I am excited and very grateful to announce the launch of Blackcomb Peak Equity. Along with Martin Cantu, we are starting this new chapter to acquire a great company and become passionate business owners and operators. If you are reading this note, we invite you to be part of our journey and we would love to talk with you. We are fortunate to embark on this journey backed by an extraordinary team of investors who have proven track records of successful investments and deals in the ETA space and across the world. If you have made it this far in this post, thank you for being part of this exciting chapter at Blackcomb Peak Equity!
To fully appreciate the significance of Blackcomb Peak Equity, it's essential to understand the rich history and development of Whistler Blackcomb, the iconic ski resort that shares part of its name.
The Genesis of Whistler Blackcomb
Whistler Blackcomb is a ski resort located in Whistler, British Columbia, Canada. By many measures, it is the largest ski resort in North America and has the greatest uphill lift capacity. It features the Peak 2 Peak Gondola for moving between Whistler and Blackcomb mountains at the top.
Whistler was originally conceived as part of a bid to win the 1968 Winter Olympics. Although the bid failed, construction started anyway and the resort opened for the first time in January 1966. Blackcomb Mountain, originally a separate entity, opened for business in December 1980.
The two resorts underwent a period of intense rivalry through the 1980s and 1990s, with constant upgrades and improvements that were unseen at other resorts. By the mid-1990s, the area was repeatedly named the best resort in many skiing magazines. Whistler Blackcomb was the centrepiece of a renewed bid on the part of nearby Vancouver for the 2010 Winter Olympics, which they were selected in July 2003.
Read also: Renting Snowboards in Whistler Blackcomb: What You Need to Know
Whistler Blackcomb hosted the alpine skiing events, including the men's and women's Olympic and Paralympic alpine skiing disciplines of downhill, Super-G, slalom, giant slalom and super combined.
Over the next decade, Intrawest expanded by purchasing additional ski resorts across North America, before expanding into golf and other resorts as well. Whistler Village, widely recognized for its livable design, formed the basis of similar Tyrolian-inspired developments at their expanding series of resorts, as well as other resorts that hired Intrawest to build similar developments on their behalf.
In August 2016, the American company Vail Resorts bought Whistler Blackcomb Holdings for $1.39 billion.
Alpine Serendipity - The Story of Whistler Mountain (2003) - Whistler Museum Archives
The Terrain and Infrastructure
The ski areas at Whistler and Blackcomb are situated on two ridge-lines running roughly northwest to southeast. The two are separated by a deep valley with Fitzsimmons Creek running along the valley floor. The main base area at Whistler Village is located on the northwest end of this valley, where Fitzsimmons Creek flows into the larger Green River, which forms a floodplain running north-south just to the west of the village area. The Sea-to-Sky Highway runs along the Green River valley.
Read also: Explore Blackcomb Peak
The ski runs generally run northwest towards the village area, or into the valley area between the two ridges. Whistler Mountain is the basis of the southern of the two ridges, on the right when looking at the Whistler-Blackcomb ski area from Whistler Village. It has a summit elevation of 2,184 meters (7,165 feet). The total vertical drop is 1,530 meters (5,020 feet) and 4,757 acres (1,925 ha) skiable inbound terrain.
Whistler is served by a total of 19 lifts; 2 gondolas, 5 high-speed detachable quad chair lifts, 4 high-speed detachable sixpack chair lifts, 2 fixed grip triple chair lifts, 1 T-bar and 7 carpet lifts. It also hosts the drive station for the Peak 2 Peak Gondola, connecting it with Blackcomb mountain to the north. There are 4 on-hill restaurants, as well as a children's ski school.
Blackcomb Mountain is the northern ridge, on the left when viewed from the village. It has a lift-serviced elevation of 2,240 metres (7,350 feet) at the top of the 7th Heaven chair - Blackcomb Mountain itself is higher at 2,440 meters (8,010 feet), but unlike Whistler, the peak is not lift-served. Blackcomb has a higher skiable vertical, at 1,565 meters (5,135 feet), but less in-bound skiing area at 3,414 acres (1,382 ha). It is served by 15 lifts; 2 gondolas, 6 high-speed quads, 1 fixed-grip triple and 7 surface lifts (1 T-Bar and 5 carpet lifts), as well as the end-station for the Peak 2 Peak.
Blackcomb is the location of the world-famous "Couloir Extreme" run, which is one of the top ten steep in-bound runs in the world, according to Skiing Magazine.
The two previously separate ski areas of Whistler and Blackcomb were integrated into one operation in 1997 after Intrawest merged with Whistler Mountain Ski Corporation. Ticketing, pass, and access control systems for the two ski areas were fully integrated in 2003.
Read also: Whistler Blackcomb Conditions
Together, Whistler and Blackcomb form the largest ski area in North America at 8,171 acres (33 km2). The mountains are accessed via four gondolas and one high-speed eight pack: Blackcomb Excalibur Gondola, Whistler Mountain Village Gondola, and Fitzsimmons Express in the village; the Blackcomb Gondola in Blackcomb Base/Upper Village; and the Whistler Creekside Gondola to the south in the Creekside area.
The primary skiing terrain starts about one-third up the mountains. Ski-outs to the valley are usually possible during the months of December through April. The mid- and upper- areas are serviced by 10 high-speed detachable chairs and 5 fixed-grip lifts made by Lift Engineering, Doppelmayr and Poma.
Two T-bars service the Horstman Glacier and the Whistler alpine regions and take skiers to the entrance to Blackcomb Glacier. Before 2008 the only connection between the two mountains was via the village.
Whistler Village, which is part of the Resort Municipality of Whistler, a geo-political entity not directly associated with the resort company's operation, is situated at the base of the Whistler Mountain Village Gondola and Blackcomb Excalibur Gondola. The village incorporates community services, shops, entertainment venues, restaurants, bars, hotels, condominiums and vacation properties.
Early History of the Area
The valley area between Whistler and Blackcomb was first surveyed and documented in 1858 by Hudson's Bay Company men looking for an alternate route into the Cariboo area further north. Although little-used at the time, the route later became one of the many paths used during the Gold Rush at the turn of the century. Known as the Pemberton Trail, the route followed a path similar to the Sea-to-Sky Highway, leading past the Whistler area to the present-day town of Pemberton.
In the 1860s British Naval surveyors named the mountain "London Mountain," but it soon garnered the nickname "Whistler" because of the shrill whistle made by the Western hoary marmots who lived among the rocks. Four lakes paralleled the route of Trail, the highest then being known as Summit Lake.
One of the first permanent residents in the Alta Lake area was trapper John Millar, who set up a cabin next to the trail just south of the base of the mountain. During a trip to sell furs in Vancouver in 1911, Millar stopped at the Horseshoe Bar & Grill for dinner. The cook was Alex Philip from Maine, and Millar invited Philip to join him for dinner. Millar was a storyteller, and during the conversations that followed, he invited Philip to visit the Alta area.
By 1914, the Philips' Rainbow Lodge fishing resort was completed with four bedrooms, a large living/dining area and a kitchen. The resort was named for the rainbow trout that were the main attraction of the resort. That same year, the Pacific Great Eastern Railway (PGE) reached the lake from Squamish.
Executives of the PGE suggested the Lodge host fishermen from Vancouver, which was now less than two days away (from three or more) via steamship to Squamish and then the PGE to Alta Lake. A standard rate of $2 for a week was applied, and the first group arrived with 25 people. Building followed demand, and over time the lodge grew to include an additional 45 buildings (cabins, tennis courts, general store, post office) and could accommodate 100 people. It became the most popular west coast resort for 30 years.
The Philips operated the Lodge until 1948 when they sold it to Alec and Audrey Greenwood. The main Lodge burnt down in 1977, but today the area has been preserved as Rainbow Park. The Philips both remained in the valley until their deaths.
Following the successful launch of Rainbow Lodge, several other tourist resorts set up in the valley. Russell Anderson Jordan opened the Alta Lake Hotel, which burned down in 1930, and replaced it with Jordan's Lodge on nearby Nita Lake. Bert and Agnes Harrop built Harrop's Point in the 1920s. This became the Cypress Lodge in 1945 under its then-owner Dick Fairhurst, who built new cabins and a main lodge in the early 1960s. The original building is still standing today, home to the point artists' centre and the Whistler sailing club.
Cecilia and John Mansell moved to Alta Lake in 1945 and built the Hillcrest Lodge near today's Lakeside Park on Alta Lake. They sold it in 1965 to the Mason family and others who operated it as Mount Whistler Lodge for skiers.
There was some commercial use of the London Mountain area as well. Logging had been carried out for some time, but the arrival of the railway in 1914 made this much more profitable and for several years there were a few sizable mills and lumber operations: The Barrs at Parkhurst Mill on Green Lake (to the north), and the Gebharts with the Rainbow Lumber Company on Alta Lake. The fur trade remained for some time, later supplanted by a mink and marten farm. Jimmy Fitzsimmons ran a prospecting support company, which led to mining surveys up Fitzsimmons Valley.
The Road to Becoming a World-Class Ski Resort
In 1960, the Canadian Olympic Association visited the west coast looking for potential sites for a future 1968 Winter Olympics. They initially looked at a site on Diamond Head just north of Squamish, which was already developed to the extent of a single chairlift. However, they concluded that the area simply couldn't be developed properly, "it just wasn't the right terrain for a world-class resort."
Franz Wilhelmsen, a local businessman who had married into the Seagram family, had already come to the same conclusions when he had been scouting areas for a new ski resort. Encouraged by their positive reviews, Wilhelmsen organized the Garibaldi Olympic Development Association (GODA) to make a formal bid. At this time there was no road, no electricity, and no piped water or sewer in Alta Lake.
Their bid for the Olympics was unsurprisingly rejected, and the Canadian bid was given to Calgary, who came in a close second place to Grenoble. In 1962, the Garibaldi Lifts Limited was formed with Franz Wilhelmsen as president. It had two main objectives, to finance and supervise required land/business studies, and to erect and operate ski lifts on London Mountain.
The company had little experience in ski operations, so they hired Willy Schaeffler, a well known developer, to help them. Schaeffler proved as enthusiastic about London Mountain as COA and GODA had been. From 1962 to 1965, Garibaldi Lifts raised funds and began development of the ski area on the south side of the mountain.
The government agreed that they would set aside a 56-acre (230,000 m2) plot at the base of the mountain for Garibaldi Lifts to buy, and agreed to bring the highway to the base of the mountain if they could raise enough money. By 1965, they had reached their goal of raising $800,000 and started planning for development.
By 1965, the Provincial Government had completed a narrow gravel road from Vancouver. Electricity arrived the same year with the installation of a substation along the lines from Bridge River. By the fall of 1965 the ski area featured a four-person gondola to the mountain's mid-station, a double chairlift to the alpine tree line (the Red Chair), and two T-bars, all provided by GMD Mueller. In addition, a day lodge was constructed and six ski runs cut into the hill.
Whistler officially opened for skiing for the first time on January 15, 1966. The new mountain won instant acclaim for its vertical drop, good snow conditions, and huge alpine area.
With real infrastructure in place, in 1968 GODA made another bid for the 1976 Winter Olympics, and this time the joint Vancouver/Garibaldi won the Canadian nomination. However, in 1970 when Montreal won the voting for the 1976 Summer Olympics, Vancouver/Garibaldi was removed from further consideration and the games eventually went to Denver, Colorado.
The gravel road was paved to Whistler in 1966, and on to Pemberton in 1969. The Blue and Green chairlifts were added in 1970, providing access to additional terrain. In 1972 these were joined by the Olive and Orange chairlifts. A parallel lift to the Green Chair to alleviate crowds came in 1974, and the Little Red Chair came in 1978. The Roundhouse, an on-mountain lodge and restaurant, was completed in 1980.
The Development of Whistler Village and Blackcomb Mountain
In 1974, the provincial New Democratic Party of British Columbia was interested in developing tourism and took a number of steps affecting Whistler. At the time, the Alta Lake area was overdeveloped, so the government instituted a development freeze while they studied the problem. The only solution was to continue development in another location.
They quickly decided to focus on the table between Whistler and Blackcomb, about 4 km to the north of the existing facilities on Alta Lake. In 1975, the Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW) was formed, the first Resort Municipality in Canada and also the first place in British Columbia since Canadian prohibition where bars were allowed to be open on Sunday. The act also created the Whistler Village Land Company who would oversee all development of the new Whistler Village.
In 1977 the provincial government named Al Raine the Provincial Ski Area Co-ordinator, in charge of expanding BC's skiing capabilities. Raine was previously National Coach for the Canadian Women's Ski Team, and was married to famous Canadian skier Nancy Greene. Raine saw the potential in developing Blackcomb Mountain, then part of the Garibaldi Provincial Park, and joined the Whistler city council.
In 1977, the Municipality hired Sutcliffe Griggs Moodie Development Consultants to design a layout for Whistler Village's development. However, their design was considered too conventional and allowed too much car traffic. Raine recommended Eldon Beck, who had been the primary designer at Vail, celebrated for its layout. Beck's designs included a pedestrian Main Street Village Stroll and an elevated covered walkway system, limiting all vehicles to the outside of the developed area.
In January 1978, 53 acres (210,000 m2) of crown land were given to the Whistler municipality to develop the town centre. The first sod for the village was turned on August 18, 1978, by first Mayor Pat Carleton. By 1979, many amenities were in place, including Municipal Hall, Fire Hall, Health Care Centre, and Elementary School.
Phase 1 expansion included 11 parcels in the modern Village Square area, including the Whistler Conference Centre, a variety of hotels, restaurants, grocery store, hardware store, etc.
In 1978, a call for bids was issued to develop Blackcomb for skiing. The bidding to develop Blackcomb was contested by two companies, the Aspen Skiing Company, and the newly formed Blackcomb Skiing Enterprises (BSE).
Aspen, having recently developed the Fortress Mountain Resort in Alberta, won the contest. A new company, Fortress Mountain Resorts, was formed with a 50-50 partnership between Aspen and the Business Development Bank of Canada.
ETA Equity: Partnering for Success
ETA Equity has been a tremendous partner throughout my entrepreneurship through acquisition journey. During the search, Matt and Mark were helpful sounding boards, and their guidance on industry theses and deal opportunities saved me lots of potentially wasted time. Once I found “the one,” I was grateful for their direct, transparent feedback.
Wrangling a diverse investor group is hard, but I always knew where things stood with ETA Equity. Finally, as an operator, Matt and Mark give me room to run my business while remaining accessible as mentors. ETA Equity is one of the best Search Fund investor groups to partner with during your Search & Operating phases.
Their team is experienced in operating a Search, acquiring a business, scaling the acquired company, and reaching a successful exit for its investors. With Malvern, ETA Equity was responsive, thoughtful, and supportive throughout all phases and workstreams (Search fundraising, Sourcing, LOI Negotiations, Due Diligence, Debt/Equity Raise, Seller Negotiations, etc.).
I can’t say enough great things about Mark and Matt at ETA Equity. The guys at ETA Equity have been a helping hand in my search since I began fundraising - showing their ability to guide, brainstorm, and coach throughout the entire process. Since launching they've been just as helpful, partnering with me to think through strategies for the first 100 days of searching, ways of assessing new businesses, and drawing on their experience in search to help inform my decisions.
I am grateful to have ETA Equity on my cap table. Matt's generosity with his time and resources has been instrumental, while Mark's depth of operational experience brings a refreshing perspective. Both are genuine and committed partners. Matt was a great resource when I was thinking about how to start my fund, and as my first investor he was critical in helping me make connections throughout the industry.