Mountain Life Coast Mountains winter-spring ’24—the Royal Rumble: Squamish vs. Whistler vs. Pemberton—has dropped.
Yeah, so it’s a metaphor—the cover of this mag. You know, where one (or more) things are meant to represent something else? Because there are no actual giant monster Kaiju lurking in south Coast Mountains anymore (shout out to Sínulhkay, the double-headed sea serpent of Skwxwú7mesh lore, who seems to have been the last one).
I suppose there could still be the odd sasquatch popping in and out. (As best anyone can tell, sasquatches utilize interdimensional portals to zip between our reality and…somewhere else. It gets weirder the deeper you dig into it, but that legitimately is anyone’s best guess as to why those buggers are so elusive. Multiverse stuff.) But even then, sasquatches aren’t that big, nothing like the hulking beasts brawling across the entire Sea to Sky like on this cover.
It’s all just a visual technique we’re using to set up our weirdest issue yet—the idea is to let each of the three mountain towns in our region battle it out so the world can finally know which is the best. The Sea to Sky Royal Rumble.
Of course it’s all a bit tongue in cheek and certainly we’ve presented nothing even close to a complete history of anything. It would take a very hefty tome to capture the rich backstories and characters of even one of these incredible communities. Instead, this issue is a tiny slice, a few rings of the tree that has grown from the people, landscapes, musings and anecdotes we’ve mostly pulled from the “modern” era of Sea to Sky history—those post-boom years when recreation and adventure began revolutionizing this area and the people drawn to it.
Squamish, Whistler, Pemberton: each unique and ever-changing in its own way. But which town is the best? Or, at least, your favourite? Jump in the ring and find out.
And, despite the odd tinge of localism, hometown pride or friendly ribbing, the truth is we are all big winners in this Royal Rumble. Each town has plenty to offer, and while the imaginary monsters wield their lightning bolts, blast their frozen dragon fire and rake their talons across each other’s hides, we are down here enjoying one of the most beautiful and ecologically diverse regions on the planet.
So have fun with this issue. And have fun in these mountains. Enjoy the season as more and more sunlight creeps into the peaks, forests, rivers, lakes and crags that speak to us so much. And think about how fortunate we are to be here at all.
While the imaginary monsters wield their lightning bolts, blast their frozen dragon fire and rake their talons across each other’s hides, we are down here enjoying one of the most beautiful and ecologically diverse regions on the planet.
And think about what this all means to you. This land, the people here who love it, the ones within these pages and those you meet out in the world. Think about the feelings you get here—is it connection, inspiration, awe, respect? Then ask yourself, are we doing our best to preserve the very things that drew us here in the first place? That keep us here? Because I might have lied, up there at the start. Maybe there are monsters afoot, recklessly bashing each other across these lands for dominance, ego, glory and pride. Maybe we just don’t see them. Maybe we choose not to. Maybe the monsters are us. –Feet Banks
Which town wins the Sea to Sky Royal Rumble?
Results announced 4/20/2024.
Until then, keep your tips up!
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