Blog

Golf courses set to welcome the world

Major tournaments coming to the Sea to Sky this year

When Big Sky Golf Club welcomed its first players of the season on April 26, it was the first opening day as general manager for Mike MacNeil. MacNeil takes over for long-time GM Woody Bishop, who is now managing Glasgow Hills Resort and Golf Club on Prince Edward Island, and hopes to stay on the path Bishop started.…

Geoff Powter shares stories from his mountain home

Canmore-based outdoor writer to take part in Whistler Writers Festival reading event on Friday, May 17

A lot has changed in the world of outdoor recreation since renowned Canadian mountain writer Geoff Powter first started crafting essays for various publications more than three decades ago. “The world has changed and so have I,” he says.…

Partial recall for the week of May 9

ARIES (March 21-April 19):
Time to shake things up! In the next three weeks, I invite you to try at least three of the following experiments.…

Whistler an unlikely landing spot for refugees

Thirteen Syrian and Afghani refugees have settled in Whistler so far—with more on the way

Ahmad Fadel Yasen has been in Whistler exactly a month, and like a lot of recent resort arrivals, there are certain things he misses from back home: The food, the culture, his pet cat, named Tiger. But, when you’ve been given a second chance at life, those creature comforts tend to feel a little less important than they used to.…

Playground incident prompts policy change at Spring Creek

Cell phones ‘to be away from students’ during school hours

Though a recent incident at Spring Creek Community School prompted emails home to parents, administrators with the Sea to Sky School District (SD48) are looking at it as a learning opportunity. The incident allegedly involved a large group of students chanting obscenities at a playground supervisor (some students filmed the incident and later posted it to social media)—though administrators declined to discuss the details.…

Letters to the Editor for the week of May 9

Something smells fishy Nothing infuriates me more than when a politician claims to be “following the science” and then goes against it—when he/she claims to be fighting for the environment while at the same time cutting funding to the very programs that support it.…

Is it goodbye to Ironman?

While there were definitely gasps of surprise this week when news broke that Ironman was courting Penticton to take back the triathlon, there were also many sighs of relief. This has become one of those love/hate relationships for the resort and the people who live and vacation here.…

How to evacuate Whistler

Multimodal Evacuation Plan heads to council May 14

Whistler’s evacuation plan is headed to council after a presentation to the Emergency Preparedness Committee (EPC) on May 2. The plan—a joint venture (and 50/50 cost share) with the District of Squamish—lays out in detail how the Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW) will evacuate the entire community in an emergency.…

Where is the local’s voice in decision making?

A number of years ago, way back when the word “overtourism” had never been uttered on these shores and Tiny Town yearned for more and more visitors, back when there were shoulder seasons and many businesses more or less shut down to renovate or give their owners and workers a chance to escape to somewhere they could holiday, a time before Festivals, Events and Animation—in other words a long, long time ago—someone proposed a trolley service in Whistler. This wasn’t a trolley designed to alleviate congestion on the highway, for there was no congestion to speak of except for Saturday and, particularly, Sunday afternoon during the winter when skiers from Vancouver—yes, this was a time we actually encouraged semi-local and regional skiers to come here, egged on by relatively low prices and flexible lift products—all headed south at the same time, happy and exhausted but dreading the fact they had to go back to work the next day.…

B.C. premier asks utilities commission to probe high price of gasoline

VICTORIA — Premier John Horgan has asked the British Columbia Utilities Commission to investigate why gasoline in Metro Vancouver and Vancouver Island is so much more expensive than the rest of the country. A statement from the premier’s office says Horgan spoke with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday and brought up his concerns, making it clear that gas hovering around $1.70 a litre is of national importance.…

Vancouver Aquarium and Marineland shipping beluga whales out of the country

Two major Canadian tourist attractions are sending beluga whales outside the country as a new federal law looms that would ban exports on marine mammals, The Canadian Press has learned. Fisheries and Oceans Canada said it has approved permits for Marineland to move two belugas from the Niagara Falls, Ont., facility to Oceanografic in Valencia, Spain.…

Audain Art Museum hosts Emily Carr show

The Audain Art Museum has announced its new fall exhibit. Emily Carr: Fresh Seeing—French Modernism and the West Coast delves into the three years of Carr’s life (1910 to 1912) in which she travelled to France and gleaned important inspiration.…

Goldsmith-Jones won’t seek re-election in October

Conservative Party names its Sea to Sky candidate

Pamela Goldsmith-Jones, MP for the West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky Country riding, will not seek re-election in October’s federal vote.…

Axemen win championship

Club hopes juggernaut season the start of something special

For as strong as the Axemen Rugby Club was in the BC Rugby Union’s Mainland Division 3 regular season, the club kicked it up a notch in the playoffs. Featuring players from all over the Sea to Sky, the Axemen capped an incredible 2018-19 campaign with its first title on May 4, downing Richmond 33-3.…

Ironman Canada leaving Whistler?

City of Penticton gives go-ahead to woo Ironman Canada for 2020

Whistler may hold its final edition of Ironman Canada in July. The City of Penticton council voted at its meeting on May 7 to allow staff to pursue an agreement with Ironman and bring the race back to the Okanagan with a five-year deal beginning in 2020.…