It Takes A Village

Words by Jeff Schmuck

It takes a village to run a ski resort. I’m reminded of this on any clear and crisp winter night, when I look out my front window, and reverently gaze upon a constellation of lights flickering and dancing about the broad slopes of Whistler Blackcomb, like glimmering stars in the sky. 

The architects of these speckles are, of course, the night owls who hop in Piston Bullies and brave some of the coldest temperatures of the year to ensure that the green circles and blue squares of the world are groomed to perfection, purely for our enjoyment. It’s a stirring site, and just a glimpse at the vast amount of unsung and at times unseen heroes who work tirelessly throughout the wee hours of every morning and night in the winter to get our local ski hills ready in time for first chair. From ski patrollers doing avalanche control, prepping rope lines, and managing hazards and run closures to keep us safe, to lifties sweeping chairs, raking upload and offload ramps, and ensuring the skyward chariots they tend to are ascending efficiently, and an army of other foot soldiers—including snow forecasters, ski instructors, maintenance workers, dispatchers, cooks and everything in between—who rise and shine long before the rest of us or even the sun does, it’s a herculean effort, and one that shouldn’t go unnoticed or unappreciated by us as skiers. 

Photo by Mark Riegel

Without these selfless, dedicated, behind-the-scenes movers and shakers, the ski resorts across Canada that we call home or excitedly visit on vacation would look and operate a whole lot differently—if at all. We’d be faced with no suitable slopes for the next generation of skiers to learn how to pizza-french fry and discover a love for the sport on-piste, unsafe terrain for intermediate, advanced and expert two-plankers off of it, infuriatingly late lift openings on the deepest powder days of the year, and no trained professionals to help us when and if we get hurt. 

So now that another wonderful winter is on the way, in between the unforgettable turns, cacophonous hoots and hollers and animated high-fives we’ll be rejoicing in all season long, take two seconds and stop mid-run or in the lift line to say thank you when you see someone who is doing their part to make going skiing possible for the rest of us. They most certainly deserve it.