80
MOUNTAINLIFE
WINTER /SPRING2016
THE RENTALS& THE RENOS
AsWhistler’s housingmarket exploded in the 1990s, many A-frames
became rental units, easy income generators for aging or absent owners.
Awesomely, this helped the ski bum party culture transcend into a new
generation of rippers (and snowboarders), but almost always did so at the
expense of the buildings themselves.
The loudest house party inWhistler’s history took place at anA-frame on
West Side Road. A live punk band set up on the back deck and proceeded
to sonically melt people’s faces while testing the structural limits of both
the deck and the building it was attached to—a literal house shaker that
probably contributedmore than a little to that building’s ultimate demise.
Out inAlpine Meadows, “The Love Shack” was a tiny 1971 Gothic A-frame
built on a cinder block foundation that routinely hosted 300-person-plus
shakers with live bands, chainsaw carving, and high amounts of both
mayhem and skullduggery. With a fully plumbed bus parked in the yard
(guest wing!) The Love Shack was a place where legends were made and
children conceived.
And then Tim and Natasha Pulfrey bought it to try and start a family.
“It was in terrible shape,” says Tim.
“It was worse than terrible,” Natasha counters. “The floor was on an
angle and rotten—when you walked in you’d get seasick. Behind the stove
was rot andmouse shit, there was a giant, disgusting Jacuzzi tub, and
someone had been growing weed in here
…
For sure everyone thought we
were high on glue to even think about it.”
The price was right though, and the forested lot offered privacy and
space. At a time when an entire generation of Whistler locals were flocking
tomore affordable Pemberton or Squamish, Tim and Natasha saw The Love
Shack as a 900-square-foot opportunity to stay inWhistler and build a life.
“I remember the moment,” Tim says. “Natty was outside with the realtor
and I was in here taking a dump, which you’re not supposed to do during
an open house, but I was. The bathroom floor was so crooked, one of my
feet wasn’t even touching and there were ants crawling across my other
foot, but for some reason I just felt like, I can see this working.”
So they made it happen. Over the years, Tim and Natty, both registered
nurses, chipped away at renovations, added an entrance/mud room,
and gently eased The Love Shack back to life just in time to become
a first home for their two sons. “It’s simple living and you have to be
a bit tough,” Tim admits, explaining that Natty’s organizational skills
are integral. The kids spend a lot of time playing outside and in the
summer they often eat meals out on the deck, under the trees. “We’re not
reinventing the wheel, but I can’t tell you how happy I am every single
time I turn into that driveway.”
“It is an honest house,” Natty says. “You can hear an ant farting, and I
have to warn our guests to be ready to sleep in very close quarters, but
it seems like being so close to each other makes for a really tight-knit
family. It’s a different kind of love shack now—we had a pretty epic dance
party over Christmas, but it was all 5- to 8-year-olds.”
“The floorwasonanangleand rotten—when
youwalked inyou’dget seasick. Behind the
stovewas rot andmouseshit, therewasa
giant, disgusting Jacuzzi tub, andsomeone
hadbeengrowingweed inhere…For sure
everyone thoughtwewerehighonglue to
even thinkabout it.”–NatashaPulfrey
TimPulfrey andThe LoveShack.
