AL RAINE

AL RAINE IS A MAN who turned a lifelong passion into a lifelong career.

Raine has made skiing his life’s work. Along with wife, Nancy Greene, he has been instrumental in the development and promotion of ski tourism in British Columbia, first at Whistler and now at Sun Peaks Resort, the community to which he was recently elected mayor. No stranger to resort living, the 68 year old has plenty of ideas for Sun Peaks. Employee housing, a school and healthcare are just a few of the items on his agenda. "In order to have a great resort, you must also have a great community. I truly believe you have to look after the employees of a resort and their families," he says.

Raine was actively involved in the Sun Peaks community leading up to his appointment as Mayor. He was a board member with the local Tourism Association for the past fourteen years and was chairman for the last two.

While some might think that Raine has his work cut out for him, this isn’t a man who stands down to a challenge or an adventure.

As a young teenager he hitchhiked up to Seymour Mountain every weekend to ski.

"I would leave my skis up at the mountain but I’d take my poles and boots and people knew I was heading up to ski. I don’t ever recall waiting more than 10 minutes to get a ride, anyone who was going skiing and who had room took you." he laughs.

Before long, Raine was skiing year round. When he graduated high school he was ready for a real adventure – ski racing in Colorado.

But Raine never made it there. While working in the Yukon, he met a few Austrian ski racers who convinced him, that if we was truly serious about the sport, he should go to Austria. On a whim, Raine packed his bags and headed to Austria.

Three years later, he moved back to Canada, bringing with him invaluable experience. "When I was in Austria I learned that the resort is a way of life. Ski instructors, operators of hotels, people who have joy from skiing make the resort their life. Other people come and stay in their hotel and go to skiing lessons and really get to love skiing and the whole resort experience. It’s a lot of fun."

He’d also dabbled in coaching there, but he could not have known that he was about to embark on his biggest adventure yet: Head Coach of Canada’s ski racing team. When he first returned to Canada he began coaching the Ski Hawks in Montreal. His reputation as a great coach began to grow.

"[When] the head coach for the national team announced that he was going to step down and I got petitioned, I felt I was too young; I was only 28 years old and didn’t feel like I had the experience that you really, really need," he says.

But with the encouragement of friends, Raine took the position and excelled at it.

In five years, he took a team that was unnoticed and uncompetitive to the next level. For the first time, Canada’s National Ski Team emerged as a real threat to the dominance of the European nations. Of all the things he has achieved, Raine considers this his greatest accomplishment.

"When I first took over we were really somewhat disorganized," he explains. "We weren’t at a competitive level and when I left we were."

With the success of the National Ski Team under his belt, Raine spent a few years working at Whistler and for the province of British Columbia. Eventually, he was ready for a change.

Once again, he relocated across the pond, this time to Switzerland, where he taught tennis and skiing and spent time with his family.

Raine has spent the majority of his life living and working at ski resorts. It is little wonder that he still makes time to do the thing he loves best: skiing.

"I ski at least every morning and probably every third day all day," he says. "90 to 95 per cent of the time I’m with resort guests. You can make peoples’ day because when you know the mountain and you know where the best snow and weather is you can take people to spots they hadn’t even dreamed of going and it gives them a real thrill."