Callaghan Country Wilderness Adventures Ltd.

• Mad River Nordic Ski Enterprises Ltd. (former)

Callaghan Country Wilderness Adventures Ltd. is a privately-held cross-country ski, snowshoe, and hiking area/company based in Whistler, operating on Crown Land since its inception in 1982 under the name Mad River Nordic Ski Enterprises Ltd. The company co-manages approximately 12,000 hectares with the Province of BC for the purposes of commercial outdoor recreation. Their facilities include 47 km of groomed ski trail surfaces, 17 km of snowshoe trails, 14 km of summer hiking trails, and 2 hectares of commercially zoned base facility known as the Alexander Falls Ski Touring Centre (offering parking for 150 vehicles, washroom facilities, food & beverage services, ski/rental shop, ski school, guest services, a daylodge, a maintenance facility, and staff housing). They also operate 1 hectare of commercially zoned overnight lodge accommodations known as Journeyman Lodge, situated in the Solitude Valley and offering full service (all inclusive pricing) overnight accommodation. Nic Slater, one of the company’s founders, was standing on the summit of Mount Callaghan, gazing out over a small, secluded valley and believed it suggested an ideal location for a backcountry retreat. With this vision etched in his mind, Nic solicited the assistance of his longtime friend, Brad Sills, to file an application with the BC government for a license to develop a wilderness adventure lodge. The short-term licences allowed the two ski enthusiasts to build the first small lodge just up off the shores of Conflict Lake. Over a decade later, the two were finally granted a long-term tenure to the area. Subsequent to that decision, a number of planning initiatives have created new land management entities that Callaghan Country's tenure was incorporated into. These included the creation of the Callaghan Lake Provincial Park, Section 58 Winter Motorized Recreation Closures, Local Resource Management Plan-Sea to Sky (LRUP) and the Callaghan Conservancy. The construction of a deluxe wilderness lodge in the Callaghan began in 1996. In such a remote location, with no road access, materials had to either be flown in by helicopter, or transported in the winter by Snowcat. Work continued through the winter with the crews living in tents and working long hours to complete the project. Despite the challenges, the first phase of Journeyman Lodge (originally called Powder Mountain Lakeside Lodge) officially opened in the fall of 1998. Coincidentally, at the same time as the Lodge was being completed, Brad was called into the very first meeting with Whistler's Mayor Hugh O'Reilly and two Vancouver businessmen, Arthur Griffiths and David Bentall, both of whom were soliciting support for a bid to host the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Whistler. Mad River Nordic Ski Enterprises fully supported the bid with host services into the area for technical delegates, planners, and International Olympic Committee (IOC) representatives. The company made presentations on weather and terrain that helped in capturing the domestic candidature required in order for Vancouver to bid internationally in 2003. In 2001, the company changed its name to Callaghan Country Wilderness Adventures and renamed the structure they had built Journeyman Lodge. 2002 saw the addition of of a brand new dedicated 13 km Nordic access trail linking Alexander Falls to the lodge in the Upper Callaghan Valley and an engineered sewer disposal and water treatment facilities were also added to the Lodge. The years between 1998 and 2010 saw much planning between the organizing committee for the Games, the Province, and Callaghan Country. After much discussion, it was resolved that Callaghan Country would surrender all of the lands required for the hosting of the Games in exchange for a commitment by all parties to work together in the long term to creating the world's most comprehensive Nordic ski facility. In 2007, Callaghan Country became next-door neighbours to the brand-new world-class Whistler Olympic Park, the official venue for the Nordic events at the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games. To take full advantage of the new trails and cross-country opportunities they provide, Callaghan Country introduced a Day-Use program for the 2007/2008 season. Callaghan Country now works with Whistler Olympic Park to deliver Ski Callaghan. The convenience of a single Ski Callaghan admission/season pass provides access to three day lodges and an expansive trail network of more than 130km to explore by ski or snowshoe.

Callaghan Valley
Alexander Falls
Whistler

Cross-country skiing trails
Hiking trails
Snowshoeing trails
Ski-touring lodge
Nordic centre

RAD, July 2008 version. Canadian Council of Archives.

Catalogued June 2023.

1) Archival material
2) https://www.callaghancountry.com/company-info--history.html
3) https://www.callaghancountry.com/callaghan-country-blog/archives/02-2017