64
MLCM
FALL/WINTER2016
Our escape vehiclewas a 1961MGA convertiblewith an old
choke that needed quite a bit of time to warm up... so no
escape really.”
Eventually Peter confronted the bear and it ran away.
Looking for more suitable digs, the newlyweds moved
into ski legend (and first ever Extremely Canadian guide),
Wendy Brookbank’s camper inWhistler’s fabled parking lot
4. “It was nice because it really shortened our commute,”
Jill says. “Pete was swinging a hammer, roofing and I
was working for theWhistler Resort Association inmedia
relations. Every morning I’d wake up in the camper, pull on
my skirt, pantyhose and high heels and walk across the dirt
parking lot to the office. And no one there ever knew. By
winter, we had found a place in Pemby. The camping just
got too cold and wet, even for us.”
Extremely Canadian started out on Blackcomb, but Pete, Jill
and Greg decided early on that the best way to showcase
the real Whistler was to give clients a day on eachmountain.
This cost them twice as much to operate, however (paying
a percentage to each resort), and by the end of their third
winter of operation, things looked a bit bleak.
“The three of us worked all season long and at the end
there was $3,300 for us,” Jill says. “So we went to Sushi
(Village), bought a jumbo sake, got drunk, spent $300 and
split the rest. So we each got $1,000 for our entire season!
We were like, this is the dumbest thing we've ever done."
Then the merger happened. While there were multiple
guiding companies operating inWhistler during the 1990s,
most operated on either Blackcomb or Whistler, but not
both. When Blackcomb andWhistler merged into one super
resort in early 1997, Extremely Canadian suddenly had a
competitive advantage.
“All those suits came in and analyzed the onmountain
business,” remembers Jill. The new, unified resort trimmed
a lot of fat and streamlined operations. Guiding companies
that didn’t operate on both hills were the first to go. “There
were 18 other independent operators at the time and we
were the only one left standing,” Jill says. “So we looked
really smart, but it was dumb luck."
At around the same time, the now infamous Extremely
Canadian promo parties were born. Jill and Pete had always
thought outside the box for promotions and rather than
“The three of us worked all season long and at the
end there was $3,300 for us. Sowe went to Sushi
(Village), bought a jumbo sake, got drunk, spent
$300 and split the rest.”
Jill andPete, hard atwork. PAULMORRISON
