When you’re looking back on another year in Whistler for somewhere around the 20th time, the hardest part can be recalling what happened in which season. Thankfully, I have a folder of 25 Outsider columns from 2024 that help me remember some of the significant things that happened as it relates to the outdoors, which I’ve been told is supposed to be the subject of this column.
We all remember the dismal start to the 2023-24 winter season, a start that unfortunately lingered well past Christmas into the mid-winter months of early 2024. I remember the short-lived reprieve in early January where a snowfall to the valley paved the way for an arctic outflow. Then, after about 10 days, it turned into the usual freezing-level crapshoot we’ve come to expect of Coastal winters. But with every low-tide winter, a late-but-great surge gives the snow-faithful a chance to see the season off in style. The majority of my snowmobile days last winter were compressed into that three-week window of mid-late March. Sometimes, you just gotta get whatcha can.
One of the best—albeit controversial—things about last year’s El Nino weather system was it kept raining into the spring and summer. Not great for camping at the lake or outdoor barbecues, but man is it ever great for biking. Trail conditions were prime for longer, extending all the way into early July. In May, the Whistler Mountain Bike Park celebrated its 25th birthday and unveiled its new high-volume Fitzsimmons Chair. After a brief headache of a few mud guards and fenders breaking off, everyone got on with spending significantly less time waiting to upload and ride the Fitz Zone. I can’t emphasize enough how many more laps I was able to get in this year courtesy of that new Fitz Chair. Solid investment.
For the local mountain recreation, it was a great spring, summer and fall for biking and a so-so winter for skiing, with a few exceptional days sprinkled throughout. But the most memorable outdoor time I experienced in 2024 was neither of those things. It was sailing in B.C.’s fabled Desolation Sound.
I don’t think I’ll ever own a sailboat. But I’m lucky enough to have friends who do. Back in 2022 I wrote about their series of lifestyle decisions that led them to sell their home and buy a boat. My friends are still living that dream, and I’m lucky enough to join them on the occasional long-weekend cruise.
Exploring B.C.’s coast isn’t really possible with a vehicle. Roads and ferries only get you so far before you hit the ocean barrier. But if you have a capable vessel and the know-how to get it safely from one spot to another, there’s very few places you can’t go.
I first read about Desolation Sound in Grant Lawrence’s book Adventures in Solitude, and how it was a place of wonder, tranquility and alternative living. He also wrote of the dark side of the sound during the long, dark and incessantly rainy winters where some inhabitants would “go bush” and struggle to keep it together. I’m happy to stick to being a fair-weather Coastie, thank you.
On a three-night cruise aboard Curio, we spotted multiple pods of orcas, breaching humpback whales and views of mountains that had me clamouring through maps on my phone to figure out how I could approach them and ski them in the winter. My friends were also kind enough to let me take the helm a couple of times in some decent wind. I’ve played with some big toys before, but laying over a 15-tonne sailboat at nine knots—with nothing pulling you along except for the wind—is unlike anything I’ve experienced on water, or land for that matter.
Like everyone, there are also parts of 2024 I’d rather forget. Western democracies are shifting to the right, with Canada’s splintering government not far behind. Extreme weather is wreaking havoc and destroying livelihoods all around us, including mountain communities like Jasper. Throw in a long-term relationship ending, and it can feel like there’s little to feel hopeful about in 2025.
But I’m going to err on the side of optimism. Even after 20 years of Whistler-living, I have more motivation to grow than ever. Let’s start it with a few more amazing pow days and we’ll go from there, shall we?
Vince Shuley wishes you a fruitful 2025. For questions, comments or suggestions for The Outsider, email [email protected] or Instagram @whis_vince.
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