Whistler Museum archives a town with Olympic roots

Did you know that Whistler Mountain was actually born for the 2010 Winter Games? Franz Wilhelmson, the man who opened Whistler for skiing in the 1960s, did so in hopes of hosting the Olympics. It’s just one of many interesting facts in Whistler’s history.

Whistler has a unique story and the Whistler Museum & Archives Society is sharing it with the world through the launch of “Whistler Olympic Journey Exhibit.” Created by the local community, the exhibit allows the journey of Whistler to come to life.

The exhibit utilizes and builds upon the museum’s extensive collection of “mountain life” artifacts, from photographs to antique skis. The exhibit tells tales of local lore and showcases connections between themes including, Natural History, Pioneer Influence, Olympic Visions, Mountain & Resort Development, Environmental Preservation and the Road to Future Sustainability.

The Whistler Olympic Journey Exhibit focuses on much more than just the nuts and bolts of how the 2010 Olympic Games were won and the previous bids With the mountains as the backdrop, the exhibit introduces the public to the people behind the place.

The local champions and legends of Whistler are folks like Myrtle and Alex Philip, who moved to the West Coast in 1911 and dreamed of opening their own fishing lodge. From pioneers to Olympians, the exhibit showcases the people who made Whistler happen.

Along with the Olympic spirit, the Whistler Olympic Journey Exhibit captures the imagination through interpretative elements, audience participation and good old fashioned Canadian humour.

So step into Whistler’s history this winter before, during and after the Games and experience the legends for yourself. For more information, check out whistlermuseum.org.

Alison Hunter

Whistler’s Citizen of the Year

Hunter awarded the title for her volunteer work throughout the community

Every community has a Citizen of the Year, but in Whistler, competition for the title is fierce. Volunteers are everywhere in this small resort community.

Alison Hunter is the current Whistler Citizen of the Year. She was awarded the title for her tireless volunteer work as the Co-Director of the Whistler Children’s Chorus, Whistler Music Festival volunteer coordinator, Giant Used Book Sale volunteer, Music Director of the Whistler Secondary School Musical and volunteer musician at many special occasions.
In other words, Hunter is a busy lady.

Hunter’s presence can also be felt during the 2010 Winter Games. As Co-Director of the Whistler Children’s Chorus, she has been busy with performances throughout the Games.

The chorus performed to a crowd of more than 15,000 at the Whistler torch relay ceremony and will perform at both the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games.
Hunter also volunteers as a Village Host year-round. In this role she is able to meet people visiting from all over the world and answer their questions about Whistler.Hunter said the Village Host role is a good way to be directly involved in the 2010 Winter Games.

“When people come to our home, we want them to feel welcome.” Hunter said.

After 20 years of living and raising her family in Whistler, Hunter is a wealth of local knowledge combined with a laidback and approachable attitude.

Whistler celebrates gold!

The atmosphere in Whistler is electric. You can feel it buzzing from the Village Stroll to the top of the Whistler Sliding Centre. The community is in celebration mode and Whistler knows how to party.

On Saturday night, cheers erupted from the crowd as Jon Montgomery accepted his gold medal after winning men’s skeleton Friday night at the Whistler Sliding Centre. It was the first medal for a Canadian at a Whistler venue.

All over the village hundreds of people watched on giant TVs and cheered Montgomery’s win. Everyone from flag waving three year olds to folks in their 80s joined Whistler’s celebration. It was the type of celebration that captured the interest of the nation and capitalized newscasts throughout Canada. Melissa Thompson, sporting full Canadian regalia, said the celebration was one she will always remember.

“I’ll never forget the day Whistler went off. I feel like I won a gold medal. How do you not love being Canadian?” she said.

As the anthem played in Whistler Medals Plaza, Montgomery sang his heart out along with the rest of the crowd. After his win, and with the skeleton portion of the Olympics over, he partied all night. Got to bed at 5 a.m. Woke up at 10 a.m.

“I’m bright-eyed and bushy-tailed and running on adrenaline,” said Montgomery, before a small gathering of reporters in a day capped by a formal medal ceremony. “I haven’t had an opportunity to do anything but brush my teeth and comb my hair — well, I didn’t actually comb my hair.”

Days after Whistler’s first gold medal, the excitement in the Village is still palpable. After all, Whistler still has a lot to celebrate. The stroll is busy, the sun is shining and the 2010 Winter Games are a success.

Whistler’s bears are part of life in the Coast Mountains

Whistler’s oldest residents aren’t into skiing or snowboarding but they love the mountains. They are Whistler’s beloved black bears.

The many black bears who live in the valley are a big part of the day-to-day lives of year-round residents, seasonal workers and tourists, who’ve spotted a bear lumbering down the Valley Trail or searching for berries in the bushes during warmer months.

The Resort Municipality of Whistler is actively engaged in helping bears and humans successfully co-exist through partnerships with key organizations such as the Ministry of Environment, Conservation Officer Service, Carney’s Waste Systems and the Get Bear Smart Society. These partners help form the Whistler Bear Working Group, which is working towards helping Whistler become a Bear Smart community.

Being Bear Smart means reducing the number of human-bear conflicts. Get Bear Smart accomplishes this by educating people on dealing with bears in their communities and promoting innovative non-lethal bear management practices. Overall, Get Bear Smart is creating a paradigm shift in people’s attitudes toward bears and other wildlife by replacing fear and ignorance with understanding and respect.

Public support for the program has been overwhelming. Although Whistler is not yet an official Bear Smart community, and there is still much room for improvement, the work done in Whistler over the years illustrates what can be accomplished by implementing BearSmart policies and practices — the number of conflict bears that have been killed has been reduced by over 50 per cent over the last decade despite the fact the number of human-bear interactions has increased four-fold.

This makes Whistler a leader in the growing movement to establish BearSmart communities wherever humans and bears co-exist.