When he was diagnosed with lymphoma back in 2012, Bob Oliver’s prognosis didn’t look promising.
But 62-year-old Oliver, who hails from Terrace in northwest B.C., says he has found a silver lining: the diagnosis prompted him to start thinking about how he wanted to spend the rest of his life.
“We only wake up when things happen,” Oliver said in an interview with Radio West host Sarah Penton.
“So I decided to just get out there and keep my body moving.”
Radio West6:41Terrace resident Bob Oliver checks off the last ski hill on his B.C. ski resort bucket list by hitting the slopes at Whistler as he continues his battle with lymphoma
Featured VideoTerrace resident Bob Oliver checks off the last ski hill on his B.C. ski resort bucket list by hitting the slopes at Whistler Blackcomb as he continues his battle with lymphoma.
Soon after his diagnosis, Oliver drew up a bucket list of all the things he wanted to do, including a long-harboured dream to slide down every ski hill in B.C.
“I put all my hopes and dreams in that list.”
A dream come true
There are a total of 38 mountain ski resorts in the province — from Powder King, north of Prince George, to Hudson’s Bay Mountain in Smithers, to Kimberly in the Kootenays, all separated by hundreds of kilometres — and Oliver has hit the slopes at every one of them, as well as several smaller day hills.
On Thursday, he checked off the last major ski hill on his list by visiting Whistler Blackcomb on the opening day of ski season.
“It was fantastic. My cheeks are all rosy,” Oliver said shortly after completing his ride.
“I am going to love this mountain this winter.”
He says he plans to spend the next three months in Whistler meeting other skiers and enjoying the “feeling of floating in the air.”
“It’s the best feeling in the world.”
A chance ‘to meet someone new at every chairlift’
Terrace is nearly 700 kilometres northwest of Vancouver — or more than 1,300 kilometres by car — but Oliver has made the trip many times to receive treatment and advice from doctors while taking side trips to hit the slopes.
At home, he has been a longtime member of My Mountain Co-op, which operates ski facilities on Shames Mountain 35 kilometres outside of Terrace, and has also worked as a shuttle bus driver to the site.
Christian Theberge, general manager of My Mountain Co-op, says Oliver is a fixture, full of good humour and enthusiasm.
“I’ve known him for almost 13 years now. He is very active on the slopes and goes skiing 30 to 60 days a season,” Theberge said in a telephone interview with CBC News.
“He sees an opportunity to meet someone new at every chair lift right? And to share his story and to learn theirs. So Bob’s an incredible man with an incredible story.”
Theberge says he lauds Oliver’s achievement and is inspired by his long journey, which has been fraught with “all kinds of challenges.”
Featured VideoCBC’s Lien Yeung visits Whistler, B.C. where the slopes have opened for the season.
“Only [Bob] would turn an evil bug like cancer into an opportunity to do more skiing,” he added.
Treatment ongoing
While Oliver is planning to stay in Whistler for the next several weeks — he says he hopes to ski 1,000 kilometres of trail — that time could be cut short by his cancer, which returned during the COVID-19 pandemic and put his overall journey on temporary hold.
“I started swelling and I went through another round of chemo,” he said.
Oliver and his doctors are considering a bone marrow transplant, the last line of defence against the cancer, after maintenance chemotherapy didn’t work.
He has completed a few pre-transplant tests and is waiting to get the results back.
“I am a little nervous,” Oliver said. “But skiing and exercising helps me stay focused.”
One thing he knows now, he says, is that regardless of what happens next, he didn’t let the diagnosis stand in his way of completing his provincial ski journey.
“What I want people to know is don’t wait,” he said.
“Make a bucket list and kick it down the road.”