One of the unfortunate recurring events in Whistler is local businesses shutting down. Back in April, staff from Whistler Bike Co. took down their iconic Rasta-coloured sign from outside the shopfront in Marketplace, ending a 30-year stretch as one of Whistler’s favourite bike shops. I’m not privy to the exact circumstances of why the management and owners of Bike Co. pulled the plug on their Whistler storefront, but I hope their Pemberton location carries on serving the local community of mountain bikers in Spud Valley.
A couple weeks ago, another staple local business in Marketplace shuttered: The Escape Route. I’ve chosen to write its obituary because I have a connection to that little backcountry store. I worked on its shop floor for the better part of five years, made friends I still catch up with (and sometimes ski with) and learned so much about the gear that lets us go on our adventures. I’ll preface the rest of this column by saying I’m not reporting on The Escape Route’s closure or speculating about what’s going on behind the scenes. What I do know after walking through Marketplace last weekend is the Whistler location has been emptied of all inventory, but the website is still live and seems to be functioning for ecommerce transactions.
The Escape Route was the first outdoor specialist store in Whistler, opening its doors in February 1990 on the Village Stroll in what is now the Crystal Lodge.
“It was a good opportunity to stimulate the local mountain community and get people equipped,” said Jayson Faulkner, one of The Escape Route’s original owners, in an interview with Pique in 2011. “All the money we’d saved had to go towards the lease, so our inventory was pretty low. In that first year, whenever we sold something we’d be left with a blank spot on the wall.”
In 1993, Faulkner and his business partner at the time, Tom Duguid, made the decision to move the store to the Marketplace Lodge. This was the heyday of The Escape Route, where it became a hub for outdoor enthusiasts and spawned such organizations as the Whistler Alpine Guides Bureau and the Whistler section of the Alpine Club of Canada. Ski mountaineers such as Eric Pehota, Trevor Petersen and Johnny “Foon” Chilton all bought equipment from the store before setting out on expeditions in the early ’90s.
My time with The Escape Route began in 2009. The store had expanded into the neighbouring space and now sported one of the biggest selections of Arc’teryx and Icebreaker products in North America. The Whistler Alpine Guides Bureau had also outgrown its desk at the back of the store and had moved to its own location. Ski touring was just starting to enter the mainstream, and The Escape Route was one of the only stores to carry this specialty gear. The ski tech in the back, Alex Wigley, a member of the Canadian Ski Mountaineering Team, took me on my first dash around the Spearhead Traverse in a day and my first foray into the Duffey. He went on to become an ACMG ski guide in Squamish and we still catch up every few months.
The knowledge I gained from spending all this time in the store helped fuel my backcountry aspirations, not only as a skier but my current occupation as a writer. Faulkner and James Retty (his business partner at the time) came from careers in everything from technical apparel to tourism marketing. Both these men were sources for many of my news stories and feature articles over the years, including the events The Escape Route would host, such as Banff Mountain Film Festival screenings, the Rubble Creek Classic trail running race, and countless fundraisers for building sanctioned backcountry huts.
“So many of our staff over the years used Escape Route as a launch pad for their careers, whether it was moving into guiding or taking jobs working for the brands that we carry,” said Faulkner, shortly after he sold his share in The Escape Route in 2011. “Seeing our staff move on to bigger and better things has been a point of pride for us.”
Not all great things last forever, especially in the tough world of brick-and-mortar retail and especially in Whistler’s cut-throat environment of commercial real-estate rents. But The Escape Route endured for 30 years, bringing gear and good times to the backcountry folk of the Sea to Sky. And I’m proud to have served alongside it.
Vince Shuley, like everyone else, needs to do more to support local businesses. For questions, comments or suggestions for The Outsider, email [email protected] or Instagram @whis_vince.
