Thank the Zamboni driver
Credit, where credit is due. Nature has not been kind to Whistler skiers and boarders so far this season. A couple of Pineapple Expresses and high pressure systems have passed over the valley, but unfortunately passing over at separate times is not optimal for the natural snowfall process. We require a mid-air collision of these two conditions. When this happens the saturated wet warm air is forced by the Arctic cold air to rise rapidly, resulting in prodigious "dump" conditions, and when these factors happen right over the Whistler valley snowfalls are measured in feet rather than mere centimetres.
In spite of the lack of natural co-operation, snow for skiing, boarding, and cross-country skiing has been manufactured during this past holiday period thanks largely due to technology and the hard work of our local snow farmers. Both Blackcomb and Whistler mountains have over the past few years invested in and installed improved snowmaking equipment which, coupled with minimal below freezing temperatures and benign chemicals, can produce mounds of frozen pellets. Add a fleet of state-of-the-art snow cats operated by arguably the finest teams of snow groomers on the continent – Walla, skiing and boarding on what otherwise would have been impassible terrain on many of the mountains’ main runs.
Now here in the valley, the municipality operated cross-country trails around Lost Lake Park, The Chateau and Nicklaus North Golf Courses are particularly vulnerable to warmer temperatures and the lack of natural snow cover. The muni has no snow guns to manufacture snow for the skinny ski trails, but this holiday season some bright light said: "Hey, I have an idea. Why don’t we truck the Meadow Park ice rink Zamboni shavings and scrapings over to the Lost Lake Park trails that need snow the most? Maybe that will be enough frozen material to keep the trails open until we get some more natural snow." About 17 truck loads later, the trails were able to be kept open over the holidays thanks to the efforts of the muni snow farmers and groomers.
Special thanks must go out to all of the sharp skated, hard skating hockey players and skaters at the Meadow Park rink. You have allowed many of us who enjoy cross-country skiing, both classic and skate skiing, throughout this holiday season to enjoy our sport despite the minimal natural snow conditions. Sustainability at its finest.
A couple of six centimetre natural snow falls augmented and embellished the Christmasy look for this holiday season, but much of the cross country and downhill success has to be credited to all of the hard working men and women of Whistler-Blackcomb and the Resort Municipality of Whistler’s snow farming and grooming teams. It also looks like most of the venues for the FIS Snowboarding World Championships will take place on snow largely generated by the snow farmers.
Well done, and thank you all. However, I am ready for you to be able to take a "natural holiday break".
Tom Thomson
Whistler
RE: Rezoning to accommodate private power project on Ashlu Creek
The Squamish Lillooet Regional District Directors must reject the rezoning request to accommodate a private corporate power project on Ashlu Creek. This rezoning should be rejected for many reasons including but not limited to:
1. There is strong community objection to this rezoning and the proposed private power project. And it is appalling that the provincial government has intervened in this local government decision. This intervention is political and manipulative. As for the promise from the Minister of Sustainable Resource Management that the provincial government will not interfere with the SLRD's final decision, the board must make the best decision for our communities and put that promise to the test.
2. This project along with other privately owned power production projects will not provide our community or our province with "green" sustainable power. The power produced will be unavailable for B.C. domestic use after a limited period of time. The power is destined for export to the U.S. in a few short years, and any power sold within our borders will be priced at the substantially higher North American rates. The purpose of any private company is to seek the greatest price for its product to ensure maximum profit.
3. Only a publicly owned B.C. Hydro can continue to deliver power to us at the economical prices we depend on. By encouraging private power projects, governments are slowly selling B.C. Hydro through the backdoor. B.C. Hydro is a public asset, paid for and owned by the citizens of our province and should remain as such.
4. Once private companies are selling B.C. power in the U.S., NAFTA and WTO rules will kick in – meaning that the U.S. will be able to demand power at our domestic rate. Domestic prices will rise until they equal the higher U.S. price. Domestic residential and business power costs will skyrocket. This will further impact our public services and our tax rates as skyrocketing power costs impact health care, education and municipal budgets and more.
5. Of immediate local concern regarding this rezoning are the environmental, wildlife, and recreational values that will be compromised by this specific project.
There is nothing to be gained for our communities from this project. However there will be a tremendous cost both locally and provincially.
Sandy Bauer
Squamish
As we approach the third end-game on the Ashlu IPP application before the SLRD, with a few other private run-of-river projects already up and running, and hundreds more waiting in the wings around B.C., it’s a good time to ask a fundamental question: Who benefits from independent power, and what good is it to British Columbians?
To understand the question it’s important to know that under provincial government policy, after a short contract with B.C. Hydro, IPPs can and will export their power for North American prices, three or four times our B.C. domestic rate. (Richard Neufeld, Minister of Energy and Mines made this very clear in a Vancouver Sun column in October.)
Therefore the benefit is clear – only the owners of IPPs benefit by exporting the power. British Columbians will not receive that power just when we need it the most. But it gets worse.
If we ever regain our senses and want to start producing economical public power again, we won’t have the best sites available to us – the private companies will control them. So we’ll have to turn to dirty thermal generation and valley flooding for our own power.
The irony is that the more new private, independent power we allow now, the less economical public power we’ll have for British Columbia in the future. We all know selling B.C. Hydro is wrong. Developing independent power is just selling B.C. Hydro more slowly.
Along with all other IPPs, we should be saying "No" to the Ashlu.
Doug Morrison
Garibaldi Highlands
As we enter the New Year, one resolution council should consider is amending the bylaw to better control illegal nightly, weekly and monthly rentals in areas which are zoned single family.
Many property owners rent to anyone for any period of time, without consideration for neighbours and the neighbourhood in general.
I would suggest, with all due respect, a bylaw, which would read something as follows:
Anyone staying overnight in a home which is zoned single family and not tourist accommodation, must stay with the home owner who is being visited, and such owner must be present and in current occupancy of the home at the time of the persons visit.
And any person, other than a relative by blood or marriage, staying in a home not occupied by the owner, shall be deemed subletting, which should be prohibited in order to protect the owner.
This does not mean long-term rental of suites to locals, or even tourists, would be prohibited. It would simply give a better semblance of order to the Whistler rental scenario.
Al Eaton
Whistler
Congratulations Bombardier on your choice of, and our council’s approval for, launching your 2006 product line on Green Lake in Whistler this September. I'm sure that you will appreciate the spectacular scenery and the world class hospitality that our resort is known for.
As the responsible corporate citizen that you are striving to be, I trust that you would enthusiastically participate in some of the environmental initiatives that are currently underway here in Whistler.
As you may or may not be aware the Resort Municipality of Whistler has established the assessment of a $1 "Environmental Levy" on each and every canoe or kayak that is commercially launched from municipal park land to undertake the 1-2 hour paddle from Alta Lake to Green Lake down the River of Golden Dreams. The Municipal Stewardship Department uses these funds for environmental impact mitigation projects within the river’s watershed.
Hopefully in the near future this department will begin to address the "excessive sedimentation loading" of the River of Golden Dreams and the environmental devastation that is resulting. This situation was detailed in the 1999 Proper Functioning Condition Symposium's Final Report. The ancient trees falling into the river by the Valley Trail bridge at the bottom of Lorimer Road are one example of this devastation. The preferred mitigation strategy involves a large, hotel foundation-sized sediment-settling pond just up-stream of the river’s junction with the Alta Lake outflow, and adjacent to the old gravel pit just across this Valley Trail bridge.
I, like most avid paddlers and supporters of all naturally-propelled water sports, am very concerned with your new internal combustion motor-powered watercraft being commercially debuted on Green Lake. I feel that every hour of internal combustion motor operation is at least a million times more environmentally impacting than the paddling of a canoe or a kayak. When you consider the locally established precedent of a $1 environmental levy on the operation of a canoe or a kayak I would like to invite your multi-national, multi-billion dollar corporation to consider funding the above preferred solution to the "excessive sediment loading" problem located just upstream from your chosen debut location.
The timeframe is perfect, as this project would have to be completed within D.O.F.’s August in-stream works window. The projected costs would only add from 10 to 15 per cent to what you are already reported to be spending in our fair community. Your product launch could include a ribbon cutting ceremony complete with the dedication of the Bombardier Settlement Pond. How could a responsible organization like yours possibly dismiss such an opportunity to balance the launching of your new product line with this environmental initiative?
Of course as an alternative I could always invite some of my friends to participate in a late September canoe camp and natural water sports regatta on Green Lake to express our "concerns."
Chris Manuel
River of Golden Dreams Tours
Whistler
You recently printed a letter titled The choice is yours (Pique letters, Dec. 30), wherein the woman states that "abuses are presently occurring" and refers to genocide in 1850.
The year is 2005, and infected blankets are no-where in sight. Still, the woman feels that we should all feel guilty for living in the area. Does she mean the original bad white men, or all of us, whatever colour, who live here now?
Her second "abuse" refers to the provincial government not recognizing the claims of the "Lil’Wat Nation".
Let’s dissect the concept of the "nation" as it applies to native tribes living in Canada. A nation refers either to the citizens of a demarcated territory, or the territory itself. Thus, one can say "Canadians are tolerant to the point of self-flagellation."
One can also say "Canada is full of natural resources, but the government gave up control of them with the North American ‘Free Trade’ pact."
One sentence refers to the citizens of Canada (of whatever race), the other to the territory inhabited by these same people.
Those living within that territory are bound by the laws of that country, and speak the language of that country. The country (or nation) is said to be sovereign. Thus, a group of people claiming that a section of land was in fact not part of Canada, and choosing not to obey the laws of Canada, would necessarily be challenging the sovereignty of Canada, much like American ships traversing the Canadian Arctic without Canadian approval.
The logical conclusion to complete recognition of native tribal sovereignty is the establishment of dozens of racially-based mini-countries stretching across Canada, for the concept of a tribal "Nation" is race-based, and inherently discriminatory.
By itself, this should have been enough for the courts to decide against any form of tribal territorial government, but the courts went one further and completely ignored the primacy of sovereignty in the protection of the state, thus inciting unrest in those who seek to have their own states within Canada.
What is necessary for a strong and united Canada, and for the tribal members, is for the tribes to cease being tribes, and the reserves divided into lots owned by individual citizens, who will then have the pride that comes with land ownership.
Newly-freed tribal members will also have the freedom to sell their land and move elsewhere, to mortgage their property to start their own businesses, to live as all other Canadians do. Let’s get rid of apartheid.
Philip G. Trueman
Squamish
Last week’s issue of the Pique contained a letter from Heidi Stoecklin within which the history of this corner of the World was butchered and re-written.
But where to begin?
How about the myth of Genocide, smallpox and the blankets. This hideous disease has its roots as far back as Pharaoh Ramses V, who died from the affliction in 1160 BC. In the days of the Roman Empire it was responsible for de-population in AD 165-166. Over history the disease killed Chinese Emperors, African Tribal Chiefs, European Monarchs, Arab Emirs and millions of regular folk. Its greatest devastation was in the aftermath of the European discovery of the New World. Introduced to mainland North America in 1519. The indigenous peoples had no resistance to the disease, and made the conquest of Central and South America in search of gold easy for Spanish Conquistadors.
In 1763 Fort Pitt, sight of present day Pittsburgh, was under siege by Chief Pontiac. The Fort commander, Lord Amherst, sent a letter to Colonel Bouquet within which he came up with the idea of taking blankets from the infected men of the Fort hospital and getting them to the men of Chief Pontiac. This is a significant moment, as it was the first time "germ warfare" had been conceived, (although this is 60-odd years before Louis Pasteur actually discovered "germs").
It is unclear if they went ahead with the plan; Bouquet did not want to subject his men to the disease, and what they didn’t understand was that smallpox is spread by close contact with infected individuals in saliva or mucous, so the plan probably wouldn't work anyway.
This is the origin of the myth, which is told today as if it happened here.
There is no question that smallpox did a great deal of damage to indigenous people of the area, but how did it get here?
It could have travelled overland, moving east to west, or arrived by ship. We know Capt. George Vancouver was here on his Voyage of Discovery in 1792. In a remarkable quirk of timing, guess who the Captain met in the Georgia Strait? The Spanish Captains Quadra, Valdez and Galiano. They were here claiming the place for Spain, Capt. George was doing the same for England. Both groups had contact with numerous Native groups on shore.
The journal of Capt. Vancouver makes no mention of hostility with locals in B.C. He got along well with the Spanish captains he met here, and they agreed to map the area jointly. Proof of this is clear in the place names as we know them today. Over the duration of his four year journey winters were spent in Hawaii, where he was apparently good friends with King Kamehameha. He doesn't fit the profile of a person who would purposely infect a population with smallpox. Considering the living conditions on English and Spanish ships of the day it’s entirely possible the disease was passed on without their knowledge.
The history of conflict between tribes pre-contact is well known. Life wasn't all that easy, with war and the threat of slavery at the hands of more aggressive tribes a constant concern. Tribal warfare finally ceased in 1858, when the colony of British Columbia was established.
An interesting point of history would be what would have happened here if the Spanish Armada was victorious in the 1805 battle of Trafalgar? Would the Conquistadors have arrived and done the same to the Native population as they did to the Aztecs, the Incas? This area did contain large gold deposits.
Ms. Stoecklin then goes on to make the reader feel the rights of area Native bands are being disregarded, and uses IPP construction as an example. Hello, anybody home? All the IPP projects built or contemplated within the SLRD are in partnership with local First Nations.
Currently, the Ashlu is at risk of being destroyed as a recreational resource and important salmon habitat. Only those who will profit from the project are in favour of it, with no appreciation or regard for the value of natural free-flowing waterways.
A good question to ask would be why there has been so much false information from proponents of this project? Why has the Minister of Sustainable Resources, George Abbott, sabotaged the political process and intervened on the side of the private power producers, forcing an unprecedented third public hearing? As the old saying goes, follow the money (or gold).
S. Anderson
Whistler
Say no to Ravens Crest
Has anyone noticed that Pemberton is developing a sprawl problem? Rather than a compact community of 2,000 citizens with a network of trails and parks, we are allowing our community to stretch out further and further. How many residents of the Plateau walk into their village to pick up some groceries? Many of us are already vehicle-dependent to get to work in Whistler. Once home, we should be able to leave our vehicles parked, say no to urban sprawl, and yes to a compact, vibrant, pedestrian-friendly village. Ravens Crest development does not fit this model. It will be an eyesore and a planning mess. That's not my vision of Pemberton.
Dave Hobson
Pemberton
