For anyone that read the front page of the Vancouver Province today, will understand one reason development can work - even for something as big as G@S. Ironically, I need not even explain if you read today’s paper.

Whistler is a role model city, not for BC, but the world. Surely Squamish can be too.

I guess to be a model resort town you need to have low income housing?

Whistler is great no matter how hard some of you try and make the place out to be a sh!t hole.

Stone_Mason had a point. The main reason why Squamish is NOW doing great is because of Whistler. Oh yes it is. I remember when the Cliffside was the best place to buy H outside of the lower mainland. What a wonderfull place Squamish was then.
That was also at a time when Whistler was just starting to become what it is today.
Which was after the Lodge on Garabaldi had been built.

Squamish only started to grow because of the draw to Whistler. It is true. Now it is because of the Olympics. So what is Squamish going to do after the Olympics if nothing is being developed in that area.
Should it just be a place for the very wealthy that have over priced whores??? That sums it up pretty much now.

Did anybody check out what was said in the paper about housing in Whistler and how they are taking care of the worker (to a point). So I guess they are a model resort town.

AS for STD’s look at Banff first I’m sure they hold the record.

Also Steve townsend. You must have just moved to Squamish I take it.

StarBucks? Sh*t… even Tim Hortins isn’t THAT bad…. at least it’s CHEAP and CANADIAN…

Um not for at least tens years it has not been Canadian. Must have missed that with all your flying. People of the pilot minded are the ones that want all that flashy coffie. You are again starting another ripple by buying coffie from a possible next generation coffie house. That is how Starbucks came about. Makes no difference what coffie you buy. It all takes up space.

As for growth is needed. Well could you please stop all the damn people from moving to Squamish. They just keep building houses for them. Because they like the place. Can you believe it people like the place wow who woulda thought.

So now lets talk about your job. How non-environmental can it get. You take people on flights just to see areas that they want to get to. You use fuel up and maybe even use jet A or do you fly with just plane old unleaded. Vapor locks are a problem but hey everybody gets a second chance. You harm the O zone for fact at a far worse speed then GAS would. We kinda need that Ozone.

So why do you make money from the people who drive on the roads that needed to be built to support the people who move to Squamish from another place to tell others not to build a house because they don’t like people to move here. Um what the F#ck??????

Stop being a hitler and allow others what you like and allow others to be apart of it. Maybe we all could get along.

Hey Steve,

I am sorry about the stone_mason comments. They are not cool at all. I do not mind it when people trash me. I can deal with it. But I never agree with trash talk for no reason. You were only saying your peace and everybody should be allowed to have that right.

I just want everybody to have a chance to be apart of anywhere they wish to be.

Cheers

Somewhere above, Trad stated: The access society has done nothing to protect the rights of climbers in Squamish anyhow. And with what goes on in Powell River shows the real angenda of the access society.

I don’t know who Trad is, or his/her perspective. I was formerly very active in the Access Society, but am no longer, and do not speak for it. Still, I believe Trad may be misinformed, and that such a statement cannot go unanswered.

It’s unclear which Access Society Trad is referring to. There are:
1. The Access Fund (U.S. organization, founded 1990).
2. Climbers’ Access Society of B.C. (known as the Access Society, and founded 1995 - the organization I was involved with).
3. Climbers’ Access Society of Alberta (founded 2006).
4. Ontario Access Coalition (founded ~2007).
5. Squamish Access Society (founded ~2006).

At least when it comes to names of climbers’ groups, imitation appears to be the sincerest form of flattery - although it can be confusing. I’ll assume that the reference is to the Access Society - that’s what the context suggests. That organization did first use Access Society, well before any others.

It is absurd to claim that the Access Society has done nothing to protect the rights of climbers in (at ?) Squamish. Trad may disagree with the results, or feel different things should have been done. If so, I hope that Trad has or will put some effort into making the desired change, that being how democracy works. Anonymous vague gripes aren’t very constructive.

A partial list of what the Access Society has done at Squamish:
1. Led the successful opposition to the proposed Stawamus Chief gondola in 2004.
2. Participated in the planning processes that led to creation of Stawamus Chief Provincial Park, established a master plan for it, and a recreational climbing strategy.
3. Attended innumerable meetings with B.C. Parks, Ministry of Forests, and District of Squamish staff relating to issues in the area.
4. Initiated creation of what is now the Little Smoke Bluffs parking lot.
5. Lobbied steadily for creation and then management of the Little Smoke Bluffs park, eventually with success.
6. Organized numerous volunteer stewardship events (Adopt-a-Crags).
7. Was a partner in various events (Kurt Smith’s Kicking Access in 2002, the Petzl Roc Trip in 2005, the Squamish Climbers Festival in 2006, the Squamish Mountain Festival in 2007, and others) to increase the profile of climbing, fundraise, and do projects.
8. Built toilets and trails, and looked after them.
9. Published information about what was being done, and current issues - newsletter, e-mails, website. Media relations, too.
10. Addressed issues as they arose - movies, peregrines, hydro poles, forest fire closures, Malemute, Papoose access trail, highways, etc etc.
11. Supporting and working with local climbers, always a high priority.

The list could be much longer. And there’s been lots of help and support - perhaps it’s something in the water or something.

All that, and also simply being a single, credible organization speaking on behalf of all the climbers of B.C., and all those interested in public access to, and conservation of, the cliffs and mountains of B.C. What happens at Squamish is often much more than local, in terms of the climbing world.

As for agendas at Powell River - well, there are about 30 climbers gathered this weekend in the Eldred Valley, in the name of the Access Society and the climbing community there, for their annual Adopt-a-Crag. They’re doing a bunch of trail work, raising the profile of the area, and having some fun. The established campground is recognized as a recreation site, but is threatened by powerlines from a mini-hydro development.