*Due to generous private support, this event will now be offered with FREE ADMISSION
Dr. Ian Spooner (Acadia University, Nova Scotia) is an environmental scientist who uses lake sediment records to determine how development, atmospheric pollution and local geology influence lake water quality and chemistry. Over the past seven years he and his students along with staff at Cascade Environmental Resource Group have studied the sediment records in Alta Lake and, more recently, Lost Lake.
Both lakes have provided detailed and complex records of environmental change dating back to the 1700s. Research to date has indicated that both natural processes and anthropogenic influences have had a significant impact; the data provides some guidance for future development in both watersheds.
Thursday, April 11 Ian will be at the museum to show how the lake records were obtained and analyzed and discuss what they can tell us about both the resilience and vulnerability of these lakes to future environmental change. Local context (written records, personal experiences) is critical to effective interpretation of the lake sediment records and he hopes that everyone who has an interest in or a story about our lakes can attend.
Dr. Ian Spooner (Department Head, P. Geo) has been a professor at Acadia in the Earth and Environmental Science Department for 25 years. His primary research interest is using lake sediment records to investigate environmental impact and he has active research programs in Atlantic Canada, Alberta and British Columbia. His secondary research interests include applied geomorphology (fluvial, coastal) and landslide hazard assessment. He also has consulted in the areas of environmental risk assessment, groundwater and surface water contamination, coastal erosion and has been involved in hazard assessments for resource companies in Nova Scotia, British Columbia and the Northwest Territories.
Whistler’s first World Cup was set to be held on Whistler Mountain in 1979 and in the past four decades Whistler has gone on to host many high profile events, including Rob Boyd’s win in 1989. We’ll be hearing about what went into putting on these races, what it was like to experience the multi-day events and how one run became a celebrated moment in our town’s history with guests including Boyd and Alex Kleinman.
Looking back at the construction of the gothic arch huts of the Coast Mountains in the fall has also had us thinking of the current and future use of the backcountry, and what better way to explore this topic than in our very own backyard?
Thursday, February 21 Jayson Faulkner of the Spearhead Huts Project and highly experienced guide Eric Dumerac will be at the Whistler Museum to discuss the progress of the Spearhead Huts, the growing popularity of the backcountry, how this project fits in a more global context and what this could mean for the future.
Doors open at 6:30 pm and the talk will begin at 7 pm. Tickets are available at the Whistler Museum. $10 or $5 for Museum or Club Shred members.
With the beginning of the new year, we have been spending some time looking back at what 2018 brought to the museum (new records, new exhibits and many new donations of artifacts and archival materials!) as well as looking forward to what lies ahead.
Each year January marks the beginning of our annual Speaker Series. We’re very excited to start off our 2019 series Thursday, January 17 with Highways of the Past: Canoeing the Grand Canyon of the Liard River.
In 1972 Mike Stein and five fellow adventurers filmed their journey on the Liard River, which flows 1115 km through parts of the Yukon, British Columbia and the Northwest Territories. Their trip focused on the Grand Canyon, a 30 km stretch of the Liard River containing numerous class IV and higher rapids. For decades the resulting 16mm film was thought lost, but recently Mike Stein not only found a copy but had it digitized.
Heading through the Liard Canyon, 1972. Photo courtesy of Mike Stein.
Thursday, January 17 Mike Stein will be at the Whistler Museum for the first screening of Highways of the Past and to discuss his own experiences before, during and after the trip.
While looking through a copy of Garibaldi’s Whistler News published three years prior to the trip down the Liard River, I found an article written by another participant in the canoe trip, Jim McConkey. McConkey came to Whistler Mountain to take up the position of Ski Director in the spring of 1968 and began writing instructional articles about ski techniques for the publication during his first season. In early 1969, Whistler Mountain received weeks of what he described as “beautiful, deep powder snow.” This led to “Learning Powder Snow Technique,” an article in which McConkey instructs skiers on the proper way to ski powder.
‘Diamond’ Jim McConkey’s official Whistler Mountain portrait. Whistler Mountain Ski Corporation Collection.
The article begins by defining true powder snow as “very light snow that flies out from underneath the skis, sometimes bellowing up over the skier’s head.” Once the skier found the right snow, they also had to ensure they had the right equipment, meaning flexible deep snow skis, with little camber and soft heels.
When the skier was ready to head for the hill, McConkey recommended starting with a long, gently slope to practice the “continuous, flowing motion of linked turns straight down the hill” that is powder skiing. According to the article, there is no room for traversing a run on a powder day as “traversing like a cautious old woman is Taboo.”
Jack Bright and Jim McConkey skiing Whistler Mountain, 1972 (the same year as the trip). Whistler Mountain Ski Corporation Collection.
The article ends with hints that still hold up well today, such as “establish a rhythm”, “keep your head and shoulders facing down the fall line,” and “keep your feet locked together.” Especially useful is McConkey’s last reminder:
Be sure to laugh when you take a giant clobber in the deep snow. You will get your chance to laugh with your friends when they fall. Powder snow and clobbers too are for everyone.
We may not be able to promise weeks of powder skiing this January, but you can join us at the museum Thursday, January 17 for a unique look back at an incredible journey from 1972.
Tickets are on sale at the Whistler Museum; $10 or $5 for museum or Club Shred members. Doors open at 6:30 pm, the talk and film will start at 7 pm. See you there!
