Episode 3 of The Whistler Podcast is your chance to get to know Whistler Blackcomb’s new Chief Operating Officer, Geoff Buchheister. Mayor Crompton and Geoff’s conversation includes a tribute to Jake Burton Carpenter, Geoff’s skiing history growing up at the base of Winter Park, Colorado and their shared passion for the mountains and mountain culture.
Episode 3 of The Whistler Podcast is your chance to get to know Whistler Blackcomb’s new Chief Operating Officer, Geoff Buchheister. Mayor Crompton and Geoff’s conversation includes a tribute to Jake Burton Carpenter, Geoff’s skiing history growing up at the base of Winter Park, Colorado and their shared passion for the mountains and mountain culture.
Narrarator: 0:02
The Whistler Podcast. Candid conversations about everything Whistler. With host Mayor Jack Crompton.
Mayor Jack Crompton: 0:11
Hey everyone, welcome to The Whistler Podcast. Thanks for joining us. I'm Mayor Jack Crompton. First, as always, I want to acknowledge that we live, work and play on the traditional territory of the Lil'wat and the Squamish nation. I also want to thank Mountain FM for hosting us here in their Whistler studio in the middle of the Village. I'm excited today to welcome, uh, the new Chief Operating Officer of Whistle Blackcomb, Geoff Buchheister. Geoff, welcome. Thank you for joining me here.
Geoff Buchheister: 0:39
Thanks, Jack. Appreciate it.
Mayor Jack Crompton: 0:40
It's good to chat. I'm looking forward to talking a little bit about you and how you find yourself here and what you're thinking about Whistler Blackcomb as we move forward. Before we do that, we thought we'd talk about some Whistler news and some things that have been in the news lately.
Geoff Buchheister: 0:55
That sounds great. Yeah. No, I'm happy to be here. And certainly honored by the warm welcome that I've received over the last eight weeks as I've gotten my feet on the ground and ready to go.
Mayor Jack Crompton: 1:05
Eight weeks. Yeah, it seems longer. I bumped into you a couple times eight weeks–that's quick–right on. Ah, so first Whistler news is that we just had Remembrance Day, and I was I saw you there.
Geoff Buchheister: 1:18
Yes, I was there
Mayor Jack Crompton: 1:19
Any anything jump out at you–the difference between Veterans Day and Remembrance Day– in the way they work between our two countries?
Geoff Buchheister: 1:25
Um, yeah. I would honestly say that the Remembrance Day celebration was I felt very local. Very, uh, community oriented. Yeah. Um, I think with Veterans Day in the States and the places I've lived, it's, uh it's more of a long weekend and people take it like that. And, you know, I saw a bunch of people from our team at Whistler Blackcomb at the ceremony, I saw a bunch of folks from the community that I've met and met new people there, and it seemed very much like a community event and something that folks of Whistler really rallied around. So it was it was fun. It was awesome to feel that sense of community. For sure.
Mayor Jack Crompton: 2:06
We still have a couple veterans that are with us, that are there, which is so exciting, and just to be able to talk to them, and I always love being able to thank them for their service. Um, fewer and fewer all the time, which is an interesting dynamic, I think in all cities and towns is to be to see that sort of greatest generation moving on. And we're different as they go, I think, and the way we live our lives, you know?
Geoff Buchheister: 2:33
Well, and I think we owe a lot to them. And certainly as an American coming to live and work in Canada opens the door for me for a lot of new learning about the history of Canadians and the folks from this region and how they participated in some of those bigger events globally. Um, you know, obviously, as a kid, I learned it from the point of view, and that was taught in Colorado and ah, I think that's actually one of the most exciting things for me coming here because there is so much new. Um, and I've always operated with this philosophy, if you can learn something new every day, you can kind of, I think, show up as a better version of yourself every day. So it was great. It's great to be on the the precipice of being able to learn and grow and share some really cool experiences with my family as we all get settled.
Mayor Jack Crompton: 3:28
Yeah, the we were talking last night at the Vital Signs does a an event each week, and they were talking about consumption. And one of the comments about, um the loss of this generation of people is that, you know, shut the fridge, closed lights, all of those things that come out of living with less and having to plant victory gardens and just live life in a more restrained way. And as they go, we we lose pieces of that and how important it is to keep it around. So during that Remembrance Day celebration, well, we call an act of remembrance. I it's so nice to be able to see, those people, shake their hands.
Geoff Buchheister: 4:09
Absolutely.
Mayor Jack Crompton: 4:10
It was good to see you there.
Geoff Buchheister: 4:10
Thank you.
Mayor Jack Crompton: 4:12
Uh, as as on the note of remembering–the ski industry, the snowboard industry lost a pioneer today. Jake Burton Carpenter died at 65 years old. Um, he brought snowboards to the masses. I was looking at sort of his life story, talking about in 1977 quitting his job in New York City. And, um, just trying to live this dream of turning the snurfer into something sort of tangible and real and secure your feet to the snowboard. And then, in 1984 Stratton, lets snowboards on the ski hill. And he was telling an interesting story about how it was all about the new mountain that just, you know, allowed snowboards on the mountain. And I remember that as a 12 year old kid thinking, When will Whistler, you know, let a snowboard on the mountain? What you remember about that time about snowboards?
Geoff Buchheister: 5:08
You know, I mean, I think as a as a as, ah, young kid at the time myself, I, um I was a passionate ski racer, and certainly in communities across North America, there was discussions about snowboarding and "is it real? Is it a fad? And should the resorts allow it?" And ah, I think, um, you know, I can't remember where Winter Park, which was my home mountain at the time, fit into that discussion, but they were relatively early in allowing snowboards, and I recall, you know, trying it out and, uh, embracing the challenge and I still snowboard from time to time. I'm a skier at heart, but I have huge respect for that discipline. And actually, there's a there's a um if I don't know if you've ever been to Burlington, Vermont–that's where the Burton headquarters are–I was working with them on ah couple projects a few years ago when I was in one of my previous roles and spent the day at the at their headquarters. They have a really incredible kind of museum at the headquarters, which is an ode not to, uh, just Jake, but to the people of the company and the progression from the snurfer board when it started all the way through. And you can see the original boards and you can see his notebooks and the notes that he was taking and how he was thinking about it. And the coolest thing about Jake, I think is he had the passion for it, but as you looked through some of the stuff he was writing the marketing copy. He was creating the PR plans. He was...
Mayor Jack Crompton: 6:42
Tip to tail
Geoff Buchheister: 6:42
...just invested in it. And, you know, I think we owe a lot to him for that. And certainly a sad day across our industry, on the whole. Thankful that I got to see that ah, a few years back and appreciate the work that he's done it. It's truly incredible.
Mayor Jack Crompton: 6:59
I was watching video of Keir Dillon , who is a Burton guy for a long time talking about how people throw corporate at at Jake. And he owned the company you know most of of his life and that it was such a funny thing to say to just throw that sort of shade at people who are so deeply invested in what they're doing. And it feels like Jake really carried an industry based on his real love of it rather than I mean, obviously, he's been extremely successful, which is great. It's great that somebody who you know, saw a vision for turning the snurfer into something incredible kind of being successful, and it's great.
Geoff Buchheister: 7:41
Now it's ah uh, well, it will remain part of our industry's history forever. And I'm certainly thankful for what he's done. And, uh oh, uh, certain amount of gratitude for his accomplishments, for sure.
Mayor Jack Crompton: 7:55
1988 was when Blackcomb first let snowboards on and ah, a couple names that kind of are still around for us–the leaders of snowboarding back then: Ken Achenbach, Doug Lundgren, Alex Warburton, J.F. Pelchat. It's been, it's been pretty neat to see the impacts here and around the world. So rest in peace, Jake.
Geoff Buchheister: 8:15
Rest in peace.
Mayor Jack Crompton: 8:16
Um, Electric Vehicle Sustainability Summit is going on right now, which I had the chance to sit in on yesterday. And, um, there's interesting work going on between Whistler Blackcomb and the RMOW, putting electric vehicle charging into the Day Lots to support that kind of of of, um, progression in our in our province. What are your thoughts on electric electric vehicle charging, and is that something you guys talk about on a regular basis?
Geoff Buchheister: 8:44
Well, I think, um, obviously we're happy to be at the table with you guys and working to provide the the infrastructure needed to, to support the folks that are driving these vehicles. Um, in the face of the climate change, you know, discussion that continues and will continue for quite some time. You know, I think it's great to see innovation. Um, I think it's great to see ah, such a big part of industry across the world. Embrace it. And ah, certainly I want to be part of that. I think Whistler Blackcomb has always thought with sustainability in mind, as they made decisions, and we're not going to stop doing that.
Mayor Jack Crompton: 9:28
Yeah, the Fitzsimmons River power project, you know, providing power for both mountains. It's it's there's opportunities, I think, moving forward to take additional actions. One of the ones that they were talking about a lot is is fleets. And as we, at the RMOW, think about sort of transitioning fleets, one of the challenges that we're facing is that there are very few we found of our vehicles that actually would be able to find electric, um, equals. So we couldn't transition some of ours right now. About 30 per cent of our fleet could be transitioned. That leaves 70 per cent of things like plow trucks and excavators and equipment that's in our current inventory that we can't actually transition. And so that's something for organizations like yours and organizations like ours to start advocating for is the industry to join us and actually start producing vehicles that we can put into place.
Geoff Buchheister: 10:23
I couldn't agree more. And, uh, you know, certainly don't want to speak for where the industry's at currently, because I think, you know, you think about a snowmobile, which is something that certainly has, ah, the capacity to be run on electric power source. Uh, snowcats begin to get into ah, a realm of, ah, something that's a little different. And I know people are working on it. And I think, you know, from our perspective, I can see a day in the future where you know we're talking about this as common technology. And you're right, like transitioning from where we are today, to that is part of the challenge with with this big shift and, um, something that needs to be measured. And certainly, um, you know, I think our our team and company is interested in testing and trying and learning, and to see how how those things could continue that I think impact scary operations in general. But, you know, still provide the the quality product and conditions that our guests are expecting.
Mayor Jack Crompton: 11:27
Are ski lifts–uh, how are ski lifts powered generally? Like when I remember growing up there was diesel lifts. So they're still diesel lifts?
Geoff Buchheister: 11:35
They're diesel backups with electric motors.
Mayor Jack Crompton: 11:36
OK, so what am I running on when I get on the Blackcomb Gondola?
Geoff Buchheister: 11:39
Uh, well, hopefully not diesel. That's the backup. Uh, if, uh so, no–I mean the majority of the lifts are, uh, electric motor.
Mayor Jack Crompton: 11:50
They are? Okay, that's great!
Geoff Buchheister: 11:51
So you need power to run that.
Mayor Jack Crompton: 11:53
Powered by micro hydro projects. And the Fitz Creek. That's great.
Geoff Buchheister: 11:56
So, uh, you know, I think the source of the power is the, you know, I don't know that everything will stop using, uh, the traditional power sources. But how we create it and generate it is probably the future.
Mayor Jack Crompton: 12:09
The mayor of ah Squamish just got back from a trip to Norway and she saw a zero emission work site where they had a taken all of the big cats and everything and pulled out diesel engines and stuck in electric motors and then connected them to the grid. And it occurred to her and she's been talking to me about how can we as large– well, we're not large–but how can we join Metro Vancouver, Metro Seattle, Metro Victoria in shared procurement, so that we can go to Finning and say, hey, we'll put out to tender and we'd like you to come to the table and do that work because it's not impossible. You can swap it out, it's been done. But maybe there just isn't the market that they recognize for the same things.
Geoff Buchheister: 12:55
Yeah, I think it's something to keep an eye on for sure, and it probably extends beyond our industry. And our industry probably isn't the core core target of folks that are engineering these things, and certainly one that would benefit and have our support and help him to try and find those solutions.
Mayor Jack Crompton: 13:15
Great. Um, illegal nightly rentals. We talked a lot about Airbnb lately. I don't know if you have seen that Airbnb has decided to verify all seven million of their their owners and to say that, you know, if you have a unit, you need to go through a verification process. There was a really lousy story out of California where some people died. As a result, I think Brian Chesky and the whole Airbnb organization decided that they needed to change their model, which will adjust things in Whistler. We have 9500 units of tourist accommodation zoned properties, so that verification process will mean less fraud, less cheating, less ghost listings. And, ah, I think it'll make a change here. Any thoughts on Airbnb changing their process?
Geoff Buchheister: 14:05
Well, I, you know, I I hope that it it helps. Right? Because I think our communities are, are, and mountain communities that I've lived and worked in, I think, are all facing, you know, some of the issues that ah, the ease of running a nightly rental and that shift in the marketplace there has created. And so, um, no, I mean, I I'm not I'm not in on the day to day of what they're doing ah, at Airbnb, but what I can say is, uh, you know, I think it impacts communities, and I think it makes, um, you know, I think the goal of having a local community that lives, works and plays where you know where we are are tougher to come by.
Mayor Jack Crompton: 14:47
Yeah.
Geoff Buchheister: 14:47
So, you know, as I look at the at the, you know, the the board, and think about the decisions that we that we want to do and make it's I think, outside of the realm of the nightly rentals, a little bit for us and more focused on "what are we doing about staff accommodations and what are we doing to, I think, keep our employees out of needing or being in competition for nightly rentals?" And so I think Glacier 8, it's a great project that we're working on together that, you know, will add some inventory to our staff accommodation. And, um, yeah, I think somewhere on the equilibrium of the whole equation will help.
Mayor Jack Crompton: 15:25
Yeah, it's it's a supply problem. We don't have enough housing, and it's a demand problem. It's being used in ways that we don't want it to be used. So it's exciting to hopefully see some of that true residential accommodation come back into the market as the RMOW enforces our bylaws against people that are misusing it. And then we're joined by Airbnb, who will enter into that verification process, which is exciting. Changes afoot. Great. Well, that's Whistler News.
Narrarator: 15:51
You're listening to The Whistler Podcast, candid conversations on current events, local government and everything Whistler.
Mayor Jack Crompton: 15:59
I now would like to move into just a conversation with Geoff about yourself. It's exciting to have you here. I've enjoyed the couple chances we've had to be in the same meetings and hear your thoughts on on on skiing. How did you get involved in skiing? Why do you love it?
Geoff Buchheister: 16:17
I will tell you my story. Uh, parents were born into it, and I wouldn't use the word forced. I would say that I was, uh, born into the opportunity to grow up as a, ah, in the mountains as a skier.
Mayor Jack Crompton: 16:31
Where was that?
Geoff Buchheister: 16:32
Winter Park, Colorado. I lived and my parents still live ah, about 400 meters from the base of Winter Park Ski area, which is in the mountains of Colorado, about 70 miles west of Denver. And, ah, I grew up in the small little community that I think, you know, was an idealistic mountain ski area town with, uh, with great people and a great mountain. And ah...
Mayor Jack Crompton: 16:56
Have you ever worked at Winter Park? No, you've never?
Geoff Buchheister: 16:59
I guess, in a way. I never worked for the resort. My my father worked for the resort for 44 years. Um, my mother was ah a when I was growing up in the early years of dental hygienist. And then she decided after ah, about when I was a teenager to open a retail store. So she ran a retail store, at the base of Winter Park, and, ah, I think I don't know. You know, she probably considered me an employee and....
Mayor Jack Crompton: 17:28
So, yes you worked at Winter Park?
Geoff Buchheister: 17:29
I don't remember getting a paycheck. But I do remember her paying for my ski racing career. So I guess there was a bit of, ah link there. And, uh,
Mayor Jack Crompton: 17:37
What did you, what did you sell?
Geoff Buchheister: 17:39
Oh, it was an accessory shop, t-shirts. It was kind of that time when silk screening kind of hit the mainstream and you could go in and pick your own designs and, like, watch someone like screen it onto a shirt. So I go in there and help out. And mostly she had me kind of tidying up the store at the end of the ski day.
Mayor Jack Crompton: 17:55
Any memorable t-shirts from your time at the?
Geoff Buchheister: 17:58
I just you know, uh, the classic, uh, you know, Glen Plake with a mohawk, doing a huge back scratcher and, like, you know, something like that.
Mayor Jack Crompton: 18:09
Designed by Geoff Buccheister. Self designed, silk screened. Ya, that's good.
Geoff Buchheister: 18:15
But, you know, my brother and I were raised in a, um in an environment where we skied every day in the winter. And ah, you know, the mountain was kind of our baby sitter. And ah, that's where we both created and broke rules. And I became a ah, ski racer through that, both my brother and I did. And, um, you know, ultimately that opportunity to be passionate about skiing. Um, it led me to probably–ultimately–to where I'm sitting today, but, you know, as part of that progression, I was a ski racer and fortunate enough to be good enough that I skied and raced all over the world. So ah, you know, uh, um, I've checked off a lot of ah ski resorts across Europe and New Zealand and even raced in South Korea at one point and met my wife through ski racing in my university years where ah, and she's from, a small alpine country in Europe. Slovenia. So married a girl, that's true to my heart with a skiing background. And that's how we met. That's how we're raising our family and and skiing is a very, very important piece of our lives.
Mayor Jack Crompton: 19:30
It's a great way to say it uh um–the mountains were our babysitter–I think that's one of the best things about raising kids here is the fact that the mountains are our baby sitter. Now, be careful out there, but it's amazing to have what we have. I think summer, winter, the idea that you're raising your children around other people who kick them outside or who go outside with them and ride their bikes and take them up the mountain. It becomes easy to push in the directions that are you're better inclinations about, about the way you parent which is important.
Geoff Buchheister: 20:05
Well and I think a nod to your earlier comment about the generation that we're starting to lose in our veterans is and and your comment was you know, they were more responsible about turning off the lights and consuming less and all those things. And, um, you know, in the current generation, what I think is important about things like skiing, and there's a lot of things like it mountain biking and, um, uh, you know, is there things that you can do with your family. It provides an opportunity for folks to connect in a way that doesn't involve a device. It doesn't involve a cell phone. Or, you know, I think we're all guilty of having, ah, little bit of attention deficit disorder because of technology. And I've always found that when the mountain is your babysitter, you don't need that. Yeah, um, you can connect with all sorts of of people and that spans generations. And, uh, I think I love, obviously, I love the skiing and the terrain and learning and developing your skills. But I think what I really love is the, I guess the opportunity that taking a bunch of runs provides is that every time you take a run, you're, you find yourself on a chair lift, and that could be with a different person every time, it could be with your family, with your friends and for, you know–7, 8 to 10 minutes–you actually have a conversation with someone. And, uh, these days, when we type out a lot of conversations on our our cell phones, I find that, um, this is a great way to get back to the core of what our industry is all about.
Mayor Jack Crompton: 21:46
Yeah. Yeah, it's it's a hidden part of skiing that is so interesting to acknowledge that that that time on the chair that is community building, it's, it's–I haven't really thought about it as deeply as you point. Like we every day that we ski get 10, 12, 15 opportunities to have a conversation. Yeah. So you've agreed to read a book with me? I've I was, um which thank you for joining my book club. This is the first book club I've ever been a part of.
Geoff Buchheister: 22:21
I'm aware that maybe I'm the only member, aside from you.
Mayor Jack Crompton: 22:24
You are. Yeah. I read this when I was 18 and, um, one of the things that I think is interesting about or, sorry, not interesting–I think it's so crucial that Canada, that Whistler Blackcomb is in Canada, I think it defines us. And so I was excited. I talk about this book all the time, but I haven't read it in over 15 years. And you were kind enough to say you you'd read it with me, because I think it's it says something to our town. So I want to just read you one part of it, it's called 'Why we act like Canadians' by Pierre Burton and this section, it's in the very first chapter. So it's letters to Sam like Dear Sam, Dear Uncle Sam, um, up on Parliament–and this is written in the eighties–"Up on Parliament Hill, they're singing 'O'Canada' in two languages and more than one version. They're also singing 'God Save the Queen' because you see, we still have a queen and she's ours, even if she drops in on us only occasionally from her home at Buckingham Palace. By another typically Canadian contradiction, we have been made to believe that she is not the queen of England except that she's in England, but she's the queen of Canada even when she's not here. That allows us to be totally independent on this day of days, an odd business when you think of it, since we have been insisting to you Americans for decades that we've really been independent all along. But then we're only acting like Canadians, confusing everybody, especially your countrymen, who can't see much difference between our two peoples." And that strikes me as interesting thing. And I don't know if it's fair to say that Americans don't see the difference and Canadians do. I think we both do, and I was we're talking, I told you about this a couple days ago. How, if you go down to Blaine, Washington–like a minute across the border on a Friday night–the football stands are full with, like 3000 people in a town of 1500 all watching a football game, and they're like supporting their kid's sports and their supporting other kids sports. If you go to the five minutes across the board to the North, to White Rock, there'll be three parents with their umbrellas just in a downpour, cheering for the kids. And I think that the differences between our countries are subtle but, um important. And we lost the American Friends of Whistler this week, which, which is a massive organization in the history of our town. Whistler's been built largely by Vancouverites, a lot of people from Seattle, and so we're all so different than the typical Canadian town in that we've been built by Europeans, Americans, Canadians, and we're a bit of a mix. So it'll be interesting to kind of go through the book and kind of ah, chat about it. I'm looking forward to it.
Geoff Buchheister: 25:13
I'm forward to it, too, and, um, I think it's it's worth sharing my perspective on all of this is I mentioned I'm married to a Slovenian. And I'm not married to a Slovenian who, um, whose family has been in in in the US for generations. In fact, she's the only one in her family that's in the U. S. Her, her brother, sister and parents all still live in Europe and in Slovenia. And it's ah so I think the way that I've approached it and certainly this is a little bit more about me than, um, maybe I intend it to be. But one of the things I've really loved about the relationship that I have with her and her family is her parents don't speak English. And I I as a 25 year old, decided to go there and learn the language. And that's been a thing that I have focused on for, ah, you know, the better part of the last 20 years in learning how how the how to speak their language and, um, communicate with my in-laws, who are some of my favorite people. We've decided to raise our kids in a bilingual scenario, so they, both of my kids are actually way better at Slovenian than I am, because they they've they were raised with two first languages. And so I think that's important background, because as I show up here in Canada, you know, I think I'm, a person who's certainly cognizant and respectful of the culture here. Certainly within our community, within the country as a whole, I think, within British Columbia. And, you know, I think I got here shortly before the most recent election. And so, you know, I was I was, um I guess indoctrinated via all of the political ads...
Mayor Jack Crompton: 27:00
That would have been fascinating.
Geoff Buchheister: 27:00
...that all the candidates were working on and and understanding actually, the differences in the system because it's quite different than, um than in the U. S. And so, I think back to just learning and appreciating, I think that 'it's different' is kind of the mindset I'm coming in with you. And, uh, you know, um, there's a lot that I'm not proud of coming where I'm coming from, and I think that's one of the the strengths of American pride is, um you know, uh, there's a lot of difference of opinion, and so I think we all should be proud of where we are raised and where we're from. And I think we should be open to the new and to learning. And so I'm looking forward to reading the book and, ah, talking about it with you. But I I think more than that, I think I'm just I'm looking forward to the learning experience that extends beyond the the book that you shared with me. And, um, you know, in seeing the ah–not only just for myself, but for myself and my kids–seeing the culture for what it is. And I think embracing it; being part of it. Um, you know, my son's been here for for the last three weeks in in school at Myrtle Philip. My wife and daughter are gonna be here in another couple weeks, and my daughter will be in high school. And, you know, one of the I think the exciting thing is it's it's all new, and it's it's all an opportunity to learn, and and we get to make ourselves better because of that, every day.
Mayor Jack Crompton: 28:33
If you want to learn speaking Canadian, you just drop 'eh' at the end of your sentences andyou'll be happy. Yeah, yeah, and, ah Tim Hortons. Yeah. If you say 'Tim Hortons, eh?' you're you're golden. Um, Geoff, Thank you. This was wonderful to be able to chat about our town, about Whistler Blackcomb, about where we're going and about where you've come from. So I really appreciate you joining me.
Geoff Buchheister: 28:56
That goes both ways. Thank you. It's been an amazing start to the journey here and one that I'm looking forward to each step of the way.
Mayor Jack Crompton: 29:07
Welcome to Whistler!
Geoff Buchheister: 29:08
Thanks, Jack
Mayor Jack Crompton: 29:09
Thanks for tuning in.
Narrarator: 29:09
You've been listening to The Whistler Podcast. Candid conversations about everything Whistler. To find out more about The Whistler Podcast visit whistler.ca/whistlerpodcast.