VARDA celebrates 20th anniversary
By Abigail Popple, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, RMG
The Valemount and Area Recreation Development Association (VARDA) celebrated its 20th anniversary throughout the weekend of January 11th-12th. The celebrations included a Saturday morning snowmobile ride, as well as dinner and a party on Saturday evening.
What began as a snowmobiling club 20 years ago has snowballed into an organization supporting all the backcountry recreation opportunities Valemount has to offer, Executive Director Curtis Pawliuk told The Goat.
“We were very ambitious,” Pawliuk said. “Instead of just sitting back and being a snowmobile club, I think VARDA looked at its mandate and its vision set back in the day and expanded on it.”
A crucial part of this expansion was collaboration with local business owners and local government officials, Pawliuk added. These partners helped devise the land use plans that allowed the association to expand snowmobile trails in the Valemount area – the first big project of many. Since its inception, the association has heli-ski companies, mountain bikers, tourism associations and other businesses a seat at the table, according to Pawliuk.
“Even though we don’t manage all of the organizations or all those other activities, it’s important that VARDA has been a central voice to talk about any potential issues, promotion or advocacy for backcountry public use while also protecting commercial rights,” he said.
Some of the association’s biggest success stories include the creation of Crystal Ridge – the world’s first-ever snowmobile-assisted ski hill, according to Pawliuk – and the mountain bike park that the association began planning in 2014, Pawliuk said. Part of the association’s goal with any project is to bring a boon to the local economy, he added.
“I think it’s obvious what mountain biking has done for the community over the last 10 years,” Pawliuk said of the association’s economic impacts. “It was really ingenious for a group of business owners, snowmobilers and public users to see the potential for mountain biking in Valemount and run full steam ahead.”
Pawliuk hopes to carry the association’s ambition and emphasis on sustainable land management into the future.
“We’re just looking to continue developing public recreation activities in a sustainable way,” Pawliuk said. “What’s important is that there’s no reason for us to exist except to enhance our community – both for public recreation and tourism.”
VARDA president Mac Cochrane added that the association has helped bring awareness of safe practices for backcountry recreation.
“I think the biggest growth I’ve seen is in avalanche safety,” he told The Goat. “People are getting better gear, paying more attention. I’m also with Search and Rescue and I’m doing way less rescuing.”
The weekend’s snowmobiling events also brought in attendees from out-of-town, who have likewise watched the association grow over the past 20 years. Snowmobiler Mark Knodel visited from Edmonton and said he remembers the association’s beginnings.
“We come here a lot for snowmobiling, mountain biking and we’ve camped at the campground,” Knodel said. “What [Pawliuk] and VARDA has done has improved all the recreation in town.”
