GayWhistler
Ski Week Replaces Altitude 14
Don't change your Whistler travel plans just yet; another group
is stepping up and promises a great time on and off the slopes
Just two weeks before the Altitude 14, Vancouver's gay ski
week at Whistler, registered participants were met with this
stark message on
the
event Web site this past weekend:
"It is with our greatest sympathy and regret that we cancel
this years' Altitude celebration. Due to last minute
difficulties of which we could not overcome, we have been
forced to cancel this years' program. Please accept our
sincerest of apologies for those of you that have already
made travel arrangements. We are in the process of figuring
out with our payment processors the most expedited process
to get your purchases refunded."
For those who have been planning to make the annual trip to
the slopes of British Columbia, it's little solace that they
may be getting registration fees back. The event was
expected to attract up to 4,000 people, each committing
hundreds if not thousands of dollars in travel and lodging
expenses.
"In my opinion, Out on the Slopes (OOTS) was irresponsible
in the way that they cancelled the event," Marc Arendt, from
Chicago, who was making Altitude 14 his first gay ski event,
said. "OOTS should have at least left the bulletin board up
on their web site so that participants could arrange
alternatives -- like informal après ski parties at local
bars."
Luckily for Arendt and the thousands of others planning to
head to Whistler on February 4, a group has been working
around the clock since last Friday, when they first heard
the possibility of the cancellation of Altitude 14, to fill
the void left by Out on the Slopes.
Sean
Kearns (left) and Dean L. Nelson (right) have owned and
operated GayWhistler for two years. They two avid skiers and
borders have stepped up to make sure that everyone coming to
Whistler on February 4 has plenty to do. While Kearns said
they must try to keep expectations a little low (afterall,
there's only so much they can do with 12 days to plan an
event for 4,000 people), they have already lined up an
exciting
calendar of events.
In addition to the great skiing, they have organized a daily
après-ski event. The après-ski events, which Kearns said
will each have a theme, are come-as-you-are post-skiing
happy hours to get to know the people you did or did not
ride up the lifts with that afternoon.
They also have planned a welcome reception and dance, a
concert with dance recording artist
Kim Kuzma,
a masquerade ball and a closing dance that will keep
everyone's feet moving into the wee hours of the final
morning. All that and 11 feet of snow since the beginning of
the new year.
With the monumental task of trying to plan this event in
under two weeks, Kearns said it's the love of Whistler and
the gay community that has kept them going 24-7 for the last
week.
"We want people coming to have a good time and to give them
a reason to come back," Kearns said, acknowledging that
there is also certainly a business reason for their hard
work. "The gay and lesbian demographic is our market.
They're why we're here, and the love of Whistler is why
we're here."
GayWhistler Ski Week, as it is now being called, coincides
with
Vail Gay & Lesbian Ski Week, in Colorado, which runs
from February 4-11. Aspen's gay ski week event concluded
last Sunday; similar events are planned for
Lake Tahoe (Feb. 26-March 5),
Telluride (Feb. 26-March 5),
Mammoth (March 15-19), and various other locations
around the world.
Sean
Kearns (left) and Dean L. Nelson (right) have owned and
operated GayWhistler for two years. They two avid skiers and
borders have stepped up to make sure that everyone coming to
Whistler on February 4 has plenty to do. While Kearns said
they must try to keep expectations a little low (afterall,
there's only so much they can do with 12 days to plan an
event for 4,000 people), they have already lined up an
exciting
