Tag: Toni Sailer Summer Ski Camp

Planning for Adventures on Alta LakePlanning for Adventures on Alta Lake

May 27, 2025 Whistler MuseumWhistler Museum 0 Comments

When we hear stories about Adventures West at the Whistler Museum, most of them tend to centre on the Keg Restaurant and the memorable hours that people spent there. The restaurant, however, was just one part of a much larger plan for the area that began development in the early 1970s.

Construction began on the Adventures West Village (AWV) development in mid-September 1971, though planning started much earlier. According to a 1972 article in The Vancouver Sun, Richard Street and Alta Lake Ltd., the company that was developing Adventures West, spent years researching the Alta Lake area and potential markets before taking seven months to select the site for the project. They reportedly chose the 52 acre site at the north end of Alta Lake because of its location along the shore of the lake and the banks of the River of Golden Dreams. Finally, they drew up plans and started the first phase of the proposed $5 million complex (just under $40 million today when adjusted for inflation).

Concept drawing for the Adventures West Village. Adventures West Collection

The original plans for AWV were grand, including 250 condominium units, a playpark for children, sports fields, tennis courts, a swimming pool, beach, boat harbour, novice ski hill, toboggan chutes, skating ponds, snowmobile course, and the Adventure Inn, which would include a sports shop, equipment rentals, “groceteria,” bar, lounge, and administrative offices. The first phase, which they expected to have completed by December 1971 and operational in January 1972, included the first 30 units, utilities and roads, and the ski hill, beach and playpark. The rest of the units and facilities were planned to be constructed over the following three years.

Its affordability was one of the main selling points featured in articles and advertisements for AWV. The tagline on a promotional booklet proclaimed it as “the possible dream” and claimed that “Adventures West condominiums are the complete family vacation home package… offering carefree vacation living at low cost.” Along with low purchase prices beginning at around $12,000 (about $96,000 today), AWV offered a rental program that owners could choose to take part in to recoup some of the cost. AWV would handle all of the administration, supplies, marketing and cleaning and units would be rented out while not in use by the owners; revenue would be split between the company and the owner.

The site plan for Adventures West Village covered a lot more property than was developed. Adventures West Collection

The first units of Phase I were completed on schedule and available for owners and visitors in early 1972. To encourage mid-week visitors, AWV, like quite a few of the lodges in the ski area, offered a ski-week package. For $75, the ski-week included five nights accommodation at AWV, lift tickets for Whistler Mountain, two meals each day, transportation to and from the ski hill, and apres ski activities such as a wine-cheese-pizza party, singalongs, and moonlight snowmobiling, all kicked off on Sunday night with a “get-acquainted party” open to guests and Alta Lake residents. Jim McConkey, who ran the ski school at the time, would even make an appearance at these parties with some of his ski instructors. They would show ski films and answer any questions guests might have. A $65 ski-week was almost the same, except that the ski days were divided between Whistler Mountain and the small novice ski hill beside AWV.

Adventures West’s location on Alta Lake also made it a popular summer option and in 1972 it also began serving as the accommodation for the Toni Sailer Summer Ski Camps, which had previously been housed at the Highland Lodge, Cheakamus Inn and Christiana Inn. Though the development was not complete, they had built a beach area from which campers and other guests could go swimming, windsurfing, and more. As a resort, AWV offered various summer excursions, including trail rides up Rainbow Mountain, lift rides up Whistler Mountain and lunch at the Roundhouse, and boating down the Green River.

Over the next few summers, AWV announced plans to build more units and some of the other promised features, such as the boat harbour and swimming pool, as part of Phase II. The Adventure Inn building opened in the summer of 1974, including Whistler’s first Keg ‘N Cleaver restaurant. While some more units were built, the entirety of the AWV development was never realised.

One section of the Keg Restaurant building is moved from Adventures West up Lorimer Road to its current home on Blackcomb Way. Whistler Question Collection, 1981

The creation of the Resort Municipality of Whistler in 1975 and the subsequent planning of the Whistler Village focused development at the base of Whistler and Blackcomb Mountains and over time the rest of AWV’s 52 acres were sold off. In May 1981, the Keg building was broken into three parts and moved to its current location on Blackcomb Way, where it still serves today as Municipal Hall.

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Skiing by the Book with Toni SailerSkiing by the Book with Toni Sailer

March 19, 2024 Whistler MuseumWhistler Museum 0 Comments

Book learning may not be the first method that comes to mind when teaching someone to ski, but looking through the museum’s reference shelf you’ll find multiple examples of publications aiming to improve skiers’ technique and ability, often attached to at least one notable name. One such book is Ski with Toni Sailer in Flip Vision Photographs from 1964, though the copy at the museum is a reprint from 1967.

The front cover of Ski with Toni Sailer in Flip Vision Photographs.

Toni Sailer, born in Austria in 1935, became the first ski racer to sweep all three disciplines at the Olympic Winter Games in 1956 when we won the downhill, slalom, and giant slalom in Cortina d’Ampezzo (Italy) at the age of 19. Sailer acted (and skied) in films, recorded albums, developed business interests in ski equipment and clothing, worked for the Austrian Skiing Association, was named “Austrian Sportspersonality of the Year” from 1956 to 1958 and “Austrian Sportspersonality of the Century.” He also won four gold medals in world competitions before retiring from ski racing in 1959 and was awarded the Olympic Order in 1985. Around Whistler, however, he might be best known for his work with the summer ski camps on Whistler Mountain beginning in 1967.

Whistler Mountain hosted its first summer ski camp in 1966, the summer after the mountain had opened to skiers. The camp offered coaching to intermediate and advanced skiers, as well as junior racers. From 1967, the Racing Camp was run under the personal direction of Toni Sailer, described by Garibaldi’s Whistler News as “one of the greatest Alpine racers of all time.” Skiers from 9 to 20 came to Whistler Mountain to train with Sailer and the camp became known as the Toni Sailer Summer Ski Camp (the camp’s wooden sign is currently on display at the Whistler Museum). Over the years, other notable names came to coach on Whistler Mountain as well, including Nancy Greene, Wayne Wong, and Crazy Canuck Dave Murray, who took over direction of the camp in 1984.

Toni Sailer and Nancy Green on the 1979 Molson World Cup Downhill course on Whistler Mountain. Whistler Question Collection, 1979

While not as hands-on as coaching at the summer ski camps, Ski with Toni Sailer is an interesting (and often entertaining) look at Sailer’s approach to skiing. Costing only $1 in 1967 (adjusted for today, that would be just under $9), the book is meant to supplement rather than replace formal instruction and readers are encouraged also to visit a “reputable certified ski school.”

Ski with Toni Sailer opens with the statement “Skiing is the superlative of all sports” and goes on to say the “Skiing is more than just a sport. It is a way of life, an addiction that becomes a part of you.” After making it clear that there is no minimum or maximum age required to ski (Sailer describes his father introducing him to the sport at the age of two), the book moves to practical matters such as picking the right equipment and clothing. Though much of this advice has changed over the past sixty years as skis have gotten shorter and clothing designs have evolved, some advice, such as how to grip your ski pole, appears to be timeless.

Flipping through the book shows Toni Sailer move through four different techniques at once.

After stretching and strengthening exercises, the skier is led onto the hill and instructed on how to walk and turn on their skis. This is followed by chapters dedicated to specific techniques such as snow-plow turns, sideslipping, and slalom. Perhaps the best part of the book are the Flip Vision photographs that accompany these chapters. Skiers can watch Toni Sailer demonstrate twelve different techniques “as you would view a motion picture” simply by flipping the pages before trying them out themselves.

While this is not the only flip book produced to teach skiing, today the ease of making, viewing, and sharing videos means that books are an uncommon method of teaching the sport. If, however, you’re interested in perfecting your technique be seeing how Toni Sailer did it, come by and check out the museum’s reference section.

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A Ski Coach’s R&RA Ski Coach’s R&R

June 20, 2023 Whistler MuseumWhistler Museum 0 Comments

Before Whistler became a year-round destination resort there were few visitors and events throughout the summer. Residents made their own fun with regattas on Alta Lake, softball, fishing and hiking all popular pastimes. Along with mountain biking, today golf is a very popular activity in the summer with the local golf courses often booking up well in advance. However, before Whistler’s first 18-hole golf course officially opened in 1983, the Squamish Valley Golf Course was the closest place to tee off. Still, summer residents would make their way along the narrow and windy highway to have a hit.

Although skiing is not thought of as a summer sport, summer ski camps in Whistler have kept athletes on the snow year-round since the resort opened. The first summer ski camp was run by Roy and Jane Ferris and Alan White in 1966 with Art Furrer as a guest coach. Alan and Roy owned Highland Lodge and the summer camps were initially conceived as a way to bring visitors to Whistler during the quiet summer season.

The summer ski camps became known as the Toni Sailer Summer Ski Camps in 1967, after Toni Sailer was recruited during a ski demonstration at the Seattle Center. Toni Sailer was an Austrian skiing superstar who had won gold in all three alpine events at the 1956 Winter Olympics in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. Toni would coach the Austrian ski team during the winter months then disappear to Whistler where he enjoyed living in relative anonymity, rarely being swamped for autographs like when he was back home in Austria.

Toni Sailer (right) and Tim Ferris on the t-bar in July 1978 during the Toni Sailer Summer Ski Camp on Whistler Mountain. Alex Douglas Collection.

A legend in his own right, Jim McConkey moved to Whistler the year after Toni Sailer to take over the Whistler ski school and ski shop. He became good friends with Toni, who said that he took the job in Whistler specifically so he could play golf in Squamish. Before Whistler had its own golf course Toni would coach each day until noon, then go to Squamish Valley Golf Course which also opened in 1967.

Jim McConkey still comes to the Sea to Sky to golf today; however, before there was the pick of local golf courses he was a member of the Capilano Golf Course. Toni Sailer was a big name in sport, and the Capilano Golf Course said everything would be on the house if Toni visited. Jim and Toni started golfing together at Capilano on the days between summer ski camps. One particularly memorable visit was a trip that they took with Earl Noble. Earl owned a big lumber mill in North Vancouver and had a helicopter. They golfed together at Capilano in the morning, then they flew to the Victoria Golf Club for another round in the afternoon. According to Jim, “Toni never forgot that, he just thought that it couldn’t get any better. 36 holes!”

Don McQuaid teaching tricks during the Toni Sailer Summer Ski Camps in 1977. Alex Douglas Collection.

The Toni Sailer Summer Ski Camps were ahead of their time and quickly began to offer four types of instruction – Advanced Racing, Intermediate and Novice Racing, Recreational and Freestyle. Along with Toni Sailer and Jim McConkey, personalised instruction was offered by internationally renowned skiers, including Nancy Greene Raine and Wayne Wong.

In 1984, ski racer, Crazy Canuck and former camper, Dave Murray took over the summer camps and they became known as the Atomic Dave Murray Whistler Summer Ski Camps. Campers continued to be coached by internationally renowned athletes, having a blast and creating lifelong memories. This continues today with Momentum Ski Camps on Blackcomb Glacier, run by Olympic skiers John and Julia Smart and their talented coaches.

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Summer Skiing On (and Off) the MountainSummer Skiing On (and Off) the Mountain

August 10, 2021 Whistler MuseumWhistler Museum 0 Comments

In the late 1970s, there were two very different ways to ski in Whistler during the summertime: on the snow of the Whistler Glacier with the Toni Sailer Summer Ski Camps (TSSSC) and into the water off of the Lost Lake ski jump. Both got their start as a way for skiers to train through the summer months, though they also attracted recreational skiers looking to learn something new.

The first TSSSC was held in 1967, headed by Austrian alpine ski racer Toni Sailer. At the time, Whistler’s Glacier Bowl was one of the only year-round snowfields in Canada that was easily accessible by lifts, meaning camp participants didn’t have to rely on helicopters or hiking at the beginning and end of each day with their ski gear on their backs.

Toni Sailer, six-time Olympic gold medalist, comes to Whistler from Austria every year to run the ski camp. Whistler Question Collection.

The programming was largely driven by the need for competitive alpine racers to stay in shape and improve their techniques between competition seasons, but the camps were popular with both competitive and recreational skiers. Over the years they expanded to include camps for kids and instruction in novice and intermediate racing, recreational skiing, and, in 1973, freestyle skiing under the tutelage of Wayne Wong, George Askevold, and Floyd Wilkie.

Three well-known hot dog skiers show off their style in 1973 at the Toni Sailer Summer Ski Camp. Left to right: George Oskwold, Wayne Wong and Floyd Wilkie. Murphy Collection.

By 1977, however, freestyle skiers in Whistler had grown frustrated at the lack of summer aerial opportunities offered by the Whistler Mountain camps and began planning for their ski jump in the valley. This ski jump was given no development permit nor any official permission from the newly created Resort Municipality of Whistler or the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District and therefore an inconspicuous, out-of-the-way site was required. The group selected a spot on the shores of Lost Lake.

The ski jump also had no funding. The timber was scrounged from a number of sources and the plastic grass ski out from the Olive Chair was taken from the dump and given a new life as the ski jump’s surface. Construction progressed quickly once the materials were gathered, taking over a couple of weeks.

The ski jump emerges from the forest onto Lost Lake. Whistler Question Collection.

When finished, the ramp projected out 6 m over the lake and willing skiers could launch themselves into the air up to 12 m above the water. According to Dave Lalik, one of the original workers on the ramp, “Injuries were commonplace but [an] acceptable risk in the sport and environment of the day.”

Spectators were common, often watching from the water. In 1981, the ski jump began hosting competitions and the first Summer Air Camp at Lost Lake was held in 1982, drawing freestyle skiing to Whistler to train with the national team coach Peter Judge. Far from remaining an inconspicuous site, the Lost Lake Ski Jump could be seen in television broadcasts ad film crews arrived to record events.

A skier flies over Lost Lake. Photo courtesy of Dave Lalik.

Neither Whistler Mountain nor Lost Lake offer opportunities for summer skiing today. Summer ski camps ended on Whistler Mountain in the late 1990s due to the receding glacier and low summer snow levels and, as Lost Lake became less and less lost and more developed, the ski jump was taken down and the site was incorporated as part of Lost Lake Park.

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