Richard Branson blown away by Squamish, BCAugust 8th , 2005 World renowned adventurer, extreme sports enthusiast and entrepreneur Richard Branson was incredibly impressed with his first visit to Squamish BC, The Outdoor Recreation Capital of Canada. “This place is amazing! I’m definitely coming back some time to do more kite surfing!” exclaimed Branson after a 30 minute kite surfing jaunt in the strong winds off the Squamish Spit against the backdrop of the monolithic rock climbing playground of the Stawamus Chief. The media event, with a helicopter circling overhead and camera crews on shore, anchored, and provided great photo opportunities for two announcements. First, Virgin Mobile is offering $100 in free airtime to anyone in BC or Alberta who gets a new Virgin mobile phone over the next 7 days. And even more to the point of the event, Virgin Canada has pledged $100,000 to sponsor a team of extreme female athletes. Branson and Virgin Canada Chair Andrew Black said the team was a good fit and a good opportunity for Virgin, as extreme sports reflected their brand, and that female athletes were chosen because much of the extreme sports sponsorship and attention has previously focused on males. What led Branson and Virgin to choose Squamish BC as the location for this event? It seems there were a number of factors. First, Western Canada was left out of the Virgin Mobile announcements with Branson when the company launched in March. Second, Branson has recently become a very avid kite surfer. He was eager to promote the sport in Canada, where, according to Branson the levels of participation are below what they are in other parts of the world, and below what they should be, given it is such a great sport, and one “can get into it for a relatively low cost”. Voila – a visit to Western Canada’s premier kite surfing destination was in order. Members of the Squamish Windsurfing and Kite Surfing Society rated Branson as “Pretty Good”. Given that it is always hard in a new location until a kite surfer gets the feel of the local wind and the waves, Branson put on a great show on his first trip to Squamish. One member noted that it was impressive that he used a 14 foot rig as opposed to a 12 footer, given the strong winds. Richard Branson famously started his entrepreneurial career selling mail order music, and went on to create a business empire which includes an airline, music stores, Virgin mobile of course, and a fairly good cola that is unfortunately not available in Canada. What makes the Squamish Spit such an excellent windsurfing location? The best summary I found was on the www.flexfoil.com site, summed up in an article by Cliff Umpleby, a Flexi team rider:
If you’re not familiar with the kite scene in Canada or the infamous Spit at Squamish I’ll fill you in…
With the Stawamus Chief, the second largest granite Monolith on earth as a background, the constant thermal winds of Howe Sound lead to epic conditions with summer seeing usually 6 days a week on the water. The basic rule here is, if it’s sunny, it's windy. Warm air inland rising sucks the cool sea air up the valley.
The Squamish Spit is located at very end of Howe Sound on a narrow spit that divides the Squamish River from the rest of the Squamish Estuary. On a low tide day it’s perfect for learning. The Squamish Windsport Society charges a fee for access, which includes a Jet Ski on hand in case you go down and can't make it back. The rest of the article is at:
http://www.flexifoil.com/news/newsitem.php?article_id=101992 Beyond Kite Surfing, Squamish offers an incredibly wide variety of outdoor recreation opportunities. For years, over 1000 routes of all varieties on clean granite has made Squamish the premier rock climbing destination in Canada. Add to that an extensive trail network for hiking, running, and mountain biking, and a few class three and four rapids for the kayaks and rafting boats, and one gets a bit of an insight as to why Squamish attracts thousands of adventure sports enthusiasts like Richard Branson all summer. Given its proximity to Vancouver and Whistler, and its spectacular location, Squamish BC is also a popular location for meetings and conferences Previous local paper story: http://www.squamishchief.com/madison%5CWQuestion.nsf/SCnews/D0483B2FA5CC20A98825705400539B11?OpenDocument | 
