So, What is Epic ?

By Eduard Fischer
Published: May 17, 2014

I just read the news that “after six months of discussions, the brand development committee is circling the word ‘epic’ to define and pitch Squamish to the world.” (Squamish Reporter)

First off here is one of the characteristics of epic as defined by Wikipedia: “Often features the tragic hero’s descent into the Underworld or hell.” Then here is my definition of what I believe the word “epic” has come to mean in the modern rock climber’s and mountaineer’s vernacular: an adventure where many things go wrong unexpectedly, and stuff happens that may make for a good story — if you live.

The Odyssey is an epic; Odysseus incurs the wrath of the god Poseidon and bad things happen to him for ten years. Mountaineer Joe Simpson’s agonizing survival crawl with a broken leg as described in “Touching the Void,” is an epic. The word often refers a heroic struggle with a series of unfortunate events brought on by poor planning or bad luck. I’m somehow not sure that this is what most tourists are looking for when they visit our town.

Some visitors to Squamish mention “epic” when they tell the story of how they came here and all their gear was stolen from their car in a public parking lot. Many people I know that have been visitors or residents here over the years have had their cars broken into in parking lots, especially in the parks. Nice that we have so many signs reminding people not to leave valuables in their cars. In other words: don’t bring your outdoor recreation gear to the Outdoor Recreation Capital of Canada.

Or if you do — and decide to go for a stroll from the Shannon Falls parking lot to look at the view — make sure that you take your skis, boots, climbing gear, camping stuff, everything, with you on your walk. I guess the couple from Washington State that got their car broken into there recently neglected to do that. They even lost their passports. The brand development committee ironically may have chosen the right word.

For all the money we have spent on consultants, and a grandiose Adventure Centre, what we still need first and foremost in this region to make tourists feel welcome is — security. I have heard from law enforcement that there is little they can do to track down perpetrators because they figure they are “transients.”  I happen not to believe this. Regular break-ins at the Diamond Head and Black Tusk Parking lots point to local knowledge.  I believe that there are smash and grab thieves that have been operating in this vicinity for years, and that they visit the same fishing holes with impunity because this community, and the law enforcement it employs, do not have the will to stop them.

I wonder what happened to the photos I sourced for the RCMP of the guys that broke into my car. I had to repeatedly nag and plead for the RCMP to even go and pick up the photos from the gas station (where my stolen credit card was used) before the security camera pictures were routinely deleted. The gas station manager had told me there were clear images of the guys who had used my card, the same guys who had performed multiple car break-ins that night. File # 2011 2580, if anyone ever wants to get back to me — after four years.