Placing a phone call in Whistler hasn’t always been as simple as picking up the nearest phone and punching in a number or selecting a contact. For those living at Alta Lake before 1957, placing a call could mean heading over to the Pacific Great Eastern Railway (PGE) station or one of the lodges that […][...]
When Hillcrest Lodge first opened for business in 1946 it was not meant to be a year-round operation. Summers were so busy with regular visitors and guests that Jack and Cis Mansell, who built the lodge with their sons Doug and Loyd, would “say goodbye to each other in May and hello in October.” In […][...]
Prior to the formation of the Alta Lake Volunteer Fire Department (ALVFD), the Alta Lake area had no official response to fires – they were put out by the small community. But after two large fires in the early 1960s, some residents decided to form their own fire department. The first fire is still a […][...]
Since Garibaldi Lifts Ltd. first began hiring staff in 1965, Whistler Mountain has employed thousands of people in the area, some for a season and some for careers that span decades. Like today, one of the challenges facing lift company employees then could be find a place to stay while working. In an oral history […][...]