Author: Whistler Museum

Collecting, preserving, documenting and interpreting Whistler's natural and human history. Want to learn more about Whistler's culture and history? We showcase Whistler's history: pioneers, skiing on Whistler & Blackcomb Mountains, Olympics and black bears. Family fun, interactive exhibits, children’s activities. Great for a rainy day!

Santa Slays the Mountain!Santa Slays the Mountain!

December 16, 2025 Whistler MuseumWhistler Museum 0 Comments
Santa on the Slopes of Whistler, 1994. Insight Photography Collection

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle …

Their hundreds of eyes— oh! how they twinkled! 

Their dimples, how merry!

Their cheeks were like roses, their noses like cherries!

Their droll little mouths were drawn up like bows, 

as, together, they rode up the gondola in droves

Sporting beards on their chins as white as the snow …

Then away they all flew, down the slopes with skis and boards,

all donned up in red and white…

(some outfits loose and baggy, others mighty tight!)

The annual Dress Like Santa Day: another sleighing sight!

For more than twenty years, Whistler Blackcomb has been hosting this colourful, costumed and cheer-fuelled Christmas tradition. Just as its name suggests – every year on one mid-December day , this year on Friday, December 19 – snowboarders and skiers are encouraged to dress up like Mr. or Mrs. Claus and take to the slopes.

Merriment and holiday-spirit spread amongst ‘Ho, Ho, Ho’ing participants as they gather at the base of Whistler Mountain. From the young to the still-young-at-heart, the all-ages event has steadily grown in popularity since its inception (exactly what year that was is hard to pinpoint, as it remains a glorified extension of previously established on-mountain Santa-spotting happenings) … but, the early 2000s seems to be the general consensus.

Once at the top, the Santa slope stylers travel together from the Roundhouse-cum-North Pole to the base of Emerald Chair – where a group photo is taken. 

As per tradition, a free lift ticket has been awarded to the first 100 people who arrive in full attire. This number has grown from an original 50 free tickets, to 75, to its now 100: handed out to the pipe-toting, black-belt bulging, and boot-wearing crew. With great Whistler flair, custom costume-modifications have made this a Santa Spectacle, sanctioned under a ‘Creative Claus’ (with… “A wink of his eye and a twist of his head/Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread!)”

Mountain Hostesses follow Santa down the Slopes. Greg Griffith Collection.

The Whistler Mountain Hostesses definitely skied with St. Nick. Beginning in the 1974/75 season, the program “specialized in fun” … and dressing up as elves and touring the slopes with Santa was a part of their ‘mandate’. “We had the greatest job in the world,” recalls founding Hostess Leanne Dufour.

The program morphed into the Ski Friends (also Santa’s helpers!) in the late 80s and then further into the present-day Mountain Host program. 

Off the slopes, Santa has announced his arrival in other less-than-conventional ways throughout Whistler’s history. In 1980, the “jolly old elf” cruised in by chopper, dropping down from the skies – heralded by helicopter – only to be mobbed by a group of candy-covetting children.

After a dramatic arrival by helicopter, Santa is mobbed at the Rainbow Ski Village Saturday as he tries to distribute candy canes.

Dating back even further… The children of the one-room Alta Lake schoolhouse (first opened in 1933) would also receive an annual visit from Father Christmas. It is fair to speculate that trapper and railway section-gang worker, Billy ‘Santa’ Bailiff, likely arrived by horse or on foot. Remembered as a ‘gentle man.’ Billy – famed for his ‘Stellar Jay Pie’ and ‘potato water bread’ – was the unanimous choice as the Santa stand-in with his plump figure and round rosy cheeks.  

Billy died in 1958 and the baton of community Kris Kringle seems to have been passed onto to Jack Biggin-Pound, who settled in McGuire (an old mill town from the 1930s, two kilometres north of Brandywine Falls), staking a claim there on Crown Land in 1961. Jack recalled, “Never again will Myrtle Philip [Founder of Rainbow Lodge, the first tourist attraction in the Whistler area, opened in 1915] undo my flies, to the great amusement of everyone, to stuff a pillow in to make me a more portly Santa Claus for the school children. They all tried hard but I don’t think ever found out who Santa was”…

The mystery of who Santa was, or is, either singularly in our schools – or in plural, plummeting down the hill –  remains part of this town’s mountain magic … 

Santa spotted on Blackcomb. Blackcomb Mountain Collection.



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Whistler’s Answers: December 11, 1986Whistler’s Answers: December 11, 1986

December 11, 2025 Whistler MuseumWhistler Museum 0 Comments

In the 1980s the Whistler Question began posing a question to three to six people and publishing their responses under “Whistler’s Answers” (not to be confused with the Whistler Answer).  Each week, we’ll be sharing one question and the answers given back in 1986.  Please note, all names/answers/occupations/neighbourhoods represent information given to the Question at the time of publishing and do not necessarily reflect the person today.

Some context for this week’s question: This one seems pretty self explanatory, so we think we’ll leave it there.

Question: Where will you park while you work this winter?

Larry Bach – Grocery Store Manager – White Gold

We have two stalls in the conference centre lot. I will have to park out in the day skier’s lot on some days, which isn’t too bad, even if you have to park there all the time. You have to get a space there early, so you can’t just come straight to work from skiing. This is the first year I’ve owned a car – I always used to walk.

Jill Allen – Shop Manager – Tapley’s Farm

I have no idea. I think I am just going to park in the A lot and get tickets and sic my dog on the ticket person.

Brian McLaren – Small Business Owner – Tapley’s Farm

I more than likely will buy a space downstairs. I’ve always been in management and had a space provided. But this is my own business, so I’ll rent a space in the Brandywine Building’s lot, where it’s secured parking. Lately I’ve been parking illegally near the Brandywine, but I don’t know how long I can get away with that.

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Wetlands: Nature’s Undervalued SuperheroesWetlands: Nature’s Undervalued Superheroes

December 9, 2025 Whistler MuseumWhistler Museum 0 Comments


By: Kristina Swerhun

“I don’t understand why when we destroy something created by man, we call it vandalism, but when we destroy something created by nature, we call it progress.”― Ed Begley Jr.

From the outset and as indicated in Whistler’s first Official Community Plan, the Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW) intended to protect nature. However, it’s difficult to build a resort municipality without impacting nature and, unfortunately, wetlands are located exactly where the RMOW and developers wanted to build—the flat valley bottom. 

The River of Golden Dreams wetlands with Nicklaus North Golf Course on the left and Alta Lake in the background. 
(Photo credit: Diamond Head Consulting)

Biodiversity is the foundation of healthy, functioning ecosystems upon which all life depends. Wetlands are vital to biodiversity, and not just to the many species that can survive nowhere else. Wetlands also benefit humans by purifying water, protecting against floods and drought, recharging aquifers, and acting as effective wildfire barriers—roles that are increasingly important as the climate changes.  

Whistler’s wetland history

In 2007, wetland loss was the subject of a Simon Fraser University (SFU) study that compared aerial photos of Whistler taken in 1946 and 2003. Researchers found that Whistler’s wetlands decreased by 72%. Note that the study area extended south of Whistler to Daisy Lake, and doesn’t contain earlier and more recent losses, including when the new BC Transit station was built on a wetland near Nesters ahead of the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

According to the SFU study, Whistler’s largest wetland area today—which follows the River of Golden Dreams—used to be two to three times its current size. Within this corridor, roughly half of the wetlands were lost to residential development, while the other half were lost to the Whistler Golf Course (1983) and Nicklaus North Golf Course (1996). 

There’s some good news, too. Before Nicklaus North GC opened, 650 people attended a public hearing over concerns about wetlands. This support and advocacy by the then-nascent Association of Whistler Area Residents for the Environment (AWARE) and others saved 28 hectares (70 acres) of wetland from being filled in by the golf course. Also, the River of Golden Dreams corridor now has protected areas along its length, which is the subject of next week’s article. 

Beavers for the win

The health of wetlands is directly tied to the presence of beavers; one cannot thrive without the other. The 1935 Mammals of the Alta Lake Region report states that “the beaver has been completely trapped out in the district for over 20 years.” Even after the demand for fur stopped, beavers were affected by development and loss of their wetland habitat. Despite these challenges, beavers have been on the road to recovery. In 2024, researcher Bob Brett documented 60 inhabited beaver lodges and estimated that 300-350 beavers live in Whistler. This example of nature’s resilience shows us that recovery is possible, provided we offer life the opportunity to return.

Mammals of the Alta Lake Region 1935.

A community-wide effort is essential for protecting Whistler’s remaining wetlands. In 2024, the RMOW developed the Priority Habitat Framework, a plan to help protect Whistler’s most important natural habitat, including wetlands. Another way to protect nature is through grassroots advocacy. When community members speak up about their concerns and show they care for nature, it not only raises awareness—it also fosters hope and inspires others to take action.

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Whistler’s Answers: December 4, 1986Whistler’s Answers: December 4, 1986

December 4, 2025 Whistler MuseumWhistler Museum 0 Comments

In the 1980s the Whistler Question began posing a question to three to six people and publishing their responses under “Whistler’s Answers” (not to be confused with the Whistler Answer).  Each week, we’ll be sharing one question and the answers given back in 1986.  Please note, all names/answers/occupations/neighbourhoods represent information given to the Question at the time of publishing and do not necessarily reflect the person today.

Some context for this week’s question: The IWA (International Woodworkers of America-Canada) began job actions on June 19, 1986 after negotiations between the union and employers at that year’s Wages and Contract Conference deteriorated, largely over employers’ use of non-union contractors. The strike grew over the following months and many loggers and others in the forestry industry worked only a few days during a period of selective strikes. The strike ended on December 5 and was settled on the IWA’s terms.

Question: How is the IWA strike affecting you?

John Fryer – Potter/Merchant – Britannia Beach

I own a little gift and pottery shop, and it’s definitely showing up on my take. It’s way down, about 30 per cent. And I estimated I would be up about 20 per cent this year, so I’m down about 50 per cent from my projections. I guess it’s because people are spending what little they have on essentials.

Brian Head – Boom Boat Driver – Squamish

I worked three days back in August, driving piles for a new log dump. Right now I’m trying to find out where I’m going to get money from to pay the Hydro, telephone and rent. I sold my house, just before I lost it. It was like a fire sale, I didn’t get anything for it. I can’t afford insurance or repairs for my truck, and I couldn’t afford gas anyways, so I’m just walking. You tread water as fast as you can, but you just keep going down.

Lou Mckay – Faller/Cafe Owner – Squamish

I’m a logger and my four sons are loggers. The five of us had just got a contract together with MacMillan Bloedel when they had to shut down. I would have been working 2 1/2 months, instead of the six days we did work. I have this business. My sons have been working for a contractor in the Pemberton area. They’re lucky.

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