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 1984. 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: This one seems pretty self explanatory, so we think we’ll leave it there.
Question: How was the skiing?
Peter Silvanovich – Manager – North Vancouver
Well, as Tony the Tiger says – Gr-r-r-r-eat! That’s cause there were no crowds, the sun was shining and the snow was first rate. Only one complaint – we had to wait about 30 seconds in a lift line-up.
Jon Marker – Claims Adjuster – Toronto
I’m from the east, and it’s a lot different here. The snow’s a lot softer and I’m used to hard-pack and ice. It’s been fantastic. On a scale of one to 10, probably this is about an eight – nothing’s perfect.
John Hatfull – Counsellor – Vancouver
It’s been the first time for me, and it’s been great. I was here once before and I like the feel of the place, so I decided to come back and give skiing a try. I’ve been falling down a lot, but it’s worth it. I’m really enthused.
The opening of the Peak Chair on Whistler Mountain in 1986 opened up more than just lift-accessed alpine terrain; the increase in patrolled terrain also contributed to the opening up of positions on Whistler Mountain’s ski patrol, a team that usually had low turnover and therefore didn’t hired new patrollers very often. After hearing about these new positions from a friend on patrol, Yvonne Thornton drove her Volkswagen van to Whistler and was hired by Brian Leighton.
Even though she had never skied Whistler Mountain before, Thornton had been a patroller at Panorama and Big White, as well as volunteering on the patrol at Red Mountain. She’d spend the previous summer working for the forest services and so had rope skills. In an oral history interview in January 2023, she recalled that Leighton liked this as the terrain opened by the Peak Chair would need more “rope people.” Thornton began her first season with “a lot of figuring out the terrain,” getting to know the mountain, and avalanche control. Over the following years, she took on other positions as well, including Volunteer Ski Patrol Coordinator and dog handler.
By the time Thornton arrived in 1986, Whistler Mountain already had an avalanche rescue dog patroller established by Bruce Watt and his dog Radar. In 1985, another patroller, Anton Horvath, also became an avalanche rescue dog handler (Horvath is currently a Canadian Avalanche Rescue Dog Association (CARDA) instructor). During her second season, Thornton decided that she wanted to become one as well and got approval from Horvath to start the process. Like Watt before her, Thornton recalled that she didn’t know anything about picking a dog. She ended up getting a border collie from the Fraser Valley and the two began working their way through the required courses.
CARDA’s program and courses at the time were closely aligned with the Bergwacht, a part of the German Red Cross that focuses on mountain rescue. As part of their training, Thornton and her dog went to Germany. She flew into Munich and then had to take multiple trains, beginning with fast trains and big stations that got slower and smaller as she got further from the city, all while keeping track of multiple bags, boots, skis, and, of course, her dog. On the journey back to Munich, she accidentally got on the wrong train and, when the conductor noticed, the train was stopped. Thornton had to get off and get on another train that was passing back the other way to go back to the station and try again.
As far as Thornton is aware, she was the first woman to take one of the Bergwacht courses. Thornton remembered that “it was really fun” and she “cruised around, did some search training, ate a lot of meat and cheese and bread,” but, looking back, she also isn’t entirely sure how she did it.
Whistler Search and Rescue brought in tracking dogs to help in a search for a missing hiker. Whistler Question Collection, 1994.
The mountain, ski patrol and the avalanche rescue dog program have changed a lot since 1986. Interested patrollers now have to have been patrolling for at least five years and she described the current interview process as “intense.” CARDA has also introduced more requirements over the years and handlers now must have their level one instructing certification and be part of a Search and Rescue group that is involved in mountain rescue or a ski hill has avalanche control and mountain rescue. (Thornton is currently involved in both Whistler SAR and ski patrol.) As the organization and specific programs have gotten more established, she has also seen more mentorship and education when it comes to picking dogs to train as avalanche rescue dogs. Since her first border collie, Thornton has worked with two Malinois, a shepherd, and her current dog, a lab named Dyna, with whom she has also trained for wilderness searches and tracking.
According to Thornton, the avalanche rescue dogs on Whistler are an accepted operational part of the team and, when seeing the dogs on the mountain, it is important to remember that they are working, not part of a “petting zoo or bring your pet to work day.” Thornton did admit though that it is pretty fun to be able to work with her dog. It also seems to be pretty fund for the dogs, as she recalled, “All of my dogs have just loved going up there, like it’s always ‘Best day ever.'”
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 1984. 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 1984, most Whistler residents were not able to pick up CBC Radio in the area. According to Kevin Griffin of the Whistler Question, the CBC regional director of engineering in BC told him that the satellite receiver then picking up CBC could become a direct transmitter of CBC from Vancouver, but that the cost would be too prohibitively high. Griffin was also told that there were plans to use the Cancom satellite to transmit CBC FM to Whistler, but it was unknown what the timeline would be for that plan due to uncertain funding.
Question: Do you miss not getting CBC Radio here?
Leonard Thor – Anderson Lake
I do get it once in a while – I grew up with it so therefore I miss it. I don’t live here, I just work here, but if I was here I’d go to the trouble to get it somehow. I
Rick McCarthy – Stonemason – Alpine Meadows
Not in the least. I used to listen to it up here but the signal was so weak we decided not to bother. I’m not sure now whether it would interest me to have it back. If we were at work and we had an alternative to Mountain FM during the day I would listen to it.
James Freir – Cook – Alpine Meadows
Not really. I have had it before, and I guess it’s all right, but I’d rather listen to a rock and roll station. But if it’s paid for by taxes, then I guess everyone in the country should get it.
While on the mountain this season, you might come across a dog or two out with ski patrol, possibly even riding a chair in front of you. These dogs are not, as some might think, part of a “bring your pet to work day,’ but are avalanche rescue dogs who are at work themselves.
Such dogs have been working on Whistler Mountain for over forty years. After being buried in an avalanche in March 1978, patroller Bruce Watt began looking into avalanche rescue dogs, encouraged by Chris Stethem, who was then Whistler Mountain’s Safety Supervisor. (You can hear more about the avalanche and the rescue from Bruce and fellow patroller John Hetherington here and here.) Bruce wrote a report, took it to Franz Wilhelmsen, and received permission and support from the lift company to go ahead with finding a dog and training.
Bruce Watt and his dog Radar at the top of Whistler Mountain. Whistler Question Collection, March 1980.
Bruce wanted to get a black lab, but, having limited experience with working dogs, he listened to the advice of the RCMP, who suggested that he get a German shepherd. He found a black German shepherd at a kennel in Surrey and according to Bruce, “he was a good looking dog, so I chose him.” He named the dog Radar and the two started training together. At the time, Bruce received generous support from the lift company. In an interview in 2022, he remembered that he was paid over the summer for training and food, vet bills, and pretty much anything needed for Radar could be expensed.
At the time, there was no civilian training for avalanche rescue dogs and so a lot of the training and all of the validation was done through the RCMP. Bruce was not the only patroller from a ski area training a dog. Rod Pendelbury, a patrolled in Fernie, had also begun training with a dog and the two communicated about the challenges they encountered and found others who were also interested in patrollers having avalanche dogs.
Bruce Watt and Radar ride the Red Chair. Greg Griffith Collection.
According to Bruce, training with Radar included training with helicopters, snowmobiles, snowcats, and toboggans, as well as a lot of obedience training and rescue training. While Radar was one of the first “civilian dogs” to be validated as an avalanche rescue dog in Canada, the process was complicated and Bruce and Rod were encouraged to spearhead a separate organization to train avalanche rescue dogs outside of the RCMP. This eventually led to the formation of the Canadian Avalanche Rescue Dog Association (CARDA) in 1982.
Prior to Radar, dogs were not a common sight on Whistler Mountain, though there had been a couple who had been associated with the ski hill in the 1960s and earlier in the 1970s. Bruce remembered that the reaction from a lot of people was, “Hey, what are you doing with your dog up here? How come I can’t bring my dog up here?” He also suspected that, even though the RCMP had told him that he shouldn’t let people pet or play with his dog, other patrollers may have been petting Radar behind his back.
Years later, after leaving full-time patrolling and going into real estate, Bruce began working on the Blackcomb Mountain volunteer patrol where he got to be “the dog guy” with his dog Max. By that time, Whistler Mountain had an established avalanche rescue dog program while Blackcomb Mountain was just starting theirs. Although Radar had retired, his legacy as the first avalanche rescue dog in the area is well remembered – there is even a picture book about him, Radar the Rescue Dog, written by Janet Love Morrison that can be found at the Whistler Museum, Armchair Books, and the Audain Art Museum.
