Tag: Whistler history

Fishing (with) Questions

Fishing (with) QuestionsFishing (with) Questions

June 30, 2026 Whistler MuseumWhistler Museum 0 Comments

By Bronwyn Preece. Featured Image: Alex and Myrtle Philip at Rainbow Lodge on Alta Lake, 1940s. Philip Collection

Last week, I was standing on a rock on the edge of Garibaldi Lake, staring into the clear turquoise waters. All of a sudden, a school of fish – Rainbow Trout – some big, some small, with purple backs and black specks swam and kept circling by. I was entranced.

Two young anglers also shared the same shore with me, casting their lines into the glacial pool.

My friend asked if I knew if the lake had been stocked. My initial response was ‘unlikely’. I mean, ‘Up here? A 9+ km hike up from the trailhead, with no road and just under 1000 m of elevation gain…how would they? By helicopter?’ There certainly wasn’t anyone hiking fish or fry up this trail… or, not now…  And yet, I had caught myself in my not-knowing… and my curiosity was hooked…

Making my way back to Whistler, I would pass through a valley speckled with bodies of freshwater: from the volcanic potholed divots around Brandywine to the highway-skirting of Alpha, Nita, Alta and Green. Lakes with fish. Lakes with stories. Lakes holding the lures of different fishing histories…

Whistler was first a fishing destination. Rainbow Lodge was the first ‘resort’ to open in the valley in 1915. For $6.00 you could have a weekend ‘Fisherman’s Excursion’ – a package which included travel on the Pacific Great Eastern Railway from Vancouver to Alta Lake and back and accommodation at the Lodge. The lake was said to be teeming with fish. The fish that were likely being caught at the time were Cutthroat Trout. Subsequent lodges and accommodation geared towards fisherman subsequently sprung up around Alta Lake.

Alta Lake was first stocked with fish in 1923. According to the BC Ministry of the Environment’s FIDQ – Fish Inventories Data Queries page: 30, 000 Rainbow at the ‘eyed egg’ stage were released into the lake that year. Rainbow Trout are an invasive species and subsequently altered the ecosystems of our local lakes. Despite this knowledge, the release of Rainbows into our local waters would continue until 2000.

Kokanee Salmon were stocked for the first time in Alta Lake in 1939.

Myrtle Philip of Rainbow Lodge fishing in the 1920s. Philip Collection.

As the decades passed, fishing remained an important sport and pastime. An announcement in the 1959 Alta Lake Community newsletter proclaimed that the Fish Derby prize would be $10 for the largest Rainbow trout caught in Alta Lake “by any legal method.” In 1988, in the ‘Whistler Summer Guide’ (a supplement to the Whistler Question), the paper reported: “When Whistler Mountain was known as London Mountain … the fishing was fantastic. […] Generally the fish were not that big, averaging about 30 cm, but they were plentiful. They’re just as plentiful today.” Now, in 2026, local fishing guides still exist.

Since 2000, Alta Lake has been stocked with Cutthroat (almost annually, with a few years skipped) since then. Consistently, for the past ten years, Alta Lake has been stocked with 350 yearling Cutthroats and operates with a strict fishing quota. Multiple varieties of fish are caught in its waters. The lake has been stocked 52 times between 1923 and 2026.

But, what about Garibaldi Lake? In 1928 – a year following the formal establishment of Garibaldi Provincial Park (a 195, 000 hectare protected area) – 5000 ‘eyed egg’ Rainbows were released into the lake. The subsequent year, 12, 500 eggs were released. The eggs were transported by horseback up to the nearly large lake encompassing an area of almost 10 ㎢ at 1467 metres of elevation. Mountaineering and pack-hauled camping holidays were becoming popular in the area.

Garibaldi Lake… image taken by the author on the trip that inspired this two-part article.

Next week, Part II of this article will dive deeper into Garibaldi’s Lake’s intriguing fish-related history and some statistical records with regards to Whistler’s closer and other lakes…

*Please Note: In the newspaper printed version of this article (and its initial publication on the blog) it was stated incorrectly that Alta Lake now runs on a catch and release system. Apologies for the mistake, it has been amended above and a note of correction will accompany next’s week’s article in the paper.

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How Whistler helped shape mountain bike media

How Whistler helped shape mountain bike mediaHow Whistler helped shape mountain bike media

June 16, 2026 Whistler MuseumWhistler Museum 0 Comments

Featured Image: Kranked 1 to 5 on DVD. Photo Whistler Museum Collection.

Today, mountain bike media and Whistler are almost inseparable. From 1990s freeride films, coverage of Crankworx and viral videos such as I Only Ride Park and Ferda Girls, Whistler has played a central role in how mountain biking is documented, promoted, and experienced.

A key milestone in Whistler’s connection to the mountain bike media landscape came on April 11, 1999, when Kranked II: Trail from the Crypt premiered at the World Ski and Snowboard Festival in Whistler. The Kranked series would become one of the most influential MTB film franchises of its era, helping document the rise of freeride mountain biking and introducing audiences around the world to British Columbia’s trails and riders.

Shot on 16mm film, the early Kranked movies captured a rapidly evolving sport. Their footage showcased everything from Kamloops’ sandy steeps to the wooden ladder bridges and elevated features of North Shore Vancouver, which would go on to influence trail-building around the world. The films helped establish B.C. riders such as Ryan Leech, Wade Simmons, Brett Tippie, and Richie Schley as international stars.

Bjørn Enga riding in Whistler. [mid 1990s]
Image: Rowles Collection

The driving force behind the series was filmmaker Bjørn Enga. Raised in Granthams Landing and North Vancouver, Enga discovered mountain biking in the early 1980s. Seeking adventure, he moved to Whistler in the early 1990s, where he embraced the ski-bum lifestyle and worked as a taxi driver between 1990 and 1992. Although he briefly returned to university, the pull of mountain culture eventually led him back to British Columbia’s mountain towns.

By the mid-1990s, Enga had launched Freak Radical, an interactive journal dedicated to mountain culture. Teaming up with Christian Begin, at age 28 Enga shifted to film production, starting Radical Films. Their first feature-length production, Kranked: Live to Ride, was released in 1998, laying the groundwork for what would become one of mountain biking’s defining film series. This period in the sport’s history is explored in detail in Darcy Turenne’s 2017 documentary The Moment.

Whistler played an important role in the development of the Kranked films. The world premiere of Kranked II was held at the Fairmont Chateau Whistler and drew approximately 1,000 attendees. The event was organized by Shauna Hardy, a former North Vancouver schoolmate of Enga’s, who would later found the Whistler Film Festival in 2001.

Another local connection came through Whistler-based artist and designer Stu MacKay-Smith of Toad Hall Studios. MacKay-Smith, who had previously collaborated with Enga on Freak Radical, created most of the distinctive graphics and animation featured in the early Kranked productions.

How audiences consumed MTB media, at the time, was very different from today. Films were distributed through bike shops, first on VHS and later on DVD. Eager mountain bikers often waited for copies to arrive at their local bike shop.

In 2000, while promoting Kranked III: Ride Against the Machine, Radical Films posted a video trailer online, something virtually unheard of in the action sports industry at the time. While filming in Mexico, Enga received an unexpected message from the company’s internet provider that exclaimed that they could not support the amount of traffic. In short, Kranked III’s trailer was blowing up the internet.

“Apparently they were using more data than the usual high-volume content,” Enga later recalled. “I got this message at a pay phone in a remote place in Copper Canyon, Mexico. Our plan with the internet site did not include that much data… Early days!!!”

The trailer’s popularity suggested there was a strong appetite for online video distribution and viewing. What is taken as a given today was groundbreaking 25 years ago.

Kranked III opening night ticket. Rowles Collection

The influence of the Kranked films extended beyond riders and audiences. The series also served as a training ground for a generation of filmmakers and photographers who would go on to shape MTB media. Among them was Darcy Wittenburg, who worked on Kranked films before co-founding The Collective with Jamie Houssain and later establishing Anthill Films. Anthill Films is a production company that has continued to push the creative and technical boundaries of action sports cinematography (see Brandon Semenuk’s unReal Segment).

Today, action sports photography and filmmaking have become an important part of Whistler’s cultural identity. The groundwork laid by early innovators such as Bjørn Enga helped transform MTB media from a niche pursuit into a global industry, with Whistler often at its centre.

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A look back at the local census 105 years ago

A look back at the local census 105 years agoA look back at the local census 105 years ago

June 9, 2026 Whistler MuseumWhistler Museum 0 Comments

Featured Image: Alta Lake’s original general store and post office, located at Rainbow Lodge, 1920s. Philip Collection

In 1921, fewer than 100 people lived in the place now known as Whistler.

That’s according to the 1921 census, which recorded just 98 people living here.

In 2021, one hundred years later, that number would jump to 13,982 living in Whistler.

This year is a census year in Canada—that federal survey conducted regularly to shed light on the Canadian population.

One-hundred-and-five years ago, the area now known as Whistler had 84 adults residing between McGuire to the south (the since-abandoned logging camp near Brandywine Falls, with its own Pacific Great Eastern Railway stop) and Green River to the north.

In 1921, there were 14 people living in the valley under 21 years old (the then age of majority). The oldest members of the community were three 67-year-olds, the youngest was a one-year old. The bulk of the population was focused around two hubs: Alta Lake being the primary, followed by Green Lake and River area. All mail was received and sent through the Alta Lake Post Office at Rainbow Lodge, established in 1915.

Fifteen different countries were listed, at the time, as peoples’ birthplace, already hinting at the diverse demographic that makes up Whistler’s population today.

Perhaps one of the most fascinating aspects of the census is the list of jobs in 1921. From miner to woodsman, labourer to teamster, cook to carpenter: resource-based livelihoods dominated. The highest reported income, by far, was that of Alex Philip: co-proprietor of Rainbow Lodge along with his wife Myrtle Philip. His annual income was recorded as $3,000. Nothing was recorded for Myrtle.

Three people reported incomes of $2,000: two were engineers for the railway and one a purchasing agent.

Twenty-six of the 98 were female, representing 26.5 per cent of the population. Only three women recorded income. A nurse reported earning $1,000, a cook $600 and a housekeeper $150.

In 2023, Pique Newsmagazine reported: “In 2020, women in Whistler made a median annual wage of $41,200, or about $22.64 hourly, while local men earned a median total income of $47,600, or $26.15 per hour,” Pique Newsmagazine reported in 2023. “About 56 per cent of Whistler’s population of 13,983 took home a total annual income of $50,000 or less in 2021, or $27 per hour with a 35-hour workweek.”

Forty-four of the 84 adults, more than half, reported their marital status as single in 1921. Thirty-three reported themselves as married and seven as widowed.

The detailed information gathered in the 1921 census was released following a standard 92-year privacy waiting period.

Census records have been an important source of information in Canada used for research and policy-making. The first census was conducted in New France (modern day Québec) by Jean Talon in 1666. The Constitution Act of 1867 later established the requirement for a national census every 10 years.

Census data can reveal population trends, occupations, family structures and patterns of settlement. In the context of museum work, when combined with archival and research sources such as newspapers, photographs and oral histories, census data can help build a broader understanding of a community’s past.

However, census records are not without limitations. They capture only a single moment in time and can reflect the biases, omissions, and record-keeping and gathering practices of an era. As a result, they necessarily must be considered alongside other sources.

Present-day Whistler represents a dynamic social and cultural mosaic. On Friday, June 12, the resort will celebrate its diversity through the Whistler Multicultural Festival. The event takes place from 4 to 8 p.m. in Florence Petersen Park by the Whistler Public Library. Museum staffers will be on hand to greet guests with an activity tent. For more information visit festival.wmsociety.ca.

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Just because it was documented, doesn’t mean we have it…

Just because it was documented, doesn’t mean we have it…Just because it was documented, doesn’t mean we have it…

April 27, 2026 Whistler MuseumWhistler Museum 0 Comments

The archives depends on you: dispelling some misconceptions about the process of building the Museum’s collection

 “Archives are the documentary by-product of human activity retained for their long-term value. […] Like people, archives are diverse,” explains the International Council on Archives.

In simple terms, the archives is a euphemism for a ‘collection of story parts.’

In a recent Pique article, I, the Whistler Museum’s Events and Community Manager, was quoted as saying, “an archive is a living, breathing, exciting thing. ‘Archive’ is a verb.”

The action of the archive, however, is only expanded by donations of materials; adding chapters, pages, periods and punctuation to the make-up of a place… and herein, lies one of the major misunderstandings on how the broadening of our museum collection works.* Just because an event happened and it was photographed, or a document was produced relating to the town in some way – does not automatically mean that we have it.

In short, the archive is infused by gifting. We are dependent on donations This can also mean that the archive can be disproportionately reflective of a place’s demographic. This, too, is true for our Whistler archive.

The Museum’s archive can be viewed as an ever-expanding puzzle; whilst we try to configure matching pieces and identify those missing. The process is equally as diverse as the people and collections who breathe life into it: a reciprocal exchange between gifting and receiving.

The local archive is only made broader — more reflective of those who have, and still do, live here – by donations of material: from physical elements (text, photographs, video/film assets) to non-physical ‘oral histories’ that people come in and record. The Museum’s repository is expanded by people contributing to being part of place-making and meaning. Please never underestimate the value of your experience. The Museum does not have an age limit.

Speakers Series are also a valuable way of documenting reflections and past events, recording our stories through the power of conversations — which add to the record — becoming platforms for thought. Again, I was cited in the same March 20th article by Luke Faulks as saying: “…a museum is an exciting place. Your history sheds light on your present, and it’s a springboard for how we inform our future.”

The Museum invites you to become an active participant and co-creator of our storied happenings by attending one of our events, by volunteering to record your tale or by donating relevant items you may have.

This segues into another often misunderstood element of how the Museum is able to process items received. It’s not instantaneous.

 We are a not-for-profit organization that operates with a small staff of three. Currently, we have an additional person added to the team, hired under contract for the sole purpose of inventorying, appraising, processing (arranging and describing) the donation of the Bruce Rowles 70,000+ photographic collection. This entire process has already taken seven months, working full time, and is still ongoing. Ideally, the last step for archivists is to digitize our collections, which is important for preservation of degrading materials and for easy access to these images. The process is time and labour-intensive. A collection of 20,000 images could take one year to digitize, ensuring it meets Canadian archival standards. It is, however, a donation we are exceedingly happy and grateful to receive: a benefit to the entire community. Bruce wanted to ensure his life’s work would be remembered and appreciated. A selection of his photography will be exhibited at the Whistler Museum from April 24th to June 14th.

As further means of perspective, the Whistler Museum’s entire photographic collection currently exceeds 300, 000 items.  With the addition of the Rowles collection, it will be nearing 400, 000. We have approximately 90, 000 of those items digitized. We try to make many of those items available through a variety of means: from special exhibitions, to being posted on our social media networks, online on our archival database to highlighting them through articles and being featured in events.

The local archives is an expansive and immersive space: infused by your continuous contributions into the building of a pastiche-of-place.

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*It would be remiss of us not to acknowledge the past wrongs associated with many colonial museum practices: with a legacy of taking, extracting without permission and stealing from Peoples. The Whistler Museum has participated in the repatriating of some items that were donated, that we did not feel were ours to have. Together, we learn through the past how to co-create collaborative futures…

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