Squamish - and specifically the base of the iconic Stawamus Chief - would be a great place for a national climbing centre. Our rocks, including not only the Chief but also the Smoke Bluffs, make our town a climber's paradise, and with a major tourist route running past its doors, such a centre would certainly be a draw.
What's more, the centre's proponents have trotted out an impressive sampling of locals to provide statements of support for such a facility. Among those quoted on the press release issued on Tuesday (March 8) about the proposal were Will Stanhope, the Squamish-based internationally recognized rock guide, Jeff Levine, owner of Sea to Sky Adventure Co., and George Chang, owner of Pause Café and Karin's Kitchen Corner. When promoting a proposal of this nature, it's important to show that you've already talked to locals and have their enthusiastic support.
We're not here to stunt anyone's enthusiasm. As mentioned, it's a terrific idea - if that's all it is. But of course, it's not. There's a lot more to this proposal, and at the risk of stating the brutally obvious (as opposed to just the merely obvious), the devil's in the details.
After articles about the proposal appeared this week on news websites, including The Chief's, the comments started to trickle in. One Chief reader pointed out that the proponents said nothing about seeking endorsements from groups such as the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides, the Alpine Club of Canada or Climbing Competition Canada. Certainly endorsements from one or more of those groups would be needed to be able to call the facility a "National Climbing Centre" (with capital letters).
A couple of other readers pointed out that the climbing centre proposal is simply an amenity tied to a housing development proposal. Wrote one, "This is an idea dreamed up by developers to push their condo development through. I would be more comfortable with the idea if a national climbing centre was part of a strategic plan for tourism development in Squamish, and this developer was offering to build it." Building a multi-million-dollar facility hoping to attract tourism dollars is "wishful thinking," the reader stated.
We've seen it happen so many times: A developer promises amenities - hotels and other tourism infrastructure, much-desired recreation facilities, parks, etc. - in exchange for the right to develop and sell real estate. Sometimes it works well for all involved, sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes the "amenities" are built right away and become valuable community assets, and sometimes they're either slow to materialize (i.e. the homes get built first and sold before the stated "amenity" starts to take shape) or for a variety of reasons, don't happen at all.
This writer agrees that on its surface, such a facility is a good fit for Squamish. And it's worth a closer look. But let's make sure we keep the community's values and desires top of mind and go into this with our eyes wide open.
- David Burke
