When I think of Whistler Blackcomb staff parties, I think of Mickey Mouse’s Christmas Album and walking around the Conference Centre collecting little trolls from the Christmas crackers. It was shocking to my 6-year-old brain that some of the adults did not want the trolls, and they travelled across the world with me when my family moved to Australia. Mickey’s Christmas album also came with us and it still comes on in December every year, much to my father’s dismay.
While it is hard to believe, some of Whistler Mountain’s other staff parties sound even better. The 1986 year-end staff party will go down in the history books.
At the end of the 1985/86 winter, Canada was coming out of the recession that had gripped the country throughout the early 1980s. Peak Chair had not yet been constructed but was going in over the summer and the competition between Whistler Mountain and Blackcomb Mountain was still in full swing.
After Whistler Mountain closed to the public for the end of the 1985/86 season, the lifts turned on again for a staff celebration. Ullr was happy and it had dumped with snow overnight so the celebrating staff got fresh snow all to themselves.
To get all the staff onto the mountain for the celebration, the gondola from Creekside ran for a few hours in the morning then closed once everyone was up. For the rest of the day, the Whistler T-bar and Red Chair were running unmanned allowing everyone to join the party. With absolutely no liftys, staff could ski down and hop straight onto the lift however they pleased.
Like the majority of Whistler Mountain parties back then it was a fully catered event. Booze and food were plentiful, with management flipping burgers and Pika’s overflowing with unlimited free drinks for all. Looking at photos from the event, the outfits scream 1980s spring skiing – Vaurnets all around, bright colours and spectacular goggle tans. With many people dressed up in costume it is unclear whether there was a theme or the costumes were just out to celebrate the end of the season.
Remembering the festivities, Janet Love Morrison recalled, “there was all this booze and so you’d have a couple of drinks and then you just ski down to Little Red, load yourself up with no liftys. It was pretty crazy.” Despite this, there were no serious incidents during the raucous party.
Whistler Mountain had a reputation for excellent staff parties, so much so that locals who did not work for Whistler Mountain paid for a helicopter to Whistler Peak so they could join the revelry!
Now living on the Sunshine Coast, photographer and longtime employee of Whistler Mountain, Dave Steers, remembered another side of the event. “The skiing was amazing and it was the last time ever that you could lap the Peak and lay down tracks beside your last set.” Before the chairlift went in only a small number of people hiked the Peak so you could always get fresh tracks. Once the ‘weak chair’ to the Peak was built far more people began accessing the terrain.
For more about ski culture in the 1980s, visit Peak Bros: A Whistler Comic Strip 1979 – 1992 at the Whistler Museum until April 23rd, 2023.
WHISTORICAL 
I recall staff parties in the mid 60;s at Cheakamus Inn.
They were held in GM’s – John Reynolds room.
They were raucous. Remember this young Aussie lad returning to Aussie. Well tradition was to dip both soles of feet into red paint…so up we hoisted this lad, dipped his soles plus more of his feet, then turned him upside down and planted both feet on the ceiling…then duty done he was dropped…the party carried on…I believe Nancy Greene and her boyfriend / hubbies (Al Raines) ?? foot prints were also on the ceiling.
lots of fun, the Cheakamus Inn was a fantastic place to work, great staff, management.
Cheers to those days of enjoyment.
Do any subscribers remember the Cheakamus…or Flaming ‘A’.
That was an awesome day indeed. I was a Lift Maintenance helper on T-bar 1, replacing the bullwheel liner the day before the party and it was just dumping all day. The next morning was bluebird with 30 cm of fresh. Patrol heli bombed the peak (which was unusual at the time) and we immediately punched in the boot pack up Little Whistler. Everyone else soon followed and the rest of the morning saw tracks stacked wall to wall across the bowls with the refrain of “NO LOW TRAVERSE!” Shouted repeatedly by spectators from the Roundhouse. By noon the snow had warmed up to the point we pulled the pin and switched to consuming beverages. An awesome day from start to finish.