Vince Shuley

Whistler

Writer, Copywriter and Photojournalist at Freelance

Editorial and brand copywriter based vin beautiful Whistler, B.C.

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Articles

Learning to live with fire

6 days ago | piquenewsmagazine.com | Vince Shuley

In all the times I've written about wildfires in this column, it's mostly been about how lucky Whistler has been. A mountain town nestled amongst coniferous rainforest-baked dry during spring and early summer heat waves-is incredibly susceptible to the swift and destructive nature of an out-of-control wildfire (just ask the residents of Jasper, Alta.).
Pour one out for Blackcomb summer skiing

2 weeks ago | piquenewsmagazine.com | Vince Shuley

This isn't exactly breaking news, but summer glacier skiing is done on Blackcomb's Horstman Glacier. Arguably, it's been done for a while now, but that hasn't stopped summer camp operators from throwing a Hail Mary every year in hopes we'll get one more season out of it. We all know the cause. Our rapidly warming climate in the last 20 years has shrunk glaciers worldwide, not just on our local ski hill.
The boring way to save your money

4 weeks ago | piquenewsmagazine.com | Vince Shuley

I'll never forget the first time I began taking my finances seriously. I was in a meeting with a financial services adviser at my local bank, requesting an increase to my personal credit limit. I needed (read: wanted) to buy some new camera equipment, and my current credit card didn't have the capacity. I was still in my 20s, working seasonal jobs as a ski instructor and summer ATV guide, and had aspirations of becoming a professional photojournalist.
The Outsider: Transition week

1 month ago | piquenewsmagazine.com | Vince Shuley

Ahhh Whismas. If anything can steal the thunder from the season's final weekend of skiing, it's the first weekend of the Whistler Bike Park. A bit of rain followed by a bit of sunshine was once again a recipe for perfection on Sunday, with trails running fast and tacky. But before we go further on the summer transition, we should take a moment to give the ski season its proper sendoff.
A solution for fewer batteries

2 months ago | piquenewsmagazine.com | Vince Shuley

Having accumulated enough outdoor gear over the years to open a small retail store, I like to think I have most of my bases covered. For example, I own three sleeping bags-one warm-weather synthetic bag for summer camping, one cold-weather down for fall and winter camping, and one extreme cold-weather down bag for high-altitude expeditions. I haven't used that last one for many years, but if I ever end up getting to Alaska for skiing someday, I'll be ready.
The mountain never gets old

2 months ago | piquenewsmagazine.com | Vince Shuley

Just like the superstition of never calling last run, I tend to avoid proclaiming the end of winter skiing. I've skied too many pow days in May to make that blunder. But with spring rain abound, melt-freeze cycles in effect and T-shirts and shorts popping up around the valley whenever the sun shows up for 10 minutes, I'm resigned that any powder from here on in will be an unexpected bonus.
Tales of the Overstoke-ski mountaineering edition

Mar 30, 2025 | piquenewsmagazine.com | Vince Shuley

When you start ski touring, it's all about skiing powder. After your experience broadens and your eyes open to new possibilities, ski touring starts to get a bit more serious. The terrain gets more complex with avalanche risk, fall exposure, glacial crevasse danger, or a combination of the above. The tools, skills and know-how you need to get where you're going rapidly snowballs. Ski mountaineering has grown into an ambiguous term.
Maintaining decorum

Mar 22, 2025 | piquenewsmagazine.com | Vince Shuley

de·co·rum /dəˈkôrəm/ n. -behaviour in keeping with good taste and propriety. Whether it's from our parents, our schools or other childhood influences, good manners are an important part of any human's upbringing. Respect your elders, especially those who helped raise you. Don't pry into people's business. Don't stare at people who are visibly less fortunate than you. At some point in late teenage years or early adulthood, maintaining good manners becomes a decision for the individual to make.
A day of seasons. A season of days.

Mar 16, 2025 | piquenewsmagazine.com | Vince Shuley

"Don't like the weather? Just wait a few minutes." No one is certain if the humorist Mark Twain ever actually said this about the New England climate, but it has probably been adopted for every variable weather region on the North American continent, including our strip of coastal B.C. When I arrived fresh off the boat in Whistler many moons ago, I hadn't experienced this type of weather before.
Making tracks into history

Feb 23, 2025 | piquenewsmagazine.com | Vince Shuley

On a chilly October evening, I'm sitting at the back of the audience at an intimate gathering at the Whistler Museum of around two dozen people. A silent digitized film of skiing Whistler Bowl in 1963 (years before it was named Whistler Bowl) runs in the background as attendees comment and jeer at the skiers' technique, laughter all around. Tables are littered with generations-old memorabilia, photos and newspaper clippings of Canadian ski-racing success stories.