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Letters to the editor

It’s disappointing to see Whistler lose a premier mountain bike event like the Joyride Bikercross. When Paddy Kaye and Chris Winter created this event it was a concept that was virtually unknown to the world.

It’s disappointing to see Whistler lose a premier mountain bike event like the Joyride Bikercross. When Paddy Kaye and Chris Winter created this event it was a concept that was virtually unknown to the world. Now the bikercross format is a standard discipline in almost any major mountain bike event around the globe.

Their vision of the future of mountain biking helped to put Whistler on the map as a leader in the progression of the sport. The event itself was one of the most professionally run competitions out there. Joyride was a product that did an outstanding job of entertaining the fans, promoting the businesses and most uniquely, treating the athletes with a great deal of respect and gratitude. It was truly a class act and Whistler was the perfect venue. Thanks to Paddy and Chris for bringing this level of character and integrity to the mountain bike community in Whistler.

Its too bad to see you go. Sun Peaks just got a little richer.

Ian Ritz

Whistler

 

We recognize that Paul McElligott and his BC Rail team made earnest efforts to operate a profitable passenger rail service, but sadly it did not happen. BC Rail was a "public" operator and lacked the business attitudes and competitive nature found in the private sector. The fact that they did not succeed now opens the door for private operators to bring the right mix of factors for a successful passenger rail service to and from Whistler. Whistler Rail Tours intends to service the market with modern, fuel efficient, self-propelled rail cars, which are priced far below what BC Rail estimated replacement Budd cars would cost. Further, the rail unions have now agreed to reduce their crews from five people to two. This is a significant cost saving. While Mr. McElligott states that success is based on the right "market demand and market conditions", we contend that the key is good market ing . That is our strongest suit and Whistler will clearly benefit from this strategy. While the business plan is primarily constructed around rail tour traffic, it is the base from which point-to-point traffic will unfold.

West Jet is an example of an enterprise that started at a time other airlines were failing. While Air Canada lingers on the brink of collapse, West Jet is a growing, thriving and profitable airline. Many point to their "attitude" toward their customers and their high standard of "service" as the reasons for their outstanding success. Try as they might, BC Rail was not known for their great attitude and high standard of service. Whistler Rail Tours will succeed because of our commitment to great marketing, reliable modern equipment and devotion to a very high standard of service.

Peter Gordon

Director of Community Relations

Whistler Rail Tours

 

It is not often that a parent gets an experience where they watch not only their own child grow, but also every child in an event. The Parsons Memorial Downhill has become this kind of event. Endowed by Bob Parsons, and kept going by the family, this is the first "speed" event that kids get to ski in. As such some have wondered in the past about why it is a good idea for young kids to do speed.

This year it was a five-day event, and as downhill is the only alpine event where the skier not only gets to, but is required to practice the course, two of these days were practice. The many volunteers (mostly parents) were able to watch as every kid improved their times. At a more subtle level you could see looks of apprehension or even fear, change during the week to looks of confidence and the smiles that go with real accomplishment. This was as evident at the back of the pack as it was for those that got to the podium.

A big thanks to the Parson's family, to CIBC-Wood Gundy who sponsor this event and most other K1 and K2 events, to the many volunteers that it takes to run a safe speed event, and to Whistler Blackcomb who set aside the acreage for this event, and moved tons of safety equipment to the site, provided their ski patrollers, and not incidentally put up with the complaints of a few skiers who wondered why they were restricted from one of their runs. Finally, thanks to the Whistler Mountain Ski Club, and especially to their program director Nigel Cooper and the incredible group of coaches he has collected about him.

The Whistler Mountain Ski club has matured into an educational institution concerned with excellence and development of good people as well as good athletes. They are excelling in a town filled with good opportunities for kids, and giving ski racing a very positive spin once again.

Al Whitney

Whistler

 

In a letter to the editor in early February (or late January) Ms. Amy Huddle referred to our company’s college ski trip to Whistler as a "gong show", and suggested that college students brought up to Whistler to ski by day, could be entertained in a more proactive way in the evenings. I would like to say that over the past several years, our company has worked closely with many of the Whistler businesses in an effort to produce an exciting college ski trip, while following all of the rules set up to maintain the ambience of Whistler Village.

At the same time, college students are quite social, and social interaction is a large part of the college ski trip experience. This past MLK weekend, our company rented out the Whistler Conference Centre, set up a DJ, and arranged for bar service to address the need for additional indoor socializing space.

It is also important to note that Whistler Village has become quite a popular college ski destination during the MLK weekend, and many of the students that travel to Whistler over this long weekend are not part of our company’s ski trip.

We will continue to work closely with Whistler each year, in our efforts to bring many new and returning skiers to the Whistler area each winter. We are proud of our business partnership with Whistler, and look forward to working with Whistler for years to come.

Scott Nittler

VP of Operations

Invasion Tours

Pleasant Hill, California

 

The first Annual Sea to Sky Hockey Challenge was held in Whistler on Saturday, Feb. 21 st at Meadow Park Sports Centre. As organizers of the event, we wanted to thank the businesses, residents and visitors of Whistler for their tremendous support of this inaugural event. This year, we raised $19,000 to support our Canadian athletes, which will be distributed through PacificSport Canadian Sport Centre as well as to the Whistler Adaptive Ski Program and the Whistler Mountain Ski Club.

A sold out crowd cheered on the former NHL stars and celebrities, including fan favourites The Hanson Brothers, while many followed up the game with the gala dinner, auction and stand-up comedy show. Our heartfelt thanks go out to those individuals and companies who supported the post-game events with corporate tables and showed their generosity at both the silent and live auctions.

Whistler backed this event and its cause with enthusiasm and we would like to recognize several people and companies who went out of their way with support beginning with The Resort Municipality of Whistler with special thanks to the Parks & Recreation department and Road Crew, Ollie Kearnes and his entire staff at the Meadow Park Sports Centre, Whistler Chamber of Commerce, Tourism Whistler, the Whistler Arts Council, Pemberton Therapeutic Massage, Scott McPhee and his crew at Rocky Mountain Production Services, Intrawest, Linda Marshall of Marshall Arts Party Designs, Whistler Mountain Ski Club, Local Motion, Danielle Pilbeam and the Telus Conference Centre, The Keg, Remax, and all the media outlets in Whistler and Squamish in helping us get the word out.

We also wanted to extend a huge thanks to all the Whistler volunteers who gave us their time and energy, without whom the Sea to Sky Hockey Challenge would not have been possible.

Plans are already underway for The Sea to Sky Hockey Challenge 2005 with an even bigger line up of celebrity players and we look forward to bringing more laughs, stick handling, goals and fundraising this time next year.

Heather and Will Davis

Destination Funny Entertainment

Sea to Sky Hockey Challenge

 

I recently had the unfortunate opportunity to view one of our town’s (Carney's) garbage compactors from the inside! I was running a bit late that day, and in my hurry to get home I threw my backpack into the compactor instead of my garbage (Don't ask me how... but I did).

I drove away and only realized my mistake when I got home and opened the trunk to find a bag of garbage and no backpack. I grabbed a rake, thinking this would help me root through the trash more easily. I was back in just over 10 minutes and opened the door to see many black plastic bags. Using the rake only tore the bags, spilling the contents everywhere. Not the most attractive scene I've even had the pleasure of witnessing. Among the objects I uncovered in my search for the pack were many recycleable items, including a couple of full cases of empty beer bottles, tin cans, glass containers, a bag of old phone books, clothing, ski boots, a hair dryer and also the trimmings from a marijuana plant and a bag full of snow with dog pooh in it.

Luckily I didn't have to dig any deeper. Too deep for some I'm sure, but my camera and other personal items were in it.

Finally, I retrieved the pack. I know a lot of people do put a great deal of effort towards recycling, reducing and reusing but that day it was all too plain to me that some people think it's not important enough to sort their trash. It also got me thinking about the AWARE speaker Helen Spieglman's presentation, Addicted to Waste. What do we need to do in order to attain our community's goal of a "zero waste" future? There is definitely room for improvement.

By the way, thanks to the lady who brought me a pair of gloves from the bottle depot!

Mark Beaven

Whistler

 

Last Saturday, the 21st of February 2004, Mountain FM was in Pemberton for the launch of phase one of the Benchland development. During the announcement, I heard many times that Pemberton was just a 20-minute drive from Whistler. This is clearly not true if motorists stay within the posted speed limits.

I make that drive several times each week. I have since timed the trip from the intersection on Highway 99 and Village Gate Boulevard to Pemberton. While making sure I drove within the current speed limits, it took exactly 30 minutes (in perfect driving conditions). The posted speed limit from Whistler all the way past Emerald Estates is 60 km/h, as is the speed limit from just before one Mile Lake into Pemberton.

I find this advertised claim of a 20-minute trip between Whistler and Pemberton to be false, and in light of the recent tragedies on our road, very irresponsible.

Margit de Haan

Pemberton

 

Clean up your crap

I am sick and tired of picking up after other people.

First of all, if you own a dog, it is your responsibility to pick up their poop. For those who clean up after their dogs, give yourselves a pat on the back. For those who clean up after their dog and other people’s dogs, give yourselves a round of applause. For those who don’t clean up after their dogs, or let them roam and assume they will poo in the bushes, go get yourselves a shovel and a bag, go to your nearest street/park/valley trail, and start making up for lost time.

I just picked up a garbage bag full of someone else’s trash. It was (most likely) found by a dog or racoon, and dragged out on a nearby path. It makes me angry that someone would a) leave their garbage where an animal could get to it, as anyone living in Whistler should know better, and b) not go looking for it when the garbage mysteriously disappears and/or walk right by it on your way to the bus without doing anything.

Oh yeah, half of the garbage I picked up was recyclable, but obviously destined for the landfill.

The bottom line is that we live in one of the most beautiful places in the world. If you don’t respect the environment, you don’t belong here.

Katrina Koric

Whistler

 

I would like to give a huge Thank You to all those who helped to make the second annual Whistler Kids Freeride Challenge a great success. First to the athletes who make this great program what it is, and to your parents for allowing us to coach you.

Thanks to our illustrious panel of judges, Pete Smart, Paddy Kaye, Robin Courcelles, and Chris Lennon. Thanks to our incredible coaches Tyler Gigg, Jasmine Flanagan, and Shawn Fleming for all your hard work and enthusiasm. Bill Joyce for all of the organizational help, and Tony DelBosco from the Whistler Mountain Ski Patrol. Yolanda Foose for the excellent score tabulating. A big thank you to our program sponsors: Rossignol, Columbia Sportswear, Extremely Canadian, and Smith Optics. Thanks to Whistler-Blackcomb and to the Whistler Kids organization for all the help and support.

And a huge thanks to all the local shops and people who so generously donated prizes for our kids: McCoo’s, Snowcovers, Comor, Techno-Sport, Fanaty-Co, Ski Canada Magazine, Glen from Armada. Thank You all for a great effort!

Derek Foose

Whistler Kids Freeride Club.