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Working the dream: Whistler's business owners focus on work-life balance
Whistler is home to many extremely successful entrepreneurs in a wide-range of fields – from high-tech to homebuilding, from designing bike parks to snowboards and ski clothes. Many of these entrepreneurs have left successful careers elsewhere to make Whistler their home. They have fascinating stories about how they have succeeded in Whistler and how their lifestyle enriches their lives.
Austrian Olympic Committee builds an environmentally friendly 'passive' house
The Whistler community grew to include a piece of Europe during summer of 2009 with the construction of Austria House. Known as a Passive House because of its unique design which essentially allows it to heat, cool and ventilate itself, Austria House served as headquarters for the Austrian Olympic Committee as well as the daily broadcast studio for the Austrian Public Broadcaster ORF during the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. It also was a gathering place for social events during the Games period. Post Games, the Passive House remains in Whistler as a permanent building, providing a day lodge, office and meeting space to be used by the Whistler Off Road Cycling Association (WORCA) and the Whistler Nordics.
A passive house is a building in which a comfortable interior climate can be maintained without active heating and cooling systems. The house heats and cools itself and is therefore ‘passive'. It uses about ten per cent of the energy a traditional Canadian house uses. The technology is based on highly sophisticated concepts for air exchange and circulation, thermal insulation, high efficiency windows and wood structure construction.
Austria House is a partnership between the Austria Passive House Group, the Resort Municipality of Whistler, the Whistler Blackcomb Foundation and Sea to Sky Consulting. Construction of Austria House began in early September and was completed in November, 2009. www.oesterreichhaus.at
Whistler's Brad Lennea - defining Paralympic dreams
Brad Lennea's personal motto is "Don't just sit there watching life go by, get out and ride," which is exactly how Lennea lives his life. Whether it's teaching the sport he loves as a coach for the Whistler Adaptive Sport Program or drag racing, Brad lives in the fast lane. Now retired, he spent six years on the Canadian Para-Alpine Ski Team. Born and raised on a small farm in Mission, BC, Brad moved to Whistler in 2001 following a car accident and began skiing with the Whistler Adaptive Sports Program and the BC Para-Alpine Ski Team. Shortly afterwards he was named Canada's Para-Alpine World Cup team, and competed for Canadian the 2006 Paralympic Winter Games in Turin. Throughout his career competing Brad trained, raced and coached with the Whistler Adaptive Sports Program, and will continue to do so now that he has retired from competitive sport. In the winter, Lennea can still be found on the slopes, coaching other young skiers with Paralympic dreams.
You only grow old if you stop playing: Whistler's senior Ski Team
Keeping active is the key to staying fit, and there are many activities for Whistler visitors, at whatever level of adrenaline tolerance or fitness - or age. The Whistler Ski Team is the brainchild of local pro Wendell Moore. The program grew from a group of seven keen skiers (with an average age of 67 and an average of 37.7 seasons under their belts) who were tired of dealing with the young turks, and wanted a more customized experience that accounted for the vagaries of older knees and slower reflexes. Within two seasons, it had exploded to 98 participants, 14 coaches, a website (www.seniorskiteam.com), a social calendar, and catskiing trips. The 2007-08 season ended with 27 teams and 189 skiers. www.seniorskiteam.com
A collection of Olympic first's for Whistler
First time in Winter Games history that the mountain competition venues have been completed two years before the competition dates.
First time in Winter Games history that a community other than the host city has achieved an official designation: Whistler has been designated "Host Mountain Resort" for the 2010 Winter Games.
First time in Winter Games history that nightly medal ceremonies took place outside of the host city; at the specially-built Whistler Medals Plaza.
First time in Winter Games history in which the Closing Ceremony for the Paralympic Winter Games was held outside of the host city; Whistler was the host.
Sea to Sky Highway construction inspires children's picture book - Mountain Machines
The six-year, $600 million Sea to Sky Highway Improvement Project didn't just inspire the thousands of travelers who make the trip each day between Squamish and Whistler. It also inspired the fascination of children and a brand new children's picture book. Whistler author Sara Leach boned up on her heavy machinery vocabulary during the construction years, turning her son Ben into a two-year-old who knew the difference between a front-end-loader, a grader, and a dump truck. The elementary school teacher and author who grew up skiing Whistler has since turned that knowledge into a rhyming counting picture book for children, called Mountain Machines. Released in October 2009, the book, illustrated by California artist Steven Corvelo, is full of rhyming text about groomers, pipe dragons, gondolas and other ski hill machinery.
Aboriginal cuisine showcased at Squamish Lil'wat Cultural Centre
Located on six forested
acres along Fitzsimmons Creek, the Squamish Lil'wat Cultural Centre (SLCC)
provides visitors with the unique opportunity to explore the heritage and
living culture of the Squamish and Lil'wat First Nations. Using the finest
local ingredients, many of them inspired by traditional Squamish and Lil'wat
foods, the culinary team creates a spectacular dining experience. Some menu
items include: bannock, wild boar prosciutto, oolichan, venison chili, caribou terrine, soapallallie berry juice, house-smoked salmon, bison carpaccio, pemmichan, herring roe on kelp, Lil'wat honey, sturgeon caviar and Okanagan elk. www.slcc.ca
Whistler benefits from friends across the border
In July 2002, a small group of Americans who spend time in Whistler founded a non-profit organization called American Friends of Whistler (AFOW). Recognizing that Whistler is an extraordinary place, the group raises funds through social events and donations to benefit the local community. As well, AFOW members keep informed and up to date on news and developments via guest speakers and organized events. Since its inception, AFOW has granted more than $500,000 to the Whistler community, including donations to the Whistler Adaptive Sports Program, Whistler Health Care Foundation, Get Bear Smart Society, Whistler Public Library, Whistler Search & Rescue Society, plus many more. www.afow.com
Whistler Mountain Bike Park celebrates one millionth rider in 2011
Since 1998, the Whistler Mountain Bike Park has seen over one million riders and has become the epicenter of lift-accessed mountain biking around the world. Year after year, the bike park has increased in popularity and size, offering more quality and varied terrain for all types of riders to enjoy. Now, with three lifts, nearly 50 trails and more than 5,000 vertical feet of riding available, the Whistler Mountain Bike Park and Whistler Blackcomb consistently brake new ground for lift-accessed downhill biking and have helped push the sport to what it is today. At this rate of progression, it's exciting to envision how the Bike Park will attract the next million riders. www.whistlerbike.com
Sea to Sky Highway improvement project makes Whistler more accessible than ever
Most people who come to Whistler arrive by the Sea to Sky Highway, which links communities from West Vancouver to Whistler. Views of Howe Sound, the Coast Mountains, the Squamish Chief, and the Cheakamus River make the two-hour journey an unforgettable panorama of West Coast beauty. Prior to the winning Games bid, British Columbia's provincial government identified that the scenic Sea to Sky Highway needed major upgrades, and that was partly Whistler's doing. The incredible success, popularity and growth of the resort meant that the road's safety, reliability and capacity needed to be improved. The $600 million improvement project included widening and straightening the highway, improving safety and travel times. The project was completed in November 2009. People who have been driving to Whistler since the 1960s, when much of the road was gravel, love the sleek new highway. The provincial government estimates that 6,000 new jobs will be created throughout the province as a result of economic activity generated along the corridor, and that the highway will increase provincial GDP increased by $300 million from 2010 to 2025.