as you know, to shus is another verb for skiing.
So, I have the pro-capitalist, pro-co-op story
about a ski hill run by a town, for the good of ..
the town.
That's right. Nobody is making millions to
stash in the Caymans.
It's just good wholesome fun and nobody's
on the minimum wage.
Someday, one rich guy will come in and ruin the
whole thing, so keep this to yourselves.
checkit: The Guardian
Mountain
rescue: ski co-operatives blazing a trail in Canada
Skiers
in Canada are forming co-operatives to buy their local slopes – reconnecting
with the true spirit of the sport
Susan Greenwood
Friday 15 November 2013 21.00
GMT
"Whatever
happened to that simple joy?" asks the narrator of Valhalla, the latest
ski film from Sweetgrass Productions. The film features a fictional ski
community who eschew fast chairlifts and expensive mountain restaurants for a
purer, gentler life in harmony with the mountain. It is rich in nostalgia – for
a time when being in the mountains in winter was about freedom and adventure.
Yet, in one sense, Valhalla is located firmly in the 21st century: it will
resonate with anyone who has ever winced at the cost of a week's lift pass in a
big resort, or stood in a 30-minute chairlift queue before descending a piste
packed with skiers, dodging cannons making artificial snow.
Has
it ever occurred to you that it doesn't have to be this way?
It
occurred to the residents of Terrace, British Columbia – 1,500km north of
Vancouver – who in January 2013 became the proud owners of their local hill,
Shames Mountain, making it Canada's first
not-for-profit ski co-operative. My Mountain Coop (mymountaincoop.ca) was
formed in 2010 out of Friends of Shames, a group established to create a
business model that could take ownership of the mountain (which had been for
sale for a decade) and save it from otherwise certain closure. Local
businesses, individuals and families bought memberships to the co-op and,
through various other fundraising schemes, managed to raise the C$360,000
(£216,000) needed to meet the purchase price.
Shames
is no ski resort: it has no hotels, no glitzy bars, no restaurants or shops
selling the latest gear. It has two chairlifts and one tow bar, and a base
lodge where you can buy food and drink and hire equipment.
It
also has 480 inches of snow each year – comparing very favourably to Canadian
mega-resort Whistler's yearly average of 469 inches. "We're pretty
spoilt," says David Jephson, a member of My Mountain Coop. "We don't
have fast chairs or fast tow bars, but we have world-class skiing, a huge
amount of snow, and it's beautiful here."
Until
recently there was just one flight a day from Vancouver up to Terrace; Air
Canada now runs 34 each week, making the hill more accessible to visitors.
"People generally only come to us when it's foggy somewhere else,"
says Jephson. "But once they ski here, they're like: 'This is
awesome!'"
Shames
2
Visiting
skiers stay in Terrace and drive the 20 minutes each day to ski, purchasing
their £30 lift pass at Shames. The mountain is maintained by volunteers, who do
everything from painting boundary lines to servicing machinery.
"Community
ownership of ski areas allows for a certain pride," says general manager
Christian Theberge. "People tend to take better care of what's theirs. It
also allows members to actively participate in the improvements and really
understand what makes the magic happen."
And
that kind of magic looks set to spread. The co-op model is generating interest
among other mountain communities, with My Mountain Coop receiving enquiries
monthly about how to replicate the model.
The
latest is Mount Sima in Yukon, which is run by another not-for-profit
organisation, the Great Northern Ski Society (GNSS). After a tough couple of
years, the GNSS has announced that Mount Sima will open for the 2013/14 season.
It won't be flash – there's one chairlift and an earthy lodge for refreshments –
but the GNSS views the project as a huge asset to the community, especially the
youngsters.
These
new ski destinations don't expect to compete with large resorts, but what they
can offer is simpler, more affordable, grassroots skiing.
"Whether
it's family-run or member-run, having a local ski area is key for the
community," says Steve Carpenter, president of Mystery Mountain Winter
Park (mysterymountain.ca) in Manitoba, which lies about 760km from Winnipeg,
the largest city in the province. "It's extremely welcoming – everyone
knows everyone," says Carpenter. "If you can make it up the lift
without having a conversation with the person you're riding with, I'd be
surprised."
It's
a sentiment echoed at Shames: "Destination ski areas try to offer the same
experience – different snow and terrain, perhaps, but in general they are
mostly clones of each other," says Theberge. "Small community areas
are unique and generally give a much more cultural experience."
That's
not to say the terrain at community ski areas is negligible: family-run Tabor
Mountain (tabormountain.com), near Prince George, BC, will host several events
at the 2015 Canada Winter Games, despite having only one chairlift and one tow
bar. About 100km from Terrace, near Smithers, lies the Hankin-Evelyn
back-country recreation area, which is managed by the Bulkley Backcountry Ski
Society (bbss.ca/hankin). It's an excellent off-piste area with decreased
avalanche risk, because it lies below the treeline. Descents are only achieved
after skinning uphill first. Because there are no lifts, there are few
operational costs – and none of the environmental concerns surrounding them,
either.
Talking
about the environment is a controversial pastime when your chosen activity is
skiing. And it's hard to argue that an overseas visitor skiing at Shames – a
journey that, from the UK, would involve taking two flights and a car journey –
is more environmentally friendly than someone skiing in Whistler, a resort that
generates enough hydro-electric power to replace all the electricity consumed
by its 38 lifts, 17 restaurants and 270 snow cannons.
However,
Shames' visitor numbers and their associated impact – waste disposal, travel
infrastructure, to name but two – are a fraction of that of the big hubs:
20,000 skiers a season come to Shames, and 2 million go to Whistler. The
emphasis is on small-scale, and keeping it that way, to preserve the
environment.
As
Theberge explains: "The co-op got a great deal on buying the mountain, but
that was because there was a lot of work to be done. Our goal is to fix and
improve all facets of the mountain's infrastructure. Expansion only makes sense
with growth in the community."
"We
almost don't want more people to come," says Jephson, laughing. "At
somewhere like Jasper, someone is getting richer because you're skiing there.
But at Shames, everyone who rides here helps to keep the mountain going."
These
hills are no mythical Valhalla of the movies: they are no-frills, hardworking,
for the most part bare-bones ski mountains that depend on community support to
survive. And, in that sense, as in others, they tap into the simple joy of
skiing.
•
Yellow Cedar Lodge (+1 250 638 7874, yellowcedarlodge.ca), near Terrace, has
doubles from £87 a night B&B. Air Canada (0871 220 1111, aircanada.com)
flies from Heathrow to Terrace via Vancouver from £715
