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rent an expensive booth at ski shows, they would pay
the $12 entrance fee and hang little paper flyers in the
bathrooms and above the ketchup at the hot dog stand.
Instead of industry schmoozing at conferences, they opted
to throw a party inWhistler.
It started out as a talent show—What Would You Do to
Win a Pair of Rossignol Skis—and over the years, as the
prizes got bigger (heli ski trips, gear, etc.), the talents got
raunchier and raunchier. “I don't remember anybody ever
having a fantastic talent,” notes Jill.
“I thought we were safe, since the parties were pre-Internet,”
laughs Peter, “but I recently Googled and found a quote
where I was quoted as saying: It's basically a 70s orgy.”
“That's actually horrifying,” Jill says, embarrassed.
“We were thinking about doing an anniversary party,” Pete
says. “It was originally called Funk Night, then Pimp & Ho,
then Freaker's Ball,” Peter says. “We just wanted to get
weird, but then it got bigger than us and people didn't
even knowwhose party they were at. The parties were fun
for a while, but there started to be toomany rules. No hot
tubs on the patio and naked limbo at the same time. No
more naked Johnny Thrash! It just wasn't fun anymore.”
Older, wiser andmore mature, the Extremely Canadian
parties are a thing of the past these days, but Pete and Jill
continue to run the business (they bought Greg out in 1998)
with that same old rebel spirit, and a new recruit—their
seven-year-old daughter, Allie.
“She makes it fun for us,” Jill beams. “She’s always super
stoked.” Allie skis with Pete on the hill and helps with
everything from checking groups in to handing out T-shirts
at après.
Jill recalls organizing a guided trip for 26 people to ski
Courmayeur, France from her hospital bed while learning
to breastfeed. It's literally inAllie’s blood. “She’s proud of
[the business] and we’re that muchmore connected to it
because of her enthusiasm.”
Hopefully Allie’s enthusiasmwill inspire her ski bum parents
for a fewmore years to come. Pete says he’s excited for the
Spearhead Huts system to go in and the return of scheduled
Snowboard Freeride Camps (Extremely Canadian originally
offered snowboard camps back in the 95/96 season).
Preparing for their twenty-third year working together in the
mountains, both Jill and Pete admit to saying, “I’d fire you
if I wasn’t married to you” multiple times over the history of
their company. “But you keep working through it and figure
out ways to communicate,” Pete says. “And set rules. On
the drive home to Squamish we are allowed to talk about
work until we can see the Tantalus Range. After that, no
more work talk.”
And how do Pete and Jill sum up their career, spanning
two decades of 100-day-plus ski seasons? “We're just a fun
bunch of hosers to go skiing with,” Jill laughs. “When we
started, I asked Pete how long we were going to do this
and he said, “I dunno, maybe three to five years?”
As their slogan suggests, “Redefine Your Boundaries.”
Both Jill and Pete admit to saying, “I’d fire you
if I wasn’t married to you”multiple times over the
history of their company.
The ski bums' limousine. COURTESY JILLDUNNIGAN
