GREEN MACHINE Green Party’s Jeremy Valeriote takes the win in Sea to Sky
MOUNTAIN MAN How Hugh Smythe built Whistler into a ski mecca
Wilburn
More spooky stories from across the Sea to Sky. - By Katherine Fawcett, Kate Heskett, Alan Forsythe and David Song
06 OPENING REMARKS It’s the season of spooky stories in the Sea to Sky and beyond—but sometimes the true horror lies just beneath the surface of local headlines.
08 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR This week’s letter writers say thanks for another successful Fungus Among Us, and make the case for continued use of cash over cards.
11 PIQUE’N YER INTEREST Any for-profit company’s priority is its bottom line, but companies that task themselves with keeping us safe should be held to a higher standard.
54 MAXED OUT Max gets into the Halloween spirit with a chilling tale from the scene of one of New Mexico’s most grisly mass murders.
12 GREEN MACHINE The Green Party’s Jeremy Valeriote will head to Victoria to serve as the Sea to Sky’s new MLA, while the broader provincial election result hangs in the balance.
14 MOUNTAIN MAN Hugh Smythe, who received the Freedom of the Municipality on Oct. 22, built Whistler into a ski mecca without forgetting the people who made it possible.
34 WHEEL TALK The Whistler Off Road Cycling Association reflects on its 35th year of operations in the resort.
38 PAINT AT THE POINT Lacey Jane Wilburn shares her passion for art through a course on oil and acrylic paint at the Point Artist-Run Centre.
COVER Lindsey Ataya is a graphic designer, illustrator and diehard Halloween fan who prides herself on distributing festive pencils to bemused trick-or-treaters. - www.atayacreative.ca // @atayacreative
Publisher SARAH STROTHER - sstrother@piquenewsmagazine.com
Founding Publishers KATHY & BOB BARNETT www.piquenewsmagazine.com
What lurks beneath
IN CASE YOU MISSED the colourful illustration on the cover and skipped this week’s table of contents, it’s that time of year again: time to share our best spooky stories in Pique’s annual Halloween short story cover feature.
BY BRADEN DUPUIS
In this year’s instalment you’ll find tales of haunted bed and breakfasts; mysterious, ill-meaning internal growths; faceless monsters on the shores of local lakes—the
But it doesn’t always have to be a tale of ghosts and/or goblins to send a shiver down your spine.
Sometimes the true horror lies just beneath the surface of local headlines.
On that note, here are a few more spooky tales to make your blood run cold and your hair stand on end, ripped straight from the pages of Pique
Read on if you dare.
TOO CLOSE TO CALL
If you’ve ever worked in a newsroom, you’ll likely agree the best part of any election is the end—when all the noise and empty promises cease, the whining and complaining from candidates and their hyper-partisan supporters stops, and polite society can get on with governing itself.
Sadly, as of Pique’s weekly deadline, there is no clear winner in B.C.’s Oct. 19 provincial election, with crucial recounts pending in ridings that could flip the result from a slim NDP win to a slim Conservative win.
Uncertainty alone is indeed scary—which
party will be granted the privilege of reneging on its cynical, hastily arranged election promises?—but it’s the broader implications of such provincial indecision that is chilling the air in the Pique newsroom this week.
A result this close means we are likely facing another provincial election sooner rather than later.
For extra frights, consider the fact Canada as a country will head to the polls next year… meaning we could have to endure two elections back to back … or the unthinkable: at the same time
To top it all off, the Ghost of BC Liberals Past herself, Christy Clark, is reportedly mulling a run for the federal Liberal leadership… (insert spooky musical motif here).
FREEDOM FOR ALL
This week, Whistler celebrates two longtime community builders—Hugh Smythe and Nancy Wilhelm-Morden—by honouring them with the prestigious Freedom of the Municipality award.
The pair join a distinguished list of 14 other Whistler locals who dedicated their lives
and celebrating, and Smythe and WilhelmMorden are two deserving names to add to the wall of honour.
But for all those historic accomplishments, Whistlerites of today are struggling more than ever before.
The Whistler Community Services Society is about halfway through a six-week fundraising campaign, targeting $80,000 by Nov. 1.
Every dollar helps: according to stats presented at its AGM last month, demand for WCSS services is “through the roof,” with the food bank alone serving almost three times the number of clients it did during COVID through the first four months of 2024.
Ghosts and goblins are spooky, sure, but have you seen what it costs to rent in Whistler these days? Been shopping at any of the local grocery stores?
Not having long-term community members—those names we can one day add to the so-called wall of honour—is the real horror story, and on Whistler’s current trajectory, who could possibly afford to make a go of it here?
Read more (and make a donation) at mywcss.org.
Whistler athletes chasing the endorphin fix; shuffling sweatily from machine to machine, asking each other if they can work in.
Another dead season is upon us.
It’s not to be taken literally, of course— there are no zombies, vampires or other undead creatures roaming the Resort Municipality of Whistler during the fall months—but dead season always carries a tinge of dread and uncertainty with it.
What kind of winter are we in for? Will the snow arrive as promised with La Nina? Will enough workers come to fill the jobs, and will they find anywhere to live? Will tourism surge to new heights or come crashing down under the weight of cost-of-living pressures and affordability issues?
Will B.C. have a stable government by the time the snow flies?
Questions hang heavy over the valley like a thick, flesh-eating mist (or something).
But rather than end on a downer, let us close with some optimistic predictions: this year’s snow will be worlds apart from last year’s wet-n-worrisome doldrums.
Tourism will have a banner year in 2025, finally returning us to the hallowed, pre-
Ghosts and goblines are spooky, sure, but have you seen what it costs to rent in Whistler these days? Been shopping at any of the local grocery stores?
to making Whistler the world-class, ski-resort powerhouse it is today.
Reading their list of accomplishments is like a handy guide to community building— these people built parks, trails, libraries, a municipal council from scratch and an entire village on top of a garbage dump.
Their achievements are worth recognizing
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NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (SEASON)
The leaves have turned and fallen.
Foot traffic in the village is slowing; bear traffic in the valley is picking up.
The mountain is officially closed, not to reopen until Nov. 22.
Local gyms are packed with aimless
COVID visitation numbers we still hold as the benchmark.
And Whistler Blackcomb will at long last break ground on its new Glacier 8 staff housing building, eventually taking major pressure off the local rental market.
Perspective is everything, as they say— and we feel better already. n
Thanks for another great Fungus Among Us
The Whistler Naturalists would like to thank volunteers and participants who made our 22nd annual Fungus Among Us Mushroom Festival possible.
We started with presentations and mushroom walks to the local schools to encourage a love of nature. We visited 31 classes (more than 650 students!) and were excited to return to the Xetólacw Community School in Mount Currie, Spring Creek Community School, École La Passerelle, Myrtle Philip Community School and Whistler Waldorf. It was great to see so many students curious about mushrooms. Thanks to school presenters Andy MacKinnon, Kevin Trim, Ludovic Le Renard, Erin Feldman, Paul Kroeger, Bill Weir, Ben Hircock, Jenn Amy, Shayn McAskin, Savita Owens-Frank, Jake Kerr and Bryce Kendrick.
We’d also like to thank our “Talks with Gurus” presenters: Thom O’Dell, Ludovic Le Renard, and Kevin Trim.
Thank you to Joern Rohde for judging the Fantastic Fungi Foto Contest and to Andy MacKinnon for sharing fascinating tidbits about the fungi in the photos. Congratulations to the winners: Olivia Rodig, Karen Alvarez, Magali Legault, and Robert McCammant.
These and other photos from the event can be viewed on our website: WhistlerNaturalists.ca.
At least 150 fungi species were identified in this magnificent mushroom year. These records will be added to the Whistler Biodiversity Project list which now totals more than 1,000 local species.
Our popular Forest to Table lunch wouldn’t have been possible without the great expertise and wonderful creativity of Chef Bruce Worden. Finally, the Whistler Naturalists would also like to thank our key sponsors: The Whistler
Community Foundation, RMOW Community Enrichment Program and AWARE as our charitable sponsor.
Thanks also to wonderful support from Milestones, Nesters Market, Legends Hotel, Whistler Bike Co., Avalanche Pizza, Whistler Cooks, Pasta Lupino, Whistler Museum, Rocky Mountain Chocolate, Toad Hall Studios, Arts Whistler, Joern Rohde Photography, and the Whistler Biodiversity Project. Kristina Swerhun // on behalf of the Whistler Naturalists
Vail Resorts carpooling incentive program should be more flexible
Re: Vail Resorts’ new carpooling requirement for Lot 7 and Creekside’s P1 at Whistler Blackcomb (WB), I have to say that I am rather upset about this new requirement, mostly because I do carpool—but my car is only big enough to accommodate three people with gear, hence I am not eligible.
I would suggest WB monitor the situation to see if it can amend the requirement to allow carpools with three people. More importantly, I found the description of applicable days a little bit confusing. To make very clear which days are restricted, WB should publish on its website a calendar that clearly red-lines all applicable days so skiers can easily identify which days are subject to the carpooling requirement.
Sandra Jorgenson // Whistler
Cash is still king
Since COVID, the use of cash has continually diminished by approximately 15 per cent per year, at least from my perspective as a vendor. I’m not sure why, but perhaps because initially it was looked at as dirty and infected. Why this trend continues also baffles and scares me. While many will agree cash is a time-tested and true form of currency for transactions used for centuries, more and more are pulling out their card for what they perceive as convenience. Before I continue my rant, I will add that I’m not a conspiracy theorist, sovereigntist, anarchist, or communist, and I don’t have
a political agenda. I am just addressing the implications of a cashless society, so we can preserve this choice before it’s too late. Every time you pull out your card we are one step closer to the reality of a fully cashless society. This has already happened in Sweden and there are numerous other countries in line, including Canada. Moneris Solutions Corporation, Canada’s leading credit and debit card processor, predicts by 2030 (or most likely sooner) cash purchases will make up only 10 per cent of money spent in Canada. This is a perfect scenario for the powers that be.
The only ones who benefit from a cashless society are corporations (easy accounting, data collection and reducing employee theft), banks and service providers (charging fees), and the government (taxing every last cent, and monitoring your behaviour). If you think any of these agencies have your best interests in mind, you are a fool. Increased profit and control is always the primary goal in a capitalistic society.
What we will inevitably see is ever-increasing transaction rates without controls; taxation on every deposit, even for such benign things as garage sales, or transfers from others for things like shared dinners and gifts; hidden costs and service fees. Other concerns are security breaches from hackers, blackouts from power outages and
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
technical glitches, and possibly the garnishing and forfeiture of your savings for non-compliance.
Of course the disadvantaged will suffer the most when begging, busking and cash tips at the end of your shift are no longer. What about the elderly who don’t even have a phone or computer, or young kids who want to buy candy using change from their piggy bank? I guess youngsters will now need phones and bank cards and pay income tax on their birthday money.
While a credit card may be warranted for large purchases, rewards, and travel, please use cash as much as possible, especially at markets, restaurants, and for small transactions. Don’t support businesses that go cashless, and email them the reason for your boycott. Pull out your paper note and read the fine print: “this note is legal tender,” and remind the management that their policy is unlawful. Unfortunately, Whistler’s largest employer and economic driver went cashless years ago, and there is nothing we can do to reverse that (sorry, I’m not quitting my job or refraining from using the mountain).
Long before this degradation of cash, the sayings were “cash is king,” “use it or lose it,” “never trust the government,” and “the only thing in life that’s certain is death and taxes.” Mike Roger // Birken, Whistler n
Write to us! Letters to the editor must contain the writer’s name, address and a daytime telephone number. Maximum length is 450 words. Pique Newsmagazine reserves the right to edit, condense or refrain from publishing any contribution. Letters reflect the opinion of the writer and not that of Pique Newsmagazine. Send them to edit@ piquenewsmagazine.com before 11 a.m. on Tuesday for consideration in that week’s paper.
LET’S JUST SAY I didn’t handle my annoyance very eloquently.
“I just wanted to give the feedback that your new service plan sucks.” That was how I started my recent knee-jerk email response
BY ALYSSA NOEL
arts@piquenewsmagazine.com
The company, which, among other things, sells inReach devices that allow you to call for help out of cell service, announced over the summer it would be making changes to its subscriptions. Of course, like every company lately, it wants more money.
In the past, Garmin had the perfect subscription for avid summer hikers—and very occasional backcountry skiers—like me. I paid an annual fee of about $50 on top of a monthly fee (another $22)—but I could suspend the device at no cost any time and reactivate it at no cost any time.
Well, all good things must come to an end. In July, the company sent an email with the title “newer, simpler inReach service plans.” Buried deep down: “Suspend is being replaced by inReach Enabled, a lowcost option that keeps your device active to use if you have an emergency.”
To reactive after a deactivation it will cost you $55.
Yes, you can argue that any amount of money is worth it when you’re in a lifeor-death situation that requires help from search and rescue (especially if you have kids in the backcountry with you).
But, A) it’s the principle of the matter— how many freaking subscriptions is one person supposed to have?—and B) at this point, why would one (who isn’t in the
the backcountry with fingers crossed they’ll never have to press that big, red “help me” button.
I know that because, in response to my email, Garmin wrote “we had a lot of customers asking for an SOS-only plan.”
(And then they threw me a bone and said I could keep my current plan until next August, instead of this December.)
“In the long run the enabled plan will make your device more [useful] as you will
I’m not saying $132 a year is going to break the bank for me, but in an era of exorbitant grocery, gas, and housing costs I really don’t feel like handing yet another company another fee…
backcountry every single weekend) not just procure a new iPhone equipped with SOS capabilities and an extra battery pack?
Now, I know there are plenty of people in the Sea to Sky who use their inReach for two-way communication with family and friends, checking weather, and maps, but I am not one of them. And there are others like me who take their device into
not have to log into the computer or have an internet connection to change your plan,” the email said. “You can grab it and go.”
Excuse me? I’m more than pleased to log into my account—and that’s even including having to change my password since I definitely will not remember it—to pause my account and save money, but thanks.
But the most insulting part of this
whole change is calling an $11-a-month subscription fee a “low-cost” option. I’m not saying $132 a year is going to break the bank for me, but in an era of exorbitant grocery, gas, and housing costs I really don’t feel like handing yet another company another fee for something I’m using less than half the year.
As much as we all complain about busy trails, the outdoors are—or should be—for everyone. That includes low-income people who, ostensibly, should be able to travel in the backcountry safely, which includes some kind of SOS device.
It’s not hard to imagine some people will ditch the device altogether rather than rack up new charges. And while it’s up to individual backcountry users to take care of themselves, having fewer SOS devices out there is bad for everyone.
Any for-profit company’s priority is its bottom line, but somehow it feels like a company that tasks itself with keeping us safe—and on occasion saves lives—should be held to a higher standard.
As for my part, as soon as the snow starts to stick in the alpine, I plan to suspend my service. And should my aging iPhone kick the bucket before spring melt, I think an iPhone 14 with free SOS capability (and a back-up battery pack) for two years is a better option.
At least until Apple starts charging a monthly fee for that, too. n
In the end, Sea to Sky went with its conscience on Election Day
GREENS’ VALERIOTE OVERCAME TWO-PARTY ‘BINARY NARRATIVE’ TO EARN HISTORIC WIN ON OCT. 19
BY BRANDON BARRETT
JEREMY VALERIOTE is certainly familiar with close calls; he’s less familiar with coming out on the winning end of one.
Four years after coming within 60 votes of toppling incumbent Liberal MLA Jordan Sturdy, Valeriote won a tight race of his own Oct. 19, beating the upstart Conservatives’ Yuri Fulmer by less than three percentage points. Valeriote garnered 10,221 votes, representing 38.15 per cent of the count. Fulmer, meanwhile, earned 9,554 votes, 35.66 per cent of the vote, while the BC NDP’s Jen Ford garnered 7,017 votes and 26.19 per cent.
“I’m extremely grateful for the people that helped me get here and the voters of West Vancouver-Sea to Sky who saw a different way, and chose it,” Valeriote said when reached at his election watch party at Howe Sound Brewing in Squamish after the results were announced.
In the end, Sea to Sky voters went with their conscience on election night, countering what Valeriote called a two-party “binary
PHOTO BY DAVID BUZZARD / DAVIDBUZZARD.COM
narrative” that effectively boiled down one of the most unpredictable elections B.C. has ever seen to a choice between the governing NDP and the out-of-nowhere Conservatives.
“It just feels like the message that we need more Greens resonated here, and that’s really important. People see we are a serious party, we recommend science and evidence, we’re professional and capable of influence at all levels of the B.C. legislature and I think that allowed us to move forward,” he said.
blue will not be able to affect major change in Victoria.
“We’ll see in the next few weeks if that narrative has any validity,” he said. “We don’t even know the results of tonight and where the final [seat] count lies and I think the speculation that I won’t be able to be effective or be of influence, I think it’s a mistaken understanding of what an MLA is, which is to serve the people of the riding and not necessarily be a part of the government
“It just feels like the message that we need more Greens resonated here, and that’s really important.”
- JEREMY VALERIOTE
“I’m really sad about Sonia’s seat,” he went on, referring to Green Party Leader Sonia Furstenau losing in her Victoria-Beacon Hill riding, “and I think it reinforces that two-party narrative that I don’t think serves British Columbians and that we want to get away from.”
Valeriote fought through a related narrative his political opponents latched onto at every opportunity throughout his campaign, and one he will likely have to continue fighting once in office: that a Green in the legislature amidst a sea of orange or
or opposition.”
It’s true much remains to be seen with how the final balance of power will shake out in B.C. The provincial election turned out to be as close as pollsters predicted, with the final outcome sitting on a razor’s edge given a pair of races were too close to call late Saturday night. At press time, the NDP was projected to claim 46 seats—one shy of a majority—to the Conservatives’ 45, and the Greens’ two, Valeriote’s included. As it turns out, however, close races in the Juan de FucaMalahat and Surrey City Centre electoral
districts will go to judicial recount—as the Sea to Sky’s did in 2020—with the final winners not determined until Oct. 26 to 28.
However things pan out, the Greens look to hold considerable leverage with their pair of seats in Victoria.
AN OCEAN OF DIFFERENCE
While only 667 votes separated Valeriote and Fulmer on election night, there was an ocean of difference between their respective campaigns. Fulmer relied on his economic acumen and message of financial prudence, where Valeriote focused on environmental innovation and his opposition to a Woodfibre LNG project and “sunset” fossil fuel industry he believes should be left in the past. Fulmer was a political newcomer who only came on the scene in recent months, where Valeriote was a known entity throughout the corridor who began his campaign in earnest a year and a half ago.
“I think it showed a commitment to run again and finish the job that we started in 2020,” Valeriote said of his early campaigning. “It definitely put us in a good position and allowed me to meet with hundreds of people, attend meetings, and understand the riding better and made me a better candidate than I was in 2020.”
Although Fulmer undoubtedly turned some heads with his oratory skills and grasp of policy at the Oct. 1 Whistler AllCandidates Meeting, it may have been his relative lack of presence in the Sea to Sky that made the difference on election might. After
GOING GREEN The BC Greens’ Jeremy Valeriote celebrates his election day win Oct. 19 at Squamish’s Howe Sound Brewing as wife Ginny Cullen looks on.
missing an environmentally themed debate in Squamish to attend an economic forum with BC Green Leader Sonia Furstenau and former NDP Minister Moe Sahota, Fulmer skipped the Pemberton All-Candidates Meeting on Oct. 8, explaining he was focusing the remainder of his campaign “engaging with voters directly” door-to-door. (Days before Oct. 19, his campaign told Pique Fulmer would not be taking calls on election night, instead referring media to Conservative Leader John Rustad’s speech that night.)
Fulmer also had to contend with a party and leader whose social, Indigenous and environmental policies certainly rubbed a segment of British Columbians the wrong way. Fulmer got most defensive at the Oct. 1 debate in Whistler when asked about Rustad’s stance on COVID vaccines, climate change, and Indigenous land rights, which may have ultimately swayed voters who would have otherwise been drawn to his economic vision.
NDP’S FORD: ‘I’M CHANGED BY THIS EXPERIENCE’
Progressive voters in the Sea to Sky had a tough call to make on Oct. 19, especially those whose primary objective in the voting booth was keeping Conservatives out of office, an outcome that is essentially a tossup at this stage. Do they vote for a Green candidate who came within a whisker of heading to Victoria in 2020, or a homegrown and highly accomplished NDP candidate who nonetheless belonged to a governing party that had left many British Columbians wanting these past seven years?
It was that dichotomy that arguably defined and, in some cases, dragged down Jen Ford’s bid for higher office in 2024. Undoubtedly the candidate with the most political experience, Ford, a three-term Whistler councillor, former Union of BC Municipalities president, SquamishLillooet Regional District (SLRD) chair, and Whistler Housing Authority board member, seemed at times caught between highlighting her extensive and laudable political record and relying too heavily on her party’s talking points.
“Maybe that’s why we’re here,” Ford said Monday, Oct. 21. “I can only lean on the experience that I had and the ideas that I have, but you can’t come in and rewrite a platform on behalf of a policy just because it’s going to get you elected. In a local government campaign, you can say, ‘Hey, I’m going to lower taxes and go [three years with no tax increases], as we’ve seen in platforms in the past. When you’re attached to a party that has a mandate already, it’s a tough thing to do. I also really like most of what the NDP platform included but I’m not a robot and I would have pushed for things to be stronger.”
Ford’s ample experience in Sea to Sky politics may ultimately have been a doubleedged sword, she conceded.
“I heard a lot on the doors that people like the work that I’ve done. There were also people who don’t like the work I’ve done on council and don’t agree with the decisions I’ve made,” said Ford. “That’s the interesting part about having this experience behind you: People could challenge me on things they didn’t like. Recent decisions on council changed their opinion of me as a person. That’s the risk of putting myself out in your
newspaper: People can go back and they can judge me based on what I have done. I think 7,000 voters liked what I did or were voting for the party because they liked what the party did.”
Although it is too soon to say whether she will have another run at provincial office, Ford said her election push has equipped her with more tools to serve the region, both at the Whistler council table and at the SLRD.
“I’m changed by this experience, so I’m hoping I bring some new perspective that I didn’t have a month ago, because I have heard more and learned more from people about what’s important,” she said. “I’m excited. All of this is a learning experience.”
QUESTION OVER CONFLICTOF-INTEREST LOOMS
Another question that will follow Valeriote to Victoria, and one he was forced to address on the campaign trail, surrounds his apparent conflict of interest as an MLA given his wife Ginny Cullen’s role as the Resort Municipality of Whistler’s top staffer and chief administrative officer.
It was an issue raised more than once at the Oct. 8 Pemberton All-Candidates’ Meeting, and one Valeriote will surely have to speak to in more detail now that he’s headed to the legislature.
“There is potential for conflict of interest, but we’re both professional engineers. We’re both professional people. We both have a strong sense of ethical and moral duty,” Valeriote said at the debate. “We know what the rules are about confidential information, and we absolutely respect that … This does happen in small communities, when people put on different hats and they have to be trusted to figure out which hat they’re wearing and compartmentalize that. I can do that, and I’ve shown I can do that for many years, and so has my spouse.”
Ford questioned Valeriote’s ability to represent the Sea to Sky in Victoria given the potential conflict.
“My experiences as a current elected official, three times elected in Whistler and at the SLRD, is that when we go to advocate with the province on behalf of our community, we take our MLA with us. Typically, that MLA provides support,” she said at the debate. “If that person can’t go, free of conflict, to that advocacy meeting, it’s a challenge for the local council.”
VOTER TURNOUT
In total, 26,794 voters cast their ballots amidst heavy downpours and flood warnings across the West Vancouver-Sea to Sky riding (although an unknown portion of those were advance ballots).
It’s unknown at press time how many eligible voters there were in the riding, although in 2020, before its boundaries were changed, the riding counted 42,786 eligible voters.
At the end of the initial count, Elections BC estimated voter turnout provincewide was 57.41 per cent, up from the pandemic-influenced election of 2020, when 53.86 per cent of eligible voters cast a ballot. The initial count tallied 2,037,897 ballots cast, a record for B.C.
Hugh Smythe built Whistler
into a ski mecca without forgetting the people who made it possible
SKI-INDUSTRY ICON AWARDED FREEDOM OF THE MUNICIPALITY ALONGSIDE FORMER MAYOR NANCY WILHELM-MORDEN
BY BRANDON BARRETT
AS HE REFLECTED on receiving the highest honour Whistler can grant, ski-industry visionary Hugh Smythe couldn’t help but thank the people around him who made it all possible.
“I am really honoured to get this award, but the award is especially about the people I worked with on the mountain and in the community,” Smythe told Pique ahead of the Oct. 22 council meeting where he received the Freedom of the Municipality alongside longtime mayor and councillor Nancy Wilhelm-Morden.
The Freedom of the Municipality honours citizens for their outstanding contributions to the community, and you’d be hard-pressed to find someone who played a bigger role than Smythe in what Whistler has become.
“There is no doubt that without Hugh Smythe, Blackcomb Mountain, and therefore Whistler, would not have developed into the resort we know today,” Whistler Museum executive director Brad Nichols said at the Oct. 22 ceremony.
Smythe was there for Whistler Mountain’s opening day on Jan. 15, 1966, as a bright-eyed,
18-year-old volunteer ski patroller, and he was there for virtually every key moment of the resort’s stratospheric rise over the next four decades.
After that shortened ’66 ski season, Smythe returned the next winter as a fulltime patroller. The winter after that, he served as the director of ski patrol, an improbable rise for a 20-year-old even in those heady early days of the resort.
A PASSION FOR SKIING—AND THE BUSINESS OF SKIING
It wouldn’t be the first time Smythe was given an opportunity without the resumé to match, a sign of the faith his mentors had in him from a young age.
“I came to Whistler because I was passionate about skiing, but I would say in that first year being the director of the ski patrol, that passion for skiing turned into a passion for the business of skiing,” Smythe said. “I became passionate about which aspects make the business successful, the industry successful. I was inquisitive, and in those early days at Whistler, I was just given a ton of opportunity to be able to do some pretty cool things.”
Quickly moving up to safety supervisor,
hill superintendent, then mountain manager, Smythe had his hand in nearly every element of operating a ski resort. He helped design Whistler’s first grooming equipment. He developed the mountain’s avalanche and helibombing procedures. He designed ski trails, including Upper and Lower Olympic.
It was a trend Smythe would continue throughout his career as a leader in the industry, empowering the people behind him to succeed in their own ways.
“There was a knock-on effect with those
AT OCT. 22 CEREMONY
things, letting people come up with ideas,” he said.
Eight years after that first fateful opening day, the precocious Smythe—still only 26 years old—was tapped to resurrect Fortress Mountain, a defunct ski area outside Calgary. It was during that four-year stint as general manager, the only significant time he spent away from Whistler, that Smythe truly delved into the guest experience side of operating a ski resort, something he would become legendary for later in his career.
“I wanted to learn more about and be responsible for the other aspects of the total guest experience,” he recalled. “We were able to turn Fortress around by having good food, good customer service, good grooming—all the aspects that touched the customer.”
AN UPSTART UNDERDOG
By 1977, Smythe had convinced the Aspen Skiing Company and the Federal Business Development Bank to pursue a proposal to develop Blackcomb Mountain, and the following year, he returned to Whistler as president of the upstart ski area.
In what was a whirlwind timeline, Smythe
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FREE(DOM) AT LAST Hugh Smythe accepts the Freedom of the Municipality from Whistler Mayor Jack Crompton at an Oct. 22 ceremony at the Maury Young Arts Centre.
PHOTO BY DAVID BUZZARD / DAVIDBUZZARD.COM
LOCAL’S WEEK
The success of the Museum is largely attributed to our exceptional community of supporters.
As a token of our gratitude, we invite you to enjoy 25% off Museum admission from October 28 to November 3, 2024.
Use code LOCALS25 at checkout to save. Online only.
Installation view of Russna Kaur: Pierced into the air, the temper and secrets crept in with a cry! by Oisin McHugh
NEWS WHISTLER
oversaw the ambitious project from inception, planning and construction to its eventual opening in December 1980.
“From the initial idea of developing Blackcomb to the day that it opened was 36 months, and it was done for approximately $13 million (just under $50 million today),” he said. “You’d think of that today, from the idea through to putting in the proposal to the B.C. government to being awarded the rights to develop the mountain and then two construction summers, to build absolutely everything right down to electric, water, sewage, all the infrastructure stuff that has to be done, it is basically unheard of.”
An auspicious start for a mountain resort that played the underdog from Day 1, Smythe was tasked with figuring out how to get a leg up on his cross-valley rival and former employer.
“Whistler had been operating for 14 years at that point. They had many more lifts, way more terrain, and all these loyal customers,” Smythe said.
Although the village had opened around the same time as Blackcomb, there still wasn’t much tourist accommodation available. So, where would the nascent resort find the skiers?
“We’ve gotta grow the market,” added Smythe, “but we’re also going to have to steal some from Whistler. How are we gonna do that? By that point, it was engrained in my philosophy that we had to make the customer experience better, because I had seen the
success at Fortress and quite frankly, I’d seen the success a little bit at Whistler.”
That success would eventually come, but there were some significant bumps in the road along the way. Not long after Blackcomb opened for its inaugural season, Whistler was hit with weeks of rain that led to both ski areas closing and mass layoffs. In 1981, interest rates skyrocketed, and all of a sudden it began to look like the little-resort-that-could might not be long for the world.
Smythe, however, kept the faith.
“For me, I don’t know whether I was naïve or not, but I never felt we weren’t going to be successful one way or the other,” he said.
You get the sense Blackcomb would have become a world-class mountain by Smythe’s sheer force of will alone. He wasn’t insulated in some ivory tower; he cared about the nitty-gritty details. The hot chocolate for guests while they waited to download. Staff clearing customers’ windshields on a snowy day. The famous “sniffle stations” on cold days.
He of course concerned himself with the big details, too. Smythe was instrumental in the 1985 T-bar installation in the area now known as 7th Heaven, the valley’s first lift access to the alpine, representing what was then the largest alpine expansion in Canadian history.
Unable to find investors for the project, the bank told him to finance it himself. And that he did, making use of an underutilized T-bar from Fortress Smythe surreptitiously had removed from Albertan Crown land in short order.
“In a day and a half, it just disappeared, sort of like one of those undercover stories,” Smythe said in Whistler Blackcomb: 50 Years of Going Beyond
But as Smythe is quick to tell you, it was a consummate team effort. And with carte blanche to hire from the ground up, Smythe took a page from his predecessors by picking his personnel for personality over experience.
“Most importantly, we hired friendly, gregarious, outgoing employees. Our philosophy was to hire for personality and whatever training you would need to do your job, we would do the training,” he explained.
“When you start with a total blank sheet of paper as it relates to employees, you get the opportunity to hire the management team, the supervisory team, and down the line to the first season of employees, you get to build a culture for the organization that would continue on over the years.”
RIVALS TURNED ALLIES
Within half a decade, Blackcomb’s success had drawn the eye of Intrawest, and in 1986 the company acquired the ski area. By the winter of 1987-88, Blackcomb had overtaken Whistler, claiming 54 per cent of local skier visits.
The resort continued to grow, adding lifts, staff housing, summer offerings, and building the Upper Village, until 1996, when the impossible became real: Whistler and Blackcomb merged, turning 16-year rivals into allies, and making Smythe the president of North America’s largest ski resort.
A lesser leader couldn’t have overseen a
dynamic so ripe for dissension. But, like he often did, Smythe relied on his preternatural knack for picking the right people to surround himself with.
“When you take two archrivals and different cultures and put them together successfully, that was a big deal,” Smythe said. “Doing something that was not the norm, I had two people reporting to me: Doug Forseth from Whistler and Dave Brownlie from Blackcomb, and they just did an awesome job. It was an awesome partnership between the two of them.”
LEAVING A LEGACY
Asked what he wants his legacy to be, the 77-year-old Smythe of course returned to the people: the ones on whose shoulders Whistler rests, and the ones who Smythe passed the torch to who have gone on to create memorable legacies of their own.
“I think it all comes down to people,” he said, before mentioning a long list of Whistler luminaries, from Franz Wilhelmsen, Terry Minger and Eldon Beck to Al Raine, Garry Watson and Nancy Wilhelm-Morden. “And then the great number of people that I had the opportunity to hire, develop and mentor, who have gone on to a variety of very senior leadership roles in a broad range of industries.”
Find a longer version of this story at piquenewsmagazine.com, and pick up next week’s Pique for a profile on fellow 2024 Freedom of the Municipality recipient, Wilhelm-Morden. n
Carol Leacy wins Citizen of the Year at 2024 Whistler Excellence Awards
THE AWARD CEREMONY HELD OCT. 17 AT THE FAIRMONT SAW THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY DRESS UP IN NEON COLOURS AND CELEBRATE THEIR COLLEAGUES’ SUCCESS
BY LIZ MCDONALD
WHISTLER’S BUSINESS community shone bright at the 2024 Whistler Excellence Awards, presented by BlueShore Financial.
Held at the Fairmont Chateau Whistler on Oct. 17, the Chamber event saw movers and shakers in Whistler’s business community gather under one roof to mix, mingle, dine and delight in the success of nine local businesses.
When it was all said and done, Carol Leacy of the Whistler 360 Health Collaborative Society took home the night’s top honour of Citizen of the Year over fellow nominees Charalyn Kriz and Ashlie Girvan.
Jackie Dickinson from the Whistler Community Services Society (WCSS) accepted the award on Leacy’s behalf, who could not attend.
“She considers herself, Carol, very fortunate to have the opportunity to work with this incredible team, and she feels even luckier now that she gets to see it in action,” Dickinson said. “Seeing more people in the community with access to primary care has made it 100 times more worth it, and she would like to thank the Chamber of Commerce and Race and Co. for this honour.”
The evening began with a welcome from the Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre ambassadors with singing and drumming. They invited the crowd to join in a traditional Squamish song, splitting the ballroom into two animal groups found within Squamish and Lil’wat territory. Wolves howled on the right and whales splashed on the left, to the delight of many in attendance.
MCs for the evening, Rebecca Mason and Ira Pettle from Laugh Out Live!, kept the energy up during award presentations, rowing onto the stage in an inflatable Explorer 200 before starting the show. Nominee videos preceded each announcement, with cheers emanating from the crowd as their favourite nominees took over the big screen and the clink of cutlery on plates permeated speeches.
Award winners came to the stage in bright neon colours accenting their attire or dressed head to toe in bright garb, in honour of the theme “Neon Nights: Illuminating Whistler’s Excellence.”
Those vying for Rising Star of the Year included Samantha Knox from Nita Lake Lodge, Lisa Coulter from the Whistler Community Services Society, and Nicki Mckeon with Wild Yoga Collective|Wild
Available Sunday-Thursday from 4pm to 10pm.
Vedas. The Rising Star award is bestowed upon a person “making an impact beyond their years.” Coulter, director of social services and outreach manager for WCSS, took home the award.
“I’m excited to continue working alongside you to create more opportunities to break down barriers for reaching out for support, because everyone deserves that,” Coulter said in her speech.
The Service Excellence: Small Business award saw Pasta Lupino, A Little Bud and Alpine Café up for “industry-leading service delivery” and their impact on guest experience. Alpine Café won.
Caramba, meanwhile, took the award for Service Excellence: Large Business, up against the Sundial Hotel and Forecast Coffee.
Nominees for Innovative Business of the Year included Innovation Building Group, Be Beauty Laser & Esthetics and Blackcomb Façade Technology (Blackcomb Glass). The award went to Blackcomb Glass.
The Emerging Business of the Year category saw Alto Marketing and Management, Barbex Cleaning and Filthy Jordan’s Weekly Waste Removal vie for the top spot, with Barbex Cleaning taking home the award.
Sustainability in Action Business was
presented to a Whistler business which “has demonstrated considerable positive impact in advancing sustainability in their business, sector and the local community.” The Naked Sprout Café, Sea to Sky Sourdough BReD Inc. and the WCSS’ Re-Build-It and Re-Use-It Centres were all up for the award, with the Re-Build-It and Re-Use-It Centres winning.
The Champion of Arts & Culture –Business category, presented by Arts Whistler, saw the Whistler Museum & Archives Society, Laugh Out Live!, and the Point Artist-Run Centre nominated. The award “recognizes individuals, organizations, artists, and local businesses who have contributed significantly to the development of arts and culture in Whistler.” The Point took home the award.
Business Person of the Year, presented by BDO, was awarded to the person who makes a “major impact” on the local business community. Roger Soane of Whistler Sport Legacies took the win, and he was up against Doug MacFarlane of Whistler Blackcomb and Senka Florist–Kaoru & Hidemi Ono. Though Soane won, he gave a nod to MacFarlane, who announced his retirement from Whistler Blackcomb earlier this year, for all of his work within the community in his acceptance speech. n
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MAC’s Saturday Sessions strive to keep Whistler seniors happy and healthy
MONTHLY
SERIES SPEAKS TO NON-PROFIT’S GOAL OF GETTING
WHISTLERITES OF ALL AGES THINKING ABOUT AGING IN PLACE
BY BRANDON BARRETT
DEPENDING ON WHO you ask, attaining senior status can come at different ages in Canada. By the federal government’s definition, a senior can receive an old age pension starting at 65, while other programs and organizations may consider an earlier threshold. As the late, great R&B songstress Aaliyah once crooned, age ain’t nothing but a number, and nowhere is that more true than in the hyperactive, young-at-heart community of Whistler.
It’s because of that youthful vigour local seniors are less likely to think about issues around aging, argued Mature Action Community (MAC) co-chair Lyn Stroshin.
“I think that’s true, but you can’t be active and healthy without looking after yourself and preparing for aging,” she said. “That’s what we try to do. We really try to educate people, combine resources and allow people to really think about what it is to age in place here.”
It’s why MAC, a non-profit dedicated to improving the lives of locals aged 55 and up, is launching its Health and WellBeing: Saturday Sessions, a monthly series of workshops and talks starting this week. “I’m really keen on aging in place, but as I age, I’m really aware of the number of people who’ve decided to stay here or move here who are over 55 and, as such, there are all these different life changes that come with that,” said series organizer and local retiree Libby McKeever.
The series will be held at the Whistler Public Library, and the first session on Oct. 26 is The Hospice Experience, which welcomes the Sea to Sky Hospice Society’s executive director Leslie de Bie, and Jody Kramer, its client services coordinator. Both will discuss the society and the services they offer to those with a life-limiting illness and their loved ones.
“Many of us have experienced [hospice care] via family and friends, and of course it’s something in the back of our minds,” McKeever said. “We have a wonderful hospice now in Squamish, so this is a topic of interest for seniors, but it’s also for any community member who is caring for somebody else, a parent, or for themselves, out of interest.”
The second session, slated for Nov. 16, is Strong Bones, hosted by Peak Rehab kinesiologist Makenzi McLeod, who will focus on healthy aging and the correlation of targeted exercise with the prevention of falls and fractures. The workshop will offer opportunities to practice exercises attendees can bring home.
“If you have osteopenia or osteoporosis, the idea of your activities being curtailed by what they call a fracture cascade is really real,” McKeever said. “We live in a town that has ice and snow so that’s an issue, but also as we age, Whistler does have a high proportion who are active, so as we are active, we really need to
take care of our bones.”
The final session of the year happens Dec. 7 and centres around an issue that is integral to anyone, no matter the age: The Importance of Connection and Community. Lisa Coulter, director of social services for the Whistler Community Services Society (WCSS), will discuss mental health and wellness, particularly for those who have lost a loved one or are far from their families, and what self-care resources are available.
“I think this really comes from the pandemic, and it was evident that seniors, especially seniors living alone, really struggled with the lack of connectivity and community,” McKeever said. “It’s the idea of ensuring people are aware of the resources available through WCSS and even thinking about how they can set up their own circle of connection.”
While geared to seniors, the events are open to all ages.
“The one thing I want people to really realize is that MAC just isn’t for those old people,” Stroshin said.
That speaks to MAC’s long-held desire to establish a community centre in Whistler where seniors, and the wider resort, could gather side by side.
“It could host all these different activities that, if you look at every other town our size, they all have a community centre, probably a town hall or a legion—and they have a seniors’ centre,” said Stroshin. “Here we live in one of the most affluent places and we have no services for seniors.”
Each session is free and runs from 10 a.m. to noon. Email publicservices@ whistlerlibrary.ca to sign up. There are also future sessions, with dates to be confirmed, slated for January through June 2025. n
STRETCH IT OUT While geared towards seniors, upcoming Mature Action Community events are open to all ages.
PHOTO COURTESY OF MAC
Indigenous couple walking across B.C. for children in foster care
KIM AND JORDAN JOSEPH’S CHILDREN
WERE TAKEN INTO FOSTER CARE—NOW THE COUPLE ARE WALKING TO VICTORIA TO DRAW ATTENTION TO THEIRS AND OTHER CASES
BY LIZ MCDONALD
WHEN MOST PEOPLE walk, it carries little meaning for their lives. But for Kim and Jordan Joseph, their walk is deeply personal.
The couple is walking from Prince Rupert to British Columbia’s Parliament in Victoria, raising awareness about children in the care of the Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD). Their four children are currently in foster homes, and the Indigenous couple allege their access to them has been unduly restricted despite adhering to ministry conditions.
They reached Whistler Oct. 16 and spoke with Pique by phone as they took a rest break at Green Lake.
The couple said their kids were taken this spring, and only one was placed in a home with Indigenous culture. Two are in Prince Rupert, one is in Vanderhoof, and another is in Prince George.
The emotional drain of being away from their children is coupled with the strain of travelling long distances for visitations.
“The trip we’re doing this weekend is 16-and-a-half hours driving to go see them,” Kim explained.
‘WE CAN’T SHOW EMOTION’
Between walking from place to place, the Josephs are also driving back and forth to spend time with their children when given access by MCFD. This past weekend after their journey into Whistler, they drove to Prince Rupert and Vanderhoof.
When they do get visits, Kim said they’re promised two days and each time the visits are cut down to one or the duration is shortened, and they’re told there aren’t supervisors available.
“It’s very stressful because we can’t show emotion … It’s really difficult to try and sit there with a smile as they’re telling you you can’t see your children,” Kim said.
“They say their goal is to keep families together, and to keep children connected to families, and we have not seen that. They promise us more visits, then they’re cutting the visits down the day before the weekend starts,” she added.
“It’s just heartbreaking right now, and it’s really hard to try and keep telling them, ‘OK,’ like they’re really waiting for us to fail and we’re not going to, because we want our children home.”
The couple said their children were taken away after Jordan’s councillor reported him to MCFD while he was grieving the loss of
his grandfather, alleging he was “aggressive” during a home visit. Jordan asserted his councillor’s job was to help him process the loss, and instead, he caused harm.
Pique reached out to Grace Lore, Minister for Children and Family Development for comment on the Josephs’ case, but because of the provincial election and interregnum period, government communication is suspended.
Only one of the Joseph children has cultural care, being placed in a home through Nezul Be Hunuyeh Child & Family Services Society in Prince George.
While Bill C92: An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families, in theory gives responsibility back to Indigenous communities to provide cultural care for children, in practice many children are still placed in homes without cultural connection.
Census data from 2021 shows Indigenous children are vastly over-represented in the child welfare system. Less than eight per cent of children in Canada under 14 are Indigenous, yet 53.8 per cent of children up to 14 years old in foster care are Indigenous.
The Josephs want people to understand the injustice of the system and that truth and reconciliation are more than just empty words.
“We want the truth and reconciliation to be shown and put into action,” Kim said. “That’s what we’re hoping for.”
They’re drafting a letter to submit to Parliament in early November, and will post it on their Facebook group, WALKING FOR ALL CHILDREN IN MINISTRY CARE.
The group is highly active, with the couple and their supporters posting videos and photos as they travel through the province.
WALKING DESPITE THE PAIN
After their first journey walking from Prince Rupert to Prince George, they’ve tried to take more frequent breaks. Jordan’s legs and feet were pushed to the breaking point for the first portion, his feet bleeding and blistered.
“His tendons and muscles were on the brink of permanent damage, the doctors said, so we had to rest and slow down,” Kim said.
On their journey, various First Nations have offered support and walked alongside them.
“They walked us through Cache Creek turnoff to Lillooet and then to Seton Portage. And then we went up Highline Road to D’Arcy, through Mount Currie, Pemberton and then
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Naturespeak: Modest mushrooms, major impact—the role of LBMs in nature
BY CHLOE VAN LOON
MUSHROOMS. The first that come to mind are probably the large, colourful, and wellknown, like the edible King Bolete (Boletus edulis) or the iconic Fly Agaric (Amanita muscaria). But hidden in the underbrush are a group of humble fungi that play a significant role in our forest ecosystem—the elusive “Little Brown (or Boring) Mushrooms,” a.k.a. LBMs. Despite their demure stature, LBMs contribute to the biodiversity and health of forest environments, quietly contributing to nutrient cycling and as food for fellow forest dwellers, all while remaining a challenging group of fungi to study.
LBMs are generally categorized as smallto medium-sized, brown, tan, or beige, but
WALK
many are also white–often bright white! There are many small mushrooms that have yellow to orange to red colouration, even slightly purple, but those often grab our eyeballs’ gaze, unlike their white and brown cousins, the classic LBMs.
Many LBMs are saprotrophic, vital decomposers, breaking down organic matter such as fallen leaves and decaying wood. In doing so, they recycle nutrients back into the soil, creating a rich environment for other organisms to thrive. Without decomposing fungi, forest ecosystems would struggle, as nutrients would remain locked in organic matter instead of being released back into the soil, waste would accumulate, and the ecosystem would collapse.
FOR CHILDREN FROM PAGE 20
Whistler,” Kim said.
While in Whistler, the Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre (SLCC) welcomed the couple, sharing a hot meal and giving them gifts for their travels, according to Nadija Veach, marketing manager for the SLCC.
Their companions have shared stories which were “similar or worse” to the Josephs’ experience, heartbreaking tales that encourage the couple to keep fighting for
changes to the child welfare system.
One of the primary reasons LBMs are ignored is the difficulty in identifying them. With their uniform coloured body, general lack of distinctive features, and, of course, their size, which requires extra effort to view any part of them, it’s no wonder LBMs stump mycologists! Some species look almost identical to one another, and only microscopic examination of their spores and/ or DNA testing can reveal their true identity. Mycologists believe many species of LBMs have yet to be documented, a common theme across the Fungal Kingdom.
“They helped us through their territory. It was really amazing to see that and to see the territory and be with the people for our walk,” Kim said. “It’s amazing to see how many of the Nations have come together and support us.”
To learn more about why they are walking or send support, readers can email them at walkforkidsincare2024@gmail.com. n
More than 1,000 species of fungi have been documented through the Whistler Biodiversity Project and through the help of scientists attending the Whistler Naturalists’
BioBlitzes and Fungus Among Us festivals. The family Mycenaceae fits the LBM description well; 38 total species have been documented in the Whistler area. Mycenaceae includes the genus Mycena, commonly known as “bonnets.” Mycenas in our area can typically be found in clusters on decomposing wood. They are a diverse, worldwide genera and were recently found growing out of a living frog in India! What?! A 2023 study found this genus “present in living plant roots across species,” which challenged our understanding this was a purely saprotrophic genus (Harder et al., 2023).
LBMs can provide a home for insects during their lifecycle and a food source for a wide variety of forest creatures. Nematodes, gnats, flat bugs, collembola (springtails), ants, beetles, and more all potentially utilize LBMs for food. Snack time! If not for our plate, definitely for others!
LBMs remind us not all important aspects of nature are showy or immediately apparent. These modest fungi may not grab our attention like the morel’s honeycomb cap or the deep red cap of a Russula sp, but their role in maintaining the balance of forest ecosystems cannot be underappreciated. So next time you’re in the woods, take a closer look at the forest floor—you will discover an LBM quietly playing its part in the cycle of life.
Naturespeak is prepared by the Whistler Naturalists. To learn more about Whistler’s natural world, go to whistlernaturalists.ca. n
PHOTO BY CHLOE VAN LOON
Sue Big Oil campaign pitches Pemberton’s council
REPRESENTATIVES FROM WEST COAST ENVIRONMENTAL LAW POINTED TO MOUNTING COSTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE AND B.C.’S CLASS ACTION LEGAL SYSTEM AS REASONS TO SIGN ON
BY LIZ MCDONALD
THE VILLAGE OF PEMBERTON met with representatives from West Coast Environmental Law (WCEL) this week, hearing a pitch about the campaign “Sue Big Oil.”
WCEL was invited to present on Oct. 22 after Councillor Katrina Nightingale brought the idea to council in early October. While no decision was made, the VOP listened to and asked questions of WCEL representatives Fiona Koza and Andrew Gage, who joined in person and via Zoom, respectively.
Koza, who joined in-person, explained that from flooding and landslides to wildfires, heat waves and droughts, Pemberton and other municipalities face mounting costs from climate change damage and adaptation measures.
“It’s particularly hard, I think, for small communities that have a small tax base to pay for such climate costs,” she said.
She pointed out if everyone is responsible for climate change, from individuals to corporations, individual taxpayers shouldn’t have to bear the brunt of costs associated with damage and adaptation.
“The industry that is most responsible for causing climate change is not paying for anything for climate damage and climate adaptation, and this is bad economics,” she said.
CLASS ACTION LITIGATION PROCESS
WCEL is a non-profit advocacy group pushing the campaign, but would not be the litigators. They need enough municipalities to represent half a million residents before a case could move forward and one or more municipalities would have to step up as the lead plaintiff(s). They also need a second large municipality to sign on, as Burnaby’s agreement is conditional on another big player coming to the table.
One argument Gage and Koza made to encourage the VOP’s signature is that federal disaster relief will increasingly be spread far and wide, leaving some out in the cold.
WCEL referenced Merritt, Princeton and Abbotsford’s rejection by the feds for disaster
salient because they also cause harm in Canada.
“It’s also 10 years old. How do I put my faith in a 10-year-old graph?” Craddock replied.
Gage replied by saying the figures aren’t very different from 10 years ago compared to today, and that he would find an updated version for the VOP.
Coun. Laura Ramsden asked how the case would proceed after enough member municipalities signed on.
Gage explained the lead plaintiff would be responsible for retaining a legal team and making decisions, and after that, the first step would be having the case certified by a judge as having merit for a class action suit before moving forward.
“It’s particularly hard, I think, for small communities that have a small tax base to pay for such climate costs.”
- FIONA KOZA
relief from devastation caused during the 2021 atmospheric rivers.
They pointed to cities in the U.S. which had sued oil companies, and made nods to cases against tobacco, asbestos and pharmaceutical companies.
While most questions centred around the logistics of a class action lawsuit, Coun. Ted Craddock’s comments related to the graphs shown by WCEL, which gave global emissions statistics that were about 10 years old.
“I’m just looking at Canadian sets. I don’t care about the U.S.,” he said.
Gage said global fossil fuel emissions are
A judge would have to confirm international fossil fuel companies could be sued in B.C.’s courts and identify common issues of municipalities that could be resolved through the suit, along with what share of the cost the companies are responsible for and what legal category the case fits in.
“At the end of that, the judge will make a ruling on those issues. At that stage, it’s highly likely that the class action will be settled, because the question of the liability of the companies will have been determined. It’s just a question of how much that they’re liable for,” Gage said.
If the companies didn’t settle “there would have to be a further stage of litigation where each municipality would show what they are entitled to based on the costs that they have suffered as a community,” Gage added.
NO FIRM COMMITMENT YET
One benefit of pursuing a class action lawsuit in B.C. specifically comes from the legal system in the province.
“B.C.’s class action laws are such that, if there’s a class action brought forward and you lose the case, you do not have to pay the other side’s legal fees, and that’s just for class actions in B.C., and it’s unique among all the Canadian provinces,” Koza said.
Nightingale wondered why Vancouver hasn’t signed on, and the team explained Vancouver’s council initially voted in favour of the campaign in 2022, but the new council with Mayor Ken Sim at the helm rejected it in an 8-3 vote.
She also inquired whether the VOP would have to commit $1 per resident given their financial constraints, and Gage answered that while they could be somewhat flexible, a level of commitment is required.
“I think that we’re more interested in seeing that there’s a solid and firm commitment to provide support than the specific logistics of how you structure that,” he said.
If a class action moved forward, it would likely take a decade before courts decide, which WCEL reps likened to the time it takes for municipalities to plan for long-term infrastructure projects.
When all was said and done, the VOP thanked WCEL for their time and moved on to other business. n
Lil’wat Forestry Ventures employee wins award
HAYDEN LEO WAS NAMED AS A TOP
20
UNDER 40 FROM CANADIAN FOREST INDUSTRY MAGAZINE
BY LIZ MCDONALD
HAYDEN LEO’S commitment to a career in forestry has earned him an award from Canadian Forest Industry Magazine (CFI)
Named in CFI’s Top 20 under 40 for 2024, Leo’s 11 years working in forestry has seen him dive into everything from silviculture and firefighting to landslide restoration.
According to a press release from his employer, Lil’wat Forestry Ventures (LFV), the leadership award celebrates “young professionals driving innovation and making significant contributions to the industry.”
As a forestry technician, Leo spends much of his time hiring contractors, engineers and tree planters, alongside managing budgets and other initiatives.
“I think that it’s a way for me to work with my community and do things for my community, bringing a skill set that we’ve always done and being able to bring it back to them,” Leo said.
Leo explained one of the reasons he works in the industry is the intersection between Coastal and Interior forests where he works.
“We have probably one of the coolest forestry areas in the world, because we’re right in the middle of Coastal forests and Interior forests; they’re really dry and really wet forests,” he said.
This intimate knowledge of the forest is something he wants to teach to youth in his community.
“If we’re able to teach the community members and the younger youth in our territory about forestry, that would be awesome. And then we’d all be able to be stewards of land in our territory,” he said.
CFI Magazine editor Jennifer Ellson applauded the significant work Leo has led in the forestry industry.
“It’s incredibly inspiring to have someone like Hayden Leo leading the way in the forest industry,” she said in a release. “That this recognition came on the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation feels like a poetic tribute to the important role that young Indigenous leaders like Hayden play in shaping a more inclusive and sustainable future for our industry.”
For his part, the news came as a surprise for Leo, who was unaware his boss and manager nominated him for the award.
“I’m super stoked about it. I owe it to a lot of other people that helped me … and influenced my learning,” he said.
After starting as a firefighter with LFV in 2013, Leo went on to obtain a silviculture survey accreditation and earned a forestry diploma from British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT). He worked in the industry gaining real-world experience and now is studying at the University of Northern British Columbia to become a Registered Professional Forester.
One of his major contributions in forestry with LFV includes working on the Q’welq’welústen/Mount Meager Landslide Restoration project.
He and others planted different species from conifer and deciduous trees, berry bushes and shrubs to help restore the soil and prevent sediment erosion from flowing down into rivers and streams and slowing water during flooding.
LFV manages timber in the Lil’wat Nation’s traditional territory, with a broad mandate including harvesting, tree planting, road rehabilitation and more.
Klay Tindall, general manager for LFV, said the work Leo does is well worth recognition.
“The value that Hayden brings is hard work. He is driven to improve himself and genuinely cares about people and his community,” Tindall said in the release. “He is very community-focused, which is significant because he’s not pursuing education solely for himself, but to serve the entire community. Hayden also has an infectiously positive attitude, so even when facing challenges, he tackles them with a smile. Without a doubt, he is deserving of this award, and we are so proud of him.”
For anyone looking to get into a career in forestry, Leo said there’s so many avenues to choose.
“Forestry is huge, there’s not just one small piece. Everyone thinks it’s logging, but there’s tree planting, surveying, there’s a lot of areas you can grow in or learn about. It’s such a broad range of knowledge.” n
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LEADING THE WAY Hayden Leo, Forestry Technician from the Lil’wat Nation, working on the Q’welq’welústen/ Mount Meager Landslide Restoration project.
PHOTO COURTESY OF LIL’WAT FORESTRY VENTURES
Mental Health and Wellness
This October, have compassion for yourself and others!
World Mental Health Day takes place annually on October 10. Created by the World Federation for Mental Health (WFMH), the event raises awareness of mental health issues and encourages people to take action to improve their mental well-being.
Compassion is vital to human nature, with tangible effects and real power. The WFMH stresses that showing compassion and empathy toward yourself and others can create a supportive environment and help break the stigma surrounding mental health issues.
What’s compassion?
Compassion is sometimes mistaken for empathy, the ability to feel and understand someone’s pain. However, compassion goes beyond just feeling empathy. It involves an emotional response to other people’s difficulties and a strong desire to help alleviate their suffering. In other words, compassion consists of empathy and action, making it a more complete response to the suffering of others.
What impact does it have on mental health?
Compassion has a significant impact on mental health. When you care for others or yourself and act with kindness and understanding, it releases a hormone called oxytocin, which helps you feel good. Scientists say helping others in pain can make you feel as good as experiencing something pleasurable yourself.
Receiving compassion from yourself and others can also help you manage emotional distress and calm your mind. It can also improve your relationship with yourself, leading to greater optimism and happiness.
Visit wmhdofficial.com to learn more about Mental Health Day and how to take action and create lasting change.
THE 2024 Red Bull Rampage will go down as one of the most memorable; a veritable rollercoaster of emotions.
Let’s start with the positives. Women competitors finally got their long-awaited seat at the table this year with their own event, their own venue, on their own day. Red Bull
BY VINCE SHULEY
came under a lot of fire last year for cancelling Formation (the non-competitive women’s freeride event held in the same Utah desert riding region the men ride). Formation ran for three editions, letting the female freeriders practice building and riding their own lines without the pressure and risk of judged runs. It was the perfect predecessor to the women’s Rampage event this year, which saw seven women drop in on the course. It would have been an even eight at the inaugural women’s Rampage, but Cami Nogueira made the wise decision to skip the start after breaking her nose in a crash during practice.
Red Bull did not livestream the women’s event, choosing instead to replay it that evening. While this led to some inevitable spoilers with social media and real-time
results, I suspect Red Bull will give the women’s event more media resources in the future as the viewership numbers rise alongside the progression of riding.
On Oct. 10, women’s freeride had its moment. New Zealand’s Robin Goomes clearly had the best run, landing two backflips no one else was willing, or able, to risk. Freeride veteran Casey Brown—who’s been pitching for a slot at Rampage since 2018—was the only rider to hit her meticulously constructed “laundry chute,” an incredibly steep chuteto-drop feature that would send most freeride bros running for the hills. She placed third. But the run I was most looking forward to was that of Whistler’s own Georgia Astle, who has slowly but surely gravitated towards
moments. The first runs were mind blow after mind blow, with veterans like Tyler McCaul having the run of his 14-year Rampage career to get him on the podium in third. Tom van Steenbergen front-flipped the massive “The Price is Right” step down feature and somehow managed to ride it out at reckless speed. He earned himself the best trick of the day, but it turns out one huge mid-run air isn’t enough to win. Not this year, anyway. Many thought van Steenbergen was short-changed in fourth place.
Szymon Godziek seemed to have the winning formula of big air and a variety of technical tricks. His huge backflip over The Price is Right—followed by the coolest double backflip I’ve ever seen—put him in the hot
point for his fifth Rampage win.
The internet lost its collective mind. Armchair sportsfans declared Rampage is not a slopestyle event and the judges should honour its big-mountain freeride roots with their scoring. Brendan Fairclough returned to Rampage this year and had a unique, truly mesmerizing run with moments of deathly exposure, but unfortunately that’s not what Rampage is about anymore. Fairclough and his fans were the most disappointed of the day, with his run scoring a paltry 76 for 11th place, pretty much at the back of the pack with riders who made major errors.
The thing is, if every run was like Fairclough’s, Rampage wouldn’t be what it is in 2024. Media companies like Red Bull follow what the viewers want, and that’s the most visually impressive tricks, be it amplitude, technicality, or a mixture of both. I really wanted Godziek to win. I really wanted van Steenbergen on the podium for that crazy-ass front flip. And I wanted Fairclough’s run to be appreciated by the judges as more than lacklustre. But at the end of the day, no one else could do what Semenuk did in his run top-to-bottom. Godziek came the closest and the scores reflected that.
freeride events after years of downhill racing. Stomping her massive drop and managing a big no-hander took her to second place on the podium and made her hometown mountain bike community proud.
Like most years at Rampage, the men’s event on Oct. 10 was a mix of WTF-did-Ijust-see? moments and WTF-was-that-score?
seat with very few riders able to match his amplitude, style and variety of tricks.
Then came Brandon Semenuk, the guy who has won four Rampage events, one more than anyone else. His slopestyle-esque run made the most technical tricks of the day look easy, and it was up there with some of the riskiest. He pipped Godziek by just over a
Rampage has been a clear driver of freeride mountain biking’s evolution since it began in 2001. Longtime fans may not agree with the direction it’s going and which riding styles are getting rewarded, but there’s no halting progress. More difficult runs get higher scores.
Vince Shuley can’t wait to see what the women bring in 2025. For questions, comments or suggestions for The Outsider, email vince. shuley@gmail.com or Instagram @whis_vince. n Like
RAGING BULL Szymon Godziek executed his huge backflip over The Price is Right step-down feature, but was bested by Brandon Semenuk on the last run of the day.
PHOTO BY BARTEK WOLINSKI / RED BULL CONTENT POOL
THE ETERNITY HOUSE
by Katherine Fawcett
teve floated down the stairs.
The smell of coffee, its hints of caramel, nuts and fire, made him grateful to still have his olfactory. It reminded him of weekend mornings before the accident, when he and Jeremy would wake up, limbs intertwined, and rock/ paper/scissors for who would brew a fresh pot. Obviously, he no longer had a sense of touch or taste, or any of the tangibles like that, but man-oh-man, a guy could still appreciate the scent of dark roasted beans, no matter his physical state.
But wait. Coffee?
He stopped and hovered above the landing.
Neither he nor Jeremy drank the stuff anymore. They must have a guest. Strange. There was no one on the books, and they didn’t usually get walk-ins. It wasn’t the kind of establishment people just stumbled across, unless they were hopelessly lost. People almost always reserved through their website: www.theeternityhouse.com. Guests were delighted to find something off the beaten path, something cheaper than Airbnb, with its taxes and surcharges. And although technically people were welcome to stay at The Eternity House for as long as they wished—there was a flat rate per stay—no one had ever lasted more than a week.
It was Jeremy and Steve’s little game. At first they’d had a hoot with it, betting on how long the guests would last before they fled. Snooping through the personal items they’d inevitably leave behind.
Eventually they noticed patterns. Singles usually outlasted couples. Women outlasted men. Couples with children outlasted childless couples. Couples with mountain bikes often didn’t last a night.
Walk-ins: they were the wild cards.
The Eternity House was always guest-ready. Fresh towels, fresh linens. A bowl of fruit on the counter. Tourist brochures. That morning, Jeremy was sweeping the kitchen.
“Do I sense a visitah?” said Steve in his best Vincent Price ghoulish voice. “An unsuspecting walk-in, perchance?”
Jeremy nodded towards the lobby where a large pair of men’s work boots, old and mud-splattered, lay akimbo on the
through the slot in the metal Payment Box bolted to the wall. At least there was a wad of cash.
Jeremy set the broom against the wall and flicked the foyer lights on and off a few times. Rattled the chains in the front hall closet.
“No, no, no,” said Steve gently. “Not just yet. Let’s let the poor soul rest for a bit first.”
Jeremy ignored Steve and let a coffee mug fall to the floor.
“Darling,” Steve sighed. “I know you’re keen. But the sun’s barely risen.”
Jeremy said nothing.
Surprise, surprise.
Even before the accident, it seemed they’d run out of things to talk about. Back then, all they really had in common was Latin dancing, having sex, and ordering sushi. Steve’s family had never really liked Jeremy. And Jeremy was allergic to Steve’s cat. They didn’t always get each other’s jokes. But they’d lusted for each other. Their love-making was so good that seemed good enough.
Now, obviously, the carnal was done with, and here they were, running this cute little country inn and playing Haunted House together for the rest of time. Steve knew Jeremy barely tolerated him, but truth is, Steve still loved the guy. Always had, always would. He may no longer have been able to pinch his boyfriend’s backside while they danced, but he still yearned to hear his laugh. To inhale his exhales. To share dreams, fears, passions. Steve had thought they would bond, after the accident. Shouldn’t the afterlife be an even deeper place to build a relationship?
He tried.
He really did. But Jeremy was so restless. Bitter. Resentful.
When Steve suggested marital counselling, Jeremy had scoffed and wafted away.
Steve set a jar of blackberry jam on the counter beside the basket of fresh pastries. Jeremy sighed, picked up the jam, cocked his translucent head at Steve like: ‘Wrong again. Why are you always such a moron?’, put it back in the fridge, purselipped, and replaced it with marmalade.
Steve wasn’t exactly sure what the problem was, but apologized anyhow. “I’m sorry, Babe. I just thought—”
A door creaked open. They both spun around. The hallway was filled with a backlit figure, slowly moving towards them. Lurching. Staggering. Steve whispered, “Who is that? Is that our guest? I’ve never seen anyone so—”
Jeremy shushed him, but Steve carried on talking.
“Why’s he walking like that? Why does he smell like that?
help it. “A dead man walking. A vacant, spirit-less body. When you think about it, he’s the very opposite of us. So interesting! So fun! Right, Jeremy? Right?”
“I think he’s a perfect opportunity.”
Steve didn’t know where this was going. “A perfect opportunity? Like, for what?”
But Jeremy had already started drifting towards the dead guy. The air in the room turned suddenly cold. Steve gasped as his darling draped himself over the oozing, pulsating, living corpse in the kitchen. Jeremy was a delicate cloud of lacy mist, hugging a monstrous, gangrene-covered stump.
“Noooo!” Steve choked.
But as mist sank into flesh, the zombie’s eyes began to sparkle with Jeremy’s life-force. There was a “whooshing” sound that Steve thought might have been a joke until the creature gave a shake and a twitch, like he was trying on a new jumpsuit. Then there was a click, barely audible—the sound of a closing door when someone’s sneaking out—and in that moment, Steve knew Jeremy and the zombie had merged.
“Jeremy!” cried Steve. “My love! What have you done?”
“Sayonara, sweetheart,” said the spirited corpse, who still smelled pretty bad, but now moved with the grace of a man who enjoyed samba dancing, the company of tall men, and a nice assorted sashimi tray. --
Just like at a normal inn, guests at The Eternity House pay per night now. Men, women, couples, families, even mountain bikers. Some check in for just a few days; others stay for two weeks or more. The place is always clean and welcoming, the aroma of fresh coffee and pastries in the air. Steve doesn’t try to make anyone leave early by rattling chains or flicking light switches or other spooky shenanigans. He’s an attentive, melancholy and invisible host who discreetly hovers. And waits. And wonders. And wishes, that a stranger—rotting and rancid— will stagger through the door for him like he dreams of.
Katherine Fawcett is a Squamish-based author, teacher and musician. Her latest books are The Swan Suit and The Little Washer of Sorrows. She’s hosting an online Horror Writing Workshop on Monday, Oct. 28. Details at katherinefawcett.com.
IN OUR GARDEN
only things she could successfully propagate were pestilence and premature death.
Her sister would tell her to be patient, that learning how to create an harmonious garden takes time, that it’s all about slowing down and observing the connections between the plants and the animals, and helping everything work together. She’d wanted so badly for it to keep going after she’d gone.
It was why Grace responded to the flier in the first place. She usually dismissed unsolicited mail as scams, but the picture on the front of the prospering vegetable garden pierced her heart with shame.
“Participants wanted!” it read. “Seeking home gardeners to trial a new range of heirloom seeds in the Pacific Northwest. Non-GMO, guaranteed fully organic, these varietals may be the answer to sustainable food production! Future-proof your food! Sign up for your free samples today!”
When the little envelopes finally arrived they all had funny names, like Mondas Mung Beans and Silurian Snap Peas, and each seed was individually encased in its own silver capsule that also contained a “Completely natural, bio-dissolvable food source to nourish the seed until it adjusts to your unique soil.” She couldn’t wait to get started.
When the snow finally melted Grace wasted no time getting the precious seeds into the ground. Usually she would second-guess every pairing and placement. “Should the cucumbers go next to the potatoes or the peas?” But this year she had a newfound confidence. At some point over the winter she’d taken to carrying the seeds around with her like worry dolls. Whenever something bothered her she’d remove a seed from her pocket and pinch the cap between her fingers, daring it to break. But it always sprung back into shape. A resilient little pod of action potential.
In a few short weeks Grace’s garden was an abundance of new life. Green sprouts unfurled daily, reaching up towards the strengthening sun. Grace walked the rows in her floppy straw hat, clapping her hands together in delight every time she discovered something new emerging. She still wasn’t sure exactly what she was growing, but she was looking forward to eating it. She could probably do with a vitamin boost. She’d recently found a lump on her neck, up in her hairline behind her right ear. It felt kind of squishy, like one of the raised moles on her sagging belly. At least being where it was no-one would be able to see it. She couldn’t even see it herself.
Over the next few months the lump began to grow exponentially, stretching down along Grace’s spine. She considered getting it checked out but she knew her doctor would want to poke and prod and make a fuss. And it’s not like she was feeling sick. She actually felt better than she had in a long time. Stronger, and full of purpose. Not just purpose, but something she could feel in her bones, a kind of electric tingling that made her want to wriggle her fingers and toes. In the hot weather she’d ditched her fancy boots and taken to walking around the garden barefoot. She’d make her morning coffee and drink it slowly sitting on a log at the centre of the rows. Here she’d compile her own daily news.
her favourite floral blouse over her thickening neck, ripping it right down the seam.
“Lump, look what you’ve done!” The shredded garment fell to the floor and a flash of anger surged behind Grace’s eyes. Perhaps lump was getting too big?
She shuffled slowly towards her bedroom mirror to get a better look. Sitting down at her dresser she was shocked to see dust bunnies take flight. And her hairbrush and combs looked as though they hadn’t been moved in months. How long since she’d sat here? Grace tried to bring her reflection into focus.
“Could just wear button ups,” she said, turning back to her closet.
“Yes, Lump, I suppose it will have to be button ups from now on.”
She patted herself on the back for reassurance. Well, she patted Lump. What she hadn’t been able to see in the mirror was that Lump now stretched all the way down her spine to her tailbone.
Sitting became uncomfortable. Grace spent the late summer wandering her garden, letting her feet guide the way, the grass tickling her toes. She could feel the weight of lump pushing down on her shoulders but she didn’t mind. It was familiar now, like a never-ending hug. Until one day, after pulling up weeds from the carrots, she discovered that she couldn’t stand back up. Crawling into the house on all fours she noticed some of last year’s Halloween candy that had slipped behind the couch. Too tired to haul herself onto the couch, Grace ate the candy, grateful for its simple sugar, and fell into a deep sleep curled up in the entryway. During the night, lump stretched out to support her aching hips and knees, and to protect her face from the hard floor.
The next day, unable to make her coffee, Grace crawls back into her garden. She moves creakingly between the beds, overflowing with pungent ripe fruits and vegetables left on the vine to rot. On all fours, up close, she hears the birds above devouring what they can reach, underneath the ants and the flies feasting.
“It’s beautiful, Lump. Do you think my sister would be proud?”
Lump nods.
“The trial!” Grace twists her head painfully towards the house. “We need to tell them what we’ve learnt!”
She tries to turn but lands flat on her belly, arms and legs refusing to cooperate.
“They are not ready,” Lump replies, “We are ready.”
Grace’s fingers curl towards her palms and plunge deep into the soil.
“Lump, would you look at that! The beans have grown half a foot overnight! And the zucchini is in flower!”
Indeed, Grace’s garden was the envy of the neighbourhood. Her lettuces never burnt in the late frost, her tomatoes didn’t wilt in the extended heat. One lady even stopped by to ask
“Oh you know,” she said airily, “just getting back to doing things the old way, organic like.”
The lady nodded sagely, “We could use more of that.”
Despite feeling stronger, Grace began to notice that she was having trouble getting dressed in the mornings. Determined, she tried to force
Her toes scratch at the dirt, long nails extending down into the earth, growing sinuous.
“But the others?” she whispers.
“They will come. Give them time.”
Fingers and arms and feet and legs stretch down and out and under the garden beds, rooting into place as Grace and Lump stretch together towards the sky, intertwined, skin becoming bark, hair becoming leaves, minds one.
“We have everything we need right here.”
Kate Heskett is a Whistler-based writer, canoe guide and collector of stories. They are an award-winning poet and their work was recently published in the Lupine Review. Originally from Australia, Kate is firmly stuck in the Whistler bubble, trying their best to grow more than just kale and still working on their first novel.
THE CREATURE FROM BLACK LAKE
by Alan Forsythe
o this happened a few years back, though I have never told anyone about it till now. It has to do with the time, five Octobers ago, when I talked my friends into looking for the
creature from Black Lake.
“What Black Lake?” said my friend Bill, when I proposed the little adventure I’d cooked up.
“Green Lake is Black Lake, they changed the name back in the ’60s, for obvious reasons,” I told them—them being the aforementioned Bill, his girlfriend Joan, my girlfriend Kate, and Brock, who was just this guy who always hung out with us, despite no one ever having asked him to.
“And there’s a creature in the lake? That’s news to me.” That was Joan, and Kate readily agreed, although she seemed to just be teasing me. I could tell she was up for a “scary” adventure, no matter how much she may have doubted my story.
I explained to them that no, there wasn’t a creature dwelling within the lake, but one that stalked the far shore, around the ghost town of Parkhurst. In fact, the creature was why Parkhurst became a ghost town.
“What’re you talking about? Parkhurst became a ghost town when the old mill closed in the ’50s. Not because some Sasquatch or something killed everyone,” Bill said. I was beginning to suspect he was actually afraid to go.
“I didn’t say a Sasquatch, it’s something different… or so they say. Although humanoid, it’s not furry, more scaly, with large bulbous eyes, huge claws and a mouth filled with razor sharp fangs.”
“Uh, uh, so what is it, the Boogeyman?”
“Dude if you don’t want to go, we don’t have to go. But seriously, if you don’t believe this story, then what are you afraid of?”
“Yeah Bill, I mean, I’m not buying it either, but what the hell, sounds like a fun little pre-Halloween adventure.”
I knew Kate would be in, and once she was, so was Joan and after that, well, what choice did Bill have?
We headed out the following afternoon. A crisp fall day, mostly clear, with a few clouds clinging to mountain peaks.
To save time, we paddled across the lake and tied the canoes up at the abandoned dock below the wreckage of the old steam shovel.
“How do you think this thing ended up here?” Asked Kate. “Who knows, another Black Lake mystery.”
“Green Lake.”
“Not originally.”
Brock had, as usual, joined the four of us, although, as usual, no one had invited him. He wasn’t in the best shape, and had already started to lag behind the rest of us as we moved deeper into the woods.
The trail to Parkhurst isn’t so much a trail as a hiking route, marked through the woods by small coloured tabs, or sometimes just a trail blaze carved in a tree. Even in the bright afternoon, the woods remained surprisingly dark.
We pushed on, into the woods, following the route marked on the trees.
“We should have started earlier, it’s getting cold.” I drew Kate closer to me. “It’s not far now.”
“Where’s Brock?” Bill was behind us all, or actually Brock had been, but yes, where had Brock gone?
We all yelled for him, and waited for an answer back, but to no avail.
“He must have given up and headed back to the canoes.”
“Then we should go back for him,” Bill insisted, but what was the point? I asked. If he was too tired to go on, he was fine on the old dock till we got back.
“What if he’s lost?”
“How could he be lost? He must have still been in view of the lake from back there, even Brock could figure it out.” Bill was doubtful. We moved on nonetheless.
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
We kept moving, deeper into the woods. The clouds had settled in, and it was darker and colder.
Although we soon made it to the abandoned and derelict buildings that the “town” of Parkhurst consisted of, they were
half collapsed and overgrown with moss. Their dark doorways stood in a challenge for people to enter. In the growing dark, the ghost town of Parkhurst felt ominous indeed.
“I’m starting to think this wasn’t such a good idea.” Joan cast a skeptical eye over our destination, and shivered in the growing cold.
As if right on cue, a horrible wail echoed through the woods. It sounded very distant, but that was a small consolation.
“What the hell was that?” Kate huddle close against me.
“It’s our signal to leave, that’s what it is.” And never had Bill and I been in greater agreement.
We made off in a brisk walk back towards the lake, our fear pushing us at double time. There was the sense that something could reach out of the woods at any time and snatch us away.
However, as it turned out, what we feared wasn’t behind us, it was ahead of us. We heard a rustling in the woods, and a distinct hissing sound. Bill, who was in front, held us up.
“Guys I’m not sure what that was, but it’s definitely in front of us.”
“Bill, don’t, you’re scaring me.”
“Guys I’m not trying to scare anyone, but we all heard it, and I’m sorry, but it’s close, I think it’s...”
Bill never finished his thought, as a large grey streak plunged out of the woods, engulfed him and dragged him away. It was so fast he didn’t even have time to scream in terror.
Joan did, though; a blood-curdling scream of absolute horror. Kate and I rushed to her.
“What the f**k, what the f**k just happened!?” She was trembling and inconsolable, but we had to move.
Kate shook her. “Joan, we have to move, we have to move now!”
The thing, whatever it was that had taken Bill, was moving to the right of us. We plunged forward, towards the lake. At first I was holding Kate’s hand as we ran headlong through the woods, and I assumed she had Joan’s, but soon I lost it, caring only about, yes I’m ashamed to admit it, my self-preservation.
I heard Joan scream, looked back; Kate was still with me, but Joan was obscured by a large, grey scaly back. The creature raised one clawed hand and tore into Joan.
Kate screamed, and the creature turned back to look at us. Its head was oblong, with two large, completely black eyes. There was no discernible snout or nose, but below the eyes was a large, gaping maw of a mouth, lined with razor-like teeth. It hissed that horrible otherworldly hiss at us, then dragged Joan’s body into the woods with it.
Kate was paralyzed with fear. I grabbed her and dragged her forward, towards the lake. We could still survive, I thought, if we could make it to the canoes.
We made it to the old dock, somehow. There was no sign of Brock, although at that point we would have been more surprised to find him alive and well.
Kate stood shivering with cold and fear as I untied our canoe. I jumped in.
“Kate, come on, let’s go!”
But it was too late. The creature emerged out of the woods. Two large, clawed hands tore into Kate. She looked directly into my eyes, as she screamed her last.
I turned in the canoe and paddled as hard as I could. That horrible wail filled my ears again as I alone made my way back to safety.
Born and raised on the North Shore, Alan Forsythe has been skiing Whistler since he was 10, and writing fiction for almost as long. You can find his collection of short stories and novels on amazon.ca.
right in the middle of a human military barricade. Yet here she was, nonetheless.
It had been four years since the aptly-named Blood Pact, an alliance of lycanthropes and vampires, declared war on humanity. They’d swept across Europe and North America, killing countless people or turning them into newborn monsters. At first it looked like they would dominate the world, but one had to credit the humans for not going down easily.
Astrid wasn’t
Vigilante Order, a group that believed it unethical to prey on sapient lifeforms. Her kind had fought their former brethren for more than a century, but of course humans didn’t know that. In their collective consciousness, all vampires represented an existential threat.
Astrid had travelled to the Sea to Sky, one of the war’s most volatile theatres, to extend an olive branch. She’d meticulously crafted a human alter ego to embed herself in one of their militaries. Her goal was not sabotage or assassination, but field research: to understand human customs in the hopes of making formal, peaceful contact.
That mission had brought her to a place named Creekside. It had once been a lively residential zone, but its cute little storefronts and houses had been taken over by soldiers. Astrid knelt behind a portable titanium barrier, posing as one of them: Corporal Jane Smith, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry.
She’d procured the uniform and dog tags from a fallen soldier who happened to possess the most generic name imaginable—perfect for her use. Though Astrid felt regretful about hijacking that woman’s identity, she told herself it was for a greater good.
“So…” The infantryman next to her began to speak. “How long’ve you been here?”
“Just arrived,” she told him, keeping her eyes on the dark highway winding south. “You?”
“Yeah, same.” A pause, then: “I, uh, don’t mean to be sexist or nothing, but you’re real pretty for a soldier.”
Astrid rolled her eyes. In this case, her appearance was a drawback: luscious blonde hair, piercing sky blue eyes, symmetrical heart-shaped face, tall and slender physique. Vampires were naturally beautiful, but she didn’t want to be attractive here. She wanted to blend in with the rank and file.
All that grime intentionally smeared on her face, all that dried mud caked in her hair—itself covered by a ballistic helmet—and she still couldn’t look forgettable.
shooting vital organs with inhuman accuracy. Five wolves fell before her in the span of two seconds, then four vampires in equally rapid succession.
Wow, she thought. Firearms are fun.
The armoured vehicles engaged with their cannons, obliterating dozens of hostiles with bursts of high-calibre ammunition. Monsters were exceedingly difficult for humans to hit with small arms, but not even they could outrun the big,
Glancing at the infantryman, Astrid saw he was virtually a boy: clean-shaven with several zits across his young face. There was no insignia on his uniform, meaning he was a private of the most basic variety. His right index finger quivered inside the trigger guard of his rifle, unlike hers which rested properly just above the trigger.
“Hey…” she read the name printed on the right side of his camouflage jacket. “Miller. Trigger discipline, remember?”
He nodded, making the adjustment.
The other eight troops in Astrid’s section were armed with a mix of automatic rifles, machine guns and grenade launchers. Various other sections were posted at their own barricades, as were armoured fighting vehicles equipped with six-barreled rotary cannons. The elevated storefronts housed snipers.
Cacophonous noises began to reach Astrid’s ears: howling, snarling and the staccato drumbeat of many rapid footsteps. The Blood Pact force was still a few kilometres away, but they were coming. Astrid looked at the sergeant who led her section, resisting the urge to warn him. There’s no way a regular human could know what she did.
Instead, she had to wait until one of their snipers called out on the radio: “All units, be advised. Contact, five hundred metres and closing fast.”
Everyone tensed up at that message. Miller gulped nervously as sweat began to drip down his brow.
elephant, with jet-black fur, a skull thicker and shorter than that of most wolves, and a face marred with old battle scars.
In the blink of an eye, Canaan rammed an armoured vehicle and upended it easily. He pivoted with terrifying speed second one before pouncing atop a third to its armament with his jaws. Next, he threw his massive body into the assembled soldiers.
Bodies and barricades scattered like bowling pins. Astrid dive-rolled and came up on one knee—and that’s when she
Miller’s limp corpse looked incredibly fragile between Canaan’s broad, conical teeth. His green eyes were wide and lifeless, his pubescent face locked in an expression of horror. Astrid’s
Canaan swallowed the unfortunate boy as his predatory amber eyes focused upon her. “What’s this?” he rumbled. “You
“No,” she said with decidedly more resolve than she felt.
He laughed, though in wolf form it sounded like a series of
Canaan stepped forward, and Astrid emptied the remainder of her magazine into his face. The bullets dug deeply into his flesh, yet before her eyes those injuries began to mend. Her silver rounds, poisonous to most monsters, didn’t seem to affect him at all.
Well… damn.
Astrid braced herself for a melee she would almost definitely lose. Yet out of the corner of her eye she spied movement. Was that…
A large halberd buried itself in Canaan’s flank, causing him to howl in pain. That weapon left as quickly as it had arrived, flying through the air and returning to the hand of a figure in glistening obsidian armour.
The helmeted warrior adopted a fighting stance, but glanced over at the one he’d saved. “What are you doing here, Astrid?”
“Um…” In spite of everything, Astrid felt hopeful—even starstruck. It was the Knight-Watcher, one of the greatest warriors in vampire history. She’d known all along that her brethren had been wrong about him. Here he was, making a difference!
Canaan’s angry growl returned Astrid’s attention to the matter before her. The wound inflicted by the halberd wasn’t healing as blood gushed from it, but he was still a force to be reckoned with. They weren’t done yet.
The Knight-Watcher nodded at Astrid, and she knew they were on the same page. Together, they charged the lycanthrope alpha.
by David Song
The lycanthropes came into view: a toothy, bloodthirsty wave of oversized wolves. Interspersed among them were numerous vampires, their fangs and fingernails elongated for battle. As they closed with astounding speed, section leaders hurriedly gave orders to open fire.
Astrid calmly looked down her rifle’s sight as barrels blazed around her. She pulled the trigger once at a time,
TO BE CONTINUED ...
Find Part 1 at piquenewsmagazine.com/local-news/tales-offright-and-delight-7747220.
David Song is a reporter for Pique Newsmagazine, covering sports and arts. n
strid Gunnarsdóttir knew that her father would never approve of her presence on an active front line, let alone
Whistler Off Road Cycling Association marks 35th anniversary
THE ORGANIZATION HAS COMPLETED ITS MULTI-YEAR FAR OUT/FLASHBACK TRAIL INITIATIVE
BY DAVID SONG
THREE AND A HALF decades after it came into existence, the Whistler Off Road Cycling Association (WORCA) continues to roll on.
The organization’s greatest accomplishment this year was completing the Far Out/Flashback trail construction project. This undertaking added 10 kilometres of new trails to the Cheakamus network, enjoyable for beginners through to advanced bikers.
“Overall, 2024 was a great year for WORCA,” said executive director Trevor Ferrao. “[Far Out/Flashback] was a huge community project with thousands of hours of volunteer work during our trail days and trail nights over the past five years, as well as paid trail-crew work.
“It is also the first trail that WORCA has built that is suitable for adaptive mountain bikers. We just have one section of the Flashback trail that still needs to be modified to make it suitable for adaptive mountain bikes and we have been applying for grants to fund that additional work.”
EVERY OUNCE OF EFFORT
Speaking of the fiscal side, WORCA received
$282,450 in Fee For Service funding from the Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW), all of which went towards trail maintenance. WORCA’s trail crew was composed of 10 builders who laboured on a variety of assignments throughout the whole network.
Each of the projects conducted throughout every season help keep Whistler’s trails resilient. Features like rock armouring, grade reversals and drainage ditches help them to withstand various weather conditions, including winter cold and snow.
“All good things must come to an end, and what a good thing our trail days have been all season long—with our last trail night an
out to help build trails this season. Whether you could join us for one night, or if you had a perfect attendance record—Craig Mackenzie, I’m looking in your direction—every ounce of your effort makes a big difference.”
‘WE ALL HAVE THE SAME DESIRE’
Official WORCA events have likewise stood the test of time.
The organization put on 15 trail nights in 2024, with nearly all of them reaching full capacity with 30 volunteers each.
Sixteen in-person Toonie rides (which cost
“We are fortunate to have such a passionate community of mountain bikers in Whistler...”
- TREVOR FERRAO
especially great time,” wrote WORCA trails director Ben Hryciw in a newsletter. “Between our regular volunteers, WORCA’s trail crew, and special guests from sponsor Chromag Bikes, there were more than 40 people out in the fading light of the No Flow Zone to finish capping the Creamsicle Rainbow/Up Shit Creek lower extension.
“Big thanks to all of the trail night sponsors: this wouldn’t happen without your support. I would also like to extend a huge thank you to all of the volunteers who came
$2 each with a prepaid membership and season pass) garnered 2,200 total registrations, not to mention 18 additional virtual Toonie rides which allowed participants to experience certain trails at their own leisure within a given week.
The fourth edition of the Back Forty race, which operated on June 8, was its most successful to date. Three hundred riders signed up, a considerable increase from the 126 that took part in 2021. With three timed cross-country segments encompassing
28 kilometres—including 1.3 kilometres of climbing—the Back Forty is one of WORCA’s grandest annual races.
The Witsend women’s enduro returned for a second year as well. Its 80 registrants responded well to a novel course setup throughout Westside and Cheakamus. In terms of scope, the Witsend’s full-length trail covers 29 kilometres of length and elevation gain to the tune of 1.3 kilometres.
“We are fortunate to have such a passionate community of mountain bikers in Whistler that are WORCA members,” said Ferrao. “They understand the importance of WORCA’s work and their membership dollars allow us to run our operations and to secure funding for trail maintenance and new trail construction work.
“In addition to that, the amount of volunteer work is incredible and the new Far Out and Flashback trails in Cheakamus are a great example of this. The enthusiasm of WORCA members for events like our trail nights and Toonie rides creates a really strong sense of community. We all have the same desire to have continued access to world-class trails throughout Whistler.”
Ferrao went on to thank WORCA’s sponsors—the largest of which include the RMOW, the Government of British Columbia and Whistler Blackcomb—for their vital support. While details are forthcoming, he promises Sea to Sky denizens can expect a full slate of WORCA programming in 2025: a wellstaffed trail crew, volunteer trail days, Toonie Rides, the Back Forty, the Witsend, youth camps and more.
Learn more at worca.com. n
ON A ROLL People and bikes assembled at the 2024 Back Forty après.
PHOTO COURTESY OF TREVOR FERRAO / WORCA
Whistler Skating Club president says lack of funding ‘a huge issue’
FINANCIAL
SHORTFALLS INDIRECTLY LED TO THE DISAPPEARANCE OF MANY
CLUB COSTUMES THIS SUMMER
BY DAVID SONG
WITH THE DUST of this year’s B.C. election yet to settle, Whistler Skating Club (WSC) president Ben Thomas believes it’s a great time for folks to contact their new or soon-tobe-determined MLAs about the state of sports funding in the province.
Thomas also sits on the board of Whistler Gymnastics and the Whistler Squash Club, and he knows first-hand that all three organizations suffer from a dearth of money.
“We want to pay our well-deserving coaches more in order to keep them and give them a decent wage, but facility fees are increasing and at the same time we want to keep fees affordable and reasonable for families,” said Thomas. “This creates a gap and leads to deficits. It’s a very difficult situation, but the only solution I see is government funding.
“We absolutely want to keep [existing funding programs]. Whistler Community Services, for example, does an amazing job in our particular community, but I think there’s a much bigger picture and many more dollars that should be put towards [sports and arts] from a provincial level.”
For Thomas, the return on investment would be obvious: physical health and formative experience for the next generation. His own kids, aged 12 and nine, are always tempted to spend more time on their electronic devices—a problem observed by most parents he knows. That may sound unexpected for the Sea to Sky, an area known for outdoor activity, but it is true nonetheless.
Thomas doesn’t want the problem of screen time to catch up to society, and he feels more extensive fiscal and political support for grassroots recreation would represent a key antidote.
“We’re fresh off a provincial election, so people contacting our new representatives who, in theory, should be eager to come up with new ideas, would be very effective,” he says, adding he plans to broach the issue with recently-elected West Vancouver-Sea to Sky MLA Jeremy Valeriote. “Also, [let’s raise] a general awareness within the community, with families understanding this is a huge issue.
“We would all love to have more facilities, too—Whistler is desperate for a second sheet of ice, for example—and that’s another opportunity where governments should be able to identify the importance of investing.”
Deficient funding threatens the ability of sports clubs to provide accessible programming, which for the WSC manifested itself in a rather unusual way.
‘THE FUNDAMENTAL PROBLEM’
In early October, club members were blindsided by troubling news: a whole host of figure skating costumes had vanished from the storage facility they were supposed to reside in.
According to Thomas, this situation boils down to an unfortunate communication error, with the third-party facility sending invoices to an outdated email address. After a period of radio silence from the WSC, the costumes were left outside in June and people were invited to claim them.
Dozens of individuals took the items within an hour, and club leadership did not become aware of the problem until early October when they attempted to take inventory for their annual Starry Night skating show.
Fortunately, there has been an outpouring of support.
“I’ve heard from so many people who said: ‘I used to be in the Skating Club myself,’ and I even have had people say: ‘I used to wear those exact costumes 15 years ago,’” revealed Thomas. “There’s a lot of love for the club.”
A few costumes have been returned and some new ones have been donated. The WSC plans to host an afternoon workshop in the coming weeks, with its members creating more apparel under the tutelage of professional designers and seamstresses. Barring further mishap, Starry Night will still happen on Dec. 6 at the Meadow Park Sports Centre (MPSC).
But why did this obstacle arise in the first place?
“The fundamental problem goes back to funding,” Thomas said. “As of COVID, we didn’t have enough staff and we couldn’t afford to hire enough administrators, so we were not able to check all our emails. Then we switched email addresses and one thing led to another, and next thing you know, a year goes by and we haven’t responded [to the storage facility’s messages].”
Thomas doesn’t wish to dwell on what happened, but he hopes a record crowd will drop by to support Starry Night in December.
Members of the public who have information on costume whereabouts or would like to help the WSC by volunteering or providing fabric are asked to reach out to the organization at info@whistlerskatingclub.ca. n
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ALL STARS Members of the Whistler Skating Club after their annual Starry Night performance in December 2023.
PHOTO BY EDWARD MUSCROFT
The best Halloween—few tricks and more treats
HACKING HIGH PRICES WITH HAUNTINGLY GOOD SWEETS AND FREE LOCAL FUN
IN OUR MIDDLE-CLASS ’50s Edmonton neighbourhood where I grew up, there was one Halloween ritual no kid in her right mind ever missed.
First thing, we’d all rush over in our witchy or skeleton costumes to the Davisons’ house where tall, lanky Ted, a.k.a. “The Dad,” would be passing out full-sized— repeat, full-sized! —Coffee Crisp chocolate bars (my dad’s favourites), boxes of Smarties and more. Take your pick.
No pipsqueak mini-bars in those days. So yummy, full-sized treats, especially real chocolate ones, stood out in the sea of cellophane-wrapped suckers, crappy fake-
BY GLENDA BARTOSH
chocolate, packets of wee Shell-out candies, and chewy Halloween “kisses”—sticky toffeelike treats that could pull out your dental fillings and came wrapped individually in paper festooned with tiny orange pumpkins and black witches. Some kids flattened those wrappers, rubbing them with the backs of their fingernails to save them, maybe to make Halloween decorations next year.
The smart kids got there early because once in a blue moon, or maybe I should say a Halloween moon, they ran out. Especially as word got out over the years. As time went on, some of those “kids” in the crowd waiting hopefully on the Davisons’ front porch steps
looked mighty tall to be trick-or-treating.
Here’s the thing—Mr. Davison, The Dad, worked for Rowntree’s, in those days one of the largest manufacturers of chocolate treats in the world. Any kids of his must have grown up thinking they’d died and gone to heaven having a dad with a job like that.
Everyone knew that Rowntree’s made quality stuff, but at the time I had no idea they’d been making it in England since the 1860s. Henry Rowntree was a Quaker and the company was embedded with a strong Quaker philosophy. Even more interesting, Cadbury and Fry, the U.K.’s other two big sweets manufacturers with stellar reputations, were also founded by Quakers.
As for those Coffee Crisp bars my dad loved, they were made by Rowntree starting in the 1930s. Ditto Kit Kats, Smarties and more. But Coffee Crisps have a real Canadian angle— from Day 1, they were produced at a plant in
Toronto where they’re still made, albeit under the brand-name Nestlé, Rowntree’s parent company today.
YOUR HALLOWEEN CHOCOLATE HACK
All this was floating around my bewitched brain since the magical day is approaching faster than an old hag riding a broom. Plus the news keeps reporting that world cocoa prices are still super high, more than doubling since the start of 2024.
We’ve got our climate disaster to thank for that, as drought and high temperatures stressed cocoa trees in West Africa, which provides 70 per cent of our global cocoa supply. Then they got hit with torrential rains and black pod (a fungal disease), and more weather challenges followed.
Chocolate makers around the world are
HALLOWEEN FUN, WHISTLER-STYLE
Here’s a sampling of just some of the local fun. For more community Halloween events, check out Pique and the RMOW websites.
Tapley’s Farm is once again hosting their trick-or-treating extravaganza for the 41st year! Read all about it in Pique. You can get to Tapley’s or anywhere in town Oct. 31 via a free shuttle, thanks to the RMOW, BC Transit and Fastpark. (Tip your mask to everyone at Whistler Waldorf School who decorated the buses, spooky-style.)
Then stand by for Halloween fireworks, 7:30 p.m. at Myrtle Philip school field, thanks to donations by Nesters Market and the skills of Whistler’s Fire and Rescue team.
In a lovely gesture of welcome, the Whistler Pemberton Newcomer Service is hosting a pumpkincarving event at Whistler Public Library 11 a.m., Oct. 28. Everyone welcome, but you must register. And remember—bears love pumpkins just like humans do, so don’t leave them outside.
Finally, for all the big tricksters in town, dig out your fishnets and campy corsets. Arts Whistler is presenting the cult classic, Rocky Horror Picture Show, Oct. 30 at the Maury Young Arts Centre in the village.
Have a safe and fun Halloween however you spend it, especially if you’re doing the Time Warp tonight!
going nuts, including those producing the little chocolate mini-bars trick-or-treaters love. Not only are the wee bars getting even smaller, shrinkflation means there’re even fewer bars per bag.
But have I got a solution for all you candy disher-outers this Halloween. Here’s my own mom’s recipe for puffed wheat squares from the days of trick-or-treating on the Davisons’ doorstep in Edmonton. Easy to make, fun and tasty, and guaranteed prairie cheap. You only use two teaspoons of cocoa, but it tastes like a whole lot more.
Wrap them in some bewitching paper, and kids of all ages will go nuts for them. Happy Halloween!
Glenda Bartosh is an award-winning journalist who was supposed to have been born on Halloween, but popped out two days prior—the only thing she’s been early for in her life. n
MOM’S PUFFED WHEAT SQUARES
1/2 c. butter
1/2 c. corn syrup
1 c. brown sugar
2 tsp. cocoa
2 tsp. vanilla
Steadily stir the above in a saucepan over a No. 3 heat and slowly bring to a boil until it’s syrupy. (Drop a bit in cold water; when it forms a soft, chewy wad, it’s ready.) Add the syrup to 8 cups of puffed wheat in a large bowl and mix thoroughly. Pack the mixture into a large buttered pan. Cut into squares when cool, and get ready for the goblins.
SWEET ESCAPE Halloween at Tapley’s Farm is one of Whistler’s longest-running community traditions.
MEADOW
PARK SPORTS CENTRE SWIM • SKATE • SWEAT • SQUASH
Lost Lake Nordic early bird passes are on sale now! Save 20% off the regular season’s pass price only until Sunday, November 3. Visit
Spooky
Learn
Photo: Sean St. Denis
Lacey Jane Wilburn shares her passion for art as a teacher
WILBURN IS RUNNING AN INTRODUCTORY COURSE ON OIL AND ACRYLIC PAINT UNTIL NOV. 11 AT THE POINT ARTIST-RUN CENTRE
BY DAVID SONG
THE CIRCUMSTANCES of Lacey Jane Wilburn’s arrival in Whistler are serendipitous—both for her and for the local arts community.
Wilburn’s partner lives in Creekside. She thought about moving from Vancouver to the Sea to Sky for that relationship, but needed to find a studio in town. One February day in 2023, the couple saw a sign whilst walking their dogs in Rainbow Park: a sign advertising the Point Artist-Run Centre (PARC).
At that time, PARC director Stephen Vogler had just launched the organization’s art studio program. Wilburn reached out to him, and found herself putting down roots in Whistler two weeks later.
She thus gained a home for herself and her family. Whistler gained a qualified talent with a master’s in Fine Arts from Emily Carr University of Art and Design, a bachelor’s of Fine Art with Great Distinction from Concordia University and a semester abroad at the l’Ecole d’Enseignement Supérieur d’art de Bordeaux in France on her resume.
“I’m originally from Stoney Plain, Alberta and I’ve been an artist pretty much as long as
I can remember … from music to theatre to visual arts,” says Wilburn, who now instructs part-time at Emily Carr University. “Painting in particular was always the most compelling for me because I internalized a lot of my thoughts and I found all that nice, intimate time with myself came out better on canvas than on a stage.”
‘ART IS A MUSCLE’
Wilburn also enjoys teaching, which is why her Introduction to Oil and Acrylic Painting course at the PARC is something she has desired to do for some time.
“These are going to be smaller and more intimate classes of probably a handful of students, where you get a little bit more directed one-on-one time,” she explains. “I did tons of smaller workshops [in the past], and I found I learned the most from them. With university training, you learn so much about critical thinking, art history and contemporary practices, and with one-off paint nights, you get a juicy and exciting adventure. But this is where I really will get a chance to sit down and teach classical training, breaking it up into easy steps.”
If you have little to no prior art experience, fear not, for Wilburn’s method of dealing with beginners is gentle and constructive. She’ll walk her pupils through a fundamental aspect of painting in each session, helping them finish a work of their own by the end. The subject matter is wide open: students can bring their own images (like a photograph of a loved one) to recreate or use one of
materials, including famous paintings from antiquity.
She encourages everyone to give the class a go, even (or especially) if they feel like they can’t do it.
“When we’re young children, we’re all encouraged to do art, and so many people I meet say they haven’t done art since they were kids and they stopped because they think they’re not good,” Wilburn remarks. “But like any skill, art is a muscle. You don’t just naturally pick up a violin at age four and know how to put bow to string.
“Some say: ‘I just don’t get art.’ Well, it’s because there’s so many different facets of it, but everyone can understand there’s a skill involved if you’re painting something realistic [for instance]. You see all these paintings of animals in the mountains here and people recognize them … and I’ve got a lot of experience in teaching. If people are wary about starting art, all you really need is to have an enthusiasm or a desire to try.”
‘YOU ALWAYS LEARN TOGETHER IN A GROUP SETTING’
Another reason to try in this case: oil and acrylic are relatively forgiving when compared to the third major paint medium of watercolour.
The former two allow an artist to layer paint, i.e. layering light shades on top of dark ones. Acrylic dries in expedient fashion, while oil allows light to travel through and reflect off the earliest level of the painting for more
of a stained-glass effect visually. Both can be utilized with similar techniques.
Watercolour requires much more technical precision, and it is difficult to rectify errors if you put down paint where you didn’t intend to.
Seasoned creatives are well aware of these nuances, but Wilburn thinks they, too, can benefit from her program at the PARC.
“When I did similar classes back in Montreal, most of us were actually experienced artists that just liked a group setting in which to paint,” she says. “You always learn together in a group setting, whether you’re a beginner or advanced. I often learn from my students as well.”
Furthermore, Wilburn is excited for a change of pace where she doesn’t need to do any marking. Her students at Emily Carr are often anxious to pass their courses with good numbers, which is understandable even though art is inherently subjective and thus difficult to grade. Yet an arena like the PARC fosters a more holistic philosophy to learning.
“I find it’s a more relaxed environment. It’s pretty social, too,” Wilburn says. “You could show up casually. You don’t have to worry about whether or not your work’s going to be good. I’m here to teach you the skills to make art you care about. It doesn’t matter if your style and my style are different. I want to give you the tools to express yourself the way you want.”
Learn more about Wilburn and her course at thepointartists.com/events/ introduction-to-oil-and-acrylic-paintingwith-lacey-jane-wilburn. n
Wilburn’s reference
FRIDGE TOO FAR A piece by Lacey Jane Wilburn, a Whistler-based painter running classes out of the Point Artist-Run Centre.
PHOTO COURTESY OF STEPHEN VOGLER
Cassie Dickinson strives to be ‘like Bob Ross’
THE WHISTLERITE IS FACILITATING TWO ‘PAINT AND SIP’ NIGHTS AT THE POINT-ARTIST RUN CENTRE IN NOVEMBER
BY DAVID SONG
WHILE RELEVANT formal education is very useful for someone wanting a career as an artist, it isn’t always necessary—as Cassie Dickinson proves.
Dickinson loves art, but never went through with any kind of post-secondary fine arts training. In fact, she earned a health sciences degree out of a pragmatic belief painting wouldn’t pay the bills. Then the Orangeville, Ont. native visited Whistler, fell in love with the region, and allowed her life to take something of a left turn.
Moving to the Sea to Sky in 2022 ended a two-odd year creative hiatus in Dickinson’s life. She picked up a paintbrush again to recreate a photo taken while skiing and spent a few months knocking off the rust. Then she found her groove again.
“I saw the opportunity in Whistler for art, with a strong community here supporting the arts and so many beautiful galleries that are inspiring,” says Dickinson.
The Point Artist-Run Centre (PARC) became her gateway. Friends introduced her to Stephen Vogler, the facility’s director, and he granted her a shared studio space at an affordable cost. An ill-timed ankle injury forced Dickinson to hobble up and down the PARC’s tall staircase on crutches when she first moved in, but before long she started to feel at home.
Sea to Sky landscapes represent a goldmine of stimulus for the artisticallyminded, and Dickinson happens to love painting nature. It’s an enthusiasm she hopes will rub off on others during her “Paint & Sip” nights at the PARC: a series of wine-and-art sessions catered to folks of all backgrounds.
ALMOST MEDITATIVE
Dickinson taught her first round of classes in August 2023 with Vogler’s endorsement. Local feedback was immediately positive.
“Some people sign up with friends, some sign up just by themselves,” Dickinson recalls. “We have people from all walks of life, really: people who’ve lived in Whistler for 30 years, people who are here for a season, and everybody gets to know each other a little bit … which is something I love.
“Everyone here is in Whistler because they love the mountains in some way, shape or form, and I think that having the opportunity to paint landscapes is cool because people are always so immersed in their painting process. Usually I’m talking a lot [in class] because they’re so quiet and focused, and it’s not until the end where we start having big conversations. Painting seems to be an almost-meditative thing for everybody, not just for those like myself who paint all the time.”
A glass of wine can certainly help set the mood. Some may joke that they need one or two
in order to paint better (or lower their inhibitions enough that they’re willing to try), while others are free to choose a nonalcoholic option. Either way, Dickinson thinks the combination of artmaking and quality beverages fosters a pleasant social environment.
‘ALWAYS VERY ENCOURAGING’
Dickinson is gaining some solid teaching experience, having helmed children’s art classes and paint-and-wine nights at the Four Seasons Resort before. There she has the opportunity to meet people from around the world and direct them to local art hot spots like the PARC, Audain Art Museum or Maury Young Arts Centre. Eventually, she aspires to build her own repertoire and pitch it for display in venues such as those.
Many who stop by for a Paint & Sip don’t have such lofty goals, but Dickinson wants to positively impact each of her students regardless.
“I’m always very encouraging with people, reminding them that if somebody can do it, you can do it,” she says. “[You may be] in the learning stage, but you’re probably going to be a little bit better in the sense that you’ll create something unique—you don’t have all these guidelines in your head like I do.
“I have an established style or pattern that
“Everyone here is in Whistler because they love the mountains...”
- CASSIE DICKINSON
I follow subconsciously when I’m painting, whereas people who don’t paint have this [unburdened] approach. They can create something really cool because they’re not held back by [rules]. There’s no restrictions on who can paint … it’s a really great thing to get out of your head, away from technology and all the other things we spend our time on. Part of it is just believing that you can achieve something with painting.”
Dickinson brings up the Group of Seven as an example. Anybody can diverge from photorealism, as those famous Canadians did, to render parts of nature in a more abstract or liberal way. Nothing has to be exactly perfect— though that notion may be a challenge for perfectionists to internalize.
Therefore, Dickinson tries to channel Bob Ross in the way she facilitates each class: being as relaxed and uplifting as possible. She is frequently amazed by what beginners can make, anytime they have the courage to try.
The winter’s remaining Paint & Sip nights take place from 7 to 9 p.m. on Nov. 10 and 24 at the PARC. Find more details at thepointartists. com. n
Asthewinter seasoniswithusagain, we’d like to take thisopportunity to remind owners,propertymanagersandmerchantsoftheimportance of keeping walkways, roofs,stairsandlandings adjacent to theirstoresandpropertiesfreeof iceandsnow.Itisessentialthat customersandguestsvisitingourVillage feel safe and comfortableinbeingable to travelfreelyaboutthearea
Youare required to clearsnowandice from walkways, roofs,stairsandlandings adjacent to storesandproperties by10a.m.daily.
DownloadthePropertyMaintenanceBylaw at www.whistle r.ca/bylaw inthe FrequentlyRequestedBylaws section.
Resort MunicipalityofWhistler whistler.ca/bylaw
ARTS SCENE
PIQUE’S GUIDE TO LOCAL EVENTS & NIGHTLIFE
Here’s a quick look at some events happening in Whistler this week and beyond. FIND MORE LOCAL EVENT LISTINGS (and submit your own for free!) at piquenewsmagazine.com/local-events
FLUTE AND FRIENDS
UKULELE STRUM-ALONG
This program is a follow-up for folks who have taken the Intro to Ukulele program or have learned at least five ukulele chords on their own and are looking to connect with a musical community. The chords being played will be Am, C, F, D, and G (maybe more, depending on the group)! Adults only, space is limited.
> Oct. 25, 5 p.m.
> Whistler Public Library
> Free
ADULT CLAY GLAZE AND PAINT A MUG
Join for a hands-on mug-painting workshop. Explore different glazing techniques and transfer applications. Choose from a variety of glazes and an assortment of transfers on handmade clay mugs created by Liz Sax. After your pieces are completed, they will be fired in a pottery kiln, ensuring they are food-safe and durable for years of use.
> Oct. 26, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
> Art Pop Whistler
> $85
INTRO TO GRATITUDE JOURNALING
In this session, the focus is on expressing gratitude for the bigger aspects of life, even when they’re not perfect. It will help everyone to appreciate daily experiences in new and meaningful ways. The group will practice daily reflections, write thank-you notes, and take a step back to see the larger picture that has brought each participant to where they are today.
> Oct. 27, 4 to 5:30 p.m.
> Whistler Public Library
> Free
FLUTE AND FRIENDS
Whistler Chamber Music presents Flute and Friends, a selection of beautiful music by Haydn, Beethoven and Farrenc, performed by Vancouver musicians playing flute, violin, cello and piano. The concert lasts 75 minutes with no intermission. A perfect interlude between daytime activities and dinner out!
> Oct. 27, 5 to 6:15 p.m.
> Maury Young Arts Centre
> $25 per adult, $20 per youth
THE STAND-UP STANDOFF
Welcome to the ultimate Whistler stand-up comedy competition and show produced by Laugh Out LIVE! The evening begins with stand-up comedians all vying for a chance to win some cold hard cash and perform on the mainstage. Following the competition, the headlining act will take the stage in this bare knuckle comedy brawl where the only knockout blows are delivered by punchlines.
> Oct. 30, 8 p.m.
> Après Après
> $25 general admission, $15 standing room
ART HIVE: ARTS & CRAFTS NIGHT AT THE LIBRARY
Are you looking for a place to enjoy tea and company while drawing, collaging, beading or fibre crafting? The Art Hive welcomes anyone looking for a space to work on art projects, experiment with different media, share ideas or just to hang-out and be creative. Whether working on a solo or collaborative project, gather in the community room and make something beautiful together.
DISTRIBUTING A BROCHURE to market your business or product might seem commonplace today, but for the Whistler Chamber of Commerce in 1976 the production of a pamphlet was a significant decision and undertaking.
At a speaker event in June, Drew Meredith, who joined the Chamber shortly after getting his real estate licence in 1975 and was later appointed as president in 1978, recalled operating the Chamber on a very small budget and even said, “I think it had a bank balance of 27 cents.” Meredith may have exaggerated, but in the late summer of 1976 the Chamber was reported to have a bank balance of $592 (adjusted for inflation that would be just over $3,000 today), which was not a lot of money with which to promote a ski resort.
Prior to 1977, the Chamber had produced rate cards for accommodation and services as
and it was made clear the brochure could only go ahead if enough businesses chose to advertise. The committee planned to print 200,000 brochures; one half would be distributed by the lift company, hotels, and at the Information Centre, while the rest would be distributed at various ski shows and tours throughout North America. The committee described the project as “the only real multipurpose and multi-season brochure to ever be attempted here.”
By mid-June, the committee was still chasing down businesses to advertise and was considering contacting businesses in Squamish and Vancouver in order to fill about 25 per cent of the space that was not yet spoken for. The Chamber also reached out to businesses for photos for the brochure, asking for “scenic and action shots” depicting Whistler in all four seasons as well as images of lodges, restaurants and other buildings.
At the August Chamber meeting, the committee drew advertising layout positions for those who wanted to be included in the
well as other informational materials, but had so far only talked about creating a ski-area pamphlet. At a November 1976 meeting the production of a Ski Area Map was discussed and a committee was formed to look into it further ahead of the 1977-78 ski season. The Chamber was also working to promote Whistler as “a nice place to come to, with friendly people,” by hosting special events such as WinterFest and May Day Madness, and had a special committee to encourage all the businesses in the valley to participate in the Chamber and work together.
On May 19, 1977, the brochure committee held a public meeting to promote the Whistler Area Brochure. The brochure was going to be designed for both summer and winter, and plans were to include a ski-trail map, Valley Trail map, subdivision layouts, and general information about Whistler, alongside advertisements for businesses who chose to pay between $225 and $450 for a space.
About 20 people attended the meeting
brochure and floated the idea of an insert that would include advertisements for services available in the Whistler area. The insert, however, had very little interest from local service businesses, who told the brochure committee they “were so busy that they did not need the advertising.”
The goal of the committee was to have the brochures printed and ready to go for Sept. 17, when the first ski show of the season was held in California. In total, 20,000 copies were sent by CP Air for distribution in the Los Angeles and San Francisco areas, with distribution at ski shows in Portland and Seattle following soon after.
In October, the Chamber attended the Vancouver Ski Show, sharing a booth with the Cheakamus Inn/Christiana Inn group, where they gave out 6,000 of their new brochures. Unfortunately, we do not currently appear to have a copy of the brochure in the archives, but would love to take a look if anyone were to come across one! n The Chamber was also working to promote Whistler as “a nice place to come to, with friendly people.”
ALL FOR SHOW The Whistler area is represented at the Vancouver Ski Show by the Whistler Resort Association in 1981. The Chamber of Commerce attended similar ski shows in the area prior to the formation of the WRA. WHISTLER QUESTION COLLECTION, 1981
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Secrets and hidden agendas have been preventing you from getting an accurate picture of what’s actually happening. But you now have the power to uncover them. I hope you will also consider the following bold moves: 1. Seek insights that could be the key to your future sexiness. 2. Change an aspect of your life you’ve always wanted to change but have never been able to. 3. Find out how far you can safely go in exploring the undersides of things. 4. Help your allies in ways that will ultimately inspire them to help you.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): From the early 1910s to the late 1920s, silent films were the only kind of films that were made. The proper technology wasn’t available to pair sounds with images. “Talking pictures,” or “talkies,” finally came into prominence in the 1930s. Sadly, the majority of silent films, some of which were fine works of art, were poorly preserved or only exist now in second- or third-generation copies. I’m meditating on this situation as a metaphor for your life, Taurus. Are there parts of your history that seem lost, erased, or unavailable? The coming weeks will be an excellent time to try to recover them. Remembering and reviving your past can be a potent healing agent.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): An old proverb tells us, “You must run toward the future and catch it. It is not coming to meet you, but is fleeing from you, escaping into the unknown.” This adage isn’t true for you at all right now, Gemini. In fact, the future is dashing toward you from all directions. It is not shy or evasive, but is eager to embrace you and is full of welcoming energy. How should you respond? I recommend you make yourself very grounded. Root yourself firmly in an understanding of who you are and what you want. Show the future clearly which parts of it you really want and which parts are uninteresting to you.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): Early in his musical career, Cancerian innovator Harry Partch played traditional instruments and composed a regular string quartet. But by age 29, he was inventing and building novel instruments that had never before been used. Among the materials he used in constructing his Zymo-Xyl, Eucal Blossom, and Chromelodeon were tree branches, light bulbs, and wine bottles. I’m inviting you to enter into a Harry Partch phase of your cycle, Cancerian. The coming weeks will be an excellent time to express your unique genius—whether that’s in your art, your business, your personal life, or any other sphere where you love to express your authentic self.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Life’s unpredictable flow will bring you interesting new blessings if you revamp your fundamentals. Listen closely, Leo, because this is a subtle turn of events: A whole slew of good fortune will arrive if you joyfully initiate creative shifts in your approaches to talking, walking, exercising, eating, sleeping, meditating, and having fun. These aren’t necessarily earth-shaking transformations. They may be as delicate and nuanced as the following: 1. adding amusing words to your vocabulary; 2. playfully hopping and skipping as you stroll along; 3. sampling new cuisines; 4. keeping a notebook or recorder by your bed to capture your dreams; 5. trying novel ways to open your mind and heart; 6. seeking fresh pleasures that surprise you.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): In an old Irish folk tale, the fairies give a queen a crystal cauldron with special properties. If anyone speaks three falsehoods in its presence, it cracks into three fragments. If someone utters three hearty truths while standing near it, the three pieces unite again. According to my metaphorical reading of your current destiny, Virgo, you are now in the vicinity of the broken cauldron. You have expressed one restorative truth, and need to proclaim two more. Be gently brave and bold as you provide the healing words.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Let’s review the highlights of the recent months. First, you expanded your perspective, blew your mind, and raised your consciousness. That
BREZSNY
was fabulous! Next, you wandered around half-dazed and thoroughly enchanted, pleased with your new freedom and spaciousness. That, too, was fantastic! Then, you luxuriously indulged in the sheer enjoyment of your whimsical explorations and experimentations. Again, that was marvellous! Now you’re ready to spend time integrating all the teachings and epiphanies that have surged into your life in recent months. This might be less exciting, but it’s equally important.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): As a teenager, I loved the music of Jefferson Airplane. I recall sitting on the couch in my New Jersey home and listening to their albums over and over again. Years later, I was performing on stage at a San Francisco nightclub with my band, World Entertainment War. In the audience was Paul Kantner, a founding member of Jefferson Airplane. After the show, he came backstage and introduced himself. He said he wanted his current band, Jefferson Starship, to cover two of my band’s songs on his future album. Which he did. I suspect you will soon experience a comparable version of my story, Scorpio. Your past will show up bearing a gift for your future. A seed planted long ago will finally blossom.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): My horoscopes are directed toward individuals, not groups. Yet it’s impossible to provide oracles about your personal destiny without considering the collective influences that affect you. Every day, you are impacted by the culture you live in. For instance, you encounter news media that present propaganda as information and regard cynicism as a sign of intellectual vigour. You live on a planet where the climate is rapidly changing, endangering your stability and security. You are not a narrow-minded bigot who doles out hatred toward those who are unlike you, but you may have to deal with such people. I bring this to your attention, Sagittarius, because now is an excellent time to take an inventory of the world’s negative influences—and initiate aggressive measures to protect yourself from them. Even further, I hope you will cultivate and embody positive alternatives.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): I suspect you will be extra attractive, appealing, and engaging in the coming weeks. You may also be especially convincing, influential, and inspirational. What do you plan to do with all this potency? How will you wield your flair? Here’s what I hope: You will dispense blessings everywhere you go. You will nurture the collective health and highest good of groups and communities you are part of. PS: In unexpected ways, being unselfish will generate wonderful selfish benefits.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Do you fantasize about being a masterful manager of your world? Have you imagined the joy of being the supreme sovereign of your holy destiny? Do you love the idea of rebelling against anyone who imagines they have the right to tell you what you should do and who you are? If you answered yes to those questions, I have excellent news, Aquarius: You are now primed to take exciting steps to further the goals I described. Here’s a helpful tip: Re-dedicate yourself to the fulfillment of your two deepest desires. Swear an oath to that intention.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): The Liberation Season is here. How can you take maximum advantage of the emancipatory energies? Here are suggestions: 1. Plan adventures to frontier zones. 2. Sing and dance in the wilderness. 3. Experiment with fun and pleasure that are outside your usual repertoire. 4. Investigate what it would mean for you to be on the vanguard of your field. 5. Expand your understandings of sexuality. 6. Venture out on a pilgrimage. 7. Give yourself permission to fantasize extravagantly. 8. Consider engaging in a smart gamble. 8. Ramble, wander, and explore.
Homework: Is there any joy or pleasure you deny yourself for no good reason? Newsletter.FreeWillAstrology.com.
In addition to this column, Rob Brezsny creates
weekly forecasts designed to inspire and uplift you. To buy access, phone 1-888-499-4425. Once you’ve chosen the Block of Time you like, call 1-888-682-8777 to hear Rob’s forecasts. www.freewillastrology.com
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Our team of people is what sets us apart from other builders. As we continue to grow as the leader in luxury projects in Whistler, our team needs to expand with us.
We are currently hiring:
Labourers ($20 - $30 hourly)
Carpenters Helpers /Apprentices 1st to 4th year ($25 - $35 hourly)
Experienced Carpenters ($30 - $45 hourly)
Carpenter Foremen ($40 - $50 hourly)
Rates vary based on experience and qualifications. Red seal a bonus but not mandatory.
EVR is committed to the long-term retention and skills development of our team. We are passionate about investing in our team’s future.
We offer:
• Top Wages
• Training & Tuition Reimbursement (Need help getting your Red Seal?)
• $500 Annual Tool Allowance
• Extended Health and Dental Benefits for you and your family
• Flexible Schedule - Work Life Balance. (We get it. We love to ski and bike too.)
• Assistance with Work Visa and Permanent Residency (We can help!)
• Positive Work Environment
We promote from within and are looking to strengthen our amazing team. Opportunities for advancement into management positions always exist for the right candidates. Don’t miss out on being able to build with the team that builds the most significant projects in Whistler. Send your resume to info@evrfinehomes.com We look forward to hearing from you!
JOB OPPORTUNITIES AT SSHS
• Community Health Nurse
($90,000 - $100,000)
• Home and Community Care Nurse
($90,000 - $110,000)
• Clinical Services Manager
($100,000 - $125,000)
• Community - Based Support Workers X2 (Part-time)
• Men’s Health Lead
($53,000 - $60,000
• Jordan’s Principle Admin Assistant
($52,000 - $55,000)
• Aboriginal Supported Child Development Worker
($48,000 - $52,000)
About Us: SSHS is a non-profit Indigenous Health Organization dedicated to improving the health and wellbeing of Indigenous communities. Our organization provides culturally appropriate healthcare services, programs, and initiatives to support the holistic health of Indigenous individuals and families. Send your application to Julia.schneider@sshs.ca
ü Flexible schedules ü Training and experience
ü Full Benefits & Employee Discount Card
ü Prime location in Pemberton
ü Short commute = less time, more $$$
Download or fill out our online application at https://www.pembertonsupermarket.com/ about/employment/ or stop by the store and we will give you an application to fill out. You can also email us at jobs@pembertonsupermarket.com or call us at 604-894-3663.
Cardinal Concrete, A Division of Lafarge Canada Inc is the leading supplier of ready-mix concrete in the Sea to Sky Corridor. We are currently seeking a career oriented individual to fill the role of Commercial Transport/Heavy Duty Mechanic at our Head Office Location in Squamish, BC. This is a skilled position which primarily involves preventative maintenance and repair of a large fleet of commercial
Minimum Qualifications:
• B.C. Certificate of Qualification, and/or Interprovincial Ticket
• 3-5 years related experience and/or training; or equivalent combination of education and experience
Compensation $45.57 to $49.07
To view a full copy of this Job Description visit: www.cardinalconcrete.ca/about/careers
Apply to: info@cardinalconcrete.ca
Accountant
and connect our guests with incredible wilderness adventures in the summer. Our enthusiastic team is dedicated to perfecting the travel experience through the highest standards of hospitality. With our central office located in Whistler, our Sales and Reservations team works hard to support the operations and our team out in the field.
• Full time position is 40 hours per week with potential flexibility in scheduling once training is completed to enjoy Whistler’s winter and summer activities.
• Access to extended health benefits.
• Fun, team-oriented office environment. Potential for heli-skiing trips and summer visits to the lodge.
• Reservations: Guest communications, booking schedule management, and Webrez Pro. Sales: Responding to Travel Trade inquiries, achieving sales targets, and driving bookings.
• Guest Invoicing: Billing and Flywire invoicing.
•
Lil’wat Nation Employment Opportunities
ÚlÍus Community Centre
• Director of Community Programs ($93,475.20 to $101,556 per year)
• Elders’ Activity Coordinator ( $20.90 to 29.45 per hour)
• Financial Reporting Manager ($59,878 to $74,564 per year)
• Capital Projects Manager ($59,878 to $73,564 per year)
Xet’òlacw Community School
• Social Worker/ Counsellor( $80,371 to $91,673 per year)
• High School English and Humanities Teacher ($60,015 to $109,520 per year)
• Elementary School Teacher - Grade 3 ($60,015 to $109,520 per year)
• Language Resource Worker or Language Teacher ($46,683 to $109,520 per year)
• Food Program Assistant ($17.40 to $20.90 per hour)
Lil’wat Health & Healing + Pqusnalhcw Health Centre
• Early Childhood Educator ($20.90 to $29.45 per hour)
• Nurse ($41.42 to $52.81 per hour + $2.15 hourly premium)
• Family Mentor ($38,038 to $53,599 per year)
• Program Manager ($57,330 to $64,610 per year)
Child & Family Services
• Transition House Support Worker ($20.90 to $29.45 per hour)
• Social Worker ($80,371 to $91,673 per year)
• Transition House Outreach Worker ($20.90 to $29.45 per hour)
Ts’zil Learning Centre
• Indigenous Support Worker – Extra Curricular
Please visit our career page for more information: https://lilwat.ca/careers/
JOB POSTING: ABORIGINAL SUPPORTED CHILD DEVELOPMENT WORKER
Position Title: Aboriginal Supported Child Development Worker
Location: Mount Currie, BC
Type: Full-time, Contract
Salary: $48 000 – $52 000
Other Benefits: SSHS offers a competitive benefits and employment package for full-time staff
Position Start Date: As soon as possible
About Us: SSHS is a non-profit Indigenous Health Organization dedicated to improving the health and well-being of Indigenous communities. Our organization provides culturally appropriate healthcare services, programs, and initiatives to support the holistic health of Indigenous individuals and families.
Position Overview: The Southern Stl’atl’imx Health Society is currently seeking a qualified and energetic individual to join our Early Childhood Development team to provide Aboriginal Supported Child Development Services, and programming to support the developmental needs of children ages birth to 18.
The ASCD provides quality programming in a variety of settings in Q’aLatku7em, Skatin and Tipella. Programs may include Early Childhood Development Drop-ins and Playgroups, Licensed Child Care Programs, Home Visitations and Community Events. The ASCD worker supports children and youth aged birth to 18, their families and other staff utilizing a strengths-based approach. The ASCD Worker is responsible for providing hands-on support to ensure effective inclusion of children with developmental delays and disabilities. The worker will also work to help identify goals and strategies that reflect the best interested of the child/youth within the context of the family. The position also requires travel over rough roads to remote communities to deliver services.
Job Duties:
• Work as a team member to implement culturally safe child specific strategies, activities & plans for children and their families to best support the developmental needs of a child.
• Provide one-on-one support (physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual) to achieve healthy attachments and developmental milestones
• Plan, implement, and evaluate activities and support to meet goals and objectives of each individual child
• Maintains confidential client files in accordance with BC Child Care Licensing Regulations.
• Support may occur in the family/caregiver’s residence, daycare/preschool/afterschool care or other community setting.
• Complete and interpret development assessments and implement appropriate services and referrals to support healthy development.
• Develop and implement programs that reflect our Stl’atl’imx cultural teachings and practices to promote the positive infant/ child development.
• Prepare reports as required.
• Ability or willingness to use a computer and or learn MS Word, MS Office, MS Excel etc.
Qualifications & Job Requirements:
• Completion of a certificate or diploma in Early Childhood Education or related field; a combination of education and experience may be considered
• Minimum of 2 years’ experience in ASCD/ECD related work.
• Knowledge of infant and early childhood developmental stages.
• Creating Individual Service Plan (ISP) for each child.
• Training and knowledge of children’s assessment tools. (ex. ASQ-3 and ASQ:SE-2)
• Knowledge of family centered practice demonstrate positive child-adult interactions & ensure agency Mission Statement, philosophies, policies and procedures are upheld.
• Cultural sensitivity and knowledge of Stl’atl’imx culture and history.
• The ability to maintain a positive, professional, non-judgmental attitude and the ability to maintain confidentiality.
• The ability to work independently and as a team member.
• Support children with extra support needs to fully participate in the child care setting
• Plan and implement strategies and activities for inclusion
• Maintain regular communication with the families
• Complete daily notes as required
• Prepare reports as required (i.e. monthly, annual)
• Facilitate parent education sessions and groups to increase parents’ knowledge of children’s normal growth and developmental milestones.
• Maintain liaison with other health and social service professionals such as; Elders, Physio therapists, Public Health workers, Occupational therapists, Speech and language pathologists and, Jordan’s Principle.
• Must provide a satisfactory Criminal Records with Vulnerable Sector check.
• Must hold a valid BC Class 5 driver’s license (Work vehicle will be provided)
• Valid child specific First Aid/CPR
Special Requirements:
• Maintains strict confidentiality in performing the duties of this position and must
• adhere to the privacy, security and confidentiality policies of SSHS.
• Must adhere to the SSHS Human Resource policies.
• This position requires travel to remote Indigenous communities served by SSHS, accessed by Forest Service Roads (FSRs) that require driving on rough gravel roads during all four seasons.
Please submit resume and cover letter by email to Julia Schneider, Executive Assistant, at julia.schneider@sshs.ca.
Please include in the subject line your name and the position you are applying for.
Thank you for your interest!
BLAC K COMB
C O P TERS
BLACKCOMB HELICOPTERS GROUND CREW
TITLE: Ground Crew
TITLE Ground Crew STATUS Permanent, full-time
LOCATION: Whistler, B.C.
STATUS: Full-time, Temporary
ABOUT US
ABOUT US
Blackcomb Helicopters is a well-established full service, multi-fleet helicopter company with rotary flight and maintenance services. We have bases in Squamish, Whistler, Pemberton, Sechelt, Terrace, Calgary, Lillooet and Vancouver.
Blackcomb Helicopters is a well-established full-service, multi-fleet helicopter company with flight and maintenance services. We have bases in Vancouver, Squamish, Whistler, Pemberton, Calgary, and Lillooet.
ABOUT THE JOB
ABOUT THE JOB:
Reporting to the Ground Crew Supervisor and Director of Tourism, this position will require you to:
• Support facility equipment repairs and upkeep;
Reporting to the Ground Crew Supervisor and Base Manager, this position will include: facilities and ground crew support, equipment repair and upkeep, aircraft grooming, fueling and refueling of aircraft, and assisting with passengers. It is worth noting that this position will not lead to flying or engineering opportunities.
• Groom and prepare aircraft;
YOU WILL
• Pickup and deliver parts, equipment and vehicles;
• Facilities and ground support equipment repairs and upkeep;
• Clean and maintain hangar and hangar equipment;
• Aircraft grooming, preparation and clean-up;
• Re-fuel aircraft and maintain fuel quality standards;
• Pickup and delivery of parts and equipment;
• Assist on remote jobs with pilot requests and longline operations;
• Hangar and hangar equipment cleaning and maintenance;
• General assistance with wildfire operations;
• Re-fueling of aircraft;
• Assisting with passengers and passenger equipment or luggage;
• Assisting with passengers and passenger equipment or luggage; And other duties as needed from time to time.
• Tourism shuttle driving (Class 4 driver’s license preferred, or can be obtained upon hire)
YOU HAVE
• And other duties as needed.
• Excellent communication skills and ability to work within a team framework;
It is worth noting that this position will not lead to flying or engineering opportunities. This position is primarily based from the Whistler heliport but may require you to work from different bases occasionally.
• Basic computer skills (email, word processing);
• A driver’s license (ideally class 4);
WE ARE LOOKING FOR:
• Good rapport with customers and excellent customer service skills, as well as a good attitude and superior work ethic.
• Excellent communication and problem-solving skills;
THE FINE PRINT
• The ability to work within a team framework;
• Flexibility and adaptability;
• The ability to work within a high-pressure environment;
• A driver’s license (ideally class 4);
CAREER OPPORTUNITIES
• Good rapport with customers and excellent customer service skills, as well as a good attitude and superior work ethic.
THE FINE PRINT
Blackcomb Helicopters is an equal opportunity employer and to that end, we want all barriers removed to ensure a fair screening process for all candidates. All resumes will be reviewed with an eye to skill set and experience only, and are considered without attention to age, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran or disability status. To this end, we ask all applicants to ensure you do not include any personal information on your application and remove pictures from your resume if you have them.
INTERESTED?
If you or someone you know would be a good fit for this role, please send a resume to: Fiona Cochrane, HR Manager fcochrane@mcleangroup.com
Blackcomb Helicopters is an equal opportunity employer and to that end, we want all barriers removed to ensure a fair screening process for all candidates. All resumes will be reviewed with an eye to skill set and experience only, and are considered without attention to age, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran or disability status. To this end, we ask all applicants to ensure you do not include any personal information on your application and remove pictures from your resume if you have them.
Resumes can be sent directly to amcdowell@blackcombhelicopters.com and kbate@blackcombhelicopters.com
Employee Health & Wellness Plan available
per hour.
HYDROVAC OPERATOR – Valid Class 1 or Class 3 with air brakes required. Manual transmission.
HEAVY DUTY EQUIPMENT MECHANIC - Red Seal, Commercial Truck & Transport, Transport Trailer, Class 1 or 3 air brakes preferred. 4x10 or 5x8 schedule. Red Seal certified receive $200/month tool allowance. $39.70- $47.90 per hour. 5% premium on hourly wage for Lead Hand position.
CONSTRUCTION LABOURER – Great opportunity to learn on-the-job. Stamina for physically demanding work and perseverance to brave inclement weather required. Previous experience preferred but not required. Training provided. $25-$32 per hour.
SNOWPLOW OPERATOR, Whistler – Valid Class 5 BC Driver’s Licence required. Must be available from November 15 through March 31. On-the-job training provided. Wage depending on experience. $28-35.02 per hour.
BLACKCOMB CHIMNEY
LTD.
No shortcuts
IT WAS A DARK and stormy night.
That was last Saturday. And since we won’t know the outcome of that particular stormy night for another week, and since this is the last Pique until Halloween, this is a spooky story.
Actually, it was a dark and crystal clear night. The moon was new, the temperature near freezing and the fire was large and warm.
BY G.D. MAXWELL
At 9,000 feet above sea level shone bright, twinkling, Christmas-like lights. But Christmas was still two months away. This was Halloween and the second best night of the year to be deep in the wilderness of northern New Mexico with a roaring bonfire, a bottle of mescal and ghost stories.
We were where we always were at Halloween: Rancho Viejo, the sprawling ruin of what was once a proud homestead, a tourist ranch, the focus of greed and political corruption, the scene of one of New Mexico’s most grisly mass murders. For the past several years, the only place we wanted to be on the eve of the night of the dead.
Fifteen crow-flying miles from Pueblo Chimayo, in the morning shadows of Truchas Peak, in a broad valley of the Rio Medio, Viejo’s found us one drizzly, overcast day several years earlier.
We’d been watching thunderheads develop from the 13,000-foot vantage of East Truchas peak. With the whole of the Rio Medio’s watershed visible below us, we could easily trace a bushwhacking route back to the trailhead, a route only a third as long as the trail back. The approaching storm pressed the urgency of egress but short-circuited our better judgment.
Rule No. 1: No shortcuts. Viejo’s found us several hours later, exhausted and with no idea where exactly we were.
It was an intriguing place. A large manor main house built from arrow-straight ponderosa pine logs was composting back into the earth near the edge of a clearing made in the forest. There was no glass in openings that had once been windows and half the roof was either strewn about the floor of the large main room or simply missing. A river rock fireplace still stood in what was surely the main room.
Surrounding the house were half a dozen smaller, adobe buildings, a fire pit with the broken remnants of a very large spit, and a nearby cottonwood stump for chopping. The largest of the adobes had clearly been a stable, the others, perhaps living quarters; it was hard to tell in their advanced state of decay.
We stayed the night, enjoying a raging fire in the massive fireplace, wondering what the devil we’d stumbled upon. Next day, we hiked to a small pueblo and bought a ride from an old Chicano named Jesus back the 50 miles by rough dirt road to where we’d left our car. On the ride there, Jesus told us a bit about where we’d been.
Señor Viejo’s story was a common one in
northern New Mexico, albeit with a gruesome ending. In the years before the Second World War, outside interests—Anglo interests— squeezed land from the grip of Chicano subsistence farmers who’d owned it courtesy of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848.
A Texas cattle rancher named Dumont was apparently taken with Viejo’s spread, some 160 acres of wilderness 10 miles from the nearest dirt road, accessible only by pack horse, with no redeeming features except its remote beauty, the trout in the Rio Medio and
Viejo would spend hours turning the large spit outside the main house, a haunch of elk barbecuing slowly over mesquite embers.
Dumont’s shut down during the war and Viejo had the land pretty much to himself again. But with peace and prosperity again reigning and the world safe for democracy, Dumont came back. Viejo couldn’t stand it. The intervening years had rekindled his longing for his land.
Three years after the war, near Halloween, he snapped. In the archives of the Santa Fe
Grabbing lights, we ran outside. We saw no one, just freshly split wood around the great cottonwood stump.
the good hunting for big game seeking the shelter of the valley each autumn. As was not unknown, Dumont ended up buying Viejo’s land for specious unpaid taxes and a sizable bribe to the county commissioner, consisting of several hundred dollars, a comely young woman and a new DeSoto.
Dumont built the large house and most of the outbuildings and “graciously” retained Señor Viejo as a caretaker. He ran a few cattle on the land, but mostly operated it as a retreat for stressed-out businessmen in need of some huntin’ and fishin’. Dumont was famed for his annual elk hunts. After successful hunts,
Times, a series of macabre stories explain what happened next. In a blood rage, Señor Viejo grabbed an axe and systematically slaughtered seven guests unlucky enough to be staying at Dumont’s that weekend. Dumont himself—or what was left of him— was found beheaded, roasted and partially eaten, on the spit Viejo had spent so many hours turning for the guests’ table. He was never seen again.
Since Viejo’s was damn near impossible to find and still abandoned, we decided it was our spot for annual Halloween camping trips. We’d light up the big fireplace and tell each
other ghost stories.
This particular year, in the middle of a compelling story, we heard a THWACK. We all froze, straining our ears in the silence. Nothing.
THWACK again. We weren’t hallucinating; the sound was unmistakable. An axe chopping. Wood?
Grabbing lights, we ran outside. We saw no one, just freshly split wood around the great cottonwood stump.
Back inside, we stoked the fire, hoping light and heat would calm us.
THWACK. Shining a light outside, we thought we saw a dim figure, a man raising an axe high.
THWACK. It was gone.
For a couple of minutes, nothing more happened. As our fire morphed steadily toward embers, we mused about staying up all night.
Suddenly outside, WOOSH. A great, bright ball of fire erupted. We screamed, scrambled, grabbed our knives and ran outside.
We were greeted with a roaring fire burning in the pit below the spit. A fire large enough to roast a man-size side of meat.
Before any of us could say, “Maybe we’d better get outta here,” a blood-curdling cry, a banshee-like scream came from the dark corner of the building behind us and we could hear footsteps running our direction. We pivoted, knives in hand, only to see our missing friend running at us, axe raised, half screaming, half laughing.
“Sorry I’m late guys. Miss anything?” he said... just before we killed him. n
