FALL/WINTER2016
MLCM
63
words :: AceMacKay-Smith
So a guy walks into a bar. Across the bar he sees a girl
getting grabbed by another dude, but before he can
step in to do anything, the girl takes control—she slaps
the groper in the face. Hard.
Impressed, the guy walks over to ask if everything is
alright. She says it is. He says, “you should hit him
again.” And she does.
And with that, an extremely Canadian romance begins
inWhistler.
Twenty-three years later, Jill Dunnigan and Peter Smart
are still inWhistler, still together, and have somehow
turned their love of themountains and ski bumming into
a successful business. Since 1994, Extremely Canadian
has offered steep skiing clinics, private instruction,
backcountry adventures, andAvalanche Skills Training
courses inWhistler, plus guided ski trips around the
world. Of course, like any goodmarital endeavour,
Extremely Canadian was launched in exasperation.
“Jill got tired of hearingme talk about it,” Pete says of
the idea to offer high-adventure guidedmountain tours
at the height of the “extreme skiing” era. “She toldme
to put up or shut up...”
“I told him, I can organize stuff, you can ski. Why not
us?” adds Jill.
“Also, my unemployment ran out!” Peter laughs.
But from those humble beginnings over 20 years ago,
Extremely Canadian has grown to becomeWhistler’s
most recognizable guiding company, employing a small
army of about 65 guides, instructors and office staff to
share the love of mountains with guests from all over
the globe.
“We've surrounded ourselves with a team of people we
really like,” says Jill. “We get some great resumes—some
have degrees and some are high school dropouts—
but we also look for people who have interesting
experiences or a unique outlook on life. It’s important to
have someone interesting to talk to on the chairlift."
While the idea of a business that essentially lets guests
enjoy the real glory of Whistler powder seems like a no
brainer in 2016, the early days of Extremely Canadian
were anything but a sure thing.
Greg Dobbin, who was standing next to Pete when he
watched Jill punch that groper, was the original third
partner in the company. Work was fun but sporadic, and
profits were low, but the trio soldiered on. One way to
increase profits was to cut overhead, so after returning
from their honeymoon in 1996, Pete and Jill lived in a
tent in the Cal-Cheak campground for a while. “It wasn’t
bad for a summer,” Jill recalls, “but we had a bear who
kept coming into camp. One night he was curiously
circling the tent for a long time andwe couldn’t get out.
GETTINGEXTREME
JILLDUNNIGANANDPETESMART
MOUNTAIN
LIFERS
HOSERS,
FREAKERS
“Everymorning I’dwake up in the camper, pull onmy
skirt, pantyhose and high heels andwalk across the dirt
parking lot to the office.” – Jill Dunnigan
COURTESY JILLDUNNIGAN.
