Tag: Fishing

Fishing (with) questions — Part 2

Fishing (with) questions — Part 2Fishing (with) questions — Part 2

July 6, 2026 Whistler MuseumWhistler Museum 0 Comments

Feature Image: A view of Garibaldi Lake from Mount Price in 1960. Fenner Collection.

Last week’s article focused on how spotting a school of Rainbow Trout in Garibaldi Lake lured me into a local fish-fact-finding mission around the stocking history of the local Whistler Lakes. Alta Lake’s fishing history was shared, and now we pick back up with Garibaldi’s….

In 1928 – a year following the formal establishment of Garibaldi Provincial Park (a 195, 000 hectare protected area) – 5000 ‘eyed egg’ Rainbows were released into the lake. The subsequent year, 12, 500 eggs were released. The eggs were transported by horseback up to the nearly large lake encompassing an area of almost 10 ㎢at 1467 metres of elevation. Mountaineering and pack-hauled camping holidays were becoming popular in the area.

These were the only two times, 1928 and 1929, that Garibaldi Lake was ever stocked. Differing from other (lower) lakes in the area, Garibaldi Lake never had any fish living in its waters to begin with. As the Museum reported in ‘Frontier Fish’ (2011):

“Garibaldi Lake was formed relatively recently (geologically speaking) when a massive lava flow from Mount Garibaldi slammed into a glacier and was frozen in its tracks, leaving behind what is now known simply as The Barrier.

This vertical wall blocked off an ancient valley that subsequently filled with water to form Garibaldi Lake. Since the lake’s outlet flows underground through The Barrier to become Rubble Creek (named after the frequent landslides falling from the Barrier’s unstable volcanic rock), no fish population was ever able to colonize Garibaldi’s glacial-fed waters.”

Further, according to a report in the Vancouver Province newspaper, after the catch of 3 mature trout from Garibaldi Lake in 1933, the paper then declared the lake the ‘second’ successful stocking of a barren lake in British Columbia. The Museum has not been successful in sourcing information as to which may have been the first.

The introduced fish survived and have uniquely adapted to the freezing mountain waters.

The cast of vibrant colour caused by suspended glacial silt in the lake has dazzled people for ages. There had been talk and plans to build a chalet on the edges of Garibaldi Lake – following the 1945 opening of the Diamond Head Chalet at Elfin Lakes (also in Garibaldi Park). The Brandvolds, operators of the lodge, envisioned a connective series of huts and lodgings connecting the gems of Garibaldi. Though no other lodges were built by them, for two years during the 1960s, Queen Charlotte Airline operated a hostel on the edges of Garibaldi Lake.

According to an article first published in Westworld in 1976, and subsequently reprinted by the Hollyburn Heritage Society, “A helicopter company trained its pilots for high altitude flying in that area and then provided an air-drop service for food and luggage, so that sides of beef came falling out-of the sky with red streamers flying.” At this time, the fish population would have been well-established in the once-devoid-of-fins lake.

Other Whistler fish-finding facts:

Alpha and Nita (both first stocked in 1926, with 12, 000 Rainbow eggs)

Lost (first in 1937 with 3000 Rainbow)

Loggers (1984, with 500 Rainbow)

Callaghan (1975 with 10, 000 Rainbow fry)

Madeley (1984 with 340 yearling Rainbow)

Jane (1987 with 2000 Rainbow)

Showh North and Showh South (4×4 access only via Cougar Mountain – recognized as a fly-fishing gem; first stocked in 1986 with 500 and 300 Rainbow each).

Green Lake has been stocked five times, the first in 1924 with 5000 eggs and lastly in 1973 with 100, 300 Rainbow fry).

Cheakamus Lake (first stocked in 1926 with 20, 000 eggs. The lake has been stocked four times, the last in 1951).

Other fish varieties of fish in Whistler’s waters include Dolly Varden and Char/Bull Trout.

Today, all anglers 16+ in British Columbia must hold a valid BC Freshwater Fishing License. Regulations for local lakes vary: know before you go and cast your line…

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Fishing (with) Questions

Fishing (with) QuestionsFishing (with) Questions

June 30, 2026 Whistler MuseumWhistler Museum 0 Comments

By Bronwyn Preece. Featured Image: Alex and Myrtle Philip at Rainbow Lodge on Alta Lake, 1940s. Philip Collection

Last week, I was standing on a rock on the edge of Garibaldi Lake, staring into the clear turquoise waters. All of a sudden, a school of fish – Rainbow Trout – some big, some small, with purple backs and black specks swam and kept circling by. I was entranced.

Two young anglers also shared the same shore with me, casting their lines into the glacial pool.

My friend asked if I knew if the lake had been stocked. My initial response was ‘unlikely’. I mean, ‘Up here? A 9+ km hike up from the trailhead, with no road and just under 1000 m of elevation gain…how would they? By helicopter?’ There certainly wasn’t anyone hiking fish or fry up this trail… or, not now…  And yet, I had caught myself in my not-knowing… and my curiosity was hooked…

Making my way back to Whistler, I would pass through a valley speckled with bodies of freshwater: from the volcanic potholed divots around Brandywine to the highway-skirting of Alpha, Nita, Alta and Green. Lakes with fish. Lakes with stories. Lakes holding the lures of different fishing histories…

Whistler was first a fishing destination. Rainbow Lodge was the first ‘resort’ to open in the valley in 1915. For $6.00 you could have a weekend ‘Fisherman’s Excursion’ – a package which included travel on the Pacific Great Eastern Railway from Vancouver to Alta Lake and back and accommodation at the Lodge. The lake was said to be teeming with fish. The fish that were likely being caught at the time were Cutthroat Trout. Subsequent lodges and accommodation geared towards fisherman subsequently sprung up around Alta Lake.

Alta Lake was first stocked with fish in 1923. According to the BC Ministry of the Environment’s FIDQ – Fish Inventories Data Queries page: 30, 000 Rainbow at the ‘eyed egg’ stage were released into the lake that year. Rainbow Trout are an invasive species and subsequently altered the ecosystems of our local lakes. Despite this knowledge, the release of Rainbows into our local waters would continue until 2000.

Kokanee Salmon were stocked for the first time in Alta Lake in 1939.

Myrtle Philip of Rainbow Lodge fishing in the 1920s. Philip Collection.

As the decades passed, fishing remained an important sport and pastime. An announcement in the 1959 Alta Lake Community newsletter proclaimed that the Fish Derby prize would be $10 for the largest Rainbow trout caught in Alta Lake “by any legal method.” In 1988, in the ‘Whistler Summer Guide’ (a supplement to the Whistler Question), the paper reported: “When Whistler Mountain was known as London Mountain … the fishing was fantastic. […] Generally the fish were not that big, averaging about 30 cm, but they were plentiful. They’re just as plentiful today.” Now, in 2026, local fishing guides still exist.

Since 2000, Alta Lake has been stocked with Cutthroat (almost annually, with a few years skipped) since then. Consistently, for the past ten years, Alta Lake has been stocked with 350 yearling Cutthroats and operates with a strict fishing quota. Multiple varieties of fish are caught in its waters. The lake has been stocked 52 times between 1923 and 2026.

But, what about Garibaldi Lake? In 1928 – a year following the formal establishment of Garibaldi Provincial Park (a 195, 000 hectare protected area) – 5000 ‘eyed egg’ Rainbows were released into the lake. The subsequent year, 12, 500 eggs were released. The eggs were transported by horseback up to the nearly large lake encompassing an area of almost 10 ㎢ at 1467 metres of elevation. Mountaineering and pack-hauled camping holidays were becoming popular in the area.

Garibaldi Lake… image taken by the author on the trip that inspired this two-part article.

Next week, Part II of this article will dive deeper into Garibaldi’s Lake’s intriguing fish-related history and some statistical records with regards to Whistler’s closer and other lakes…

*Please Note: In the newspaper printed version of this article (and its initial publication on the blog) it was stated incorrectly that Alta Lake now runs on a catch and release system. Apologies for the mistake, it has been amended above and a note of correction will accompany next’s week’s article in the paper.

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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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Rafting Through WhistlerRafting Through Whistler

July 19, 2022 Whistler MuseumWhistler Museum 0 Comments

Rafting has long been a favourite summer leisure activity throughout the Whistler Valley. In 1913, Alex and Myrtle Philip bought their 10-acre property on Alta Lake for $700 (where Rainbow Park is today). Rainbow Lodge and the Pacific Great Eastern (PGE) Railway were both completed the next year in 1914, and together they started offering Fisherman’s Excursions. The $6 package deal included train passage and a fully catered weekend of fishing at Rainbow Lodge. When the first group of 24 anglers disembarked the train for the Fishermen’s Excursion, Rainbow Lodge had multiple wooden rafts and one boat that visitors would fish from. The first excursion was a huge success with everyone catching fish. News of the fishing on Alta Lake spread rapidly throughout Vancouver, bringing a continual stream of visitors to Rainbow Lodge in the summer.

Rafting at Rainbow Lodge. Philip Collection.

When Hillcrest Lodge opened in 1946, rafting also played a role in entertaining guests. When new guests arrived at the train station, they would be greeted by current guests in costume and then transported across the lake in a convoy of rafts. During the stay, Hillcrest Lodge offered many organised activities for guests. One of their favourite activities were the musical raft rides around Alta Lake, not unlike those that float around on warm summer days today. Raft rides would also be used to transport locals and guests to and from the Saturday night community hall dances. The community would look forward to these dances and come out in force, with Rainbow Lodge and Hillcrest Lodge sharing the catering for these popular events.

Guests were escorted to Hillcrest Lodge via raft. Mansell Collection.

70 years after Myrtle and Alex bought their land on Alta Lake, the first commercial white water rafting venture in Whistler started. Whistler was still developing as a summer destination when Whistler River Adventures opened in 1983. Asked about how things changed in the rafting business over his 27 years as owner/manager, Brian Leighton was quick to say, “Competition.”

In the early to mid 1980s, anyone could start a rafting company and many more white water rafting companies popped up after Whistler River Adventures. Following some bad rafting accidents in 1987, including 5 people who drowned after their raft overturned on a log jam in the Elaho, the BC provincial government introduced stricter regulations. The regulations introduced mandates for each river, including rules on raft size and guide experience. Although many companies already chose to follow recommended safety guidelines, strict regulations had only been in place for five BC rivers prior to 1987. River-specific tenure for raft companies was also later introduced.

An identified rafting adventure near Whistler, July 1 1984. Helmets and wetsuits are worn today during commercial rafting tours, however the expressions of exhilaration remain unchanged! Whistler Question Collection.

Remembering a trip that would not happen today, Brian recounted a staff tour along the Cheakamus River below Daisy Lake Dam. This area is now closed to commercial groups due to concerns about The Barrier breaking, which could result in massive downstream flooding and landslides from Garibaldi Lake. During the staff trip the raft became stuck on a rock in the middle of the river. A staff member living in the now-gone Garibaldi Township saw a sandal float past on the river downstream of the stranded raft and went to see if everything was okay. Everyone was rescued, although the raft remained stuck. Whistler River Adventures knew the engineer working on Daisy Lake Dam and the following day BC Hydro shut off the dam so that the raft could be retrieved from the rock. It was the eighties after all!

To help us collect and share stories become a Whistler Museum Member today.  Annual membership is $25 for an individual or $40 for a family and can be purchased in the museum or by visiting our website whistlermuseum.org.

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