Tag: ski racing

The Big Test: The 1967 du Maurier International Ski RaceThe Big Test: The 1967 du Maurier International Ski Race

March 26, 2024 Whistler MuseumWhistler Museum 0 Comments

Just over a year after Whistler Mountain opened in 1966, the Garibaldi Olympic Development Association (GODA) hosted the second annual du Maurier International. This race brought in top ski racers from around the world.

This competition was a test to see if Whistler could handle a race of this calibre, in hopes of eventually hosting the Olympics.

So, how did the first international ski race at Whistler go? Thanks to the publication Ski Trails, we have the full coverage of the event.

This advert for the race ran in Ski Trails and also promoted the new features found on Whistler Mountain that season.

The du Maurier International was created in partnership with the Canadian Amateur Ski Association (CASA) and du Maurier Cigarettes. The cigarette company saw the potential for advertising and promotion through skiing events. After receiving approval from the International Ski Federation (FIS), the first competition was held in 1966 and was split in two halves at different locations, Mt. Norquay (Alberta) and Mont-Sainte-Anne (Quebec). The race consisted of two disciplines, slalom and giant slalom, in both men’s and women’s categories.

The Whistler event took place January 28-29, 1967. CASA was responsible for organizing the event, while du Maurier Cigarettes sponsored the promotion and transportation for the athletes. Because the resort was fairly new with limited resources, there was a lot of planning and consideration for racers and spectators.

A crowd gathers at the bottom of the slalom course located alongside the Valley T-Bar. The weekend saw a mix of conditions (rain, snow, wind, and fog) that affected visibility for both racers and spectators. MacLaurin Collection

Luckily, it was a big snow year and the courses were well-packed and many racers complimented the construction. Aside from Canadian skiers, the race drew in professional athletes from the United States, Austria, France, Switzerland, Italy, Norway, Sweden, West Germany, and Finland.

Spectators were charged an entry fee of $1 or $2 if they chose to use the gondola to view the race. Transportation options from Vancouver were a train via the Pacific Great Eastern Railway or a bus via Squamish Coachlines, GODA Charters, or Greyhound. Driving was an option but parking at today’s Creekside area was limited. The event organizers had parking available at Brandywine Falls, with a shuttle ready to transport the public to the base of the mountain. Though the organizers ensured there were extra trains and buses, transport did not go as smoothly as expected.

On both days, the giant slalom was scheduled at 9:30am and the slalom at 1:00pm. Some trains arrived halfway through the first race, and some buses did not leave Vancouver to make the two hour journey until 8:00am. As the race started at mid-station, it took about thirty minutes to hike up to the area, and by that time many spectators did not see much. The slalom was at the base of the mountain and easier to view.

It might be a little hard to see in the crowd, but here Nancy Greene is on the podium at the du Maurier race. MacLaurin Collection

The race results were particularly exciting for Canadians. Nancy Greene placed first in both races, beating France’s Christine Goitschel by two seconds in the slalom and Switzerland’s Ruth Adolf by four seconds in the giant slalom. In the men’s category, Norway’s Haakon Mjoen won slalom and Austria’s Werner Bleiner won giant slalom, though Canadian Peter Duncan placed fifth in both races.

Did Whistler pass the test? Yes and no. Hosting Whistler’s first international skiing event proved the mountain terrain was capable of holding Olympic level competitions; however, the resort still did not have enough resources to accommodate the athletes and number of spectators. The success of this event strengthened GODA’s 1976 Olympic bid, but ultimately these Games went to a previous host (Innsbruck, Austria). This was due to a few factors. The summer Olympics was scheduled to be in Montreal, and the International Olympic Committee did not want to have two Olympics in the same country in the same year. After awarding the bid to Denver, Colorado, it was rejected by the state due to environmental concerns. Whistler was reconsidered, but the new NDP provincial government did not support this round. Though disappointing, it gave Whistler more time to develop its resources.

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Celebrating the 40th Anniversary of the ‘First Annual Mascot Race’Celebrating the 40th Anniversary of the ‘First Annual Mascot Race’

March 28, 2023 Whistler MuseumWhistler Museum 0 Comments

During the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games it was common to see mascots Quatchi, Miga and Sumi around, as well as their sidekick Mukmuk the marmot. However, before these mascots descended on Whistler a different marmot mascot ruled Whistler. That marmot was known as Willie Whistler.

The Whistler Resort Association (WRA) began operations in 1980 with the aim ‘to promote, facilitate and encourage the development, maintenance and operation of the resort land.’ The new mascot of the WRA, Willie Whistler, was introduced in 1981 to promote Whistler. The name ‘Willie Whistler’ was chosen through a competition for local children to ‘Name the Whistler Marmot’. Eight-year-old Tammi Wick won a Blackcomb season pass for choosing the winning name.

Willie Whistler with Ski Scamps on Whistler Mountain, February 1982. Whistler Mountain Ski Corporation (WMSC) Collection.

Willie’s first big event was the Fall Festival, an event to celebrate the upcoming winter and bring life to the time of year still known as the ‘shoulder season’. Each day of the festival had a scheduled meet and greet with Willie Whistler so everyone could get a picture with the new mascot.

Mascots were so popular in the 1980s that the ‘First Annual Mascot Race’ was held on Blackcomb Mountain on March 26, 1983. The race was held as part of the Yukon Jack Challenge, which also saw the Pacific Western Pro Tour Finals race on upper Springboard and a ‘Hospitality Cup’ – where local hospitality staff were tasked with minimising spillage while carrying loaded trays through a challenging obstacle course.

Mascots making their way up Blackcomb Mountain for the First Annual Mascot Race in 1983. Whistler Question Collection..

There was no shortage of local mascots to compete in the Mascot Race. The Whistler Question did not mince words when discussing the popularity of suited figures. ‘Though Pro Tour racers are supposed to hold centre stage for the weekend, they just might lose it for a while to a herd of furred, feathered, and finned mammals who will ramble, scramble and swim their ways up Blackcomb Mountain to participate in the First Annual Mascot Race.’

‘Confirmed entries in this unpredictable contest include: Whistler’s own famous marmot, Willie Whistler; the race’s sponsor Yukon Jack; E. Bunny, the mystery rabbit, from Blackcomb Mountain; The Mountain Inn’s Delta Duck; the A&W Root Bear, Hemlock the friendly sasquatch; and Bee Bob the Beluga Whale from the Vancouver Aquarium. It will be strictly a case of survival of the fittest in that event.’

From left to right: Delta Duck, Moose, Bee Bob the Beluga, Willie Whistler, Yukon Jack, E. Bunny, Hemlock the sasquatch and A&W Root Bear. Whistler Question Collection.

Though the mascots featured on the front cover of the Whistler Question the following week, it is unclear who won the First Annual Mascot Race. We also could not find any evidence of the mascot race continuing annually.

Willie Whistler was always in the middle of the action greeting visitors, shaking hands with dignitaries, playing golf, skiing and presenting awards. After a busy life eventually it was only mice that wanted to be inside the mascot suit. Ultimately, Willie went the way of Dusty the Horse and finished up in the landfill.

Willie Whistler was popular with celebrities and dignitaries. Here Willie Whistler tees off with Arnold Palmer during the construction of the Whistler Golf Course in 1981. Whistler Question Collection.
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Volunteers of 2010: The Weasel WorkersVolunteers of 2010: The Weasel Workers

March 10, 2020 Whistler MuseumWhistler Museum 0 Comments

This past month, the Whistler Museum opened a temporary exhibit on the Sea to Sky volunteers of the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games.  The exhibit will run through March as Whistler continues to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Paralympic Games.  One of the groups included in this exhibit is a group that formed well before the Games ever came to Whistler.

The Weasel Workers formed in the 1970s when Bob Parsons bad his crew of six prepped the course for the first World Cup Downhill races in Whistler.  Most of the early volunteers were parents of Whistler Mountain Ski Club members, but membership grew over the years as Weasels continued to work on the courses for large races on Whistler and began sending volunteers to help build courses for World Cups, World Championships, and Winter Olympics on other mountains.  When the Games were awarded to Whistler and Vancouver in 2003, the Weasel Workers began recruiting and building their team well in advance of the alpine events held on Whistler Mountain.

Weasels on the course with no sign of the sun. Photo: Lance the Ski Patroller

During the 2010 Games, the number of Weasel Workers swelled to about 1,500 volunteers.  Volunteers came from across Canada and other nations to join a core group of 400 to 500 volunteers from Vancouver and the Sea to Sky area.  About 300 volunteers worked specifically for the Paralympics, and a couple hundred Weasel Workers volunteered to work for both the Olympics and Paralympics.  Weasel volunteers began their work for the Vancouver Organizing Committee (VANOC) on Whistler Mountain as early as mid-November 2008 and continued to clean the courses well after the Games had left town.

Even during the Games, the Weasels continued to be a family affair.  Bunny Hume, who began volunteering the with Weasels with her husband Dick in the early 1980s when their grandsons began ski racing, volunteered alongside multiple family members.  She handed out and collected race bibs, her son Rick was the Chief of Course for the women’s course, and her grandsons Jeff and Scott worked on the dye crew.  Rick’s wife Lynne also worked as a Weasel during the Paralympics.

Weasel Workers working on the downhill course for the Olympics. Photo: Lance the Ski Patroller

Some of the Weasel Workers who began volunteering as ski club parents even had children competing in the Games.  Long-time Weasel Andrée Janyk, who could often be found working on a course with a smile, saw two of her children, Britt and Mike, race in the Olympics in their hometown.

Karl Ricker, also a long-time dedicated Weasel Worker, was on the mountain trying to prevent people from crossing where the winch-cats were working when he received the news that Maëlle Ricker, his daughter, had won a gold medal in snowboard-cross on Cypress Mountain and become the first Canadian woman to claim an Olympic gold on home soil.  He went down to Vancouver to attend her medal ceremony, but was back at work on the course early the next morning.

Despite rain, wet snow, and warm weather over the first few days of the Games, and the postponement of three races, the Weasel Workers created and maintained courses for the men’s, women’s, and Paralympic alpine races that were seen around the world in 2010, and those who came to Whistler to work with the Weasels became just as much a part of the team as the long-time volunteers.  Patrick Maloney, then the Weasel president, told The Whistler Question that, “Anybody that’s on that track is a Weasel Worker.”  This sentiment was echoed by Weasel Worker Colin Pitt-Taylor, who claimed that, “as soon as you started working on an alpine course, you became a Weasel Worker, whether you like it or not.”

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Remembering Whistler’s Downhill World CupsRemembering Whistler’s Downhill World Cups

March 26, 2019 Whistler MuseumWhistler Museum 0 Comments

This year marks a few important anniversaries for ski racing on Whistler Mountain: it has been 40 years since the ski hill almost hosted the World Cup in 1979 before it was cancelled due to weather and safety concerns, and it is 30 years since Rob Boyd became the first Canadian male to win a World Cup downhill event on Canadian soil.

Local boy Rob Boyd atop the podium, 25 February 1989. Photo: Greg Griffith/WMAS.

Whistler Mountain also held other successful World Cup events in the 1980s and ’90s starting with a World Cup downhill in 1982.

By the last week of February 1982, Whistler had undergone some major changes since a World Cup was last attempted in 1979.  Blackcomb Mountain opened for skiing in 1980, giving Whistler Mountain nearby competition, and the first phase of Whistler Village construction was, for the most part, wrapped up.

The course for this World Cup downhill was changed as well.  Rather than follow the traditional route that used what is now known as Dave Murray Downhill ending in Creekside, the 1982 course ended in Whistler Village.

The Molson World Downhill came to Whistler, bringing thousands of spectators along with it.  Whistler Question Collection, 1982.

The new 3,810-metre course was expected to result in a winning time in the two-minutes-and-15-seconds range.  Racers began near the top of the Black and Orange Chairs and then headed down through the Double Trouble rollers, the Pony Trail Flats, Tokum Corner, the Elevator Shaft, across Crabapple Creek and to the finish line in view of the spectators waiting in the village.

There was more to Whistler’s 1982 World Cup than raceday on Saturday.  The opening ceremonies began the festivities on Wednesday, February 24 and included a parade of nations complete with flags and local dignitaries.  The following evening was Western Night.  The scheduled events included a display of logger sports such as axe-throwing and chainsaw demonstrations and a square-dancing demonstration for the national teams.  The Lil’wat Nation also hosted an outdoor salmon barbecue.  The Friday evening before the race was a more casual affair with a torchlight ski parade and fireworks display.

A torchlight parade makes its way down Whistler Mountain.  Whistler Question Collection, 1982.

According to The Vancouver Sun, prior to Saturday the weather was “the most-discussed element of the whole affair.”  Days of fog and fresh snow leading up to the race meant great conditions for those skiing on the rest of Whistler Mountain but these conditions weren’t great for training runs, causing delays and cancelled practices.  Luckily, on Saturday and weather cooperated and, for the first time on Whistler, the World Cup downhill could go ahead.

Going into the race, the two racers to watch were thought to be Steve Podborski of the Crazy Canucks and Austrian Harti Weirather, the 1981 World Cup downhill champion.  The race was, however, won by Swiss skier Peter Mueller, a two-time World Cup downhill champion (the 1982 season ended with a tie for the title between Mueller and Podborski).

At the awards ceremony after the race on Saturday, the cheers for Mueller were reported to be just as loud as those for the Crazy Canucks.  Mueller appeared to enjoy his second trip to Whistler, having first come to the valley one a five-week camping tour of Western Canada in the 1970s.  When speaking of the area’s hospitality, he told reporters that, “The people here are so friendly.  They come up to me and say, ‘Hi Pete,’ even if they don’t know me.  I would really like to come back here.”

Whistler’s 1982 World Cup was not an unqualified success to everyone.  According to Doug Sack in Whistler Magazine some teams “loathed the new course.”  It ended too slowly, passing over the flats of Lower Olympic, and one Austrian was even heard to say “I should have brought my cross-country skis with me.”

Whistler Mountain hosted more World Cup downhills after 1982, using the Dave Murray Downhill course.  If you’re interested in learning more about Whistler’s World Cups and what it takes to organize and pull off such an event, join us at the Whistler Museum for our next Speaker Series on Thursday, March 29 with guests Rob Boyd and Alex Kleinman.

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