Category: Ski-Town Stories

From Whistler to Blackcomb to Whistler Blackcomb.

The Bucking Bronco of Après: Part II of a not-so-Dusty-tale

The Bucking Bronco of Après: Part II of a not-so-Dusty-taleThe Bucking Bronco of Après: Part II of a not-so-Dusty-tale

March 10, 2026 Whistler MuseumWhistler Museum 0 Comments

Featured Image: The Den at Dusty’s photo. Intrawest Collection. Does anyone have any information about ‘The Den’? The Museum would love to learn more…

Last week, the adventures of Dusty – the one-time stuffed bucking bronco – from the bar that still bears his name, were chronicled. This mythic tale takes up where the last article trailed off…

The bar and bbq joint re-branded in the late 1980s, setting Dusty off from the raunchy ranch into the ‘realm of mythology.’ The now-battered-up bronco hit the fundraising circuit. He was auctioned off on Timmy’s Telethon. The buyer never picked up his rodeo cocktail champ, and that’s when Ski Patrol stepped in and ‘rescued’ him.

Dusty was set up in the Volly cabin, right next to Honest Eddie: the pop-turned-beer machine. One dollar bought you a brew-with-a-view with the dead horse.

Only in Whistler: Tales of a Mountain Town (Harbour Publishing, 2009), the book by longtime local Stephen Vogler, relays that Dusty also became a prankster. Or perhaps, more aptly, the mascot for mayhem-makers. He showed up on top of the lift evacuation practice tower, surely after going up the Pony Trail: a sky-high stallion who stirred the concerns of animal rights activists, stating it was inappropriate treatment of a dead animal. He was removed.

The bar which still bears Dusty’s moniker claims, “One of the greatest legends of our time, our namesake’s origin is as much a mystery as his whereabouts today.” But…or maybe, more appropriately, well… that is not entirely correct, nor incorrect. 

The order of operations of his subsequent adventures is hazy at best: but he did transition to ‘the dark side’. The missing-a-leg Dusty made his way to Blackcomb. He rode by snowmobile and then was transferred to toboggan. The injured horse (whose head apparently may have partly fallen off in the process) was hoped to be moved to the upper alpine, but was only able to make it to the top of Chair 2, halfway up the hill. Vogler’s telling shares many more of the bumps and bruises of the journey, including the fact that in the morning, he was promptly removed and sent to the dump.

But the story doesn’t end there… and as Vogler points out, “perhaps it’s best to leave names out when the police become involved.” And so it goes…the driver of the horse-disposing truck (again, no mention of it being a Bronco!) apparently could not bear the thought “of dumping a once-famous museum-worthy equine in the landfill” (*and as far as Museum records show, no attempt to contact the archivist was made!). The truck rolled over the old log bridge and from there “Dusty made one last jump for freedom” into the Cheakamus River. 

But, then there was the kayaker. The kayaker who called the RCMP. And the RCMP who dispatched the dive team and called in a crane to remove the horse who had “clearly stumbled over the rugged banks to its death.” The cops called in the cowboy who ran the stables at Mons, whereupon seeing the horse is reputed to have said “That’s Dusty. He’s been dead for fifty years.”

The RCMP wanted to lay charges. None were ever filed.

Back into the truck Dusty went and back to Blackcomb Base II did Dusty take his last ride. With a match, and a can of gasoline, it is rumoured that Dusty saddled up to become a blazing effigy to Après adventures and the legacy of rodeo-like-ski-resort town…

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The Dual Mountain Duel: 7th Heaven and Peak Chair

The Dual Mountain Duel: 7th Heaven and Peak ChairThe Dual Mountain Duel: 7th Heaven and Peak Chair

January 20, 2026 Whistler MuseumWhistler Museum 0 Comments

Top Image: Skiers atop Whistler Peak. 1990s. Griffith Collection.

This week marks the 60th anniversary of Whistler Mountain’s opening. Blackcomb Mountain opened in 1980. Whistler’s runs were designed more to side-run the mountain, whereas Blackcomb’s followed more of the fall lines. 

Up until 1997, the two mountains operated separately. There was, however, a Dual Mountain Pass that could be purchased, granting access to both mountains. The pass was one of the only points of collaboration between the two competitors, whose rivalry was best showcased in their alpine lift duel.

In 1985, Blackcomb installed the 7th Heaven T-Bar: at the time, becoming the continent’s first, and only, “Mile High Mountain.” A vast amount of new terrain was opened up by this development – expansive glacial access and four powder bowls – extending Blackcomb’s skiable area by almost two-thirds. The significant upgrade served to dispel its previous uniformity in design. Skiers now could  travel down runs covering 1160 acres, a substantial increase over the previous 420. 

The alpine world had been opened up. 

The mid-1980s, short-lived 7th Heaven T-Bar. Griffith Collection.

A young Mike Douglas (“Godfather of Freeskiing”, filmmaker and founder of the Canadian chapter of Protect Our Winters) described the experience of arriving at the top of 7th Heaven as being “dropped off at the edge of the world.” Nancy Greene (Olympic gold medalist voted Canada’s Female Athlete of the 20th Century) declared “The enormous variety of slopes and spectacular views are unequalled in North America.” In the forefront of those views was Whistler Mountain. 

Whistler responded by countering a year later with the opening of the Peak Chair, a three-seater, one kilometre long lift depositing people just beneath the summit of the mountain at 2182 metres. The bar had literally just been raised (in every sense of the word!), one upping Blackcomb in the process.

Peak Chair was initially restricted to just advanced skiers. Snowboarders, at this time, were still not welcome on the mountain. 

Whistler’s original Peak Chair. Griffith collection.

Challenging, cliffed, corniced and steep terrain characterized the area off the peak. Glaciated bowls and bouldered outcrops earmarked the summit’s geologic geography; whereas, its demography was being populated by seekers-of-skiing’s-extreme.

Blackcomb was not to be outdone. Riding 7th Heaven, arguably, remains the pinnacle of the Blackcomb experience.  The following year, in 1987, 7th Heaven Express opened, replacing the two-year existence of the T-bar. The new four person chair, running along a longer and new lift line is the same one in operation today. Much like the Peak Chair, only skiers were permitted, when both first opened. 

Blackcomb was the first to welcome snowboarders in 1988/89. Whistler followed suit; however, in this case, the mountain was much more reluctant to follow this trend, only opening their slopes to shredders a full year later.

In 1996, the two mountains joined forces, merging under the banner ‘Whistler Blackcomb.’ Continuing the streak of earning international accolades, the united front earned the Number One spot in SKIING Magazine’s ranking of the ‘Top 25 Resorts in North America’ (Tourism Whistler, 2019).

Two years later, Whistler further upgraded access to its alpine summit, with the unveiling of the four-seater, Peak Express. This same high speed, detachable chairlift remains in operation today.

And every morning, the eager and the energetic mingle and gather at the bases of 7th Heaven and Peak Express, awaiting Ski Patrol to finish their avalanche clearance protocols, in a bid to carve fresh tracks through unparalleled terrain.
The duel of the dual mountains – the rivalry of lifts and runs –  may have ended on a financial and marketing level, but preferences ran – and still run – strong between slope-sliders and stylers  as to which side of the mountain they prefer… along with their preferred method of flying down their chosen hill!

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Santa Slays the Mountain!Santa Slays the Mountain!

December 16, 2025 Whistler MuseumWhistler Museum 0 Comments
Santa on the Slopes of Whistler, 1994. Insight Photography Collection

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle …

Their hundreds of eyes— oh! how they twinkled! 

Their dimples, how merry!

Their cheeks were like roses, their noses like cherries!

Their droll little mouths were drawn up like bows, 

as, together, they rode up the gondola in droves

Sporting beards on their chins as white as the snow …

Then away they all flew, down the slopes with skis and boards,

all donned up in red and white…

(some outfits loose and baggy, others mighty tight!)

The annual Dress Like Santa Day: another sleighing sight!

For more than twenty years, Whistler Blackcomb has been hosting this colourful, costumed and cheer-fuelled Christmas tradition. Just as its name suggests – every year on one mid-December day , this year on Friday, December 19 – snowboarders and skiers are encouraged to dress up like Mr. or Mrs. Claus and take to the slopes.

Merriment and holiday-spirit spread amongst ‘Ho, Ho, Ho’ing participants as they gather at the base of Whistler Mountain. From the young to the still-young-at-heart, the all-ages event has steadily grown in popularity since its inception (exactly what year that was is hard to pinpoint, as it remains a glorified extension of previously established on-mountain Santa-spotting happenings) … but, the early 2000s seems to be the general consensus.

Once at the top, the Santa slope stylers travel together from the Roundhouse-cum-North Pole to the base of Emerald Chair – where a group photo is taken. 

As per tradition, a free lift ticket has been awarded to the first 100 people who arrive in full attire. This number has grown from an original 50 free tickets, to 75, to its now 100: handed out to the pipe-toting, black-belt bulging, and boot-wearing crew. With great Whistler flair, custom costume-modifications have made this a Santa Spectacle, sanctioned under a ‘Creative Claus’ (with… “A wink of his eye and a twist of his head/Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread!)”

Mountain Hostesses follow Santa down the Slopes. Greg Griffith Collection.

The Whistler Mountain Hostesses definitely skied with St. Nick. Beginning in the 1974/75 season, the program “specialized in fun” … and dressing up as elves and touring the slopes with Santa was a part of their ‘mandate’. “We had the greatest job in the world,” recalls founding Hostess Leanne Dufour.

The program morphed into the Ski Friends (also Santa’s helpers!) in the late 80s and then further into the present-day Mountain Host program. 

Off the slopes, Santa has announced his arrival in other less-than-conventional ways throughout Whistler’s history. In 1980, the “jolly old elf” cruised in by chopper, dropping down from the skies – heralded by helicopter – only to be mobbed by a group of candy-covetting children.

After a dramatic arrival by helicopter, Santa is mobbed at the Rainbow Ski Village Saturday as he tries to distribute candy canes.

Dating back even further… The children of the one-room Alta Lake schoolhouse (first opened in 1933) would also receive an annual visit from Father Christmas. It is fair to speculate that trapper and railway section-gang worker, Billy ‘Santa’ Bailiff, likely arrived by horse or on foot. Remembered as a ‘gentle man.’ Billy – famed for his ‘Stellar Jay Pie’ and ‘potato water bread’ – was the unanimous choice as the Santa stand-in with his plump figure and round rosy cheeks.  

Billy died in 1958 and the baton of community Kris Kringle seems to have been passed onto to Jack Biggin-Pound, who settled in McGuire (an old mill town from the 1930s, two kilometres north of Brandywine Falls), staking a claim there on Crown Land in 1961. Jack recalled, “Never again will Myrtle Philip [Founder of Rainbow Lodge, the first tourist attraction in the Whistler area, opened in 1915] undo my flies, to the great amusement of everyone, to stuff a pillow in to make me a more portly Santa Claus for the school children. They all tried hard but I don’t think ever found out who Santa was”…

The mystery of who Santa was, or is, either singularly in our schools – or in plural, plummeting down the hill –  remains part of this town’s mountain magic … 

Santa spotted on Blackcomb. Blackcomb Mountain Collection.



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2102 Lake Placid Road: the Southside Diner2102 Lake Placid Road: the Southside Diner

November 4, 2025 Whistler MuseumWhistler Museum 0 Comments

After it opened in 1974, the Whistler Centre Building saw several changes in tenants and its appearance over the next three decades, until it found stability with the iconic Southside Diner.

The first business to occupy the building was Le Magasin Du Ski, who moved across the way (from Union 76 station) to increase their capacity. The extra square footage separated their retail and rental space between the first floor and the basement. The shop was later taken over by Dave Kirk and Val Jazic, who renamed the shop to Whistler Creek Ski Shop, as apparently the French name confused patrons.

The Whistler Centre building in 1982. Whistler Question Collection.

In October 1975, MacGregor Pacific Realty (which later morphed into the Whistler Real Estate Company) moved into the office space on the second floor, but was soon removed around 1977 and Capilano Highlands moved in. Drew Meredith (of MacGregor Pacific) recalls the removal justified as they were arrears in rent.

Other occupants in the building included Rozell Construction Ltd, Garibaldi Blasting Ltd, The Insurance Shop (Jim Elliott Insurance Agencies), Harry Bullen’s “Mountain Hair”, Norman Minus & Co. Accountants, Syd Young Travel Unlimited, Whistler Office Services, the Whistler Question, and more. 

When the Whistler Village was constructed in the 1980s, traffic began to decrease in Creekside. Several occupants opted to move to the new hub of Whistler. The top floors and basement stayed as they were, but the ground floor changed and was revamped for the Rainbow Deli, a butcher shop previously located at the Gulf Station, where Tim Hortons is located today. The grand opening was on November 26, 1983, complete with free hot dogs.  

The Rainbow Deli is better known as the beloved Southside Delicatessen and the name changed sometime in 1986. Owned by Cal Schacter and Herschel Miedzygorski, the Southside Deli was instantly a hot spot for locals, and became world-famous, with actors, musicians, and pro athletes enjoying the affordable food options. The Deli also easily integrated into the community, sponsoring events and fundraisers, such as the Fireman’s Ball and the Cheakamus Challenge. 

Herschel Miedzygorski, Jan Woodside, and Cal Schacter at the 10th anniversary celebration of the Southside Deli held in 1994. Whistler Question Collection.

For a time the Deli shared the space with another restaurant. German Chef, Uli Schnur, moved to British Columbia as Umberto Menghi’s corporate chef. In 1992, he decided to open his own restaurant, Uli’s Flipside. He took over the Southside Deli at night, offering family and budget friendly made-from-scratch food until 1:00am. This operation arrangement continued until the early 2000s, even expanding to other locations around Whistler before officially closing the business.

Underneath the Deli/Flipside primarily held businesses dedicated to recreation. Backroads Whistler used the space in 1985 before moving to Mons. Two years later, Tim Mallone, who also owned Pumphouse Fitness Centre (later known as Whistler Creek Athletic Club), opened up the Southside Bike Shop. In the 1990s, the space saw Whistler’s first skateboard shop, Attitude at Altitude, clothing store Board of Authority, and World Pro High Performance Sport & Ski. Board of Authority recently returned to Whistler in the winter of 2023, opening a location in Village North.

The Southside Deli in 2000. In the 1990s, the Deli owners bought the building and converted the supper floors into the Southside Lodge. Insight Photography Collection.

After nearly twenty years of service the Southside Deli shut down in 2003. There was a quick attempt to create the space into an oyster bar, the Screaming Oyster; however, in the Spring of 2004, the Deli was reborn into the Southside Diner, with similar operations. The business expanded by opening a laundromat in the basement after the Nesters Laundromat closed in 2008, which is still the only coin-operated laundry around.

The original closure of the Southside Deli was celebrated as part of the Whistler Museum project, Vanishing Places, an effort to recognize places in town that have been lost to time. Thankfully, the spirit and history of the Southside Deli has continued through the Southside Diner. 

Whistler is expected to change and grow, and it is important for us to recognize our history and reflect on how far we have come. We are proud to write weekly stories to our community, and are excited to share more about what history you can see around the valley.

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