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From strategies to accomplishments

“Whistler, huh? You guys have got a lot of strategies going on up there.
bobbyline

“Whistler, huh? You guys have got a lot of strategies going on up there. Are you getting anything done?”

He’s not the only one to ask that question, but the man who posed it immediately following an introduction last month may have summed up Whistler for 2006.

His tone suggested he was at least a little dubious about the path Whistler — as he understood it — was following, but that wasn’t to say that Whistler has got it all wrong. It was more of a shot across the bow; a verbal warning that there needs to be more action than formulation of strategies in 2007. And he is right.

That doesn’t mean that 2006 was a lost year. Indeed, by 2005’s standards the year just ending was a veritable Manhattan project. But 2005 was not a hard act to follow. It was a hard act to clean up after, but not hard to follow. So, in the dieing days of 2006, a little reflection on what the last 12 months have meant to Whistler.

To start with, in a mountain resort where snow goes a long way toward determining the success of the winter season and sunshine is key to summer, 2006 has been a banner year for weather. Not only was there snow in the winter months, at both ends of the year, and sunshine in the summer, but potential disasters such as forest fires and avalanches were mercifully avoided. Whistler was truly blessed by Ullr, Apollo and the absence of whoever is in charge of natural disasters in 2006, and it made us all look good.

And while it may be tempting fate to mention it, eastern North America and Europe have had little to no snow so far this winter, which should lead to more business coming Whistler’s way.

Globally, weather and climate are likely to become even bigger stories in 2007. The fact that ski racers and cycling teams are now among the concerned groups buying carbon credits and planting trees to offset the greenhouse gases they produce is further indication that climate change may finally be reaching the tipping point where meaningful action will be taken by senior levels of government.

Whistler Mountain’s new Symphony chairlift is another example. Its location was at least partially determined by fears that climate change may mean less snow at lower elevations.

But from a shorter-term perspective, the new $9.5 million lift is another positive outcome of 2006 that helped create a bit of a buzz to start the ski season and will enhance the skiing experience for years to come.

Any look back on 2006 must also mention that Whistler-Blackcomb’s parent company, Intrawest was acquired by Fortress Investments this year, and shortly thereafter company founder Joe Houssian announced his retirement. Fortress, a New York-based investment firm, generally seems to let its subsidiary companies carry on their own business, as long as they are providing a satisfactory return. But it should also be noted that with last week’s announcement of a deal to acquire Steamboat, Intrawest will be operating three mountain resorts in Colorado, each with real estate potential, while the company only owns two ski areas in British Columbia, each with limited real estate potential.

What else was or wasn’t getting done in Whistler in 2006? Well, the CSP, or Whistler2020 strategy, was re-launched. The 16 strategies within the document are the result of a lot of work by a lot of people. Now they have to be shown to mean something. They are cited by municipal staff and council when decisions are made, and there is some good data, including baseline data, in the monitoring report that is part of the 2020 strategy. But the whole package is still a bit too abstract for a lot of people.

For example, there was good work done by the people involved in the Shoestring project, which organized and coordinated 300 beds, providing affordable nightly accommodation for seasonal workers looking for jobs in the fall. That work helped to head off what could have been a serious shortage of workers. But that was a group of business people who foresaw a problem and solved it. They may have been ensuring their own economic viability, partnering for success and enhancing the resort experience, but their actions were driven by a perceived need. It wasn’t something that developed from the affordability strategy.

At the same time as labour shortages became a real concern, Whistler was exposed for having done too little in recent years to tackle the age-old problem of affordable accommodation. There are a number of project in the works — Rainbow, Cressey’s redevelopment of the Shoestring Lodge, the Nita Lake Lodge, Holborn’s redevelopment of the tennis resort and, of course, the athletes’ village — but they are all potential housing. There has been very little actually produced in the last four years. There are a variety of reasons for this but the net result is the same anyway you look at it.

Whistler also unveiled its strategic framework for the Olympics this year… which included 11 strategic objectives. Nothing wrong with the strategic objectives, but barely three years prior to the opening ceremonies most Whistlerites’ understanding of the 2010 Games consists of the facts that the Nordic events will be held in the Callaghan Valley, the bobsled, luge and skeleton will be on Blackcomb and the alpine skiing events will be on Whistler Mountain.

Diligent effort in 2007 should turn some of these strategies into tangible accomplishments.