LETTERS TO THE EDITOR from Travel Guide 2010 issue
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR from Fall 2009 issue 'Whatever happened to ... ?'
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR from Buyer's Guide 2010 issue
Selected letters from previous issues.
FALLING STARS
As always, I sat down to devour Ski
Canada’s Buyer’s Guide 2010 and one article
in particular caught my eye. In regards to
the “Dropping Records” (Chris Lennon, Short
Turns) article regaling the “world record” cliff
drops of Jamie Pierre and Fred Syversen, I
have this to say: I could push my 74-year-old
mother off a 120-metre cliff, but that doesn’t
mean she can “ski” it! Seriously, if you don’t
stick it or if you have to dig yourself out of
a massive bomb-hole, then it doesn’t count.
Bring back the big-mountain flowy stylings
of Kirk Jensen and Andrew Sheppard, because
the billy-goating going on out there these
days doesn’t impress me much.
ELEANOR CULVER (aka Old-School-Granny-
Pants), Calgary
LOST VERTICAL
» In your “Best of Skiing in Canada” feature
in the Winter 2009 issue you list the five
biggest vertical. However, for the East, you
have missed out on the highest vertical drop
of them all: Le Massif at 770 metres is much
higher than Tremblant at 645 metres.
JEAN FRANCOIS SIROIS, Charlevoix, Quebec
» Ignoring the fact that there were only four
eastern mountains in your “Top 5 Biggest
Vertical,” how could you miss Le Massif, the
biggest as well as the best ski mountain in
Eastern Canada? That’s a big disappointment,
considering that many skiers don’t know what
an amazing ski experience awaits them there.
CLIFF GENTLE, Toronto
The Ski Canada Research Department must
have been in the lodge warming up when that
bit went through! Our deepest apologies for
missing the biggest in the East. As well, Le
Massif has some of the best views and on-hill
eating in the country.
—Ed.
HELPING THE KNEEDY
» I read the sidebar “Tips for knee-friendly
skiing” in Monica Andreef’s knee injury story
“Twist and Shout” in the Buyer’s Guide 2009
issue. I’ve been aware of material developed
by Carl Ettlinger et al and their work at
Vermont Ski Safety for about two years now.
I remember articles by Ettlinger and Gordon
Lipe about getting the best performance out
of bindings back in the 1960s and ’70s. I
also remember the crusade they led for antifriction
devices to replace stiff plastic risers
under the toe of the ski boot to improve
the consistency and likelihood of sideways
release by the toepiece, bindings that did not
require the sole of the boot to be notched,
and standardization of boot sole shape and
dimensions. Ski Canada can take some of the
credit for the approval of this project. As part
of the sales pitch for it, I asked the question:
“Where can people go to learn how to protect
themselves in a fall?” Two articles published
in Ski Canada in recent years were quoted: “9
Simple Skills” (Buyer’s Guide 2007) and “Good
News for Knees” (Short Turns, Buyer’s Guide
2008). That’s not the primary answer teaching
organizations really want to hear, yet today
the alternatives are very few in our sport.
TERRY ABRAMS, Falling Safely Project Coordinator,
CSPS Calgary Zone VP Education
AGE OF MAJORITY
» I’m standing on one of the cattle cars
into downtown Toronto going to work and
just finished reading Iain MacMillan’s First
Tracks, “Who’s in the driver’s seat?”. As a
person turning 40 next week, I couldn’t agree
more; I spend far more on skiing now than
I did 20 or even 10 years ago. As I look for
local places to ski in Ontario, I find myself
driven to join a private club because of the
fear of out-of-control boarders running me
over. What happened to the days when the
ski patrol kicked people off the hill for being
out of control? So not only should equipment
manufacturers think about who they market
to, so should ski hills. Failure to could mean
they end up losing the real revenue stream.
BRAD KNIGHT, Mississauga, Ontario
WHEELIE GOOD MEMORIES
» Big props go out to Ian Merringer for his
“Go with the Flow” (Spring 2008) piece on
mountain biking. The concise, witty article
put a knowing smile on my face and provided
fresh insight into a sport I enjoy but often
fi nish the day with my teeth clenched—
so I’ve stuck with my road running. His
explanation of mental states, how “just the
right level of challenge” can get you “in the
zone” was something I hadn’t heard before.
And the description of muscles “operating
according to the barest of suggestions”
definitely brought back awesome memories
from my days on the trails around Sun Peaks.
Maybe I’ll put on the full-face again and step
up my challenge level, in search of Zen.
DAYANTI KARUNARATNE, Ottawa
GREAT, BUT MAKE IT BETTER
» Ski Canada is the best in the country but
you need to have longer articles on going
skiing with more photos and concentrate your
stories on equipment (like the ski test) into
one issue so we can use it to buy new skis,
boots or whatever I’m replacing in the fall.
(My cousin Brittany agrees with me.)
ADAM CAMPBELL, Richmond Hill, Ontario
POSTCARD FROM PEMBERTON
» You suckers, working so hard on the
season’s first issue, you missed the best music
festival ever! The Hip were rocking and Tom
Petty and the Heartbreakers put on the best
show I can remember seeing or hearing—that
band is so tight and the sound was right on
the note. Sam Roberts was really good too!
Jay-Z was shit unless you’re an urban bling
bunny dreaming of packing heat. Cold Play
was good but their sound didn’t hold up, but
they did pop up 25 feet from us on a remote
stage. My niece saw God. To have been single
(and 21) there would have been a marvelous
thing—I am breast desensitized. The Bacardi
B Live tent was a Mojito-fueled, gyrating,
3,000-square-foot nightclub complete with
indoor waterfalls. No need for bud, it was
piped in from all directions.
Dee Arclais, Pemberton, B.C.
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but
despite attracting 120 bands and more than
40,000 music lovers to the 2008 Pemberton
Music Festival, this summer’s event has been
cancelled. We’ve already heard plans are
underway to revive the show in 2010 however.
WHO’S FOLLOWING WHOM
In the category of Most Romantic
Getaways (“Best of Skiing in Canada,” Winter
2008), where you wrote: “And of course you
could always give her diamonds...with a tour
of Spanky’s Ladder at Blackcomb. Impress
HER even more by waiting at the bottom.”
Are you kidding me? My wife can wait for
ME all she wants at the bottom of Spanky’s
Ladder. I’m never going in.
ROB SCHERTZER, Vancouver
THAT SETTLES IT
I just wanted to point out a little mistake
in your “Best of Skiing in Canada” issue.
I am an avid skier who grew up in
Rossland, B.C. and just wanted to let you
know that the Paradise chair is still a triple
(although it was run as a double for a large
part of the year due to mechanical problems),
and the triple chair that was replaced by the
non-high-speed quad was the Silverload chair.
Unfortunately, the end result is nowhere near
as effective as replacing the Paradise chair
would have been. It just gives a longer lift
ride with more stops that ends in a traverse
over to the Motherload chair. The skiing,
unfortunately, is not new tree skiing, but
unexciting, rolling, beginner terrain. The
purpose of this may have been to feed the
new “ski-in, ski-out” properties being built.
ROWAN KRUYSS, Rossland/Victoria
HUGE HELMET-WEARERS OR
HUGE-HELMET WEARERS?
My brother (54) and my mom’s boyfriend
(86), who are huge helmet wearers, were
trying to explain why I should be wearing
one. I handed over your article by Jasper
Shealy (“The Science Behind Helmets,” Fall
2008) as proof that there are other opinions
out there. People, who are proponents
of helmet use, often look at non-helmet
wearers as simpletons in need of guidance or
delinquents with a devil-may-care attitude.
I’ve been skiing since I was two. This year
will be my 28th year teaching skiing, so I’ve
seen a few runs in my time. Helmet wearers
seem to be sheltered from their environment
and other skiers. Many helmets limit visibility
and/or hearing. I’ve had too many clients
wearing helmets ski into other skiers wearing
helmets. People who wear helmets ski as if
they are invincible. It may be because they
are sheltered from the sounds that let you
know you are moving at the speed of light. A
physiotherapist friend brought to my attention
that a helmet doesn’t protect the brain stem
area. And didn’t all ski helmets fail a Canadian
test for adequate protection last year?
JILL DORKEN, Aspen, Colorado
WHERE’S ERNIE?
I have enjoyed your great magazine for
at least 20 years as a subscriber. I think
an article about Ernie McCulloch would
be interesting to many senior skiers like
myself—I am 73. I had the great pleasure of
having a lesson from him at Mont Tremblant
about 20 years ago. What a treat! I was so
psyched up that I have never skied as well
before or since. There was about fi ve inches
of fresh powder on the Beauchemin and I
followed him in his tracks about 15 feet
behind as he told me what to do. I never
fell once, but I expected to. I got several
good tips that I had not heard or read about
before. I started skiing in my hometown of
Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, when I was about
six. I used to use Marker bindings and I well
remember the long thongs.
TERRY CARSCADDEN, Lively, Ontario
WARMING TO THE SUBJECT
After reading George Koch’s “Is it all doom
and gloom?” on global warming in the Fall 2007
issue, I must say he is in a class all his own. It’s
sad that you continue to allow him to use Ski
Canada as a venue for his lengthy, misguided,
uneducated and unwanted rants. Koch’s writing
style is best suited for the tabloids. Please keep
him out of Ski Canada in the future.
BILL MITCHELL, Montreal
»
Years after the end of the Cold War, a
Polish intellectual remarked that, until Pope
John Paul II visited Poland and millions
turned out to see him, he (the intellectual)
assumed he was the only anti-Communist
remaining in all of Poland. The government’s
propaganda, starting in pre-school and
covering every aspect of society, was so
successful at presenting a monolith of pro-
Communist opinion that most people were
convinced that everyone either believed in
Communism or was at worst resigned to its
eternal domination. After the Pope’s visit, the
man realized he wasn’t alone.
I suspect a lot of global-warming skeptics
figure they’re the last people in their
town, region or province not to believe the
propaganda. And that’s probably how the
movement likes it.
JORGE DUDEK, Toronto
George Koch’s “Is it all doom and gloom?”
seemed like an odd addition to a ski
magazine, particularly after eastern Canada’s
snow drought two years ago and the year
before that in B.C. I explored George Koch’s
website and was not in the least surprised to
see a Calgary address and many articles that
would have clearly warmed the hearts of tarsand
and oil-industry apologists and their
climate-change-denying friends.
As someone who lives at the foot of
an Ontario ski hill and has many years of
observation of weather and snowfall, I can
certainly, along with most eastern skiers,
attest that the warming trend here is for
real. The resort that I live next to doubled
the size of its snowmaking capacity some
eight years ago. Had they not done so, at
least five or six of the subsequent ski seasons
would have been either a write-off or very
close to it. Similarly, does Koch think that
European ski resorts would have been putting
massive resources into snowmaking over the
past decade because they couldn’t think of
anything better to do with their money?
JOHN LOW, Mansfield, Ontario
CHILLY DREAM
» I loved Iain MacMillan’s story about Portillo
(“Headin’ South,” Fall 2007). For some reason I have
been somewhat obsessed with the place for a few
years now, checking the weather weekly, trying to
decide which week would be best to visit, and if I
could spend an entire week at one resort and not
get too bored. It has found a place on my “must
do” list, along with driving to both coasts (hit N.S.
last summer on my motorcycle!), Mardi Gras in New
Orleans, ski western Canada every year, see the
Rolling Stones, and a motocross safari in Kenya.
However, skiing in summer is a huge desire for me.
STEVE SCHOGER, Windsor, Ontario
MISSING PAGES
» I have subscribed to Ski Canada for a number
of years and have a magazine rack filled with your
ski test issues. I will not pay suggested list price
for a ski, and so I visit the CSPS Calgary Ski Sale
to pick up one-year-old demo skis. Depending on
the category of ski that I’m looking for, I grab the
appropriate issues from the last few years and head
down. The Ski Canada Test results have enabled
me to find a pair of skis every time that met my
needs and were perfect for what I was looking for.
I have noticed in recent years that the amount
of information in the paper magazine has been
decreasing with a tag line in the reports to visit the
Ski Canada website for the rest of the info. I couldn’t
take the website with me to a retail store even if I
wanted to pay retail pricing. Please ensure that Ski
Canada maintains the full details of the ski tests in
the magazines.
GLENN DAVIES, Calgary
You’ll be happy to know we’ve printed our
Ski and Boot Listings again in this Fall Annual
Buyer’s Guide, however, unless we kill every other
editorial page, including Letters to the Editor, we
just don’t have the space for all the numerical
test results. But they’re available online at
www.skicanadamag.com
—Ed.
REVVIN’ AT REVY» My buddies and I skied Revelstoke for three days,
then a month later, back home in Oregon, I spotted
your magazine with “Here Comes Revelstoke” on the
cover (Buyer’s Guide 2008). I read with great interest
and agree wholeheartedly with Steven Threndyle. The
mountain is amazing and huge. The fi rst day we racked
up more than 60,000 feet of vertical, day two
just over 50,000 and our last day we could only
muster 40,000. There are many memorable ways
down this mountain, from Devil’s Club to Snow
Rodeo. These runs go on forever and your legs will
be crying uncle way before you see the bottom of
the gondola. The best part of skiing Revelstoke is no
crowds; you can ski most runs and only see a few other
skiers. Yes, we are going back for a week this season—
and I have sent in my subscription for Ski Canada.
MICHAEL KIRKELIE, Eugene, Oregon
OFF-PISTE OR OFF-SIDE?
» After reading Martin Olson’s Style File “Before you
duck the rope,” I was shocked and appalled that under
no circumstance was there any mention of the risk
involved with crossing the line. As soon as you leave
the ski hill boundary, you are in the backcountry and
different rules apply. There is no grey area between ski
hill boundary and backcountry. There are no methods of
avalanche control in the backcountry; you are on your
own, so Godspeed. Hope you have a beacon, so they
can come retrieve your body. Be prepared. (More than
friends and a helmet are needed.) The next time you
decide to write such an article, take note that a helmet
isn’t the only thing that’s going to save your life—it’s
the knowledge underneath it. So take a course, get the
gear and don’t be an idiot!
KATHRYN WHITESIDE, Calgary
» I couldn’t help but think you missed some key
points in “Before you duck the rope.” I once spent an
afternoon probing avalanche debris for three bodies
that used to belong to people who thought it was a
good idea to “duck the rope.” The avalanche was less
than 20 metres from a boundary rope. Skiing out-ofbounds
requires a lot more than a helmet and a “never
say whoa” attitude (the latter has killed people in the
past). I see more and more people going into places
they shouldn’t be because they just don’t know how
dangerous they are. Ropes are there for a reason,
and in my mind encouraging people to duck them is
irresponsible, to say the least. Maybe Mr. Olson should
try digging some bodies out of the snow and dealing
with their devastated friends and family before telling
people how to ski out-of-bounds.
DUSTIN CHRISTIAN, Calgary
Ski Canada has published many articles about
backcountry safety, gear, courses, avi contro, the
benefi ts of hiring a guide, sad stories, warnings
and so on. Martin’s tips on skiing the ungroomed
simply add to this subject. Skiing off-piste is an
established (and signifi cantly increasing) way of
life at ski resorts and we try to keep up with it. But
just to clarify, Ski Canada would never encourage
skiing a closed run or “out of bounds”—ever.
Skiing off-piste, which sometimes involves ducking
a rope placed to signify you may (or may not) be
leaving a patrolled area, is part of Canadian skiing
nowadays. Ducking a rope often involves simply
skiing a named and ungroomed run that can be
found on the trail map. That said, there is also
terrain that is permanently closed, controlled but
never groomed or skiable but not patrolled. Again,
all of these scenarios are also “beyond the ropes”
and their degree of safety ranges widely. Some ski
area signage is vague (sometimes on purpose) in
differentiating a resort’s off-piste areas, but “closed
runs” should be well signed and respected. Ski
Canada always recommends that if unfamiliar with
the terrain, never simply follow someone else’s
tracks, ask the patrol for advice—or hire a guide.
—Ed.
GO, JUMBO, GO!
» After 12 years of personally fighting to have
Jumbo Glacier Resort built and sitting on the Public
Advisory Committee studying the terms of reference
for Jumbo, I read George Koch’s article on Jumbo
nodding in total agreement (Western View, Winter
2007). The myths the anti-Jumbo zealots have been
perpetuating are utterly baseless. They say Jumbo is
an environmental disaster and that locals don’t want
it. They are wrong on both counts. Jumbo is a way
to create more jobs with a fi xed amount of natural
resources; it’s the epitome of sustainability. For
example, if 500 Jumbo resort employees were instead
employed as loggers, how many pristine valleys would
be logged each year? Energy projects like windmills
fight global warming, yet some environmental groups
fight windmills due to irrelevant arguments like
aesthetics or impacts on local birds. Similar misplaced
opposition with Jumbo.
Despite all this misinformation and 16 years for
opponents to raise and prove opposition, they only
convinced a tiny minority of locals. The local Shuswap
band has gone on record as supporting the Jumbo
proposal. The latest review received an equal amount
of supporting as opposing responses. Perhaps now
people know what is actually being proposed. Well
done, Mr. Koch!
IAN McKENZIE, Ladysmith, B.C.
THE ABJS OF JIBBING
» I’m 18 and I think you guys run an awesome
magazine. I always look forward to the next issue.
I would suggest one thing, though. Although you
have improved greatly on your representation of
the jib culture, you have not yet reached into the
realm of skills. As more of a recreational jibber and
big-mountain skier, I’m always looking for ways to
improve my own personal skills. Much of the time it’s
a hard thing to fi nd ways to progressively improve,
even when I’m on the hill. Also I have found jib
culture is based a lot on assumptions that everybody
knows what the different kinds of rails are, what
certain tricks are called, etc. It’s not at all my point to
blame Ski Canada for this, but you could bring to light
many of these things for young, interested skiers who
are still not yet in the know. You guys have a great
section in the magazine for this sort of thing already
called Style File with Chris Lennon. More of these
would be great.
CLAYTON BERG, Caroline, Alberta
NO BOWLIN’, HUNTIN’ OR
FISHIN’ EITHER
» Very disappointed. Your December 2006
issue is nothing but resort-based yo-yo skiing
and full of glitzy ads. No indication that it’s just
about alpine skiing—no other sports like crosscountry,
snowboarding, telemark, bushwhacking,
wilderness etc. How about indicating on the
cover that it’s very narrow in focus?
GEORGE PRIEDITIS, address unknown
I’m not sure how we deceived you but
surprisingly Ski Canada is about skiing, not
snowboarding, cross-country...nor bushwhacking.
We certainly have our share of off-piste content,
including backcountry gear and adventure, just
not necessarily in every issue. —Ed.
TOO MUCH REBEL RHETORIC
» I agree with the letters regarding helmet use.
I’m not saying that every photo has to have a
helmet in it, but given that you encourage people
to push boundaries, I don’t see how it would hurt
to encourage some common sense once in a while.
My wife and I go skiing at Big White every
year and she regularly arranges for private lessons
(“Ski at Home,” December 2006). “Biatch”? I’ll be
sure to pass that characterization along to her.
I’m sure she’ll appreciate it the next time she gets
sideswiped by some ignorant little twit who learns
to talk the talk from you guys, but learns to walk
the walk—um, never? Look, I’m a fan of your
magazine. The destination and product reviews
are great. The support of our national teams is
fantastic. Just try to tone down the ignorant rebel
rhetoric a little, please. There are enough people on
the mountain who don’t have a clue what they’re
doing without you egging them on.
GEOFF EBY, Toronto
FAR FROM MORALLY BANKRUPT
» I get so “sick up and fed” reading all the
edletters saying that your mag is politically
incorrect or that you don’t promote safety, family
values, morals or ethics (Your Run, December
2006). Tell(uride) those dog-breaths that they
should take a leap off the next cornice, as skiing
has—and always will be—about sex, drums
(changed that one after high school) and rock ’n’
roll! Skiing is about attitude and freedom, and
while this world seems to be continuing to go
“downhill” (ha-ha), it’s refreshing to read about
(and see great photos of) the one truly great
thing left on this planet—I’m talking skiing,
baby—and all the funky, fun and on-the-edge
lifestyles and life experiences it is really about!
DON WILLIAMS, Barrie, Ontario
FITS LIKE A GLOVE
» I read your Fall 2007 issue from cover to cover.
I can’t count how many times I said out loud, “I
love this magazine!” That hasn’t always been the
case the last few years. But this issue could have
been titled “Ski Canada, Andrea” because it spoke
to me. It has me aching for the fi rst snowfall!
Many letters have complained of too many articles
about the extreme skiing that few of us aspire to,
and the hard partying lifestyle that goes with it.
But with this issue I sense a shift in direction:
cat-skiing for the masses, skiing within a budget,
skiing with the family in Europe and summer
skiing in Chile. These are all things that I dream
of as an avid intermediate skier. I even enjoyed
George Koch’s take on global warming (though I
expect the next issue of Ski Canada will have a
page or two dedicated to the responses to this
article alone!)
ANDREA McCARDLE, Mississauga, Ontario
COMMUNITY MINDED
I found a couple of things pretty ironic when I
read Raymond Schmidt’s article “Community Centres”
in your Winter 2007 issue. I, too, learned how to
ski at Chicopee. The names of the tricks all rung a
bell. North and Sugar Bowl were also favourites,
but I still didn’t mind riding the T-bar on Mic-Mac
to avoid the lineups for the chairs. The other ironic
part to this article is the ski hill I live near is Salmo.
I still get nostalgic every night I’m out there and
usually follow some of the kids to see what they’re
hittin’. I watch them all go, then show them how
to air it out with the back of my skis touching my
head (backscracher), all old school like, throw down
a perfect landing—well, not always—and ski to
the lift feeling like a kid again! (I try not to do this
while on patrol.)
My fi ve-year-old son is now learning to ski at
Salmo this year and is a member of the Nancy Greene
Program. He gets excellent coaching two nights and
two mornings by three awesome coaches. All of this
is made possible by many of the volunteers. Most of
the people who operate the hill are volunteers, and
the concession in the lodge is run by the ski racers’
parents with student employees, all to keep the hill
affordable for the entire community. We should all
take pride in the countless hours volunteers put in
to ensure our children and the children of others can
grow up with great memories for many years and
turns to come.
DUSTY SEFTEL, Salmo, B.C.
DEVELOPMENTALLY CHALLENGED
You seem to have a bone to pick with
environmentalists, green fanatics and acolytes. It’s
discouraging to see such blatant ignorance from
[a columnist] of a ski publication when you berate
individuals who want to preserve the national
parks. Every time anyone has the audacity to slow
a resort plan in a national park, people like you go
ballistic. After all, they are national parks; they are
not getting any bigger, yet the population is getting
bigger, so I would suggest that when the parks start
to expand then maybe we’ll have some parity on
the green side. Until then, I could call you another
silver-spooned frat ski boy, but I will not. You are
what you are, a hired gun for the ski industry. Now
consider this: If Alcan decided to build a smelter
down the road from Panorama or Fernie or Apex, in
full view of those environmentally benign condos
that dot the ski-scape, I would bet your poison pen
would be crying the green card then. You’re lucky
that the most angst you can experience are closed
ski trails and green acolytes.
PETE STUBBINS, residence withheld
NORTHERN LIGHTS
After reading Doug Sack’s article “North of 60”
(Inside Edge, Buyer’s Guide 2007), I would like to
add more information regarding skiing in the north.
Mount Sima in Whitehorse is not the only skiing
facility in the Yukon. There are two other alpine
ski facilities here: Mount Maichen, operated by
the Watson Lake Ski Club, and Moose Mountain in
Dawson City. Since the Watson Lake Ski Club was
formed in the late 1960s, it has been the only club
in continuous operation in the Yukon. We are blessed
with natural snow and wonderful views of the lake,
mountains and Liard Valley.
Watson Lake Ski Club had a very active racing
program, and its alpine racers represented the Yukon
Ski Team at the Canada Winter Games in 1979, 1983,
1987 and 1995. In 1990 the Watson Lake Ski Club
and Whitehorse racing club formed the Yukon Alpine
Ski Association. For many years we had the honour
of being the only sport governing body outside of
Whitehorse until the association was moved to Mount
Sima. At present, we are trying to renew the racing
club, but for the past years we have poured our
energies into providing healthy outdoor recreational
activities for the families and youth of Watson Lake.
JENNY SKELTON, Watson Lake Ski Club,
Yukon College
what's up Ski Canada??
First off, love the mag! Now on the to reason for my writings...
No doubt growing up in Ontario is a tease for skiers. We read the magazines and watch the video's only to dream of big mountain lines and jumps into fluff. Eventually I decided to take advantage of youth and move to Whistler, but moved back years ago to finish school. Returning to the cold Ontario winter after experiencing real mountains out west is tough, but I brought back with me a spirit of exploration. My posse and I grew up skiing the same hills in Collingwood for years. Aside from learning new steez in the park skiing became boring, and i was missing powder big time. The spirit of exploration brought us to parts of our 'mountain' that we'd never been before, and recharged our skiing batteries. One day, we stumbled upon a place our dreams were made of with open glades, cliffs, and best of all powder. We named it 'the backcountry' and tried to keep it a secret for as long as we could. Eventually I realized that sharing a secret like this is more fun. There is something satisfying about putting a smile on someones face, and exposing them to a place in Ontario that no one thought existed. So, I'd like to pass on a message to all those who ski on the small hills of the east: EXPLORE! You never know what you'll find.
Here are some pics that finally prove theres powder in Ontario, you just have to know where to find it! There are more where these came from too.
Greg Sturch
by email March 22, 2008
GLOBAL STORMING
»In his recent column (“Is it all doom
and gloom?”, December 2006), George Koch
lists a number of skeptics to counter the UN
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
report by over 2,000 climate scientists. Koch’s
skeptics include: Frederick Seitz, who was born
in 1911; William Gray, who doesn’t believe man
is involved in global warming; Hans Von Storch,
who thinks climate change is a good thing; and
Martin Durkin, who compares environmentalists
to Nazis. At the end of his article Mr. Koch refers
to his website Dr. J & Mr. K. Dr. J is a petroleum
geologist who used to work for Husky Oil.
Over the past 60 years, Canada’s average
temperature has increased 1.98 degrees, with
six of the warmest years occurring in the last
decade. Last year, Ontario’s largest ski resort, Blue
Mountain, laid off 1,300 workers after closing
down its ski operations in the middle of the winter
season for the fi rst time in the resort’s 65-year
history. Thomas Grandi and Sarah Renner have
witnessed the impact of global warming with
the cancellation of several World Cup ski races.
They aren’t focused on doom and gloom; they are
trying to do something about it by being part
of “Play It Cool.” I think Ski Canada should take
more seriously the threat of climate change to the
skiing industry since your magazine won’t sell very
well when skiing becomes an extinct sport.
NANCY BIGGS, Ottawa
»I found George Koch’s article to be a thoughtful,
well-presented compilation of personal observations
and excerpts from various sources that illustrate that
there is nothing new about change, and that bad
science is more common than generally suspected.
Want to see confi rmation that the world is changing?
Go to the Interpretative Centre at the Columbia
Icefi elds in Jasper National Park. Historical photos
show the Athabasca Glacier retreating quickly long
before man-made effects would have had a large
infl uence.
As to what these changes mean to our small part
of the world. In the 10 years I have been involved in
the B.C. ski industry, I have seen:
• Record amounts of snow (1998-99)
• Record thin snowpack due to a persistent (cold)
Arctic high-pressure system (2000-01)
• Less than normal snowpack with little snow below
1,400 metres (2003-04)
• Great snow year if you didn’t mind the Pineapple
Express in January (2004-05)
• Great snow year with the most snow at 1,000
metres elevation since 1998-99 (2006-07)
Yes, I think we should work hard to minimize our
impact on the world and the atmosphere. No, I don’t
think exporting cash in carbon credits trading is the
way to go.
And if you can stand one more story, this time
from The Globe and Mail: the focus of the article
was on how the Inuit of Canada’s far north are
affected by climate change. The writer related how
the rising temperature was melting the permafrost
and releasing long-frozen logs, which the Inuit were
burning for fi rewood. He never did get around to
theorizing how warm it must have been to grow
those trees that far north.
TOM MORGAN, Monashee Powder Snowcats,
Vernon, B.C.
» George Koch is certainly entitled to his
opinions on climate change, but what possessed
you to publish them in Ski Canada? If I want to
read this kind of misinformation, it’s all too easy
to fi nd elsewhere. Please stick to what you do best
and leave climate change denial to the “experts.”
JOHN WELLS, Victoria
» Well, George Koch is a global-warming skeptic.
I can’t say I’m surprised. It’s consistent with
his right-wing, conservative thought processes.
And he’s right, he’s an “untrained oaf.” He really
should have spent more time reading the scientifi c
reports and thinking things through a bit better.
He’s embarrassingly silly. I’m surprised and
disappointed that you published this article. I
have never liked George Koch’s writing and would
be quite happy if it disappeared from Ski Canada.
DON HEPPNER, Nanoose Bay, B.C.
» Well done, George Koch! There should be more
articles like yours in Canadian magazines. Instead,
we are getting a lot of “globull” stories! Keep up
the good work.
ANDRE BOGDAN, Calgary
» George Koch starts off by saying his article
is “not about whether global warming is
happening,” but then goes on to drag out every
hoary argument against climate change in
circulation—from I had an awesome ski day in
April so it can’t be true to quotes from weather
forecasters pointing out that Al Gore isn’t a
scientist. It’s important to think for yourself,
George, but rehashing old debates about
temperature graphs, obsessing over debunked
documentaries and tracking down dissenting
voices doesn’t refl ect free thinking, it refl ects
intellectual stubbornness.
For readers who want more information, I
suggest these sites: go to realclimate.org for
a plain language summary of the scientifi c
arguments that climate change is happening,
human caused and not good for the planet’s
future; for a quick response to arguments
against climate change, go to gristmill.grist.org
and see “How to Talk to a Climate Skeptic” or
newscientist.com for “Climate Change: A Guide
for the Perplexed”; and for a detailed review of
the fl aws in Great Global Warming Swindle, go
to medialens.org and look in the archive for the
March 13, 2007, alert.
KEVIN WASHBROOK, Vancouver
» I read George Koch’s latest article in Ski Canada.
Is he nuts? He’s gonna get killed by some greenie—
gonna get shot with some hybrid gun. Loved every
line of the article.
FRED PULLER, Sparwood, B.C.
» Koch’s prose fumes like a glossy 300-pound
mass of ordure, oscillating between the sublimely
illuminating and the ridiculously offensive. I yearn
for it. It’s a fl agrant announcement of the writer’s
metamorphosis into a total being, pointing rigidly
at the failure of intuition. The glare it casts on a
prohibition of angst is nothing short of blinding. It
breathes mortality. As the reader, we are compelled
to strip away our own layers of awareness, leaving
nothing attached to the singularity but fear and
commitment. I found the primitive, writhing
sinews of this piece to be simultaneously
delightful and disquieting. This is not merely
art—it is an event. Koch is indeed a fearless
and meticulous visionary who knows that his
audience must not be only moved, but also
removed—relocated and recontextualized
in the presence of his work. This is the key!
This story must be understood for what its
intentions are not—a brutal challenge to
the reader, almost a threat in the face of
anachronistic corruption.
JEFF TAYLOR, Toronto
Huh? Yes, well, um, on that note, more discussion
on the world according to Koch next issue, and I
promise, lots of other subjects. —Ed.
