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Last call for an institution

Whistler will soon bid adieu to one of its last counterculture icons

From the outside, its weather-torn, cedar shingle siding is not particularly intriguing, and the building itself is no architectural wonder. But the colourful history and frontier spirit of "the locals’ living room" definitely compensate for what the old pub lacks physically. A holdover from the era before Whistler was incorporated as a resort municipality and began to pursue international skier visits, the Boot Pub has long been synonymous with cheap beer, great live music and the working-man’s cultural fix known as the Boot Ballet.

But the Boot is living on borrowed time. The title of Whistler’s longest running pub, which the Boot assumed when the original Dusty’s was demolished in 2000, will be abdicated in the next few years.

The six-acre parcel north of the village, which includes the Boot Pub, the Shoestring Lodge, Gaitors Bar and Grill, and the cold beer and wine store, was sold in August 2003 to Vancouver-based Cressey Developments. Redevelopment plans for the site are currently being reviewed by the municipality.

When the Boot Pub finally closes its doors, it will usher out more than 35 years of Whistler’s ski bum culture and night club history. The local riffraff’s haven will be gone for good and a physical piece of Whistler’s social and cultural framework will be missing.

The Boot’s beginnings can be traced back to 1966, when David Andrews and his wife Irene purchased a 10-acre land parcel covering the area from Highway 99 to Fitzsimmons Creek adjacent to Nancy Greene Way. They paid $10,000 for the property.

At that time most development was concentrated around what is now called Creekside, Whistler Mountain’s original operation base. The Cheakamus Inn and some condos near Creekside offered some of the first public accommodations in Whistler. The site of Whistler Village was, of course, the community’s garbage dump.

A mile or so further up the road from the dump the Andrews built the Ski Boot Lodge Motel. More affordable than the "pricey" accommodation at Creekside, the Ski Boot welcomed ski bums for $5 per night.

In the early ’70s, "Whistler Mountain’s largest (and only) motel" increased its room rates, so that a double bed started at $12 per night. Today the rate is $125 per night. In 1970 a beer parlour was added to the Ski Boot, making the building the social centre of the north end of the valley.

Leslee Goldsmid remembers cooking breakfasts at the Ski Boot Motel in 1972.

"Back in those times, there weren’t many accommodation options, so everyone stayed at the Ski Boot Motel. The only other place to eat was Rudy’s Steakhouse, located across the street (where Nesters Market is now). There were only five construction workers staying here, and the rooms were basic and cheap," said Goldsmid.

Three things stand out in Goldsmid’s mind from her time at the Ski Boot Motel: cheap beer, the smoky parlour and the smelly shag carpet. Although the carpet is gone and smoking in public places is now prohibited, you only have to spend a few minutes in the Boot before your mind starts to drift back to the permissiveness of the ’70s and your senses start to pick up hints of smoke and the soft, dirty feel of shag underfoot. And, of course, there is still plenty of beer.

Goldsmid remembers the Aussie bartender Duffy who brought his horse into the pub one day. It was common for people to bring their horses down to the pub and tie them to a hitching post. Rumour has it that Duffy’s horse was eventually hit and killed as it ran onto Highway 99.

A decade or so later John Ritchie, the ex-coach of the Crazy Canucks ski team, rode his motorcycle into the Boot and drove out again. Other notable modes of transportation to the Boot have included a snowcat, which was driven along Highway 99 from Creekside after one particularly inspiring snowstorm.

In 1973, the Ski Boot Motel was sold to new owners for $350,000. Details about the sale and any changes made to the building are difficult to come by as they predate the incorporation of the municipality and records are either non-existent or have disappeared. The earliest available building plans are from 1978.

Dr. Michael Kaburda and three of his friends purchased and operated the property from 1976 to 1978, renaming the lodge the White Gold Inn. Kaburda takes credit for introducing exotic dancing to Whistler, and therefore as the originator of the Boot Ballet perhaps deserves a special place in the history of Whistler’s cultural development.

Some people may also remember the famous Purple People Eater Bus that the White Gold Inn ran, shuttling skiers between the inn and Whistler Mountain, including the lift base at Creekside and the Olympic ski-out that terminated in the garbage dump.

In 1978 Kaburda’s group sold the White Gold Inn to Dr. David Brant. Brant’s son Bob managed the re-named Fitzsimmons Lodge from 1978 to 1989, save for about three years between 1980 and 1983 when German owners called the lodge the Bavarian Inn.

"We concerned ourselves with establishing a reputation as a good, clean affordable place to stay," said Bob Brant. "The Boot represents a Whistler where everyone knew one another, worked and played hard... or maybe it was played hard and worked sometimes, depending on the season. It represents an era where people loved their community and did whatever it took to make it better. The Boot’s history offered an air of rebelliousness, an edginess... a certain frontier spirit."

There were no police stationed in Whistler in the 1970s. In fact the RCMP had only one officer patrolling the area from Squamish to Pemberton. People at L’apres in Creekside would see the officer drive into town and call the Boot to let everyone there know. No one left the Boot until the "all clear" was given, then people would make their way home.

Whistler’s population in those days was only about 300-400 people. When there was occasion to party, such as at Halloween, almost the entire town would celebrate at the Boot.

The Brant family sold the lodge to former real estate and sports mogul Nelson Skalbania and his partner Luigi Aquilini. Skalbania’s daugher Terrin managed the Boot for a few years, until Ben Horne purchased the property in 1992.

Horne replaced the smelly, variously stained shag carpet with hardwood floors, rebuilt the bar and added the cold beer and wine store. With Eli Milenkoff managing the operation, Horne ended the strip shows, hoping to transform the lodge into an affordable mini-resort for backpackers and travellers, re-named the Shoestring Lodge. After five years Milenkoff convinced Horne it was economically feasible to reintroduce the dancers.

"I brought the exotic dancers back and christened the show Das Boot Ballet and the name stuck," said Horne.

Joel Shaw remembers going to the Boot Ballet in the late ’80s after a long day’s work: "Every Tuesday night the Boot pub would fill up with the local riffraff to watch the only female strip show in the Whistler valley. One night, a patron sitting in the front row decided to spray the young lady on stage with water through a straw. After a couple of dousings, the young lady slowly moved towards the patron. Once she was within distance, and with a smile on her face, she struck out with one of her legs and planted a four-inch heel between the eyes of this unsuspecting buffoon. The blow sent him flying out of his seat and onto his back, with a large red goose egg on his forehead. The whole bar fell apart with laughter as this guy picked himself up and made a hasty exit. The young lady didn't miss a beat and finished her show to a round of applause and well deserved respect."

When Horne took over he completely renovated the restaurant, previously known as the Border Cantina and operated by outside interests. Under the name of Gaitors Bar and Grill the restaurant opened in January 1996. Gaitors complements the 46-room Shoestring Lodge, which operates as an independent hostel and acts as a first home for many first-time budget travellers.

Guests walking into the Shoestring lobby are greeted by a photo of Mr. Fitzsimmons in an oval, mahogany frame, over the front desk. Urban legend has it that Mr. Fitzsimmons, in his Victorian garb, was the original founder of the Shoestring – a far cry from the truth, but a good story to tell foreign travellers.

Many Whistler residents can attest to having had their first pub experience at the Boot Pub. Long-time Whistler resident, Ian Bunbury remembers sharing a beer with his dad at the Boot Pub as an underage teenager.

"Back in the mid-70s, beer was only 25 cents a pint – a really good deal for a novice drinker. With one dollar, I could get myself four pints of beer."

Stephen Vogler, another long-time Whistler resident and writer, experienced his first "drunk" at the Boot Pub as well.

"It was the May 24 weekend. It was the last weekend of skiing and there were parties galore. My friends and I came in through the Boot’s back door hoping to buy some beer. We convinced a bootlegger to get us a case of 24 Canadian. We sat on the back porch and drank the beer. After a few beers, we wandered off towards the golf course and the rest of the night was a blur from what I remember," said Vogler.

The Boot Pub became known as the premiere live music venue in Whistler, with big act name acts like She Stole My Beer, Carole Pope, Doug and the Slugs and the Tragically Hip. Bob Geldof is rumoured to have played at the Boot in the early ’70s, long before founding the Boomtown Rats or becoming Sir Bob. But then again, maybe it’s just one of those ’70s stories that sounds good but with the free flow of information and other substances in that era can never be proven right or wrong.

In the early ’90s, Vogler and his older brother Peter played at the Boot with their band, The Hounds of Buskerville. They were usually paid in "beer currency" and Vogler says they always drank their money’s worth.

"I remember this one night. We when to see the reggae singer Clinton Fearon. The entire pub was filled with Rastafarians and the wooden tables were pushed together to form a long line. One could swear that a clipping session was taking place, judging by quantity of pot laid on the tables," said Vogler.

Stories like these helped make the Boot Pub "Whistler’s Den of Inequity" and helped create its own microcosm within the rest of Whistler. One was also guaranteed to find the editors of Whistler’s alternative newspaper, The Answer, in the Boot. Charlie Doyle, Tim Smith and Jim Monahan enjoyed many staff meetings at the Boot’s tables.

Boot Pub bartender J-9 has worked there for the past 13 years. She came up one weekend and never left. When asked why people keep coming back to the Boot Pub, J-9 replied: "It’s the spirit – it’s not about money like other places in Whistler. This place brings people together and everyone has a memory of the Boot if they’ve been to Whistler. People always know where to find you – it’s a good meeting point."

Even though it was inevitable the building and its valuable land would be subject to redevelopment, many local patrons are sad that the end is near. Jamey Kramer, an amateur filmmaker created a four-minute short film entitled A Difference , presented at last year’s Filmmaker Showdown at the Telus World Ski and Snowboard Festival. In his film, Kramer stressed that culture should come before greed and that efforts should be made by the RMOW to preserve the Boot Pub for future generations. Grassroots places like the Boot Pub and Shoestring Lodge, Kramer argues, were instrumental in creating the world-famous ski culture that attracts skiers and snowboarders to Whistler every year.

The loss of the Shoestring Lodge will reduce the number of places in Whistler offering backpacker-style accommodation to just one – the hostel on Alta Lake. Kramer wonders where the seasonal workforce will stay when they arrive in Whistler, especially during the two-week hiring fair. Others fear that the destruction of the Boot Pub also signifies the end of exotic dancing, affordable Mexican food, cheap beer and a place to hear great live music.

And still others hope that the lodge can be preserved, by designating it a heritage site. This is unlikely to happen, especially since real estate values outweigh the land’s historical or social significance in Whistler.

But efforts should be made to preserve what history we have, especially in a planned town like Whistler. It is not enough to simply tear down the building and maintain the original name, like Dusty’s or the Roundhouse. It just doesn’t encompass the "soul" of the original site.

"The Whistler of today is a dynamic, exciting place, but it's larger and faster because it’s an international resort," says Brant. "Many good people are still committed to community but… it's very difficult, with so many international and business/investment demands, to keep these values at the forefront. Certainly, the world is an entirely different place now than it was in the ’70s and ’80s. Perhaps The Boot serves as a benchmark and a reminder of this."

No final date has been chosen for the Boot Pub demolition. The redevelopment plans – which currently include 36 market townhomes, a 4,000 square foot put, a cold beer and wine store, 4,000 square feet of commercial space above the pub, and employee housing – are under review. Many hope that Cressey will preserve some key features that helped make the Boot Pub the icon it was.

The weathered cedar-shingle exterior and worn floors of the pub don’t show the true value of an institution like the Boot in a town like Whistler. According to Stephen Vogler, "it offered continuity in a place that was constantly undergoing facelifts." The Boot was and is a part of Whistler history and it will be sadly missed.



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