Local shopkeepers had a chance to network and hear updates for the upcoming season at a recent event hosted by the Whistler Chamber featuring reps from Whistler Blackcomb and the Invictus Games.
Held at the Four Seasons Resort Dec. 6, the sold-out networking event featured the Chamber's annual general meeting before a festive lunch. Then, the main event got underway: a fireside chat between Belinda Trembath, chief operating officer (COO) for Whistler Blackcomb, and Robyn McVicker, Invictus Games COO.
Discussion started with a look back on the challenging conditions of last year’s snowpack, and then shifted forward into this season.
“Robyn and I were really keen to share the stage today so that we could talk about Invictus Games and what that will mean for this community in February,” Trembath said.
Highlights from WB include opening Jersey Cream express, the fourth lift investment in three years for the resort, a carpooling program, and a pin program.
“[Jersey Cream’s] an area that I explored with my family on holiday here seven or eight years ago and fell in love with, so it's been great just getting up there and watching what would have been a lot longer line cycle through that area much more efficiently,” Trembath said
WB is also embarking on a parking study, a requirement that came from the RMOW as a condition for upgrading the Fitzsimmons chairlift.
And for skiers who pack in days on the mountain, the marketing team is developing a new pin program. Skiers that get in 25, 50, 75 or 100 days can pop into guest services and receive a pin to prove their devotion to sliding down mountains.
“I think they'll become quite collector's items. And we're planning on having a little 100-day celebration,” Trembath said.
McVicker’s update reiterated the purpose of the Invictus Games, designed to support military service members who are ill or injured, and highlighted this year is the first time outdoor sports are included.
“It was time to include winter sports. And there's no better place to do that, obviously, than the No. 1 resort in the world, which is, of course, Whistler Blackcomb,” she said.
While opening and closing ceremonies for the games are in Vancouver at BC Place, activations in Whistler run from Feb. 9 to 13.
In terms of support for athletes, McVicker stressed cheering them on as the No. 1 priority and highlighted accessibility auditing of hotels done by Invictus athlete retired Cpl. Lealand Muller.
Improving accessibility is ongoing for Whistler Blackcomb.
“I think ski resorts, many of them were developed in the '60s and '70s, and these sorts of issues were, sadly, not a priority when they were developed,” Trembath said.
Changes include renovating uneven flooring in the Roundhouse’s entry, adding a wheelchair ramp to Steeps Grill & Wine Bar and installing a mobi-mat between the Roundhouse and Peak to Peak gondola. Mobi-mats provide pathways so a wheelchair user can freely move over snow-covered surfaces.
Audience questions
Questions from the audience included queries about staff housing, creating return customers out of the Invictus Games and adapting to climate change as a ski resort.
When asked whether there was a timeframe for Glacier 8 staff housing, Trembath reiterated what she recently told the Resort Municipality of Whistler in October.
“We will add 246 beds with Glacier 8 for our frontline employees, and it's a complex development with a third party that we're working with," she said. "We're continuing to work through those negotiations that remain a priority project for our company. I hope that we'll have some tighter timeframes that we can talk to in the very near future."
To draw in returning visitation after the Games, speakers stressed the media spotlight that will encompass Whistler for the Games.
“Where Prince Harry goes, media follows, and I think that that's a real opportunity for us to help shine that spotlight on the incredible offering that happens at Whistler Blackcomb,” McVicker said.
When it comes to adapting to less snow with climate change, Trembath highlighted investment in snowmaking, diversifying product offering, getting to net-zero carbon emissions by 2030, diverting waste from landfills and electrifying vehicle fleets.
