As a teenager I spent many a winter weekend skiing at Whistler. My family and another family had a house at Emerald Estates, and we would rotate.

In those days (mid-70s) Whistler was not the corporate play station it is today but a series of upstart developments amidst a waning ski bum culture. The biggest change between Whistler then and now is Whistler Village, built on what was once the town dump.

Thoughts like these were on my mind as I made my way along "The Stroll”, killing time before a dinner hosted by the local bourgeoisie and a screening of Hard Core Logo 2, Bruce McDonald’s sequel to a film based on my book, Hard Core Logo.

It was a pleasant dinner, served buffet-style in a log cabin mansion, the kind of architecture Whistler is known for. Something else the town is known for: ex-Albertans. Had I more time I would have asked them what they did, and what brought them to a mountain like Whistler.