Tag: Casey Niewerth

The Great 2×4 Race: Part IIThe Great 2×4 Race: Part II

December 24, 2024 Whistler Museum 0 Comments

Last week we introduced “The Great 2×4 Race,” a ski challenge to Dave Murray from Whistler Question sports columnist Doug Sack in 1984. As a very new skier, Sack’s challenge to the Crazy Canuck was ambitious, even if Murray would be strapped to two 2×4 planks.

On December 13, 1984, Sack used his “Inside Edge” column to report on his first experience on the hill. According to him, his first bash at skiing last week could roughly be called a success in that I got back down alive off Whistler.” It wasn’t all bad and Sack was determined to continue, despite the steep learning curve, adding that “the scenery ain’t bad either.” Sack continued to report on his skiing progress over the next few months, building up interest in the coming race by exaggerating his failures, triumphs, and the developing worrylines of Murray.

Early in the new year, Sack got some professional help with his endeavour, beginning with a lesson on Skidder on Blackcomb Mountain from Nancy Greene and leading to his announcement on January 17 that we “the weekday King of Lower Gandy Dancer!” (Sack also, in the same article, addressed Greene to ask “What are the poles for?”) Continuing to practice on Blackcomb (specifically on Skidder for two weeks), Sack progressed to longer runs and longer skis, trying out blue runs and 190s in February and likening the experience to “driving a load of timber downhill with no brakes.”

Doug Sack shows off his “ski look.” Whistler Question Collection, 1985

In March, Sack finally got his own brand new pair of skis instead of the rentals he had been using. While attending the Volvo Ski Show, Sack got talking to Casey Niewerth, owner of Skyline Sports stores in Vancouver, Whistler’s Mountain’s original Jolly Green Giant, and, luckily for Sack, then the Canadian sales rep for RD (Research Dynamic) Skis’ new Coyote skis out of Sun Valley, Idaho. Niewerth arranged for a pair of 200 Coyotes for Sack as he set about learning the art of gates from Blackcomb Ski Club coach Dave Kerwynn.

Gate training began with a run down the GS course with no instruction, letting Kerwynn get an idea of what he was working with. From there, the pair worked to correct mistakes and improve Sack’s time. His first runs and wipe outs down a race course gave Sack a new perspective on ski racing, a sport that he had not previously spent much time following. On March 28, Sack wrote: “Ski racing very well could be the ultimate pinnacle of athletic challenge and satisfaction. The thin razor’s edge is so clearly defined: if you go too fast, you wipe out; if you don’t go fast enough, you struck out.”

Casey Niewerth holds a ski as Dave Murray “cuts the ribbon” at the opening of the Kerrisdale Skyline Sports in 1979, six years before he arranged skis for Doug Sack. Whistler Question Collection, 1979

Over the early months of 1985, plans for the race solidified. A date was chosen (April 22, 1985) and a format decided on. Though Murray nixed the anvil and anchor that Sack had originally proposed, he did consent to race on the two 2×4 planks that had been dubbed “Crazy Canuck Demos.”

Despite challenging a former national ski team member and current Director of Skiing to a race, Sack did not expect to become a highly proficient or technical skier in his first season, calling that goal “hopeless.” Instead, he reportedly wanted to claim bragging rights by being able to “ski gates fast enough to make Murray wipeout on his 2×4’s” and become a good enough skier to “cover the national championships on mountain and get back down to the bottom alive,” a reasonable goal for a sports reporter in a town that hosted World Cup races and took skiing and ski racing quite seriously.

We’ll be back next week with race results and a conclusion to the unique race on Whistler Mountain.

Connecting PhotographsConnecting Photographs

November 21, 2023 Whistler Museum 0 Comments

In 2018 we began a weekly blog post featuring a selection of photographs and captions taken during that week from each year that was represented in the collection of negatives from the Whistler Question Collection. “This Week In Photos” has become a useful starting point to learn more about what was happening in Whistler at any given time (between 1978 and 1985). When looking into the stories behind the photographs, we often find connections to other images. Some of these connections are unexpected, such as crowds of cars outside the Myrtle Philip School in November and ski racer Dave Murray sawing through a ski at the opening of a sports store in Vancouver in August.

*Cars crowd outside Myrtle Philip School as hundreds of attendees sell, swap and buy ski equipment and clothing inside. Whistler Question Collection, 1979*

The photograph of a crowd of cars was captured at the Whistler Mountain Ski Club’s (WMSC) fourth annual Ski Swap in 1979. The first Annual Ski Swap in Whistler was held on November 13, 1976, when skiers of all levels were encouraged to bring in their extra or outgrown equipment and clothing to sell or trade. A percentage of the proceeds made from the sales went to support the WMSC junior racing program. The gear brought in by local skiers was supplemented by leftover articles from the Vancouver Ski Swap and, with prices ranging from $2 for some of the clothing to $200 for boots, the WMSC was able to raise about $500. According to WMSC spokesperson Hugh McLennan, the sale “was an overall success, with very little theft of the merchandise on display.”

The Ski Swap continued to be a successful fundraiser for the WMSC, as well as a great place to find a deal on equipment. By 1979, the event drew hundreds of people to Myrtle Philip School, their cars filling the school parking lot and spilling over onto the street. Like in previous years, the equipment and clothing brought by skiers was added to by wholesalers, such as a Vancouver company that brought boxes of incorrectly-sized wool sweaters to sell at greatly discounted prices, and by store owners such as Casey Niewerth of Skyline Sports, who brought in any stock left from the previous winter.

*Canadian National Ski Team member Dave Murray saws through an old wooden ski held by Casey Niewerth at the opening of the new Skyline Sports location. Whistler Question Collection, 1979*

Casy Niewerth founded Skyline Sports in North Vancouver in the 1950s as Vancouver’s second ski shop. He began by selling the sample skis that wholesalers would bring to show department stores, ordering another pair once the first one was sold, and by the 1960s had expanded to include other sports and activities in a larger space, including a workshop for setting, repairing, an putting edges on skis.

In early 1966, when Whistler Mountain officially opened for skiing, Casey and his young family began skiing in the area, buying a lot in Alta Vista in the spring and moving into their newly completed cabin less than a week before Christmas that year. Like most stores at the time, Skyline Sports was closed on Sundays and during the ski season the family would drive up late Saturday evening in order to be at the base of the mountain for ski school on Sunday morning. Casey built up a loyal clientele at Whistler Mountain, in particular by offering free binding adjustments behind the bullwheel of the Red Chair.

The Skyline Sports set up behind the bullwheel of the Red Chair. Whistler Mountain Ski Corporation Collection

Just a few months before the 1979 Ski Swap, the Niewerths expanded Skyline Sports further by opening a new store in Vancouver’s Kerrisdale neighbourhood. The opening of the 6,000 sq ft space replaced the usual ribbon cutting ceremony with Crazy Canuck Dave Murray sawing through a 25-year-old ski, an event that was captured and reproduced in the Whistler Question. After the opening event, the new Skyline Sports location opened to the public with a “Super Ski Sale” were skiers could get the latest equipment ahead of the coming season. Like the Ski Swap raised money for the WMSC racing program, the Super Ski Sale was also a fundraiser for the Canadian National Ski Team and any donations made to the team over $5 during the sale would be matched by the store.

*The exterior of Skyline Sports’ Kerrisdale location. Whistler Question Collection, 1979*

There are many photos of Ski Swaps in the Whistler Question Collection, and even some more of events involving Skyline Sports. Though the retail locations of Skyline Sports closed in the 1990s, Casey Niewerth remains an important part of the community and the WMSC Annual Ski Swap continues to raise money for the club and its racing programs each fall.

This Week in Photos

This Week In Photos: September 6This Week In Photos: September 6

September 6, 2018 Whistler Museum 0 Comments

1979

The hydrant stands alone! The clearing adjacent to the school where the new access road will run.

Haus Heidi, one of the honourable mentions in the Garden Contest.

Ester Wunderly models the latest fashions…

… while Dave Murray, sawing through a ski, is helped by Casey Niewerth at the Skyline Sports’ new 6,000 sq. ft store opening in Kerrisdale, Vancouver.

Joanne stands behind the counter of the new Spud Valley Sporting Goods Store.

1980

Town Centre site stands virtually deserted due to work stoppage which began Thursday, August 28.

As in many cases, you’ve got to start at the bottom to get to the top. In this picture we have the crew putting the cable on the Garibaldi Lifts’ chairlift that rises from the Town Centre. Also shown is the pit that the two-mountain daylodge will rise from. It won’t be completed this year but the substructure will and portable trailers will be used on site to sell lift tickets to Whistler and Blackcomb.

A jumper unfolds their flip into Lost Lake.

Dance competitors took to the floor for the University of Whistler dance contest. The winners were Chris Speedie and June Everett.

Linda Satre accepts another donation to the Terry Fox fund from a patron outside the Husky Station while Ruth Howells looks on.

1982

It was a tough weekend of close plays, but when all the dust settled in this weekend’s slow pitch tourney Tapley’s were the winners.

He flies through the air with the greatest of ease… Oh the joys of being airborne… especially when you’ve just hurtled down the aerial ramp at Lost Lake. But oh, the chill of it all once you hit that water. Eleven competitors took part in this year’s aerial acrobatic competition.

Cris Simpson and Duncan Maxwell sharpen their pencils for the first lesson of the term at Myrtle Philip Elementary School.

Busy little bees and industrious beavers welcome students to Miss Christopher’s classroom.

It was no easy task, but for the second year in a row Stoney’s team walked away with first-place honours in the Great Waters Race. (L to R) Dave Murray, Jinny Ladner, Ken Hardy, Lisa Nicholson and Brian Allen.

Bears have been a problem for businesses located in Whistler’s Industrial Park. Provincial wildlife traps are catching more than the normal number of ornery critters.

1983

Caller Ken Crisp led members of the Swinging Singles Square Dance Club in Village Square Saturday and Sunday. Garters were prominently on view as women twirled in their colourful square dancing dresses. The club has more than 300 members and is based in the Burnaby Lake Pavilion.

Relief map of proposed Powder Mountain ski area. Number areas are townsites, white lines are ski runs, and dark lines are ski lifts. Photo was taken at the Vancouver office of Powder Mountain Resort Ltd., where the relief map is stored.

Some kids got right back into the swing as Myrtle Philip School re-opened Tuesday, September 6 but Michael Hoffmann seems to be thinking of other things as Yann Omnes looks on. Sandy Pauliuk-Epplett, meanwhile, starts the rest of the Grade 2 and 3 class off on the right foot by explaining first day back-to-school rules and suggesting school supplies. Motorists, take extra caution now as the little ones head back to school.

Ross Smith, General Manager, Stoney’s, White Gold.

1984

The Fraser Valley Round and Square Dance Association entertained village visitors all weekend long. The dancers even convinced spectators in Village Square to take part in their traditional dance routines. Hundreds of visitors flocked to Whistler for the Labour Day weekend and the village came in with an occupancy rate of 62 per cent in August.

The Conference Centre is expected to be finished by May 1985 and will be one of only two facilities built for conferences in BC.

Angus Maxwell, 10 years old, was the lucky winner of a Red Baron BMX bicycle, presented here by Barb Stewart of the Pharmasave. The drugstore received dozens of entries for the contest.

Tuesday was the first day of classes for local students. Myrtle Philip School opened its doors to 111 students and the Grade 2 and 3 class, taught by Sandy Pauliuk-Epplett, saw classes end at 11:30 am rather than 3 pm.

Vandals hit the former Mountain House Cabaret Friday night, kicking apart a fence and tearing down a wooden sign. Although about $100 worth of damage was done, the vandals apparently saved the new owner the task of removing the Mountain House sign.

Paul and Jane Burrows returned to Whistler last Tuesday after spending more than a year travelling around the globe. The couple’s dog Simba hardly even noticed that the trekkers, who travelled by horse, train, bus, helicopter and even car to South Africa, France, New Zealand and Tahiti (to name but a few stops) were gone. Late summer also saw the return of Al and Nancy Raine after spending the last two years in Crans Montana, Switzerland.

Who Burnt the Stew? Ski Run Names, Part 2Who Burnt the Stew? Ski Run Names, Part 2

April 21, 2012 Whistler Museum 9 Comments

We received a great response for our recent post about Whistler-Blackcomb ski run names, so we figured we would post a few more. Last time we were pretty Blackcomb-heavy, so this week we’ll weight things more towards Whistler.

Whistler

Franz’s Run – Franz Wilhelmsen, from Norway, was one of the founders of Garbaldi Lifts Ltd and remained the president of the company for 20 years.

Bagel Bowl – Preferred piste of former Whistler Mountain President, Lorne Borgal, affectionately known as the ‘Lone Bagel’.

Franz Wilhelmsen and Lorne Borgal (the Lone Bagel!) at the Franz’s Run dedication ceremony in 1983.

Chunky’s Choice – Named after Chunky Woodward, he was another one of the founding directors of Garibaldi Lifts Ltd. It was his favourite run.

Jolly Green Giant – Named after Vancouver and Whistler resident Casey Niewerth. He was over six feet tall and dressed all in green so he was easily recognized on the hill as “the Jolly Green Giant” named after the canned vegetables brand.

Jam Tart – Named after cat driver John Cleland who was tragically killed in Whistler Bowl while recovering avalanche duds – Jam Tart was Cleland’s nickname.

Pony Trail – At one point during the construction of lifts on Whistler Mountain, fire hazard forced workers to use packhorses to transport supplies up the mountain. The road they used became a ski run, so it kept the name.

Tokum – Named after Tokum Corners – a ‘skibum’ house lived in by John Hetherington, George Benjamin and others. Tokum was the run they took home at the end of the day. We’ll let you figure out how Tokum Corners got its name.

George “Benji” Benjamin outside Tokum Corners, 1970s.

Cockalorum – Named for mechanic Jack Goodale, who died in an accident in 1981. Cockalorum means a small person with a large presence.

Boomer Bowl – Apparently, windows in Alpine Meadows rattle when this bowl gets bombed for avalanche control.

Burnt Stew Trail – In the summer of 1958 Florence Peterson, Kelly Fairhurst and Don Gow were on a back-packing trip around Whistler Mountain. After setting up camp one evening they started cooking dinner in an old billy can over a fire, built into the rocks of a dry creek bed. Nobody remembered to stir the pot, resulting in the smell after which the area (Burnt Stew Basin), and ski run are named after.

Kelly Fairhurst and Florence Petersen during their 1958 Burnt Stew hike.

Blackcomb

Arthur’s Choice – Named for Mountain Planning and Environmental Resource Manager Arthur DeJong in 1994. Designed to bring a new dimension to glade skiing.

Xhiggy’s Meadow – Named after Peter Xhignesse, an original ski patroller on Blackcomb Mountain who died of cancer at 32.

There are literally hundreds of more run names, both on and off the trail map, so if you are curious about any specific names leave a comment or e-mail us your questions!