It’s a typical sunny summer afternoon in Whistler —
people are wandering out of the Visitor Information Centre, fresh off the tour
buses, their arms laden with brightly coloured brochures offering
thrill-seeking adventures to be found around town.
But if you want a real taste of Whistler, what you seek is just
beyond of the doors of the info centre.
An innocuous sign posted outside signals the starting point of
the Whistler Museum’s daily walking tour of Whistler, an hour-long adventure
into the heart of the origins of this now-famous little ski resort.
Carol Guinn, one of the guides, is also a village host
volunteer. She was one of the first people to ski Whistler back in 1966, and
while she wasn’t a permanent resident until about four years ago, she’s been
around for long enough to see the town morph from a small, hidden gem filled
with hippies and squatters to the refined international ski destination that it
is today.
This is the third year that the Whistler Museum has offered the
daily walking tour of Whistler, which departs from the Visitor Information
Centre at 1 p.m. At a mere $10 per person, it’s a great way for anyone to learn
more about where Whistler came from, and hear about some of the bumps and
bruises it’s been through along the way.
It doesn’t matter how long you’ve lived here, there always
seems to be some odd fact about Whistler that have escaped you. Like the fact
that Blackcomb is made of granite, while Whistler is actually volcanic rock, or
that the land beneath the village used to be the town dump. With a laugh, Guinn
recalls a time when dumping your trash in the evening was something of a social
event, an opportunity to see who had made it up to ski on the weekend.
Accompanied by a family of five, Guinn starts the tour in
Village Square, and begins her tale of Whistler with a story of the first
people — the First Nations people of Squamish and Pemberton, who would
gather in the area during the summer.
It wasn’t until a trapper by the name of John Millar told an
ambitious and adventurous couple about the area’s plentiful fishing that
Whistler — formerly known as Alta Lake — was “discovered”. That
couple was Alex and Myrtle Philip. The Philips came to the area in 1914 to
build a fishing lodge, purchasing a 10-acre parcel of land on Alta Lake for
$700, where the original Rainbow Lodge was built. After a few years, their
fishing lodge business grew to include 45 cabins that they rented out for $2
per night. Wow, even with inflation, Tourism Whistler can’t come close to that!
Guinn tells the story of the founding of Whistler with the help
of notes and a handy binder of visual aids, complete with photos of the area,
the Philips and their lodges. She also shares personal insights and quirky
facts about the founding of the town. For example, did you know that the
Philips actually adopted an orphaned bear cub? Go on the tour if you want to
find out what happened to the cub once it grew up.
The tour moves throughout the village, and you’re
simultaneously taken through time, transported to the 1960s, when Dave Mathews
first envisioned the area as a future Olympic site, and Franz Wilhelmsen
decided that London Mountain, as Whistler was formerly known, would be the best
location for the event. A gondola, chairlift, and two T-bars were installed,
and Whistler ski resort was born in 1966.
The Garibaldi Olympic Development Association (GODA) made four
bids for the Winter Olympics, but it would take almost 40 years before the
community would succeed in achieving its Olympic dream. Particularly now, with
the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games right around the corner, it’s interesting
to hear that, while some people aren’t all for the event, Whistler’s founding
fathers have been gunning for the Games for over 40 years.
One of the lucky few who had the opportunity to ski Whistler
Mountain when the ski runs first opened in February 1966, Guinn recalls the
bitterly cold ride up the mountain, which was immediately followed by a session
of thawing out around the fireplace in the Roundhouse. With a proud smile, she
boasts that she taught her children how to ski on these hills, and is now
giving her grandkids lessons.
The photos of the lift lineups from back in the early ’70s will
make you think twice about complaining about that 10-minute wait you “endured”
at the Red Chair on a busy Saturday afternoon in January.
In 1980, Blackcomb Mountain was opened, but it wasn’t until
1997 that the companies that operated Whistler and Blackcomb merged their
operations under the Intrawest banner.
The best part of the museum tour is the insight offered up by
the guide. Guinn clearly has roots in the community, and for someone visiting
Whistler, or even someone new to the area, it’s pretty clear that she loves
this town.
The next time you’re looking for something different to do on a sunny afternoon, try taking a trip back in time with the Whistler Museum.