Category: Environment & Biodiversity

Our greatest assets.

Blending Old With New, part 3 of 3: The First Ascent of Mount DiavoloBlending Old With New, part 3 of 3: The First Ascent of Mount Diavolo

October 20, 2012 Whistler MuseumWhistler Museum 2 Comments

With the first snow in the valley we figured we’d give you one last blast of summer before we fully commit to the changing season. This week we’ve got the final episode of our Google Earth virtual tour of the 1923 Carter/Townsend mountaineering expedition, (see the previous installments here: Wedge Mountain, Mount James Turner).

This video represents the second half of their two-week trip, and includes perhaps the most interesting scenery, as they actually climb Whistler Mountain itself and we’ve included a few great photos of the ski area decades before any runs were cut or lifts were installed. It also portrays the most difficult climbing on Mount Diavolo (which they named due to their experience on the peak). When reading mountaineering accounts from this period you sometimes forget that they were often written in a very understated manner (an inheritance from the British “stiff upper lip” school of mountain literature), so when Charles Townsend actually admits to some serious challenges along the way it means that things got more than a little tense.

Recreating this Google Earth-based tour has been a lot of fun, and a great learning experience for us here at the museum. Now that we’ve figured out a few more technical tricks we’ll be looking put together more multimedia content that blends historical photos with contemporary technology to give you a whole new take on our amazing natural surroundings.

(For a contemporary take on the same terrain, check this video from a few years back by local ski-mountaineer J.D. Hare. This video is also a very effective if you’re simply looking to get excited for the fast-approaching shred season.)

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Blending Old With New, part 2 – A Virtual Tour of the First Ascent of Mount James TurnerBlending Old With New, part 2 – A Virtual Tour of the First Ascent of Mount James Turner

September 29, 2012 Whistler MuseumWhistler Museum 2 Comments

This week we resume our virtual recreation of Neal Carter & Charles Townsend’s 1923 exploratory mountaineering expedition. This video, the second of three, depicts the first ascent of Mount James Turner. (Check last week’s clip here).

Though lower and less well-known than its neighbour Wedge Mountain, Mount James Turner is still a formidable peak, revered for its remoteness and technical challenges by hardcore climbers and ski-mountaineers. For a more recent episode of James Turner lore, check this account of the mountain’s first ski descent by local ski builder and steep-ski pioneer Johnny “Foon” Chilton. Note that Foon and friends skied Turner’s massive north face, while Carter and Townsend approached from the south.

Our story will conclude next week as Carter and Townsend head up the Fitzsimmons Creek Valley to spend a week based out of a now-gone prospector’s cabin in Singing Pass. Watch for some striking photos from the undeveloped summit of Whistler Mountain, and their gripping attempt on the aptly named Mount Diavolo.

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Virtual Mountaineering? The First Ascent of Wedge Mountain, 1923Virtual Mountaineering? The First Ascent of Wedge Mountain, 1923

September 22, 2012 Whistler MuseumWhistler Museum 4 Comments

This week we’ve got something a little different for you.

We’ve written before about the beautiful Neal Carter photo collection, which documents a two-week exploratory mountaineering expedition into the mountains surrounding Alta Lake by Neal and his friend Charles Townsend  in September 1923.

Approaching the summit of Wedge Mountain.
Approaching the summit of Wedge Mountain.

Well, since we also have the written account that Charles wrote for the British Columbia Mountaineering Cub’s journal, we plugged some of their photos and words together into Google Earth, and have recreated their encounter with these mysterious, unexplored peaks as a sort of virtual tour that you can follow from the comforts of your home:

This first video revisits the first two days of their trip, during which the pair managed the first ascent of Wedge Mountain – the highest peak around. Instead of contently heading back to Rainbow Lodge, Neal and Charles continued deeper into the Coast Mountain wilderness towards the lesser-known but equally formidable Mount James Turner, which they named after a popular Vancouver reverend.  Check back next week for this episode, as well as their subsequent climb of Whistler Mountain and more first ascents deeper in the Fitzsimmons Range.

Of course, watching this little video doesn’t provide quite the same experience as actually climbing  these peaks.  Since we’re currently enjoying a wonderful window of late  summer weather similar to 1923, hopefully the virtual tour inspires you to get up into the alpine for some fresh air, exercise, and inspiring views!

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How Lost Lake Park Was Nearly LostHow Lost Lake Park Was Nearly Lost

September 15, 2012 Whistler MuseumWhistler Museum 2 Comments

With clear, refreshing waters surrounded by a wooded shoreline, a relaxing beach, a massive network of biking, hiking, and cross-country ski trails—and yes, the nudist dock—Lost Lake Park is one of Whistler’s gems.

In the days of Rainbow Lodge Alex & Myrtle Philip would often ride horses or hike to Lost Lake with their guests for an afternoon of swimming, fishing, and picnics. Lesser known is the story of how, in later years, the park was almost lost before it ever came to be.

Myrtle Philip entertaining Rainbow Lodge guests at Lost Lake, early 1930s.

It is Whistler’s great fortune that a young forester named Don MacLaurin decided to make Alpha Lake his summer home during the early 1960s. In his spare time Don was an avid hiker and climber, and was very interested in parkland management (he would later teach this subject at BCIT).

At Lost Lake, Don foresaw a beautiful natural playground. His combination of insider knowledge of the forestry industry, and land conservation policies were put to good use, as Don recalled during a 2007 interview with the museum,

There were two timber licenses straddling the lake.  North to South.  And [local mill operator] Laurence Valleau, bless his heart, was trying NOT to log any more around the lake.  He recognized the value of the Lake… The timber licenses around Lost Lake I knew were expiring.  I also knew that people KNEW that they were expiring and there were posts driven into the ground for people applying for waterfront property.

An early logging operation on Lost Lake, ca. 1940s.

With amazing foresight (remember, this was before the arrival of downhill skiing, and Whistler Village was still more than 15 years away), Don used his connections to convince the Parks Branch to designate Lost Lake as a potential UREP (Use, Recreation and Enjoyment of the Public) area, preventing land privatization. and preserving the space in perpetuity.

Lost Lake in the early 1980s, a wooded oasis increasingly surrounded by clearcuts and urbanization.With the construction of Whistler Village and ever-expanding development in ensuing decades, Lost Lake’s value as a public space increased even more.  The trail networks we know today came later, thanks to the dedication of community groups such as the Alta Lake Sports Club and WORCA, but their possibility was created thanks to Don’s early vision.

It’s easy to take Whistler’s immense natural beauty for granted. A closer look, however, reveals that it is only thanks to individuals like Don that so much has been preserved in its present state to be equally enjoyed by future generations.

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