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 1984. 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: Whistler Village was still growing through the 1980s and while more businesses were opening, not many catered to those under the age of 19. Bars, nightclubs, and many events were limited to those of legal drinking age.
Question: Do you think there is enough for people your age to do in Whistler, especially at night?
Richard Day – Student (age 13) – Toronto
We usually go out and have dinner, then wander around. A lot of the hotels have arcades and swimming pools. There are a lot of young people here, so a dance or a theatre would be good ideas.
Rob Tupper – Student (age 12) – North Vancouver
In World Cup we tried to sneak into the festival tent, but couldn’t. We just walked around and loitered. Nothing much else to do for a kid our age. We could get into a dance, and you know, a place where you feel comfortable with a ski video and a bar of some sort, not serving drinks, would be good.
Tia Tutti – Student (age 14) – North Vancouver
Not really. The only thing you can do is watch television and veg out. In the village you can go into the cookie shops at night. It’s not vey fun. They should put up something for kids. I’m sure my parents would like it.
Today Whistler Blackcomb has a fleet of 30 snow cats grooming the resort each night. This is a far cry from the limited grooming that occurred when Whistler Mountain opened in 1966.
Those lucky enough to have skied on Whistler Mountain in the 1960s may remember moguls the size of Volkswagens and ski runs covered in felled trees. Whistler Mountain had a single Thiokol and a bulldozer to maintain the ski runs in the early years. The Thiokol was essentially a van on tracks, which was useful for knocking the air out of powder and breaking up ice crusts, but it could not do anything about icy moguls. These machines could turn ice crust into sugary snow at the rate of half a run per night, so it took two days to groom one run.
Watching cornice blasting from the Thiokol groomer in 1968. At this time the Thiokol was one half of the grooming fleet on Whistler Mountain. Photo courtesy of Cliff Jennings.
Cliff Jennings spent two winters working as a groomer on Whistler Mountain when there were only the two machines. He remembers track packing the steep section of the downhill course known as the Weasel. (Track packing involves grooming the run by packing the snow down using only the bulldozer tracks.) “You would go over the edge and the snow was coming over the cab. You put your feet almost on the dash and put it into fourth gear so that the tracks were traveling as fast as you were otherwise you could lose the track. When the snow stopped coming over the top you knew you were on the road below midstation and you’d go back up around again.” Skiers’ side-slipping would then smooth the finish for race days.
Fixing a broken track on the John Deere bulldozer in 1967. Photo courtesy of Cliff Jennings.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the method of flying blindly down the hill in a bulldozer did not continue as the permanent method for grooming the Weasel, and volunteer Weasel Workers began grooming the slope entirely by ski.
The fleet of groomers grew over time and in 1975 the Fall edition of Garibaldi’s Whistler News included an article on the grooming on Whistler Mountain. ‘At Whistler we use over-snow vehicles called Thiokols, towing various pieces of machinery to literally farm the snow, just as a farmer cultivates his field. At Whistler we have four Thiokol 2100’s. The equipment they tow consists of four rollers, two mogul cutters, a powder maker (with another also on order for this winter) and a harrow.’
The article goes on to say, ‘The eight Thiokol operators work in two shifts to provide maximum coverage of the runs. The day shift starts up the Gondola run at 5:00 a.m. in the morning and begins grooming at midstation. Here they evaluate the snow conditions and decide what equipment to tow. Mogul cutters and powder makers and the harrow, if the snow is hard and heavily moguled, or if it is a typical deep powder day, rollers to make that fine packed powder skiing we all enjoy so much.’
A Thiokol grooming Whistler Mountain in 1974. Benjamin Collection.
Even with the improved technology most of the runs remained ungroomed and the machine tracks themselves would leave chunks of snow and ice along the runs. The corduroy that we know and love today would not come along until later.
Above: A groomer on Whistler Blackcomb in 2022. The machines grooming the mountain have changed slightly since 1966. Photo by Christie Fitzpatrick, courtesy of Vail Resorts.
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 1984. 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: In March 1984, Whistler hosted its second officially successful World Cup Downhill race on Whistler Mountain. From March 7 – 11, Whistler also hosted Winterfest, a celebration including competitions, dances, parties, and even a five-course dinner.
Question: What do you think was the most special thing about Winterfest and World Cup Week?
Larry Legal – Waiter – Brio
The opening ceremonies were great. It just opened up a feeling that Whistler didn’t have for a while. The town was all together, there was a good glow in the air. usually everybody is so busy with their own job they’re not a community. I’d say Saturday night was the peak, the night before the race and everybody praying for it not to rain.
Wendy Balmer – Liquor Store Employee – Alta Vista
The best thing about Sunday was sitting down by Tokum and watching all the people jumping down the cliff, about six feet. It was the only way to get down the course because you couldn’t cross over. Some of the ladies didn’t know what to do; it was a comedy act. Some guys were going for it and jumping down six feet. That was the most entertaining spot on the whole course. The rest of the time I was working.
Brock Innes – Carpenter – Richmond
Watching the first racer down the course, Ken Read. I’d never seen them go like that before. Just being here live was great. We have a place here, but this time came here for the race. I was at Coaches Corner, and got there early for good seats.
Plastic bricks and a building competition probably aren’t the first things you would associate with a museum; however, for many who grow up in the Whistler area they are one of the first introductions a child has to the Whistler Museum. The museum held its first “Build a Building” competition using LEGO bricks in September 1966 and the annual event continues to bring crowds of children to the museum each summer.
In the September 12, 1996 edition of the Whistler Question, the museum called on “Lego fans, budding engineers and aspiring architects” to enter their creations in a bid to win prizes donated by LEGO and local businesses such as Great Games and Toys. There were two ways to enter; participants could build at home with their own bricks or build at the Whistler Museum on the day of the competition with bricks provided by the toy store. The two categories were judged and awarded prizes separately. Costing $2 to enter, the event was both a fundraiser for the museum building fund and a fun way to bring more children to the museum.
Building takes place at the Whistler Museum in 1997. Whistler Museum and Archives Collection.
According to the report of museum board director Paul Fournier, 66 children participated in this first competition and created “some really elaborate entries.” With any kind of building allowed, kids built hospitals, museums, libraries, lakefront homes, and even some helipads (the helipad at the Whistler Heath Centre was upgraded in late summer of 1996). Entries were judged by Citizens of the Year Kris Shoup (1995), Stan and Shirley Langtry (1994), Sonya McCarthy (1991) and Linda Marshall (1996). Winners included Liam Fisher, Robyn and Jamie Pratt, Emily Macalister and Julia Murray, Jesse Clemiss, and Evan Macalister.
The following year’s event saw more than 200 participants. The competition took place both inside the museum and in the parking area outside (event today, trying to fit 200 people inside the museum building is not recommended) and organizers immediately began asking the community about alternative venues for the next year’s event. Again, there were two categories and winners took home prize packages of LEGO from Great Games and Toys.
Images from the 1997 competition. Whistler Museum and Archives Collection
Since the 1990s, the building competition has evolved and moved locations, taking place at the Spruce Grove Field House, Florence Petersen Park and even online in 2020. The annual event continues to introduce children to the museum each summer (this year will mark the 28th competition) and has itself become a part of Whistler’s history.
Building competitions, however, are not just for children. This month the Whistler Museum and LUNA (Late and Unique Nighttime Alternatives) will be hosting The Big Kids Building Competition for adults on Wednesday, March 22. Entry is $5, or $2 for museum or LUNA members, and there are limited spaces available. Unlike the museum’s early building competitions, there will be no build-at-home category and all participants will build at the Whistler Museum on March 22 with bricks provided by the museum. Like the early competitions, entries will be judged and winners will go home with great prizes from local businesses including Armchair Books, Escape! Whistler, the Fairmont Chateau Whistler and the Scandinave Spa.
Learn more about this year’s Big Kids Building Competition here.
The Whistler Museum operates within the shared unceded territory of the Líl̓wat Nation and the Sk̲wx̲wú7mesh Nation. We respectfully honour their cultural practices and traditions.
WHISTORICAL 