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 February 1984, there was no bank in Whistler. The Bank of Nova Scotia had operated a trailer in Whistler prior to the 1980s, officially operating under the Pemberton branch. In 1984, the North Shore Community Credit Union (NSCCU; today known as Blueshore Financial) investigated the demand and viability of opening a branch in Whistler, even sending managers to town for a week to discuss the needs of potential members. NSCCU was relatively small (they reportedly had $150 million in assets, compared to the $88 billion of the Royal Bank of Canada) but was the only financial institution to open a branch in Whistler in 1984.
Question: Are your banking transactions made overly complicated because there’s no bank in Whistler?
Martha Beatty – Realtor – Tapley’s Farm
I don’t think it’s more costly, but it’s the time that costs money. It would make life easier to have a bank here, right now it’s “banking by mail.”
John Cerka – Merchant – Whistler
No. It would make things easier if there was a bank, but we’ve had to get used to it. It’s costly and somebody has to pay one way or another. If your banking has to be done, it has to be done. And if a bank is here, the additional costs have to be passed on to the consumer.
Bob Wick – Village Coordinator – Emerald Estates
No, because I do it all by mail – I see tellers about four times a year. The only problem I have is not having cold cash. It is also awkward not having a safety deposit box here.
The Peak Bros. comics captured the hearts and minds of Whistler when they were published between 1979 and 1992 in The Whistler Answer and The Whistler Review. The comics were based on the real-life adventures of Gord ‘Rox’ Harder and his friends, who became known as the Peak Bros. after their love of skiing Whistler Peak.
Gord ‘Rox’ Harder in the maintenance building on Whistler Mountain, where he worked as a journeyman carpenter. Harder Collection.
First created on the back of a Garibaldi Lifts Ltd. logbook, the Peak Bros. comics paid homage to the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers. Gordy was an avid reader and admirer of the Freak Brothers, created by Gilbert Shelton and first published in Austin, Texas in 1968. The Freak Brothers followed the antics of a trio of cop-dodging cannabis-loving outlaw hippies. The Peak Bros. were the Whistler-ised version, where their outlaw skiing lifestyle gets the Peak Bros. into trouble. The ski police start to chase them, and the trouble begins! Celebrating 80s ski culture and the tongue-in-cheek humour of Gord Harder, Peak Bros: A Whistler Comic Strip, opens at the Whistler Museum on February 22nd 2023.
From left to right – ‘SO’, ‘Rox’ and ‘Crazy Harry’ all featured in the Peak Bros comics. Harder Collection.
With local people from the Whistler community featured in the comics, it could be a thrill to identify who characters were based on when each new Peak Bros. comic was released. Many of the true stories from the real Peak Bros. are as unbelievable as fiction. Building an illegal cabin below the Roundhouse, riding down the mountain on a windsurfer, and catching a helicopter up to the peak to join the Whistler Mountain staff party.
Rob ‘Bino’ Denham, one of the Peak Bros. windsurfing down Whistler Bowl. Photo courtesy of Dave and Laura Kinney.
Shawn Hughes, better known as SO, remembered one of their many adventures up Whistler Peak. “We would camp on the peak every full moon. That was the Peak Bros. tradition. Then we woke up one morning as a bomb went over. That’s when that tradition ended.” Until the close call brought around an abrupt end of the camping tradition, SO had not missed one winter camp in over 6 years.
Gord Harder, and the other real Peak Bros. were excellent skiers and could be found on the mountain every day. Janet Love Morrison recalled watching Gordy ski down the peak during a Whistler Mountain staff party. “There was no Peak Chair. Gordy and his friend, they had hiked up to the peak and they skied Don’t Miss, which is all [permanently] closed now. I didn’t know Gordy was the calibre of skier that he was when I met him, and I remember everybody started hooting and hollering and whistling and Gordy had jumped into Don’t Miss. Just like over the rocks and the whole face under the Peak Chair, he’s just bouncing like it’s effortless…” With everyone on the mountain watching they got a rock star cheer.
Tracks down Don’t Miss left from Gord ‘Rox’ Harder and Shawn ‘SO’ Hughes. Photo courtesy of Dave Steers.
In the late 1970s and early 1980s there was a massive crackdown on fast skiing on Whistler Mountain following a slew of visitor complaints. Whistler Mountain Ski Patrol were encouraged to catch speeders in the slow zones, and the patroller who issued the most warnings or confiscated the most passes received a dinner voucher for L’Après. With the Peak Bros. priority on skiing, and skiing fast, they were regularly the ire of ski patrol who would ticket them if they could ever catch them. Patrol even delivered warnings to Peak Manor, the clubhouse the Peak Bros. built in the trees below the Roundhouse. The comics mimicked real life with ski patrol forever chasing and regularly outmanoeuvred by the devious and athletic Peak Bros.
The ‘ski police’ were always after the Peak Bros. The chase became more and more elaborate throughout the comics. Harder Collection.
Come to the Whistler Museum to celebrate Gord ‘Rox’ Harder and the Peak Bros. The opening of Peak Bros: A Whistler Comic Strip 1979 – 1992 is on Wednesday the 22nd of February, beginning at 6:30 pm. The exhibition will be open until April 23rd 2023.
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 1980, when the Town Centre was still in relatively early stage of construction, the Labour Relations Board ruled that Whistler Village was a common site, meaning only union workers could be employed (learn more about the controversy around that decision here). By the end of 1983, however, as some projects were completed and more businesses were opening, this policy was being reexamined as the Town Centre site became less of an integrated site and closer to a series of individual projects. There had also been huge changes in the economy and the role of the municipality in the development.
Question: Do you think union or non-union labour should be used to complete the Convention Centre and other Whistler Village developments?
Douglas Irvine – Gas Station Attendant – Brio
I don’t disagree with some of the locals being up here and building it. It keeps jobs and families in the valley. As a businessman I would keep locals employed as long as they could do the job right and do it on time and cheaply. It doesn’t make any difference if they’re union or non-union.
Dick Francisco – Union Carpenter – Fairbanks, Alaska
If it hadn’t been for the union there wouldn’t be any work here now anyways. It’s created a productive job environment and yes, they should finish it with union labour. I have been informed by contractors that if the help is union help they can compete and make money over non-union help because they are better qualified and more efficient.
Hall Hunter – Businessman – Alpine Meadows
I think it should be an open site. It’s the democratic way, so to speak, that whoever has the best prices and does the best job gets the work. Whether it’s union or non-union workers, if they have the work record and the prices they should get the job.
If you were in Whistler in February or March 2010 (or any time during the multi-year lead up), there was no missing that Whistler was acting as the host resort for the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. While Whistler continues to host international competitions today, races rarely saturate the valley in the same way. This was not the case, however, when Whistler first began hosting World Cup Downhill races over forty years ago.
Thousands of people crowded into Village Square following the Molson World Downhill in 1982. Whistler Question Collection, 1982
Despite being cancelled, Whistler’s first World Downhill race on March 7, 1979, still drew a large crowd to watch the racers fly down hill “unofficially.” In 1982, when Whistler’s first successful World Downhill race ended on the north side of Whistler Mountain, thousands of people crowded into Village Square to congratulate the winners. Looking back at copies of the Whistler Question from 1983 and 1984, it quickly become apparent that Whistler had big plans for the Molson World Downhill in March 1984.
The Molson World Downhill in Whistler was more than just a race; it was also the centrepiece of a multi-day festival called Winterfest. With more than 20,000 visitors expected for the race, Winterfest aimed to extend the World Cup excitement in the valley and attract spectators to stay beyond the day of the race.
Even though Whistler was aiming to welcome the world in 1984, the Whistler Conference Centre wasn’t quite ready to host Winterfest yet. Whistler Question Collection, 1984
Winterfest was organized in just a matter of months by a committee including Drew Meredith, Brian Moran, Tony Formby, June Paley, Kathie Hicks and Val Lang. In January 1984, the group was still trying to secure a space to hold the larger Winterfest events. They estimated that they needed to be able to accommodate between 1,600 and 2,000 people and wanted space for a 225 m2 dance floor and a beer garden. While today the Whistler Conference Centre would be an obvious choice, the convention centre was still under construction. Winterfest even thought of using the unfinished building but WLC Developments decided that the safety of the public could not be guaranteed. Instead, Winterfest began looking for a place to erect an 1,100 m2 tent, finally settling on the parking lot of the Whistler Golf Course. Other smaller tents were also place throughout the Village.
Winterfest ran from March 5 to 11, with the Molson World Downhill taking place on Sunday, March 11. Winterfest events included an art show at the Blackcomb Lodge featuring local artists, a Winterfest Queen competition, a torchlight parade and fireworks display, a casino night, and performances from Doug and the Slugs at the main dance floor. There were also helicopter tours, a cross-country race, barrel staves races, and even a Samsonite Suitcase Race on Blackcomb Mountain. For the celebrities who took part in the suitcase race, Saturday night featured the Winterfest Grand Ball with food provided by restaurateur Umberto Menghi in the “Myrtle Philip Ballroom,” also known as the school gym.
Like in 1982, the official race presentations packed Mountain Square. Note the Whistler Singers next to the main stage, ready to sing the American national anthem. Whistler Question Collection, 1984
Even before Winterfest began, there was a lot of excitement in the valley around the Molson World Downhill. There was a weekly countdown to the race in the Question featuring articles on different race-related topics, from the racers themselves to the timing equipment that had been used at the Olympic Winter Games in Sarajevo earlier that year. When asked who they thought would win the race, Whistler residents had thoughtful opinions that showed that many of them were familiar with at least the top racers from various countries. The local choir, the Whistler Singers, had even learnt the national anthems of the competing nations so that they could be ready to perform at the opening and closing ceremonies no matter who won.
We’ll be taking a closer look at different features of the 1984 Winterfest and World Cup Downhill over the next while – if you have a favourite memory of the events, please let us know at the Whistler Museum!
