Tag: Alta Lake

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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The First Fun Fitness SwimThe First Fun Fitness Swim

August 22, 2023 Whistler MuseumWhistler Museum 4 Comments

After arriving in Whistler in August 1974 on a year’s leave from teaching that became multiple seasons, BJ Godson filled various roles in the growing community, from bartender at establishments such as the Highland Lodge to the creator of the Ski Friends program on Whistler Mountain. During her time in Whistler, she also founded Whistler’s annual Fun Fitness Swim.

According to BJ’s mother, she began to swim at the age of one, even before she started walking. She continued to swim and, in 1979, her boyfriend at the time suggested that she organize a swim in the area because she was “such a good swimmer” and “loved to organize things.” This led to the first Fun Fitness Swim, a fun distance race of about a mile and a half (about 2.4 km) in Alta Lake on August 19, 1979.

A smiling BJ Godson presents a swimming prize to Sheila Peters while Denver Snider looks on. Whistler Question, 1979.

BJ’s time working at the Highland Lodge had introduced her to Roy Adams, a representative of Molson’s, and he agreed to have the company sponsor the event. Thanks to this sponsorship, every participant in the race was guaranteed a t-shirt and drinks, and bananas and chocolate were available to those who needed it during the swim. Local resident Chico made trophies for the first place winners and local businesses donated prizes for a draw.

Rather than focusing on the competition of a race, this event was described by the Whistler Question as “a community event to encourage fitness” and was open to everyone over the age of 19. Thirty-seven swimmers left Wayside Park in one minute intervals, led by BJ and heading for the docks at Adventures West. Volunteers in rowboats and canoes were recruited to help any struggling swimmers and spectators were encouraged to come cheer. The race was followed by an afterparty at the Christiana Inn with refreshments provided by Molson’s and members of the Alta Lake Community Club. The first two winners were Rick McFadden at 41:25 and Meg Fellowes at 44:00, both of whom were reportedly so cold after the race that they didn’t make it to the afterparty.

Participants for one of the early Fun Fitness Swims. Photo courtesy of BJ Godson.

The first Fun Fitness Swim was such a success that the second year went ahead with almost full registration even though the weather was wet, cold and windy. The course changed a few times over the first years until the Fun Fitness Swim moved to Lost Lake in the mid-1980s. According to BJ, one of the main reasons for moving to Lost Lake was the danger of windsurfers on Alta Lake.

Though the windsurfing club and local windsurfers were asked to stay out of the swim course for a couple of hours during the race, there was little they or organizers could do about visiting windsurfers or those who didn’t get the notice. One swimmer in the 1982 event even recalled colliding with a windsurfer. The Question reported his comments, saying “I hit one. He was a beginner. He fell and couldn’t get out of the way. I didn’t see him and – bang – I ran into him.”

Swimmer Shelley Warne heads from Wayside Park to the Alta Lake Inn and back under the watchful eye of Marilyn Moore, who dusted off her bathtub derby craft for the occasion. Whistler Question Collection, 1984.

Though the event continued to focus on encouraging participation rather than competition, swimmers still swam to the best of their abilities and BJ remembered one participant in particular demonstrating their athletic ability. According to BJ, she was swimming around Lost Lake when “all of a sudden, there’s somebody passing me a high clip, swimming so fast they made a little wake.” She soon realized that she had been passed by Dawn Titus, which was particularly annoying as Dawn had had a cast on her leg until just a couple of weeks before the swim.

The Fun Fitness Swim continued to take place at Lost Lake without windsurfers and under BJ’s leadership, with help from other organizations, until 1989, when her friend Cindy took over the organization. Molson’s continued to sponsor the event until the last Fun Fitness Swim was held in the early 1990s.

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Fishing Alta LakeFishing Alta Lake

July 18, 2023 Whistler MuseumWhistler Museum 3 Comments

Before Whistler became known as a ski resort, Alta Lake was known as a summer and fishing destination, drawing visitors and summer residents each year to join the relatively small population of residents who stayed in the area throughout the year. Summers were busy and groups such as the Alta Lake Community Club (ALCC) and Alta Lake Sailing Club regularly hosted events during the season, including dances, regattas, and a Fish Derby.

Fishing was a popular activity for both residents and visitors to Alta Lake and getting to eat what they caught could turn into a social occasion. For David Fairhurst, whose parents owned Cypress Lodge and who was a child at Alta Lake in the 1960s and 1970s, fishing was also something to do at a time when there were relatively few children in the area and very few organized activities. As David remembered in an interview earlier this year, “You could go and do your own thing… Myself, I used to spend a lot of time fishing, tromping around the creeks and the lakes and stuff.”

David Fairhurst shows off Pine mushrooms, rather than fish. Whistler Question Collection, 1979.

According to Carol Fairhurst, her brother grew up fishing from “the day that he could see a fish” and he and their father would be out in a boat fishing all the time. Both David and Carol remember there being lots of fish. As David recalled, “Every body of water was teeming with fish” and he would catch Rainbow trout, Dolly Varden, Bull trout, and Kokanee. Most of the fish that David remembered catching were average size trout, though he did remember a few Rainbow trout that were sixteen to eighteen inches long, which were considered “really big fish.”

Some of the fish would be eaten fresh, some frozen, and others smoked. This abundance of fish meant that the freezers at Cypress Lodge and the Fairhurst family home would sometimes fill up. Florence Petersen, who was a close friend and neighbour of the Fairhurst family, wrote in 2006 that “Knowing that Andy [Petersen] liked to BBQ fish on the hibachi, David would come over every so often to ask if it was ‘time for a fish fry?’ We knew that this was the sign that he needed another freezer to store his catch!”

Cypress Lodge, September 1962. Fairhurst Collection.

Fish fries were a good reason for a get-together, whether it was an informal gathering of friends or an official event organized by the ALCC. Carol recalled taking either a dock with a motor or a boat out on Alta Lake and motoring around while people caught fish and they barbecued them on the spot.

John Burge, whose family first stayed at Cypress Lodge in 1956 and then built their own cabin to visit each summer, remembered the ALCC Fish Derby and the big community fish fries that would happen at the end of the summer. Though John didn’t enjoy fishing, his parents did. According to him, “If they got a big fish, they would… take it to Dick [Fairhurst] at Cypress Lodge and it would be frozen. Whoever got the biggest fish would win a prize at the end of the summer.” Although he didn’t recall the specific prize, the 1959 ALCC newsletter announced that the Fish Derby prize would be $10 for the largest Rainbow trout caught in Alta Lake “by any legal method.” All of the fish that had been saved from July through September would be thawed and cooked and eaten on the grass at the Cypress Lodge point.

Other competitions also took place during events at Cypress Lodge, such as pie eating contests. Fairhurst Collection.

As skiing and winters became more popular, fishing and summers became less prominent. Today there are not as many fish in the lakes and creeks and all fishing in Whistler is now catch and release. Fishing is no longer the main draw for visitors but other activities like mountain biking have once again made summer a busy season for the area.

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Transition PointTransition Point

June 27, 2023 Whistler MuseumWhistler Museum 0 Comments

Before lifts were built and the area became known for its snow and skiing, tourism in the valley focused on the lakes and the summer months. Though various cabins from the 1920s to the 1950s can still be seen amidst much more modern homes on the shores of Alta Lake, many of the buildings from this period are gone today due to various fires and redevelopment. Some buildings, however, managed to make the transition to year-round use and can still be found today.

Dick Fairhurst began operating Cypress Lodge on Cypress Point in 1954. It started with a few cabins built by Dick and three pre-exisiting cabins and a tearoom from Harrop’s Point. Dick, his mother Elizabeth, and later his wife Kelly continued to add to and renovate the property into the 1960s. Construction began on the main lodge building in February 1963 and was completed for the 1965 May long weekend. Though Cypress Lodge had been built with summers in mind, the Fairhursts were quickly able to expand their business to include winter ski seasons. Often the cabins on the property were rented out year-round to people working in the valley. The lodge building was filled with work crews for BC Highways in summer and with skiers in winter.

Cypress Lodge while it was operated by the Faihursts. Fairhurst Collection.

In 1972, the Fairhursts sold Cypress Lodge to the Canadian Youth Hostel Association (now known as Hostelling International (HI) – Canada) for $140,000. The sale included all nine buildings on the site, including the main lodge, the cabins, and the Fairhurst’s family home on the upper portion of the property.

The property was officially reopened as a hostel in July 1973. It aimed to provide affordable accommodation to individuals and groups of travelers throughout the year. In 1973 it could accommodate 21 guests and cost only $3/person, including breakfast. Over time the hostel increased its capacity and provided housing for its staff and long term tenants. At a museum event in the 1990s, Alex Kleinman remembered his days managing the hostel in the early 1970s. Because the hostel had hot running water, he would often trade showers and a warm place to hang out in exchange for chopping firewood and making small repairs to the property from some of the people squatting nearby. When three people living in a geometric dome by the side of Scotia Creek appeared at 3 am one morning because a bear had walked through the tarp walls of their home, he provided them with a place to stay.

A group of skiers play cards in the Youth Hostel. Whistler Mountain Ski Corporation Collection.

Around 11:30 pm on December 26, 1994, one of the small two-bedroom cabins near the lodge caught fire, according to reports in the Whistler Question and Pique Newsmagazine. Luckily, there was no one in the cabin at the time as it was quickly engulfed by flames. The hostel staff evacuated the guests from the lodge and guests and staff began shoveling snow against the lodge and wetting it with a garden hose to prevent the fire from spreading. Despite their efforts, when the Whistler Fire Department arrived the fire had spread to the lodge roof. The firefighters were able to extinguish the fire but not before it had traveled through the attic bedrooms and down some of the rafters. The lodge escaped with only some charring and water damage while the small cabin was destroyed.

Alternative accommodations had to be found for the hostel guests during one of the resort’s busiest weeks of the year. The Delta Whistler Resort provided five free rooms and other hostel guests were put up by neighbours and Greg Warham, the manager of the hostel. One local resident even offered up a five-bedroom house for the guests scheduled to arrive the following week.

The Whistler Youth Hostel (and a little bit of Meadow Park) in 1989. Whistler Cable Collection.

The hostel continued to operate out of the Cypress Lodge property until July 1, 2010. Before it closed the hostel had a capacity of 28 and eight staff members. That same month, HI-Canada opened its current location in Cheakamus Crossing with a capacity of 188 and a staff of twenty. The property on Alta Lake was purchased by the Resort Municipality of Whistler and continues to be used today by the Point Artist-Run Centre and the Whistler Sailing Association.

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