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Escarpment Magaz ine Spr ing 2012
Thank you for publishing Nancy Greene Raine's article Skiing for Dummies-101. I keep a
collection of influential sports books and articles, and Nancy's piece has a place there. When
an Olympic champion, two time overall World Cup champion and icon of skiing for almost
half a century writes on the basics of technique it’s worth reading by skiers of all levels, again
and again. Balance and control...the key to so much in life, and definitely to skiing.
~
Craig Webster | Toronto | The Blue Mountains
I always love to read different perspectives and
ideas about skiing – I think the more information
and ideas out there – the more opportunities
there are for people to learn. I am a HUGE
Nancy Greene fan! She is one of the most dec-
orated ski racers in Canadian history, she was
my hero growing up. I had the pleasure of
meeting her in person when I was quite young
and I always wanted to be just like her!
I think it is amazing that she has given and
continues to give so much back to the
sport. She is exemplary of what a sport
icon should be – give back and share your
passion with others and bring new people
out to enjoy the incredible feelings of free-
dom, exhilaration and excitement sliding down a
snow covered hillside in the sun, wind and fresh air –
what could be better? Thanks Nancy.
~
Heather Metzger | Director of Athlete Development | Alpine Ontario
I appreciate the magazine media in a digital world. At
a "60’s & 70’s vinyl record party" I recently attended,
I saw some amazing art on the album covers. We took
it for granted back then, but it is now a lost media and
our kids don't know what they are missing with single
tracks buried in a iPod. A magazine has the potential
to be like that album cover but is often ho hum.
Escarpment magazine is one of my favorites due to the
artistic value of how it is presented. Awork of art, beau-
tiful and thought out. That's a real draw for me and it
stands out amongst the other mags.
Thank you for having or finding the skill to do that.
~
John Lawler | Barrie | The Blue Mountains
Thank you for supporting our choir through your mag-
azine. Many people mentioned to me that they had
seen the notice in your magazine for our Christmas
concerts. We presented two concerts in Collingwood
with around 470 attending, as well as a smaller con-
cert in Creemore with close to 100 attending. Interest
in our presentations is growing. Many thanks for help-
ing us to get the word out about our concerts.
~
Jill Doble | Publicity Director | Sound Investment Community Choir
On behalf of Hospice Georgian Triangle
and Vel Ivardi of Royal LePage, I would
like to thank you for your very generous
donation of advertising space to help us
promote the 2012 Charity Ski Day. The
event was a great success and we were
able to donate $20,000 to Hospice.
These proceeds will enable us to con-
tinue our support to the community and
plan for the future.
~
Judy Bowman | Hospice Ski Day | Committee
Your “In Conversation” interview with Gord Canning, President of
Blue Mountain Resort, was impressive, nostalgic and very entertain-
ing. It was very informative to have the record “set straight” by the
President on who did what, when, why and how.
It’s a terrific success story that all of us who enjoy spending time
on the Escarpment feel very much a part of. I enjoyed reading
credit given to the key people outside the family who were so in-
strumental in the Resort’s years following Jozo’s passing.
Gord candidly laid out the family’s passion for “Blue Moun-
tain” and their understanding of what it would take to success-
fully evolve the business. His negotiation and subsequent
partnering with Interwest is now legendary.
It was an excellent interview with a visionary businessman
— well done Deena!
~
Paul Woodhouse | Sales Manager CTV Barrie
As a recent business graduate and current employee of Blue Mountain Resorts, I was fasci-
nated to read about the evolution of the company in your recent article, 'People in Conversation'
with Gord Canning. This piece gave a unique insight into the development of an unusual family-run
company. I was particularly struck by the family's response many years ago to the unexpected
death of the company's founder Jozo Weider: lacking a succession plan, the next generation
made no major decisions for a year and took the time to map out their future course. (This is a strat-
egy not typically taught at business school - but in this case it was highly successful.) I have great re-
spect for the results - a successful tourism destination that has survived changing demographics and
customer needs through the past 41 years while continuing to honour the original integrity of
Jozo's vision to operate a public ski resort.
~
Margaret Wilton-Siegel | Operations Administrative Assistant | Blue Mountain Resorts Limited
Re: Skiing for Dummies 101 by Nancy Greene Raine - pgs.14-21
Re: In Conversation with Gord Canning - pgs.32-35
about our last issue - Winter
2012
escarpment
reader’s notes
1
Winter 2012
Escarpment Magaz ine
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scarpmen
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G E O R G I A N B AY L I V I N G
maga z i n e
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ESCARPMENTMAGAZINE.CA
WE’RE PRICELESS! PLEASE TAKE A COPY HOME
winter 2012
still
white
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of the
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Escarpment Magaz ine
Winter
2012
Welcome to the wonderful world of skiing.
I'm writing this article for people who have not skied, or who haven't skied for many years. If you're a
long time skier, however, you might find it interesting. Most of us have helped people learn to ski and
while I always encourage people to take lessons, in reality there are many people who would rather
learn from a friend. So, if you are that friend and you want to share your passion for our great sport,
read on. There are many myths when it comes to skiing and I would love to help explode them. With
the new equipment skiing is so easy to learn that everyone should give it a try.
So for you non-skiers: if you're wondering what it feels like to ski, think of this. Imagine you are riding
down a hill with gravity doing the work and you are just coasting and enjoying the view. Now imagine
that you didn't have to peddle up the hill! That's why skiing is so much fun -- we have ski lifts! Learning
to ski is like learning to ride a bike, first you have to learn to balance on it and to steer, and certainly
you would never ride down a hill if there were no brakes. Those are the same skills you need for skiing,
especially how to slow down and stay in control.
Skiing
for
DUMMIES
-101
by
NANCY GREENE RAINE
©
ILLUSTRATIONS | TED COULING
15
Winter 2012
Escarpment Magaz ine
Nancy Greene Raine skiing at Sun Peaks Resort / Paul Morrison photo
32
Escarpment Magaz ine
Winter
2012
i n conve r s a t i on
Escarpment:
The 41 years since Jozo Weider's passing have brought count-
less changes to Blue Mountain Resorts - how do you think Jozo would feel about
the transformation of his mountain as it is today?
Gord:
I've never actually asked the family this question but I think generally,
everyone believes that Jozo would be pleased with the evolution of the Resort.
Back in the late 60's Jozo produced a large sketch of a residential development
spanning across the base of the Mountain. Jozo's plan was fairly simple and
called for single family Ski Chalets —Austrian Ski Village architecture was the
popular theme in those days. He had already begun to implement his planwith
a subdivision at Blue Mountain’s south end which required the installation of a
private water system on the Mountain and a sewage lagoon Jozo also devel-
oped a sixplex condominiumwhichwas one of the earliest inGrey County. I re-
call seeing a sign posted at the Tranquility double chair, "Condominiums
$19,500". Not one sold. Condominium lawwas just being introduced and buy-
ers were relatively suspicious of the concept. We later built the 42 unit Cachet
Crossing on that site.
Jozo loved skiing and one of his primary goals was to ensure that BlueMountain
would always remain open to the public. In the summer of 1971 he opened
discussions with the Provincial Ministry of Natural Resources. Those discussions
went nowhere however, and it was shortly after that when Jozo died and now,
here we are forty years hence and it is still a public facility.
Escarpment:
Operating a family business can be complicated - why/how did
the Weider/Canning combination work so well?
Gord:
The circumstances forced us to come together as a family very
quickly. We really had no plan and none of us had any formal experience
in running a business. We received wonderful advice from our long-time
director and friend Urban Joseph. I had joined Jozo on a temporary basis
in April 1971 while I was working on an MBA. I knew math and 70's era
computers, George was teaching and Don McGillivray (married to Helen
Weider) was a medical doctor. Urban urged us to do nothing for a year.
Great advice.
One can not enter into a conversation about skiing at Blue Mountain
without considering the importance of Jozo Weider and his vision of
skiing in Collingwood that began back in 1941. Jozo's untimely
death in 1971 placed the responsibility of running the resort on his
family.Jozo’s son GeorgeWeider,became President of Blue Mountain
Resort and eventually went on to become Chairman of the Board of
Directors in 1978.
At that time, Gordon Canning, who was married to Kathy Weider,
Jozo’s daughter, assumed the Presidency - a role he maintained for
three decades.Today, Blue Mountain Resort is the largest mountain
resort in Ontario offering 251 acres of skiable terrain, with an uphill
lift capacity of 21,690 skiers per hour, the largest snowmaking system
in Canada,and is a top year round vacation destination.Gord Can-
ning is now Chairman and CEO at Blue Mountain Resort — I chatted
with him at his office, in November.
escarpment
people
IN CONVERSATION
BY DEENA DOLAN FINDLAY
GORD CANNING
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