By Megan Michelson, Outside

In 1991, a development company set out to build a high-elevation, year-round ski resort on a remote glacier in British Columbia’s Purcell Mountains. The company’s plans promised over 5,600 vertical feet and 20-plus lifts accessing four mega glaciers at what they called Jumbo Glacier Resort.

Many have been fighting the development for decades. Local residents want to see their backyard kept wild, the Ktunaxa First Nation believes the land is sacred and shouldn’t be built upon, and scientists and environmentalists say the region is a major wildlife corridor and a development could jeopardize habitat for grizzly bears and other animals. Although the opposition had a major triumph this summer when the local government denied the project’s environmental assessment certificate, the developers say the resort is still a go, albeit with an altered construction plan that won’t require an environmental assessment. They hope to resume construction within the next couple of years.

A Patagonia-funded film called “Jumbo Wild”, premiered in October, aiming to give voice to people on both sides of the debate.

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