Tag: Mountain Biking

Summer Racing on BlackcombSummer Racing on Blackcomb

September 17, 2024 Whistler MuseumWhistler Museum 0 Comments

The Whistler Museum’s latest exhibition – Pedal to the Medal: The History of Mountain Bike Events in Whistler – highlights several races and events that took place in the valley, Blackcomb Mountain, and Whistler Mountain. We have written previously on Whistler’s first off-road race in 1982, as well as Whistler Mountain’s Can-Am Challenge. However, we have so far only referred to Blackcomb Mountain’s involvement in the sport.

In 1988, Blackcomb Mountain expanded its summer offerings with summer glacier skiing, hiking, sightseeing, and mountain biking. The latter was growing rapidly in popularity and Blackcomb took the opportunity to host bike competitions that were the highlight of the summer.

Kicking off the racing season was a series of events presented by Bike Riders Choice, known as the BRC races. The first year held five races in June and July, including cross-country, trials, dual slalom, uphill climb, and descent. Riders who entered the series would see their points in each event contribute to their overall score. Major prizes, such as BRC bikes, Blackcomb ski passes or Keg gift cards, were awarded to winners, with draw prizes available to participants of three or more races.

The majority of participants were from the Sea to Sky area and Vancouver, though this changed as the series grew more popular.

Bill Stiles (left) and Geoff “Lumpy” Leidal (right) leading the pack in a 1992 BRC cross-country race. Whistler Question Collection.

The first season saw plenty of punctures, broken bikes, and DNFs (did not finish), but there was also success for many riders. Despite getting eighth in the Mile High Descent, Eric Crowe’s performance in the other races won him the overall title in the men’s expert class. The tightest competition was between Cindy Devine and Diana Ghikas in the women’s expert class, with the former securing the top spot by only three points.

For many riders, the BRC races prepared them for the Labatt’s Can-Am Challenge on Blackcomb Mountain, which took place over a weekend in August. The Can-Am had a similar format to the BRC races, with five events determining riders’ overall score, but contributed $5,000 in prize money. In was described in the Whistler Question as Whistler’s “first full-blown international bike race.” While the 1986 Can-Am Challenge on Whistler Mountain attracted over 70 competitors from across North America, the inaugural year in 1988 on Blackcomb saw 230 Canadian and American riders.

The Can-Ams were also an important part of the local MTB community, as local companies such as Backroads Whistler and Jim McConkey’s Sport Shop used the weekend to advertise their services to a larger audience.

Athletes from the USA dominated the pro categories, but local racers placed well in their respective categories, including Cindy Devine and Diana Ghikas who placed third and fourth in the Women’s Pro. Many experienced racers commented on some organizational blunders, though overall the event was a success with Blackcomb’s dedicated staff and team of volunteers excitedly planning for the next year.

Vail rider Michael Kloser leading the cross-country criterium. He won the overall title in the 1988 Can-Am Challenge. Whistler Question Collection, 1988.

1989 saw some formatting changes, including dropping the trials event for both the BRC races and the Can-Am Challenge. They also nixed local business participation and focussed only on Blackcomb MTB services, such as their retail, which disappointed some local companies.

As Eric Wight of Backroads told the Whistler Question, “It’s a North American event and we should be using it to show mountain bikers from elsewhere what a strong mountain biking community there is here in Whistler.”

Nevertheless, there continued to be a strong showing of local riders and the event attracted more athletes from around the continent. Keep an eye out next week as we recently had a participant from the 1989 Can-Am Challenge share his recollections of racing in the event.

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Blackcomb Mountain: The Summer of ’89Blackcomb Mountain: The Summer of ’89

June 4, 2024 Whistler MuseumWhistler Museum 0 Comments

While we might be used to busy summers in Whistler these days, in the 1970s and into the 1980s visitor numbers would drop dramatically after the ski season ended in the late spring. As Whistler grew, the Whistler Resort Association and other businesses and groups worked to make summers busier and transform Whistler into a four-season resort (you can learn more about the activities of the WRA on June 12 when the museum will be joined by Al Raine and Drew Meredith to discuss the origins and early years of the WRA). By 1989, it appears that their efforts had been somewhat successful, at least when looking at the summer season on Blackcomb Mountain.

Hikers and bikers meet on a trail during the summer months. Blackcomb Mountain Collection, 1989

According to the Blabcomb, Blackcomb Mountain’s employee newsletter, the summer of 1989 got off to a chilly start and, though there were good days, the colder than usual weather continued throughout the season. During the previous summer, Blackcomb had received 30,107 skier visits and 61,598 non-skier visits. In 1989, however, they expected the numbers to be slightly lower as the season would be a couple of weeks shorts and Whistler Mountain would be competing for visitors (the construction of the Whistler Express gondola meant that Whistler Mountain had not been operating as usual over the summer of 1988).

Along with sightseeing and hiking, Blackcomb offered various activities and events from June through September 4 when summer operations ended. Ski school programs continued on the glacier with beginner lessons for $35 (including lift ticket, lesson and rentals) and private lessons ranging from $80 to $210. There were also various camps throughout the summer that operated on the glacier. The Labatt’s Blue Summer Challenge Ski Race Series ran throughout July and the Canadian Summer Snowboard Championships took place on Blackcomb from July 13 to 15.

Competitors head up Blackcomb Mountain next to the giant Labatt’s can during the 2nd Annual Labatt’s Can-Am Mountain Bike Challenge. Blackcomb Mountain Collection, 1989

Skis and snowboards were not the only equipment transported up lifts that summer. Though the Whistler Mountain Bike Park is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, bikes were transported up lifts well before 1999. The summer of 1989 was at least the second year that mountain biking played a large role in Blackcomb’s operations. Bikes were uploaded via the Wizard and Solar Coaster Chairs (and, later in the summer, 7th Heaven, though that was for expert riders only) from 8:30 am to 3:30 pm. $5 tours ran twice daily from the Rendezvous Lodge, though riders could also purchase a sightseeing pass and try out the Blackcomb bike trails on their own. If you had your own bike and seasons pass, it could cost as little as $5 to head up the lifts.

Like the Ski Race Series, the BCR Mountain Bike Race Series ran throughout July and into August. This was followed in mid-August by the 2nd Annual Labatt’s Can-Am Mountain Bike Challenge, which included the World Mountain Bike Polo Championship, and later by the Kokanee Glacier Light Prestige Biathlon, which featured running and biking.

The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra performed to thousands by the Rendezvous Lodge. Blackcomb Mountain Collection, 1989

The biggest event to happen on Blackcomb Mountain that summer did not involve skiing, riding or biking as almost 6,000 people attended the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra’s performance 4,000 feet above Whistler Village on August 12. The performance featured conductor Peter McCoppin and violinist Patricia Shih as well as some familiar pieces such as Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. According to the Blabcomb, the concert went smoothly, though the line up to download at the end was quite long.

Though Blackcomb stayed open until September, the T-bars stopped running by August 20 and events began to wind down. By August 31, Blackcomb had received around 42,000 non-skier visits (well up over the expected 35,000) and 24,100 skier visits (slightly lower than expected due to the earlier closure) and the Blabcomb declared the summer season a success.

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Replacing Horses with BikesReplacing Horses with Bikes

July 25, 2023 Whistler MuseumWhistler Museum 0 Comments

There are many competitions and races that take place during Crankworx, which is back in Whistler for the end of July, however one bike-related event that you’re unlikely to come across is mountain bike polo. While bike polo is not overwhelmingly popular in the area today, in 1989 there were mountain bike polo championships held in Whistler.

Bike polo is similar to the traditional sport of polo, although the horses are replaced by bikes, in which the aim is to drive a ball through the goal of the opposing team using mallets. Traditionally, bike polo is played on grass courts, but over time hardcourt bike polo has become more popular. Though the rules vary depending on where the game is played, it appears to be consistent that players must hold the mallet in their right hand and their handlebar in the left and have no parts of their body touching the ground in order to touch the ball or attack an opponent.

Eric Crowe (left) and Jim Warren fight for control of the ball during a mountain bike polo game at Myrtle Philip School. Despite its apparent popularity, we could find very few images of mountain bike polo being played in Whistler. Whistler Question Collection, Mike Youds, 1988

The Whistler Question provided two different accounts of how the sport began: in the June 16, 1988 edition it claimed that the sport was invented in 1987 at a mountain bike competition in Colorado; in the August 3, 1989 edition they reported that a group of windsurfers from Quebec created the sport when there was no wind and they came across some friends playing croquet. The more widely accepted history of bike or cycle polo is that it was adapted by a retired cyclist named Richard J. Mecredy in Ireland in 1891. It was a demonstration sport at the 1908 Olympics in London and saw a resurgence in popularity in the 1980s.

Mountain bike polo came to Whistler in the summer of 1988. Games were played on Sunday evenings at Myrtle Philip School (then still located in the Whistler Village) and there were plans to form a local league. That first summer must have gone well because they were still playing in 1989 and even had plans to host a championship tournament.

The “World Mountain Bike Polo Championships” came to Whistler from August 17 to 20, 1989, coinciding with Labatt’s Can-Am Challenge held on Blackcomb Mountain. There was some controversy between the organizers from Quebec, who wanted to hold the matches on a gravel field at the bottom of the Wizard Chair, and the local players, who preferred the grass at Myrtle Philip School where they had been playing each Sunday. The local players won out and eight teams competed for the top spot on the school field. Though most of the teams came from Canada and the US, there was reportedly one team from Australia, kind of – it was made up of Australians who were living in Whistler.

While you won’t find mountain bike polo in this year’s Crankworx line up, other types of events that were included during Labatt’s Can Am Challenge weekend are still included, such as the dual slalom race. Blackcomb Mountain Collection, Unknown Photographer, 1989

In the end, Whistler’s Mountain Mutants placed first, winning various prizes including a mountain bike, a pair of television sets, answering machines, and, of course, Polo-Ralph Lauren gift certificates. According to Neil Collins of the Mountain Mutants, “Everyone had fun, but it was pretty competitive; we trashed a fair number of wheels, bikes and bodies.”

Bike polo is still played in cities around the world today, though its popularity waned again after its 1980s surge. There are currently (as far as we are aware) no mountain bike polo teams in Whistler and it seems unlikely that it will be featured in Crankworx anytime soon.

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Getting into Gear: Have Bike, Will RideGetting into Gear: Have Bike, Will Ride

June 7, 2022 Whistler MuseumWhistler Museum 0 Comments

Like much of the Whistler community, we have the Whistler Mountain Bike Park on our minds. When talking about the history of the bike park we often hear that mountain bike design and rider ability had to catch up before the bike park could take off. Thanks to generous funding from 100 Women of Whistler, and the local community who have been generous with their time, we have heard some great reflections on that recently through oral histories.

An unidentified rider heads down Blackcomb Mountain in the late 1980s or early 1990s, cut-off jeans the only armour required. Blackcomb Mountain Collection.

Not interested in road biking, Jim Kennedy, preferably Jimbo, was inspired to buy a mountain bike after watching the ET movie where they ride through the forest. Purchasing one of the first bikes when Doris Burma opened the door to Summit Cycles in 1983, Jim was the proud new owner of a $500 Nishiki Bushwacker. Not everyone was thrilled with his purchase, however. Mountain biker riders regularly copped abuse in the Village in regards to their choice of transport, as expletive laced “get a real bike” rang out.

In the mid-1980s, long before the bike park opened, Jimbo and friends were taking their bikes up the gondola to mid-station to ride down as part of a stag party. Luckily for them, a friend was working at mid-station, and with much encouragement let them stay on until the top of the mountain. A group filled with many former downhill racers, the ride was fast, wild and they didn’t see a single other person. Starting on snow and then following Jolly Green Giant, Jimbo remembers, “We were on these bikes, just handbrakes, no shocks or anything like that. By the time you got down your hands were just seized.” Additionally the rim brakes could get so hot they would burn or cause the tires to blow. So to ride more comfortably the bike technology had to catch up.

A few years later, the Kamikaze Descent down from the top of Blackcomb as part of Labatt’s Can-Am Challenge in 1989 followed the 15 km service road down the mountain, still no features involved. When Backroads Mountain Bike Adventures started to offer commercial downhill tours on Whistler Mountain many of the trails ridden were still the gravel access roads dotting the mountain, although Eric Wight and other passionate individuals had started to build some mountain bike specific trails across the mountains.  

Mountain bike riders cruising down Blackcomb. The marketing photos for on-mountain riding adventures have also changed in the last 30 years. Blackcomb Mountain Collection.

The opening day of the bike park in 1996 saw 500 keen riders take to the lifts. Then when Intrawest took over Whistler Blackcomb in 1998 they were convinced, with much lobbying, to further invest in the bike park. However rider ability and gear still had some catching up to do. After the first staff demo day an employee from Guest Relations remarked, “After trying the trails I couldn’t believe some of the people who had been getting on the lifts, even the greens are much harder than we were led to believe. We warn people that they need enclosed, appropriate footwear and I’ve seen people in slip-on flats go up, completely unprepared for what they are about to do.” Today it is recommended that every rider has a full face helmet, gloves, armour and a full suspension downhill bike.  

Some things change while others stay the same. A commonly heard adage in the 1990s was “You can tell if someone is a Whistler local because their bike is worth more than their car.” In many cases this still rings true today.

You wouldn’t want to crash in these outfits. Part of the Whistler Question Collection from 1992 this photo was captioned ‘All the nudes that’s fit to print: Whistler’s newest acapella group bares their wares.’ We’ve seen enough, but we want to know more. Whistler Question Collection.

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