Category: Mountain Culture

Life in the mountains.

Saudan Couloir Ski Race Extreme.Saudan Couloir Ski Race Extreme.

December 16, 2012 Whistler MuseumWhistler Museum 0 Comments

Saudan Couloir Extreme was an infamous ski race that was held on Blackcomb Mountain starting in the spring of [1987]. With the race dropping 2500 vertical feet from the top of Saudan Couloir, down to the bottom of Jersey Cream Chair, it went on to gain an international reputation as a classic extreme race.

Radical Super-G course indeed.
Radical Super-G course indeed.

After the development of 7th Heaven, which opened up a vast area of mostly alpine and glacier skiing, Blackcomb Ski Resort began to develop an event that would profile its unique terrain. The Saudan Couloir run was chosen, as it was the only black diamond run in the area at the time.

Andrea Marchland. Fastest woman at the Saudan Couloir Race in 1992
Andrea Marchland. Fastest woman at the Saudan Couloir Race in 1992

The first 2 years the event was held, major snowstorms covered the run days before the race, and because grooming equipment couldn’t get down the 42 degree slope of the couloir there were major ruts on the course.

Chris Kent, a former member of the Canadian Alpine Ski Team, became the inaugural champion of the event, and held the title until Graham Swann ended his four year reign as king of the Saudan Couloir in 1991.

One of the amazing Saudan Couloir Ski Race Extreme posters designed by Brent Lynch. These retro classics can be found in hardcore homes throughout the valley
One of the amazing Saudan Couloir Ski Race Extreme posters designed by Brent Lynch. These retro classics can be found in hardcore homes throughout the valley

The Saudan Couloir became such a popular event during this period that TSN (The Sports Network), a popular Canadian sports channel, began filming the event to be broadcast as a 30-minute special.

Blackcomb Ski Resort produced TV Spots and highlight reels to help promote the event. The video below contains footage from the Saudan Couloir Ski Race Extreme held in 1988. With Mono Skis, on the fly tune ups, full spandex onesies, and a few yard sales, this was a race event that was not to be missed.

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“Three Decades on the Duffey” Video Recap“Three Decades on the Duffey” Video Recap

December 8, 2012 Whistler MuseumWhistler Museum 0 Comments

A few weeks ago we kicked off our 2012-2013 Speaker Series by welcoming Scott Aitken in for a presentation at the museum. For nearly three decades Scott has worked for the BC Ministry of Transportation & Infrastructure as an avalanche forecaster, essentially making him responsible for managing the avalanche hazard on local roads such as the Duffey Lake Highway. As Scott explained his lengthy service with the Ministry “hardly anyone sticks to one job for thirty years these days, but I guess there’s worse ruts to get stuck in.”

Scott’s not just extremely knowledgeable about avalanche safety, he’s also an easy-going affable character who’s widely respected in the community. There was a lot of buzz leading up to the event from people who were looking forward to “Scotty’s talk.” We even had avalanche technicians drive up from Vancouver claiming it was for professional development!

Even though we crammed as many people into the museum as we could, we still had to turn away dozens of folk for the sold-out show. For those who weren’t able to make it we recorded Scott’s talk and have made it available here. We’ve edited together a few of the many great anecdotes Scott shared that evening,. If you want to listen to the talk in its entirety, scroll down to the bottom of the page.

First, Scott introduces his talk and talks about his roots as an avalanche professional:


In this clip, Scott recounts a bad day in the mountains, with a very happy ending!

In this clip Scott briefly explains one of the most advanced tools in the avalanche technician’s arsenal, the Daisy Bell, and one of his less pleasant experiences with the avalanche detonator.

And here is Scott’s full presentation. Enjoy:

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Mountain Man ReduxMountain Man Redux

December 1, 2012 Whistler MuseumWhistler Museum 0 Comments

Last summer we introduced you to Cliff Fenner, Mountain Man. Quick recap: Cliff was an Englishman who moved to Vancouver after World War 2 and soon after became Supervisor of Garibaldi Provincial Park. Naturally, Cliff was already an avid outdoorsman and spent much of his professional and personal time exploring the southern Coast Mountains.

Cliff in front of the Taylor Meadows Cabin.

He was also a very capable photographer, and after retiring from BC Parks he actually made his living as a writer and photographer, mainly working for travel publications.

Well, we recently digitized 2 full albums of his personal photographs and there’s some real gems. Most photos depict summer hiking and climbing excursions, but to be seasonally appropriate, we figured we’d share some shots from a ski trip up to Black Tusk. Unfortunately we don’t have much background info for these images, beyond a probable year of 1955. Snow levels seem typical of May.

Every ski mountaineer knows the ridiculous feeling of sweating uphill in your hikers with a full ski it strapped to your back.
Every ski mountaineer knows the ridiculous feeling of sweating uphill below the snow line, with a full ski set strapped to your back.
The crew taking a pause, probably at the base of the Tusk proper.
The crew taking a pause, probably at the base of the Tusk proper.
The rewarding view across Garibaldi Lake.
The rewarding view across Garibaldi Lake.
And the view north across the Cheakamus Valley.
And the view north across the Cheakamus Valley.

On the way down we get to see how it was done on the rudimentary gear of the day.

Making their way up Black Tusk's infamous south chimney, still snow-filled at this time of year,
Making their way down Black Tusk’s infamous south chimney, still snow-filled at this time of year.
More descending...
More descending…

After descending from Black Tusk, the party put their skis back on and headed towards Mount Garibaldi.

Gazing up at the north face of Mount Garibaldi.
Gazing up at the north face of Mount Garibaldi.

Unfortunately, without a written account we don’t know if they summited, or even attempted to climb the great volcano.

Skiing across a still-frozen Garibaldi Lake.
Skiing back across a still-frozen Garibaldi Lake.

Thus we encounter some of the limitations of incomplete archival records. All we know about this trip is what we can gather from the raw, uncaptioned images. Still, they are more than enough to set the mind wandering and the heart racing as we dream of the many mountain adventures that await us this upcoming winter. Have fun and play safe!

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Film and Video From The Archives Vol. 1Film and Video From The Archives Vol. 1

November 24, 2012 Whistler MuseumWhistler Museum 0 Comments

The Whistler Museum is home to many 16mm, 8mm films, and VHS tapes depicting Whistler, and life in Whistler from as early as 1933. Over the next few months we will be bringing you many of these wonderful films and videos from our archives.

16mm film & VHS tapes. Searchin for nugs.

To enhance all the excitement that comes with winter and the opening of the Mountain,  we present to you “Images of Whistler”, a Whistler Mountain promotional film extravaganza.

One of the ways Garibaldi Lifts LTD  promoted Whistler Mountain to potential skiers/customers was to produce short  films/advertisements highlighting Whistler skiing and culture.  “Images of Whistler” produced in [1975] was one such film. Depicting skiing, kids ski camps, ski races, ice hockey, ice sailing, log riding in a swimming pool, and all set to a very groovy Jazz-Funk soundtrack, Whistler has never looked or sounded so cool.

 

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