Tag: Whistler history

Whistler Mountain’s 20th BirthdayWhistler Mountain’s 20th Birthday

February 22, 2022 Whistler MuseumWhistler Museum 0 Comments

On February 9, 1985, Whistler Mountain decided to celebrate its 20th birthday with events and contests held on the mountain and at the Gondola Base (today known as Creekside). The Whistler Question stated that the goal of the celebrations was to “make everyone remember the good old days of ’65,” with food prices in Pika’s from 1965 and an Apres Ski party featuring music and styles from the 1960s. There was just one problem with this plan: in February 1965, no lifts had been built on Whistler Mountain yet. Whistler Mountain officially opened to the public on January 15, 1966, nineteen years before. This did not stop the lift company from throwing itself a 20th birthday party and inviting everyone to join in the festivities.

On the mountain, the lift company organized a scavenger hunt, a special Ski Scamps and Parents race on Ego Bowl, and a Celebrity Masters Classic on the Lower Gondola Run (today part of Dave Murray Downhill). This last competition pitted celebrities of the ski industry against Whistler Mountain skiers, as well as allowing in “selected members of the media who can wear skis – and think at the same time.” For those who wanted to watch a spectacle rather than compete, the ski school performed a synchronized ski demonstration and on the Saturday evening 175 skiers participated in a torchlight parade down the mountain.

Some participants in the adult portion of the Gondola Stuffing Contest. Whistler Question Collection, 1985

At the Gondola Base, the Gondola Stuffing Contest saw 27 kids stuffed into one four-person gondola and at Dusty’s the 1960s themed air band contest was won by Cate Webster’s group The Exciters. Outside, people danced to live music and the lift company cut into a giant 12 m birthday cake.

Just part of the 12 m birthday cake. Whistler Question Collection, 1985

The day before Whistler Mountain’s “birthday,” VIP meals had gathered together executives and staff from both Whistler and Blackcomb Mountains to cut a much smaller cake. Though some invitees couldn’t make it (Seppo Makinen, whose crews cut the first runs on Whistler Mountain, was detained in Vancouver and missed “the first time in 20 years the lift company was going to pay for a meal”), President of Blackcomb Skiing Enterprises Hugh Smythe, himself a former Garibaldi Lifts Ltd. employee, was spotted wearing a Garibaldi’s Whistler Mountain t-shirt for the occasion.

Blackcomb President Hugh Smythe (left) sports a Garibaldi’s Whistler Mountain shirt next to Whistler Mountain Ski Corporation executives Peter Alder (middle) and Lorne Borgal (right). Whistler Question Collection, 1985

Whistler Mountain’s 20th birthday was also a chance for the company and the community to reflect on the past twenty (or nineteen) years and the changes they had seen in such a short time. Three founding members of the lift company were asked how they felt about the milestone for the Question’s “Whistler Answers” column. Makinen said it felt “really good. It’s nice to see,” and Franz Wilhelmsen, the founding president of Garibaldi Lifts Ltd., told the paper “I think it’s fantastic. It has fulfilled everyone’s wildest dreams I think.” Stefan Ples, however, believed that at twenty years the ski operation was still young compared to European resorts and had plenty of potential. Ples told the paper, “It’s hardly started.”

The Exciters perform as the winners of the lift company’s 1960s-themed air band contest. Whistler Question Collection, 1985

According to a member of the lift company’s marketing team, the fact that Whistler Mountain hadn’t been operating for quite twenty years yet was not important. The economy was coming out the other side of a major recession that had hit tourism and the town of Whistler quite hard, and hosting a birthday party seemed like a great way to celebrate. The community seemed to agree, with over 1,500 people joining in some part of the festivities and showing that age really is just a number.

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Family Day Weekend 2022Family Day Weekend 2022

February 20, 2022 Whistler MuseumWhistler Museum 0 Comments

Not only is the museum open to the public, but our Kids Après is available to take home this BC Family Day Weekend!

If you have already picked up your free Kids Après Pack from the Whistler Museum, you have the materials for the following two crafts (not including scissors, glue or colouring materials – please contact us if you do not have these materials). If you haven’t already picked up your Pack, come by the Whistler Museum during our open hours (11am – 5pm) as long as supplies last.

Kids Après Packs also include our Kids Après Activity Book, which includes stories from our exhibits, colouring pages, mazes, trivia and more! If you would rather use your own materials for the crafts, you are still welcome to come by the Whistler Museum and pick up an Activity Book for free.

Craft One: Lakeside Lodge

Supply List:

  • 1 sheet of cardstock
  • popsicle sticks
  • 1 sheet of brown coloured paper (or any other colour you like!)
  • 1 sheet of red/blue coloured paper (or any other colour you like!)
  • glue or tape
  • makers, crayons, pencil crayons, or coloured paper

Craft Two: Snowman Skier/Boarder

Supply List:

  • 1 snowperson template
  • 1 jumbo popsicle stick
  • 2 popsicle sticks
  • 1 small popsicle stick
  • 1 pipecleaner
  • 1 paper plate
  • 1 bit orange coloured paper
  • 1 sheet red/blue coloured paper (or any other colour you like!)
  • glue or tape
  • markers, crayons, or pencil crayons

BC Family Day Kids Après is offered free thanks to the support of the Province of British Columbia.

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Whistler’s Answers: February 17, 1983Whistler’s Answers: February 17, 1983

February 17, 2022 Whistler MuseumWhistler Museum 0 Comments

In the 1980s the Whistler Question began posing a question to three to six people and publishing their responses under “Whistler’s Answers” (not to be confused with the Whistler Answer).  Each week, we’ll be sharing one question and the answers given back in 1983.  Please note, all names/answers/occupations/neighbourhoods represent information given to the Question at the time of publishing and do not necessarily reflect the person today.

Some context for this week’s question: An alternative route between Vancouver and the Garibaldi area through the Capilano Watershed was first proposed back in 1929, prior to the construction of Highway 99. In the early 1980s, a transportation committee with representatives from throughout the Howe Sound corridor, brought the idea back as an alternative to upgrading the existing route. Public opinion was divided over where the alternate route could be located, with some arguing the Capilano Watershed route would not change anything for Whistler, some arguing the proposal would interfere with a major fresh water source for Vancouver, and more arguing that the cost would be too high. At the time, the Duffy Lake Road was not open during the winter, though some proposed creating a circle route that would go from Whistler up through Lillooet and back to Vancouver.

Question: Are you in favour of the alternative route to Whistler going through Capilano Watershed?

Jon Paine – Structural Engineer – Emerald Estates

I think they should open the road that already goes through the watershed for use as an emergency route then improve it for long term access. It is a lot shorter and cheaper to build than the Harrison Mills route. I wonder how they will deal with plowing though if the route is just to be used for emergencies.

Mike Cleven – Musician – Emerald Estates

The loop would be the more useful route as visitors can then go straight north from Seattle and avoid tie-ups in Vancouver. It would also cut off a lot of time in the drive from Calgary. It’s fine if it has to be gravel at first. We might as well ram it through and concentrate on a more holistic plan, one which will open all kinds of recreation opportunities, for the long run. I just don’t like the idea of using our watershed.

Art Reid – Professional Engineer – North Vancouver

Sure, I think it’s okay to use the watershed route. They can control traffic once it’s built and during the building of the road crews could be very careful not to disturb the balance. To me the longer circuit route just doesn’t make sense – it’s not an attractive alternative to the present route. That distance has to be kept under 100 miles.

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Highway to (Powder) HeavenHighway to (Powder) Heaven

February 15, 2022 Whistler MuseumWhistler Museum 0 Comments

The towering mountains and lush valleys that inspire people to fall in love with the Sea to Sky also create challenges for access. When Myrtle and Alex Philip arrived at John Millar’s cabin in 1911, they had taken a steamer to Squamish, and then walked the rest of the way to Millar’s cabin at present-day Function Junction. With the introduction of the railway to Alta Lake in 1914, the region was opened to more tourism and industry.

Prior to 1965, the road to Whistler was notoriously unreliable. Regular creek crossings were required and the single lane gravel road suffered extreme washouts, as seen in this photo of Cheakamus Canyon in the 50s. Janet Love Morrison collection.

It was not until 1956, however, that a road connected Vancouver to Squamish, and there was not a reliable road to Whistler until the 1960s. To ensure the highway was completed in time for the opening of the lifts in 1965, rumour has it that the Garibaldi Lifts Company gave a single ski to the then-Minister of Highways Phil Gaglardi. He kept this ski in his office as an incentive to complete the road, and was presented with the matching ski upon the completion of the highway.

Crossing creek on the road to Alta Lake (now known as Whistler), south of Pinecrest. Before the highway, numerous creek crossings meant access via car was not possible at many times during the year. Janet Love Morrison collection.

Even once the highway went in, it was still a hair-raising journey. While driving the Sea to Sky in certain conditions today requires confident and experienced winter drivers, imagine if the roads were only plowed once a week. This is what visitors and residents had to contend with for the inaugural season of Whistler Mountain. Only ski fanatics would brave the journey, and you had to be a special type of enthusiast to make the trip on Friday evening before the roads were plowed on Saturday morning.

When you met another car along the single-lane plowed gravel road, there was no room to pass. Both cars were required to stop and snow was dug out of the snow banks to let the smaller car squeeze by. Revellers would spend Friday night at the Cheakamus Inn, watching to see whose cars had survived the rough trip. As Paul Burrows remembers, “Eventually most people ended up at the Inn because after driving that road you needed a drink.”

Even the good sections of road were rough and hard on vehicles. This photo was taken prior to the highway near Pinecrest. Janet Love Morrison collection.

In 1966, one year after construction, Highway 99 was paved from Squamish to Mons and kept clear of snow as much as possible. As we know, that did not eliminate all transport problems. The Squamish Citizen reported in 1987, “Poor visibility, the near eradication of lines along the edge of the highway and the dinginess of the centre line coupled with the spottiness of the cat’s eyes (road reflectors) in many places makes it almost impossible to distinguish the centre line or edge of the road.” Does that sound familiar? The article goes on to recommend imbedding the cat’s eyes in the centre of the road, and suggesting that someone invent fluorescent paint for the road lines.

These solutions (including the invention of fluorescent paint), along with the widening of the road for the 2010 Olympics, have no doubt helped with access and we have seen incredible growth in visitors and residents alike, resulting in far more people using the Sea to Sky Highway. However, where you have mountainous geography and weather that brings amazing snowfalls, road and access continue to be topics of great debate. At least it does not take five hours to get to Costco every visit, unless you make the mistake of leaving on Sunday afternoon!

Narrow road through Cheakamus Canyon. Janet Love Morrison collection.
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