Tag: Alta Lake Sports Club

Running WhistlerRunning Whistler

October 1, 2024 Whistler MuseumWhistler Museum 0 Comments

From World Cup downhills to IronMan triathlons to the annual October Turkey Trot, Whistler has been the host of countless athletic competitions and events featuring many different sports. The Alta Lake Sports Club was founded in 1975 and, though a lot of their efforts went to organizing cross-country ski trails and events, the group soon began organizing running events in the Whistler area. It was not until 1982, however, that Whistler hosted its first marathon.

Whistler’s first marathon and half-marathon took place on August 29, 1982 and drew 131 entrants, though Race Coordinator Tom Sutherland had earlier expected only 50 to 75 participants to sign up. A couple of weeks before the race, the course was carefully measured by Sutherland and Wayne Fisher using a Jones Counter, a bicycle odometer, after the pair rode a measured kilometre that was certified by local surveying company Brown & Associates.

Runners (mostly) stick to the shoulder of the road during the first Whistler Marathon and Half-Marathon. Whistler Question Collection, 1982

The 13.1 milo or 21.1 km course took runners from the bus loop in the Whistler Village, north along Highway 99, through White Gold Estates, back to the highway, into Alpine Meadows and down Rainbow Drive, along Alta Lake Road, back up the highway, through Brio, and then back onto Highway 99 and into the Village to finish at the bus loop. Those who chose to run the full marathon then ran the entire loop a second time.

While measuring the course, Sutherland and Fisher carefully placed milage markers to indicate distances and aid station locations. Unfortunately for them, two days after they marked the route, Alta Lake Road was sealcoated and all of their markers were gone. The process also left the road less than smooth and Highways District Manager Ron Winbow told organizers that crews would not be able to sweep the road until it had rained and the surface was damp, making it safe for the operators of the sweeping equipment. Thankfully for the race, Art Den Duyf of Sabre Bulldozing Ltd. agreed to use his equipment to water the stretch of road, allowing highways crews to follow behind with the sweeper.

Runners keep their heart rate up while the waiting for the train to pass through. Whistler Question Collection, 1982

Despite being described by many as a difficult course, most participants appear to have had a positive experience, including Stephanie Greenall who at fourteen was the youngest runner. She ran the half-marathon alongside her father Dave you, having completed the course, spontaneously decided to run it again and finish the full marathon. Former Whistler resident Dag Aabye who in 1982 was living in Squamish told the Whistler Question, “I’ve run in five marathons, and this one is great!” According to Murray Coates, the only full-time Whistler resident to register for the full marathon, “To say it was good would be an understatement. Everybody – the spectators, organizers, volunteers and runners – put all they had into it. It was mind-boggling how great it was.” Because it was the first time the event was held, winners of each category set new records, including Loreen Barnett, a member of the ALSC, who came first in the women’s marathon.

Runner Murray Coates eats his post-race watermelon while Myrtle Philip watches the festivities. Whistler Question Collection, 1982

The marathon and half-marathon event returned the next summer as part of the Whistler Fitness Festival held in July 1983 that also included the Whistler Molson Bicycle Race, a Windsurfing Regatta, and the Mr. Mountain Contest (the summer of 1983 also saw Whistler’s first triathlon). This time, almost 250 runners were registered, including local residents, repeat racers, and one couple from New York who decided that the race would be a great addition to their honeymoon.

In 1984, the half-marathon returned but the full marathon did not and, despite early hopes to establish the Whistler Marathon as part of a marathon circuit, the event appears to have stopped altogether in 1985. Today, Whistler hosts a variety of running events, including the Whistler Half-Marathon that began in the mid-2000s.

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(Nordic) Ski Racing in 1980(Nordic) Ski Racing in 1980

February 6, 2024 Whistler MuseumWhistler Museum 0 Comments

While the Alta Lake Sports Club (ALSC) was founded in 1975 to “organize and encourage participation in outdoor sports at all levels of ability in the Whistler area and beyond,” in the winter months the ALSC was all about cross country skiing. Members organized events in Whistler and competed in races with other clubs around the province, although they got off to a rocky start in the winter of 1976/77 when a particularly mild winter forced one event after another to be cancelled or moved to Manning Park. By 1980, however, the ALSC was consistently hosting multiple races each season and the first few months of the year were busy ones for the members.

In January 1980, members of the ALSC travelled to 100 Mile House to take part in the Cariboo Marathon, a 50km race with 1,500 competitors that took place in “extremely cold” and “frigid” temperatures according to the report in the Whistler Question. The ALSC was well represented in the women’s division of the Marathon, with members Joan McGrath, Loreen Barnett and Betty Ann Hopner taking first, second and fourth places. Catherine Gaarder and Jenny Busdon, both ALSC members, provided a picture-perfect finish after meeting at the 15km mark and cross the finish line with their hands together after 5 hours and 10 minutes.

Competitors cross the bridge during the ALSC and Labatt’s annual meet. Whistler Question Collection, 1980

ALSC members did not far so well in the men’s division, where the Finlandia Club from Vancouver swept the first five spots. Some members were out with injuries or working out of the country while others ran into difficulties during the race. Al Fisher, the ALSC coach, ended up in the trees around the 20km mark, was knocked unconscious, broke his nose, recovered, and made it to the finish line in 13th place. Both he and Nello Busdon ended up at the hospital with frostbite.

On February 10, the ALSC and Labatt’s hosted their annual meet on the trails around Lost Lake with a 25km course for racers and a 12km course for tourers and “youngsters.” The ALSC was well represented in both divisions this time, with McGrath again coming first in her category and Dan McDonald placing third in his, behind two members of the Finlandia Club.

Later that month, ALSC members competed at the BC Championship Cross-Country Ski Meet held in Manning Park, where they came second in the 3x5km relay (coming in just behind the Finlandia Club team).

Kauko Puscnius of the Finlandia Club receives his first place medal from Al Fisher as Labatt’s Terry Burns looks on. Whistler Question Collection, 1980

The last big race that year for the ALSC was the 4th Annual Fischer Cup, again held around Lost Lake. The rain and warm weather before the race had some members wondering if the race would go ahead, but according to Jenny Busdon, “We are an optimistic bunch and one thing our Club never does is give up!” The race director Jim Bishop took three days off from his work in the city and spent two days shovelling with other members to build a new course that eliminated previous problem areas that caused “scenes of absolute bedlam” whenever one skier went down. In the end, the 15km course was in “fantastic” condition for the race.

A skier comes down water tower hill in the Fischer Cup. Whistler Question Collection, 1980

At this last race of the season, McDonald took first, finally coming ahead of the “seemingly unbeatable Finns.” The event also included an elementary age race where new ALSC skiers, some of whom had only tried the sport a few times before, got a taste of competition over 5km.

The Fischer Cup was followed by a medals ceremony, prizes from Fischer, Labatt’s, Andres Wine, the Highland Lodge, and Molson, and a dance at the school, where the social aspects of belonging to a club took precedence over the competition.

Through the 1980s, the ALSC hosted fewer skiing events as the newly formed Whistler Nordic Ski Club grew. Last night (Monday, February 5) we had a great time learning about Nordic skiing and the Whistler Nordic Ski Club from Tom Barratt, Keith Bennett and Stephanie Sloan and heard some amazing stories. Thank you to everyone who came out to our first Speaker Series of 2024 and we hope to see you at our next events!

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Whistler’s First TriathlonWhistler’s First Triathlon

August 29, 2023 Whistler MuseumWhistler Museum 0 Comments

If you’re a regular reader of Museum Musings or our Whistorical blog, you’ll remember that last week we looked at the first Fun Fitness Swim in Whistler, which was sponsored by Molson’s in 1979. For decades, many competitions and events in Whistler were sponsored by companies like Molson’s and Labatts, from fun swimming events to World Cup Downhill races. In 1983, Molson’s also sponsored the first triathlon held in Whistler, the Molson Light Whistler Triathlon.

Triathlons, a race consisting of swimming, cycling and running, became increasingly popular in North America and Europe from the mid-1970s and into the 1980s. One of the first triathlons held in Canada took place in Vancouver in 1981 and a couple of years later the British Columbia Triathlon Federation was founded in 1983, followed by Triathlon Canada in 1984. Involved in all three of these events was Les McDonald, one of the founding members of the Alta Lake Sports Club (ALSC) in 1975.

Cyclists head up from the lake during the inaugural Whistler Triathlon. Whistler Question Collection, 1983.

Les McDonald was an early investor in Garibaldi Lifts Ltd., active mountaineer and climber, and electrician. As a founding member of the ALSC, he was also involved in cross country skiing in the Whistler area and helped with the building of the trail network at Lost Lake (Les’ Leap in named for him). He began participating in triathlons in the 1980s while cross-training for marathons and quickly became heavily involved in the sport. After helping to found provincial and national organizations in Canada, Les got involved on an international level and traveled to help set up national triathlon governing bodies in other countries. Then, in 1989, Les became the founding president of the International Triathlon Union, serving until 2008. When triathlon was included in the Olympic Games for the first time in Sydney in 2000, Les was given a large portion of the credit. During his involvement with the sport, Les worked towards equal prize money, equal representation, and concurrent medal ceremonies for female and male athletes.

Keeping hydrated is an important part of completing a triathlon! Whistler Question Collection, 1983.

Not surprisingly, triathlon was also taken up by other members of the ALSC and members of the club participated in a triathlon in Vancouver just one month before hosting Whistler’s first triathlon on August 14, 1983. The race consisted of a 2 km swim in Alta Lake, a 40 km cycle along “valley highways,” and a 15 km run around Lost Lake, finishing in the Village. Entry to the race cost $10 and those who registered early got a free t-shirt. According to Race Director Les, the triathlon was not meant to be “an iron man endurance test” but an opportunity to introduce all-round athletes and specialists to the “exciting and growing sport.” To this end, the ALSC also organized an event for those under 19 the day before.

The inaugural Molson Light Whistler Triathlon was won by Glen Carsen of Vancouver with a time of 2:45:51 (Carsen also won the second annual Molson Light Whistler Triathlon in 1984) and the fastest woman was Loreen Barrett with a time of 3:11:56. Les finished tenth overall with a time of 2:59:00.

A competitor nears the finish line in the Whistler Village during the 1984 triathlon. Whistler Question Collection, 1984.

Though the ALSC is now defunct, the club continued to host triathlons through the 1980s. Whistler even hosted Ironman races from 2010 to 2019. Today, the Whistler Triathlon Club trains for races and XTERRA Whistler, an off-road triathlon, takes place in September.

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Welcoming Fall to WhistlerWelcoming Fall to Whistler

September 17, 2019 Whistler MuseumWhistler Museum 0 Comments

In may technically still be (and at times even feel) like summer, but for many people the beginning of September signals the beginning of fall.  While many people will have spent this weekend celebrating a certain beverage at the Whistler Beer Festival, in the 1980s this past weekend would have featured a celebration of the upcoming season with the Whistler Fall Festival.

The Fall Festival was first organized by the Whistler Resort Association (WRA, now known as Tourism Whistler) in 1981.  At the time, the Whistler Village was beginning to emerge from a craze of construction and Blackcomb Mountain was looking forward to its second season of operations.  There was a lot to celebrate in Whistler and the festival featured many of the growing community’s arts, crafts, sports, and activities.

The Fall Festival also included a Paint a Snowflake contest, leaving the fences around construction sites covered in snowflakes. Whistler Mountain Ski Corporation Collection.

One of the local characters showcased at the Fall Festival was Willie Whistler, the new mascot of the WRA.  Willie’s name came from a “Name the Whistler Marmot” contest for children in the area in which the winner, eight-year-old Tammi Wick, won a Blackcomb season pass.  The mascot was created to promote Whistler at local and other events and the Fall Festival, which included time each day to “Meet Willie Whistler,” was his first big event.

Willie Whistler takes a ride with Bo Bo the Clown during the Fall Festival in Village Square. Whistler Mountain Ski Corporation Collection.

The festival also featured local artists and artisans who demonstrated their crafts in the village, including pottery, fibre spinning, stained glass, and painting.  Performers over the weekend included acts such as Evan Kemp and the Trail Riders, the Alpini Band, and local favourite Doc Fingers, as well as dance performances and Bo Bo the Clown.

For visitors and residents alike, the Fall Festival offered different ways to see the Whistler valley.  Snowgoose Transportation offered free 50 minute bus tours, showing off everything from residential areas to the gondola base in Creekside to the Blackcomb daylodge.  To see the valley from above, participants could enjoy a flight from Okanagan Helicopters, take advantage of Blackcomb Mountain’s offer of free chairlift rides, or, subject to wind conditions, go up in Chuck Bump’s hot air balloon, billed at the festival as the “World’s Largest Hot Air Balloon.”

Evan Kemp and the Trail Riders perform in Village Square. Whistler Mountain Ski Corporation Collection.

Perhaps not surprisingly, sports and competitions also featured prominently at the Fall Festival.  Spectators could take in volleyball, Pro/Celebrity tennis matches that paired pro players with notables from politics, business, and media, a softball game between the Whistler Contractors Association and the Whistler A’s, or even a parachuting demonstration.  For those looking to compete, the Waiters Race challenged Whistler’s servers to run a timed obstacle course without spilling a drop, and the Labatt’s Great Whistler Water Race relay covered four lakes and the River of Golden Dreams through canoeing, kayaking, swimming, and windsurfing.

A softball game was fun for participants and spectators. Whistler Mountain Ski Corporation Collection.

Though the Fall Festival was primarily about showcasing Whistler, it also raised money for several different causes.  On the Sunday, Whistler hosted a run as part of the first national Terry Fox Run, raising over $7,600.  The proceeds from a beer garden hosted by the Whistler Athletic Society that evening were also donated towards cancer research.

Local causes benefited as well.  The WRA donated enough funds from the Village Centre beer garden to replace the snowmobile of the Alta Lake Sports Club that had been destroyed in a fire.  Umberto Menghi, who was then opening his new restaurant Il Caminetto, contributed to the festival by both providing the firework display for the Saturday evening and hosting a gala dinner at Myrtle Philip School to benefit the Whistler Health Care Society.

If you look really closely, Chuck Bump’s balloon also featured some advertising for local restaurants. Whistler Mountain Ski Corporation.

According to Glenda Bartosh of The Whistler Question, the first Fall Festival was about far more than raising money and generating revenue for the resort.  She reported that the festival “created laughter, high energy and a true appreciation of what Whistler is all about.”  The WRA must have agreed, as they continued to organize the Fall Festival for at least three more years.

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