Whistler Museum and Archives Society

A Squirrel Named Rigor MortisA Squirrel Named Rigor Mortis

March 15, 2022 Whistler Museum 0 Comments

You may have heard of Teddy, the orphaned bear cub raised by Myrtle Philip in 1926, but have you heard of Rigor Mortis the squirrel? In an oral history from 1989 about growing up in Alta Lake, later known as Whistler, Louise (Betts) Smith was asked about local character Charlie Chandler, who passed away peacefully on his porch the winter of 1946. Charlie was found frozen and carried to Alta Lake station for a raucous celebration of life, before being taken away by train for burial.

Being a child at the time, Louise remembered this event vividly. “Some of the men got concerned about him, so they hiked back in there and he had just had a heart attack and died in his chair and he was all stiffened up.”

You can read more about Charlie Chandler’s wake on the Whistler Museum blog. Today’s musing centers around what Louise said next. “I knew at that age that it was called rigor mortis because somebody had a squirrel named ‘Rigor Mortis’ and my mother had explained to me what rigor mortis was, and it really wasn’t a nice name for a squirrel.”

How had a squirrel become known as Rigor Mortis you might ask? We do not know for sure, however the biology of squirrels may give us a clue.

*A Douglas Squirrel in Florence Petersen Park. Photo by Jillian Roberts.*

The squirrel commonly seen scampering up and down trees, or making mischief during the day in Whistler is the Douglas Squirrel (Tamiasciurus douglasii). Whistler’s other local, the Northern Flying Squirrel, is nocturnal.

Similar to beavers, rats, and other rodents, the squirrel’s front teeth never stop growing. Douglas Squirrels primarily feed on conifer seeds, peeling off the scales of the pine cones to get at the seeds. Douglas Squirrels have also been known to eat fungi, fruit, nuts, insects, and other plant material. (Oh, and they love dinosaur candy. I have a vivid childhood memory of watching a Douglas Squirrel run out of the house with my hard-earned bag of gummy dinosaurs. The candy was never seen again; the squirrel continued to visit often.)

The saying ‘to squirrel away’ refers to the fact that squirrels are larder hoarders. In mid to late summer Douglas Squirrels begin stockpiling cones, conifer seeds, and fungi in one or more middens located within their territory. Middens may contain enough food for one or more seasons and squirrels will defend them against competition and theft. The genus name Tamiasciurus references this behaviour, being derived from the Greek work Tamias, meaning animal that hoards food. Additionally skia means shadow, and oura refers to tail, so this is the genus of tailed shadows that hoard food.

Predators of the Douglas Squirrel include Pine Martens, Bobcats, raptors and owls. They can also become prey to domestic cats and dogs. In response to stimuli, such as predation, we often hear about the ‘fight or flight’ mechanism. However, this could be more completely described as ‘fight, flight or freeze’, bringing us back to Rigor Mortis. Like other squirrels, the Douglas Squirrel may have a freeze response when alarmed. For example, if a squirrel has been caught by a predator it may respond by freezing up, becoming completely rigid. Douglas Squirrels that have been caught for relocation have exhibited this behaviour.

The freeze response is physiologically much different to rigor mortis – freezing is a mechanism to assist and ensure survival, for one thing. However, it could be perceived as similar to what happens during rigor mortis where the body becomes rigid. The freeze response in Douglas Squirrels may have been how the pet squirrel Rigor Mortis got its name.

Whistler's Answers

Whistler’s Answers: March 10, 1983Whistler’s Answers: March 10, 1983

March 10, 2022 Whistler Museum 0 Comments

In the 1980s the Whistler Question began posing a question to three to six people and publishing their responses under “Whistler’s Answers” (not to be confused with the Whistler Answer). Each week, we’ll be sharing one question and the answers given back in 1983. Please note, all names/answers/occupations/neighbourhoods represent information given to the Question at the time of publishing and do not necessarily reflect the person today.

Some context for this week’s question: Whistler held its first (successfully completed) World Cup downhill race in 1982. Rather than use the traditional route down what is now known as Dave Murray Downhill and ending in Creekside, the 1982 course began near the top of the Black and Orange Chairs, headed down through the Double Trouble rollers, the Pony Trail Flats, Tokum Corner, the Elevator Shaft, across Crabapple Creek, and finished in view of the spectators in the newly constructed Whistler Village. While the race was a success, some of the racers didn’t like the new course and thought it ended too slowly by passing over the flats of Lower Olympic.

Question: If the World Cup race comes to Whistler again which of the mountain’s two downhill courses do you think should be used?

Colin Pitt-Taylor – Chef – Function Junction

The north side of Whistler is just not a world cup course – it’s too easy. The other side offers twice the course to ski racers. That one is a real challenge. The ’82 World Cup was a media event, now let’s have a ski race.

Nigel Woods – Contractor – Alpine Meadows

I think the logistics of moving spectators to the village and the technical safety problems on the old course could be overcome, and should be, as it is a far more exciting route. Whistler Village did its publicity campaign in the last World Cup, now we should think of the ski race. Another whole concept could be taking advantage of the great fall lines on Blackcomb.

Stephanie Sloan – Ski Instructor – Westside Road

Safety rules have changed so much lately that the old course has become obsolete and it would cost too much to change it now. If conditions are good and the course is well prepared I think the north side still makes for a challenging exciting race.

Dag Aabye in WhistlerDag Aabye in Whistler

March 8, 2022 Whistler Museum 4 Comments

Many of the names of runs on Whistler and Blackcomb Mountains pay homage to skiers and, slightly less often, snowboarders who made a mark on the mountains, whether as an employee, an investor, or an athlete. Some of these names, such as Franz’s Run, McConkey’s, and Arthurs’s Choice are fairly easy to trace back to their source, while others like Bushrat, Jam Tart, and Jolly Green Giant require a bit more knowledge of their namesake. During a 2019 speaker event, however, it was pointed out that there is one skier who, despite making quite an impression during his time in the Whistler valley, has no official namesake on Whistler Mountain: Dag Aabye.

*Dag Aabye shows off his skills on Whistler Mountain. Cliff Fenner Collection.*

When Roy Ferris and Alan White opened the Garibaldi Ski School in 1966, they asked Ornulf Johnsen from Norway to come manage it. Johnsen persuaded the lift company to bring over fellow Norwegian Dag Aabye to work for him. Aabye had previously been working as a ski instructor in Britain and as a movie stuntman, including working as an extra in the 1965 James Bond film Goldfinger, and he soon arrived to begin instructing on Whistler Mountain.

*Dag Aabye runs with his skis as part of the Great Snow Earth Water Race. Whistler Question Collection, 1981.*

According to Lynn Mathews, Aabye was “tall, lanky, quiet,” a “really nice guy who would do these most unbelievable things.” Mathews described him as “a cat on skis” and remembered watching him ski down the Red Chair lift line, “touching lightly from side to side as he went down these cliffs.” Jim McConkey, who took over the management of the ski school in 1968, described Aabye as “just a phenomenal skier” and recalled watching him jump off a cornice on the Whistler glacier, land, and ski straight down.

Aabye became known for his first ski descents on Whistler Mountain, including areas of Whistler’s peak that are permanently closed today such as Don’t Miss and the Weekend Chutes, sometimes waiting days for the right conditions before hiking up from the top of the t-bar. In some cases, it would be another twenty to thirty years before the next person made the same descent.

Norwegian hot-shot Dag Aabye jumping off the roof of the Cheakamus Inn, 1967. Walt Preissl, who took the photo, recalls the occasion: “We were in the Cheakamus Inn Hotel at Whistler, sitting in the bar with Marg Egger, when we saw this pile of snow go swiftly by the window, including a body with it , we ran out and it was Dag. Ornulf was taking some pics, he asked him to go back up and do it again so that he could get a better shot. And so he did go back and jump off the roof of the Cheakamus Inn [again]. He was a match for Jim McConkey who used to do things like that.” *Photo courtesy of Walt Preissl.*

Aabye could be seen skiing in films by Jim Rice, including a short 1968 film featuring Aabye and Cliff Jennings skiing the glaciers around Whistler by helicopter. Off the mountain, he also became known for his willingness to ski off man-made structures, such as the Cheakamus Inn. According to Mathews, this was done mostly “for fun. Cause doesn’t everyone ski off the roof and land 50 feet down?” Aabye also built his own jump for his efforts to land a backflip on 215 cm skis and could often be found walking on his hands with his skis still attached to his feet. In summers, Aabye worked as a coach at the summer ski camps alongside ski celebrities such as Toni Sailer and Nancy Greene.

*The staff of the 1969 Summer Ski Camp, including skiing legend, Dag Aabye. Whistler Mountain Ski Corporation Collection.*

In his 80s today, Aabye is still known as an athlete, competing annually in ultra marathons prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Though he long ago left Whistler and ended up outside SilverStar (where the run Aabye Road bears his name), Aabye is still talked about in the valley and on the mountain.

Whistler's Answers

Whistler’s Answers: March 3, 1983Whistler’s Answers: March 3, 1983

March 3, 2022 Whistler Museum 0 Comments

In the 1980s the Whistler Question began posing a question to three to six people and publishing their responses under “Whistler’s Answers” (not to be confused with the Whistler Answer). Each week, we’ll be sharing one question and the answers given back in 1983. Please note, all names/answers/occupations/neighbourhoods represent information given to the Question at the time of publishing and do not necessarily reflect the person today.

Some context for this week’s question: In February 1983, the council began reviewing policy guidelines for the construction and operation of pensions (the kind in which visitors stay, not the kind paid out after retirement) within Whistler. Among the concerns presented were the impact pensions could have on residential neighbourhoods, such as increased traffic and noise and the possibility of disturbances from commercial bars and restaurants that could be permitted within pensions. The proposed guidelines attempted to address these and other concerns but the debate on pensions continued through the spring.

Question: What do you think pensions would do for Whistler?

Rod Harman – Sheet Metal Contractor – Alpine Meadows

I think they’re a great idea for Whistler because it could become known as an affordable place to stay. A few guidelines should be laid down though like ensuring that neighbours are consulted before approval for a pension is given. I definitely don’t think they should be licenced. They should be non-drinking establishments set up to provide accommodation and maybe a meal.

Ruth Peterson – Housewife – Whistler Cay

I think they would be a great asset to Whistler if they are set up in the European context – that is as small family operations. Keeping them small takes away any parking problem and would not affect the property value. By no means should they have licenced bars as they would create noise and traffic. I also believe the neighbours within, say, 500 feet should be consulted before approval is given as well.

Mike Lindsay – Contractor – Alpine Meadows

It’s such a popular form of accommodation that I think it will pop up all over illegally if proper allowance isn’t made soon. It would be a really good thing for this town, but they’d need strict rules about size. Liquor could be a problem too. Perhaps a renewable liquor licence would be a good idea as a method of keeping tabs on each operation.