How It All Started
2012 - The Dream Takes Shape
So here's the thing - I was burnt out. Like, really burnt out. Ten years working corporate finance in Vancouver, and I couldn't remember the last time I'd actually felt... alive, you know? My partner Elena and I took this random weekend trip up to Whistler, ended up on this ridge at sunrise, and something just clicked. The mountains, the air, that weird peaceful feeling when you're surrounded by peaks - we looked at each other and said "what if we just... didn't go back?"
2014 - Finding the Ridge
Took us two years to find this spot. We must've looked at thirty properties - some too remote, others too developed. Then our realtor (shoutout to Margaret, she's still a friend) showed us Ascendant Ridge. It was rough, honestly. An old logging site with a half-collapsed cabin and overgrown trails. But standing there, watching the sunset paint the peaks orange and purple... Elena grabbed my hand and whispered "this is it." She was right.
2016 - Building More Than Walls
Construction was brutal. We lived in a trailer on-site for eighteen months. Winter of 2015 almost broke us - literally couldn't work for six weeks straight because of snow. But we met this incredible crew of local builders who got what we were trying to do. Not just another luxury hotel, but a place where people could actually reconnect with themselves. Where the architecture breathed with the landscape instead of fighting it.
2018 - Opening Day
March 15th, 2018. Our first guests arrived and I was a nervous wreck. Elena kept telling me to breathe. We started with just eight suites - wanted to keep it intimate, manageable. That first couple, David and Sarah from Toronto, they're still coming back twice a year. They told us after that first stay that they'd almost cancelled their marriage therapy appointment because they'd actually started talking to each other again here. That's when I knew we'd built something real.
2020 - Growing Through Change
Yeah, 2020 was tough for everyone. We closed for four months, thought we might lose everything. But when we reopened with all the protocols, something unexpected happened. People were desperate for space, for nature, for genuine human connection that felt safe. We added the Nordic spa that year - Elena's passion project. Turns out cold plunges and sauna sessions under the stars were exactly what people needed.
2022 - Farm to Table Becomes Real
Chef Marcus joined us from a Michelin-starred spot in Vancouver, said he was done with the pretentious food scene. We converted three acres into gardens and partnered with local farms. Now our breakfast eggs come from chickens you can literally hear from the dining room. Marcus makes this wild mushroom risotto with fungi he forages himself from the property. It's become kind of legendary, not gonna lie.
Today - Still Learning, Still Growing
We're at twenty suites now, with a team of forty-three people who feel more like family than staff. Elena runs the wellness programs - she got certified in about six different healing modalities because she's extra like that. I handle operations and spend way too much time talking to guests at the fire pit. Every season brings new challenges, new stories, new reasons why we're grateful we took that leap back in 2012. This place has become more than we imagined - not because it's fancy (though it is pretty nice), but because it actually changes people. Including us, every single day.
