Mandy Rousseau

I’m Mandy! I grew up here – here being early childhood in Whistler, and then
Pemberton. I worked and studied abroad after graduating from high school, returning to
Whistler in 2010 homesick and ready to build my career in a place dedicated to outdoor
recreation. As my career grew, however, so too did the distance between me and the outdoors
that had beckoned me home.

Growing up in Whistler, skiing was as natural as walking – I started when I was three. Biking, in
contrast, is a sport that I found for myself, gaining skills on the saddle after office hours in my
early 20s. Equal parts problem solving and endorphin-boosting, mountain biking became an
outlet for my mental, emotional, and physical wellbeing as I navigated the corporate ladder in
our tiny resort town. It was refreshing to connect with my local community and forests through
this newfound perspective.

Inevitably, my passion for pedals through the forest pulled me off the corporate ladder and
onto the saddle with Arbutus Routes – Whistler’s premium bike shop located at the base of the
best mountain on Earth (Blackcomb!). Biking – be it on the Valley Trail, in the Whistler
Mountain Bike Park, or amongst the Sea to Sky Corridor’s vast trail network – fills me with joy,
and I am proud to share these experiences with others.