Tag: Whistler Museum

Whistler Museum celebrates busiest year ever (again!)Whistler Museum celebrates busiest year ever (again!)

January 14, 2025 Whistler MuseumWhistler Museum 0 Comments

Continuing with the trend started in 2022, the Whistler Museum celebrated its busiest year ever in 2024. Exhibit visits increased by an impressive 20 per cent, reaching a total of 19,735 visitors, while an additional 9,713 participants attended our events and external programs. Altogether, the museum recorded an incredible 29,448 interactions this year. We’re thrilled to see so many people engaging with our exhibits and programs!

Our 2024 Speaker Series began in February and explored the History of Nordic Skiing with Tom Barratt, Keith Bennett, and Stephanie Sloan. This sold-out event at the Lost Lake PassivHaus delved into the development of early nordic trails, the role of the Resort Municipality of Whistler in their creation, and the formation of the Whistler Nordic Ski Club. In April, historian and ski enthusiast Alex Douglas, better known as Uncle Al, took us on a journey through the connections between Mount Seymour and Whistler Mountain in the 1960s. Then, in June, at the Whistler Public Library, we hosted a discussion on the origins of Tourism Whistler’s origins as the Whistler Resort Association (WRA) with Al Raine and Drew Meredith, moderated by Barrett Fisher. Their detailed recounting of the 1980s – a formative era in Whistler’s history – highlighted the creation of the WRA, its legislation, and the marketing of Whistler as a ski destination.

Drew and Al speak at the Whistler Public Library in June 2024.

Thanks to generous funding from the Whistler Blackcomb Foundation in 2021 and 2024, the museum expanded its digitization capabilities with the acquisition of 16mm film digitization equipment and a new slide scanner. The 16mm film equipment allowed us to digitize our George Benjamin and Jim McConkey film collections in stunning 4K resolution. We hosted two film screenings to showcase these archives. In March, we presented a vignette of George Benjamin’s footage, offering a glimpse into Whistler’s 1970s ski patrol, avalanche safety measures, and the counterculture of the era, including iconic locations like Tokem Corners and Toad Hall. In June, at the Maury Young Arts Centre, we screened highlights from the Jim McConkey collection, including films such as The Snows of Garibaldi (1974). This special event featured a Q&A session with 98-year-old Jim McConkey himself, alongside freeskiing legend and filmmaker Mike Douglas. McConkey shared captivating stories of his time in Whistler, including heliskiing adventures and film projects over the years.

Jim speaks with Mike Douglas and the audience in June 2024.

The museum also continued its beloved summer programs in 2024. The Valley of Dreams Historical Walking Tour, now in its 27th year, and the Discover Nature program at Lost Lake Park, now in its ninth year, remained highlights of our outreach efforts. These outdoor programs allow us to connect with audiences beyond the walls of the museum.

In 2024, the museum unveiled two temporary exhibits. Off the Lip: The Rise of Snowboarding in Whistler opened in January, showcasing the emergence of snowboarding in Whistler during the late ’80s and ’90s. The exhibit highlighted the shops, camps, athletes, coaches, terrain, photographers, and filmmakers that established Whistler as a key destination in the global snowboarding movement. Special thanks to Jeff Patterson and Graham Turner for their invaluable contributions to the development of this exhibit. Then, in June, we launched Pedal to the Medal: The History of Mountain Bike Events in Whistler. This exhibit delved into the early mountain biking events that shaped Whistler’s vibrant mountain biking culture, from the first race in 1982 to the creation of the Crankworx festival, which continues to this day.

Whistler has hosted numerous mountain biking events over the decades, many of which were included in Pedal to the Medal over the summer. Blackcomb Mountain Collection

Throughout 2024, the Whistler Museum staff and board of trustees have been hard at work refining plans for a new facility. In 2025, we’ll be seeking public feedback on its design and the exhibits and subjects the Whistler community would like to see. Stay tuned for more information, including the launch of a formal capital campaign this spring. To stay updated, sign up for our newsletter here.

We would like to express our gratitude to the individuals and organizations that make documenting and preserving Whistler’s history possible. This includes the Resort Municipality of Whistler, the Province of British Columbia, the Government of Canada, the Aqueduct Foundation, the Whistler Blackcomb Foundation, BlueShore Financial, the Whistler Community Foundation, and The Whistler Grocery Store. To everyone who reads our column, attends our events, and visits our exhibits – thank you for your ongoing support. We can’t wait to welcome you back in 2025.

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Whistler’s Answers: January 9, 1986Whistler’s Answers: January 9, 1986

January 9, 2025 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 1986.  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: Following the passing of an omnibus bill in 1969 that allowed federal and provincial governments to run lotteries, BC joined with other western provinces to form the Wester Canada Lottery Foundation in 1974. In 1985, BC established the BC Lottery Corporation, a Crown corporation, which continues to manage commercial gambling in BC, including lotteries.

Question: Do you buy lottery tickets? Why or why not?

Bo Skapski – Businessman – Vancouver

I buy them once in a while. Why do I buy them? That’s easy. I’ve never heard of anyone winning who didn’t buy a lottery ticket.

Brent Kirkpatrick – Electrician – Whistler

I haven’t bought them in the past but I’ve been thinking about it more because I’m now unemployed. I just bought a Lotto 6/49 yesterday. I grew up in Quebec where all these lotteries started in Canada, but I just never thought of it before this.

Janice Trenholm – Fitness Consultant – Ottawa

I’m from Ontario. I rarely buy lottery tickets because the odds of winning aren’t very good. Of course, you always hope to win. I’ve known people who have won small amounts in the past.

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Looking Ahead to 2025Looking Ahead to 2025

January 7, 2025 Whistler MuseumWhistler Museum 0 Comments

As we start 2025, the Whistler Museum is looking ahead at some fairly significant anniversaries for the Whistler area. The 2025/26 winter season is the 60th season of lift operations on Whistler Mountain and the 45th season for Blackcomb Mountain. This February will mark fifteen years since Whistler and Vancouver hosted the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in 2010. Off the mountains, the Resort Municipality of Whistler turns 50 in September, marking five decades of what some have called the “Whistler experiment.”

Though merged into one company these days, opening day for Blackcomb Mountain took place fifteen years after the opening day for Whistler Mountain. Greg Griffith Collection, 1980

The RMOW, Canada’s first resort municipality, was created through the Resort Municipality of Whistler Act, a piece of provincial legislation separate from the British Columbia Municipal Act and one that (with some changes) still governs Whistler today. Previously, the Whistler area had been governed as part of the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District and local interests were supported and championed by organizations such as the Whistler Mountain District Chamber of Commerce (formed in 1966, today the Whistler Chamber of Commerce) and the Alta Lake District Ratepayers Association (ALDRA).

Late in the summer of 1975, property owners and residents of the Whistler area (there were about 500 residents of all ages at the time) had a chance to elect their first municipal council and on September 6, 1975, five representatives were sworn into office at the gondola base of Whistler Mountain: Pat Carleton, Bob Bishop, John Hetherington, Garry Watson, and Al Raine.

Whistler’s first municipal council: Bob Bishop, Al Raine, Geoff Pearce (administrator), Mayor Pat Carleton, John Hetherington, and Garry Watson. Watson Collection.

Pat Carleton, Whistler’s first mayor, came to Alta Lake in 1956 for the fishing and retired to his home on Alpha Lake in 1971. Bob Bishop and his family moved to the Whistler area from Squamish in 1968. Bob, along with his partner Bernie Brown, developed the Whistler Cay neighbourhood, as well as the beginnings of the Whistler Golf Course. John “Bushrat” Hetherington, like many over the years, came to Whistler Mountain to ski and worked for the pro ski patrol while living in the original Toad Hall and later Tokum Corners. Garry Watson was first introduced to the area through the Garibaldi Olympic Development Association and the idea of hosting the Olympic Winter Games here.

Al Raine at work. Whistler Question Collection, 1982

Unlike the other members of the Whistler council, Al Raine was not elected to his position in 1975 but was appointed by the provincial government. A ski coach and consultant who advised on ski area development projects, Al worked for the BC Ministry of Lands as the provincial ski area coordinator where he was responsible for creating and implementing ski area policies and overseeing the development of ski areas. Through this position, he worked with the Ministry of Municipal Affairs to make Whistler a resort municipality and, for his efforts, was appointed to council from 1975 to 1982 (after Al stepped down to focus on his role as executive director of the Whistler Resort Association, his seat on council became an elected position).

Described by Garry Watson as “the energy” and “the innovator,” Al was deeply involved in the creation of the Whistler Village, the development of a ski area on Blackcomb Mountain, and much more. After leaving Whistler, he and his wife Nancy Greene continued to advocate for the importance of skiing, ski area development, and tourism in BC. Al served as Mayor of Sun Peaks from 2010 (when it became a municipality) to 2024, stepping down just before he sadly passed away last month.

Over the next year, we’re sure to hear and share many stories from the early days of the RMOW and we look forward to learning more about the people, organizations, and events that have shaped Whistler over the past five decades.

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Whistler’s Answers: January 3, 1986Whistler’s Answers: January 3, 1986

January 2, 2025 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 1986.  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: The first legislation concerning impaired driving in Canada was introduced in 1969. The 1970s and early 1980s saw many calls for increased enforcement and stricter penalties, led largely by grass-roots organizations similar to Mothers Against Drunk Drivers (MADD) in the US (no group in Canada was officially affiliated with MADD until 1989). Such campaigns focused a lot of public attention on the issue and in December 1985, Bill C-19 amended the Criminal Code of Canada and introduced two new impaired driving charges: impaired driving causing bodily harm and impaired driving causing death. It also raised the minimum fine for driving while impaired from $50 to $300 and authorized longer sentences for convictions.

Question: Do you think new heavier penalties will discourage people from drinking and driving?

Rick Flebbe – Photographer & Stylist – Whistler & Vancouver

I think it will discourage some people, but not others. But every little bit of enforcement helps. People are more aware of the problem now than they were in the past. Tougher laws have made a difference.

Mac Jones – Pilot – Surrey

I think so. In fact, I’m sure they are. We went to a couple of parties over the holidays and people were serving a lot less liquor than they used to. And people were carrying in a lot less. People aren’t serving it so much anymore. It’s helping a lot.

Barry Waefer – Musician – Vancouver

Oh, definitely. Yes, people are drinking and driving less because of the new laws and because of all of the media coverage. I think they should make the laws even tougher.

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