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14
Escarpment Magaz ine Summer 2012
We thank you for supporting the Peak to
Peak Escarpment Challenge, a hike and fund raising
event, held on May 12
th
to support the preservation of
this very unique part of the Province, the Niagara Es-
carpment. For some hikers it was their first time hiking
this section of the Bruce Trail while others have hiked it
many times, but, in all cases, hikers were enthusiastic
and genuinely interested in wanting to see this special
natural environment protected.
The Clearview Community Coalition
(CCC) and Environmental Defense are very ap-
preciative of the inclusion of the article and ad in
the spring edition of Escarpment Magazine. The
timing was perfect and the fact that the Charles
Garrad interview was also in the same edition
made a great connection.
There were over 1000 individual
donors who contributed to the Peak to Peak
campaign making it CCC's most successful
fundraiser to date. CCC has worked to pro-
tect the Niagara Escarpment and our rural
communities for the past three years and we
will continue to work to make sure that the
Niagara Escarpment is not destroyed.
~
Janet Gillham | Peak to Peak Organizing Committee
Deena - Thank you for inserting a lovely hidden mes-
sage to Dorothy (Mom) in the latest magazine.
Nuthatches were a favourite and she is indeed missed.
I am sure you are the responsible agent of that mes-
sage and it is a lovely gesture. She is has been pop-
ping up in my consciousness all spring with the arrival
of each new bird.
~
Mark Wiercinski | Thornbury | Sent from somewhere in the field ....
"No matter where go - there you are"
It's not every day a gal gets her photo taken by a pro-
fessional. The whole process was a lot of fun and I was
thrilled to be a part of the makeover issue. Thank you
...a great lift when I needed it most! Your magazine
cover looks spectacular as always, an original for sure.
~
Sue Barry | Collingwood
Great new website! I like how you have many of your
back-issue articles available...and I love the bold cover on
your current issue; well done!
~
Shelby Worts ND | Collingwood
One of your best covers yet! Love it.
~
Tracy McNichol | Collingwood
Your web site to review issues is fantastic.
~
Sean Kelly | Thornbury
Our B&B Guests get their own copy to share with
friends/family. They love it & so do we!
~
Heathcote Haven Bed and Breakfast
As a kid, skiing out of the Toronto Ski Club in the sixties,
Jozo and I became good friends. We skied often to-
gether. As time rolled on Jozo's vision was taken over
by Gord Canning and Jozo was very proud of Gord.
Myself as well. In the mid to late 70's I skied with
Nancy Greene and her boy's - we were all young
then! I congratulate you on the mag. Loved "in the
still of the white" cover. Cheers!
~
Harry Hall | Thornbury
Thanks for the article. I hope it does some good locally. I continue to receive calls
and messages concerning the article, and they are all very favourable and congrat-
ulatory. I am still getting compliments, although Mayor Sandra Cooper is getting
attention ! It is a well-received publication. Also thanks to Clay for the great photo.
He even made my bent nose look straight. I broke it when I fell over at the Scenic
Caves a few years back and it set at an angle!
~
Charles Garrad | Toronto | The Blue Mountains
Re: Peak to Peak Escarpment Challenge - pg. 96
about our last issue - Spring
2012
escarpment
reader’s notes
1
Spr ing 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
spring 2012
make
over
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issue
96
escarpment
excursions
IMPORTANT EVENT!!
Whether
it’s gravity or magnetism or something else entirely,
when Aaron Garner catches a glimpse of the Niagara Escarpment
after one of his frequent road trips, it just feels like home.
The veteran Collingwood musician grew up with the Escarpment in
his backyard. He’s skied it, fished it, biked it and hiked it. Now he’s
teaming up with a group of other Georgian Bay artists to help cel-
ebrate and protect it.
Garner will lace up his hiking boots and strap on his familiar
acoustic guitar at the Peak to Peak Escarpment Challenge hike-a-
thon, a fundraiser hosted by the Clearview Community Coalition,
which fought a legal battle last year against quarrying near the
highest point on the Escarpment. The May 12, event also includes
a silent auction of Niagara Escarpment-themed art donated by the
Georgian Bay Association for Creative Arts, and live music by Gar-
ner, Tom Barlow, and Collingwood singer-songwriter Romney
Getty.
“The Niagara Escarpment means so much to Collingwood,” says
Garner, who lives in town with his wife Heather. “It’s what makes
this area unique. People come from all over the world to see it be-
cause it’s an ecosystem you can’t find anywhere else. Once we
over-develop it, that’s something we can’t get back.”
“Andover-development is a real danger on theNiagara Escarpment.”
says hike-a-thon organizer, Janet Gillham, “One thing we learned in
our fight to stop quarrying is that a lot of people who live around
the Escarpment feel a real affinity for it but think it’s more protected
than it really is,” says Gillham. “They’re usually surprised to learn
that we are blowing holes in it to make gravel.”
“Toronto might need gravel, but we’re saying, around here we
need the Niagara Escarpment even more. Once we destroy the
balance that makes this place aWorld Biosphere Reserve it’s gone
forever.”
The Peak to Peak Escarpment Challenge is an all-ages event organ-
ized as a chance to entice hikers of all abilities to explore, celebrate
and help protect the Niagara Escarpment.
It takes place Saturday, May 12, starting
at a farm across the road fromHighlands
Nordic on Nottawasaga Conc. 10 S.
near Duntroon.
“The Niagara Escarpment represents a challenge to all of us,” says
Gillham, “to ski it, to climb it, to hike it or snowshoe it. It’s been a
tough challenge over these last three years trying to protect the Es-
carpment and we wanted to focus on the fun and give people a
chance to get out in the spring flowers and simply explore it --
maybe, for some people, discover it for the first time.”
The full Escarpment Challenge route runs 26 km, from belowOsler
Bluff through Pretty River Valley Provincial Park to the Duntroon
highlands. The hike-a-thon also offers a bus shuttle to shorter routes,
from 20 km down to 6 km, with hikes suitable for kids, and a Chil-
dren’s Program.
“Choose your challenge!” says Gillham, “We have refreshment
stations along the trail and in the Caves section near the Not-
tawasaga Lookout we’ll have several naturalists who can answer
questions about plants and wildlife, how the Escarpment was
formed, or about its early inhabitants, the Petun Indians.”
(Ed. Note: Read In Conversation - pgs. 108 -110)
The hikes are designed so that hikers arrive back at a century farm
on the Escarpment overlooking Georgian Bay for an afterparty. It
includes a buffet, barbeque, a silent auction of Niagara Escarpment
-themed art, fundraising prizes (including Leafs tickets) and live
music by Collingwood’s hardest working musician, Aaron Garner.
Hikers are asked to pre-register at www.peaktopeakhike.com and
raise a minimum of $200 ($50 fo
ible
donations. They will qualify for big
with every $100 they
raise. The grand prize draw is for a getaway for two, all expenses
paid, to the stunning 5 star Fogo Island Inn, donated by Newfound-
land and Labrador’s Shorefast Foundation.
“If you can’t join us, you can still show your support by sponsoring
a hiker,” says Gillham.
Along with early supporter Aaron Garner, the hike-a-thon immedi-
ately captured the imagination of the Georgian Bay Association
for Creative Arts (GBACA). As the trilliums slowly awake artists
are creating works inspired by the local landscape, and hikers
will have a chance to bid on them on May 12.
|E|
For more information about the Peak to Peak Escarpment Challenge
hike-a-thon, please vis
PEAK TO PEAK HIKE-A-THON INVITES HIKERS:
CHOOSE YOUR CHALLENGE!
Escarpment Magaz ine
Spr ing 2012
over-development is
a real danger on the
Niagara Escarpment.
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
We love to get your notes and to hear your opinions about what
we’re doing. Please email us at
Ed. Note: A compliment from Harry Hall about my painting carries much weight - he
is a wonderfully, talented painter - we need to see more from him!
Read the entire issue:
Re: Winter 2012 issue - In Conversation with Gord Canning - pgs.32-35
and Skiing for Dummies 101 by Nancy Greene Raine - pgs.14-21
Re: In Conversation with Charles Garrad - pgs.108-110
Re: Make-Overs - pg. 54
Re: Feathered Friends - pg. 106
