The Sea to Sky’s ski and snowboard season may have mostly wrapped, but the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District (SLRD) still has plenty of exercise and outdoor adventure issues to tackle.
To start, during a May 28 board meeting, the regional district voted to raise user fees at the Pemberton Fitness Centre.
Fees have risen annually—at increasing rates—since 2021. The 2025-26 year will include a five-per-cent increase to user fees to reflect rising wages, contractor expenses, an elevated consumer price index and a decrease in space usage as long-term rentals have transitioned into their own spaces.
A list of fees for the upcoming year can be found towards the bottom of a report to the SLRD’s board.
These fees take effect Sept. 1.
Rezoning Brandywine and the Callaghan
The SLRD is moving ahead on a proposed rezoning of portions of the Brandywine Creek and Callaghan Valley areas to allow local operator, Blackcomb Snowmobile Ltd. (BSL), to continue operating on Crown land as an adventure tourism operator.
BSL has licence to operate on the Crown lands through to the end of 2036, but has to abide by SLRD bylaws which require it to hold a six-year Temporary Use Permit (TUP). That TUP expired last year, prompting the company to seek a permanent rezoning of the tenure.
The company's TUP permitted dog-sled tours, snowcat skiing tours, office facilities, equipment repair and storage, fuel storage, dog kennels, a staging area and a hut for backcountry guest warming and food service on 2,491 hectares of land south of Whistler.
The rezoning would change the lands from a Rural Resource 4 zone, where motorized recreation and auxiliary commercial uses are prohibited, to a Backcountry Commercial 6 zone that would allow BSL’s current uses along with a handful of proposed operations—notably, the addition of three housing units for staff.
Following a board discussion on the rezoning application in 2024, BSL returned with an amended proposal that included a discussion of the socioeconomic impacts (60 jobs and 12 contractor positions), confirmation from a qualified environmental professional that the rezoning held no danger to the local landscape, a guarantee of sled dogs’ welfare, a waste management strategy, incorporation of the SLRD’s FireSmart principles and consideration of how the Cheakamus Community Forest’s management plan applies to the rezoning.
The original submission was also amended to exclude a proposed helipad.
Squamish Director Chris Pettingill expressed concern over a lack of recent endorsement of the endeavour from Squamish Nation; there was a letter of support for BSL’s activities issued in 2017, but nothing since.
SLRD planner Anna Koterniak said the regional district reached out to the Nation on the rezoning application, but has yet to receive a response. She also confirmed BSL hadn’t made a separate effort to reach out.
The SLRD gave third reading and adopted the rezoning.
Another BSL tenure expansion has been under provincial review since 2017, and will require a separate rezoning effort should it move forward.
Back to Area C
Pemberton resident Gus Cormack wrote the SLRD to advocate for the reinstatement of a pedestrian and cycling bridge at the Birkenhead River, which would connect Mount Currie’s new site and Owl Ridge with the Friendship Trail via the Birkenhead FSR.
“The absence of a non-motorized river crossing at this location represents a missed opportunity to connect communities and promote safe, healthy, and sustainable transportation options,” wrote Cormack. “A dedicated bridge would significantly enhance access for cyclists, pedestrians, and families, and it would further unify the region’s growing trail network.”
Area C director Russell Mack recalled the original bridge, installed by the Pemberton Wildlife Association, had been “a challenging operation,” and recommended that staff develop a cost estimate for the endeavour.
Pemberton Mayor Mike Richman flagged prior opposition from the Owl Ridge community to projects that risked increasing traffic through their area and mixed feelings from the Nation about the bridge.
The Board elected to have staff review the request and check in with the Nation on where they stand on a potential new bridge.
And in the waning minutes of the meeting, the board took up a $20,000 funding request for repairs on the Brian Waddington Hut.
The hut, built in 1988 and managed by the University of British Columbia’s Varsity Outdoor Club (VOC), is located on the shore of Long Lake, near the peaks of Mount Aragorn, Shadowfax, Galdalf and Peregrine. Accessing the backcountry building from Pemberton requires a 10-kilometre hike with about 1,000 metres of elevation gain.
The BC Mountain Federation (BCMF)* estimates at least 1,845 users in 2024—but adds the estimate is likely low because many visitors don’t sign in.
Following work to replace the roof last year, the BCMF reports that “a massive amount of rot in the walls” was found, requiring funding to repair the building.
The BCMF requested $20,000 to allow the VOC to complete its work this summer.
Mack moved to have the money come from Area C amenity funds. SLRD’s chief administrative officer, Heather Paul, added the funds would be provided once the SLRD confirms the BCMF’s non-profit status.
*An earlier version of this article incorrectly listed the BC Mountaineering Club as the requestor. It was in fact the BC Mountain Federation.
