Filed under: What's On in Whistler
Party in Whistler at World Ski and Snowboard Festival
Good things may come in threes, but no one in Whistler ever foresaw anything quite like the trio of events to hit town over the past three months: back-to-back Olympic and Paralympic Games, and now the upcoming 15th World Ski and Snowboard Festival from April 16-25.
There’s one good reason the Georgia Straight has covered every spring bash since the WSSF debuted: snow culture. You either get it or you don’t. If you don’t, you’re likely dead and don’t know it. For Olympic and Paralympic resuscitation, get to Whistler, pronto. The same bonhomie that infused Vancouver streets during the two Games animates the festival. Last April, with Metric lead singer Emily Haines’s over-the-top performance framed against a diaphanous curtain through which skiers and snowboarders could be seen carving their last graceful turns of the day at the foot of Whistler Mountain, it was pure “irie time”. Breathe deeply and feel the peace that comes from being in the mountains on long, sun-drenched days.
When reached at her office, festival communications director Lisa Richardson had some words of advice for those inspired by the feats of athleticism displayed during the Olympic and Paralympic Games. “The highest form of excellence has been on display here for the past two months. People who have been watching and are inspired to join in will find some form of entry. There’s room to be completely free in how to express yourself.” Asked to define snow culture, Richardson said that the festival incubates creativity. “Snow culture is a celebration of taking away the rules, painting outside the lines. The Olympics and Paralympics define excellence. Our festival shows winter sports can be playful, too. The athletes have had their competitive season. April is a time of convergence. There’s a different energy. It’s not about pushing your career to a higher level. Instead, it’s a spring blowout where the vibe is just to throw down with your friends because we’re lucky to be doing this in the first place.”
As much as the WSSF is a celebration of snow-sliding sports, it’s equally about music and culture, whether you’re hitting a dance floor or slipping into a seat at the pro-photographer or filmmaker showdowns. Organizers have put up more than $100,000 in direct funding to athletes and artists. “As members of the community of mountain-sports lovers, we are constantly stimulated by what the artists, photographers, filmmakers, designers, and athletes are doing,” said festival director Sue Eckersley, “so we’re reciprocating by sending some serious stimulus back their way.” That translates as major coin up for grabs, including $85,000 spread among the best skiers and snowboarders. Another $40,000 goes to an array of artists, potentially including two local action-sports photographers, Jeremy Koreski and Mason Mashon, who were selected to compete in the Pro Photographer Showdown. In the spirit of the festival’s roots, several top prizes of $1,000 will be awarded by votes from spectators. Peer play rules the day, both on the slopes at the Orage Masters and the Grenade Games and in the resort’s convention centre at nightly multimedia screenings.
Over the past 15 years, the festival has grown from a celebration of technical skiing to one of the biggest winter sports events in North America. When asked to compare the WSSF to the Winter X Games, Whistler-based freestyle skier Sarah Burke told the Georgia Straight that it would be hard to replicate the X Games “in any shape or form, but the amount of stoke and energy level at the festival’s World Ski Invitational is comparable”. Certainly, support for the three-time X Games winner runs deep among festival organizers. One of the star attractions imported to showcase the half-pipe talents of Burke and her big-air-seeking friends is the newly invented Global Pipe Cutter from New Zealand, whose paddle arms reputedly better maintain the sides of seven-metre walls of snow, create fewer holes, and provide a smoother ride up the pipe. On arrival, pipe-carving maestro Steve Petrie, who built the impressive Olympic superpipe on Cypress Provincial Park’s Black Mountain, will begin shaping yet another on Blackcomb Mountain’s slopes. “Because the pipe skiers missed a chance to show their stuff at the Olympics, they’ll be going huge in the superpipe,” Richardson predicted.
Is it true that skiing leads to harder crimes, like snowboarding? Sarah Burke remembered when “new school” skiers weren’t allowed in the half-pipe. “We’d wait until dark for a run and risk losing our passes.” She took part in her first pipe contest at the WSSF a decade ago. “I couldn’t handle one of the old eight-foot pipes today. You have to know how to ride transitions. A half-pipe run is all about linking five to seven hits, building speed as you go. You can measure a good half-pipe by someone who drops in at the top with no speed and finishes their run with a rush.”
A day spent in the spring sunshine puts paid to any notion that the problem with winter sports is that they take place in winter. Most ski resorts across North America called it quits once the Easter Bunny left town. Head for Whistler, where he will be hopping in his ski boots to the unbelievably talented kids in Vancouver’s We Are the City. No one but no one wants this party to end.
ACCESS: A complete schedule of events and performers is posted at www.wssf.com.
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