An Abandoned Ski Resort next to Whistler
Vložit
- čas přidán 5. 09. 2024
- SUBSCRIBE: bit.ly/lifeofluke
The story of Brohm Ridge ski resort development is one that dates back to the 1950's. In between Whistler and Squamish, and next to Garibaldi Provincial Park, sits Brohm ridge where old gondola lift foundations dot the mountainside, and at the top, a European Alps style chalet. The history of this ambitious ski resort dream is fascinating, and the future of the area is still up in the air.
Thanks for watching!
Video and editing by Luke Gibson.
If you liked this video, you can buy me a coffee at this link:
www.ko-fi.com/...
Follow me!
Instagram: / shotsbyluke
Further reading:
Squamish Chief 2020 article - www.squamishch...
Garibaldi at Squamish - www.garibaldia...
Tyee 2012 article - thetyee.ca/Med...
Squamish Times 1980 article - squamishlibrar...
Brohm Ridge 2019 article - www.squamishch...
Music: (in order of appearance)
Nihilore - Who Are You At War With Now
www.nihilore.co...
www.nihilore.com/
Licensed under Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0)
creativecommon...
Pictures Of The Floating World - Bogong
freemusicarchi...
Licensed under Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0)
creativecommon...
Jahzzar - Guilty
freemusicarchi...
Licensed under Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0)
creativecommon...
You're giving off strong Yukon Cornelius vibes in this one
Hahaha, spot on!
that's what I'm going for!
do you know cole schmidt
Slurp slurp slurp.........nothin! 😅🤣😅
I was the last watchman at Garibaldi Glacier Resort when it was in receivership. The opening concrete structure you filmed was mid terminal where the gondola was to change direction. I have photos of the wood structure that was the building. I also have about 240 other photos of the other infrastructures from back in the late 60's, early 70's. Including all 4 buildings at the top and of the base station building. The concrete foundation that you show at the top was to be a 5 story hotel and the terminal for the gondola as well as base for a chairlift to the top of the ridge. I still go there to enjoy the views.
In your opinion is there enough snowpack to make this a viable resort? Living in the okanagan we all know that has changed alot in the last 40 years. You have a great story to tell!
@@robw.6402 Yes the snow pack has changed a lot. There is not enough snow to make it viable.
Trying again to post this....
There is a little cabin on the north edge of Brohm ridge. It is owned and used by someone. Any idea as to the back gound of this cabin? If youn know where it is it can be seen on google earth.
I am very interested in those photos of the top cabin I grew up there
I bumped into some guys up there once and they gave me a tour of both cabins, got pretty lucky to see it all
Ya I imagine the inside is pretty interesting and has a lot of history as well
any more info on chalet?
Great work! I'm a huge fan of abandoned ski resort content. I am now a subscriber. I run a small ski area in WA state. We are doing our best to stay our of the abandoned category.
What resort do you run? I live in WA, would love to make a trip there.
@@cadesk8r samezies
What resort? Sounds cool
I'm interested in any info you have of local abandoned resorts in the PNW.
@@EMMETT.mp4 One I know of is yodelin, their old parking is now the farthest stevens lot
Canada does not need any more ski resorts. Support your locally owned hill near you. Thanks for the upload Luke.
everyone who’s ever been to a vancouver mountain disagrees with u
@Harry Groundwater Vancouver is full. If you want quiet ski hills go live elsewhere
When was the last time you tried skiing on the weekend in the lower mainland?
I hope the new ski area does come into existence, There should be enough snow country for all. I am a retired ski area employee, lifts, .maintenance and the golf course summer work. Onward!!
Black Tusk is so beautiful.
I'm all for it. Keep the ski industry alive and growing
This was so cool! I've heard they've been trying to develop this area for years but had no idea tower foundations had been poured and a chalet built in the 70s.
I love that Swiss style chalet. Go for it, would love this come to fruition.
That style's pretty common in the area, but a lot of them are being renovated into monster houses that don't resemble the original structure.
Thanks for this one very interesting as per usual.
This is another Jumbo Glacier Mountain Resort. Until existing ski resorts are at capacity consistently we don't need to be expanding or developing new projects. Just because the Aquilini family has the cash to do so doesn't make it the right. But of course they will call in a few favors, flood the Legislature with paid lobbyists and grossly over state construction and resort jobs to push the application across the finish line. All in the name of "look at me I've got my very own ski hill', but ultimately they will go skiing in Aspen Co for the photo ops. We've kept them off Jumbo Mountain hoping same for Squamish.
Great installment looking forward to the next one, thanks.
Downhill skiing is way too expensive for the average guy living in his mum's basement. Silent sports are the way to go. Xc or bc skiing, cycling, hiking. Be smart, form clubs, share expenses, dont go into the backcountry alone, preferably groups of 4. You experienced people know what I'm talking about.....
Requirements:
Cycling a bike and a road
Hiking a pair of boots and topo
Xc/bc skis and a trail
Thankfully Jumbo has been stopped!
How bad is the traffic and housing prices in that part of BC already?
Jumbo doesn't have 2.5 million people living within 2 hours of the resort.
I'd much prefer Aquilini to improve the flawed lift system at Revelstoke before spending money developing a ski area elsewhere.
You could reach out to the black tusk club for accurate info.
There is some really cool Info that you could add to this vid.
There is a member of the club that worked on the project, and has some amazing stories and accurate info.
I think the GAS project is about a land grab for building condos, it’s not about skiing.
They will have a hard time, with the development as there is no water up there.
Great story!
Reminded me of the hikes to the old ski jumping tower back in Revelstoke, BC
And boy, did things changed over there! 😀
Cheers, dude!
Hi Miguel.......I heard you, and yes I beem coming to Revelstoke for the past six winters and every trip when I have to leave I look all around me and really, I pray for the best of this community and to better manage the real deep changes that will negativly affects Revelstoke........I got concerning, society still needs this small and calm places.....even more these days. Alohas from Maui!
Great video. Interesting history and thanks for telling us the story.
Thank you!
Luke. You never disappoint Sir! Another perfect presentation 🙂
Cheers!
-Allan
Beautiful mountains.
Fantastic find Luke!
Incredible chalet and terrain! Thanks!
Always pleased when you upload
Love to hear that!
There's lots to consider , but I think it would take the stress off of Whistler . Great video !
For the real skiers, Whistler became a no go place! Too crowed !
Who cares about whistler? They certainly don't care about us!
Wouldn't take the stress off hwy 99 tho
Been there many times on sled, this area is more suitable for sled and ski touring really.
give the people as much as possible... There will always be more for remote thrill seekers! This is just good for the soul.... the more mountains skiable the better for humanity! don't worry, you can still access backcountry!
Great content as always.
This was a great find thanks for making this video.
Thanks Jeff!
There was also a hill called "Rainbow Valley"....Whistler and Blackcomb ended that hill.
It was North of Whistler.
Ya I read about that one too while researching this
So sad how this mega corps are killing everything on their path!!!
fernando g. aguirre whistler was still privately owned and relatively small when this happened
@@lifeofluke would love to see a video on this Luke
What a great neutral report on this interesting story! Great job!
Thanks Kurt, I was trying to tell both sides of the story!
In late 70’s I almost ended up one fall season becoming live in security at the lodge
great video! this is one I've been super curios about the last few months, so glad you made this video.
Wow........It's very nice to know that there's options out of Whistler/ Blackcomb, as much as I love and have my best skiing memories at Whistler few years back I decided to move on towards to the interior of BC, on my search fpr smaller and less crowed resort areas. Whistler became a somehow Disneyland, so crowed and comrecially so aggressive! I hope BC authorities and the community finds middle terms ground to move forward with this treasure ! I found a great meaning of not everything has to be ruined by big corps!
Another great video. Love the history.
Stunning scenery and a little known background story.
I use to ride my dirt bike here
Incredible Luke!
Thanks Jon!
Your the man Luke. Keep it up
Great to see you in my neck of the woods pal! Quite the contentious issue with GAS here :P. Thanks for the video!
Thanks James, it is, and my goal was to just tell it from a neutral perspective
Love love love the abandonment videos.
If you ever want to visit Baltimore, I could hip you to dozens of abandoned industrial sites.
Thanks Frank, I'd like that!
@@lifeofluke I am not a bot, a troll, or a shill poster. That said, I think you might dig videos by Ninurta here on CZcams
I'll have a look
Awesome video, thanks for sharing!
Thanks Condy!
The chalet is at 5300' which I presume is at the top of the ridge. In my opinion the elevation is too low for consistent good snow conditions, especially going forward. Whistler/Blackcomb tops out at 8,000 feet and is much farther from the ocean. New ski resorts have to be built higher, not lower. Great video Luke.
Yep, that's right on, being too low to have consistent snow and cold enough temps is the main criticism of this project
@@lifeofluke Hi Luke, love the videos. I was ambivalent about Jumbo Ski resort but it did have the perfect location. The spine and height of the Purcell mountains with a 5500' base and 11,000 foot top. Glaciers, tons of natural snow, good terrain. But hey, if you can afford heli skiing, the options up there are infinite. The location is very close to your Thunderbird mine video, I have to say that was my favourite video so far. Keep exploring mate, well done. Cam
Cypress mountain is at 4800' and closer to the city. This abandoned mountain @ 5300' would be the in-between of Whistler 8000' . I like it. 👍
@@lifeofluke and there is no reliable water source, even today. Even the original project called for water to be trucked in to the chalet.
hey free to roam, the old chalet is literally at the start of the ridge proper then a possible 1000 feet more if lucky would get you to the end of the ridge connecting off the north side of mnt garibaldi, snow depth up there is huge in places depending on wind deposits, had a tour of the chalet a decade back by snowmobile club dude, the decor is german porn from the late seventies, , as for the ski hill option there is not much terrain there, if you go south from the top of the ridge you die in a chasm, westerly is not great either, at best the old mid station would be a terminus, beyond that snow accumulation would tail off quick as it is to low, most of the skiing potential would be to the north west of the ridge itself, still a small old cabin sitting there, in comparison to whistler blackcomb this area is puny with very limited vertical drop, hell even hemlock probably surpasses it for overall usable terrain..
I lived in Whistler from spring 99- winter 2004. They have been talking getting a resort since then.
Just by the chalet is a foundation of a cabin that was Dean Martins the rat pack used to hang out up there
Ahhh - love this video!
thanks
Beautiful video Luke.!:)
fun trail to dirt bike in the summer
Send here by a friend of yours, you should coveer Forbidden Plateau Mountain. Pat Kittos a great guy to talk to for more info on it.
You look like Yukon Cornelius at 3:33 😂
hey dude you should keep stuff like this not known to the internet. More people know the more it gets populated and then it sucks.
I would like to see self-propelled sports like AT, XC and other sports become more popular because it doesn't require putting up all those lifts. Maybe a resort with a modest lodge around a network of ski trails and a skating rink would strike a good balance between providing employment and taxes to fund conservation efforts, while at the same time providing an alternative to big resorts like Whistler and Altera properties. I think back country skiing could be made more popular if it were easier to get to the trail head and did not involve carrying so much stuff. In Quebec, it is enjoying a resurgence, as abandoned areas and even golf courses became ski areas during the pandemic.
Ski touring has become incredibly popular in BC too since the pandemic.
Why would you want to see backcountry skiing become MORE popular?! There are already too many people out there swarming all the nice areas…and yeah,…carrying a pack is just part of the experience…y’know, self-sufficiency?!
I live in Squamish man that foundation at the bottom is just an old house if you want to see the base of the lift you take a right after you cross the bridge going into the Squamish dirt bike association club zone and it's in the center of their trails
Been living in Squamish for 10 years and i can tell you that nobody that i know want this resort.
Except everyone in the construction and realty industry? Give your head a shake..
18,000 toilets takes a bunch of water.
@@tonycailes9843 Good thing we have professionals to calculate that, rather then a guy who just typed that from sitting on one.
The throne is now yours, Sir
I can definitely say that one of the primary issues of the environmental assessment had to do with water and where such large volumes would come from, the Paradise Valley aquifer was mentioned and naturally the residents of Paradise Valley were concerned about their drinking water security. I'm not picking a side, I'm just bringing the topic up for discussion
@@lifeofluke I'm aware, I'm a local, thanks for bringing it up for everyone else 😉
I own a construction buisness and home in the area, it's a win- win for me
Love your videos! What breed is your dog? He looks like a border collie. It shows you really love him.
The lift base is down the road form the concrete you showed at the end I was told that was a spot for a snow cat originally
Quite an informative video, Luke. The scenery is superb. What a waste of money.👍👍
ive biked up there its a blast!
Love your adventures 🌄👍
Thanks for watching, Belinda!
Good job dude. I loved it.
Obrigado Ailison!
Looks like a very cool place to explore - cheers!
Thank you! Excellent vid. With the popularity of Whistler i am thrilled to hear 4 Seasons is endeavouring to take on this project. I think there is still lots of room there for the sledders. In Chatter Creek, the sledders are part of the ski resort. Hopefully th 4S will embrace the other winter passtime of snowmobiling in this new ski resort.
I was up there in the summer of 2018. Someone told me that the “Brat Pack” were some of the investors.
Great video!
You helped me understand! I wish it had become a ski resort… it would have helped the town of Squamish so much..
..would have helped squamish become to expensive for the average person, much like whistler is today...
Steamboat and Telluride are still pretty cool, but Aspen not so much. Less western more European billionaire.
No opinion either way. Epic video IMO the way you presented all the info was awesome, or you could say great editing and overdubs. Thanks
Thanks Milo!
Sick video Luke!! 🔥 🔥
Brohm Ridge is not "next door to Whistler". It is very close to Squamish. With a much shorter snow season than Whistler.
Open and develop it!!
Great reporting 👏 ...you should be a reporter for the news ...
Build it!
As of May 2021 they are still talking about making this a real thing.
beautiful. looks like genuine austria/tyrol.
Cool place thanks
Sea to sky highway does not need anymore weekend traffic jams
development can be done correctly with with the terrain of the area and environment. And the resort should work with those groups already using the area as they would know it best.
There is no reliable water source on the mountain and GAS wants the whole development for themselves, excluding any outside groups.
I really don't get why people don't like this idea but it would definitely be hard to have a good amount of snow for the whole season when the elevation is definitely lower then whistler
That's definitely one of the main concerns
What sunglasses are those? They are so sick!!
Smith Wildcat
squam needs a snowboarding hill
Great riding.....the aquilinis will end that when they put apartment up there and really fuck up a nice area.
theGondola was built in74 ..I am old guy who skied there many times ..gangsters like braun raised money in hollywood,,,he was last seen in hawaii,,,, Great snow..... great terrain.....forget the bs Whistler is over crowed......viva brohm ridge build it NOW!!!!!!!!
construction on the gondola stopped in 1972 when the resort went into receivership. it was never completed
Track me down your next up, I have keys for the buildings.
The GAS proposal has 18,000 toilets and no water. The chalet has 15 bathrooms that are not used, no water on Brohm never has been.
Must be great ski terrain for developers to consider creating a new resort in this day and age . . . Hope it happens.
What a shame, so many hunters are going to be pissed if this project gets the green again and it just might actually.
On one hand, it would bring people out to see such beautiful sights and enjoy the landscape.
On the other hand…..
Commercialized nature. 😑
A bunch of snowboarders ran 1/2 pipe camps up there in the late 90s. The modern super pipe was invented THERE.
Damn, that's interesting, I didn't know about that!
Ya its was called Super Pipe and was completed hand shaped by volunteers just so they could ride. Everyone stayed in the cabin with a private chef. It was pretty awesome.
@@seanokeefe384 Greg Todd's, AL Clark ect...
Galardi family own the stars and the Aquilini family own the canucks. And I'm pretty sure the two won't work together
anybody have any more info on how to get to or rent this chalet> have seen it in an old snowboarding show years ago and live near squamish and ive always wanted to check this out
Get in touch with Black Tusk snowmobile club www.btsc.ca/cpages/home
Tough call; opens spaces or jobs. Everyone has their priorities.
I’ve been up to Brohm Ridge and very breath taking bowl area. I have seen the future plans and it could be a good resort if the snow is not too wet or unpredictable due to the warmish waters in Howe Sound. I do think Whistler Mountain will do everything it possibly can to stop this resort as they certainly don’t want more competition close by that could possibly erode their market share from both the lower mainland and the US northwest. Hope it moves forward for Squamish growth but ski resorts are very expensive to develop and they need the land development side to usually make the business case numbers work.
Whistler is insanely busy and not even a joy to go to on weekends anymore. An extra hour in traffic in each direction and then 1 hour waiting for base gondolas not to mention the $200-300 it costs for a day there. This project would easily take up all the love capacity of Whistler, Cypress and the local mountains.
I was gonna mention the snow also...seems this was film early season...
Is the base of this at Cat Lake? I have videos of us performing at the base.
in that area, yes
yes a hard right just off the 99 at cat lake turnoff was where a lower lodge or building of some sort was, long gone.
I love Cat Lake and Brohm Lake....dude pronounced it wrong...as well as alpine. Must not be a local. I lived in Squamish and Cheakamus growing up....never knew this existed. I do remember a lower lodge though.....However, talk of a ski resort in the Squamish area was tossed around in conversation by the adults but truly....even as a kid I knew there wasn't enough snowfall and truly all it did was rain in winter for the most part. I haven't been back since 1999 but...I'm sure a Ski Hill will raise the cost of living too high that many locals won't be able to afford their own hometown and that's just sad. Nature does not need to be commercialized to the enth degree!!
@@reverendjimjones9061 It was the base station building for the gondola
@@CassiarClan thanks don, i had seen what was left of it in my travels way back when and i am talking early eighties.
Don't worry not enough interest or expansion in downhill skiing for the area.. and it will hurt the presently running ski resorts in the area.
Let's throw down, make it Whistler 2.0. Only problem is, they keep spraying stuff in the sky and it's messing up the natural snow fall 😒
Nevermind, somebody's already on it.
I like that the key part is environmental approval. Geez. That doesn’t scream ridiculous political red tape and excessive costs.
Why not shooting the video of a ski run down from summit?
Save public land for public use, advertised on a private building.
Ironic how recreation clubs halt access and opportunity for recreation. Something tells me these people just want the area for themselves and nobody else.
How does one get here
from vancouver b.c. drive north on the 99 to squamish b.c. , just north of town center by around five km is alice lk turnoff, brohm ridge road forks easterly off of road to and before alice lake.
I used get up there in the summer in the mid 80’s. I remember hearing that the lift towers were not tall enough to properly clear the snow that fell back then. Cool to see it again. Glad it failed though and I hope GAS meets the same fate. Alpine skiing growth is flat. The last thing we need in the province or in the Sea to Sky corridor is another ski hill ( a marketing term for real estate development ). Let it die a slow expensive death like Jumbo.
Typical that one of the groups opposing the plans occupies a big chalet in the middle of the area built by a group intent on developing the area. Really raises doubts about conflicts of interest, save the environment Vs save our personal playground.
been sledding up there for 30 years... never going to happen, lack of snow and too much competition on n shore and whistler.
I’m still hoping for the ski resort at Cheam in Chilliwack BC to become a reality.
I don't know enough about that one, I'll have to read about it
Sasquatch mountain in Mission has had a hard go of it for 20 years with weather always being an issue, I don't see how Cheam could be successful as a downhill mountain but as mixed use 4 seasons with snowmobile and backcountry snow show etc, it might work.
does your dog have boots to protect his paws on hard snow?
Nope, but it's never been a problem as her paws are tough
Difficult highest, best use issues.
Glad I did not have to walk up. Interesting. Poor planning and architecture is old. The obvious challenge is 'life cycle' as shown by abandoned structures. Whistler has abandoned lift equipment. Removal as the end of use has to be included in any development. Development must have a more inclusive scope than done previously.
thank god it's still undeveloped, may the developers and speculators loose their shirts.