The Passing of an Icon

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Al Raine

1941-2024

From the time he was appointed as Head Coach and Program Director of Canada’s alpine ski team in the spring of 1968 to his final days as the mayor of Sun Peaks—the only mayor the mountain municipality has ever had—Al Raine was driven by a conviction that Canadian ski racers could go head-to-head with the top European countries and that Canada could develop four-season resorts that would offer a tourism experience at the very highest echelon. 

CANADIAN SKI TEAM

Raine’s work with the national team incorporated concepts that were years ahead of their time: summer training on the Kokanee Glacier, wind-tunnel testing to design aerodynamic downhill suits, and physical and mental training and preparation in order not just to compete on the world stage, but to excel. As Crazy Canuck and World Cup racer Ken Read wrote on his blog, “He laid a firm foundation for a systemic approach to athlete development. Al wanted Canada to be a winner. To produce winners.”

AL & NANCY: DREAM TEAM

Raine is perhaps best known for his place alongside Nancy Greene, his spouse of 55 years—skiing’s dream team commonly known as “Al and Nancy.” After capturing gold and silver medals in the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble, France and winning her second overall World Cup victory, Greene parlayed her “girl next door” image into highly successful marketing, appearing nationwide in ads for Pontiac, Mars bars and Jergens skin lotion. While embarking on that journey, Greene and Raine became re-acquainted, fell in love, and got married in 1969.  

They honeymooned in the Bugaboos, and gave birth to twin boys, Charley and Willy, the following year. Al & Nancy served on FIS committees and travelled frequently to the Alps, always combining “study tours” of alpine resorts as Al began to dream of building a major ski destination in British Columbia.

He quit the team in 1973 and moved back to Vancouver to spend more time with his young family. Back then Al was always looking for places to develop a major ski resort. As the Whistler Valley had become a hodge-podge of subdivisions, he figured it was easier to start fresh. Al saw Powder Mountain, a neighbour to the Garibaldi Lift Company, as a good possibility, but the challenge was to get assistance to build a road into the area—the NDP provincial government of the day refused to provide financing. However, as it turned out, NDP Cabinet Minister Bob Williams was intrigued by Raine’s ideas on ski resort development and how it might diversify B.C.’s economy into international tourism. Over the next several years, Raine worked on the Commercial Alpine Ski Policy, indefatigably travelling throughout the province to unearth potential gems for future winter tourism potential. By the end of his contract, Al had done site evaluations on more than 40 ski areas, including many local ski hills which are the backbone of recreational skiing in the province.

I married the loves of my life, Nancy and skiing.

—Al Raine

What Raine did next was truly revolutionary. Al turned his attention to the development of skiing on Blackcomb Mountain as a major ski destination next to Whistler Mountain. Raine engineered the deal that saw Aspen Skiing Corporation and its partner, the Federal Business Development Bank, finance four chairlifts on Blackcomb. Next, as the government-appointed alderman on the newly incorporated Resort Municipality of Whistler’s first council, Raine’s vision for What Whistler could become began to take shape.  He wanted Whistler to be a cross between the kind of Swiss mountain villages he visited on the World Cup circuit and the wide-open spaces of the American West. He tapped Vail Village architect Eldon Beck to design Whistler’s meandering pedestrian village that survived its growing pains to become a top ski resort.

Former Whistler Blackcomb president and Intrawest CEO Hugh Smythe praised his colleague in Whistler’s Pique Newsmagazine, recalling that “Whistler Village was not a walk in the park by any stretch of the imagination.” Said Smythe: “If you had to pick one person, in my opinion, Al was responsible for what we now have and enjoy in Whistler Village. We owe him a huge debt of gratitude for his perseverance and determination to get through all the roadblocks because there were many.”

While the Raines eventually settled into life owning and operating Nancy Greene’s Olympic Lodge, Raine would be at work scouting the mountains of British Columbia for the opportunity to build a self-contained, car-free resort in the B.C. wilderness; a mid-latitude alpine locale that would enjoy sunnier days than the sometimes gloomy Coast Range climate that envelopes Whistler for days, if not weeks, on end.

The Raines thought they had a winner in a remote alpine valley near the head of Melvin Creek. NGR Resort Consultants spent 10 years completing an arduous environmental review process that eventually gained the approval of the B.C. government in 2000—their ambitious plan called for a $500-million, two-tiered resort with enough capacity for 14,000 beds. However, the local Cayoose Creek First Nations band had long claimed the land, and, in 2005, following a series of land-use decisions in favour of First Nations throughout the province, NGR withdrew its application.

Raine, a prescient observer of many political trends, told Pique Newsmagazine at the time that (the First Nations) “see me coming along and the government handing me their land. They’re upset with 100 years of European encroachment. They’re upset with governments not listening to them. They’re upset with Whistler. I think there has to be a cooling off period.” In the years that followed, Raine would promote consultation with Indigenous leaders and accept reconciliation as a way forward.

With the failure of Melvin Creek to gain traction, Raine turned his energy towards the emerging resort at Tod Mountain (Sun Peaks), which had recently been purchased by Nippon Cable. Nancy and Al moved to Sun Peaks where, as director of skiing, Nancy skied with guests and actively marketed the new resort while they also built and managed Nancy Greene’s Cahilty Lodge. Al worked tirelessly as mayor as the community of Sun Peaks grew into B.C.’s second Mountain Resort Municipality. 

In April 2024, Al was diagnosed with ALS, a rare and fatal neurodegenerative disease which, in his case, began with difficulties speaking. During interviews and public statements, Raine showed his characteristic optimism in the face of impending decline and his eventual passing. “I would rather wake up worrying about affordable housing, finding a way to fund infrastructure expansion or First Nation reconciliation solutions and not worry about what is coming next. I married the loves of my life, Nancy and skiing. We have shared so many happy moments together and a life in the mountains. We have healthy kids and grandkids. I have no regrets.”

His last official act was resigning the mayor’s chair one day before his passing. “Sun Peaks has great potential, and it can be even better if we all look after our guests, count our blessings and continue to make visitors feel special.” Darcy Alexander, a long-time friend of Raine’s and CEO of Sun Peaks Resort, told CBC Radio that Raine was “a visionary’ who long ago saw what Sun Peaks could be, and who “worked tirelessly to fulfil that vision.”

A celebration of Al Raine’s life is scheduled for Sun Peaks Resort on January 15, 2025 at 4 p.m. Pacific Time.


Public Live-stream Link:

Topic: Al Raines Memorial – January 15th, 2025

Time: January 15, 2025 04:00 PM Vancouver

Meeting ID: 881 5427 5397

Passcode: 916547



Norm Lourenco
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