This is the Seattle gum wall.  Is this art?

 Good day rebels, artists and general fence sitters, Welcome to WIA arts this week!

Well well, if street art in Whistler isn’t getting noticed then I don’t know what is. It seems there is a multitude of new graphic work around parts of town and the village area. No one knowing who or where they are from as the work generally does not have a associated name. Which is understandable but yet frustrating if you want to commend them on an awesome job. I guess that’s ok because one probably wants to keep a bit of anonymity when it comes to public art of sorts.

The big news if you’re not familiar with the other new player in town is the new Uni-Yarn-Bomber! They have hit many cool-static features around town with their fun, bright coloured yarn bombs. Adding a new sense to the regular “I was here tag,” or the other street art that is circling town. Yarn bombing is gaining credibility all over the world. Groups are doing multi-person live pieces, workshops are popping up all over the web and people are seeing it as a refreshing new style of expressionist street art.

The definitive yarn bombing site.  http://yarnbombing.com/

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Every day we share a single photo from our Flickr Pool shot by one of our faithful and talented readers (that’s you!) Please feel free to share your photos.

Check out the Whistler is Awesome Flickr Feed

One of the things we’ve been learning about Whistler, as we settle into our first summer here, is the sheer number of wicked places to hangout. My office of choice, Fix Café at Nita Lake Lodge, is only a couple minute bicycle ride from my home, passing at least two beaches and making the ride to work increasingly difficult as the weather warms. The network of trails winding their way through this little town is phenomenal and we feel like we’ve only just tapped the surface of the interesting places these paths will take us.

The trails, however, also give us pause for some concern. There are bears out there and the last thing I want to do is go flying around a corner straight into the motherly arms of a bear hug. In the last couple of weeks the bears have been popping up all over the place and, not being accustomed to daily bear sightings, we’ve been juggling the emotion of anticipation (read: anxiety) with touristy excitement.

We have a tonne of questions about how to live in such close proximity to the bears, questions like:

• If we cross one, how much space do they need?
• What are the warning signs of an angry bear?
• How safe are my kids to play outside?
• Can you really get a ticket for stopping on the road to watch them?
• How do we lessen impact on bear habitat?
• What are the proper/improper ways to shoo or scare a bear out of your yard?
• Do bears know English? Or how do I communicate to them?

Thankfully, Whistler is a Bear Smart community and there is plenty of information on how to and how not to interact with bears. Unfortunately, every time I go searching the interweb for info on bears I inevitably find myself on YouTube searching “Bear Attack” videos.

For the record, these videos have not been helpful.

Unfortunately, the first bear to visit my neighbourhood only qualified what I’d seen on YouTube. No, nobody was attacked, but by some means and by some circumstance a big old hungry bear ended up inside my neighbour’s house. As a parent with two small children, this wasn’t the most comforting first bear experience to have in Whistler.

And while Whistler is officially Bear Smart, there are some really Bear Dumb people out there. Garbage piled up at your back door entrance, Bear Dumb. The tourists with a camera who we watched follow a bear into the forest, Bear Dumb. Leaving salmon on your rickety old BBQ overnight, Bear Dumb.

Living in a place as beautiful as Whistler means we live up close and personal with the wild. Yet, with more people living in or on the edges of bear habitat, there will also be an increase in bear-human conflicts. I’m proud of Whistler for it’s leading role in Bear Smart initiatives and I think it’s awesome to be able to interact with the mountains and all that is in them the way we do. Being new to Whistler we want to do our part to live and earn the Bear Smart title we already have, I hope you will too!

Check out the Bear Smart website here and if you are interested in checking out bears in their natural habitat in a safe and respectful manner, Whistler Blackcomb’s Bear Viewing & Ecology Tours have begun for the season.

To most people, Whistler equates Winter. Endless snowfall, epic backcountry, a gnarnia of Winter Wonderland proportions. However, those who have stuck around after the snow has melted, and after the tourists have locked their cabins and vacated their holiday homes for the sunny climes of Vancouver or Seattle, know there’s more to Whistler than snowflakes and ski-dooing.

The month of May is a ‘down-season’ time, or for many Whistlerites, ‘bikini-ready-season’. The perfect opportunity to pound the valley trail, slay the mountain-bike trails or ramp up the body beautiful techniques in preparation for baring it all at one or many, of the lake-side sand-spots between July and August (and parts of June and September if we’re lucky!), arguably the world’s shortest, yet most celebrated and utilised Summer periods. Here’s your guide to making the most of our ‘beaches’ in Summer, whatever your pleasure, fetish or past-time.

Alta Lake near The Point. David Buzzard Photo

For Water-Babies:
Our lakes are somewhat.. refreshing. Most of them are glacier-fed, or at the very least, completely frozen over in Winter, and with Summer air temperatures rarely breaking 30 deg C for more than a couple of days consecutively, the water can range from shocking to pleasantly invigorating. For avid swimmers, the latter is a little more acceptable, and the gorgeous Alta Lake usually gets to a level that supports long-distance swim missions.

Being one of the larger lakes, Alta offers a number of entry points but the best route would be from Lakeside Park, a family-friendly locale, where your friends can chill on the sandy shores or grassy knoll. They can also be on hand to watch your precious towel/bike/gear whilst you freestyle it over to the Blueberry docks to the right, the art-house dock ahead or all the way to Rainbow Park, a solid 1.5km swim diagonally across the lake. Boats and motorised barges troll the water, but at a slow pace and are always a welcome sight when swimmer’s fatigue starts to set in. Always let a buddy know where and when you’re going.

Dock at Arfa Dog Park, adjacent to Alpha Lake Park

For BBQ’ers and Family-time:

South of the Village, next to the community of Creekside, Alpha Lake Park has a little something for everyone. Offering a kid-friendly section in the sand, complete with rocking horse toys circa 1982, to a beach volleyball court and a dog-park, this little gem has picnic tables and BBQ spots which you can fire up to enjoy some delicious bratwurst by the lake. The grassed area at Alpha Lake Park is perfectly suited to an Ultimate Frisbee match or a quick game of hide-the-sausage, if BBQ produce is all you happened to bring.

For Sun-Worshippers:
Wayside Park, a short stroll from both Lakeside and Alpha Parks, is a small but punch-packing beach with kayak and canoe rentals for the active lot and plenty of long-lasting sunshine for those seeking some colour. There have been numerous times when not-so-smart people have unwittingly poached the nearby private docks, assuming that they would be garnering the most sun-time. They have subsequently been the ones looking forlornly over at Wayside Park, at the lucky lot who secured a spot on this sun-soaked beach whilst the swiftly setting sun casts long shadows on their not-so-wisely-chosen locales. Stick to Wayside for the best in tan-lines, ice-cream consumption and sun-scoping.

Name: Todd Hellinga
Guy who rides bikes, lots.

Years riding lift-accessed Bike Park: 10

Bike: Giant Glory

3 things that you have done / are doing to get ready for opening day of the Whistler Mountain Bike Park?
01 Ride
02 Ride with Friends
03 Ride some more and laugh lots with friends!

First trail you are heading for when the Bike Park opens:
Since Dirt Merchant won’t be open I’d probably start with a B-Line lap to get the flow on, the go send A-Line top to bottom!

Trail that you are most anticipating riding this season:
I’m a sucker for being way up in the Alpine, so can’t wait for the Top Of The World trail, it’s gonna be sweet!

Mike Jones Photo

Mike Jones Photo

Every day we share a single photo from our Flickr Pool shot by one of our faithful and talented readers (that’s you!) Please feel free to share your photos.

Check out the Whistler is Awesome Flickr Feed

Name: Simmone Lyons
Mountain Bike Coach/Guide and Sales & Marketing Coordinator at the Crystal Lodge & Suites

Years riding lift-accessed Bike Park: Four amazing summers in Whistler!

Bike: Commencal Supreme DH

3 things that you have done / are doing to get ready for opening day of the Whistler Mountain Bike Park?
01 Riding the XC bike for most of winter.
02 Sending my bike into Bike Co for some TLC
03 Baking cakes and other treats to bribe bike mechanics

First trail you are heading for when the Bike Park opens: Ninja Cougar, karate Monkey to A-Line. Sweet berms and fun jumps, can’t wait.

Trail that you are most anticipating riding this season: Top of the world. Lift accessed bike trail from the Peak of Whistler…it’s going to be pretty sensational.

Coast Mountain Photography, http://www.bikeparkphotos.com/

Coast Mountain Photography, http://www.bikeparkphotos.com/

Whistler is world renowned for its abundance of awesome outdoor activities. Epic trails zigzag the valley and offer great opportunities for hiking and biking. One trail in particular offers a unique firsthand look at the remnants of Whistler’s industrial past.

The former logging town known as Parkhurst, at the end of Green Lake, has been abandoned since the 1950′s. I caught my first glimpse of the former town while rounding a bend in an unassuming section of trail. Up ahead in a clearing lay the rusted frame of a bed resting atop a carpet of greenery. The wooden cabin that once housed the bed had long since decomposed, and the remaining metal scraps left behind were slowly being reclaimed by nature. The juxtaposition of the lush green vegetation and rusty derelict ruins are striking, and walking the winding trails I discover more hidden and eerie artifacts of a once thriving logging community.

Today the Parkhurst ruins are accessible by either the Green Lake Loop Trail (which offers excellent views of the Valley) or by watercraft, and makes for an interesting trip if you’re looking to try something new. Weather is taking its toll on the remaining structures, so get out there and explore Whistler’s awesome history!

Tyrol Club members Walter Preissl, , Al Preissl and Erwin Kasiol ski down towards Glacier Bowl on Whistler Mountain, early 1960s. Photo: Frank Grundig.

Courtesy of the Whistler Museum and Archive