Category: Mountain Culture

Life in the mountains.

Creating Whistler’s Parks: Lakeside Park, slowly but surelyCreating Whistler’s Parks: Lakeside Park, slowly but surely

May 16, 2023 Whistler MuseumWhistler Museum 0 Comments

Following Wayside Park, the second public access point to Alta Lake was at the end of Lakeside Road in Alta Vista, now known as Lakeside Park. Public access to Lakeside Park was first created in 1980, although there were few facilities. When writing about the park in 1980 the Whistler Question specified that, “This area is unknown to many Whistler visitors and residents.”

The relative anonymity of the park went further than the general Whistler population. While Lost Lake Park and Alpha Lake Park featured regularly in the news at the time, there was little information on Lakeside Park. In the one photo of Lakeside Park when it opened, the corresponding article was not even about the park, instead it was about councillor Garry Watson’s proposal to create public access to Alta Lake in the area that is known as Blueberry Park today.

Lakeside Park in 1980. Whistler Question Collection.

In 1982, the Parks and Recreation Commission flagged increasing the size of Lakeside Park through private land acquisition as the highest priority for Whistler. It was at the height of windsurfing when Alta Lake could be seen covered in brightly coloured windsurfers during the summer, and Lakeside was seen as ideal for windsurfer access. Additionally it had road access and parking, and was situated along the main trail corridor.

When the Whistler Rotary Club received its charter in 1976, one of their first projects was to build three floating docks for public use on Alta Lake. One of these floats was brought to Lakeside Park where it allowed visitors to get into the water past the horsetails. Part of the proposal was to further clear the horsetails near the dock, add gravel and sand to improve the beach and put picnic tables and garbage cans in the park. The bathrooms were pump-out septic systems on the shore of the lake and the road was gravel.

The Whistler Question wrote in 1980, “The Municipality has reviewed the opportunities in the Alta Lake area and without expropriation or purchase of private land property, the recreational opportunity in the Alta Lake area for swimming, especially a beach area for young children, is extremely limited.” A benefit of Lakeside was the room for expansion which could be possible through the purchase of private land on either side of the park.

Lakeside Park in 1984. Whistler Question Collection.

However, Whistler became more popular and the land more expensive, and out of reach for municipal coffers. It was very clear that more park space was needed on Alta Lake and in 1984 the idea of a referendum was posed. The proposed referendum would have a long-term policy question on how to reconcile the needs of residents in Alta Vista, with the needs of tourists flocking to the beach.

This was a particularly important question when a rezoning application was submitted to council to change one of the waterfront properties from residential to commercial. Not only would a busy restaurant mean more traffic in the area, it could set a precedent for rezoning approval, increasing the lot value of the area making the plan to buy waterfront land for parks economically unfeasible. Mayor Mark Angus said to the Whistler Question at the time, “How do we ensure that we don’t buy a 60 ft. lot for $600,000? We want the waterfront for the use of the public.” (If only 60 ft. of waterfront was only $600,000 today!)

Go past Lakeside Park on a warm, sunny summers day and you will quickly see it is no longer Whistler’s forgotten park. Bodies are regularly packed into every inch of the grass and docks with people arriving early to claim their space.

The expansions proposed to triple the waterfront area of Lakeside Park were never fully realised. Instead the municipality acquired the land for Rainbow Park on Alta Lake in 1987, and that is a story in itself.

Windsurfing was an incredibly popular pastime on Alta Lake. Benjamin Collection.

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Creating Whistler’s Parks: Alpha Lake Park, for the love of tennisCreating Whistler’s Parks: Alpha Lake Park, for the love of tennis

May 9, 2023 Whistler MuseumWhistler Museum 0 Comments

When the first Outdoor Recreation Plan was completed in 1980, development of a park on Alpha Lake was not identified as a high priority. Lost Lake and Alta Lake are warmer and more desirable for swimming so facilities for those lakes were top of the list. However, when the opportunity arose in 1982 to purchase land on Alpha Lake from John Taylor, the Municipality jumped at the chance to increase lakeside recreation.

John Taylor owned over 160 acres (65 hectares) in the Creekside area around Nita Lake and Alpha Lake. He built the first tennis courts in the Valley at Jordan’s Lodge where the Whistler Tennis Club was formed in 1978. Passionate about tennis, John agreed to sell the land to the municipality for $93,000 on the understanding that tennis courts would be built as part of the park development.

The undeveloped land where Alpha Lake Park was built was a large swamp and extensive work was required to prepare the area. Fill was brought in for the grassed area and sand for the beach. The tennis courts alone required 3 feet of basalt bedding for stability. Picnic tables and a wharf were also constructed and the park was connected to the early Valley Trail network.

Employees moving fill to create the beach at Alpha Lake Park. Whistler Question Collection.

When the park opened in 1983 the Whistler Question wrote, “A visit to Alpha Lake Park is a step into a delightful other world.” At the time it opened there were few facilities found at the other parks, and Alpha Lake Park had volleyball courts, tennis courts, a beach and trails.

Municipal Parks Planner, Tom Barratt, was particularly fond of Alpha Lake Park due to the number and size of Kokanee Trout found in the nearby streams. Cedars were planted along the stream banks to offer shade and further improve the conditions for spawning trout.

Parks Planner, Tom Barratt (right) and team member Suzanne McLean put the final touches on Alpha Lake Park in July 1983. Whistler Question Collection.

One of the most notable parts of Alpha Lake Park, the children’s treehouse did not come along until later. It was built in 1989 by Eric Scragg from funds raised through the community fundraiser, Whistler Night. Whistler Night was a fun ‘night out’ event that raised money for projects that benefit the community.

Money raised from the night out in 1987 was originally slated to go toward a children’s park at the base of Whistler Mountain; however, Whistler Mountain revised their plans and built Whistler Express Gondola in the area instead. The funds sat in the Whistler Nights’ account for two years as they searched for an appropriate project to put the money toward. More facilities for children were desperately needed in the community and Alpha Lake Park was eventually chosen because it was felt to be ‘underutilised’.

Bill Barratt, who went on to become Chief Administration Officer (CAO) for the RMOW, also worked in Parks at the time. He said while visitors and residents to Whistler wanted generally the same things from a park, it was still a balancing act. He used the play equipment at Alpha Lake Park as an example of a draw card for out-of-town visitors. Unique facilities meant visitors would go on to tell their friends about the park, and drive continued summer visitation.

The official opening of Alpha Lake Park. From left to right, Trevor Roote, Bill Barratt, Karen Barratt, and Tom Barratt. Whistler Question Collection.

Despite not being the number one priority in the Outdoor Recreation Plan, Alpha Lake Park was important as it connected the network of trails and parks from Meadow Park in the north, through Lost Lake and Alta Lake, to Alpha Lake in the south. The initial five-year plan to complete these parks and a connecting trail network was instead completed in three years, greatly increasing access to lakes and recreation throughout the Valley.

Today the playground, volleyball courts and tennis courts continue to be enjoyed by the community and visitors alike.

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Creating Whistler’s ParksCreating Whistler’s Parks

May 2, 2023 Whistler MuseumWhistler Museum 0 Comments

Much of Whistler’s magic comes from the swathe of recreational green space that we enjoy within the municipal boundaries. For this we can thank the visionary thinking that started a Recreation Plan for Whistler, before Whistler Village even existed.

The value of recreational green space was not underestimated in Whistler even before the municipality was created. A community study by W.J. Blakely in 1973 stated, “The acquisition, either through direct purchase or as a condition of approval of development, of public open space and lake front land for community recreation should be undertaken as soon as possible on behalf of any new municipality incorporated.”

The Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW) was incorporated in September 1975, and despite the many tasks facing them, a provisional Recreation Plan was written by 1976. ‘Recreation and Open Space Considerations for Community Planning’ was prepared for the RMOW by Norm Paterson representing the Whistler Developers Association, Paul Burrows representing Alta Lake Rate Payers Association, Paul Mathews from the Advisory Planning Commission and councillor Al Raine.

This report recognised that, “Recreation is the primary resource of the Whistler Community and this important asset must be protected and optimized for the benefit of the Whistler Community.” The report recognised that while the ski season was the prime driver of the economy in Whistler, the summer economy should not be overlooked.

Analysing recreational potential in Whistler, the report recommended investment into most recreational opportunities except for hunting, target shooting and ski jumping. Hunting and target shooting were recognised as too noisy and in conflict with Whistler’s other recreational opportunities, while ski jumping was not an economically viable investment for the RMOW, although private investment would be supported.

In the 1970s, Wayside Park on Alta Lake was one of the few designated parks in Whistler as it had previously been a provincial park. Apart from this, public access to Whistler’s lakes was limited. The report noted as priority, “The areas of active water related recreation should be developed as quickly as possible. The present priority would appear to be public beach access to Alta Lake and boat launching areas. The development of Lost Lake is also important.” In his copy of the planning document, Trevor Roote, who became the chair of the Advisory Parks and Recreation Commission (APRC), circled this paragraph and wrote ‘agreed’.

Wayside Park in July 1979. The park was the only public access to Alta Lake at this time. Whistler Question Collection.

Trev Roote, and the Advisory Parks and Recreation Commission (APRC) expanded on this preliminary planning document to create the original Recreation Master Plan. The plan was constructed largely by volunteers before there was a parks or recreation department in the municipality. It proposed locations for parks with a linear spine of trails to connect them. Doug Wylie, municipal engineer in the days when the parks person came under engineering, remembered volunteer Trev Roote standing by his desk for hours going over their proposal.

The plan was detailed and thorough. It is quite incredible comparing the highlighted and hand-drawn maps from over 40 years ago to the system of parks and trails we enjoy today. There are a few linkages still to be connected in valley trail system, notably between Alpha Lake Park and Function Junction, and from Mons to Whistler Cay. Other proposals that were not realised include the trail following the railway tracks on the west side of Alta Lake, south of Rainbow Park. On this section today pedestrians and cyclists are required to ride with vehicles often flying along Alta Lake Road. Apart from that, development has gone surprisingly close to plan.

Following the creation of the Master Plan, the land still needed to be acquired and the parks and trails developed. Whistler saw a period of rapid recreational development in the early 1980s. Lost Lake came first, followed by Meadow Park, Lakeside and Alpha Lake. This is not to mention many smaller local parks and facilities.

To turn the recreation plan into reality there are many interesting stories that the Whistler Museum will be exploring throughout spring, in the series Creating Whistler’s Parks. Keep an eye out for these to hear about the municipality’s longest lawsuit, and how the Emerald Forest is related to hotels in the Blackcomb Benchlands.

In 1984, Trev Roote, chairman of the Advisory Parks and Recreation Commission, became Whistler’s fifth Freeman in recognition of his five years as a volunteer at the helm of municipal parks development. Trev was a West Vancouver businessman, but spent considerable time in Whistler identifying recreational needs and gaining referendum approval of $2 million parks spending. Whistler Question Collection.

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Unforgettable Whistler Mountain Staff PartiesUnforgettable Whistler Mountain Staff Parties

April 18, 2023 Whistler MuseumWhistler Museum 2 Comments

When I think of Whistler Blackcomb staff parties, I think of Mickey Mouse’s Christmas Album and walking around the Conference Centre collecting little trolls from the Christmas crackers. It was shocking to my 6-year-old brain that some of the adults did not want the trolls, and they travelled across the world with me when my family moved to Australia. Mickey’s Christmas album also came with us and it still comes on in December every year, much to my father’s dismay.

While it is hard to believe, some of Whistler Mountain’s other staff parties sound even better. The 1986 year-end staff party will go down in the history books.

At the end of the 1985/86 winter, Canada was coming out of the recession that had gripped the country throughout the early 1980s. Peak Chair had not yet been constructed but was going in over the summer and the competition between Whistler Mountain and Blackcomb Mountain was still in full swing.

After Whistler Mountain closed to the public for the end of the 1985/86 season, the lifts turned on again for a staff celebration. Ullr was happy and it had dumped with snow overnight so the celebrating staff got fresh snow all to themselves.

To get all the staff onto the mountain for the celebration, the gondola from Creekside ran for a few hours in the morning then closed once everyone was up. For the rest of the day, the Whistler T-bar and Red Chair were running unmanned allowing everyone to join the party. With absolutely no liftys, staff could ski down and hop straight onto the lift however they pleased.

Like the majority of Whistler Mountain parties back then it was a fully catered event. Booze and food were plentiful, with management flipping burgers and Pika’s overflowing with unlimited free drinks for all. Looking at photos from the event, the outfits scream 1980s spring skiing – Vaurnets all around, bright colours and spectacular goggle tans. With many people dressed up in costume it is unclear whether there was a theme or the costumes were just out to celebrate the end of the season.

L to R – Andrea Thompson, Scott Paxton and Erin Early in front of the Roundhouse during the 1986 Whistler Mountain staff party. Photo courtesy of Dave Steers.

Remembering the festivities, Janet Love Morrison recalled, “there was all this booze and so you’d have a couple of drinks and then you just ski down to Little Red, load yourself up with no liftys. It was pretty crazy.” Despite this, there were no serious incidents during the raucous party.

Whistler Mountain had a reputation for excellent staff parties, so much so that locals who did not work for Whistler Mountain paid for a helicopter to Whistler Peak so they could join the revelry!

Now living on the Sunshine Coast, photographer and longtime employee of Whistler Mountain, Dave Steers, remembered another side of the event. “The skiing was amazing and it was the last time ever that you could lap the Peak and lay down tracks beside your last set.” Before the chairlift went in only a small number of people hiked the Peak so you could always get fresh tracks. Once the ‘weak chair’ to the Peak was built far more people began accessing the terrain.

For more about ski culture in the 1980s, visit Peak Bros: A Whistler Comic Strip 1979 – 1992 at the Whistler Museum until April 23rd, 2023.

Whistler Peak before the Peak Chair went in over the summer of 1986. Photo courtesy of Dave Steers.

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