Jon Lackman

Imagine a nation whose leaders are split into bitterly divided camps, neither of which cares much for the masses who salve their poverty with sedatives and black humor. Is this a description of contemporary America or Shakespeare’s late 15th century play “Henry IV, part 1?” When my daughters, aged 10 and 12, began rehearsing this play in September, I read it for myself, looking for venerable guidance from the Bard for our troubling times. What I saw in the play was not reassuring.

Just like Franz Wilhelmsen, who was passionate about Whistler and hiked the mountain on weekends in the early 1960s, Swiss industrialist Johann Heinrich was infatuated by the crisp, clean mountain air of the Engadin valley region in the eastern Swiss Alps when he trekked through in 1834. And the appeal of the mountains gained momentum in 1865 when doctors in England and Germany sent their tuberculosis patients to the Alps.

You might have noticed them around the village, snugly attached to lampposts: the annual presentation of rainbow flags and banners, signaling the time of year Whistler gets its week long closeup on the gay calendar. And come Sunday, the Whistler Pride & Ski Festival will kick off its 25th rendition. Dean Nelson, the event's executive producer, has a message for locals and visitors alike: "Come in, have fun with us.