MOUNTAIN LIFE - Coast Mountains | Winter / Spring 2018

WINTER/SPRING 2018 MLCM 105 words :: Jorge Alvarez Jorge’s Disclaimer: Ace’s brother knocked up my sister twice, so we are kind of related – our gene pools have joined forces. I have also known her for 30 years. This doesn’t count as one of the facts. FACT #1 AS A CHILD, ACE SKI RACED AGAINST WHISTLER AND CANADIAN DOWNHILL LEGEND ROB BOYD. Ace: “No. Not really. I raced against his sister, Sandra. But yes, my dad and Rob’s dad knew each other and I remember as kids when our parents go, “hey you have to meet so-and-so’s kids” and I remember meeting those guys. I was the only girl on my ski team, and I felt like I was kinda shy, but I think it was because all the ski racer girls seemed so... tough. I didn’t have padded race pants for a while so I would race in jeans with fashion magazines tucked into them as padding to protect my hips and elbows from bruising on the bamboo gates. I remember the teams from Kelowna were all these girls with fancy gear and I always felt like a real loser at the top of those races, but Sandra Boyd was always nice to me. Now I have ski jeans, but the waterproof version.” FACT #2 ACE’S DAD WAS THE BOSS OF TOD MOUNTAIN, AND THEY GAVE AWAY A CAR TO THE BEST FREESTYLER. Ace: “Yes, kind of. My dad was originally from Ottawa, the only one of his family who came out west. And he met my mom in Lake Louise. I was born in Calgary because there was no hospital nearby. My dad was a ski school director at a couple hills, then he got a job at Tod Mountain outside of Kamloops (now Sun Peaks) and ended up managing the mountain. He’d throw this annual party, Wonder Weekend that was a family fun weekend on the mountain with obstacle courses, gully-skiing contests, costumes, jousting on skis, and a bum jump and other antics. It was awesome, my favourite weekend. But my dad did also host a freestyle contest called the Labatt’s Datsun Freestyle Classic, it was the hotdoggin’ era, and one year the grand prize was a Datsun 280Z. Another year, they gave $10,000 to the winner. In the 70s! I think our house only cost $15,000 back then.” FACT #3 ACE ONCE PLAYED CHARADES WITH KEITH RICHARDS (AND CO-WROTE A SONG FOR BILLY IDOL BUT THAT’S ANOTHER STORY). Ace: “I was in Antigua. My boyfriend was friends with Keith Richards, who also used to go there with his wife Patty and their two daughters. Another musician friend owned “Pizzas in Paradise.” On the menu it had drink prices just for Keith because his drinks were stronger. 6.9 RANDOM RAN-DUMB FACTS ABOUT ACE MACKAY-SMITH LAST ISSUE’S MOUNTAIN LIFER INTERVIEWS THE WOMAN HE CLAIMS STARTED WHISTLER’S FUN REVOLUTION MOUNTAIN LIFER You can take the girl out of Kamloops but... Ace on her homemade steed. BLAKE JORGENSON