Designer helmets and mountain art at Sun Peaks Resort

Susy Randell's colourful helmet art

Helmet Design is the latest creative workshop organized by Sun Peak’s innovative ArtZone Sun Peaks Art Society. Not to make an actual helmet but to learn techniques to collage and paint helmets to make them stand out from the crowd.

Susy Randell 

Coming up on March 18, instructor Susy Randell – a Kamloops artist, who doubles up as a snowboard instructor - will help mentor attendees of all ages in producing unique and stylish designs. An Embroidery Workshop a few weeks ago, run by a British designer, sold out quickly. And the upcoming Brushes and Berens evening planned for March 7 - part of the Sun Peaks Wine & Food Festival – is already fully booked.

These inventive workshops are part of President Marj Knive’s strategy to make ArtZone a financial as well as artistic success. Tapping into the growing trend for artsy activities and learning something new, Knive first saw an opportunity when she moved to Sun Peaks in 2018. “I’ve been interested in the arts my whole life,” she says. “I’ve done a lot of performing, singing, working with fabrics and fibre arts.” 

Marj Knive's signature Sun Peaks plaid bag design

Marj Knive's patented plaid

She is currently enrolled in a Master Weaving program at Olds College. A veteran of Calgary corporate circles, Knive is an expert organizer with a keen eye for commercial viability. “When we came to Sun Peaks I saw the ArtZone website and thought ‘that is my world,’” she enthuses. “So I went to their meeting and saw it was very specific to painting and photography.” After figuring out a new direction for ArtZone with the previous President and leading a re-imagining workshop, Knive – along with the current Board - helped reinvent the group’s mandate, broaden the offerings, redesign the website, and create a financial statement and five year plan.

The outcome: six different collectives covering painting and sketching, photography, fibre art, writers and readers, performing arts and music. With my background in clothing design, I decided to try out the Fibre Arts 

Collective which holds monthly meetings at a rotation of households. This one was hosted by Ruth Fanes, a master of artistic quilting. Her work is currently on display at ArtZone partner, Vertical Café, which exhibits different artists every month.  

Fane promotes her work by word of mouth as well as donating pieces to fundraisers in Sun Peaks. “I have only done one commission so far,” she explains. “I resisted for quite a while because I wasn’t sure I could do justice to someone else’s choice of subject, but found I really enjoyed the challenge of the one I did do. I am only just getting into selling, for a similar reason. I didn’t want to choose subjects based solely on commercial appeal.”

Fabric art by Ruth Fane

It all started after popping in – and then staying, entranced, all day - at Canada’s biggest quilt show when it came to Kamloops. Fane started making her own art quilts in 2007, the same year she and her husband Michael bought a condo in Sun Peaks. “I worked for 30 years as a research technician in plant biochemistry,” she says. “I did sew, clothes for myself and the kids and home dec, but nothing truly creative.”

Having skied at Sun Peaks since 1975, Fane is more likely to snowshoe these days. She now lives full time in the resort. “Mostly we love living here for the community,” she says. “We have made so many good friends and love seeing the children actually play outside!  That doesn’t seem to happen in the city anymore.”

The Fibre Arts meeting I attended was a jolly affair with nine of us sharing examples of our fabric arts, drinking tea, eating cake and imbibing likeminded motivation. 

Ruth Fane's Quilt Art on display in Vertical Cafe Sun Peaks

Quilt Art by Ruth Fane

Fanes’ home is inspirational in itself, with a modern motif which showcases her artwork – everything from wall hangings to a quilted and embroidered Christmas screen, to table runners and paintings. As well as Fane, the group included two clothing designers, one embroiderer, two quilters, a knitter (who is also a talented painter), a local looking for input for banner art, and a weaver (Knive). It was no surprise to me to meet up with them all over the next few weeks on the slopes, around town, and as part of the ski/lunch Polar Bear club. No surprise because the full and part-time residents in Sun Peaks are really into joining, supporting, socializing and attending every event. Small town, big smiles and big hearts!

Knive’s intention is to appeal to every age group with ArtZone specializations and events. “We have even had young seasonal workers join who wanted to learn how to embroider patches on their jeans,” she recalls. In the summer Tourism Sun Peaks – which supports ArtZone via monthly exhibitions – hired the collective to run a children’s art table at the weekly market. “These were very successful and we’re doing it again this year,” she says. “We have had to look at ourselves externally rather than internally, and bring art to the whole community.”

One of the patchworked fabric designs I brought to the ArtZone Fibre Arts Collective
from my Assymetrix Collection

Other ArtZone activities have included a ‘Plein Air’ painting workshop, open studios with still life, and ‘Drink and Draw’ nights. The music collective is also very active, running acoustic jams and performing at the TELUS Nancy Greene Classic event. A first this winter was the January Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival which sold out and was a great success. “ Our hope is that it will become an annual or even semi-annual event – for example, having a mountain bike focus in the summer and ski focus in winters,” says Knive.

Ski scene by Liz Derksen

Mountain art abounds around the gift shops and galleries of Sun Peaks. Featured in the ski lift ticket office and in the photography shop, Alpine Images, you’ll see Liz Derksen’s colourful outdoors, mountainsports-inspired work. Snowboarder and sledder, Zuzy Rocka sells her artistry – everything from paintings to portraits to photos – from her website and blog, via Facebook, as well as taking on commissions for branding photography, weddings, commercial, action and travel.

Feather and Fur by Zuzy Rocka

Fired Up for Fall by Edit Pal

And landscape and figurative artist, Edit Pal has her acrylic and oil paintings on show at Alpine Images. 

Last month her work was on show at the Tourism Sun Peaks offices. 

Trained in Fine Arts in Europe and Canada, she’s a professional graphic designer who is inspired by the natural beauty of Sun Peaks – and, of course, an avid, advanced skier. She's a regular attendee of the Polar Bear women's ski group which meets weekly at Sun Peaks - a free club for any part-time or full-time residents. 

Edit skiing at Sun Peaks in her signature paint splash ski pants

Morning Glow by Edit Pal

Pal's focus was mostly centered on figurative art in the past, but since moving to Sun Peaks from Toronto in 2017, she became inspired by the natural beauty of her new home province. “I find endless inspiration in the beauty of Sun Peaks, which is where I am lucky enough to call home,” says Pal who is an active member of The Federation of Canadian Artists. “My love of the outdoors influences every facet of my creativity. When I’m not painting you can usually find me skiing, hiking or biking. Then when I step inside my studio I aim to capture those experiences and bring them to life on my canvas. Whether it’s how the light hits the trees or the shape of the shadows stretching along the snow, I am constantly finding ideas and inspiration all around me.” 

Edit Pal 

Having started skiing at 10 years old in the Carpathian Mountains, she feels at home in the wintersports environment: “Last season I started Nordic skiing as well, and I really love it. Being on the trails is just so peaceful and beautiful.” 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/editpalart/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/edit.pal.940
Website: https://editpalart.com/

Winter Warmth by Edit Pal - a Sun Peaks snowscape

LINKS:

http://www.artzonesunpeaks.com/

https://www.facebook.com/events/636258497174935/

http://www.artzonesunpeaks.com/upcoming-events

To join ArtZone Sun Peaks, email hello@artzonesunpeaks.com

Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival at Sun Peaks, organized by ArtZone

Rossignol Reverence in Whistler, Sun Peaks and the Alps

Rossignol We Rise Camp at Whistler - Photo Credit @Andrew Bradley

Women are being wooed by the Rossignol We Rise campaign which hit the Canadian slopes last weekend. It’s a camp designed to encourage women skiers and snowboarders to the next level of daring and expertise.

Rossignol We Rise Camp at Whistler - Photo Credit @Andrew Bradley 

Joannie Faucher at the Whistler We Rise Camp

Rossignol We Rise ambassadors include Tatum Monod, originally from Banff, who spearheaded the one-day Whistler We Rise camp Feb 8. Joannie Faucher, Rossignol’s Marketing Manager, was in Whistler for the event. “With the guides and staff, a total of 75 women took part in this day - skiers, snowboarders - all brought together to redefine their boundaries and connect with like-minded women,” she says. “Just got back home from this trip and I am still buzzing with all that positive energy!” The goal of the We Rise campaign is to share the Rossignol women’s story and inspire more dedicated female skiers and boarders to get out on to the slopes and enjoy another best day. “We want to create a community of like-minded women,” says Faucher. “So, together with our partner, Extremely Canadian, a high-end private ski school in Whistler, we organized this special day for women, which SOLD OUT very fast!”

Rossignol We Rise Camp at Whistler - Photo Credit @Andrew Bradley 

On offer were freeride and steep skiing clinics designed to foster mountain motivation and empowerment. “The global feedback was very positive,” says Faucher. “Most of them are local skiers and some of these mentioned they discovered spots on the mountains they didn’t know even existed!” A large measure of inspiration came from Rossi athlete,Tatum Monod, who was there to ski and exchange with the other women. The camp also included an Extremely Canadian Guide for a whole day (groups of 4), lift ticket, lift line priority, lunch, après drinks and food, and over $2000 in prizes. “Big thanks to Extremely Canadian for making this happen,” says Faucher. “It was the first We Rise event in Canada, and certainly not the last. We are already talking about a 2^nd edition in 2021.”

  

Rossignol We Rise Camp at Whistler - Photo Credit @Andrew Bradley 

You can follow the We Rise Initiative on Instagram @rossignolwomen 

Rossignol We Rise Camp at Whistler - Photo Credit @Andrew Bradley 

The We Rise campaign moves to Snowbasin, Utah in March, headlined by two-time Olympian, Jillian Vogtli. Here, it’s a three-day camp for both locals and out-of-towners, including pro boot-fitting, ski selection clinic, free demo-ing of the latest Rossi equipment, and video performance analysis. After Snowbasin, the camp moves on to Steamboat, Colorado. Rossignol’s We Rise women’s initiative is a call to action to women across North America to get out there and raise their skiing profile.

Derek MacGowan at Jardines

Sun Peaks Resort has had its own Rossignol hub for many years at Jardines, owned by Derek MacGowan. He's worked in the shop for 20 years, and owned it for the past four since taking over from his family. On the ground floor of Hearthstone Lodge, at the crossroads where pedestrianized (ski through) Main Street exits onto the slopes, Jardines has been a neighbourhood name since 1941. While Derek was putting a new brake on my son’s ski – broken doing stunts in the terrain park – I quizzed him about my new skis. “The Rossignol Sky 7s have been sold out the last couple of months,” he said. “They are fantastic. They’re a stronger, wider all-mountain ski and in powder they’re great, not too much hard work.”

The Sky’s the Limit: I have this year’s model of the Sky 7 HD women’s freeride ski (they also come in men’s). I have the 164cm with a 96cm waist – even though this is a little longer than I would typically choose, I have been assured that they “ski shorter than they look”. They definitely don’t feel heavy, which is good – apparently due to the Paulownia wood core which reduces weight while maintaining stability.

First day I tried them was a 13cm powder day for which we were in line for the first Sundance chairlift at 8:30am. Tentative at first, I gradually put them through their paces, delighting as I discovered how easy it was to turn in pristine untrammeled powder, then in slightly tracked, until later in the day when it was all pretty much churned up and they were still performing with minimal effort on my part. Just what I need! This effortless is due in part to the rocker technology which gives you maximum floatation and control in deep snow. See video clip above for my first powder on these Rossi Rockers - wearing my new The Sky The Sky Alchemy of Ride ski suit, coincidentally. 

Rossignol skis planted in the snow by Nancy Greene's Cahilty Hotel & Suites 

The next day we skied groomers and, again, the Sky 7s were really fun to experiment with on Sun Peak’s slick steep blacks like Intimidator and smooth blues off Morrisey. They really are a fusion of freeride versatility and I also noticed a distinct lack of chatter when tucking along cat tracks. I love skis that feel playful and the combo of rocker, centred sidecut and Air Tip technology seems to enhance this feeling of playtime and manoeuvrability rather than hard work.

Marj Knive from Sun Peaks Art Zone sporting her Rossi skis as well as a distinctive pair of black-and-white Rossignol
ski pants

Jardines is a full service ski shop, with all the rentals, tuning and repairs, as well as recreational and high performance skis and snowboards, clothing and accessories for sale. They also have an incredible end of season sale when many locals and spring skiers take advantage of the best prices of the winter. Bonus: you get 10 percent discount for online bookings. Plan ahead!

As Sun Peaks’ largest ski shop, Jardines stocks a wide variety of other ski and snowboard brands, such as K2, and also carries coveted accessories such as Swany gloves, Bridgedale socks, Giro helmets, the Dakinerange, and Dalbello (the boots I want to try when mine finally fall apart – they’re ten years old and the tongues are almost severed).

Follow Jardines on: https://www.instagram.com/jardinessunpeaks/ and https://www.facebook.com/jardinessunpeaks/

Sun Peaks Mayor Al Raine and his wife, Rossignol Ambassador, Nancy Greene Raine

Longstanding Rossignol ambassador, Nancy Greene Raine has been skiing on their best technology since her 1960s racing days when she was Canada’s top ski racer. Competing in all alpine disciplines, she won gold and silver medals at the 1968 Grenoble Olympics and overall World Cup titles in 1967 and 68. Her total of 13 World Cup victories is still a Canadian record. In Whistler and, for the past 25 years, in Sun Peaks she has continued to worked with Rossignol. In November 1999 she was named Canada's female athlete of the century and, nineteen years later, was inducted into the Canadian Tourism Hall of Fame. As Director of Skiing at Sun Peaks, she still finds time to get out onto the slopes – on her trusty Rossignols, of course - to host regular tours for visitors.

Here's what Nancy has to say about Rossignol:

I Love my Rossi's - by Nancy Greene Raine, February 2020

I fell in love with Rossignol skis in the summer of 1966. I was given a pair of Strato giant slalom skis to test just a week before the World Championships in Portillo, Chile. I loved them right away, but didn't want to change skis so close to the championships. When we got to Portillo I left them in my ski bag, and then piled my teammates' bags on top of my bag so I wouldn’t be tempted. I placed fourth in the giant slalom — maybe I should have used the Stratos. 

Nancy Greene Raine by Adam Stein

That fall I trained on the Stratos that I had gotten in Chile, and then started using them in the races in the opening events of the 1967 World Cup, winning the first few giant slaloms. The Rossignol service men brought me new Stratos, but I found them stiffer so kept on using my originals even though they were getting worn out. They became my lucky skis and I used them through the entire season, winning a total of ten giant slaloms on the same pair. 

At the end of the season, the Rossignol service man insisted that I give back the skis so they could test them at the factory to see why they were so good. They promised to make me new ones just the same - which they did, so I won most of the giant slaloms the next year too, including the Olympics. 

Rossignol also decided that customers purchasing 207 cm giant slalom skis would probably like my Stratos, so they copied my skis and put them into their production line - that 207 Strato ski became one of Rossignol's top selling skis. After that I could have gone into any ski shop and gotten skis just like the ones I loved.

I used Lange boots for my last year and a half of racing - the Canadian ski team had worked with Bob Lange to refine his design for the first high performance plastic ski boot. After I retired I was very pleased when Rossignol and Lange became affiliated. The Rossignol boots I’ve used ever since are descendants of the original Lange ski boot. 

I am proud of my long term relationship with Rossignol, and am excited that they continue to use World Cup ski racing for product testing, but also that they are now developing so many great skis for the other facets of skiing. I'm loving the new 2021 Rossignol Black Ops Rallybird skis that can go from powder to steeps to high speed cruising and be fun all the time - Nancy Greene Raine, February 2020

Rossignol dominating the ski stand at Sun Peaks' Umbrella Cafe

Back to Louise: My own Rossignol romance started with a pair of rental skis in Méribel, France in the 90s when I was working there for the season with UK tour operator, Crystal Ski Holidays. They were black and I loved and trusted them and called them my ‘black magic’ skis. I did a lot of backcountry (off-piste) skiing back then and needed a very reliable and versatile ski. I was head rep for the resort and, as such, had a bit of swing with the ski shops who had 250 or more Crystal clients per week renting gear. The owner allowed me to use the coveted skis for most of the season – during peak times I had to give them back and ski on less high performance replacements. I was always so relieved to get the magic ones back when the crowds died down.

Me in my Rossignol JCC jacket with
Ken Read at Lake Louise

Since then, I have been Rossignol-inclined towards skis and also clothing – especially those pieces that appeal to my passion for prints. I still wear my Rossignol J C Castelbajac 1907 Collection jacket which I’ve had for about six seasons. It was the only one of its kind produced in the orange flame print. They used that colourway for other styles, but in that particular shape and fit they only made that one sample – so it is unique! For the past three seasons, I’ve been skiing on Rossignol’s Temptation 84s, which I love for their responsiveness (turning on a sixpence, I’ve always called it), their adaptability to a variety of snow conditions, niftiness on bumps, and their incredible speed on the flat (I can overtake anyone just by tucking, even if I was way behind). The only problem with them is deep powder as they tend to dip down in it. Before that I played with the Rossignol Savory 7s for several seasons, my first ‘fat’ skis and loved the way they powered through chopped up snow and floated on powder.

Ski Butlers rental delivery service

Now, I have my Sky 7 HDs which I first tried last winter - via Ski Butlers rental delivery service in Aspen Snowmass and again in Utah - and fell in love with. To be precise, I didn’t fall, despite much frolicking in the powder, hence the fervent attachment! Here in Canada, you can try Ski Butlers in Whistler and, for those elsewhere, there are a wide variety of resorts throughout the USA and Europe within the Ski Butlers’ network. Door-to-door service to your hotel, condo or wherever you happen to be, the flexibility to change up equipment whenever you want, and it also saves on carrying all that baggage - or, worst case scenario, lost luggage! My travel tip: Keep your ski boots in your hand luggage – everything else is easily replaced but boots are precious!

Looking at the latest Rossignol website, I was surprised to see separate collections for Ski, Snowboard and Nordic as well as Urban – part of Rossignol’s aim to become an all-year brand. You can literally go Rossi ‘top to bottom’ or cherry pick pieces if you prefer your winter wardrobe to be a trail map of fashion’s twists and turns. The French company, founded in 1907, also owns Dynastar and LOOK, the ski bindings specialist. 

Here’s a current list of Rossignol athletes: http://www.grouperossignol.com/en/athletes/

BTW: Rossignol means nightingale in French.

Rossignol JCC collection jacket - at Revelstoke