Ridiculous!!

[hop]

Something else to mess up the hotsprings. http://www.whistlerhotsprings.com/ They have an ad in the local Whistler newspaper to target the tourists. This is just not right. Hope it goes under quickly.

[safarigirl07]

there was a short thread on this forum about this same company last fall under British Columbia - "It's a business doing pleasure for you...."

[Bulldozer]

Some of the wording has changed with regards to Mike Sato, but they still claim...

"We work closely with the managers of the Skookumchuck hot springs to ensure that the various tubs and pools are clean and not overused so that your visit is safe and enjoyable".

I am mixed on this. I have in the past carried groups to the hotsprings in exchange for fuel costs and friendly company. No profit was made except for self gratification. Day tripping out of Vancouver is a LONG day, If your looking for something to do while in Whistler, there it is, why not, $100 to $120/person out of Whistler. Many of the people who accompanied me over the years suggested I get into this more regular, as in a fulltime job. At that time in my life a fulltime job was out of the question, to much soaking and fishing an havin fun was to be done. Gone are the good old dayz...

[Kim_S]

Like Bulldozer, I also have mixed feelings on this. On one hand, I think mass commercialization of primitive springs is simply a bad idea. Bringing a tour group of a bunch of people to a spring can have major impacts, even if it's the Green Tortoise bus On the other hand, taking a friend or stranger or two to a spring is not such a bad thing, but I would never charge for it.

[Big Ian]

I believe this to be another start-up trying to take advantage of the focus on Whistler due to the Olympics coming here. Personally (and I do have some experience with the sort of demand for this product given my career field), most people are looking for the same type of experience we all are looking for, the chance to discover a special place and explore it on their own terms. Generally speaking, the simple distance/time required (even from Whistler) is enough to turn off the majority of people. Adding the mass transportation issue and time limits does not sweeten the deal. I don't foresee this lasting too long. Interestingly enough, one of the things they offer is a meeting location at the local native cultural centre, which would likely add a little legitimacy to the offering, given that the Lil'wat and Squamish tribes have been visiting these springs since time immemorial. It doesn't seem to go much beyond meeting there for the tour tho...

[newmindseye]

It sounds as though Whistler Hot Springs Adventures will only be visiting Meager and Skookumchuk. If that's the case, I don't have a problem with it. Both of those site are designed to handle a higher volume of people. I would be pissed if they were going to Pebble Creek or Sloquet as they are both fragile areas already seeing too much traffic in my opinion.

[Spike]

It's interesting to note that the logo is stolen from Hot Wheels from Mattel.

[Casa Blanca Hot Spring]

Hi Kim,

Bringing a tour group of a bunch of people to a spring can have major impacts, even if it's the Green Tortoise bus

Smiling, we note the smiley face. We've not had one single positive experience with those people at any hot spring, ever.

NN,
C y B

[Kim_S]

C and B- you saw my E-mail response to you. It's a mixed bag with the Green Tortoise folks.

[skndip]

Just my 2 cents---A few years ago the Green Tortoise bus started stopping at Idaho's Gold Bug HS. There never seemed to be any trouble and they cleaned up after themselves. Interestling enough most all wore suits?? Interesting group of younger people haveing a great time. Usually the stop was less than 3 hours and they were on there way. S

[Big Ian]

Just my 2 cents---A few years ago the Green Tortoise bus started stopping at Idaho's Gold Bug HS. There never seemed to be any trouble and they cleaned up after themselves. Interestling enough most all wore suits?? Interesting group of younger people haveing a great time. Usually the stop was less than 3 hours and they were on there way. S

"Started stopping?" Is that like "beginning Finnish"? Talk about "Ridiculous!!" (thread title)

[Casa Blanca Hot Spring]

Hi Big Ian,

"Started stopping?" Is that like "beginning Finnish"? Talk about "Ridiculous!!" (thread title)

According to Merriam-Webster, "started" means "to begin", "to commence". Therefore, writing "Started stopping" is correct English. We understood it completely.

"Beginning Finnish" is also correct English, such as, "Beginning Finnish bicycle touring" or lots of other things.

We're not sure what the purpose of your post is.

Naturally Nude,
Camilla & Bill

[skndip]

Hi All---I did graduate high school but i never done very well in grammer or english. (Started Stopping) does sound funny when thinking about it---???? I think maybe the Green Turtle must just occasionally show up at GBHS. he he Still scratching head----Have a great day. S

[Big Ian]

Hi Big Ian,

"Started stopping?" Is that like "beginning Finnish"? Talk about "Ridiculous!!" (thread title)

According to Merriam-Webster, "started" means "to begin", "to commence". Therefore, writing "Started stopping" is correct English. We understood it completely.

"Beginning Finnish" is also correct English, such as, "Beginning Finnish bicycle touring" or lots of other things.

We're not sure what the purpose of your post is.

Naturally Nude,
Camilla & Bill

Just a little humourous paradox wordplay....y'know....start VS. stop, begin VS. finish etc.

Doesn't seem quite so amusing now...sheesh

[Casa Blanca Hot Spring]

Hi Big Ian,

Big Ian
> Just a little humourous paradox wordplay....y'know.

OK, yes, we get it now. Sorry we were a bit slow on the uptake.

Sort of like beginning to finish? |;]

NN,
C&B

[Big Ian]

Phew, for a moment I thought my sense of humour had gone over the deep end.

[Bulldozer]

Phew, for a moment I thought my sense of humour had gone over the deep end.

Hopefully into Hot Water...

Kinda like a Oxymoron thing, I do slip on words often but I've never been called an Oxy.
I saw the Ha ha in it...

[Big Ian]

[Mike_Sato]

Individuals in BC can create guided tour businesses where outdoor recreational activities (including bringing tourists to primitive hot springs) are provided on a fee-for-service basis. In 2000, there were a couple of companies in Whistler that planned tours of Meager Creek Hot Springs. In 2002, a company in Pemberton advertised for tours of Pebble Creek Hot Springs. These companies eventually faded away.

One of the reasons for this was due to the distance and time required to travel to the hot springs. As well, the companies likely could not attract enough customers to be commercially viable.

However, the main reason that tour companies cannot offer tours to Meager Creek HS, Pebble Creek HS, Sloquet HS and Clear Creek HS, is because these hot springs are located on Crown land.

The BC provincial government introduced a commercial recreation management program in 1998 that required existing and new recreation operators to acquire tenures for the use of Crown lands.

This means that tour companies taking their clients to Meager Creek HS, Pebble Creek HS, Sloquet HS and Clear Creek HS need to acquire backcountry commercial recreation tenures before they can begin their tours. Tour companies that secretly bring a few visitors once in a while might not be caught. However, companies that advertise tours to these hot springs or continually bring large number of visitors will likely be noticed by provincial officials.

Acquiring backcountry commercial recreation tenure is a very long, expensive and difficult process. It requires potential recreation operators to have industry and stakeholder consultations with local First Nations, municipal and regional district officials, forestry and mining companies, existing tenure holders, etc. Unless a majority of stakeholders agree to support your tenure application, a tour company cannot acquire the tenure.

A Lower Mainland jeep tour company applied for an occupational tenure to bring tours to Clear Creek Hot Springs in 2003. According to government records, as of 2010, the application is still pending. Therefore, hot springs enthusiasts should not worry too much about busloads of tourists coming to Meager Creek HS, Pebble Creek HS, Sloquet HS or Clear Creek HS anytime soon.

Also, access to Meager Creek HS, Pebble Creek HS, Sloquet HS and Clear Creek HS is through Industrial Use Forest Service Roads. These Industrial Use Forest Service Roads are usually maintained during the summer months and then closed after snowfall. To bring visitors to any of these 4 hot springs, commercial recreation operators will need to acquire a road user permit from the Ministry of Forest. Road user permit holders are responsible for maintaining and repairing the Industrial Use Forest Service Roads. If necessary, they may need to share in the maintenance costs, which is very expensive and not financially viable for most tour companies.

Skookumchuck HS is not on provincial Crown land, so it differs from the other 4 hot springs. Prior to 2007, the property that includes Skokumchuck HS was held in private hands (fee-simple). In 2007, the Government of Canada acquired the property on behalf of the In–SHUCK–ch Nation and it is now held in trust by the federal government as part of the proposed Treaty Settlement Lands package being negotiated with the Governments of Canada and British Columbia.

Access to Skookumchuck HS is via a Public Use Forest Service Road. Public Use Forest Service Roads are maintained year round and are not seasonally deactivated. Public access of the In-SHUCK-ch FSR is not restricted. So any guided tour company with a business license can use the hot springs at Skookumchuck HS as long as their visitors pay the user fees.

There are some problems with the wording on the website of Whistler Hot Springs Adventures Ltd. For example, it states on its website that "We work closely with the managers of the Skookumchuck hot springs" etc. This is false and I have emailed the owner of the company a few times in January to have them remove these types of statements from their website.

Public use of naturally occurring hot springs in BC is guaranteed, even on private land, pursuant to existing provincial legislation (the Province of BC retains ownership of these rights - water). All fee paying visitors have equal rights to use naturally occurring hot springs in BC

Therefore, I cannot restrict any tour company from bringing visitors to Skookumchuch HS unless they violate management rules or local and provincial codes and regulations.

Mike Sato

[Kim_S]

Mike, a quick question, are "Crown" lands the same as what we call "public" lands?