Skip to content
Join our Newsletter

This week's letters

It’s the economy stupid! I have been coming to Whistler-Blackcomb for over a dozen years but this year I have found it to be a real eye opener.

It’s the economy stupid!

I have been coming to Whistler-Blackcomb for over a dozen years but this year I have found it to be a real eye opener. Whistler has typically offered very good value; it was not inexpensive but it offered something special and it seemed like a lot for the price. This year, I realized that Whistler has changed and now actually offers less for more!

The workers are cranky because they are struggling to survive in a place where a room rents for almost $4/hour of after-tax income based on near full-time employment. The restaurant food is still good but now costs 40 per cent more than it did just two years ago compared to the US dollar I am now earning.

The food on the hill has really dropped in quality yet it has gone up in price and thus offers much less value. Did you realize that a baked potato at the Glacier Lodge cost over $7 this year? Have the spuds been flown in from some exotic locale? Idaho? Did you see a lady pushing time shares at the restaurant on the hill? Did you have to argue with cashier for your season pass discount on food? That is pretty good service, eh?

It is no wonder that the visits are down for two consecutive years! I am not talking about the fact that the US dollar is not going as far this year. I do not buy the crap about Americans being afraid to travel after 9/11 or spending all their money on real estate. Whistler-Blackcomb likes to compare itself to the likes of Vail, Aspen, etc. and most of those places have seen increased visits this year.

If Whistler wants to compete with some of the greatest resorts they must compete on all facets and offer value to its visitors. Whistler is losing visitors because it no longer offers good value and people here should stop making excuses.

Let’s look at some facts: First and foremost, Whistler has great terrain but it has a very marginal location. It is much harder and more pricey for most people (such as people from the Eastern Seaboard) to fly to Vancouver and then drive the surface streets plus Highway 99 compared to flying into Aspen or Vail.

Did I mention that Colorado is under 3 hours away from most of the US and Canada and United Airlines has a hub in Denver? On the other hand, Vancouver is located at the far and less populated end of the continent and it typically takes two legs and up to eight hours to get to Vancouver.

Getting back to the east coast is also a hellish day: leave Whistler at 7 a.m. PST and hope to get to YVR by 9 a.m. (where you have to stand in line with your luggage in tow to pay a $10 fee), depart at 11 a.m. and land after 10 p.m. EST. Location and service are certainly NOT in Whistler’s favor (or should I say favour?).

Only relatively wealthy people can afford to spend $75 for lifts per adult and $40 for a child while spending over $300 for a room per night. After food, flight and rental car a family of four can spend as much as $1,000 a day. Do you think families like that grow on trees? Do you think that the people who can afford Whistler did not work hard to make a buck and are loose with their money? Are these folks stupid and are not interested in deals?!

Did you know that Vail offers deals such as free lifts to sightseers after 2 p.m. and that you can purchase the Perfect 10 ticket and be skiing for less than $35 per day at Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone and Heavenly?

Vail and Aspen offer free bus services and free access to the internet and email. Whistler charges for all that!

Whistler works very hard to extract every penny out of the tourists: once the tourist is here, let’s make sure to give them no breaks! Did you know that it is much easier and cheaper to retain a customer than attract a new one?

Do you think that Whistler visitors are not financially savvy and will continue to make the trek year after year?

Wake up call: they have not over the past two years.

Bottom line: the current business model is NOT sustainable in the long term because it is too difficult to make a profit running at lower capacity.

Thank you for keeping all the tourists away so that I can have more of the mountains to myself!

Alex Talalayevsky

Whistler

Where’s the benefit of going .com?

Did someone in the Muni forget to notice that the Dot-com era has gone bust and that buying anyone’s URL is a complete waste of money? This web site exists; it already draws people to Whistler. What on earth could possibly be the benefit to the good folks of Whistler to use our taxpayer’s money for the Muni to own part of it?

Now there is that word again. Benefit. I am getting pretty sick of being told by the Muni and council of these great benefits I am suppose to receive if they sell their soul to the devil. Not that I am against Nita Lake, buying only half of an URL from a private citizen (okay, yes I am) but they seem to keep throwing these big smoke screens of ‘benefits’ and I think it is so they can pretty much do whatever they want. Use the key words like ‘employee housing’ and you can pretty much get away with anything.

But who am I to talk, I’m a couch surfing dude who has enjoyed Whistler for the past six seasons not paying any of those taxes, so I guess I am not entitled to those great benefits I keep hearing about.

Most of my friends want their taxpayer dollars spent in their communities on amenities for their families, not on private web sites but I guess the Muni thought the ‘benefit’ was so great they need not consult us.

So my friends it is finally time for me to move on. Whistler is not about a bed cap and sustainability. If anyone has the money they can just about buy anything they want around this town.

So Sara, John, Smilin’ Joe, and all my other fair friends, I will see you this summer at the beach. I am finally off to find that town where I can happily pay those taxes and enjoy some benefits of my own.

John C Ripling.

Formerly of Whistler

Whistler Blackcomb Foundation comes through for Teleradiology

Once again the Whistler Blackcomb Foundation (WBF) has provided money to support health care for the Whistler and Pemberton communities.

The three Health Care Foundations in the Sea to Sky corridor have been fundraising and lobbying for over two years for this state of the art technology that will replace the outmoded film-based Xray system currently used in the three health care sites.

A donation of $100,000 from the WBF has assisted the Whistler and Pemberton Foundations to fund their promised share of the million dollar-plus project. The Squamish Health Care Foundation has raised $100,000 and $400,000 was provided by the Sea to Sky Regional Hospital District. The Vancouver Coastal Health Authority (VCHA) will provide the remaining funds for the project.

The goal is to have the system in place in the Whistler Health Care Centre in time for the onslaught of the next ski season.

Because the new system will provide computerized images and store them electronically, access to immediate radiological diagnosis will be available from any of the Sea to Sky sites at any time. The system will link with the major hospitals in the VCHA therefore allowing access to specialist radiologists should there be a need.

The Whistler health care providers and the WHCF board are extremely excited about this important step forward in our health care provision and grateful to all the members of the three communities who worked so hard to achieve this goal. We would especially like to thank WBF for their generous donation.

The Whistler Health Care Foundation is holding it’s annual general meeting on June 2 nd . At 7pm at Millennium Place. The short meeting will be followed by a presentation about rural health from Ellen Pekeles C.O.O. of the North Shore/Coast Garibaldi Health. A panel of local health professionals will then be available to answer your questions about health care in Whistler, now and for the future. This is your opportunity to come and join the WHCF membership, learn about what health care is available and have input into planning for what we want for the future.

We are a growing community with health care needs that are unique. We have shown that we can work together to improve the care we receive; let’s continue to look to the future and seek out the opportunities and meet the challenges that will give this community world class health care.

Marnie Simon

Chairperson

Whistler Health Care Foundation.

A Rainbow connection?

This letter is written in response to a meeting focusing on a Squamish watershed steelhead recovery plan, hosted by the Whistler Angling Club, Saturday May 15 th , Millenium Place. It is meant to create dialogue concerning this very sensitive issue.

Two questions came to my mind while attending this meeting:

1) What is the impact of resident Rainbow trout?

2) Is there anecdotal or statistical evidence of Cutthroat trout in the system?

Rainbow trout were introduced into much of the Cheakamus watershed. The so-called Rainbow trout that existed in early times were likely the abundant Steelhead juveniles of six inches to eight inches.

Rainbow trout, when introduced into a Cutthroat trout environment, often displace the Cutthroat. With the Cutthroat gone, Rainbow trout become a very efficient predator of other salmonoid species including juvenile Steelhead. Cutthroat are also efficient fish predators. They likely culled out the weak salmon, predated on other fish such as Sculpins and Sticklebacks, and kept over-abundant salmon species in check. Sculpins would also predate on salmonoid species so a predator such as the Cutthroat was probably a good thing. Sculpins and sticklebacks would also compete with salmonoid species for food. A proper balance is important.

Introduced Rainbow trout in the upper watershed would form distinct populations that would eventually fall down the system to intermingle with the anadromous (live in saltwater, reproduce in freshwater) Steelhead.

Rainbows that were introduced came from a landlocked interior species that likely originated from a summer run of Columbia River Steelhead, i.e. Kamloops trout. Although the native steelhead would likely pair up together, aggressive male resident Rainbow often are able to fertilize a percentage of the native stock. Offspring of these fishes would have different genetic codes that would change them from the native fish. Some would get lost at sea. Maybe even migrate to the Columbia River? Others would remain in the river system putting an unnatural strain on other hard-pressed salmonoid species.

Anecdotal information identifies that Kamloops trout were introduced into the Brohm Creek, a small tributary of the Cheekeye River, that then flows into the Cheakamus.

Fisherman who wanted to establish more angling opportunities put in these fish. Likely they wanted to create a summer run in a winter run environment. The old timers that knew the native fish well (average 16 lbs) scorned these smaller, inferior fish. They arrived to spawn much earlier than the native fish and were much smaller. I personally remember abundant numbers of these fish in the mid 80’s.

The fact that Brohm Creek-Kamloops Steelhead stayed relatively isolated from the native Cheakamus river stocks was somewhat of a blessing. Unfortunately in some years many of these Brohm Creek spawners would unlikely be able to ascend the turbulent Cheekeye River and were forced to spawn amongst native Cheakamus River Steelhead. This seems to be proven by radio tagging.

Hatchery programs that were intended to enhance Steelhead stocks likely further mixed up the genetic codes of the native fish because Brohm creek fish were not necessarily isolated from the native brood stock.

Steelhead enhancement on the Ashlu river, a tributary further upstream to the Cheakamus river in the Squamish river watershed, proved fruitless in the 80’s when the introduced mixed bag of Squamish/ Cheakamus/ Brohm Creek Steelhead failed to migrate to the ocean and remained as resident Rainbow trout. Evidence of hatchery system failures in re-establishing Steelhead stocks in the Squamish watershed should be fully scrutinized.

Re-establishing Steelhead in the Squamish / Cheakamus watersheds depends on preserving the last remaining native Steelhead gene pool. The work done on Shovelnose Creek, Mile 35 of the Squamish River is hopefully a project that will benefit native stocks because it appears to be above the genetic intermingling of some of the lower tributaries.

The Cheakamus River enhancement is more of a difficult problem. True Cheakamus River Steelhead need to be segregated in optimum natural spawning / rearing areas. A study of the naturalized but invasive Rainbow trout should be carried out with sound science.

At some point designated anglers working with biologists may cull out a percentage of these fish. Members of the Squamish Nations should be compensated for not killing Steelhead. Instead, pay them for live fish that could be used in designated spawning / rearing refuges.

Lastly, but something that should be done very soon, would be to use spawned out Steelhead kelts to determine hereditary traits so that in the future the most genetically pure Cheakamus River Steelhead can be identified and used for enhancement purposes.

Steelhead fisherman, be patient. Your co-operation, commitment and vigilance will be required to make sound enhancement work.

Eric Crowe

Whistler

Many May Fair thanks

Thank you to everybody who came out to the Alta Lake School’s May Fair on May 8th! It was a great day, thanks to the efforts of many people and businesses in the corridor.

Thank you to Bruce at Nesters who is always so generous to any non-profits who need a hand. (Nesters donated all of the BBQ supplies, and our event was one of three they had going that day. Also thank you to The Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory for donating the caramel for the caramel apples, and to Moguls for donating the pizza, they were both delicious! Roses also must go to Sula of Canterway Farm in Pemberton for bringing her lovely gentle ponies for the children to ride and Senka florists for donating the flowers that adorned the heads of the May Fair revelers! A huge thank you to all the parents who donated countless hours sewing, sawing, baking and running! It could not have happened without everyone’s efforts. And finally, a special thank you to Mother Nature who supplied the beautiful warm May weather which made Maypole dancing oh so joyous!

See you all next year!

Peggy Vogler

Alta Lake School

To the creators of The Giant Love Cup

Thanks to Mike Varrin and the G.L.C. for putting the 'LOVE' back in the restaurant race scene. Cate and the race crew did a great job keeping the fun flowing under sunny skies. To all you golfing restaurant people, share the love and wax your boards up for the second annual race next year.

The Snappers