Our House

24 OUR HOUSE WINTER 2018 DOMINION LENDING CENTRES Y ou would think that an Olympic gold medal and a successful pro soccer career would come with an opulent lifestyle, even after retirement from competition. But Canadian freestyle skier Ashleigh McIvor and former Vancouver Whitecaps captain Jay DeMerit spend their winters in more austere surroundings. The couple, along with their two- year-old son, Oakes, shack up in a 340-square-foot cabin nestled in the Coast Mountains near Pemberton, B.C., during the winter months. As McIvor explains to Our House magazine, the idea of major downsizing was both natural and experimental. "We are so programmed to want so much more than what we need," she explains. "I've always been happiest in the woods or the mountains, with no sign of the built environment, no technology or electronics, just some great company and—typically—my mountain bike." She notes that her husband thrives in the high-energy, highly social environment of a big city, but can appreciate both lifestyles. The couple also have an apartment in Vancouver's Chinatown and a condo in Whistler that is normally rented out. McIvor says she was interested to see how DeMerit would adapt to cabin living. "I think it's so easy to get bogged down by all of the noise in modern- day society," she says. "We don't even take the time standing in line for co™ee to reflect on anything going on in our lives, or to dream up ideas for the future.›Instead, we get straight to work on our phones. When you get out of the city, you seem to have more time in each day." McIvor, who grew up in nearby Whistler, describes the cabin as the "fort of all forts." As a teenager and in her early twenties, she spent a lot of time mountain biking in the Pemberton area and always loved riding two trails in particular: Creampu™ and Meatgrinder.›In the fall of 2008, glancing over to those bike trails from a nearby barn, she fell in love with what would eventually be her neighbours' house. Shortly thereafter, McIvor heard that these residents were selling the adjacent 10-acre parcel. She worked out a deal with them and bought the land in 2008. The 2010 Olympic medalist decided to build the cabin in 2009 because she was having so much trouble finding a place to live in Whistler—landlords were kicking tenants out to renovate and rent for top dollar during the Olympics. Her dad helped with the framing and some friends pitched in with the rest. They used a lot of recycled building materials from renovation projects in Whistler, and then built a huge deck with a fire pit and added a hot tub. The former Olympian has some advice for anyone thinking about doing something similar. She notes that the family takes advantage of storage space, including a shipping container in Pemberton and a storage room attached to their Whistler condo that they can access even when it's rented. Every winter, athletic power couple Ashleigh McIvor and Jay DeMerit manage to scale back their busy lives into a 340-square-foot cabin in the woods | By JEREMY DEUTSCH FOUNDATION LIVING THE With the help of family and friends, McIvor built this tiny cabin near Pemberton, B.C., using recycled materials.

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