Selling Snowboards

Posted on March 7, 2023 | Leave a comment

The natural terrain features, beginning of boardercross, and the early adoption of a terrain park all helped cement Whistler’s important place in snowboard history. The early snowboard shops in Whistler were also important for supporting local snowboarders and the growing sport.

The first snowboard shop to open in Whistler, known simply as the Snoboard Shop, was opened by Ken Achenbach. Ken got into snowboarding in 1980 after he quit ski racing and was looking for something else to do during the long winters. He bought a snowboard from snowboard pioneer, Tom Sims, and was immediately hooked. Ken was so confident that snowboarding would be the next big thing that he borrowed his Mom’s credit card and bought six more snowboards intending to sell them to local stores. Ahead of his time, none of the stores wanted them and he started selling the snowboards out of his Calgary garage to pay his Mom back. This grew into the Snoboard Shop in Calgary, one of the first snowboard shops in Canada.

Soon Ken was in the centre of the snowboarding world, competing in the first Snowboard World Championship and appearing throughout snowboard media. He came to Whistler to film, fell in love with the mountains, and in 1988 he opened the Snoboard Shop in Whistler.

Down an alley and out of the way, the Snoboard Shop was an institution and opened before snowboards were even allowed up Whistler Mountain. Making up a surprisingly large portion of the snowboard market, according to Ken, when TransWorld SNOWboarding Magazine came out, the only snowboarding magazine at the time, the Snoboard Shop made one fifth of the total magazine sales.

Tom Sims, original snowboard legend, signs posters during a Showcase event in 1994. Showcase Snowboards was well-known for big parties and bringing in celebrity riders. Whistler Question Collection.

Likewise, before boots specific to snowboarding were widely available, Sorel’s regular snow boots were popular for snowboarders. Modified with a ski boot liner inside they were the best snowboard boots on the market at the time. In a Whistler Museum Speaker Series last year, Ken said the Snoboard shop had some of the highest sales of Sorels in the country. When the Canadian representative for Sorels visited the Snoboard Shop to learn more about their success, the rep was shocked to see that they were not an outdoor store. Playing an integral part during the early years, the Snoboard Shop in Whistler closed in 1996 for the team to pick up new ventures.

Showcase was the second snowboard shop to open in Whistler and also holds an important place in Whistler hearts and history. Although Showcase today is known for snowboarding, when it opened in 1989, it was known as Showcase Tennis. The Chateau Whistler Resort had just opened with six tennis courts, including two covered courts. Not long after opening, management made the financial decision to pivot to snowboarding which was blowing up, with Blackcomb and Whistler Mountains both recently welcoming snowboarders. Blackcomb opened to snowboarders during the 1987/88 season and Whistler opened the year after.

To properly cater to snowboarders they brought in Graham Turner as manager, who was a snowboard racer and Blackcomb Mountain employee. Graham was also early on the snowboarding scene, making a snowboard in woodwork at school in the early 1980s before it was easy to buy a snowboard in Vancouver. Like so many others, he moved to Whistler to be closer to his favourite hobbies, snowboarding and mountain biking.

Graham Turner ripping down the hill on his directional racing board. Blackcomb Collection.

Showcase had events and marketing perfectly dialled, starting the Showcase Showdown which is touted as Canada’s longest running snowboard competition. Fondly remembered by many, it sometimes seemed like half of Whistler was living on Kraft Dinner from Showcase thanks to the marketing genius where you could get three boxes for 99 cents. Used as a loss leader to bring people into the store, the Kraft Dinner was excellent value even then. You can only imagine the lines out the door if that special came back today! During Graham’s reign Showcase became the biggest Burton dealer in North America while growing the local snowboarding community.

Whistler’s Robin Dow goes for big air to win the male 18 plus category in the Showcase Snowboard’s half-pipe competition on Blackcomb in 1992. Whistler Question Collection.

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Whistler’s Answers: March 1, 1984

Posted on March 2, 2023 | Leave a comment

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 February 1984, Mayors Mark Angus (Whistler) and Shirley Henry (Pemberton) traveled to Ottawa to lobby to make the existing Pemberton airport into a commercial airport, providing a more direct route for travelers to both Pemberton and Whistler, especially as more visitors were expected in the region during Expo ’86. During this visit, the delegation met with officials and BC Senator Jack Austin, but no official decisions were made. At the time, the Pemberton airport was deemed “unflyable” by Visual Flight Rules about half the time but it was thought that a Microwave Landing System and upgraded approach lighting, beacons, and more could turn it into a viable commercial airport in time for Expo ’86.

Question: What do you think of the mayor’s trip to Ottawa to lobby for improved airport landing equipment?

Volker Niederlich – Taxi Driver – Alta Vista

I think it’s good that he went over there. I don’t think the government listens to small towns enough. The question is, do we really need that landing strip? I think we need it because a lot of people are reluctant to travel the Squamish highway. If we had good transportation like that it would improve business a lot.

Jerry Kazman – Labourer – Whiski Jack

I hope they don’t take a negative attitude because it’s such a small place. The federal government has a habit of filing away small matters in file “X”. If going to Ottawa is the only way Angus can deal with the government and if Whistler is behind it then I’m behind it 100 per cent. As for the airport (Angus met with transport officials about the Pemberton airport), working Canada Customs out of Seattle along with direct flights to Pemberton would enormously increase business.

Stephanie Sloan – Ski Instructor – Alta Lake

If it’s an important enough issue and we can afford it, fine. If not, he shouldn’t be going. I think that an airport in Pemberton would be great, and if the trip to Ottawa helped, it was worth it.

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1984: The Molson World Downhill

Posted on February 28, 2023 | Leave a comment

When Whistler held its first World Cup Downhill race in 1982, the course ran from the top of the Black and Orange Chairs, down through the Double Trouble rollers, the Pony Trail Flats, Tokum Corner, the Elevator Shaft and across Crabapple Creek to the finish line in view of the recently completed Whistler Village. This was, however, the only World Downhill to run this course and in 1984 the course returned to the south side of Whistler Mountain.

Spectators walk down to the Whistler Village from the 1982 World Downhill course. Whistler Question Collection, 1982.

The race in 1984 followed the same course as had been planned for the World Downhill in 1979. It began near the top of the Orange Chair, coming down the run now known as Dave Murray Downhill and ending above today’s Creekside area. The course was prepared by hundreds of Weasel Workers, volunteers who bootpacked, slide-slipped and carefully maintained the race surface, as well as working the course during training runs and the race itself.

Spectators watch from the side of the 1984 course prepared by the Weasel Workers. Whistler Question Collection, 1984.

Spectators were encouraged to come and watch at both the race itself on March 11 and at the training races in the preceding days. Winterfest offered a VIP viewing experience for Winterfest patrons, who were flown by helicopter to a prime viewing location on the mountain where they could enjoy a champagne brunch before being flown back down to the valley. For those who didn’t have a spare $1,000 to become a patron, organizers printed a guide to viewing locations along the course. From Double Trouble near the top of the course, spectators could expect to see racers come down the starting pitch and tuck before disappearing beyond Toilet Bowl. Racers could be going pretty fast at the Weasel and spectators watching from the finish could see the racers push themselves to make up any lost time. Highly recommended was Coach’s Corner with a sharp turn and a section requiring good technical skiers.

A helicopter approaches the VIP viewing area and brunch. Whistler Question Collection, 1984.

Whistler was the last stop for the 1984 World Downhill. This meant that by the time the World Cup came to town and Winterfest began many of the racers were well known even to those who didn’t usually follow the circuit. Franz Klammer of Austria and Crazy Canuck Steve Podborski were fan favourites, especially as this was to be Podborski’s final race before retiring at the end of the season. On March 11, however, it was the American skier Bill Johnson who came in first. This was the third World Downhill win for Johnson, who had also taken gold at the 1984 Olympic Winter Games in Sarajevo.

American racer Bill Johnson holds up his trophy at the awards ceremony. Whistler Question Collection, 1984.

According to the Whistler Question, the race was a success “in terms of excitement and technical difficulty,” though the start was postponed twice due to fog. Some of the top skiers of the season didn’t finish the race, including Ermin Resch of Austria who had a serious fall but still came in second in the overall downhill standings. The top Canadian results came from Todd Brooker, who finished fourth, and Podborski in fifth. This race also marked the end of local skier Rob Boyd’s first World Downhill season.

While the course in 1982 drew complaints from some racers, reactions to the 1984 race and surrounding events were mostly positive, although the snow did soften throughout Sunday, making for some tough conditions for those later in the line up and reports of the race admonished spectators who chose to boo Johnson at the finish. Nonetheless, hundreds gathered in Mountain Square to cheer for the racers at the official ceremony. Joey Lavigne, the Canadian Men’s Downhill coach, even told Winterfest organizer Tony Formby that “Whistler had the best run event on the whole 10-race World Cup downhill circuit.”

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Whistler’s Answers: February 23, 1984

Posted on February 23, 2023 | Leave a comment

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 February 1984, there was no bank in Whistler. The Bank of Nova Scotia had operated a trailer in Whistler prior to the 1980s, officially operating under the Pemberton branch. In 1984, the North Shore Community Credit Union (NSCCU; today known as Blueshore Financial) investigated the demand and viability of opening a branch in Whistler, even sending managers to town for a week to discuss the needs of potential members. NSCCU was relatively small (they reportedly had $150 million in assets, compared to the $88 billion of the Royal Bank of Canada) but was the only financial institution to open a branch in Whistler in 1984.

Question: Are your banking transactions made overly complicated because there’s no bank in Whistler?

Martha Beatty – Realtor – Tapley’s Farm

I don’t think it’s more costly, but it’s the time that costs money. It would make life easier to have a bank here, right now it’s “banking by mail.”

John Cerka – Merchant – Whistler

No. It would make things easier if there was a bank, but we’ve had to get used to it. It’s costly and somebody has to pay one way or another. If your banking has to be done, it has to be done. And if a bank is here, the additional costs have to be passed on to the consumer.

Bob Wick – Village Coordinator – Emerald Estates

No, because I do it all by mail – I see tellers about four times a year. The only problem I have is not having cold cash. It is also awkward not having a safety deposit box here.

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