We all remember when Whistler Blackcomb announced that they would exchange the 25 year old Village gondolas with new and bigger ones in the fall of 2014. The old cabins found new owners all over the world. But do you know the history of all the lifts at Whistler Blackcomb? Slide on and take a gondola ride through the ages.
The first lifts were built on the south side of Whistler Mountain (what is now known as Creekside). By fall 1965, several lifts were installed, including a four person gondola, a double chair lift, and two T-bars.
With the opening of Blackcomb in 1980, a long-lasting rivalry started between both independently owned mountains. This led to a race to build lifts with the motto “higher, faster, and safer” in mind.
Whistler was large, highly departmentalized, more Canadian and European as well as more traditional. New to the business of skiing, the Vancouver based Hastings West Group took over Garibaldi Lifts Limited. In contrast, Blackcomb was young, tight, US-dominated and half controlled by the Aspen Corporation, whom were already experienced in the ski business. Blackcomb ski runs were designed to follow the fall line whereas Whistlers runs were designed more so to side-run the mountain.
In the following years, a marketing battle between both mountains was up and running. When Blackcomb installed its alpine 7th Heaven T-Bar in 1985 it became North Americas only “Mile High Mountain”. The new area opened up, including four powder bowls, wide open glacier skiing, and it also provided visitors with a vertical mile (1,609 meters’/5,280 feet) of skiing. A year later, Whistler Mountain responded with a high alpine triple Chair lift called Peak Chair, opening Whistler’s highest peak (1,530 meters’ (5,020 feet). The new alpine area provided experts with some of the most challenging runs in the world. In 1996, Whistler became the only resort in history to be simultaneously named No. 1 by Snow Country, SKI and Skiing magazines. However, even more exciting was the news announced March 1997 when Whistler and Blackcomb Mountain merged to form one big mountain company, which is today well known as Whistler-Blackcomb all over the world.
With the Peak2Peak opening in 2008, Whistler-Blackcomb finally broke two world records and is recognized in the Guinness World Record Book 2015 as the highest cable car above ground (436 meters above the valley floor) and the longest unsupported span between two cable car towers (3.024 kilometers). For skiers and boarders it is now easier to access the high alpine terrain on both mountains. But even for sightseers it is redefining the mountain experience in winter and summer by very impressive views and an incredible experience.
Those 50 years of lift history show: Competition drives innovation; but when two former rivals team up, they can move mountains and bring great peaks closer together.
Explore Whistler’s lift history on the map.
Map locations 1, 2 & 3: It all started in Creekside
4, 5 & 6: The ancestors of the Emerald Chair
7 & 8: History of Franz’s Chair
9: The Whistler Village Gondola and its early sisters
10 & 11: Developing the Olympic Chair
12: Reaching out to Whistler Peak
13, 14, 15 & 16: First chairlifts on Blackcomb
17: History of Jersey Cream
18: Up to 7th Heaven
19: History of the Magic Chair
20: Opening the Harmony Bowl
21: Preparing the way to the Glacier
Installation of Peak2Peak, Symphony, Fitzsimmons & Garbanzo
Many thanks go to Rod Nadeau and Ecosign Mountain Resort Planners Ltd. who helped gather information about Whistler’s lift history.
Very informative, but you left off one area and that’s the summer camp lifts on Whistler. There was the Team Canada Rope Two and 2 or 3 Harush handle tows. then by 1975 I believe there was the Harush T-Bar that was built each May and dismantled in Aug. Then with the DMSSC they put in a Platter for a few years before moving to Blackcomb.
This is an awesome description of what the lift were like. I had the pleasure of riding many of these lifts. But from my working on the mountain and years of skiing here, The orange and black didn’t goto the roundhouse. They Both ended at the top of the Dave Murray downhill.
On 7th Heaven the Tbar was replaced by a chair with mid station and I’m pretty sure it was a triple chair. That was then replaced by the Express high speed quad.
It was in fact a high-speed quad that would run at half speed when the hydraulic mid-station tower was lowered before the top had avy clearance for the day. You can see today that 2 tower numbers are missing at that level.
A few edits for ya.
On Whistler mtn., the orange chair and black chair did not go to the roundhouse. They terminated at the top of Dave Murray DH.
On Blackcomb, the original Jersey Cream chair (known in the early 80s as “chair 6”) was a triple chair, not a double. No lifts on Blackcomb from 1980 – 86 had names. They were all just numbered.
Horstman Glacier was named after Harry Horstman (not Henry).
Maybe check with Hugh Smythe next time? He’d be a good resource 😉
The wizard chairlift in Blackcomb was great. I was at the press release of the wizard chairlift and at the season pass holders presentation. As well I was at the grand opening event where Grace McCarthy Minister of tourism presided over the ceremony..
I was there because I was the hired magician (wizard) onstage and at the opening.
Very informative, but you left off one area and that’s the summer camp lifts on Whistler. There was the Team Canada Rope Two and 2 or 3 Harush handle tows. then by 1975 I believe there was the Harush T-Bar that was built each May and dismantled in Aug. Then with the DMSSC they put in a Platter for a few years before moving to Blackcomb.
This is an awesome description of what the lift were like. I had the pleasure of riding many of these lifts. But from my working on the mountain and years of skiing here, The orange and black didn’t goto the roundhouse. They Both ended at the top of the Dave Murray downhill.
On 7th Heaven the Tbar was replaced by a chair with mid station and I’m pretty sure it was a triple chair. That was then replaced by the Express high speed quad.
It was in fact a high-speed quad that would run at half speed when the hydraulic mid-station tower was lowered before the top had avy clearance for the day. You can see today that 2 tower numbers are missing at that level.
The Excelerator chairlift was originally called Stoker, not Choker.
Does anyone have a picture of the peak triple?
A few edits for ya.
On Whistler mtn., the orange chair and black chair did not go to the roundhouse. They terminated at the top of Dave Murray DH.
On Blackcomb, the original Jersey Cream chair (known in the early 80s as “chair 6”) was a triple chair, not a double. No lifts on Blackcomb from 1980 – 86 had names. They were all just numbered.
Horstman Glacier was named after Harry Horstman (not Henry).
Maybe check with Hugh Smythe next time? He’d be a good resource 😉
The wizard chairlift in Blackcomb was great. I was at the press release of the wizard chairlift and at the season pass holders presentation. As well I was at the grand opening event where Grace McCarthy Minister of tourism presided over the ceremony..
I was there because I was the hired magician (wizard) onstage and at the opening.
Great memories from 35 years ago
Tim