January and February updates: “2019 so far”
THE WHISTLER BLACKCOMB STRATEGIC ALLIANCE TEAM
We started 2019 with a bang! Two full months of meaningful, engaging, fun and innovative events and activation's! Let’s review and celebrate what we accomplished together so far this year.
P: Mitch Winton, S: Meredith Eades
New Partnerships & Renewals
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Labatt
We are very excited to announce that we have renewed our partnership with Labatt Breweries of Canada! The legendary Kokanee Après will continue at Merlin’s, Dusty’s and the Garibaldi Lift Co. as well as our premium Kokanee Live shows with acts like Ocean Alley already scheduled for this June. Ski racers will continue speeding down the slopes in the Kokanee Valley Race Series and with summer just around the corner, we’ll host weekly mountain bike races as part of the Phat Wednesday’s program. All that and more to come through this long-standing partnership.
Partner Activations
Kicking off 2019!
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CÎROC Vodka presents New Year’s Eve
The Garibaldi Lift Co. rang in the New Year in style with CÎROC, DJ Foxy Moron and slope-side fireworks. For the sold-out event, guests were greeted with custom CÎROC cocktails and enjoyed a bubbly toast at midnight.
GMC Race Center + Next Gen Sierra Village Activations
With the launch of the Next Generation Sierra, GMC took Skier’s Plaza by storm in both January and February with their newest AT4 and Denali trucks, alongside our tricked out GMC Sierra All-Mountain 2.0. Guests warmed up with free hot chocolate all day long and took home GMC custom branded google wipes and lip balm. Meanwhile on Blackcomb Mountain, GMC also animated the Race Centre with more swag, free hot chocolate and exclusive racing tips by a ski pro to anyone that came through the course. The GMC All-Mountain 1.0 truck was on site blasting music and creating a fun atmosphere before guests took to the course to race their friends in a head-to-head giant slalom format.
Presented by Kokanee
The Whistler Blackcomb Deep Winter Photo Challenge
On January 11th, six photographers went head-to-head in the 13th annual Deep Winter Photo Challenge. Hosted at The Fairmont Chateau Whistler, the sold-out crowd took in five-minute slideshows that each of the photographers created after they spent 72 hours shooting athletes in the mountains around Whistler. Ming T. Poon, Lake Tahoe based photographer and director of photography edged out five other competitors to take the top spot, winning the $5,000 grand prize. Local Kieran Brownie earned second place while Vancouver's Jake Dyson took third. But the biggest prize of the night went to local photographer, Bruin Alexander who took home 500 cans of Kokanee for best integration of the famed mountain beer into his slideshow.
"Break the Ice" with Icebreaker
From January 19th to 21st, Icebreaker set-up shop atop Whistler Mountain, with a custom-made cabin experience to expose guests to their merino wool baselayer line. Guests were invited to pick an ice block and ‘break the ice’ for a chance to win free baselayers, gift with purchase and other great prizes. Guests could also cozy up by the fire pits or soak in product knowledge with the help of Icebreaker product experts.
Quiksilver “Generations Snow” Movie Premier
On the very snowy Tuesday evening of January 22nd, the Garibaldi Lift Co. hosted Quiksilver including riders Austin Sweetin and Griffin Siebert, for the premier of their newest snow film, Generations - a compilation of rider-focused shorts. The crowd was treated to a variety of short films including Sweetin’s HIGH OCTANE, an 8 1/2 minute climactic portrayal of snowboard savagery.
ROXY #Make Waves Move Mountains Tour Stop
From Southern California to Snapper Rocks and Fukuoka to France, ROXY has been on the road for their Make Waves, Move Mountains tour and recently stopped in Whistler. To kick things off, ROXY hosted an in-store hangout on January 23rd at the Quiksilver and ROXY shop on Whistler’s Village Stroll. Guests were invited to a pop-up night of boozy kombucha cocktails, tarot card readings and of course, shopping! On the 26th, lady shredders took to the mountains for a ski and ride day with ROXY’s backcountry queen, Robin Van Gyn. The day included coaching, a mini rail jam, a mountain-top chillzone, awards, giveaways, ROXY swag bag and of course, an après.
CIBC Aventura Interactive Suitcase
Whistler Blackcomb and CIBC celebrated BC Family Day on Monday, February 18th with an interactive set-up in skier’s plaza at the base of Whistler. Guests who played the digital game on an interactive Aventura suitcase over the weekend were awarded with gifts ranging from GoPro’s, Goggles, $10-$100 Gift Cards to Whistler Blackcomb and Aventura Travel Points!
CLIF Bar Sampling
On February 17th and 18th during Family Day Weekend, CLIF Bar surprised skiers and snowboarders on Whistler Mountain with some extra fuel for the day. They offered guests warm samples of their new Fruit Smoothie CLIF Bars.
Oakley Week
From February 20th to 24th, Oakley athletes returned to Whistler Blackcomb to takeover Canada’s premier mountain resort and host Oakley Week – a week-long series of on and off-hill events rooted in performance. Oakley athletes Sébastien Toutant, Charles Reid, Jamie Anderson, Rusty Ockenden and more attended the celebration that included events, giveaways, product demos, and opportunities to ride with these athletes. Additional events during Oakley week included Oakley Prizm Demo Centres, Golden Ticket giveaways and the NEW Snake Run.
presented by Jackson-Triggs
Peak To Valley Race
This year, we celebrated the 35th Anniversary of The Peak to Valley race presented by Jackson-Triggs, a long standing and unique team race on Whistler Mountain. Teams of four, race a course which starts on the Whistler Saddle and finishes at Dusty's in the Creekside. This year’s race took place February 22nd & 23rd and Mother Nature certainly kicked things off with some snowy, challenging conditions on Friday, but racers pushed through it! The average Giant Slalom race has 35 gates and a vertical drop of 250 metres, while The Peak to Valley race has 180 gates and a vertical drop of 1,443 metres and a course that's over 5 km long, pushing racers to go all out! Throughout the weekend participants and guests were given the opportunity to try different varietals of Jackson-Triggs wine, including a welcome drink on-board their gondola ride up to Roundhouse Lodge for the celebratory awards banquet.
Kokanee Valley Race Series
Kicking off on January 10th, the Giant Slalom race series returned for another season. With no racing experience required, the series is open to both females and males, skiers and snowboarders and offers a range of age divisions – it’s no wonder this is a famed Whistler event. With races having taken place on January 10th, 17th and February 14th and 28th, we are now gearing up for the finals on March 21st.
Smirnoff House Party
The Garibaldi Lift Co. transformed to host TWO epic Smirfnoff House Party events so far this season. On December 28th, DJ Foxy Moron opened the show and headliner Mark Farina kept the party going late into the night. With a brand new set and lighting, Fort Knox opened the show and Skiitour headlined the GLC’s February 4th Smirnoff House Party. The next date has yet to be announced, but we have a few great DJs in the pipeline, stay tuned!
Inniskillin and Ravenswood
Winemaker Après
Interested in a new way to après? Perched 6,000 feet atop Whistler with stunning views from Steeps Grill & Wine Bar, guests are treated to a full-course luncheon complete with wine pairings – a total feast for your senses and truly a one-of-a-kind way to après. We kicked-off the series on January 9th with BC winery, Inniskillin and the second took place on February 26th with California winery, Ravenswood. Joel Peterson, founder of Ravenwood and “The Godfather of Zin” wowed the sold-out crowd with his story telling for each wine pairing. Tickets are still available for the final winemakers après happening on April 10th, don’t miss it!
Monster Energy presents Skiitour Après
Rocking the Garibaldi Lift Co. once again, Monster Energy hosted their killer Skiitour Après with two more pumping sets on the back patio on January 23rd and February 27th. Guests enjoyed Monster Energy bucket cocktails and rocked full retro ski attire.
Monster Energy presents Old School Hip Hop
Monster Energy hosted the first two Old School Hip Hop nights at the Garibaldi Lift Co. Monster Energy cocktails were flowing and the dance floor was jam packed with hip hop enthusiasts listening to tunes from some of the finest DJs - Mat The Alien, DJ Pump, and Vinyl Ritchie.
Upcoming Events
| March 16 - 17 | GMC Sierra Village activation + GMC Race Centre |
| March 16 - 17 | CLIF Bar St. Patrick's Day Sampling |
| March 21 | Kokanee Valley Races Series - FINALS |
| March 21 - 24 | Nintendo Switch Sampling |
| March 29 | King of the Spring presented by CLIF |
| April 10 | Winemakers Après with NK'MIP Cellars |