Whistler Mountain is set to expand its already sizable ski terrain. A proposed land swap with Garibaldi Provincial Park is currently awaiting British Columbia government approval.

Just southeast of the Mountain’s current boundary lies Flute Peak and basin. Most of the land is already within Whistler’s lease, but a key section - the logical base for a chairlift to service the area - lies within the Park’s boundary and is a major concern for environmentalists.

Intrawest, Whistler’s corporate owner, approached BC Parks last December with a proposed swap. In exchange for 87 hectares needed to round out the piece, Intrawest offered up 113 hectares key to Parks’ Singing Pass trail system. Tom Bell, planning officer with BC Parks, calls the swap “...a win-win.”

In addition to another alpine bowl with great powder caches and thrilling steeps, the area offers naturally gladed runs, a commodity in short supply on both Whistler and Blackcomb.

Environmental Concern

Not everyone is excited by the news though. The announcement took park watchers & environmentalists by surprise.

"I don’t think it should happen without meaningful public comment while there is still time to change things," says Bob Brett, a member of the Whistler Naturalists and Sea to Sky Parkwatch, Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) and the municipal Forests and Wildlands Advisory Committee. "There was no consultation. There are no studies on how this might affect the park, the flora and fauna – how it might look."

Al Whitney, another member of Sea to Sky Parkwatch and the Forests and Wildlands Committee, is also concerned by the lack of consultation. “I think many of us were surprised by the suddenness of this announcement. We’ve worked for decades to make sure that groups like Parkwatch and the public are at least consulted when decisions are made."

But Doug Forseth, senior VP of operations at Whistler-Blackcomb is pumped about the development. “There's a natural glading of the trees in that area we want to leave. Only where it gets too thick toward the bottom part would you need to open up some lanes to get back to the lift access," he says.

He also understands that the plan — which calls for two lifts to serve the area — is not without controversy. “It's not different than when we first opened up the Peak. People said ‘You can't do that,’ and with Harmony it was the same thing. There's always some nay-sayers.”

If all goes according to plan, development of the area could begin by spring 2003.

[Copyright 2002, Ski Press Media, Inc.]

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