If you drive north from the lovely British Columbia town of Nelson and keep going through the postcard village of Kaslo, you eventually find yourself looking across Kootenay Lake at an incredible scene.
The mountains of the Purcell Wilderness Conservancy, the largest undeveloped tract of wild land left in southeastern B.C., rise above the bright blue lake in rugged splendour. The few trails that pierce this mountain fortress take you into country so breathtaking it is not uncommon for hikers to stop and stare in stunned silence.
On the northeast boundary of this remarkable area is a mountain basin that just might offer the best skiing in the world. Build a resort here at the top of the world, in Jumbo Creek Valley, and you would have something unique in North America: a year-round skiing destination with access to two glaciers.
For 13 years, an entity known as Glacier Resorts Ltd. has been trying to do just that. And for just as long, the people of the Kootenays have been fighting to stop it from happening.
Glacier Resorts Ltd. has proposed spending $450-million over 25 years to build a small town with enough hotels, condos, chalets and townhouses to hold 6,000 residents. It would have two gondolas, an aerial tram and 25 lifts to handle an anticipated 700,000 visitors a year.
From on top of Jumbo Glacier, skiers could look west into the Purcell Wilderness, or east toward Banff National Park. That view alone would be enough to draw a crowd. But beneath their feet would be something even more incredible — a massive snowfield undulating down to a thickly forested valley. You could ski here in August. The proponents feel it could become the leading ski resort in North America.
Look out, Whistler.
There's just one problem with this dream. The local people don't seem to want it. Over the past decade, more than 6,000 of them have signed petitions opposing Jumbo Glacier Resort. (A significant number, given that just 9,000 live in Nelson.)
Last month the provincial Environmental Assessment Office began a 60-day public-comment period. At long last, the project has moved into its final phase. Tomorrow in Invermere, and Thursday, in Nelson, the public has just two chances to attend open houses on the project. It is a safe bet that representatives of Glacier Resorts Ltd. will get an earful.
Among those attending will be Meredith Hamstead, of the Jumbo Creek Conservation Society, who five months ago started urging members of the public to make sure their views are registered by April 13, when public consultation ends.
"After 13 years of hearing about Jumbo, people were starting to tune out. My biggest fear has been that people wouldn't bother to formally register their opinions — which would mean that years of protest could be ignored," she said.
A few days ago, Ms. Hamstead checked with the Environmental Assessment Office to see if people were getting the message and putting their views on record in letters or e-mails. "They have received about 1,000 communications opposing the project so far — and two in favour," said Ms. Hamstead. "So the opposition is there, the support is not. That's the way it's been since the beginning."
In an economically depressed area like the Kootenays, it is hard to understand why anyone would be against a project that promises to create 800 full-time jobs, and 1,000 person years of construction work.
Could it be that in the vast wilderness around them, the people of the Kootenays see something more important than economic opportunity?
Ms. Hamstead said the opposition is based on the fear that if a mid-size town is dropped into the Purcell Wilderness, the environmental values of the whole region will be diminished.
Two grizzly-bear studies support that view, warning that the "size and nature of the development will result eventually in the loss of bears locally and will diminish the viability of the regional population. ..... There are no examples in North America where grizzly bears have co-existed successfully with large human development over the long term."
The proponents say, "Forecasts of environmental disasters ..... are obvious exaggerations by people who have little understanding of the current approval standards and development process."
But residents of the Kootenays need only drive to Banff or Whistler if they want to see how ski resorts turn out. Some will marvel at those glittering mountain resorts, others will shudder at the thought of parking lots, condos and gondolas changing Jumbo Valley into party town.
The provincial cabinet will issue a ruling next fall. But the people of the Kootenays should really be the ones to make the decision — after all, they live there.
