Whistler’s newest fall event, the Whistler Outdoor Festival, is a three-day celebration of outdoor adventure happening October 9 to 11, 2026, in Whistler, British Columbia. From film premieres to paddleboard sessions, ski boot fittings to cold plunges, speaking panels to guided runs, yoga sessions to adventure writing workshops, the festival is designed for adventure seekers, sports enthusiasts, industry leaders and anyone who wants to explore more of the outdoors (that’s you).
When: October 9 to 11, 2026
Where: Whistler Village / Whistler Conference Centre
What: Films, speaker events, sports workshops, gear expo
Who’s it for? Everyone
Event Schedule & Tickets: whistleroutdoorfestival.com
We touched base with Sam Waddington, founder and owner of Mt. Waddington Outdoors and the Whistler Outdoor Festival, to find out more about the festival and what makes him so passionate about starting this new event in Whistler.
What Should People Expect at the Whistler Outdoor Festival?
A welcoming atmosphere for everyone.
The schedule is packed from top to bottom; there’s more to do than you’ll have time to do, and it’s going to be hard to choose between these events. You’re going to dive in on Friday night and not pop out until late Sunday. This will be the best of the outdoor industry and what Whistler has to offer.
We want this to be a festival that is for everyone, from mountain professionals to the uninitiated. The speaking panels are with high-profile athletes and academics, working at the highest level. They’re covering interesting and compelling topics that will engage hardcore users and industry professionals as much as they will fans who watch these sports.
We want to take the “airs” away and get rid of what’s intimidating about outdoor sports and activities – we want everyone to feel like a local when they leave.
Where did the idea for the Whistler Outdoor Festival come from?
We’ve always been interested in community events. We run the Mountain Town Series and Dawn Patrol, and those gatherings show the stoke we bring to the community.
We noticed a gap in the calendar in the fall for a celebration of the outdoors, which is why most of us are up here in the mountains. We wanted to produce something that was general and inclusive, while showcasing everything Whistler has to offer.
Why is this festival important to you?
I am privileged to be deep in the outdoor industry; I get to chat to these people- athletes, academics, product designers- but most people don’t get that opportunity. They are super interesting, and we want to make that more accessible.
My team and I put ourselves in our customers’ shoes and think: What do they want to go to? What would we want to check out? We want to make the best elements of the mountain community more accessible to the general public, bring those cool conversations and discussions to the main stage.
What are you the most excited about?
The speakers and panels. I think these will be the gem of the festival. All day Saturday and Sunday, we’re working with Protect Our Winters Canada (POW) to curate a spectacular lineup with environmental activists, leaders, athletes, etc. There will be people with adversarial conversations, and we’re going to get into it. Things like: What’s the future of access to recreation in BC? People are going to go toe-to-toe; those are the takeaways you’re going to remember.
Another thing I’m excited about is seeing the latest and greatest gear. The Whistler Outdoor Festival will be the first place in the North American marketplace where we see some of the new releases, from skis to transceivers, climbing gear and equipment to the latest running clothing.
The Whistler Outdoor Festival Schedule at a Glance
The Whistler Outdoor Festival packs plenty into three days, with a mix of films, outdoor activities, workshops and events happening throughout the Village, making it easy to move between activities on foot. Check individual event listings for specific venues and meeting locations.
Friday kicks things off with Whistler Blackcomb’s HOME film premiere and after-party, before the festival gets into full swing on Saturday with morning activities, the Basecamp Expo, workshops and the Banff Centre Mountain Film Festival World Tour.
Sunday starts with the Whistler Turkey Trot, followed by another day of activities, the Basecamp Expo and hands-on workshops. Check the festival schedule for the latest additions and updates.
Whistler Outdoor Festival Tickets
You can buy tickets to individual events and workshops or purchase the three-day Ultra Pass, which gets you access to everything, or the Core Pass, which is everything happening on Saturday, October 10.
Sam Waddington: From the Aleutian Islands to Chilliwack to Whistler
Sam Waddington grew up in Chilliwack, about 100 kilometres (62 miles) east of Vancouver. Known for its agricultural lands, the city is sandwiched between two rivers and surrounded by tall mountain peaks. Sam believes Chilliwack is an underrated and emerging outdoor haven and not the “smelly farming town” people sometimes perceive it to be.
His father was a vet, and his mother was a teacher and marine biologist, and they were into adventure travel, so Sam learned to sail, climb, hike and raft from an early age. They sailed in North America, the Pacific and the South Pacific Islands, and it’s no wonder that Sam developed a keen sense of adventure. After five seasons of tree planting in Northern BC and Alberta, Sam felt a call to the wilder side of life.
“I’m always seeking the edge of the map,” laughs Sam. “I’d watched the movie, Into the Wild, which is set in Alaska and decided to visit my uncle who lived there at the time.”
Sam would take bush planes to remote locations in central Alaska via a hunting outfitter. During one winter, he travelled to the Aleutian Islands and challenged himself to spend a month alone in the wilderness (where he learnt a lot about frostbite). He then travelled to places with very little tourism infrastructure, including the Sahara Desert, Sierra Leone, the Middle East and Egypt. Each place taught him something new, but one thing was for sure: you had to pack right.
But each time he prepared for his travels, and also when he was exploring closer to home, Sam often couldn’t find the gear or advice he needed. So, at the age of 22, in 2012, he opened his own store in Chilliwack called Mt. Waddington Outdoors with the goal of providing the gear and expertise needed to explore the surrounding backcountry.
Adventurer to Store Owner
“Stores can be a gateway to adventure,” explains Sam. “They can be a cultural hub, where people can get advice on what gear they need for their particular adventure. I see them as an essential service.”
Sam started with a small, lean team, looking at established stores like Robinson’s Outdoor Store in Victoria and Escape Route in Whistler for what he wanted to create. In 2020, with his established background in wilderness guiding and wanting to share his adventure experiences, Sam launched Ascent Fraser Valley Guides and Mountain School.
At the age of 24, Sam ran for Chilliwack’s City Council and served a four-year term, both at the City and the Fraser Valley Regional District. He was also elected to the Board of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, where he represented BC for two terms. During this time, he met and befriended Jack Crompton (Whistler’s current mayor), and Whistler trips became more frequent.
When the opportunity came up to buy Escape Route in Whistler, Sam jumped at the chance. He understood that Escape Route was not only an established business but a valued community member.
“You might cater to a lot of tourists, but if you don’t have the loyalty of the locals, you’re going to fail,” Sam explains. “You earn that by creating value, by being the place that carries the gear tape, that hosts clinics and film nights, and becomes a go-to for adventure-based advice.”
Escape Route was going through tough financial times, and Sam was hoping to come in to help keep the business alive as it stood. He worked with the team for two years to make that happen; however, they couldn’t make the finances work, which meant the end of one locally grown outdoor store, but room for the expansion of another.
In December 2024, the doors to the second Mt. Waddington Outdoors store opened, with some familiar Escape Route faces on the team.
“Whistler needs a gear store,” says Sam. “It already has amazing guiding outfits, but you need to marry that expertise with equipment, and that’s where we come in. We started our Dawn Patrol ski touring program to bring people together – one morning we had 60 skiers skinning up Blackcomb as the sun began to rise.”
Mt. Waddington also puts on backcountry rescue clinics and speaker nights throughout the year. They’ve sponsored and hosted the Banff Film Festival in Whistler and Squamish, with proceeds going to the local schools’ leadership programs for students looking to explore the backcountry, as well as to the Spearhead Huts Society.
The Whistler Outdoor Festival has been something on Sam’s mind for a while, and it’s incredible to see the lineup of events landing this fall. See you there!
