Skiing in Victoria (an “almost true” story)

Swoosh!  This sound, usually accompanied with laughter, was common to hear in the middle of the coastal city of Victoria, for situated there was the majestic Mount Victoria.  Offering 7000 feet of incredible snow for 10 months a year, the residents of the city were of course, fanatical skiers! 

Clubs such as the Greater Victoria Skiing Coalition, built trails, and successfully lobbied the City, CRD, and the Province for additional facilities and lift equipment in the quest to improve lifestyle for the residents of their region. 

So many residents enjoyed skiing in Victoria, that Stats-Canada designated the city “Skiing Capital of Canada”.  The National Downhill, Freestyle, and Cross Country Teams were all based there!  Quite often, visitors to Victoria, after going to Butchart Gardens, and shopping in the shoe stores on Government St., would also partake and enjoy skiing on Mt. Victoria. 

One day, a Shoe Salesman, named Brad, was staring out the window, watching the skiers on Mt. Victoria, and thinking about how to attract more visitors to the city and his store. “I know!  Why not promote the city as a skiing destination!!??”  Skiing is growing in popularity, and other destinations with much less to offer are becoming known for skiing.   

Brad met with the local skiing clubs, and they were happy to share their trails with visitors.  They formed a committee, the Skiing Tourism Advisory Committee, (STAC) and off they went!  They found out there was another club and popular downhill course near Hartland, and groups in Sooke wanted to develop skiing in their region also!  “The potential is huge”, everyone said. 

STAC built a web page called skiingvictoria.com, got tourism publications to put some skiing pictures in their books, did the research on other successful ski destinations, and developed the plan that would bring a kazillion new visitors to the city to enjoy the fabulous skiing.  They even helped the local skiing clubs join Tourism Victoria. 

They met with Tourism Victoria, the CRD, and the local Hotel Association, who all said  “It’s a good idea, but developing a ski industry is not in our mandate, besides, people have always come to Victoria for it’s fabulous Shoe Stores, Tea Rooms, and Gardens.  (The city was famous for it’s shoe stores.)  STAC persevered, (whined and cried pathetically), and eventually got their way.  After all, the organizations concluded while writing big cheques, the shoe industry was in decline, and Victoria really was a great place to ski. 

So…. Victoria became famous for skiing, the Hotels got busier, and the Convention Center got more room tax to become larger, so they could attract bigger shoe conventions. 

All was not rosy though, for a Big Box Shoe Store opened in Langford and put Brad out of business.  He went to work for Intrawest, who built ski resorts without any shoe stores.  STAC disbanded, and the web page was taken over by a porno site that showed pictures of naked people skiing.   

The residents of Victoria have started complaining about over crowded skiing conditions.