Whistler will be front and centre on International Mountain Day, Sunday, Dec. 11 as one of the global mountain communities connecting to the World Mountain Forum hub at Verbier, Switzerland.
For an hour-and-a-half Millennium Place will be contacted to the World Mountain Forum, with presentations by freeski legend Mike Douglas, entrepreneur and mountain trail/hut advocate and councillor-elect Jayson Faulkner and Dave Mossop, the filmmaker behind the acclaimed All.I.Can ski film. David Brasherars, who produced the IMAX movie Everest, will also be part of the presentation through a video link.
The event is open to the public, with the live video feed taking place from 7 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. — Whistler's window at the World Mountain Forum.
The forum is part of the three-day Green Pioneering Summit in Verbier, developed in partnership with the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). It was created to raise awareness of climate change and environmental issues affecting mountain communities and those who depend on mountains for water, employment, recreation and other benefits. Other participating communities include Lima, Peru, Kathmandu and Nepal.
The presentation is being hosted by the Whistler Centre for Sustainability, in partnership with the Resort Municipality of Whistler and Tourism Whistler.
As well, the Whistler Forum for Dialogue will be hosting a special event at the Whistler Museum the previous evening, Saturday, Dec. 10 at 7 p.m. The featured guest will be John Fraser, the former speaker of the House of Commons, a former Environment Minister and Canada's delegate to the Rio Summit on climate change. Other members of the panel are Don MacLaurin, a Whistler forester and educator, and Howard Rode, a 92-year-old alpine adventurer and skier who is still active today. The recommended donation is $10 at the door.
For more on International Mountain Day and the World Mountain Forum, visit www.verbiergps.com. For more on the Whistler Forum, visit www.whistlerforum.org.
