Lost Lake – Page 7 – Whistler Museum and Archives Society

Cross Country Skiing with the ALSCCross Country Skiing with the ALSC

February 25, 2017 Whistler Museum 2 Comments

Today (Saturday, February 25 2017) Callaghan Valley Cross Country will host the Sigge’s P’ayakentsut, a loppet event for all ages and levels of cross country skiing. With the support of other local cross country ski clubs, the P’ayakentsut offers competitors the choice of a 50, 30 or 15 km course, as well as a 10 km sit-ski course for para-athletes and a 5 km race for kids. A legacy of the 2010 Winter Olympics, Callaghan Valley Cross Country ensures the continued use of the Whistler Olympic Park for nordic skiing and competition. Organized cross country skiing, however, has a history in Whistler that far predates the Olympics.

Though not competitive, cross country skiing was a popular winter sport at Rainbow Lodge.

The Alta Lake Sports Club was founded in 1975 to “organize and encourage participation in outdoor sports at all levels of ability in the Whistler area and beyond,” (“Whistler News” Winter 1979/1980) with a focus on cross country skiing. In their first year, the ALSC organized three races in the valley, attracting up to 125 competitors from clubs within the valley and Vancouver.

The early success of the club inspired the planning of a more permanent 10 km course meant to attract more events. The proposed course would begin at the Myrtle Philip Elementary School (originally located in the current site of the Delta Village Suites) and then pass over Fitzsimmons Creek and around Lost Lake. The summer and fall of 1976 were busy ones for members of the club who got together to form work parties to cut through underbrush and hack through slash in logged off areas. Perhaps the most difficult step was the construction of a bridge over Fitzsimmons Creek which was completed with help of community members such as Lawrence Valleau who provided a free front end loader, Terry Arsenault who donated a day of work operating said front end loader, and the many residents and contractors who donated timber for bridge decking. By the end of November 1976, despite working in pouring rains and muds likened to quicksand, the new course was complete and the club looked forward to another promising season.

The Alta Lake Sports Club hosted various races through the 1970s and '80s. — The Alta Lake Sports Club hosted various races through the 1970s and ’80s.

Unfortunately for the club, the winter of 1976/1977 was a particularly mild winter with far more rain than expected. Though there were periods when the new course was in good shape and was used extensively by locals, one after another the events planned by the ALSC were cancelled or moved to Manning Park. The club had been meant to host the Fischer Cup in January, the BC 50 km Marathon in early February drawing participants from BC, Canada and the United States, and an orienteering race nearer to the end of the month.

A disappointing season at home could not stop the members of the ALSC though. Over 75 competitors began the 50 km Marathon at Manning Park – only ten finished, three of whom were members of the ALSC.

Despite a wet and mild season, the club continued to encourage the sport of cross country skiing in Whistler. In 1977 the club purchased an alpine double track skidoo and a track cutter to cut proper tracks and ensure the course could be kept open regularly. By 1980 the club was again hosting multiple races each season, including the BC Winter Games trials for Zone 5, Molson’s Cup Citizen’s Tour Race, Labatt’s Race, and the Alta Lake Tournament. They also put forward a proposal in 1980 to build multiple ski trails at Lost Lake, traces of which can be seen in the trails today.

The trails around Lost Lake as proposed by the Alta Lake Sports Club in 1980.

The club was active in promoting more sports than only cross country skiing. They proposed trails to encourage hiking, walking and running around Lost Lake and organized running events in the summer. Though no longer active, the Alta Lake Sports Club proved that Whistler could be a destination for sports other than downhill racing and encouraged the growth of sports that continue to flourish in our community today.

Lost Lake Ski JumpLost Lake Ski Jump

January 25, 2014 Whistler Museum 2 Comments

Summers at Lost Lake are known today for their mild diversions of picnicking, sunbathing, and paddling in inflatable Explorer 200 boats. But during the late ‘70s to early ‘80s the lake was home to Whistler’s “Summer Air Ramp” – a ski jump that launched aerialists high into the air and then deep into the water, allowing them to practice their somersaults and twists in the off-season.

Aerial practice. David Lalik Collection.

Planning for the ramp was initiated in 1977 by local freestyle skiers, commonly referred to at the time as “hot-doggers,” frustrated at the lack of aerial opportunities at Whistler’s glacier summer camps. Instead of relying on a summer snow pack that was, at the best of times, “quirky,” they proposed to create opportunities for aerial training in the valley.

Funding for freestyle skiing in the west was virtually non-existent at the time, so the aerialists banded together with local community members to gather funds and expertise to begin the project.

With no development permit or permission from the SLRD, an inconspicuous site needed to be chosen. Thankfully, all eyes were on the new Village at this time, which had just had its first phase of development completed, and Lost Lake was remote enough not to draw undue attention from local authorities.

Construction was a cooperative effort – timber was scrounged from various sources in town and the plastic grass that had been used as the ski out from the old Olive Chair was salvaged from the Function Junction dump. The piecing together of timber and final overlay of the “Green Meanie” grass remarkably only took two weeks.

Looking down the ramp. David Lalik Collection.

At its completion the ramp projected 20 feet out over the lake. Skiers would ride down the steep ramp, over the slippery plastic grass, and launch themselves as high as 40 feet above the water. “Injuries were commonplace,” says David Lalik, one of the original workers on the ramp, “but [an] acceptable risk in the sport and environment of the day.” The ramp became renowned for being particularly gnarly, even by professional aerialists, and there was sufficient demand for a second, novice ramp to be constructed after the first season of training. By 1979 Lost Lake had become a popular summer hangout for locals – many of which were spectators of the experimental aerial training. The Whistler Answer from this Summer explains that, “the vicarious excitement of watching some ‘less than hot’-dogger pull off a full face landing upon completion of a faultless flip is enough to liven up the most boring tanning session.”

Sponsors began to show an interest in the ramp and competitions started in 1981. The events only got bigger as the Summer Air Camps kicked off the next year – Lost Lake had become a renowned destination for off-season jumping! Offering training from national team coach Peter Judge (current CEO of the Canadian Freestyle Ski Association), the camps attracted all kinds of aerialists, from new to experienced. Having the lakefront crowded with hundreds of spectators was no longer anything new, and often film crews would record events for television broadcast.

Spectators at the jump. David Lalik Collection.

Lost Lake failed to remain as remote as it once had been, and the site eventually became part of the revitalization that installed the Fairmont golf course. As Dave Lalik explains, “this ‘undesirable lot’ and their ramshackle mess … wouldn’t fit in with the new expanded, sanitized, recreation master-plan of contoured 12 foot paradise paths to ‘Lost Lake’.”

Lost Lake had been found.

-Written by guest blogger, Melinda Muller

How Lost Lake Park Was Nearly LostHow Lost Lake Park Was Nearly Lost

September 15, 2012 Whistler Museum 2 Comments

With clear, refreshing waters surrounded by a wooded shoreline, a relaxing beach, a massive network of biking, hiking, and cross-country ski trails—and yes, the nudist dock—Lost Lake Park is one of Whistler’s gems.

In the days of Rainbow Lodge Alex & Myrtle Philip would often ride horses or hike to Lost Lake with their guests for an afternoon of swimming, fishing, and picnics. Lesser known is the story of how, in later years, the park was almost lost before it ever came to be.

Myrtle Philip entertaining Rainbow Lodge guests at Lost Lake, early 1930s.

It is Whistler’s great fortune that a young forester named Don MacLaurin decided to make Alpha Lake his summer home during the early 1960s. In his spare time Don was an avid hiker and climber, and was very interested in parkland management (he would later teach this subject at BCIT).

At Lost Lake, Don foresaw a beautiful natural playground. His combination of insider knowledge of the forestry industry, and land conservation policies were put to good use, as Don recalled during a 2007 interview with the museum,

There were two timber licenses straddling the lake. North to South. And [local mill operator] Laurence Valleau, bless his heart, was trying NOT to log any more around the lake. He recognized the value of the Lake… The timber licenses around Lost Lake I knew were expiring. I also knew that people KNEW that they were expiring and there were posts driven into the ground for people applying for waterfront property.

An early logging operation on Lost Lake, ca. 1940s.

With amazing foresight (remember, this was before the arrival of downhill skiing, and Whistler Village was still more than 15 years away), Don used his connections to convince the Parks Branch to designate Lost Lake as a potential UREP (Use, Recreation and Enjoyment of the Public) area, preventing land privatization. and preserving the space in perpetuity.

Lost Lake in the early 1980s, a wooded oasis increasingly surrounded by clearcuts and urbanization.With the construction of Whistler Village and ever-expanding development in ensuing decades, Lost Lake’s value as a public space increased even more. The trail networks we know today came later, thanks to the dedication of community groups such as the Alta Lake Sports Club and WORCA, but their possibility was created thanks to Don’s early vision.

It’s easy to take Whistler’s immense natural beauty for granted. A closer look, however, reveals that it is only thanks to individuals like Don that so much has been preserved in its present state to be equally enjoyed by future generations.

Tales from Alta Lake

Swimming Through the AgesSwimming Through the Ages

July 28, 2012 Whistler Museum 0 Comments

With the sun hopefully returning to Whistler to stay the local lakes are once again teeming with those who prefer to cool off in the water. Looking through photos in our archive it’s easy to see that swimming has always been a popular summer pastime in Whistler, one that has changed relatively little in the past hundred years.

While Alex and Myrtle Philip operated Rainbow Lodge, Alta Lake was the most popular summer destination for days spent in the water. Not only did the lake make a hot summer day tolerable but with views such as those seen from the shore it would be hard not to enjoy your surroundings. Like today, guests and residents alike could be found splashing around the docks, though for some the idea of a cool swim doesn’t appear to have been such an appealing one. Although diving boards have disappeared from Whistler lakes the water is still cold enough to cause hesitation in some people.

Diving board and a hesitant swimmer on Alta Lake

The only glaringly noticeable difference between swimming in the early twentieth century and swimming now is the bathing costume, or swimsuit. Though the same strokes are used to move through the water it is rare to find someone on the beach in apparel similar to that modeled by Jean Tapley, Katie McGregor and their friend. Though not covering quite as much as the popular two piece suits of the nineteenth century which included a knee-length gown and trousers to the ankles, these suits are still very modest compared to those found today.

Alta Lake, along with Lost Lake, Alpha Lake, and others, is still a popular place to spend a day, whether you live here or are visiting. Though Rainbow Lodge is now gone (apart from a few cabins still at Rainbow Park) it is still possible to have the same swimming experience as the first guests to Whistler.

Swimmers and boaters enjoy the docks at Rainbow Lodge

Tag: Lost Lake

Cross Country Skiing with the ALSCCross Country Skiing with the ALSC

Lost Lake Ski JumpLost Lake Ski Jump

How Lost Lake Park Was Nearly LostHow Lost Lake Park Was Nearly Lost

Swimming Through the AgesSwimming Through the Ages