When the now-retired longtime Pique columnist G.D. Maxwell was talking about hanging it up a few years ago, I entertained the idea of being his successor—for about five minutes. The idea of having a weekly backpage to rant, rave, cajole and generally get under the skin of readers and critics alike was an exciting proposition, but one I knew would most likely fail. Not because I can’t do those things. It just wouldn’t have that same G.D. Maxwell panache.
That’s the problem with standing on the shoulders of giants: You’re always going to be compared and contrasted, never quite measuring up to the real deal. Many readers didn’t read the backpage of Pique because it was Pique (not necessarily, anyway). They read it because it was Max writing those words, and as my colleague Brandon Barrett put it last week, that no-bullshit style gave voice to Whistler’s Everyman.
When Max’s talk of retirement got more real, I remember bringing it up with my editor and friend Braden Dupuis on what could follow.
“No one can fill those shoes,” I said. “The diehard fans of Max won’t accept whoever tries to follow him. The readers will tear them apart in the letters and comments.”
Wanting to offer a solution to the glaringly obvious problem, I looked at how other entertainment mediums had handled it. When Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek passed away in 2020, they gave all sorts of celebrities a chance at guest hosting before they settled on The Big Bang Theory star Mayim Bialik and eventually game-show veteran Ken Jennings. Another example was the late-night comedy institution The Daily Show tackling the sudden departure of host Trevor Noah. Instead of scrambling to hire a proven comedian and praying it lands with the audience, they used a roster of rotating guest hosts including Sarah Silverman, Hasan Minhaj and Chelsea Handler and later looking to the existing Daily Show team of Desi Lydic, Ronny Chieng, Michael Kosta and Jordan Klepper. While none quite had the gravitas of Noah, the approach worked. The showrunners even convinced Jon Stewart to come back to host on Monday nights for the lead-up to the 2024 American presidential election, a weekly appearance he’ll continue to make through 2025.
So here we are. A rotating roster of writers on the backpage doing our best to fill the biggest writing shoes in Whistler’s history. Wish us luck.
For better or worse, mountain towns have a tendency to lionize their local achievers. Photographers were always chasing the success of the Paul Morrisons, the Blake Jorgensons and later, the Reuben Krabbes. Skiers looked to the pioneering backcountry successes of Eric Pehota and Trevor Petersen, with the next generation following the exploits of their sons Logan Pehota and Kye Petersen. I’m sure the Whistler realtors have their local heroes, too, perhaps judged by who can break the most consecutive sales records and buy the most ostentatious full-page ad in this humble publication.
There’s nothing wrong with drawing inspiration from your heroes, but as we age, we run the risk of measuring ourselves against others who’ve been more successful, whether it’s financially, athletically, with business, gaining more influence or any other socioeconomic yardstick. We pine for housing we can call our own with a garage where we can store our toys. We need better jobs with better pay and more vacation days to keep up with the extravagant experiences beyond weekend recreation. You don’t have to look far to see there’s big shoes all around us.
But all this is a matter of perspective. Most of us migrated to the Sea to Sky to live the dream of endless mountain recreation, and most of us still have that relative luxury. It hits different from the carefree years of our 20s and even 30s, when money and responsibilities didn’t matter (not nearly as much, anyway). We’re now in the part of life where a comfortable retirement isn’t a futurist concept anymore. It requires hard work, paying off a mortgage, and for those inclined, raising a family and making sure their kids are set up for success in an uncertain world.
Back to the rather large shoes in front me. I’ve come to terms with my opinion writing not ascending into the fabled halls of Maxed Out. But Pique has been growing into its next generation for a while now, with eras ending and tenures ticking over. The second half of the 2020s should be when we put the pandemic disruption and the disastrous online news act behind us for good.
We’re defining what Whistler’s local print media is again, and I’m humbled to be part of it. Even if I need to grow into these shoes a bit.
Vince Shuley is a writer for the turbulent outdoor industry. He hopefully qualifies as a Whistler local by now.
