Museum Musings – Page 112 – Whistler Museum and Archives Society

The Great Snow-Earth-Water Race Returns!The Great Snow-Earth-Water Race Returns!

May 4, 2014 Whistler Museum 0 Comments

The Great Snow Earth Water Race is being revived in 2014. A truly organic Whistler experience, we at the museum are really excited to see the return of this awesome event.

The original race began in 1975 and involved skiing, canoeing, cycling and running. Thirty teams composed of five men and women took part in that first year and the race was won by a dream team made up of Dave Murray, Trudy Alder, D.J. Muzullo, Nancy Greene Raine and Joe Czimazia. In the beginning there were very few rules, so a certain amount of “questionable” tactics were employed, including driving down the mountain!

Competitors began at the top of Whistler Mountain where they would ski to wherever the snow finished. From there they would have to run the rest of the way down to Creekside (in ski boots, carrying their skis). At Creekside the baton was passed off to a cyclist, who would ride around Alta Lake and pass it off to the canoeists. The paddlers worked their way up the lake to the first weir on the River of Golden Dreams. Then they handed off to runners who ran back along the highway to Creekside.

Apparently, the canoeing was the most amusing part for bystanders. Dave Steers recalls, “Most of the teams had members who could tell the front of a canoe from the back. A few teams didn’t even have that.” Consequently there were plenty of tipped canoes and great hilarity for all.

As the years went on the race evolved to include more sports. In the 2014 revival there will be six stages: ski or snowboard touring, ski or snowboard downhill, downhill mountain biking, running, canoeing and cross-country biking.

If you fancy putting a team together it’s sure to be hilarious fun. Visit http://www.greatoutdoorsfest.com for details. The race is also in need of volunteers to help all go smoothly, so if you have spare time on May 18th and want to sign up for a piece of pure Whistler fun, you won’t regret it!

Lost Lake Ski JumpLost Lake Ski Jump

January 25, 2014 Whistler Museum 2 Comments

Summers at Lost Lake are known today for their mild diversions of picnicking, sunbathing, and paddling in inflatable Explorer 200 boats. But during the late ‘70s to early ‘80s the lake was home to Whistler’s “Summer Air Ramp” – a ski jump that launched aerialists high into the air and then deep into the water, allowing them to practice their somersaults and twists in the off-season.

Aerial practice. David Lalik Collection.

Planning for the ramp was initiated in 1977 by local freestyle skiers, commonly referred to at the time as “hot-doggers,” frustrated at the lack of aerial opportunities at Whistler’s glacier summer camps. Instead of relying on a summer snow pack that was, at the best of times, “quirky,” they proposed to create opportunities for aerial training in the valley.

Funding for freestyle skiing in the west was virtually non-existent at the time, so the aerialists banded together with local community members to gather funds and expertise to begin the project.

With no development permit or permission from the SLRD, an inconspicuous site needed to be chosen. Thankfully, all eyes were on the new Village at this time, which had just had its first phase of development completed, and Lost Lake was remote enough not to draw undue attention from local authorities.

Construction was a cooperative effort – timber was scrounged from various sources in town and the plastic grass that had been used as the ski out from the old Olive Chair was salvaged from the Function Junction dump. The piecing together of timber and final overlay of the “Green Meanie” grass remarkably only took two weeks.

Looking down the ramp. David Lalik Collection.

At its completion the ramp projected 20 feet out over the lake. Skiers would ride down the steep ramp, over the slippery plastic grass, and launch themselves as high as 40 feet above the water. “Injuries were commonplace,” says David Lalik, one of the original workers on the ramp, “but [an] acceptable risk in the sport and environment of the day.” The ramp became renowned for being particularly gnarly, even by professional aerialists, and there was sufficient demand for a second, novice ramp to be constructed after the first season of training. By 1979 Lost Lake had become a popular summer hangout for locals – many of which were spectators of the experimental aerial training. The Whistler Answer from this Summer explains that, “the vicarious excitement of watching some ‘less than hot’-dogger pull off a full face landing upon completion of a faultless flip is enough to liven up the most boring tanning session.”

Sponsors began to show an interest in the ramp and competitions started in 1981. The events only got bigger as the Summer Air Camps kicked off the next year – Lost Lake had become a renowned destination for off-season jumping! Offering training from national team coach Peter Judge (current CEO of the Canadian Freestyle Ski Association), the camps attracted all kinds of aerialists, from new to experienced. Having the lakefront crowded with hundreds of spectators was no longer anything new, and often film crews would record events for television broadcast.

Spectators at the jump. David Lalik Collection.

Lost Lake failed to remain as remote as it once had been, and the site eventually became part of the revitalization that installed the Fairmont golf course. As Dave Lalik explains, “this ‘undesirable lot’ and their ramshackle mess … wouldn’t fit in with the new expanded, sanitized, recreation master-plan of contoured 12 foot paradise paths to ‘Lost Lake’.”

Lost Lake had been found.

-Written by guest blogger, Melinda Muller

A short history of the Whistler MuseumA short history of the Whistler Museum

February 4, 2012 Whistler Museum 0 Comments

Happy Birthday to us!

In the summer of 1986 Florence Petersen began fulfilling a promise. You see, Florence had made a promise to Myrtle Phillip and Dick Fairhurst that their stories would not be forgotten. Phillip and Fairhurst were concerned that the early days of the valley would be forgotten entirely as skiing became the dominant activity.

That summer Florence, with a group of dedicated volunteers, set to work in creating a museum in Whistler. Unfortunately, Myrtle Phillip passed away in August of that year, and did not get to see the new museum become a reality.

Florence (at left) and Myrtle share a laugh.

As items for the museum were gathered, a temporary showcase was constructed in an 11 by 14 foot room in the back of the Whistler Library. In February 1987, 25 years ago, the Whistler Museum and Archives Society (WMAS) became an official non-profit organization.

By January of 1988 the WMAS, located in Function Junction, had its own temporary space in the old municipal hall building, renovated through the generosity of the Whistler Rotary Club. The museum, which officially opened in June of 1989, showcased replicas of Myrtle Phillip’s sitting room, information on Whistler’s natural history as well as exhibits on skiing and pioneer life.

Florence poses with the new Museum sign in 1988 – this same sign adorns the side of the Museum today.

Between June and September of that year, the brand-spanking-new museum had attracted over 2,000 visitors. That number increased to over 3,800 visitors the following summer. Not too shabby Florence!

In 1995 the Whistler Museum and Archives scored temporary space in a prime location on Main Street beside the library. The new space was 1,000 square feet smaller than that in the Function Junction location, but was definitely more accessible and visible. In the first month alone of operating in the new space, the Whistler Museum welcomed 2,168 visitors.

Thirteen years later, in 2008, WMAS closed its doors to prepare for its fourth move — a new home in the adjacent structure that had previously housed the Whistler Public Library. By the end of 2009 WMAS had re-opened with a brand new interior and brand-new permanent exhibit, with support from the municipality, the Whistler Blackcomb Foundation, the Community Foundation of Whistler, the American Friends of Whistler and the community at large.

If you haven’t seen the new Museum, you really are missing out.

So thank you Florence and thank you to the army of volunteers over the years. Without you we wouldn’t have the awesome museum we have today and, frankly, we wouldn’t have these sweet jobs!

To celebrate our birthday, we will be holding a fundraiser at Creekbread. Please click here for all the details.

Taking history outside the classroomTaking history outside the classroom

June 24, 2011 Whistler Museum 0 Comments

This is a re-post of the June 23rd installment of the Whistler Museum’s weekly column in the Whistler Question newspaper, Museum Musings.

As Leah Batisse is currently frolicking around in jolie Paris, the arduous task of writing this week’s Museum Musings falls to me, one of those three summer students she mentioned in this column a few weeks ago. If this is what she had in mind by “diabolical plans” for us seasonal reinforcements, I’ve got more than a little sympathy for the devil.

If the whole point of summer job programs like Young Canada is to provide valuable on-the-job experience to complement our academic background, then my few weeks at the museum have so far exceeded expectations.

Studying history in university, I developed an appreciation for how important knowledge about the past is for socially engaged individuals and vibrant, healthy communities. And while I also believe that universities should serve as more than mere job-skills factories, the fact of the matter is that the basic skills taught in most Canadian history programs — reading, writing and archival research — have hardly changed over the last century. While I consider these to be valuable, under-appreciated skills, the curriculum is becoming a little old-fashioned for anyone who doesn’t intend on a career as a university professor.

In my first few weeks here at the museum my overlords have provided me with a good mix of pre-defined tasks such as writing PR releases and delivering walking tours (which we offer every day, all summer long, departing from the Whistler Visitor Center at 1 p.m.), as well as the opportunity to develop some self-directed projects such as designing and creating content for our new blog (blog.whistlermuseum.org).

In the process I’ve been gaining first-hand experience in how to make historical research more relevant beyond university, not to mention a crash course in a variety of practical, in-demand skills such as graphic design and web publishing. This experience will be crucial in my hoped-for jump from over-educated snowboard instructor/carpenter’s assistant to a challenging career that builds on the skills and knowledge I gained in school.

Meanwhile, Bridget (events) has been neck deep in crafts and event planning, while Brad (collections) has had a full run of archival work from transcribing audio interviews to poly-wrapping furniture in our super-secret underground lair. Glorified coffee runners we are not.

In other news, in the vein of community engagement we are excited to announce three upcoming events. First, the Whistler Museum’s annual general meeting will be taking place from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday (June 29). Come get the inside scoop on what happened in 2010 and what we will be focusing on in 2011.

All are welcome, though only members have voting privileges. If you aren’t a member yet, you can always purchase a membership for just $25. Our AGM is a night to mingle with your friends, meet the museum staff and board of trustees, check out the exhibit, eat fantastic grub — there will be a free barbecue and a cash bar — and generally celebrate with us.

The festivities continue the following night (June 30, from 6:30 to 9 p.m.) during the ArtWalk reception. This is the best time to come see some great work by Pemberton-based action/landscape photographer Andrew Strain, but the art has already been mounted so you can check it out anytime, all summer long.

Our three-day bender culminates on July 1 with Whistler’s annual Canada Day celebration. As always, we will be entering a float in the parade, and we aim to win! Afterwards, come visit us at our tent in Village Square for an afternoon of arts and crafts. The museum will remain open all day long by donation in celebration of our national holiday.

Stay tuned to this column, our website, blog, Facebook page and Twitter feed for up-to-date info regarding upcoming events and our ongoing efforts to make the museum as innovative, engaging and relevant as possible for the local and global communities that we serve.

Jeff Slack is the summer program coordinator at the Whistler Museum.

Category: Museum Musings

The Great Snow-Earth-Water Race Returns!The Great Snow-Earth-Water Race Returns!

Lost Lake Ski JumpLost Lake Ski Jump

A short history of the Whistler MuseumA short history of the Whistler Museum

Taking history outside the classroomTaking history outside the classroom