Speaker 0 00:00:01 Good morning, Fort McMurray, wood, Buffalo, and the rest of the world. You've tuned into the Mac city morning show. I am your host Elliot Pierre, and we're going to start the show off the same way we start every show off with a moment of gratitude. I know you could be doing a million other things with your time, and the fact that you choose to spend with us truly does mean the world to me. So thank you on that note, Tanner hidden with the intro.
Speaker 1 00:00:21 Oh, she caught me loves and you're listening to the next anymore.
Speaker 0 00:00:30 All right. And we're back. Okay. This is a unique guest and I'm excited about this one. Most of the time, when people come here, I don't know who they are, but this guest genuinely didn't know who I was. So that's exciting for me. So as everybody knows at home, I don't introduce my guests because they can do a better job at that than I, so on that note, can you please tell everybody at home who you are and what
Speaker 3 00:00:52 Thanks Elliot. Um, my name is Kathy brewer. Guthrow I have two last names. I'm not sure why I just collect them, collect the them. And, um, I'm here because, uh, one of the parts of our conversation I understand today is going to be talking about the Fort McMurray ski team. And a lot of people don't even know that we have a ski hill known as ski team that actually does real legit downhill racing. And we do. That's awesome amongst whatever we want to talk about today. That's kind of why I've got my big red hoodie on today and I'm a huge fan of the Fort Murray ski team.
Speaker 0 00:01:26 Oh, okay. Well, let's kick it off by talking about the ski team. Cause I think you're right. Uh, myself and Tanner both grew up here, so we are fully aware of his storage and we've, uh, we've participated in downhill events, our whole lives, but I honestly didn't know. I don't know much about the ski team itself. I see you guys there, but I don't know what's about, so like, um, I'm a new as my little boy would say. So explain what the Fort McMurray ski club is all about.
Speaker 3 00:01:51 Gotcha. So, um, like starting from the top down, uh, most people have probably heard about the, you know, the Canadian national ski team, uh, you know, women's national ski team, men's national ski team, the downhill racing alum, GS super G all that stuff. That's the national level. So there's national Canada. Alpine is a national level at the provincial level. We've got Alberta, Alpine, Alberta, Alpine is, you know, feeds into the national level and then every sport has club level. Okay. So we're the club level. So there's Fort Murray ski team. There's cold lake ski team. There's grand Prairie. There's a ton of ski teams across the whole province. Right. Um, provinces set up and did two zones. So there's south zone, which is Calgary and a whack of amazing clubs and Hills down there. And then there's north zone and north zone is red deer and north. Okay. And so, uh, Fort McMurray, no, we are the north of the north. We are the Northern most downhill racing club in the province. And um, yeah, so we have a fully functioning club. We fall under the umbrella of Alberta, Alpine, which falls under Ken to Alpine. Okay. We have a full training program, full racing program. And our kids are from ages like six to eight, six to 18 is kind of where our kids are. Yep. Okay.
Speaker 0 00:03:12 And so as a kid, like what attributes do you need to have to join the ski club outside of knowing? Well, I guess, could you take a kid who is so young that they don't know how to ski or is that like the minimum requirements, you need to know how to ski,
Speaker 3 00:03:26 You need to know how to ski. So what we really encourage is that, um, parents and skiers take advantage of the awesome ski instruction program that Vista Ridge offers. So out at Vista, you'll see a bunch of instructors and they cake take, um, skiers from all levels and they teach them how to ski. So once you've got the fundamentals down with Vista Ridge instruction, as long as you can ski and control down the hill, ride the chair, lift pretty much on your own. And then also, you know, be comfortable with our longer training days. We're not just there for an hour. We're there for two days a week, every Saturday and Sunday, 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM. Oh, wow. Yeah. So we, uh, you know that in bearing in mind, as long as you kinda meet those minimum requirements, bill will evaluate. And most of the time our kids stay in the club and they proceed past recreational skiing and they enjoy the downhill racing, um, technical development.
Speaker 0 00:04:25 Yep. So that's a long, that's a lot of training. So I can't imagine you're on the hill all the time. What other kind of training are you doing for that length of time? So there's lunch. Okay. Yeah. Here you go. That's
Speaker 3 00:04:36 I really catered to the under 12 ages. So there's definitely break time, but relative to say a one hour instruction with a Vista Ridge instructor, this is longer. Um, but you know, age appropriate kids take breaks with their coaches. The coaches are like, they're fantastic. We've got the best coaching staff all around. Um, we've got the best tail, quite frankly, we've skied in, um, you know, a number of non mountain locations. Cause people think, well, you can't race if you're not in the mountains. Well, we've got a fantastic valley, right? Um, a lot of the clubs that we race at, um, our valley Hills, but we have got the best non mountain resort that I have skied in, in the province. I couldn't agree with you more. Absolutely. I mean, we, we, and we've got lots of evidence and lots of multi games, events that have attracted snowboarders and skiers here Arctics and Alberta winter games, and everybody walks away going, man, you've got a gym up here. Yep. So back to the age thing. Yeah. It's a long day. Coaches take breaks. There's lunch breaks. I'm going to, if a skier is getting super tired and they're young and they've just, you know, they've lost their attention. That's fine. Go home, chill out. Parents are great. We support, you know, parents know their kids best, but on the whole, it's not about a one hour instruction it's training on Saturdays Sunday.
Speaker 0 00:05:57 Right. So is it all training, like going with your skis on, are you guys doing like physical training and like gyms or what, when you say training, what does training encompass? Yep. No, at me with the big word
Speaker 3 00:06:09 That
Speaker 0 00:06:10 Hurts that you can't spell it though. I can't. And I'm surprised it came out of my mouth. Okay. Sorry. Go on.
Speaker 3 00:06:15 No. So our season actually starts in September before the snow. So there's a component of our team, which is, um, the ten-year-olds and op, which we provide dry land training for. So they're out in the trails right now, this September, it's all outdoors. We're going to take advantage of, you know, the weather, the daylight, and, uh, you know, just space. So it's outside training. Come October, November. We use one of the facilities here in town where we have indoor training, strength and conditioning for tenant tenant up. It's not mandatory. We really encourage no. I mean, we encourage all of our kids to participate in multiple sports. Any sport is great training for an upcoming winter sport where you haven't been doing skiing the whole season. You got to get things moving long before the snow flies, right? So this is optional, but it's certainly encouraged if you're, if your racer isn't busy on the nights that we hold dry land or they don't have another sport, this is a great place to start up the season, avoid injury, strength, and conditioning back. And then we start once Vista Ridge opens. Cool.
Speaker 0 00:07:22 Now in regards to skiing, you obviously have a passion for it. You love doing it. You taking part in, where did that come from? When did you start skiing?
Speaker 3 00:07:29 Um, my first experience with skiing was in grade eight. And at that point we lived in, um, we lived in Ontario and one of those outdoor selection days where you choose your own activity, go do any number of things. And I chose downhill skiing. And the first thing I ever did was take, um, a lesson and I think the place was called horseshoe valley. I can't remember. I think it is. I took a lesson there, lobbed it. Um, and then my family moved from Nolton, Ontario to Calgary, Alberta. And my memory, even though it might not be totally accurate in my memory is that the very first winter we spent in Calgary, my parents took us to a sports store. I think it was sports check and we got outfitted for skis. And like, from that point on, it was like out to Bev to sunshine and skiing.
Speaker 3 00:08:22 I don't know if I'd still be skiing if we hadn't moved from back east. But anyway, so, um, and as life happens and you, you, uh, have a family get kids and they get involved with sports, they loved skiing. And then one day we were out there and we saw like ski team. And I was like, what's this about, got my kids involved with ski team. And then before you know it, what happens when you get your children involved with stuff you ended up getting involved with stuff. Then I just thoroughly enjoyed, um, both the, you know, the club level with my role in administering the club, um, coaching, I absolutely loved to coach the younger kids and see them develop. Yeah. Um, and then you just get involved with the racing. I mean, races require volunteers. Do you get going? You get some technical officials training, you get some coaches training and before you know it, you're just, you're just into it. Oh God, sorry. I never raced recreational skied. Okay. Yep. But you don't need to, as a parent, you don't need to be a racer to be involved. Right?
Speaker 0 00:09:22 Of course not. Yeah. Very cool. So what brought you to Fort McMurray then? If you're like Toronto Calgary for Macquarie, it seems like the natural progression, but what brought you here originally? And how long have you been here now?
Speaker 3 00:09:35 So we moved here in 1998. Oh, wow.
Speaker 0 00:09:38 Okay.
Speaker 3 00:09:39 For a long time, a long time. So not related, it was not related to skiing at all. Barely about work. So one of my courses of study, I did a mine engineering at U of a. Okay. And then after that I got a job working with, um, well, through my co-op terms, I worked with Syncrude and Suncor and then took work with, took a position with Suncor when I graduated in 1998 and in a Blake, I know I'm here. That's awesome. Yeah. Three kids, a full family later, my husband and I've had wonderful careers in, in the region. And, uh, I just thoroughly enjoy getting involved with the community. No,
Speaker 0 00:10:17 No doubt. No doubt. So what, uh, what about Fort McMurray really like attracts you to stay here?
Speaker 3 00:10:23 Well, I've lived in small communities and larger city centers. So like I've lived in other than Calgary. We lived in no Wilton, which is a small community in Ontario prior to that, um, you know, I moved around a little bit, lived in small communities in Northern Quebec and in St. John new Brunswick. So, um, really it's obviously having employment is good, but there's just, there's just so much about the north that is appealing and there's so much in this community to get involved with. Right. I mean, you do get involved because of the kids in schools and sports teams and, and different sort of volunteer roles. But I mean, it doesn't take much to look and see what's going on in the community and then just be part of it. Um, and then just seeing this community flourish. So when I first started working here, um, in 1998, and there wasn't much, um, west of, you know, the black, black horse pub and not many things are open past 6:00 PM on any given night and then to be through a lot of the booms and busts.
Speaker 3 00:11:27 So the community, which has some great parts and some not so great parts, but then this community has got so many things going for it. And, and again, it's all about involvement. I mean, we live next to the Birchwood trails, any number of activities and groups that involved with that sporting, like the activities here that are in, that are available to people, um, to get involved with, with either volunteering or administering or participating like it's, it's endless and it's personal. So when you do get involved with, you know, any organization or even do one volunteer effort, you see the results of your efforts like immediate that's. Right.
Speaker 0 00:12:05 Very true.
Speaker 3 00:12:06 Yeah. And so I think that's just very appealing and you get used to leave living, you know, five hours away from the next closest destination. And sometimes that's fine. Yeah,
Speaker 0 00:12:15 Exactly. It's not a bad thing. Yeah. I like to drive down damn tonight. I put on my audio book or I jam out to some music in the car. It's a very different drive than it was back in the day. Now, now that it's twinned yeah. It's enjoyable. Yeah. It's it's.
Speaker 3 00:12:29 Yeah, but you can start to affiliate with the north. Like we, the north, we are like the north, the north in a lot of clubs, not just skiing, but in a lot of clubs like soccer and hockey, you name it, all the ball. And there's so many groups here that, you know, this is the most north of a lot of the, um, the areas, not, not 100% of everything, but, and, and it's, there's an affiliation with being, you know, part of the, the wood Buffalo region, which is more than just Fort McMurray. We've got fantastic communities all the way around us and that's unique.
Speaker 0 00:13:00 All right. Well, we're at the part of the show called the Mac CD minute. Tanner's going to ask you some questions. I don't know what he's going to ask you, so I wish you nothing, but the best luck Tanner hit her with the max 80 minute.
Speaker 4 00:13:10 Uh, Alrighty. Question. Number one, if you could ski down one hill, what would that hill be
Speaker 3 00:13:18 Like in town here or anywhere in the world? Oh, that's under the paradise chair at lake Louise. Oh yeah. That I did that last spring and I, I loved it. It was beautiful. Spring ski day.
Speaker 4 00:13:32 We go question number two. What is one thing that Vista Ridge has that you can't find at any other ski hill
Speaker 3 00:13:39 Amazing staff that run an amazing hill. And this is a shout out to everybody that runs up facility out there all year round. They're the friendliest group that I've ever been.
Speaker 4 00:13:49 Question number three. Why do you think the ski Hills poutine is one of the highest rated poutines in town?
Speaker 0 00:13:57 It is, we've done an unofficial survey.
Speaker 3 00:14:00 Then it must be cheese curds. And I think you'll have to bring my son there. Cause he's like, you know, a poutine judger,
Speaker 4 00:14:08 The Fort McMurray ski hill has had the best poutine in town debated league. Since I was a kid going there myself
Speaker 0 00:14:18 As well, hands down, best poutine in town. Not up for negotiation.
Speaker 3 00:14:21 Gotta be the cheese curds or something in the gravy. Yeah.
Speaker 0 00:14:24 There you go.
Speaker 4 00:14:25 Question number four. What is your summer activity when you're waiting for the ski season?
Speaker 3 00:14:32 Camping, hiking, biking, camping,
Speaker 0 00:14:35 Something like that.
Speaker 3 00:14:36 Outdoors. Outdoors. Oh yeah,
Speaker 4 00:14:38 Yeah. And your final question. What is one thing that you've learned from the children? You help ski?
Speaker 3 00:14:46 Oh goodness. Um, gratitude. We chat a lot about how much fun we have. And they like, if you're, if you're not having such a great day, hang around with kids. Yeah. But I have a great time. Every time I'm on the hill with them, they're happy they teach you about being just really grateful for the hill that we have the opportunities that we have. Absolutely.
Speaker 4 00:15:08 That is if you like children, if you don't like children probably don't spend the day with them. Those have been your five questions.
Speaker 0 00:15:16 Okay. So you're a big outdoors kind of person has happened a few days, weeks ago now, but did you check out the Banff mountain film festival?
Speaker 3 00:15:29 I didn't, I didn't have the chance to, we've been before. I'm, you know, I watched that and I go, oh, I thought that, but it I've been to the film festival quite a few times. I'd love to go to bath to the film festival, take to actually go
Speaker 0 00:15:44 There to experience a little thing. But
Speaker 3 00:15:46 It, and then the other one that that's been hosted here is radical reels, which is another super fun, uh, showcase. Yeah.
Speaker 0 00:15:55 Before COVID, um, the summer before COVID I had the opportunity to actually not go for the Banff mountain film festival while it was taking place. But I got to go to like the museum and where they actually host the whole thing. Oh my goodness. It was something else. I bet it was really cool to see. Yeah. That
Speaker 3 00:16:14 Would be pretty sweet.
Speaker 0 00:16:15 So that's on my bucket list of things to do actually is to actually experience the Banff mountain film festival, like during I think so for a month of it, like while it's going on, but yeah. Grow like growing up here and we've, I think they announced like it's a 20th year or something that the Banff mountain film festival has been coming to Fort McMurray, like, cause we are so far removed. There's something about that film festival in like, obviously I don't do any of those extreme things that the athletes are doing, but you can kind of like relate and feel.
Speaker 3 00:16:46 Would you feel like you could for a real brief minute, you feel like if I just get a Patagonia backpack,
Speaker 0 00:16:55 That's exactly it. So yeah. You just seem like somebody who definitely be interested in the Banff mountain film festival.
Speaker 3 00:17:02 I really enjoy that show. Didn't get to it this year, but still,
Speaker 0 00:17:05 Well, it came early this year. Cause usually it's in like January, February when they come. So I think because of COVID and just trying to sneak something in when we could, I don't know what's going to happen, but they had it. It was great. It was, it was great to see. I went for one of the evenings. I couldn't get a babysitter for the second night. So at least you going to go to, once you got one in oh they're phenomenal films. Yeah. So we're at the end of the show though. 20 minutes flies. There we go. So before everybody leaves though, they get a shameless shout out or plug. So the camera's on you, the Mike's on you.
Speaker 3 00:17:38 Sure. So sign up for the ski team, uh, go to our website, Fort McMurray, ski team.com. Lots of information there. You don't have to pay to register that comes later. So sometimes as a sticking point for folks, but at least look at the information, read about it. And if you need some more data or you want to chat with me about it, there's an email address
[email protected].
Speaker 0 00:18:03 There we go. Sweet. Well, before I cut you loose, just so you know, uh, please, please, please. I tell everybody this, come back to the show again. Anytime you want to just hang out and talk with me and Tanner we're here. And if you want to continue to promote the ski club or you guys have any fundraisers or upcoming events that you want to highlight, that seat is always open for you. Awesome. Cool. We will take you up on that. Awesome. I like it. I like it. Okay. Well Fort McMurray with Buffalo and the rest of the world, that's been another episode of the Mac city morning show. Thank you so much for tuning in. It does mean the world to me. I hope you're having a great day and we'll see you tomorrow. Peace.
