BCBusiness

July/August 2021 - The Top 100

With a mission to inform, empower, celebrate and advocate for British Columbia's current and aspiring business leaders, BCBusiness go behind the headlines and bring readers face to face with the key issues and people driving business in B.C.

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126 BCBUSINESS JULY/AUGUST 2021 by this overzealous security guard," Vallely remembers. "I realized it was up to me to get us home somehow. I didn't know where home was, didn't have money; we weren't even dressed for the cold because we'd come in from the bus. Over the course of several hours, I made our way home—found one street I recognized and followed it like a handrail until we finally got there." Fast-forward 35 years and the member of the prestigious Explorer's Club, who came to Whistler to hang out with a friend and stayed in B.C. after hiking Black Tusk and falling in love with the province, was setting records. His 2008-09 trip to the South Pole took "33 days, 23 hours and 55 minutes, to be exact," says Vallely, whom the Globe and Mail named one of Canada's leading adventurers in 2003. "The reason I remember it so well is that we were very much gunning for the world record." The previous re- cord was 40 days, so Vallely and his partners—expert explorers Richard Weber and Ray Zahab—more or less smashed their target time. There was more to the journey than that, though. "My dream had been to ski to the South Pole, so [the record] was just gravy," Vallely says. "It wouldn't have mattered one iota personally; it just created a bit of a buzz for media. Other than that, who cares? You're out in the middle of nowhere—it's just a pole, and there's an American base, and that's that." Of course, Vallely isn't out exploring the Arctic every weekend, but he tries to do something active each day to keep in shape. That's often mountain biking, trail run- ning, hiking or road cycling in the summer months, and it's almost always cross-country skiing in the winter. "I did 107 days of cross- country skiing this year, the most I've ever done," he says. "At 56, I can't just stop for a while and expect to go right back on." Vallely still has one more big trip left in the tank, but he's coy on the details. "It's going to be next February in the High Arctic, with myself and Ray, and it's never been done before," he explains. "It's going to be arguably one of the coldest treks ever undertaken. But it's a legacy thing for me, one last major expedition." • A F T E R HO U R S GENIUS LESSONS Besides painting the Mona Lisa, was there anything polymath Leonardo da Vinci couldn't do? The Da Vinci Experience, making its North American debut at Tsawwassen Mills with no scheduled end date, highlights the engineering skills of the archetypal Renaissance man. Featuring 10 models of his flying and other machines, the touring exhibition also includes a virtual reality tour of Leonardo's Florence workshop and immersive digital projections of his artworks. $19.99-$25.99; family passes available; face masks mandatory; tickets at sensea.show/canada MAGIC SHOW Even if Gandalf and Harry Potter aren't your bag of tricks, Wings and Wizards looks worth checking out for a spell. The immersive, family-friendly exhibit, pro- duced by local nonprofit Shine Experiences, trans- forms 7,000 square feet of BC Place stadium into a magic-themed adventure zone for wannabe sorcerers. After testing your wand at Madame Wisteria's, it's off to the Evil Hall of Arcane Wizardry and the Enchanted Forest. While you're at it, maybe you can make COVID disappear. Through September 6 $65 and up; duo and family packages start at $100; face masks manda- tory; tickets at wingsandwizards.com • Better times are coming, and we can just smell it. Soy is now a go-to wax for candlemakers because it burns cleaner and longer than paraffin–and wipes up with soap and water. Here are some of the sustainability-minded B.C. artisans lighting the way. ■ SMELLS LIKE SUMMER Known for its signature black lids, Okanagan Candle Co. sells hand- poured soy candles with custom labels—perfect for giving to clients and colleagues. The Kelowna-based outfit's seasonal fragrances include Bloom, Dock, Campfire and Fall. ■ SECOND LIGHT Victoria's Van Isle Candle Co. pours its soy candles into smart- looking cement holders that can live on as plant pots or pencil holders. Other artisans, such as Vancouver-based Mala the Brand and Salt Spring Island Candle Co., opt for reusable tins. Lit Soy Candles in Victoria uses vegan fragrance oils and crackling wood wicks, while some offerings from Langley's The 6th Scent Candle have a choice of wood or cotton. ■ PUT A BIRD ON IT WestEndWicks didn't let COVID clip its wings after launching on Etsy last year. For each handmade soy candle sold from the Birds of Vancouver collection, whose avian roster includes the eagle, crow and hummingbird, $1 goes to the Wildlife Rescue Association of BC. • FROM TOP: THE DA VINCI EXPERIENCE; WINGS AND WIZARDS IT'S LIT Locally made soy candles have a bright future by Saphiya Zerrouk ON T R E N D

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