Here's a look at what was making headlines in Whistler 25 years ago, during the week of April 3, 1998.
Royal family visits Whistler Blackcomb
Whistler was paid a royal visit from Canada’s future Head of State in March 1998 when the Prince of Wales brought his sons, Prince Harry and Prince William, to Whistler Blackcomb's slopes for a four-day private ski holiday.
The visit from the future king was well documented, as more than 150 representatives from local, regional, national and international media alike descended like a swirling blizzard on the ski town.
The visit to Whistler was the first major skiing holiday the Royal family took following the August 1997 death of Princess Diana.
"William was a better skier overall, but he didn’t have quite the dare-devilishness that Harry did," recalled Otto Kamstra, the Royals' ski guide during the trip, years later.
"Harry went off everything. It was like he was newly released on the world. I think they found it refreshing to get away and for the most part they were left alone."
Barrett Fisher, then vice-president of marketing with the Whistler Resort Association, said it was an excellent opportunity for the town to gain free advertising, particularly in the United Kingdom market.
“That the Royals chose Whistler [for a ski holiday] is a huge honour for the resort,” Fisher said at the time. “Clearly, Whistler was on the international stage from a worldwide exposure point of view.”
Pique founding editor Bob Barnett highlighted some of the pros of accessing that market in his Opening Remarks that week.
"Britain is one of Whistler's fastest growing foreign markets. The United Kingdom accounted for nearly 10 per cent of visitors—and 17.2 per cent of destination room nights last winter, behind only Canada and the United States and closing in on Japan. And they're coming in the summer, too," he wrote.
"The number of U.K. visitors increased 647 per cent between 1992 and 1996, and accounted for 12 per cent of destination room nights two summers ago."
Pemberton RCMP identify body of deceased woman
That week's issue of Pique also contained a tragic report from north of Whistler, as Pemberton RCMP revealed the identity of human remains found at the 33-kilometre mark on Little Lillooet Lake. The RCMP identified the body as Kari Anne Gordon from Nanaimo, who would be 52 this year. The RCMP's Serious Crime Unit suspected foul play was involved in the death, but the case remains unsolved.
If you have any information on this case, don't hesitate to contact the RCMP or Crimestoppers.
Still having a GAS all these years later
Proponents of the controversial Garibaldi at Squamish (GAS) ski resort proposal hoped a request to expand the first stage of the environmental assessment review process would be approved by the provincial government later that month, but many questions remained in the air, including the project's financial viability.
Under the environmental assessment process, the EA Project Committee must make a recommendation within 40 days of the closing of the public review period. The committee can recommend rejecting the project, approving it or moving on to Stage 2, which requires additional studies.
“Stage 1 of the EA process essentially doesn’t allow for dialogue,” Garibaldi Alpen Chairman Wolfgang Richter said at the time. “We put out our concept plan, and people or departments within ministries ask questions, but we can’t answer. That’s the reason for the extension request.”
The Resort Municipality of Whistler's (RMOW) council of the day passed a motion endorsing the project to go to Stage 2 of the review. The municipality's main concern was getting more information on traffic impacts on Highway 99, and a socio-economic assessment of the effect on Whistler.
At the time, the RMOW supported clustering ski resorts, which staff said in a report “tends to broaden a region’s appeal beyond the traditional base of support enjoyed by a single resort.”
The resort proposal is still in the works 25 years later, though new owners are pursuing the development—and Whistler's philosophy about "clustering" has apparently changed.
