Tag: Dick Fairhurst

Building on FilmBuilding on Film

July 1, 2025 Whistler MuseumWhistler Museum 0 Comments

Last month (June 18) the Whistler Museum and the Point Artist-Run Centre hosted a film screening that featured 8mm film from our archives. The films, mainly from the 1950s and ’60s, included snippets of sailing on Alta Lake, pie eating contests at Cypress Lodge (today the Point), and even the 1958 hike where stew was burnt on Whistler Mountain, along with footage of a under construction.

The house in question was built in September 1966 for Florence Strachan (Petersen). Florence first came to the Alta Lake area when she, June Tidball (Collins), Betty Atkinson (Gray), Jacquie Pope and Eunice “Kelly” Forster (Fairhurst) bought a cabin together in 1955. They named the cabin Witsend and would visit often throughout the summer. The following year, four of the five purchased the lot next door for $500. Over the following years, the other three sold their shares, leaving Florence as the sole owner of the lot.

(Left to right) Florence Strachan, Jacquie Pope, June Tidball, Fido, Betty Gray and Eunice “Kelly” Forster at their Witsend cottage in 1955.

Florence then decided to build a summer home overlooking Alta Lake, as she was till teaching full-time in Burnaby and spending her summers at Alta Lake. First, the lot had to be cleared, both of trees and, as can be seen in the 8mm footage, a couple of structures. The project was headed by Andy Petersen (who Florence married in 1967) and he was helped by Florence’s friends and family, who can be seen moving what appears to be an “explosive” outhouse while wearing shorts and sandals. Once cleared, construction could begin on the house.

Florence ordered a prefabricated house designed by Greenall Bros. Ltd., who in the 1960s produced prefabricated structures including houses, schools and construction camps. According to their advertisements in 1964, their buildings offered solid construction, good value, almost immediate occupancy, and “conventional appearance.”

Florence’s house arrived at Alta lake in September 1966 with all of the pieces cut to size. Like the clearing of the lot, the house was constructed by friends and family under the supervision of Andy. While the construction was sound, some of the practices would not be accepted today, such as the group working on top of the roof with no harnesses or safety gear (including children).

While the Alta Lake community was small, friends and neighbours were often willing to help with projects from chopping and stacking firewood to building a house. Petersen Collection

While the house was considered “built” in 1966, according to Andy it took them 25 years to finish it. For the first year, the house was uninsulated and had no power, making it very cold and uncomfortable in the winter. The Petersens would come up to check on the house but it wasn’t until after they installed electric heating that they started to visit more regularly throughout the year. Built on posts, Andy added a “proper foundation” and continued to work on the finishing touches.

In the spring of 1968, Andy moved up to live in the house full time as he and Dick Fairhurst of Cypress Lodge were constructing the Scotia Creek water line. Andy recalled that during this time, he accidentally put some holes in the roof while blasting the path for the line down to the house. He had to go down to Vancouver to get the tools and materials to fix the roof and, when Florence asked what he was doing home, told her “Oh, well, I have to go and get some stuff, something broke.” According to Andy, “I didn’t say I blew the roof off the house!”

Florence moved up to join Andy in Whistler full-time after retiring from teaching in 1983. After Andy retired, having finally finished working on the house, he turned his attention to the garden, building three terraces between the road and the house. In 2006, Florence wrote that she and Andy “can’t imagine living anywhere else and never tire of the view across the lake.” The Petersens continued to live at the house until Florence’s death in 2012, after which Andy moved away from Whistler.

It is always exciting when we find archival films, like many of the films in the Petersen Collection, that give us a better view of stories that are told to us through letters, interviews and more. You can view some of the film that has been digitized online – check out the Whistler Museum YouTube channel to see more.

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The Final Days of the Scotia Creek Water SystemThe Final Days of the Scotia Creek Water System

January 28, 2025 Whistler MuseumWhistler Museum 0 Comments

It’s not uncommon for a cold snap to result in frozen pipes that can lead to burst pipes and the ensuing damages and clean up. In November 1985, a sudden temperature drop to record lows between -22 and -24°C (reportedly -50°C with wind chill) caused pipes to freeze and burst in the Whistler Professional Building, the Blackcomb Lodge, and the Keg Restaurant, as well as various houses and condos. This cold snap also froze a pipe on the other side of the valley, specifically the 2 inch pipe that serviced the Scotia Creek Water System.

Until the late 1960s, some residents of Alta Lake Road had running water only in the summer, when they put in a temporary aboveground line from Scotia Creek, while others got their water from an aboveground line that the PGE had installed to service the railway townsite. As skiing began to develop on Whistler Mountain, Dick Fairhurst and Andy Petersen began work on an underground line to service houses along Alta Lake. With the help of other members of Scotia Creek Water Improvements Society (mostly when they were up on the weekends) and a digger from the Valleaus, they dug a trench, blasted through rocks, laid a 2 inch pipe (residents decided the more standard 4 inch pipe would be too expensive), and filled it all back in. Looking back on the water system, Andy recalled “It was a big achievement, especially on next to no money.” For the next eighteen years, as Whistler Mountain grew, the Resort Municipality of Whistler was founded, and Blackcomb Mountain opened, this pipe supplied water to about 40 houses along the lake.

The Whistler Hostel’s location next to Alta Lake came in useful when the water system froze and they installed a pump on the lake. Whistler Question Collection, 1994

On November 27, 1985, the waterline froze, leaving these 40 houses without water. At first it was unclear whether the problem was that the watersource, a reservoir upstream of the intake on Scotia Creek, was frozen solid or if it was the main pipe running underneath Alta Lake Road. By mid-December, it was determined that parts of the line were frozen. Alta Lake Road residents were bringing water over from the town centre and relying on friends and the recently-opened KOA campground for showers and laundry, with Jacquie Pope sending “a bathtub full” of roses to those helping out through the Whistler Question’s “Bricks & Roses.” The Whistler Youth Hostel (formerly Cypress Lodge) had installed a pump in Alta Lake and were using it for drinking water. Roger Stacey, Alta Lake Road resident and president of the Scotia Creek Water Improvements Society, told the paper that this freeze “could be the end of the whole system.”

This prediction led to increased talk of the municipality assuming responsibility for providing water to the area. After the RMOW was created in 1975, the municipality had assumed responsibility for water systems in other pre-existing neighbourhoods, such as Alpine Meadows, and a water study released in the early 1980s suggested building a municipal water system that would service the Alta Lake Road area and beyond, but the timing suggested for that project was 1992.

By the end of January 1986, houses between the Youth Hostel and Chaplainville were expected to be without water for the foreseeable future as the reservoir had thawed but there was still no water flowing through the pipe. Finally, in April 1986, five months after the pipe froze, the Scotia Creek Water System had water running through it again. However, the line was badly damaged, working at only half pressure and needing almost constant repairs as cracks caused water to bubble up out of the ground.

Andy Petersen digs in his yard where water has been bubbling up from the damaged pipe. Whistler Question Collection, 1986

In May, Stacey appealed for municipal support to pay for the new water line and when the 1986 budget was approved it included $1,985,000 for “water system extension.” On June 2, council voted in favour of paying half of the $200,000 cost of a new water line for Alta Lake Road. Property owners were given the option to finance the cost of their portion over a 25-year period and were notified that a “water improvement district” was going to be created in order to levy the taxes to pay for the system.

Construction of the water supply at Twenty-One Mile Creek, which replaced the Whistler Creek water system as the municipality’s primary water system, began over the summer and was completed by the end of the year. Houses along Alta Lake Road were once again connected to an operational water system, though it would be a few more years before other neighbourhoods such as Emerald Estates were brought onto a municipal system.

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Whistler’s First Ski LiftWhistler’s First Ski Lift

January 21, 2025 Whistler MuseumWhistler Museum 0 Comments

It’s likely that the groomed runs of Whistler or Blackcomb Mountains are some of the first images that come to mind when thinking about lift-accessed terrain in the Whistler area these days. For those who skied here in the early 1960s, however, lift-accessed terrain looked very different.

The first motorized ski lift in the Whistler area was not a gondola, a chairlift, or even a T-bar, though all three were installed on Whistler Mountain during the summer of 1965. Rather, the first ski lift was an 850-foot rope tow installed under the power lines on the west side of Alta Lake Road by Dick Fairhurst and George Krieg a few years before Garibaldi Lifts Ltd. began construction.

Interest in downhill skiing in the Whistler area gained popularity in the early 1960s, spurred on by the 1960 Olympic Winter Games held in California and the subsequent formation of the Garibaldi Olympic Development Association (GODA). GODA planned to host the Olympics in Garibaldi Provincial Park, settling on London (now Whistler) Mountain. Throughout the winters of 1960/61 and 1961/62, GODA and other interested parties made trips to Alta Lake to explore the proposed site, monitor snow conditions, and test out the skiing. The “Alta Lake Echo,” the newsletter of the Alta Lake Community Club (ALCC), faithfully reported on the comings and goings of these groups alongside those of full and part-time residents of Alta Lake.

Skiers out underneath the powerlines – the rope tow can be seen on the right. Fairhurst Collection

In November 1960, GODA members and journalists visited Alta Lake to do a story on Whistler Mountain as a possible Olympic site to be published in a special “Winter in Canada” issue of Maclean’s. That December, 56 skiers from Vancouver traveled to Alta Lake “with skis and enthusiasm” led by Fred Taylor. Though the conditions were described as “ten inches of old crusty snow,” the group did some skiing on the hills behind Jordan’s Lodge, had dinner, and watched some films on the Olympics at the community hall before returning to the city on the train. With the growing number of these trips, it’s no surprise that Alta Lake residents decided to get in on the fun and set up some skiing for themselves.

Dick Fairhurst, whose family owned and operated Cypress Lodge (now the Point Artist-Run Centre), teamed up with George Krieg to install the valley’s first ski lift on the hill behind Cypress Lodge. They used a 1948 Ford V-8 motor to pull the rope through four pulleys that they mounted on four towers they built. The tow was 850-feet long and could pull three or maybe four people at a time, depending on their size. While it was not the most advanced lift, Dick later described it as “a start and lots of fun.”

Skiers take a break off to the side of the cleared “run.” Gow Collection

We are fortunate to have not only a few photos of this rope tow in the archives but also a film in the Petersen Collection that shows the lift in one of its first years of operation. The film shows rocky terrain, patchy snow, and a slow-moving lift. It also shows Alta Lake residents and guests walking up the road to the lift carrying skis, poles, and children while at least one dog runs around the skiers. Most of the skiers shown are smiling and appear to be enjoying themselves.

Unfortunately for the lift, a fire at Cypress Lodge in 1962 destroyed the storage shed where the tow-rope was kept alongside furniture built by Bert Harrop (the first also destroyed one of the cabins, a car, and a jeep). Florence Petersen used the readership of the “Alta Lake Echo” to fundraise for a new rope and, thanks to the generosity of Alta Lake residents, was able to present a new rope at a Presentation Party at the Krieg’s house that fall. The rope tow ran for only a few winters before Alta Lake residents and visitors had other options for skiing.

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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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