Pip Brock – Whistler Museum and Archives Society

The ‘Skin’ny on Whistler’s Ski Touring HistoryThe ‘Skin’ny on Whistler’s Ski Touring History

December 30, 2025 Whistler Museum 0 Comments

Top Image: Pip Brock and Don Munday walking down Whistler’s tracks, packing skis.
Photo taken by Phyllis Munday and from the BC Archives.

Ski touring and split-boarding continue to grow in popularity as people strive to extend their range into the backcountry of the local Coast Mountains. However, it is nothing new.

In 1933, the first documented ski ascent and descent from the top of London Mountain – now known as Whistler Mountain – was made by Pip Brock. With “terrible” skis purchased from a Vancouver department store, the feat of the intrepid 19-year-old was at first disbelieved by locals. His claim was, however, confirmed by binoculars which showed his tracks: the first top-to-bottom run of Whistler, sited and sighted, 92 years ago.

Pip recalls “Most mountaineers thought that skiing was impure and indecent. But a few of us being frivolous, realized the fin and value of ski for winter touring.” Pip was later joined by celebrated, nationally-treasured mountain adventurers Don and Phyllis Munday, skiing up Wedge Creek as means to summit Wedge Mountain.

Initially, local ski touring converts were few and far between. Pioneering prospector Harry Horstman (whom the glacier on Blackcomb and hut are named after) indignantly heckled the young Pip Brock, chastising him with: “What the hell you got them planks fur? I can get around twice as fast on my snowshoes as you can on them slitherin’ boards!”

But it was “slitherin’ boards” that George Bury, along with three others, chose to use for their 1939 expedition: the first to assess the potential for ski development in the area. The four men began their explorations from Cheakamus Lake and over the period of 10 days, skinned and skied their way around. The tour ended by way of skiing down ‘The Barrier’ to the railroad tracks and flagging down the southbound train headed for Squamish. The development idea was sidetracked with the start of World War II. The group never revisited the idea post-war.

Members of the Bury expedition in 1939.
Bury collection.

In the 1960s, Stefan Ples became actively involved with Garibaldi Lifts Ltd. in their development of Whistler as a ski area. Stefan was incredibly familiar with the mountain, having been touring up and down it for years.

There is a story of when Stefan first met Franz Wilhelmsen (‘The Father of Whistler’), President of Garibaldi Lifts, fittingly on top of the mountain. Franz had arrived by helicopter, Stefan by skis. Franz is reputed to have said “What are you doing on my mountain?” to which Stefan replied “What are you doing on mine?” It is ironic that Stefan became so involved with the ski resort’s development given that it is said he truly could not conceive why people would choose to take a lift up the mountain, just to ski just a short distance down. Though eventually awarded a lifetime pass, Stefan’s preferred method of access was by skinning. It took Stefan approximately 3 hours to reach the peak.

Members of the Bury Expedition in 1939 at Black Tusk.
Bury collection.

The Spearhead Traverse is now the area’s most popular ski touring mission, linking Blackcomb and Whistler by way of an approximately 34 km horseshoe-shaped route across the peaks of the Fitzsimmons and Spearhead ranges. The traverse crosses 13 glaciers, and depending on routing 9-11 mountain passes. In 1964, the first successful tour of the circuit was completed by four UBC Varsity Outdoor Club members. It took the group nine days, starting from the base of Blackcomb.

Today, the Spearhead Traverse is regarded as beginning at the backcountry gates atop of Blackcomb and ending in Whistler Village. The Spearhead Huts Society built a state-of-the-art 38-bunk backcountry accommodation in 2019, with two more huts planned along the route. A strenuous endeavour, most take 2-4 days to complete the trek, however the fastest known times currently hover around the 2 hour mark for both men and women.

The Spearhead Traverse is undertaken by approximately 4000 people per year, skinning their way into the storied tracks of this place.Ski touring and split-boarding continue to grow in popularity as people strive to extend their range into the backcountry of the local Coast Mountains. However, it is nothing new.

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(*Please note that the version of this article that was published in The Pique Newsmagazine on December 26, 2025 had the wrong photo credit with the Brock/Munday photo. Credit is correct here.)

Taking a Walk with Pip BrockTaking a Walk with Pip Brock

March 16, 2021 Whistler Museum 8 Comments

Mildred and Reginald Brock first visited Alta Lake in 1927 as guests of friends. Mildred fell in love with the area and the Brock family bought three small lots on the southwest corner of Alta Lake, hiring Bert Harrop to build a cottage that they named “Primrose”. The Brocks and their five sons visited Alta Lake each summer; it’s likely that their youngest son, Philip ‘Pip’ Gilbert Brock, spent the most time exploring the area.

A young Dave Brock (formerly identified as Pip) atop Whistler Mountain. Brock Collection.

At the time, there were only two trains from Squamish to Alta Lake each week, though the steamship from Vancouver to Squamish was daily. Rather than limiting himself to the train schedule, Pip Brock would often choose to walk over 60km to reach Alta Lake. According to Pip, this walk would take “a long time, about ten hours.” The boat would reach Squamish around 2 o’clock. From there, Pip would sometimes splurge for the 50 cent taxi fare to get as far as Cheakeye, but more often than not he and any companions would walk straight to Primrose. Pip recalled that not many others wanted “to do the walking,” and so he mostly walked alone.

Parts of his route led him down some of the remaining sections of the Pemberton Trail. In 1992 Pip recalled that “the parts that were there were excellent, but then it would just disappear under rock falls and stuff.” For other sections of the journey, he would walk along the railway tracks and, if he was lucky, a freight train might come by and give him a ride.

The Brock Family at Primrose, ca. 1930. Brock Collection.

Once he reached Alta Lake, Pip would spend his time hiking and exploring the area. One of his favourite hikes was to Russet Lake, still a favourite destination for many people today. At the time there was quite a good trail on the northside of Fitzsimmons Creek, which Pip thought was most likely built and maintained by whomever was trapping in the area.

Pip’s trips around the area did not end with the end of the summer; he would continue even after the snow fell using skis. Around Easter in 1933, Pip climbed to the top of Whistler Mountain and skied down, marking the first reported ascent and descent of Whistler on skis, though he later described the department store skis he used as “terrible things.” Ski touring had not yet become popular among the majority of mountaineers at that time. Pip said that, “most mountaineers thought that skiing was impure and indecent. But a few of us, being frivolous, realized the fun and value of skis for winter touring.”

The Brock boys picnicking near Singing Pass, 1930s. Brock Collection.

Pip and brothers continued visiting the valley even after the tragic death of their parents in a plane crash at Alta Lake in 1935. In the 1930s Pip began joining Don and Phyllis Munday, legendary mountaineers from North Vancouver, on trips, including an attempt to reach the top of Mount Waddington. In 1937 Pip and the Mundays skied up Wedge Creek and then skied and climbed up to the top of Wedge Mountain, marking the first ascent of Wedge by skis. They also made the first ski descent in the Blackcomb backcountry and “skied right up to the source of Cheakamus to Mount Sir Richard.”

Since Pip began exploring the mountains surrounding Alta Lake by ski, ski touring has become increasingly popular. Today, however, few of those who head out into the backcountry around Whistler choose to begin their trip with a ten hour walk from Squamish.

What’s In A Name?What’s In A Name?

January 29, 2019 Whistler Museum 2 Comments

The names of people, places and things sometimes change. At the beginning of the 20th century, Whistler Mountain was labelled on maps as London Mountain and, until the creation of the Resort Municipality of Whistler in 1975, this area was officially known as Alta Lake. Even Alta Lake was once called Summit Lake.

Some name changes, such as that of Whistler Mountain, occur gradually, beginning as a nickname and then changing officially to reflect the popular name. Others change only partially, leaving enough of the previous name to ensure it is still easily recognizable. An example of this is The Point.

Bert Harrop first came to Alta Lake in 1920 for a short stay at Rainbow Lodge. Like many before and after him, his first stay in the valley ended up lasting a few decades longer than expected. Helped by Alex Philip, the Harrops settled on a point of land on the west side of the lake, just south of Rainbow Lodge, which became known as Harrop’s Point.

Bert has been trained as a cabinetmaker in England and he quickly put his skills to use at Alta Lake. Before winter arrived, he and Sewall Tapley had framed in a small house on the beach at Rainbow Lodge. Constructed on a raft of cedar logs and later secured to the shore of Harrop’s Point, this became Alta Lake’s first (and possible only) floating cottage.

The floating cottage on Alta Lake built by Bert Harrop and Sewall Tapley. Fairhurst Collection.

This cottage was followed by a tearoom with a porch extending over the water. Harrop’s Tearoom became a gathering place for locals and visitors, presided over by Bert’s wife Agnes. The tearoom was known for more than simply a good meal; Agnes told fortunes by reading tea leaves. According to Pip Brock, whose family began visiting Alta Lake in the 1920s, Agnes “did it very well, assisted by all the rampant local gossip! I used to have my cup read so I could see how I stood in the neighbourhood.”

Harrop’s Point as seen from above the PGE tracks. Philip Collection.

Bert continued building, constructing a cottage on his property to rent out to visitors and others for summer residents, including the Brock family. He also built a workshop for himself. As the snow fell in winter Bert crafted furniture in his workshop, some pieces of which survive today in the museum.

Myrtle Philip and Agnes Harrop ice-boating on a frozen Alta Lake. Photo: Philip Collection.

Bert and Agnes sold Harrop’s Point in 1948 to Cathy and Ivan Collishaw who continued to run it under that name until they sold it in 1952. Loyd and Sharen Mansell then renamed the enterprise Bob’s Point and ran it for only a year before selling to their neighbour Dick Fairhurst, who had been operating Cypress Lodge for a few years before purchasing this property, adding three cabins and a tearoom to his business. Dick’s mother Elizabeth Alice moved up from Vancouver to help run Cypress Lodge on Cypress Point. Under her, the tearoom became known for its “Hot Dog Friday Night” when a refrigerated rail car bought fresh food and meat on Fridays as well as Ma Fairhurst’s famed butter tarts.

The tearoom and Bert’s cottages were demolished in 1962 and replaced with four new cabins, complete with Alta Lake’s first coloured bathroom fixtures. Cypress Point became a gathering place for the community, including the Alta Lake Sailing Club and its annual “Regretta.” The Fairhursts continued to operate Cypress Lodge until 1972 when it was sold to the Canadian Youth Hostel Association.

For the next few decades, the property was known as the Youth Hostel until the hostel moved away from Alta Lake. Today, the buildings of Cypress Lodge host the Whistler Sailing Club and The Point Artist-Run Centre and is often referred to simply as The Point.

A Century of Skiing in WhistlerA Century of Skiing in Whistler

February 27, 2016 Whistler Museum 0 Comments

Sunday February 21st was International Ski History Day. At the museum we hosted a delegation from the International Ski History Association and put on our Speaker Series “Celebrity Athletes & the Growth of Modern Skiing” featuring Stephanie Sloan, John Smart, and Rob McSkimming. There were also events up on Whistler Mountain during the day.

We have an incredibly rich skiing heritage to celebrate here in Whistler. And though Whistler Mountain’s 50^th anniversary is the big story this season, it’s not the only milestone worth celebrating this year.

As we’ve profiled on this blog previously, there were plenty of skiing pioneers doing things the old-fashioned way prior to the installation of ski lifts on Whistler Mountain. Examples include Tyrol Club members like Stefan Ples who regularly skinned up Whistler Mountain in the 1950s and early 60s, and famed explorers Don & Phyllis Munday, along with summer resident Pip Brock, who undertook ski-mountaineering expeditions into the heart of the Coast Mountains in the 1930s.

A 1939 ski-mountaineering expedition near Black Tusk led by George Bury, in search of appropriate locations to build a ski resort. They found excellent skiing and remarkable landscapes, but their plans were interrupted by the outbreak of WW2.

Skiing, mostly of the cross-country variety, was also a popular pastime at Rainbow Lodge during the quieter winter months. We’re fortunate enough to hold in our archives dozens of photographs from that era of skiers trekking around the valley, posing on Alta Lake, or schussing down a small wooded slope near Rainbow. We even have a few shots of Bob the Workhorse pulling Myrtle around the lake on her skis, otherwise known as skijoring.

The solid wooden skis are generally massive, even putting your 30-year-old 210cm racing planks to shame, and the fashion is as nostalgic as it gets. One specific image, a little fuzzier than the rest but otherwise inconspicuous, is especially relevant to today’s story.

The image portrays Myrtle Philip with two other women posing while skiing on a frozen Alta Lake. They are adorned in wool tops and baggy bloomers, and are all using a single, solid wooden pole in the traditional Scandinavian style.

And written on the back of the image is the simple phrase “the first skiing guests at Rainbow about 1916. Janet Drysdale and friend and Myrtle Philip.”

Needless to say, the 3 ladies were unaware of the historical significance of this simple ski outing.

Of course it is completely possible that skis were used in the Whistler Valley prior to this visit, but we have come across no such stories or evidence. At that time trappers and prospectors generally used snowshoes and considered skis more toy than tool.

Local prospector Harry Horstman, when he encountered Pip Brock climbing Sproatt Mountain on a set of skis, apparently proclaimed “what the hell you got them flanks for? I can get around twice as fast as on my snowshoes as you can on them slitherin’ boards!”

Needless to say, we don’t share Harry’s disdain. Three cheers to 100 years!

Tag: Pip Brock

The ‘Skin’ny on Whistler’s Ski Touring HistoryThe ‘Skin’ny on Whistler’s Ski Touring History

Taking a Walk with Pip BrockTaking a Walk with Pip Brock

What’s In A Name?What’s In A Name?

A Century of Skiing in WhistlerA Century of Skiing in Whistler