Northern B.C.: The Last Wild River

Posted on December 17, 2009 by Dave Quinn

Wade Davis and David Suzuki fight to save the Stikine, Nass and Skeena headwaters

by Dave Quinn

In 1879, legendary American naturalist and wilderness advocate John Muir paddled B.C.’s lower Stikine River, which from its headwaters on the Spatsizi Plateau carves a 250-km path through the Coast Mountains between Telegraph Creek, B.C., and Wrangell, Alaska — a remote waterway described by Muir as a “Yosemite 100 miles long.”

Some 130 years later, the Stikine’s lower half has survived the salmon wars, plans to dam its “Grand Canyon” and a proposed open-pit gold mine in a major tributary. But the threat of coal-bed methane (CBM) development in its headwaters — which requires a particularly destructive fossil-fuel extraction technique — still looms. The good news: local First Nations and conservationists such as David Suzuki and Wade Davis have united to “save the sacred headwaters” of the Stikine, Nass and Skeena, three of the province’s most important salmon-producing rivers. The collapse of B.C.’s southern salmon stocks in the summer of 2009, resulting in closures to commercial and First Nations fishing on the Fraser and dramatic decreases in grizzly populations on the south coast, only reinforces the urgency of their struggle.

>>Related reading: 2010 update on the Stikine + excerpt from Gary Fiegehen’s photography book Stikine: The Great River; Northern B.C.: Swim the Skeena;

B.C.’s Latest RAVE Focuses on the Flathead ; Flathead on the Mind

>>Tame the Wild Facts? Reader Comments:

On the whole, Westworld magazine has been a very interesting and informative read over the years. Occasionally though, an article appears that really “gets my goat” – usually when a story’s focus leads readers to believe something that is more sensational than factual, such as winter 2009’s Landmarks column (“The Last Wild River” by Dave Quinn).

It’s a beautiful river and deserves protection. However, while I am uncertain what is meant by “wild,” I’m sure the Stikine is not the last wild river – in B.C., Canada, the U.S. or the world. Also, the last sentence has two errors. First, there was a much lower return in the sockeye runs than anticipated, but the other species have returned in good and, in some cases, record numbers on the south coast. In fact, the biggest single effect on these returns is ocean survival, something we have little control over. Second, the coast’s grizzly populations are dependent on returning salmon, but why does their range seem to be expanding on the south coast? Grizzlies are swimming from the mainland to Vancouver Island because there’s not enough territory for them.

–Laurence Brown, via email

The collapse to which Dave Quinn is referring involves sockeye salmon, specifically the Chilko River run. There are five species of salmon – six if you count steelhead, which are now included in the same genus – and the numerous runs of these species in literally thousands of streams in the province did not all “collapse” this summer. (All the “southern” runs did not collapse, either.)

–Geoff Chislett, via email

Writer’s Note: For years, news reports have noted declining and less predictable salmon returns along the southern west coast. According to the CBC, for example: “On the U.S. west coast many salmon runs have completely collapsed; in B.C. the situation is only slightly better. But in the north Pacific . . . many salmon runs are at or near all-time highs.” In fact, the 2009 sockeye collapse on the Fraser (and the Chilko, according to Mr. Chislett) led to a judicial inquiry. Some returns of other species were larger than expected, as Mr. Brown correctly asserts, but the situation is frighteningly similar to the prelude to the collapse of the east coast cod fishery.

Re: B.C.’s grizzlies – these bears swim from the mainland in a natural process called “dispersal.” They rarely, if ever, survive the first humans they encounter after “island hopping” to Vancouver Island.

>>Do you have an update on the fight to save the Stikine, Nass and Skeena? Let us know!

Photo courtesy Dave Quinn.

Top B.C. Daytrippers: 20 Cool Ways to Catch (Or Avoid) Olympic Fever

Posted on December 17, 2009 by BCAA

2010 WINTER OLYMPICS UPDATE

by Rob Howatson

More cowbell please! With the thermometer dropping and the Olympic Flame burning its way toward B.C., it’s time to get this party started. Regardless of whether one’s winter strategy involves embracing the 2010 Games full on or hunkering down in a Kootenay forest until the fireworks blow over, the following guide will help you medal in the appropriate event.

Throughout the 2010 Games, Big White Ski Resort will present its irreverent take on the winter athletic competition, hosting a different, fun event each day. Photo courtesy Big White Ski Resort

1 Jest for Glory
Big White Games, Kelowna
Kelowna’s local ski hill knows how to get into the Olympic spirit. Throughout the 2010 Games, Big White Ski Resort will present its irreverent take on the winter athletic competition, hosting a different, fun event each day. From inner-tube luge to the Nerf gun biathlon, this is the peoples’ games – open to guests of all abilities, with medal ceremonies held each evening in the Happy Valley flag garden. 250-765-3101

2 Black-Diamond Bronco
Wrangle the Chute, Golden
Put some yee-haw in your Olympic yodel at Kicking Horse Mountain Resort’s annual alpine hoedown. Contestants ski down a steep, narrow run, launch themselves off a ramp and jettison their gear in preparation for a wild ride on a bucking bronco. Warning: the horse is fake, but the wranglers operating its bungee suspension are genuinely ornery. Sane folk may prefer to opt out of the race and enjoy the antics from the Heaven’s Door yurt patio – complete with DJ and BBQ. February 6, 7. 1-866- 754-5425

3 Freewheel U
Cross-Country Ski Camps, Vernon
Silver Star Resort’s 105-km, groomed-trail network is the cross-country ski centre of B.C. – voted the number one Nordic destination in North America by Forbes Travel magazine. Numerous Olympic national teams will gather here to tweak their form prior to the Games and a popular series of cross-country ski camps will help weekend warriors do the same. Courses range from $199 to $739, including trail passes, lunch and video analysis. November 28 to December 6. 1-800-663- 4431

4 Varsity Rules
Thunderbird Hockey, Vancouver
Olympic hockey tickets are hard to find, but there is a way to get a sneak peek inside the Games’ new $47.8-million UBC venue – and see some gutsy varsity sports action at the same time. The T-Bird men and women hockey teams will play this season’s home games in the state-of-the-art, 7,500-seat arena. Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre. Tickets $10. UBC.
Schedules: gothunderbirds.ca

5 Wired for Wow
Air Grouse Mountain Ziplines, North Vancouver
Ziplining is one of those zany, adrenalin-pumping activities that has all the makings of an Olympic event – gasp-inducing speed, a gratuitous exploitation of gravity – but isn’t a sport . . . yet. For now it is simply a mind-blowing way to view the North Shore Mountains while hurtling above Grouse Mountain forest at 80 km/h. Après ride: Grouse’s 740-square-metre ice-skating pond, where 1972 Olympic silver medallist Karen Magnussen is lacing ’em up to give figure skating tips – for real. 604-980-9311

For this year's Ice-Wine Festival, organizers have opened up the spigot to include all Okanagan varietals. Photo courtesy Sun Peaks Resort

6 A-Vin-Lanche Patrol
Winter Wine Festival/Sun Peaks Resort, near Kamloops
The ancient Olympiad began with the Greeks offering wine to Zeus. So it is fitting that the Winter Wine Festival will flow January 16 to 24 – right before the Games. For 11 years, this was the Icewine Festival, a Sun Peaks swish-and-spit jamboree dedicated to the only vino harvested in the dead of night and dead of winter. This year’s grape party will continue to honour the elixir from the frozen vine, but festival organizers have also opened up the spigot to include all Okanagan varietals. New events include Wild Meats and Wild Wine at Masa’s Bar + Grill, a Varietal Showdown at the M Room and a Mixology Event for those who like sampling beyond the wine lists. January 16 to 24. 1-800-807-3257

7 Dude Meets dweeb
Old School Giant Slalom/Mount Washington, near Courtenay
There are bound to be neck-wrenching double takes at Vancouver Island’s alpine resort this winter as Olympic snowboarders share Mount Washington’s slopes with some bizarrely attired skiers. The elite boarders will be cramming for their parallel giant slalom test at Cypress. The downhillers, with their kamikaze headbands, one-piece neon hot-dogger suits, mirrored sunglasses and skinny, straight skis, will be there for the inaugural retro ’80s fun race January 30. Totally wicked! 1-888-231-1499

8 Oval Au Naturel
Polarthon, Kamloops
Kamloops is a hotbed for speed skating talent, but the city can’t afford a $178-million long-track oval like Richmond’s new Olympic venue. So its determined blade racers came up with a more affordable alternative: Logan Lake. Each winter a local ATV club sweeps the lake’s frozen surface, transforming it into a giant outdoor rink and the home of the Southern Regional Long-Track Speed-Skating Championships (January 9), a fun winter triathlon called Polarthon (January 10) and the Western Cup of Pond Hockey (January 15 to 17). Located just outside Kamloops, Logan Lake is the only lake-surface speed-skate venue in B.C. 250-523-6225

9 The Cold Lebowski
Winter Festival, Valemount
The Olympic torch passes through this gateway-to-Mount Robson community January 29, just in time to kick off Valemount’s second-annual icicle whoop-up. Frosty frolics on January 30 include a wacky winter triathlon (skate, cross-country ski, run), milk-jug curling, dogsled rides and the little-known sport of body bowling. The latter involves participants being hurled across a frozen lake in the hopes of knocking down a set of oversized pins. 250-566-4435

10 Fork Lighting
Lighting the Way, Grand Forks
Many towns throughout B.C. will celebrate the arrival of the Olympic torch when it passes through their communities. Grand Forks, for instance, will party it up January 24 as the flame flickers down its main streets – hopefully keeping its distance from the snow-and-ice sculpture contest. Plus: fireworks and performances by First Nations and Metis jig dancers, the Doukhobor Seniors Choir and the Sopranos Youth Singers. 1-866-442-2833

11 Follow the Pack
Sled Dog Tour, Invermere
Sled-dog racing was a demonstration sport in the 1932 Lake Placid games, and the International Federation of Sled Dog Sports has been agitating for a second chance ever since, though it may be awhile before Fido tops the podium again. In the meantime, mountain mushing experiences can be had at Toby Creek Adventures (just down the road from Panorama Mountain Village), featuring a full-day backcountry romp to the Delphine Glacier. (Movie-goers may recall this stunning icefield from the 1993 survival film Alive.) Many of the trek’s guides and dogs are veterans of the Iditarod and Canadian championship sled dog races, so you’ll want to hang on for the mad dash up Delphine Creek to the glacier’s spectacular, cliff-top icefall. 1-888-357-4449

B.C.'s second-annual Cultural Olympiad: more than 600 free and ticketed acts and exhibitions. Photo courtesy Trudy Lee Photography

12 Brrrrravo!
Cultural Olympiad 2010, Various B.C. Locations
The Cultural Olympiad has wowed audiences in Vancouver and along the Sea-to-Sky corridor since its launch last year. But the closer we get to the Games, the more spectacular those performances. More than 600 free and ticketed acts and exhibitions will be showcased January 22 to March 21, including the rare double-billing of Canada’s National Ballet and Royal Winnipeg Ballet – but also relative unknowns: e.g., The Only Animal theatre company’s ambitious production of NiX. The tiny Vancouver troupe will construct Canada’s first theatre of snow and ice at Whistler’s Lost Lake and fill it with a frozen fantasy about fireworks at the end of the world.

13 Learn From the Master
Nipika Classic Loppet, Radium Hot Springs
Can’t define “loppet”? All the more reason to attend Nipika Mountain Resort’s Learn to Cross Country Ski Week (January 18 to 25) – for classic and skate-skiing taught by resort co-owner Lyle Wilson. The former Olympic coach has been a dominant force on the Canadian Master ski circuit for 30 years. So, you can hone your skills on Nipika’s 50 km of trails, then be well-primed to race in its Classic Loppet at week’s end. 1-877-647-4525

Kimberley's Family Festival: Bands, glow-stick parades, a mountain scavenger hunt and s’mores by the skate pond. Photo courtesy Kimberley Family Festival

14 Kin Who Huck
Family Festival, Kimberley Alpine Resort
The Olympic family that shreds together breaks bread together. And so, in honour of the fact that skiing is such a great family activity, Kimberley’s ski hill has declared Valentine’s weekend a giant brood bash. There will be bands, glow-stick parades, a mountain scavenger hunt and s’mores by the skate pond. February 13 to 14. 1-800-258-7669

15 O Yes You Did
The O Zone, Richmond
An official celebration site of the 2010 Winter Games, the O Zone will showcase art, culture, entertainment and sport via a main stage for international headliners, giant outdoor ice rink, interactive exhibits and a towering 43-metre screen carrying live feeds from all Olympic venues. To find: just look for the colourful, 30-metre-long wall of ice at the O Zone entrance (by B.C.’s Gordon Halloran, who also designed the Turin Games’ 2006 sub-zero installation). 604-276-4000

16 Spread the Warmth
Hudson Bay Mountain Resort, Smithers
The Olympic Flame isn’t the only torch drawing crowds this winter. On January 29, evening skiers brandishing flares on bamboo poles will create what will look like a giant glowing red snake – descending the slopes of Hudson Bay Mountain Resort via its new eight-km trail to town (one of B.C.’s top-three longest runs). Torch bearers will finish their burn turns on the edge of Smithers, where a bus waits to take them to the resort’s watering hole, Whisky Jack’s, for the Torchlight Dance. All proceeds to the Canadian Cancer Society. 250-847-2058

17 Totem Polar Party
Museum of Anthropology, Vancouver
The towering glass walls of UBC’s Museum of Anthropology Great Hall still offer a stunning view of Vancouver’s outer harbour, and the hall itself still displays an amazing collection of totem poles. But huge changes are afoot thanks to a $55-million expansion and facelift. Highlights: new exhibition gallery and revitalized lobby, gift shop and café unveiling; plus the launch of “Boundary and Translation: New Art Across Cultures,” a cultural Olympiad exhibition of contemporary works by 12 international artists. January 23, 24. 604-827-5932

18 Don’t Piste Me Off
Big Mountain Freeskiing, Revelstoke
Skiers who find Olympic slope events too constraining can always sink their fat planks into competitive Big Mountain Freeskiing – a sport that’s been around for 15-plus years but is not yet on the Olympic radar. Revelstoke intends to change that when it hosts the Canadian Freeskiing Championships January 6 to 10. Competitors are given a start gate and a finish line; what they do with the mountain in between is up to them. But usually that means huge carves on open faces, bombing through tight chutes, launching off 15-metre cliffs and a smattering of tricks in between. 1-866-373-4754

19 Play Safe
National Avalanche Awareness Days, Various B.C. Locations
You can’t host the Winter Games without a few words of winter caution. In fact, more than 30 Canadian communities will hold white-thunder safety programs in January, with Fernie the anchor city for this season’s campaign. The East Kootenay powder pocket is a fitting location to headline the Canadian Avalanche Centre initiative because it draws both skiers and snowmobilers, and it’s the latter that took a beating in the backcountry last winter (avalanches smothered twice as many snowmobilers in the 2008-09 season than in any preceding winter). Still, all slope-lovers will appreciate the beacon searches, snowpit profiles and search-dog demonstrations January 8 to 10 at Fernie Alpine Resort (simultaneous activities at local sled area, January 9). 250-837-2141

20 Potluck Potlatch
Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre, Whistler
Fans of Whistler’s Farmers’ Market, which packs the Upper Village with organic goodness summer through fall, can now get their slow- food fix at a winter version – Sundays at the Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre (SLCC), an impressive structure designed to evoke a traditional Squamish longhouse and Lil’wat Istken pit house. Sunday shoppers can stock up on storage crops, root vegetables, late-season fruits and locally prepared artisan breads before paying by donation to access the SLCC’s exhibits and weave-your-own-bling Salish Craft Workshop. 1-866-441-7522

Got a fave B.C. “Winter Wow” event we should know about? Send us a line!

Lead photo courtesy Grouse Mountain

Whistler’s 2010 Olympics: Red Alert

Posted on December 17, 2009 by Kerry Banks

2010 WINTER OLYMPICS UPDATE

The Economic Benefits: Facts versus hype

by Kerry Banks

In the euphoria that followed the announcement that Vancouver had won the bid to host the 2010 Winter Olympics, there was a lot of talk about how the Games would be a gold mine for the local economy: creating jobs, boosting tourism and providing a bonanza for local suppliers. But while it is undoubtedly true that same local businesses will make a killing – porta-potty companies, for example, and parking lot owners, limousine rental firms and flower shops – a number of studies by top economists reveal little evidence that hosting the Games produces significant economic benefits for any host city or region. In fact, according to a 2008 study by three economists who specialize in the economics of sport, in the short-term, taking on the Games can actually be damaging. In their analysis “Slippery Slope? Assessing the Economic Impact of the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, Utah,” for example, the authors found that “general merchandise stores suffered a net loss of $167.4 million during the Games time, as did ski resorts and other recreation firms.” As Victor Matheson, one of the paper’s authors, noted, “It’s a fun time to be in the spotlight, but most cities lose money.”

Although the accounting methods of Olympic organizing committees are often murky, the evidence further suggests that all of the last six Winter Olympics ended up losing money. The organizers of the Turin Games in 2006 admitted to a $32 million deficit. And while organizers of the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics boasted an operating profit of $110 million, the U.S. General Accounting Office determined that the federal government contributed $1.3 billion toward the event. Plagued by cost overruns, the 1998 Nagano Olympics also lost huge piles of dough, though no one knows exactly how much because the organizers burned the accounting books, leaving the financial impact a mystery.

Likewise, the 1994 Lillehammer and 1992 Albertville Olympics ran multimillion-dollar deficits. Even Calgary, where the 1988 Winter Games were claimed to have turned a $90-million profit, lost money. In 1999, Tom Walkom, a Toronto Star reporter, discovered that Calgary’s organizing committee had omitted the cost of building sports facilities from its figures, and the federal, provincial and municipal governments contributed $461 million toward the games – nullifying any profits.

In light of the past record of host cities, then, Vancouver’s chances of avoiding a similar financial disaster are slim. As a recent editorial in Forbes magazine ominously states: “Over the past five years the operational costs of the 2010 Winter Games has mushroomed from $1.3 billion to almost $2 billion. In other words, Vancouver is going to take it on the chin as declining sponsorship and tourism revenue combined with higher security costs push the Vancouver Olympic Committee deep into the red.”

Travel Events: December 2009

Posted on December 17, 2009 by Sonu Purhar

Westworld‘s PRIME PICKS

GRANVILLE ISLAND November 26 – January 2, 2010: It’s A Wonderful Life

“You see, George, you’ve really had a wonderful life.”

For a stroll down memory lane, remembering just how grand life can be: the Arts Club Theatre Company’s lively stage production of It’s a Wonderful Life. After watching the uplifting Christmas classic, theatre goers can then explore the winding streets of Granville Island, where Yuletide activities kick off December 3 and continue throughout the season: festive trolley rides, freshly roasted chestnuts, hot apple cider – it’s enough to bring out the George Bailey in even the most Scrooge-like of us. Ticken info online, or call 604-687-1644.

courtesy B.C. Children's Hospital Foundation

VICTORIA November 19 – January 3, 2010: Festival of Trees

Though the Fairmont Empress is majestic year-round, the holiday season truly brings out its magnificence. This year marks the 19th annual Festival of Trees, when Victoria’s premier hotel transforms into an enchanted forest of sparkling tinsel and vibrant lights. Event sponsors are given free reign in decorating their trees – which run the gamut from wacky to work-of-art – and visitors are encouraged to vote for their favourite submissions. The best part: all proceeds are donated to the B.C. Children’s Hospital. Can’t make it to Victoria? The event’s sister hosts are Vancouver’s Four Seasons Hotel and Port Alberni’s Best Western Barclay. 1-888-663-3033.

PRINCE RUPERT December 4 – 5: Winterfest

There’s nothing quite like an old-fashioned community Christmas, and Prince Rupert offers one of the region’s best. The city’s 13th annual Winterfest is billed as a family pleasing Noel, with enough Christmas spirit to rival the North Pole’s. Don’t miss: the city’s renowned Cowpuccino’s Coffee House, where home bakers will be flexing their interior design muscles in the gingerbread-house-decorating competition; a walk around the Courthouse Grounds, where the town’s intricate light display comes to life; taking the kids to breakfast with Santa, then watching him in the town-wide parade; winding down at a reading of Christmas favourites at Eainforest books; and letting the tykes loose on the Civic Centre Arena’s by-donation ice-skating afternoon. The festival closes with a bang – literally, as sparkling fireworks provide a backdrop for the annual Sailpast parade of Christmas carol boats. And that’s only the tip of the iceberg. For more info and tickets: 250.624.9118.

courtesy Polar Bear Habitat and Heritage Village

(NATIONAL) COCHRANE, ONTARIO Year-Round: Polar Bear Habitat & Heritage Village

Polar bear swims are ubiquitous in the winter months – after all, there’s nothing quite like an icy ocean plunge, particularly for a good cause. But what about the event’s namesake? Well, a day at Cochrane’s polar bear facility provides a crash course in the Ursus maritimus. The only polar bear rehabilitation centre in the world, the Ontario site recovers abused or neglected bears and nurses them back to health, then finds new homes for them or provides long-term shelter at the centre. Here, visitors can also view the arctic natives in their new habitat, and, for those leery of jumping into sub-arctic waters, swim alongside the bears in an adjacent (partitioned) wading pool (seasonal). Yuletide bonus: during the Christmas season, the centre’s heritage village hosts a dazzling Northern Nights lights display December 5, 12 and 19. Ticket prices vary. For more information: visit the website or call 1-800-354-9948

(INTERNATIONAL) RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL December 31: New Year’s Eve

Canucks haven’t partied till they’ve partied in Rio – especially on New Year’s Eve, or Reveillon. Consistently voted one of the best New Year’s bashes in the world, Rio’s all-night year end bash sees more than two million merrymakers crowding the streets and spilling over onto Cobacabana Beach. The celebration starts in the early hours, when hundreds of Brazilians begin streaming to the oceanside to pay homage to the Afro-Brazilian goddess Iemanja, while samba, boleros and choros plays in the background; the rest of the day, revelers party like it’s 2009. To celebrate Brazilian-style:,dress in white (as per tradition), let the champagne flow and keep those hips moving. If you need more convincing, keep in mind that winter is Rio’s depth of summer – and partying in the evening heat trumps shivering in a parka, anytime.

Lead image: Bob Frazer/the Arts Club Theatre Company’s It’s a Wonderful Life/photo by David Cooper

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Northern B.C.: The Last Wild River

Wade Davis and David Suzuki fight to save the Stikine, Nass and Skeena headwaters