that there will be no effect on any wetland.

We will also hold another focus meeting seeking your ideas on the campus: what do you want to see as a part of a learning campus; how can we best serve our community while bringing the international learner to Whistler; and what can we do to ensure the campus serves the community as a whole and at every age level.

Watch the papers for the dates and times of the tours and the meeting. Yes, Michel, we agree with you wholeheartedly and we hope in this election our community will support candidates with the kind of vision of which you speak.

Doug Player

Whistler

 

 

Discussions must be meaningful

Mayor Ken Melamed knows better. The Lil'wat and Squamish leaders are not to be put on the back burner just because the world event winter (Olympic) Games are over.

It is never going to be same as it was. Payment for the people of the land is still ongoing. The attitude of West Vancouver prevails here in Whistler.

It is evident in their governance and in their policies. Time to look at that Whistler.

GET real and GET meaningful.

Vern Shanoss

Mt. Currie

Labour crunch questioned

After reading Jesse Ferreras' article  ( Pique Sept.1) "Labour Market Crunch Hitting Whistler" I have a few concerns about the message it is sending to people coming to Whistler and those already here as the article suggests there are more jobs than potential employees.

It has been the experience of Whistler Community Services Society Outreach Workers and Food Bank Coordinator that since the Olympics businesses have not been hiring as many staff and have greatly reduced hours.

The Whistler Food Bank has seen record numbers and the majority of people say the reason they are using the food bank is because they have a job, but aren't getting enough hours or are unable to secure employment.

In the past few weeks the number of food bank users has slowed down as people have been able to get valuable employment, but with slow season fast approaching many newly found jobs and hours will be cut due to less resort business.

I'm wondering if Jesse contacted Training Innovations or the Chamber of Commerce to ask for their trends on job seekers?  Or any of the large employers to determine if retention rates are up? While there were plenty of statistics in the article, none related exclusively to Whistler and we know that living here in a resort town poses different work situations than the lower mainland.

The number of food bank users has increased steadily over the last three years and Whistler Community Services Society hopes that this trend will reverse itself.  One way to ensure this happens is to communicate clearly that people wanting to come here must be prepared. We encourage anyone thinking about coming to Whistler to read The Survival Guide ( www.mywcss.org/whistler-survival-guide ) before arriving.

In addition, newcomers must prepare themselves by having enough funds to get set up with housing and food to carry through what may be a longer job hunt than expected and assist during quiet employment periods.

Claire Mozes

Program Manager Outreach WCSS

( Editor's note: The article explored the labour situation in B.C. and by extension Whistler. Years of research, and experts interviewed, including the B.C. Labour Market Outlook 2010-2020 Report suggest that a crunch is coming for employers looking for qualified employees. The Chamber of Commerce was not available for comment.)

 

 

Parking regs unfair

I just read the new Cheakamus Crossing "Parking Regulations" posted on the garbage room door in Whitewater.
This in itself is disappointing, as I would have expected a copy in my mailbox or possibly e-mailed to us through WRM.
I am deeply disturbed to learn that they will block the parking lots with boulders and sic the bylaw services on us to ticket and tow. This is the same bylaw department that didn't (or was forbidden to) enforce zoning infractions at the asphalt plant and won't issue the $300-a-day fines against a plant operating in the face of a "cease and desist order."
I view this as an attack on the residents of Cheakamus Crossing.

Cynically and conveniently timed so we cannot write letters to the Pique or Question for another week or go and challenge the Mayor and council for two more weeks (after these new rules go into effect).

This is eerily similar to the asphalt plant provincial court case being conveniently scheduled for a couple of days after the municipal election.
We all bought into the vision of a new community for Whistler Families, a legacy from our herculean effort to make the Olympic Games the success they were. Yet those whom we trusted to plan this correctly, most of who enjoy large driveways, street parking, garages that actually fit a vehicle larger than a Prius with nary a stinking, toxic factory in sight, have sullied that vision.

They decided to ignore the asphalt plant operating illegally in contravention of the zoning and actually continued to buy its untendered, over-priced products all while working hard (and spending hundreds of thousands of our tax dollars doing so) to entrench the plant in the neighborhood.

They (directly from the mouth of Ken Melamed) intentionally made the Cheakamus Crossing driveways and garages tiny, the parking options nearly non-existent to deliberately coerce us into using public transit.

Now they are squeezing us, taking away our last overflow parking options to force their dream of a little Utopian Village; where model Whistler worker bees, their homes IKEA uncluttered perfect, live their Spartan lives sharing a car, lining up for an always-late bus to boost the ridership numbers, just to go to the village and spend our minimum wages on some carbon credits.
This neighborhood has been touted as a place for Whistler's families. Yet families can be messy; their lives aren't always neat & tidy. Some drive pick-up trucks; many have two (or more) vehicles. We live in paradise and enjoy the mountains, trails, rivers, lakes and streams. We do so with both downhill and cross country bikes, multiple pairs of skis, campers, skidoos, boats, trailers and we reasonably expected to be able to store them at or near our homes.

Our neighbors in the areas where the mayor and councillors live, can park all the equipment they wish. Other public parking lots have many "long-term" residents. In fact Cheakamus Crossing is the only neighborhood where no street parking is allowed under any circumstances, at any time. What is it about us that these uncaring powerbrokers must continue to beat on us? Why can't we have an option to park our trailers and our vehicles that don't fit in our miniscule driveways?

Why wouldn't some effort be made to find a compromise, open a discussion, find a way to manage the optics instead of coldly informing us that we must rent a storage facility within 10 days or go to hell? Is it because we are all subsidized, that we are not quite "real " citizens who haven't completely paid our own way? Did we make it easier for them to pass these odious rules because some of us challenged them and exposed the dangers, lies, mis-information and the double-dealing cronyism that occurred with the asphalt plant?
This situation is unfair. I will not suffer for the grievous errors made by Whistler 2020 Development Corporation, the mayor and council. They built a Paralympic Athletes Village without one single unit capable of housing a family with a disabled child or infirm elder. That we are doing so is only because we spent $25,000 modifying a home, including expanding the driveway just to fit a wheelchair lift equipped van. Where am I to park my truck so I may conduct my business and not be forced to sell and move? My two large vehicles, my trailer and I are not the reason they can't sell the market homes and lots.

I am not responsible for the fiasco with Whistler Sports Legacies and the Falls restaurant space. If they had done their due diligence in the first place they would have found it easier to sell a beautiful home in Whistler without an asphalt plant spewing toxins next to a quarry blowing up mountainsides, a mere 290 metres away.
Adam Protter

Whistler

 

 

Thanks for the lift

I would just would like to say a huge thanks to the group who carried me, my bike, and gear down the mountain and took me to the (The Whistler Health Care Centre) after a rather nasty ankle smashing crash on last week's Toonie ride. Comfortably Numb is no short walk.

I love how the bike community here is selfless and no one hesitated to help me; friends and strangers alike. I'll pay this back by acting in the same manner as you did, plus if you see me out I owe you all a beer too.

Thanks also to my lovely wife who came to meet me at the clinic for the umpteenth time to pick-up my broken ass.

I love living here. I'm never leaving.

Lloyd Craythorne

Whistler

 

 

Previous regattas remembered

Re your headline "Whistler's first sailing regatta " (Pique Aug. 18, 2011) - this is not so. For many years in the sixties and seventies the Alta Lake Sailing Club held many sailing dinghy regattas.

The venue was Dick Fairhurst's Cypress Lodge, West Side. Amongst the sailors and organizers were Brian Rowley (whose Davison 12 is now sailing in the Yukon!!!), Don Gow, Denis Beauregard, Jackie Pope and many others. Other clubs were invited to race too including Ambleside Sailing Club in West Vancouver.

The after party was always great fun, which led to the nickname of the Regrettas - the morning after!! Just setting the record straight.

Moira and Tony Biggin-Pound

Squamish Yacht Club