For years Kitsilano has been home to a cluster of snowboard and ski stores at West 4th and Burrard, but did you realize that it’s the largest such grouping anywhere in Canada?
Just east of Burrard Street, there are several shops selling snowboards, skis, skateboards, and gear: Comor and its sister company Pacific Boarder, the Boardroom and its sister Billabong, and Showcase.
Comor manager Brian Michals recently told the Georgia Straight that not even Toronto, Calgary, or cities in Quebec can match Vancouver’s concentration of ski- and snowboard-related outlets. “We’ve got the most buying power in Canada on this block,” Michals said. “Toronto would be second to that.”
One of the pioneers on the street was Murray Fraser, who opened the Boardroom in 1987 at the corner of Pine Street and West 4th, just as the sport of snowboarding was taking off. He relocated a few years later to a larger location just east of Burrard; now, the Boardroom and Billabong offer 12,000 square feet of retail space.
The Boardroom’s general manager of retail, Pear (he only goes by one name), told the Georgia Straight that this stretch of West 4th is “almost like your auto mall of snowboards”. “If you’re a snowboarder, you can pretty much get anything you want in this block,” Pear says.
Photo credit: BLASTmedia
Last modified: November 9, 2012
We’re very lucky to have so many mountains and hills close to where we live. it’s no wonder we have the best snowboard selection.