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Guardians of the Mountains

For many of Whistler’s first responders, saving lives is a family affair

Two years ago, as another busy March Break kicked off in Whistler, a 24-year-old American skied into the lift line at Excelerator Chair and collapsed. He didn’t collide with another skier and didn’t run into any obstacles; his heart simply stopped beating.…

Whistler’s Gateway Loop at centre of ongoing lawsuit

Contractor’s alleged lack of payment kicks off series of claims

Whistler’s controversial Gateway Loop project is at the centre of a months-long legal battle between some contractors, consultants and the Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW) over payment for services.…

Give a little bit

The old saying is, “you get out of life what you put into it; minus taxes.” And while life here in the snow globe is generally pretty peachy all around (especially when it snows) there is one easy way to make it better: volunteer.…

McGregor-Verdejo Duo pack light

The flute and guitar duo perform in Whistler on Sunday, Dec. 8

There is one big perk to being a violin and flute duo. Both instruments are “fairly portable,” says guitarist Adrian Verdejo, one half of the McGregor-Verdejo Duo.…

Holiday Market returns in a new location

Over 100 vendors will set up at the Westin Resort and Spa on Nov. 30 and Dec.1

The Arts Whistler Holiday Market is moving this year. For 2019, the event is leaving its usual home at the Whistler Conference Centre and heading to the Westin Resort & Spa.…

Whistler ranks 17th in impaired driving offences nationwide

Maclean’s ranked Whistler No. 1, but didn’t factor in visitor, seasonal population

Maclean’s magazine released its annual Canada’s Most Dangerous Places list this month, and ranked Whistler No. 1 in impaired driving offences nationwide, but the figures don’t tell the whole story. Maclean’s used a 2018 population of 13,056, which only counts the resort’s permanent residents, not seasonals or visitors.…

Wait for it…

It’s easy to get caught up in the “what-ifs” of life, including, “what if it doesn’t snow more before opening-day weekend?” But long experience has taught me that it’s a complete waste of time to entangle oneself in these rhetorical discussions.…

Starbucks closure adds another vacancy to Whistler’s Village Common

Business sector says rental rates don’t reflect foot traffic in area

With the recent closure of a Starbucks location at 4154 Village Green, another vacancy has been added to the already sparsely populated Village Common commercial area. According to Larco Investments, one of Canada’s largest privately-held real estate companies and landlord for the Starbucks location, the Seattle-based coffee chain has been “rationalizing their operations all across the U.S.,” and are now doing the same throughout Canada, explained Rick Amantea, Larco’s VP of development.…

Letters to the Editor for the week of November 28

Reimagine ‘Black Friday’ Black Friday is coming up very quickly and we really need to think about it as an inclusive society.…

How will Whistler’s proposed budget affect you next year?

Residents have until Dec. 3 to submit comments

While the bulk of Whistler’s proposed 2020-2024 budget pertains to the “nuts and bolts” of the resort—unseen investments in things like water and sewer infrastructure—residents will see its impact firsthand in 2020 and beyond. Improvements to the Valley Trail, Meadow Park Sports Centre, Alpine Trail Network, bus shelters and more are all on tap for 2020.…

Free will astrology for the week of November 28

ARIES (March 21-April 19):
Humans invented the plow in 4,500 BC, the wheel in 4,000 BC, and writing in 3,400 BC. But long before that, by 6,000 BC, they had learned how to brew beer and make psychoactive drugs from plants.…

More tales from the inbox

Inquiring minds apparently want to know. That having been said, I still have no idea why inquiring minds ask me. But what the heck, nothing ventured ……

Before opening day

One of the most-talked about topics in Whistler each November is opening day: when it will be, what the conditions will be like, and how the rest of the snow season looks. Often this causes us to look back at previous opening days for but this week we thought we’d look way back, and see what the community of Alta Lake was talking about 60 years ago, years before lifts started operating on Whistler Mountain.…

The heart is a drum

Yvonne Wallace gave herself seven days to close her heart and put it back in her chest, having stretched it as wide and thin as a deer hide to allow her story to resound through it, to sing of bone-truths. She had performed her one-woman show, tszan, 20 times, from Whistler to Whitehorse, Vancouver to Dawson City—a remarkable enough feat of stamina given that 18 of the shows ran between Sept. 19 and Nov. 3, that the 70-minute performance is in two languages and no crew members were fluent enough in Ucwalmícwts to be able to prompt her if she forgot her lines, and that she was blazing trail all the way, entering into spaces—green rooms, fancy hotels, spotlights—where few Indigenous people are found.…

Couple leads Pemberton police on chase after stealing delivery van

Police Briefs: Suspect arrested three years after theft; burnt-out truck discovered near Pemberton

A Vancouver man and an Alberta woman were arrested last week after they stole a delivery van and led police on a chase through Pemberton Meadows Road, according to a release. At about 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 21, Pemberton RCMP was tipped off to the van, stolen from the 1300 block of Aster Street, after the driver had briefly exited the vehicle.…