By the time you read this column, Whistler Blackcomb is officially open to skiers and riders for the 2023-24 season. I sincerely hope you made it up, made some turns, avoided some rocks, and most importantly, didn’t go exploring too far and end up at the Whistler Medical Clinic. It’s a long season everyone. Stoke is good. Overstoke can get you hurt.
As much as I wanted to join the opening day masses, my orthopaedic surgeon ordered I stay out of the fray for a few more weeks. Skis are waxed. Sled tank is full. Not long now.
When you’ve been around town for a winter or 10, one learns to play the long game. Like letting the snow base build up a nominal amount before taking your brand new skis out. Or giving the Duffey a good month to fill in (lest you spend your day of ski touring bashing through alders on the way up and dodging tree stumps on the way down). Good winters come to those with patience.
Speaking of the long game; Spearhead Huts. The Kees & Claire Memorial Hut is now in the operational groove after a few years of disruptive construction schedules and inconvenient pandemic restrictions. A reliable water source remains as the final piece of the puzzle. The winter water supply is still sourced from snowmelt, which uses a significant amount of propane, and those enormous propane cylinders need to be flown in by helicopter. Summer water is sourced by schlepping containers of water up from Russet Lake then boiling it, which also uses a considerable amount of propane. Plans for a groundwater well are locked and loaded, but are still awaiting approval from BC Parks. And as we all know, nothing happens fast with the government. But when I caught up with Spearhead Huts Society chair Jayson Faulkner last week, his beef wasn’t with red tape, but with a small segment of hut users. Namely, the poachers.
“There’s people who will tour up to the area [around the Kees & Claire Hut] who are not paying to stay at the hut, but they’ll come in and use the facilities, burn the propane for their meals, and in some cases, even take the beds away from people who’ve booked to stay there,” says Faulkner. “I always hoped that people who spend time in the mountains had a greater respect for the other people who share that space, including the environment they move around in and the infrastructure that’s been hard won by volunteers.”
Besides said freeloading bad apples, the Spearhead Huts project is chugging along. With 2023 being largely an uninterrupted year of visits, the management committee for Kees & Claire knows a lot more about its operational needs, be it staffing for custodians, managing propane supply, or other general maintenance. Focus is now shifting to the Macbeth Hut, which will be built on the slopes of Mount Macbeth at the approximate midpoint of the Spearhead Traverse. The encouraging news is that it has the funding to start construction, courtesy of a $1.5-million donation from Vancouver philanthropists Brian Hill (founder of clothing giant Aritzia) and Andrea Thomas Hill (chair of Vancouver’s Cause We Care Foundation).
“Our agreement with Brian and Andrea is that $1.5 million is the budget we’re shooting for,” says Faulkner. “It sounds like a lot of money, but if anyone takes a look at what it currently costs to build a house in the Whistler Valley, imagine building at alpine elevation strictly with helicopter access. It’s more remote and it’s harder to get to, which makes it more expensive, even for a relatively small structure.”
One of the advantages of this funding is the Spearhead Huts will be able to hire more professionals for the actual construction. Kees & Claire was built by a lot of generous volunteers with direction from a handful of construction professionals on site. But the volunteers weren’t always skilled at carpentry or trades, leading to inefficiencies. With the even more remote location of Macbeth, efficiency of the work will be critical to take advantage of weather windows and the ever-expensive heli time.
Of the three Spearhead huts, Macbeth is definitely the one I’m most excited about. I’ve skied plenty of day trips around Cowboy Ridge (Kees & Claire) and Mount Pattison (proposed site of the third and final hut), but Macbeth really dives into the belly of the beast that is the Spearhead Range. Faulkner says it will be a true mountaineer’s hut with the surrounding terrain requiring advanced to expert backcountry skills, solid experience and seasoned fitness in the winter. Basically, if you want to ski in the terrain around Macbeth, you want to be confident enough to navigate, travel and ski the Spearhead Traverse without huts.
If you’re interested in seeing the latest plans for the Macbeth Hut, the Spearhead Huts Society is holding a fundraiser at the 老澳门六合彩开奖记录资料 Lil’wat Cultural Centre this Saturday evening, Nov. 25. Tickets can be purchased at eventbrite.com
Vince Shuley is overdue for another loop around the Spearhead Traverse. For questions, comments or suggestions for The Outsider, email [email protected] or Instagram @whis_vince.
