Category: Mountain Culture

Life in the mountains.

Jim McConkey’s Film CollectionJim McConkey’s Film Collection

August 15, 2023 Whistler MuseumWhistler Museum 2 Comments

In 2016, we wrote an article on Jim McConkey where we mentioned him bringing in his collection of 16mm ski films. At the time, we were unfortunately unable to view them as we did not have the necessary equipment. Well, it has been a long time since 2016 and in the at time we were able to acquire the right equipment for digitizing 16mm film thanks to the support of the Whistler Blackcomb Foundation and have now gone through and digitized Jim McConkey’s collection, finding some very interesting videos.

“Diamond” Jim McConkey was an accomplished ski instructor for many years before he came up to Whistler. Born in Barrie, Ontario in 1926, he quickly fell in love with skiing and moved out west in 1948 to ski the bigger mountains in the Rockies. He worked as the first ski school director in Park City, Utah, and eventually moved to Tod Mountain (now operating as Sun Peaks) to run the ski and rental shop at the mountain. In 1968, he was invited to open his own ski and rental shop in Whistler, as well as running the ski school. He ran the Whistler Mountain ski school until 1980, and the ski and rental shop until 1985. Jim also ran the second heli-ski operation, through Okanagan Helicopters, where he could take clients skiing on the glaciers around Whistler Mountain.

Jim McConkey is shown posing for his official Whistler Mountain Ski School portrait. Whistler Mountain Ski Corporation Collection

Throughout his career, Jim made lots of ski films in places all over North America, with accomplished filmmakers such as Warren Miller and Douglas Sinclair. In 2016, Jim stopped by the museum and brought with him his collection of old 16mm films, which we were then unable to view. However, the museum recently acquired the RetroScan, a piece of equipment that allows us to scan these 16mm films into a 4k video format and, using some other software as well, we were able to get both the video and the audio off these 16mm films and finally take a look at them.

Jim collected a wide variety of ski films over the years and has films from all over the world. As of right now, we have 12 films digitized from his personal collection, films such as “Marker Ski,” which is footage of the 1977/78 FIS Alpine Ski World Cup that took place in Austria and Germany, specifically at ski resorts such as Garmisch and Kitzbühel, and includes some of the skiing greats, such as Ingemar Stenmark, Phil Mahre, Klaus Heidegger, and Franz Klammer. Other films in his collection range from a Japanese ski team skiing Barbeau Peak, the largest mountain in eastern North America, in a film called “Brilliance of Fantasy,” to instructional ski films such as “Ski the Outer Limits,” “Invitation to Skiing,” and “Ski Total.” He, of course, also left us with some of his ski films that he starred in throughout his career.

Jim McConkey and Charles Graziano ski down a steep, powdery slope during the filming of “Ski Crazy” in Alta, Utah. Whistler Mountain Ski Corporation Collection

Jim personally starred in quite a few ski films but the ones we have digitized are “Alpine Ski Technique,” “Ski Nanny,” and “Snows of Garibaldi.” “Alpine Ski Technique” is an instructional ski video that was filmed at St. Jovite and Whistler, where Jim is the high mountain expert ski instructor and gives tips on jumping on skis, as well as showing off some great skiing accessed from a helicopter. Earlier in his career, when Jim was still at Tod Mountain, he starred in an episode of journalist Bob Cram’s television show “Ski Nanny,” where Jim takes Bob skiing in some deep powder at Tod Mountain. And finally, we have “Snows of Garibladi,” a Doug Sinclair film, which, according to Jim in a 2022 oral history conducted by the museum, was one of his favourite films to make. In this film, Jim goes heli-skiing with one of his instructors, Guy Barvoets, and it isn’t hard to imagine why this was one of his favourites – the high mountain skiing looks incredible and the aerial shots of Jim and Guy skiing unmarked glaciers are breathtaking. Jim is and always will be one of Whistler’s greatest icons and the footage we’ve seen so far certainly backs this statement up.

Liam McCrorie is one of two summer students working at the Whistler Museum this summer through the Young Canada Works Program.

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Over the Top: The Story of the First Spearhead Traverse, Part Two:Over the Top: The Story of the First Spearhead Traverse, Part Two:

August 8, 2023 Whistler MuseumWhistler Museum 0 Comments

The Spearhead traverse, a popular ski-touring route, was first undertaken by four members of the University of British Columbia’s Varsity Outdoor Club, Alistair MacDonald, Karl Ricker, Bert Port and Chris Gardner, in 1964. The four were approaching the head of the Spearhead Range by the fifth morning, breezing across both the Ripsaw and Naden Glaciers and arriving at Couloir Ridge where their easy progress was halted by difficult terrain. At this point, the group had reached Mt. Macbeth and Naden Pass, considered to be the limit between the Spearhead and Fitzsimmons Ranges. Falling back to their original position, the party utilized their crampons to descend onto Iago Glacier and get around the head of the valley.

A panorama taken at the groups’ camp on “platform” glacier from the Varsity Outdoor Club Journal. Karl Ricker Collection

Despite their extensive preparations, the group’s map of the region from 1928 falsely rendered the south side of Mt. Iago as too steep to traverse up, when in reality the slope had not only one, but two, skiable slopes. This cartography error led the party astray and forced them around the Mt. Diavolo icefall, before ascending and setting up camp on the newly christened “detour ridge.” In retrospect, the group proposed that for future expeditions, a couple of days could be shaved off by following a different route along Nanden and Macbeth Glaciers.  

The next day, the group descended onto Diavolo Glacier, before proceeding to the col between Mt Benvolio and Mt Fitzsimmons and adopting their strategy of splitting the party to bag both peaks before reconvening at the top of Fitzsimmons Glacier. From there a slow ascent up the slopes of Mt. Overlord and onto Overlord Glacier ended with the group settling down at Panorama Camp.

Due to heavy clouds, the group set off at noon the next day, splitting up for the third time and bagging both Whirlwind and Fissile Peaks before meeting up again at the col. The weather began to worsen and the party quickly skied down to Russet Lake. In later years, the BCMC would build one of the first gothic arch huts in the region, the Himmelsbach Hut, which was completed near the shores of Russet Lake in 1968 and was just recently relocated and replaced by the Kees and Claire Memorial Hut in 2019. At this point, the group had gotten below the clouds, allowing them to continue beyond the Singing Pass onto the flanks of Mt. Whistler.

Despite being so close to their goal, the weather conditions worsened and halted any progress for a day and a half. The party finally managed to set off at noon the next day, making their way up onto Whistler Mountain and bagging the peak, before hastily skiing down in heavy snow in order to barely catch the train departing Rainbow Station to Squamish. The first Spearhead Traverse expedition was able to complete the trek in nine days, and concluded that the route would serve future backcountry skiing well from years to come. The Spearhead has remained a popular route, and can now be routinely completed in a day, with most parties opting to complete the route between two to three days. In 2013, speedsters Erick Carter and Nick Elson completed the traverse in a blistering three hours and ten minutes.

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Over the Top, The Story of the First VOC Spearhead Traverse, Part One:Over the Top, The Story of the First VOC Spearhead Traverse, Part One:

August 1, 2023 Whistler MuseumWhistler Museum 0 Comments

The Spearhead Traverse, which links Whistler and Blackcomb via a horseshoe-shaped route that takes participants across the peaks of the Spearhead Range, is one of the most popular trips for backcountry ski-touring today. 

While the route is now completed routinely by hundreds of participants, it was pioneered in May of 1964 by members of the University of British Columbia’s Varsity Outdoor Club (VOC). The first recorded mountaineering attempts in the Spearheads had occurred as early as 1923, and the British Columbia Mountaineering Club expedition, led by Neal Carter, made many of the first recorded ascents of the Garibaldi region in 1925. The VOC’s 1964 expedition across the traverse hoped to make up for an earlier attempt by the club in 1954 that had been called off due to inclement weather.

In 1964, VOC members Alistair MacDonald, Karl Ricker, Bert Port and Chris Gardner were drawn to the Spearhead Traverse for a variety of reasons. They had acquired plenty of information from other mountaineering efforts in the region concerning both Blackcomb and Whistler Mountains, which would bookend their route. Additionally, proposed skiing development on Whistler Mountain and the prospect of a new VOC cabin in the region prompted the group to investigate potential backcountry ski-touring routes.

Bert Port’s handdrawn map of the Spearhead range, with the group’s route mapped out, featured in the 1964 Varsity Outdoor Club Journal. Karl Ricker Collection

The party of four, equipped with ski-touring gear, 10 days worth of food and a hunger for adventure, caught the train up to Rainbow Station and proceeded to make their way into the tree-line of Blackcomb Mountain, the most westerly point of the range. Here, they established their first camp, christening it “Bonfire Camp,” knowing that this was likely the last opportunity to have the luxury of an evening bonfire. Their journey began in earnest the day after,  setting off from the tree-line to get within striking distance of the summits of both Blackcomb Mountain and the neighbouring Spearhead Mountain. After bagging both Blackcomb and Spearhead, the party was able to descend and begin their journey across the Decker Glacier in the shadow of Decker Mountain before concluding their day on Trorey Glacier and establishing “Cannonball Camp,” so named for the snowballs that rolled through the campsite while they slept. 

The third day brought bad weather, forcing the group to halt progress while providing ample opportunities to make equipment repairs. The weather let up by the fourth day, sending the party towards both Mt Trorey and Mt Pattison. At this point, the group came up with a unique strategy in order to complete more ascents: by splitting the group into two, they could separate at the col (the lowest point between two mountain peaks) in order to climb adjacent peaks. In this manner, they were able to summit both Trorey and Pattison before reconvening for lunch at their previous campsite and then crossing onto Tremor Glacier. The group then circumnavigated the north side of Mt. Tremor and scrambled up to the col between Mt. Tremor and Mt. Shudder, hacking the ice and snow in order to make room for two tent platforms and establishing “platform camp.” At the end of the fourth day, the party was approaching the head of the valley, which would mark the midpoint of their journey.

Be sure to check back next week for the conclusion of their traverse.

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The Rise and Fall of the Varsity Outdoor Club’s Whistler Cabin.The Rise and Fall of the Varsity Outdoor Club’s Whistler Cabin.

July 4, 2023 Whistler MuseumWhistler Museum 3 Comments
The Whistler Club Cabin nearing completion, Karl Ricker Collection.

Established in 1917, the University of British Columbia’s Varsity Outdoor Club (VOC) set about climbing, hiking and skiing the many mountain ranges surrounding Vancouver. It was only a matter of time before the VOC’s quest for adventure led them onto the slopes of Whistler and the surrounding region. 

Prior to the proposal of a new cabin near Whistler, VOC members were already traveling to the Whistler region. During the mid-1950’s the VOC’s infamous “long-hike” , a mandatory trek that initiated new members into the club’s ranks, began to be held in the Garibaldi region. Garibaldi Provincial Park was also becoming increasingly popular among VOC members, for its (then) remote location. In 1964 the first successful recorded ascent of the Spearhead Traverse was completed by VOC members. Also in that year the VOC declared their intention to build the new club cabin only a short distance away from Whistler Mountain. The new location promised to compensate for the inadequacies of the VOC’s Mt Seymor cabin, namely, overcrowding and minimal ski development. Additionally, club members would often return to Vancouver after a day of skiing at Mt Seymor rather than use the cabin overnight, which the VOC executives cited as diminishing club spirit. Cabin construction began in 1964 and was completed by Christmas 1965; for a detailed account of the building process, see previous Whistorical articles “Constructing a Cabin” and “Origins – UBC VOC Lodge.” 

Unfortunately the Whistler cabin developed similar problems that had plagued the older Seymor cabin. Rapid commercial development of Whistler in the early 1970s alienated many members of the VOC, who felt that the location now ran contrary to the club’s ethos. The cabin, rather than being a focal point for VOC outings, was now divisive as the club’s more hardcore members and those who weren’t interested in downhill skiing saw little reason to utilize the facility. With club spirit divided and maintenance costs rising, something had to be done. 

In 1974, an early solution was found. The UBC Ski Club was formed from VOC members. The VOC’s executive team hoped to transfer the management costs of the cabin to the newly founded Ski Club, avoiding further financial hardship for the VOC  and maintaining club unity. By 1975, the Ski Club offered to purchase the cabin, a proposition viewed favourably by both clubs. This is when UBC’s student government, the Alma Mater Society (AMS), stepped in to block the sale, claiming legal ownership of the cabin. The AMS was also unwilling to facilitate the arrangement between the Ski Club and the VOC. Another agreement was drawn up, only to be shot down by the AMS, on the grounds that it was too favourable for the VOC.

The growing animosity between the VOC and the AMS culminated in spring 1975. A final desperate arrangement, proposed by the VOC and Ski Club was promptly turned down by the AMS, who restated their claims of ownership to the cabin  and that any sale would happen on their  terms. In 1977, a legal battle ensued and the VOC took the AMS to student court. The court ruled that despite legal ownership, the AMS still had to compensate the VOC for the material and labor cost of the cabin, totalling $30,000. The AMS refused to pay, stating that the student court had exceeded its jurisdiction; the VOC responded in 1979 by threatening the AMS with legal action at the provincial level. Only then did the AMS agree to out-of-court negotiations and paid out the $30,000.

Despite a legal victory, the VOC lost its taste for club cabins and the Whistler Cabin was the last of its kind. With their hard-earned assets, the VOC instead invested in three new mountaineering huts. The Whistler Cabin remained with the AMS until 2014, when the AMS sold the cabin. The Cabin now serves as the Whistler Lodge Hostel.

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