Tag Archives: Chris Kent

This Week In Photos: October 25

We may have just finished our latest municipal election but, as some of these photos show, new councils used to be elected in November.  This week (like most weeks in the 1970s and ’80s) also includes construction, community events and even a puppy!

1979

A section of the new concrete curbing recently installed by the Highways crews just south of Whistler.

The new Public Safety building starts to take shape as the snow creeps down Whistler Mountain behind.

Grant Couture stands beside the horses he plans to have available for riding and sleigh rides at Rainbow Lodge.

Colin Chedore – the new Marketing Manager for the Whistler Village Land Company.

The Whistler Skiers Chapel is moved to its new location adjacent to the Whistler Mountain Ski Club cabin.

1980

Three of the original Witsend owners! (Left to right) Jacquie Pope, Kelly Fairhurst and Florence Petersen.

Blackcomb’s President and General Manager Hugh Smythe shows Whistler Mayor Pat Carleton the new ski runs from the base of Lift 2 during a recent tour by the mayor of the Blackcomb facilities.

“I have a home, but my brothers & sisters are still looking!” If you are interested call Pauline.

“Keep going thataway!” Parent Helper Candy Rustad directs the participants in the recent cross-country run hosted by the Myrtle Philip School.

Owners Ted Nebbeling and Jan Holmberg get ready for another busy day in the Gourmet Bakery and Fine Food store.

Nancy Raine and Raymond Lanctot stand in front of the Rossignol booth at the Vancouver Ski Show.

1982

Puzzled? The Whistler Information sign and map took a tumble Friday, October 22 during high winds, just missing the info centre. Foundation posts had apparently rotted.

Hats of all kinds turn up these days at Myrtle Philip School. The fashion = keeping away from lice.

Volunteers check children for head lice, which have reached epidemic numbers in Whistler.

Mayor Carleton got exposure to more than a brief interlude of sun Thursday when CTV interviewer Cynthia Ott arrived in Whistler to ask some questions.

On your marks; get set – three candidates (Mark Angus, Sid Young and Ruth Lotzkar) enjoy a laugh after handing in nomination papers October 25 for the November 20 municipal election.

The Candidates – Whistler Chamber of Commerce President Jim Gruetzke introduces Sid Young (a mayorality candidate), Craig MacKenzie, Mark Sadler and David O’Keefe (aldermanic candidates) at an afternoon wine and cheese held October 24 at Delta Mountain Inn.

Onlookers ask Craig Tomlinson about the history and construction of a lute he is holding.

Mark Angus calls ’em as Will Moffatt checks numbers during the Whistler Parent Teacher Committee Bingo Nite at Myrtle Philip School October 22.

New members of the Health Planning Society Board, from left: Kathy Hicks (Treasurer), Tim Woods (Director), Rolley Horsey (Vice President), Criag MacKenzie (President) and Fred Barter (Director).

1983

Valdy rolled into town Sunday, a little tardy for his show at Myrtle Philip Elementary Sunday night but the unavoidable delay was soon forgotten by the 175 adults and children gathered to see the versatile entertainer. Valdy played old songs and new ones with his gigantic light bulb shedding light on the subject.

Parks crew workers installed subdivision signs all along Highway 99 Monday and Tuesday. Originally built by Al Bosse last winter, the municipality had to negotiate with the provincial highways department to receive permission to erect the signs within 50 feet of the highway. Signs are constructed out of fir and have electrical cords installed for possible light fixtures in the future.

Pemberton Mayor Shirley Henry displays a plaque indicating the federal government’s involvement in getting the Pemberton Airport on track. The airport, 36 years in the making, was officially opened last Friday. Mayor Henry says the airport will be able to serve the Whistler area.

1984

Members of the Whistler Rotary Club are raising money for their programs this fall by selling firewood. Working Saturday to fill remaining orders are, left to right: Bill Wallace, Don MacLaurin, Bob Brown, Paul Burrows, Richard Heine, Brian Brown, Sid Young and a visiting Rotarian from New Zealand.

The Baxter Group’s condo development in the gondola area is just the beginning, and planners are now deciding how work in the rest of the area will proceed.

Lorne Borgal, president of Whistler Mountain Ski Corporation, introduced a slide presentation celebrating the 20th year of incorporation for the firm at the Granville Island Hotel Thursday. A reception preceded and followed the catchy slide show attended primarily by members of the ski industry in Vancouver.

Burning debris coming out of a chimney at this Drifter Way house started a fire that caused an estimated $50,000 damage according to Whistler’s fire chief Lindsay Wilson. The blaze was reported at 9 pm Monday and was brought under full control within 45 minutes. At the time, no one was in the house, which belongs to Kelly Fairhurst.

The Canadian National Ski Team added $2,500 towards training more World Cup Winners through funds raised at Whistler Mountain’s Mouton Cadet Spring Festival this year. Dave Murray, director of skiing for Whistler Mountain, presents the cheque to (l-r) national team members Felix Belzyck, Chris Kent and Gary Athans. New men’s coach Glenn Wuertele was also on hand at the Vancouver Ski Show where the cheque was presented. National team members such as Todd Brooker, Dee Dee Haight, Rob Boyd, Mike Carney, Wade Christie, as well as Belzyck and Athans will also be at the October 31 ski team benefit at Dusty’s in Whistler.

Saudan Couloir: The History of North America’s Most Extreme Ski Race

With the Saudan Couloir Ski Race Extreme returning this April we’re taking a look back at the original run of the legendary race.  This new exhibit opens Tuesday, March 20 with special guests Dave Clement (part of creating the first race), Chris Kent (winner of the first four races) and more.  The exhibit will run through the end of April.

#WhistlerMTBWeek wrap-up

Life is finally getting back to normal here at the museum, after the whirlwind that was last week’s “Whistler Mountain Bike Heritage Week.” This was our first time ever running this event, and it amounted to the largest coordinated event series the Whistler Museum had run since the “100 Years of Dreams” festival in 2011, which celebrated the centennial anniversary of Myrtle & Alex Philip’s first visit to Alta Lake.

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The Speaker Series kicked off with an evening discussion of trail-building through the decades, with Eric Wight (and friends) talking about the early days of Whistler Backroads and the first purpose-built trails for lift-accessed mountain biking on Whistler Mountain in the early 1990s, then Jerome David sharing his experiences and insights gained through many years as trail director and then president of WORCA, and concluded with current trail-builder extraordinaire Dan Raymond talking about his process, and giving some sneak peeks into his magnum opus, “Lord of the Squirrels.”

At the “Building a Community” talk, Charlie Doyle and Grant Lamont paid tribute to the many characters who helped mountain biking thrive in the early days, before it became sanctioned, legitimized and recognized as big business, then Chris Kent spoke of one of the great events of these early days, the Garibaldi Gruel.

In “Whistler MTB Gone Global” Paul Howard explained how being based in Whistler helped him create a global MTB coaching standard, Sarah Leishman shared stories from Ethiopia to the Enduro World Series, and Mike Crowe celebrated the Whistler Bike Park as a global phenomenon like no other.

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The Whistler Mountain Bike Park has come a long way since it’s origins in the early 1990s. Greg Griffith Collection.

The Kranked 3 film screening with filmmakers Bjorn Enga and Christian Begin made for wonderful reminiscing about this seminal time in freeride mountain biking. And, of course, Brett Tippie brought the party.

The retro Toonie Ride was a wonderful time and showcased some incredible vintage bikes and gear:

The photography show at the Maury Young Arts Centre (still up until June 14th) showcased the many facets of local riding through the lenses of some of the most talented photographers in the MTB world. The photos can still be purchased through online auction at http://www.32auctions.com/mtbweek

It was a wonderful time reaching out to a massive part of our community, and we’re glad we did. Mountain biking has contributed a lot to Whistler, and vice versa, but the biggest takeaway from the long weekend was the strong sense of community amongst the thousands of dedicated bikers in this town.

Thanks everybody who partnered, sponsored, spoke, attended, or otherwise supported the week! We look forward to repeating this event in 2017.

That includes (but is certainly not limited to):

Sponsors & Partner Organizations:

WORCA, Whistler Arts Council, Forlise Whistler, GoFest Whistler, Resort Municipality of Whistler, Whistler-Blackcomb, Whistler Bike Co., Chromag,  Deep Cove Brewing, Vorsprung Suspension, Whistler Roasting, David’s Tea, Whistler Film Festival Society, Province of British Columbia

 

Panelists/Speakers:

Eric Wight, Jerome David, Dan Raymond, Bjorn Enga, Christian Begin, Brett Tippie, Ryan Leech, Charlie Doyle, Grant Lamont, Chris Kent, Paul Howard, Sarah Leishman, Mike Crowe.

 

Photographers/Artists:

Reuben Krabbe, Robin O’Neill, Brian Finestone, Nic Teichrob, Greg Griffith, Patrick Hui, Sean St. Denis, Mattias Fredriksson, Margus Riga, Vanessa Stark, Eric Poulin, Vince Shuley, Thomas Rasek, Mason Mashon, Ben Lees, Sterling Lorence.

Now that it’s done us museum staff are really excited about all the spare time we suddenly have to go ride our bikes!

The Garibaldi Gruel

One of the motivations behind our just-wrapped-up Whistler Mountain Bike Heritage Week was to connect with the local mountain bike community so that we can better celebrate what has become the leading summer pastime for the majority of Whistlerites.

We had a serious dearth of photographs, artifacts, and oral histories about the history of mountain biking in our community, and we are glad to say that this is now beginning to improve.

Among the few historical biking photographs we did already possess was a collection of mountain bike photos taken by local photography legend Greg Griffith from the late ‘80s and early ‘90s. Most of them were from a promotional shoot that showcased the riding of the day, including several gorgeous alpine shots high up on Blackcomb Mountain.

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This is why Lakeside Bowl on Blackcomb has its name. These trails are now part of the alpine hiking trail network on Blackcomb, but biking is not permitted. Greg Griffith Collection.

Also included were several shots from what looked like an epic competition that we knew very little about — until last Saturday night at our Speaker Series “Whistler MTB: Building a Community.” The evening began with local biking pioneers Grant Lamont and Charlie Doyle sharing stories about the early days, and paying tribute to the numerous individuals who were instrumental in the growth of Whistler into a mountain bike stronghold.

They were followed by Chris Kent, best known for his many feats on skis, but also an avid and long-time mountain biker. Chris also happened to be the organizer of the race in the Griffith photos, the Garibaldi Gruel.

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The last stretch of the opening bike leg, coming into the Roundhouse plateau on Whistler. WMAS, Greg Griffith Collection.

First held in September 1994, the race was ahead of its time and almost like a predecessor to today’s wildly popular Enduro race format, in that it required competitors to complete major climbs and descend massive vertical in serious terrain. On top of that, there was also a leg of alpine trail-running, nowadays tagged with the trendy name of “Sky-running,” sandwiched in the middle.

The course climbed more than 1,100 vertical metres on service roads from the Village up to the Roundhouse Lodge, followed by an 8km run over to Harmony and back. Riders then got back on their bikes, climbed Pika’s Traverse to the Peak, then descended Highway 86 all the way back down to the valley. The course was so gruelling that Chris wasn’t certain that anyone would even bother entering.

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The Last Stretch – Mathew’s Traverse, took riders from The Saddle to Whistler Peak, with the classic view of Black Tusk on their left hopefully distracting them (a little) from their physical suffering. Greg Griffith Collection.

His fears proved unfounded, with 120 entrants the first year — and roughly the same amount of volunteers. Kevin Titus, local marathon runner and multi-sport athlete won in an astonishing time of well under three hours, Mick Peatfield and Paul Fournier rounded out the podium.

The first year they enjoyed gloriously sunny weather, but the second running of the event was a different story. Heavy rain in the valley transitioned to full-on blizzard in the alpine. The weather forced the organizers to alter the route and forgo the climb up to Whistler Peak, and several competitors were forced to bow out early with hypothermia. Kevin Titus repeated as champion.

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The mass start kicked up more than a little dust on a hot September day. Greg Griffith Collection.

Unfortunately the event only lasted those two summers, but for those who participated the Garibaldi Gruel is fondly remembered as a challenging race that helped push the boundaries of what was possible on bikes in Whistler.

Have more MTB photos, memorabilia, or stories to share? We want to hear from you!