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One to watch: Guiding Squamish Nation youth

‘Stay true to yourself and have fun with everything,’ says Squamish youth worker Nolan Rudkowsky

Nolan Rudkowskyl is local, through and through. The Squamish Nation youth was raised locally, graduated in 2018 from Coast Mountain Academy and still lives in the district.…

No injuries in B.C. train derailment, environmental crews assessing impacts: CN

VALEMOUNT, B.C. — Canadian National says crews responded to a train derailment in eastern British Columbia on Thursday. The railway company said early reports suggest 26 railcars derailed along the track in the Fraser Fort-George region about 30 kilometres east of Mount Robson, near the Alberta boundary.…

Pemberton rings in the New Year

Winterfest returns on Dec. 31 for families, while the Pemberton Hotel plans an epic bash

After three years, Pembertonians are starting to notice a pattern. Winterfest, which used to take place at some point over the season—all contingent on when One Mile Lake would freeze—has found a consistent date on New Year’s Eve.…

Crawford sets new career best at Val Gardena

Sports briefs: Harle third in Atlanta; Canadians podium in Innichen

Whistler Mountain Ski Club (WMSC) alumnus Jack Crawford reached new heights in Audi FIS World Cup action in Val Gardena, Italy on Dec. 20. Competing in the super-G, Crawford posted a 17th-place finish, 0.89 seconds off the pace set by winner Vincent Kriechmayr of Austria.…

The case for being kind

Earlier this month, Pique ran a letter from a frustrated “part-time” Whistler resident who had a negative experience in the Marketplace IGA parking lot. It got me thinking a lot about how people treat each other in this town—and the importance of being nice.…

Budget 2020: Strategically planning for the next 20 years in Whistler

Strategic Planning Committee looks ahead to a big 2020

Whistler’s new Strategic Planning Committee (SPC)—launched in the direct aftermath of the 2018 municipal election—is looking ahead to a big 2020. The 11-person committee now has two meetings under its belt, most recently convening on Dec. 10.…

Best of the year: Part 1

The rodent is coming for us all! Cinematically, 2019 was punctuated by Disney’s domination (six of the top 10 grossing flicks of the year, without counting Star Wars) and the continued proliferation of superheroes, franchises, and remakes on the big screen with much of the interesting stuff happening on the streaming platforms.…

Where to celebrate New Year’s Eve in Whistler

Whether you’re looking for an elegant bash, a family friendly event, or a low-key celebration, there are plenty of ways to ring in 2020 in the resort

New Year’s Eve is a polarizing holiday. Some argue you pay too much for an underwhelming night at the bar—where drink prices are as high as expectations.…

The Hairfarmers celebrate 20 years

Whistler’s biggest bar band marks two decades playing in the resort and around the world

One night The Hairfarmers were playing a wedding reception in the Fairmont Chateau Whistler’s Wildflower restaurant. It was going well.…

Alexander enjoying solid start to season

Whistler Mountain Ski Club alum earns NorAm win, makes World Cup debut

Cameron Alexander claimed one NorAm Cup win in Lake Louise and was a hundredth of a second away from another. It’s been an excellent December for the Whistler Mountain Ski Club alumnus, who has posted four top-10 finishes in NorAm Cup action after making his first two World Cup starts in Lake Louise on Nov. 30 and at Beaver Creek, Colo. on Dec. 7.While the 22-year-old is more than familiar with Lake Louise, with six total NorAm top-10 finishes in his career, he credited jumping to the World Cup level with claiming his first-ever win in the downhill on Dec. 12.…

Should you stay or should you go?

Leave or stay? Stay or leave?…

Tourism Whistler unveils ‘Whistler’s Place Brand’

Based on resident, guest and business feedback, work meant to inform ‘ideal’ tourism strategy

As the resort’s destination marketing organization, Tourism Whistler (TW) has polled thousands of visitors about their experience here. But, notably, it has never undertaken a comprehensive survey of the local resident and business community.…

Time to engage for the future

Last week, our community came full circle in considering tourism in our town and all the participants in this jigsaw puzzle that has landed us as a top destination globally. The discussion of the topic has been most recently percolating since it sort of boiled over September 2017 when passions in the resort heated to such a point over busyness and overtourism that the president and CEO of Tourism Whistler (TW) Barrett Fisher wrote a letter to the community, which was published in Pique (see www.piquenewsmagazine.com, Sept. 12, 2017).…

There was $85K worth of bikes reported stolen in Whistler this year

That’s up from last year, but down from a recent high of roughly $300K in 2016

Being a hub for mountain biking has at least one unintended side effect for Whistler: the theft of bikes that can fetch the price of a small car. One of the more common crimes to grace Whistler’s RCMP’s weekly police report, the detachment has made a concerted, multi-pronged effort to combat bike theft in recent years.…

Lil’wat Function development delayed to 2020

First approved in 2017, details remain scarce about what’s behind the delay

While the sign posted on a Lil’wat Nation development in Function Junction reading “Occupancy Spring 2019” was recently changed to read “Occupancy Fall 2020,” the message about what’s behind the delay remains the same from all parties involved: no comment. “We received our conditional Development Permit in October 2017.…