PARK YOURSELF
Paddleboard, kayak, or canoe Whistler’s waters, or just chill on the beach!
COMPLIMENTARY MAGAZINE
Please take one
WHISTLER CELEBRATES 50 YEARS AS A RESORT A CORNUCOPIA OF WINE DINNERS
ARCHITECTURAL EVOLUTION
Let silence speak louder
WHEN THE WORLD IS LOUD, ESCAPE TO THE HEART OF NATURE.
FACES OF WHISTLER: Coming of Age in Whistler, 15
BY NEVILLE JUDD
COVER STORY: Park Yourself, 18 BY
DAVID SONG
RMOW’S ANNIVERSARY: Turning 50, 26 BY ALYSSA NOEL
WHISTLER HOMES: Architectural Evolution, 34 BY LISE BOULLARD
FINE DINING: Celebrating Cornucopia, 48 BY ALISON TAYLOR
CASUAL DINING: A Taste of the Past, 59
BY WILL JOHNSON
CONTRIBUTORS
LISE BOULLARD is a journalist with bylines in Reader’s Digest, The Vancouver Sun and The North Shore News. When not glued to her laptop, Lise can be found cooking, travelling and volunteering with service dogs.
WILL JOHNSON is a journalist, whitewater rafting guide and actor from Vancouver Island—where he lives with his wife Kristina and his children Celista, Kris and Aza on the slope of Mount Tzouhalem.
NEVILLE JUDD began his journalism career in the UK before moving to Canada where he worked for The Province, covering sports and adventure. His travel stories have appeared in UK and North American dailies for many years.
Editor’s Greeting, 8 Trail Mix, 10
Unwind: Lifestyle & Adventure Guide, 24
Arts & Culture, 32
Shopping Whistler, 40
Services Directory, 47
Mountain Roots, 56
Calendar of Events, 64
Village Map, 66
Originally from Alberta, ALYSSA NOEL is the former Pique Newsmagazine’s arts editor. She has an M.A. in arts and culture reporting, and her work has appeared in various publications throughout Canada.
DAVID SONG is a news and sports journalist for Pique Newsmagazine who moved to Whistler in 2022 after nearly two decades in Calgary, Alberta. He has covered everything from March Madness basketball to PGA Tour Champions.
COVER PHOTO OF PADDLEBOARDING AT RAINBOW PARK BY MIKE CRANE
SUMMER/FALL 2025
Which is your favourite Whistler park?
GENERAL MANAGER, ADVERTISING/OPERATIONS
Catherine Power-Chartrand
EDITOR
Lakeside Park is my favourite! I have so many great memories here: the kids jumping off the dock, paddleboarding with friends, and heading to the beach for a swim after a great summer bike ride.
Alison Taylor
ART DIRECTOR
Shelley Ackerman
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Lise Boullard
Will Johnson
Neville Judd
Alyssa Noel
David Song
PHOTOGRAPHERS & ILLUSTRATORS
David Buzzard
Mike Crane
Dave Gillespie
Rainbow Park on the west side of Alta Lake. I grew up on the other side of the lake and when I was a kid, I would swim across and visit the hippies who used to squat there!
Justa Jeskova
Darby Magill
Amanda Oster
Getty Images
Tourism Whistler
Whistler Museum & Archives
PRESIDENT, WHISTLER PUBLISHING LP
Sarah Strother
ACCOUNTING
Heidi Rode
CIRCULATION/DISTRIBUTION
Denise Conway
Rainbow Park because I am so lucky to live right next to it. And we have a magical, private path through the forest to arrive at the newly reno’d park and shores of Alta Lake. The fall wildflowers are absolutely spectacular. Don’t miss them!
An early morning hike around Lost Lake finishing with a swim and people-watching at the beach (or a skinny dip at nudie dock if I’m feeling brave!) is a favourite summer outing.
Whistler Magazine (ISSN-0835-5460) is published twice annually by PACIFIC COASTAL PUBLICATIONS LP, a division of Glacier Media Group
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Copyright © 2025, by Glacier Media Group.
WHISTLER’S MAGIC STILL SHINES 50 YEARS ON
Ioften wonder if I could have made it.
When I hear the stories of Whistler from 50 years ago, as it was on the verge of becoming Canada’s first resort municipality, Could I have put down roots back then?
With just a few hundred people calling this place home, no sewers, no four-lane highway to go back and forth to Vancouver, no real Village to speak of, Whistler was a rural mountain hideaway, barely registering on the map.
Those early Whistlerites, however, saw its potential and believed in something greater than themselves (see our stories on page 15 and page 18).
They didn’t come for the best bike park in the world; they didn’t come because this was a renowned ski resort. They didn’t have the luxuries of world-class restaurants on their doorsteps or top-notch golf courses. I believe they came, and they stayed, for something completely different. It’s hard to put your finger on it.
But when you step away from the trappings of an international four-season resort, you can feel it.
Let me explain this way: On the west side of Whistler, just off of Alta Lake Road, you can find the trailhead to Rainbow Lake, one of Whistler’s most popular hikes. The trail is a gradual climb through
ALISON TAYLOR Editor
the forest and into the alpine where a stunning lake lies at the top. It’s about 16 kms round-trip and takes about six hours. On a clear day, the views are worth every step of the way. And once you’re in the alpine, it feels as though you are hundreds of miles from any civilization. While you eat your peanut butter sandwich by the side of the lake, you feel tired and satisfied. Replete. At peace.
And perhaps most of all…grateful.
This is Whistler’s particular magic.
Take it at face value and Whistler is a party town, an adventure Mecca, an adrenaline-junkie paradise. But that’s not its whole story.
A simple walk in the woods for a few hours can transport you somewhere else completely, standing on Rainbow Mountain, an alpine lake glittering in the sunshine, the surroundings waiting to be explored.
So when things get busy at the local parks
(see our story on page 26 to understand why these are so popular), or when the bike park has a line up on those hot summer weekends, these are the times to discover what Whistler truly has to offer beyond the obvious.
As the community celebrates its 50th anniversary this summer, it’s worth taking the time to uncover what really drew those people here in the first place. This is a vastly different place than the one they first called home, transforming from a town of just a few hundred permanent residents to three million visitors every year. And yet, despite Whistler’s international renown and its world-class amenities, I believe that the very things that brought people here in the first place haven’t changed.
Like the mountains that dominate life here, Whistler’s magic has also endured over the years. I hope you get to experience it this summer, whether here for a day-trip or whether you have decided to call this place home. It’s the very best part of what Whistler has to offer.
TRAIL MIX THINGS TO DO & SEE
[ IN & AROUND WHISTLER ]
ALPINE ADVENTURES
There are so many alpine adventures beckoning from Whistler’s peaks. It’s hard to pick just one. You could hike Wedge Mountain to the north of town, or Rainbow Mountain to the west. But perhaps the best way to experience the wonders of the alpine without the trials of getting there, is to hop on the Blackcomb or Whistler Gondola and ride to the top. The alpine unfolds in all its glory as soon as you step off the lift. There are hiking trails that will take you on a wonderful journey of exploration through colourful alpine meadows bursting in flowers, towards pristine glacial lakes beckoning you to wet your toes in the icy waters, all while wandering alongside the whistling marmots. To top it all off, there’s always a cold beverage and a treat at The Rendezvous on Blackcomb Mountain or at The Roundhouse on Whistler. This is a must-do in Whistler. Alpine hikes range in length and difficulty and there’s something for everyone. Or, ride to the top and simply take in the view from the patio. It’s one thing to look up at the alpine from the valley; it’s quite another to spend time there. Don’t miss this opportunity. Go to whistlerblackcomb.com
ATV ADVENTURES
Some may choose to hike up Blackcomb Mountain while others may take the gondola to the top. But, there is another way to experience the magic of this iconic mountain— via guided ATV tour. Canadian Wilderness Adventures (CWA) has the exclusive rights to this unique backyard playground. You can drive your ATV or share with a friend. This tour, with its wide mountain roads, is perfect for beginners and all abilities. For two hours, you can wind your way through forested trails, climbing to the sub alpine and Blackcomb’s stunning views of the valley below. This is just one of a host of tours offered by CWA. Check out canadianwilderness.com
TRUCK STOP
good news for hungry and thirsty beach-goers! Food trucks are back in business at select Whistler parks this summer. There will be six vendors at various times and at various locations: Sando, Folie Crêpes, Lucia Gelato, Whistler Weiners, The Warming Hut, and Whistler Wood Fired Pizza. There will be daily options at Lost Lake Park and Rainbow Park, in addition to select times at Lakeside Park and Alpha Lake Park.
TRAIL MIX
SWING TIME
Golf continues to celebrate its post-pandemic renaissance with another stellar summer season projected for summer 2025. The local world-class courses—Nicklaus North Golf Course, the Fairmont Chateau Whistler Golf Club, the Whistler Golf Club, and Big Sky Golf Club—are ready to welcome guests back to the links again this summer. Of note: the Whistler Golf Club will be open for the majority of the summer, closing in early September to begin a $10 million renovation. It will be closed for the summer of 2026.
DITCH THE CAR
one of the most popular ways around town in the summertime is via the Valley Trail. Stretching throughout the valley, connecting neighbourhoods, winding past lakes and parks, this 46-kilometre trail is a local treasure. It’s a car-free, paved trail perfectly set up for biking, running and walking. Rent a bike and cruise along the trail towards Green Lake where you can see the float planes landing. Or head to Rainbow Park and catch some sunshine. Cruise alongside the Whistler Golf Course and find Lakeside Park and take a dip in Alta Lake.
SHOP LOCAL
as everyone does their part to support the Canadian economy, local entrepreneurs are on full display at the Whistler Farmers’ Market. If you’re looking for a keepsake or some fresh veggies from nearby farms, the market has it all. It operates every Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. from May 18–Oct. 12, with four “bonus” Saturdays on long weekends. Check out the goods in the Upper Village, stretching from the Fairmont Chateau Whistler to the Blackcomb Gondola.
BEAR AWARE
One of the highlights of any day in Whistler is spotting a local black bear. Estimates point to roughly 50 to 60 resident bears living in the area, co-existing quite peacefully with the human population. Everyone, however, is expected to do their part to keep the bears safe. Keep your distance and give them space. Do not feed them. Dispose of your garbage properly. Keep dogs on a leash. Whistler offers bear-viewing tours where an experienced guide will take you out to see the bears in a 4x4 vehicle. Grizzly bears also live in the Whistler area. Typically, they stick to the backcountry and don’t often venture into civilization. For more information, go to whistler.com
FILLING YOUR CUP
Visitors often come to Whistler to unplug from everyday life and recharge in the mountains. In the spirit of finding peace, energy and health here, Whistler celebrates early summer with its Nourish Whistler Wellness Series. Throughout the month of June, there are more than 60 unique events as part of the wellness series. There’s a heart-opening workshop with cacao ceremony, a long-table dinner, yoga classes, wellness brunches, bird walks, cold dipping and so much more. Don’t forget the speaker series with topics like: The Joy of Giving—How Connection and Kindness Fuel Happiness; Feel Better Now—A Revolutionary Approach to Reclaim Your Wellbeing; and, the Power of Hope. Nourish is the perfect way to get ready for summer. For details check whistler.com
SOCIAL CLIMBERS
the massive granite monolith in Squamish, called The Chief, may be the Mecca of rock climbing in the area, stretching 700 metres above Howe Sound and offering hundreds of climbing routes for every level. For something a little different, Whistler Blackcomb is home to the Via Ferrata, or the “Iron Way.” With metal rung ladders and fixed cables, a guide will lead you on this unique climbing journey to the peak of Whistler Mountain. Check out whistler.com. Or, try your hand at the indoor climbing walls at Whistler Core Climbing and Fitness Gym. For more go to whistlercore.com W
MAYOR JACK CROMPTON
TURNS 50 YEARS OLD HIMSELF THIS YEAR, SHARING HIS LANDMARK ANNIVERSARY WITH THE RESORT MUNICIPALITY OF WHISTLER.
MAYOR JACK CROMPTON
Jack Crompton vividly recalls the first time he appreciated Whistler’s sense of community.
“I remember as a seven-year-old being lost in The Roundhouse (the main restaurant on Whistler Mountain),” he says. “I couldn't find my granddad. I remember my cheeks getting really hot and feeling afraid, and yet that very quickly went away. Recognizing the number of people there who knew me and could help me find him—I think that community care of one another is something that I've cherished for a very long time.”
He might not recognize everyone in The Roundhouse now but the feeling’s the same.
“Whistler and Whistlerites are deeply connected to each other,” he says. “We are who we are because of those mountains.” Turning 50 himself this year, and in his second term as mayor, Crompton spent his childhood enjoying visits to Whistler. His grandparents built a house in Alta Vista in 1965, the same house Crompton and his wife Carolyn and their four children live in today.
“I remember as a five-year-old, rolling into Whistler was always incredibly exciting because I got to see Grandma, go skiing and wander around The Roundhouse.”
“THEY'RE PEOPLE WHO HAD BIG, BIG DREAMS BEYOND WHAT ANY OF US COULD HAVE IMAGINED AND THEN THEY WENT AND REALIZED THOSE DREAMS.
— Jack Crompton
Balancing Mayoral duties, academic studies (Crompton’s just completed UBC’s Master of Public Policy and starts a PhD in law in September) and raising four teenagers, Crompton credits his “very good teammate” Carolyn, “who also runs our family business!”
“The community and the mountains have really shaped the type of parents we are. The mountains have helped us parent our kids.”
Crompton retains a special appreciation for Whistler’s visionaries.
“I'm constantly inspired by the people and the place. Because living in Whistler in the ’70s and ’80s was a significantly different experience than it is now. There have been dramatic improvements in the infrastructure that supports being a resident and a visitor.
“It was an enormous decision to create a housing authority that would allow for a permanent resident community, to allow Whistlerites to continue to call Whistler home.
“That kind of social infrastructure makes us what we are.”
Whistler’s next generation of leaders inherit an onus of responsibility akin to “standing on the shoulders of giants,” says Crompton, who credits recently passed Whistler luminaries, Roger McCarthy and Al Raine, as examples.
“They're people who had big, big dreams beyond what any of us could have imagined. And then they went and realized those dreams.
“As much as it’s about celebrating 50 years, it’s also about looking to the next 50 years.”
HUGH SMYTHE
“Are you one of us, or are you one of them?”
Hugh Smythe has never forgotten the question put to him by a couple of older ski patrollers. It was 1968 and at the tender age of 20, Smythe was director of ski patrol on Blackcomb Mountain.
“I had to say, ‘Well, I'm one of them. I am one of you, but I am part of management.’ The patrol, to a person, were all older than me. Yeah, I felt overwhelmed.”
A recipient of the Freedom of the Municipality Award last October, Hugh Smythe has been instrumental in Whistler’s growth. Yet that feeling of being overwhelmed didn’t end with ski patrol.
From designing grooming equipment, developing avalanche and heli-bombing procedures to supervising mountain safety and becoming mountain manager, it was Smythe who oversaw the development of Blackcomb Mountain in just 36 months to its opening in December 1980. This was back when Whistler and Blackcomb Mountains were separate entities and competition to be the best was fierce.
“It was pretty overwhelming every day through the construction, bringing it in on time, slightly over budget,” recalls Smythe.
Not that he didn’t enjoy himself!
“The real fun part was competing tooth and nail with Whistler next-door. Some people get a chance
HUGH
SMYTHE, WHO WORKED HIS WAY THROUGH WHISTLER BLACKCOMB FROM SKI PATROLLER TO PRESIDENT, STILL SKIS AS MANY DAYS AS HE CAN EVERY YEAR.
to build a mountain but don’t usually have the same desire to run it. I got to be part of the design, the construction and then to run it for a number of years as a successful operation.”
In 1996, the mountains merged and Smythe became president of North America’s largest ski resort— Whistler Blackcomb. In 2008, prior to his retirement, Smythe was integral to the opening of the Peak 2 Peak Gondola linking both mountains.
“I feel extremely blessed to have had this incredible career living here. I made lifelong friends, I raised my family here, three kids, and I'm still here. I love this place. I still ski as many days as I can.”
His memories as an 18-year-old volunteer ski patroller on Whistler Mountain’s opening day, January 15, 1966, are as vivid as countless moments since.
Rob Boyd claiming World Cup Downhill gold in February 1989, for example. “Receiving his gold medal in Village Square, there were thousands jammed in for that, people hanging off the balconies.”
His advice to visitors? “When you get to the top of Whistler or the top of 7th Heaven, take a moment, savour the views, and think about the people who’ve made this an incredible place.”
JOAN RICHOZ
Every day, usually twice a day, Joan Richoz climbs the 120 steps to the front door of the house she built with her husband, Marcel, in 1972.
“I don't love it,” she admits of the climb. “But I know that it's good for me.”
While so much has changed about Whistler, some things remain the same. “We still have some of the same neighbours from 1972. I still ski, ride my bike, swim …I’m still here!”
Not that she minds change. Joan Richoz is the ultimate changemaker when it comes to arts and culture here.
The volunteer work that would earn her a BC Community Achievement Award in 2010,
Whistler’s Citizen of the Year in 2011, Freedom of the Municipality in 2012 and an Excellence Award as Champion of Arts and Culture in 2014, started with the Whistler Arts Council in 1983.
“We thought, ‘wouldn't it be great to have a library?’ But there was no place for a library here. You had to build everything in Whistler.
The municipality bought the old Keg restaurant that used to be down on Alta Lake and moved it to its current location (see page 60 for more on The Keg’s fateful move). They renovated it and they said, ‘OK, there’s an unfinished basement area you can have.”
With considerable help from the Rotary Club and its master woodworkers, volunteers converted the 1,400 square-foot space to a library within months.
“That’s how fast things happened back then,” she says. “I didn’t plan on being a librarian,” she says of the position she held for the next two decades.
This early work paved the way for a state–of-the-art, standalone facility of roughly 12,000 square feet, that sees more than 250,000 visits per year, a beautiful place to while away the hours in the heart of the Village.
Richoz’s full-time job as librarian however didn’t slow her volunteer work, which benefited the Whistler Farmers’ Market, the Mature Action Community, Arts BC and the Whistler Community Foundation among other organizations.
Like many Whistlerites, Richoz immediately recalls the 2010 Olympics as a highlight, and not just because of the Cultural Olympiad which exposed Whistler’s rich arts scene to the world.
“That gold medal hockey game,” she recalls. “We were skiing on Blackcomb, and we went into The Rendezvous (the main restaurant on Blackcomb ) when Sidney Crosby scored that goal. Everybody jumped up and down so much, I am sure that building moved. It was unbelievable.”
Reflecting on more than half a century here, Richoz is grateful for how Whistler shaped her life. “I've met so many interesting people who have taught me a lot. I love those opportunities and I'm still getting those opportunities.
“I started a library. Not many people get to do that!”
PARK YOURSELF
BELOW: BACKROADS
WHISTLER'S DIRECTOR
SPENCER WIGHT
TAKES CLIENTS DOWN THE SPECTACULAR RIVER OF GOLDEN DREAMS.
RAINBOW PARK
Nestled on the west side of the valley on Alta Lake, facing Whistler and Blackcomb Mountains, the spectacular views alone are worth the visit to Rainbow Park. Now however, there are even more reasons to spend some time there with the recent multi-million-dollar upgrades that have made the park experience better than ever.
With construction during the summer of 2023 now a distant memory, Rainbow has a whole new look and feel. Its beach is larger, with more seating and picnic spots which complement accessible roads, a paved path and an accessible lift attached to the new central dock. Numerous facilities have been overhauled, including a repositioned beach volleyball area, new Valley Trail link between the park and Alta Lake Road, new irrigation systems, washrooms connected to the municipal sewer system, and an elevated main grassy area which will be resilient against possible future flooding and will help disperse geese. Rainbow also has new furniture and hammocks.
needs change. Accessibility is a component that’s become very important to us.
Furthermore, a novel shade structure and newly-planted trees offer shade and improved wildlife habitats.
According to the Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW), more than $5 million was spent on these upgrades.
“Rainbow Park was 35 years old,” explains Dale Mikkelsen, the RMOW’s GM of climate action, planning and development services. “As with any heavily used infrastructure and facility, things just get tired, worn out and the community
“[The park] faces the iconic mountain scenery. You can’t sit at a picnic table or sit out on the beach and not look at Whistler and Blackcomb. It is a flat, large, open area, and in a mountainous region, those are challenging to find. Rainbow is well exposed to sunlight and [satisfies] that craving for sun we all have in the summer. With the Valley Trail system, it’s incredibly easy for users to get to—coupled with our seasonal park shuttle."
Usage of the park shuttle increased by more than 30 per cent during summer 2024 and Mikkelsen expects many more guests to flock to Rainbow Park this year as temperatures rise throughout the season.
LAKESIDE PARK
Open year-round, Lakeside Park is a 10-minute bike ride or half-hour walk from Whistler Village on the Valley Trail. It has everything you might want for a relaxing day: picnic tables, barbecues, public washrooms, a concession stand, and the latest-setting sun of any park in town. Visitors can frequently be found lounging or playing sports on its grassy field—that is, when they’re not enjoying Alta Lake itself.
You could bring your own boat, but if you don’t have one, Backroads Whistler is the way to go for water adventures.
Founded in 1985 by Whistler local Eric Wight, Backroads, based out of Lakeside Park, offers equipment rentals each day between June and September, followed by a weekends-only schedule until early October. People of all skill levels routinely
go for a jaunt on Alta Lake’s calm waters using canoes, paddleboards, kayaks, pedal boats and the relevant safety gear.
Don’t forget about the nearby River of Golden Dreams: an iconic, meandering waterway featuring old-growth forest and majestic views of snow-capped peaks around every bend. Guides are available to teach newcomers about paddling skills and the local environment, while more experienced patrons may choose the selfguided option.
“A lot of people associate [summertime] with being on the water and engaging in some type of water sport, and if we can be a company that people want to come to because they know they’re going to have a good time and get good value out of what they’re coming to do, that’s our main goal,” says Spencer Wight, Eric’s son and current Backroads director.
You can also rent canoes to paddle the River of Golden Dreams from Backroads, or tour the lake or river with other operators such as Canadian Wilderness Adventures.
About the River of Golden Dreams, Wight adds: “I think it’s a super accessible activity…right in the heart of Whistler valley and it connects two of the bigger lakes that are in the valley. It’s a nice, calm river that at any time in the year can fit perfectly into the experience level people are looking for. Locals definitely love it because you can find peace and quiet along the river. You could pass a group of people, and within 30 seconds after that you get serenity again. And I think for our resort guests, it’s popular because you get such a different view of the valley.”
RIGHT: RENT BOATS AT LAKESIDE PARK AND EXPLORE ALTA LAKE.
LOST LAKE
Lost Lake Park is one of Whistler’s hidden gems, tucked into the forest just minutes from the Village. While the lake is the star of the show in the summer, complete with a legendary clothing-optional dock, grassy lawn, and sandy beach, there is something else in Lost Lake that makes it unique for locals and guests.
They’re called the Zappa trails, singletrack mountain-bike trails, named after Frank Zappa songs: Pinocchio’s Furniture, Dwarf Nebula, and the Grand Wazoo, for example. These are intermediate blue trails, and local favourites. Lost Lake also has beginner bike trails and a variety of smooth gravel trails.
“Unlike most other singletrack trails in Whistler, WORCA (the Whistler Off-Road Cycling Association) does not maintain the Lost Lake trails, but we recognize the importance to the overall Whistler trail network and the fact that those trails have very high use,” says Trevor Ferrao, WORCA’s executive director. “Beginners can start on the gravel trails and then progress to the dirt singletrack trails which are great for intermediate mountain bikers. The low elevation also means that those trails are usually open until late fall and are some of the first trails to open each spring.”
Maintaining the trails is a priority for the municipality.
“We’re at a point now where those trails need considerable attention—in some cases, rebuilding,” Mikkelsen explains. “We’re going to start working with our trail crew and our trail budget to extensively overhaul one to two trails a year for the next five or 10 years until we’ve worked through the whole network again, improving the user experience. The downside is that a couple of key trails every year will likely be closed for prolonged periods.”
Another fun fact about Lost Lake: the Western toad migration takes place every summer, from late July to late August, when thousands
of toadlets leave their breeding grounds at Lost Lake and migrate to the surrounding forests, travelling 400 to 1,600 metres from the water. The municipality has recently installed underpasses, fences and signage to help facilitate the annual Western toad migration.
Lost Lake will be the new venue for the popular Art on the Lake event this July. This is a great time to visit the park, enjoy artists at work, live music while paddling around the lake or hanging out at the beach. Art on the Lake takes place July 10-11.
THE INFAMOUS CLOTHING-OPTIONAL DOCK AT LOST LAKE IN THE EARLY MORNING. W
TURNING
ITHE RESORT MUNICIPALITY OF WHISTLER MARKS A MAJOR MILESTONE, CELEBRATING THE PAST AND LOOKING TO THE NEXT FIVE DECADES
STORY BY ALYSSA NOEL
t was never going to be a glamorous term in office. In 1975, with a population of less than 1,000, Whistler elected its first mayor and council (or aldermen as they were called then). With 303 out of 350 registered voters casting ballots, Bob Bishop, John Hetherington and Garry Watson became aldermen while Pat Carleton was elected mayor. Al Raine, meanwhile, served as a provincially appointed alderman. Gathered in Carleton’s garage, those early council meetings focused on the building blocks of Whistler. The most pressing issue: sewers. “We all knew the very first thing we really had to tackle was a sewage system,” says Hetherington, the last surviving member of that group. “The provincial government had put a freeze on development here because there was no sewage system and by April, the smell of Whistler was the smell of septic.”
Another unsavoury scent: the garbage dump that would become Whistler Village—though not until Hetherington’s second term. >>
CENTRE: FORMER MAYOR NANCY WILHELM-MORDEN.
BOTTOM: FIRST MAYOR PAT CARLETON (RIGHT) WITH MUNICIPAL COUNCILLORS PAUL BURROWS (LEFT) AND NANCY WILHELM-MORDEN CELEBRATING THE OFFICIAL OPENING OF WHISTLER'S NEW MUNICIPAL HALL IN 1984.
Then there were nitty gritty details like creating bylaws essentially from scratch and creating an official community plan—all while they navigated uncharted territory as the country’s first resort municipality.
“I’m proud of what came out of it,” Hetherington says. “We had a lot of decisions to make and we laid the groundwork for what’s happened here in Whistler ever since.”
Nancy Wilhelm-Morden, who first moved to Whistler in 1973, then served as a councillor on-and-off from 1984 to 2008 before becoming mayor from 2011 to 2018, remembers what it was like to be a young resident during that time.
“It was interesting, to say the least, to watch how things got organized and the town got incorporated, the involvement of the provincial government, the discussions from time to time about hosting Olympics, it wasn’t boring, that’s for sure,” she recalls. “There was always something very interesting going on.”
PARTY PLANNING
The Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW) celebrates its 50th anniversary this fall—Sept. 6, specifically, marks the milestone of the municipality’s incorporation.
To commemorate, the RMOW is planning a whole season of events. The weekend kickoff takes place Aug. 22 – 24.
“We’ll be working with the community, business partners, and Tourism Whistler to really
promote the celebration up until Opening Day of the ski season,” says Karen Elliott, general manager of community engagement and cultural services with the RMOW.
That will include “a big Canadian act” performing, a takeover of Whistler Olympic Plaza with entertainment and activities, and events throughout Whistler’s parks system.
There will also be a street banner competition with a 50th anniversary theme and an art show with Arts Whistler in September.
“The other piece we’re working on is really to make sure that our theme comes through, which is to acknowledge the past, but really celebrate a positive vision of the next 50 years,” she adds.
“So we want to work with our community to really use the 50th as a chance to connect with the next generation of artists, business leaders, athletes, (and) community builders to inspire them and help them pick up the spirit of building Whistler for the next 50 years.”
It’s important to acknowledge the much-moredistant past too.
“And, of course, we’re also making sure that in our look back, we’re situating the 50th within the context of the thousands of years of history of the Lil’wat Nation and the Squamish Nation, as well as those early pioneers and settlers that came into the valley and had their dreams and aspirations for the area,” Elliott says.
For its part, the Whistler Museum, in collaboration with long-time resident Victoria Crompton, is working on a book that will combine poetry with archival photos from the museum’s collection.
The history of the resort comes down to a lot of change in a relatively short amount of time, says Bradley Nichols, executive director and curator with the museum.
“During that ’75-to-’85 first stage of the Village, that was a drastic change in this valley and how it functioned. The eras after that, pushing summer tourism, in the late ’80s, early ’90s, and eventually getting to the point where they put in the [Olympic] bid, which we found out in 2003, those kinds of developmental stages, there was a dream people had and wanted to see these things developed … Everyone pitched in during that era.”
“WE’LL BE WORKING WITH THE COMMUNITY, BUSINESS PARTNERS, AND TOURISM WHISTLER TO REALLY PROMOTE THE CELEBRATION UP UNTIL OPENING DAY OF THE SKI SEASON.”
— Karen Elliot
TOP: JOHN HETHERINGTON, ONE OF WHISTLER’S FIRST ALDERMEN.
DAVID BUZZARD
DAVID BUZZARD
Course-side dining doesn’t get better than this. Offering picturesque views of the 18th hole, our scenic and sun soaked patio is the ultimate destination for breakfast, lunch, dinner and drinks. Join us before or after a round, or your Whistler adventures - all are welcome!
FROM TOP: PROMOTIONAL POSTER FOR THE 1968 BID; LOGO FOR VANCOUVER GARIBALDI'S 1976 OLYMPIC BID; THE 1976 BID HAD FEDERAL SUPPORT FROM PRIME MINISTER PIERRE TRUDEAU, SECOND FROM THE LEFT, SHOWN CHATTING WITH FRANZ WILHELMSEN, LEFT, PRESIDENT OF GARIBALDI LIFTS.
OLYMPIC DREAMS REALIZED
Even before the RMOW’s creation, Whistler was built on Olympic dreams.
In the early 1960s, a group of Vancouver businessmen formed the Garibaldi Olympic Development Association with a dream of hosting a Winter Olympics in Garibaldi Provincial Park—before a road, electricity, and, of course, sewer system.
They sparked the creation of Whistler Mountain as we know it today and, along the way, bid for four Olympics. In between, the Village was built, Blackcomb Mountain opened, and in July 2003, that nearly 50-year-old dream came true when the International Olympic Committee announced Whistler and Vancouver as the home of the 2010 Winter Games.
Ken Melamed—a councillor from 1996 to 2005 who became Whistler’s Olympic-era mayor from 2005 to 2011—remembers approaching that time with skepticism more than celebration.
In October 2002, one month before a municipal election, council was asked to vote on supporting the bid.
“‘The Olympics is a bulldozer, and we’re just a little whisper, we’re the smallest of the players in the bid,’” he remembers saying during that meeting. “'We’re hosting half of the games, and we’ve got this incredible force coming at us. We need to be prepared so that we don’t get flattened.’ That turned out to be a game changer in our relationship with the bid committee, with the province.”
In the end, the 2010 Games were lauded as one of the most successful, with many benefits to Whistler more than a decade on, ranging from affordable housing in Cheakamus Crossing to the upgraded highway, Whistler Olympic Park and the Municipal Regional District Tax (or the Hotel Tax).
“We made out really, really well,” Melamed says. “Our Athlete’s Village, Cheakamus Crossing was on time, on budget. The City of Vancouver had to bail theirs out to the tune of $100 million. Ours cost [about] $150 million total and it’s 85 per cent resident-restricted housing. When you really think about it, it actually gives you goosebumps to think of how well we managed it.”
FROM LEFT, FORMER VANCOUVER MAYOR GREGOR ROBERTSON, AND FORMER WHISTLER MAYOR KEN MELAMED AND HIS WIFE USCHI SCHERER CHEERING AT THE 2010 WINTER GAMES IN WHISTLER.
Wilhelm-Morden, for instance, first vied for a council seat in 1984 in an effort to eliminate cross-country skiing fees at Lost Lake. But really, it represented more than that.
“My interest was in the community,” she says. “There was so much focus that was being put on the development of Whistler as a destination resort that I, and others, felt that the community was kind of being pushed to the side. An example was the cross-country ski fees. There was no provision made in that discussion about local people or community people getting any kind of break on something that was a bit of a community feature. That was a goodly part of my motivation for getting more involved in political affairs.”
Wilhelm-Morden’s trajectory from a young squatter in the 1970s to a prominent lawyer and mother of two, allowed her to experience all facets of the mountain town.
One major highlight: helping to develop and create the Whistler Housing Authority to allow locals to stay in the community.
“I took the approach that… if we wanted to get this done and get this done correctly, (we needed) to be involved in the real nuts and bolts of ensuring that what we ended up with was something that we could be proud of and actually worked,” she says.
Housing continues to be a top priority for her daughter, Jessie Morden, who currently sits on RMOW council.
COMMUNITY AT ITS HEART
FROM LEFT, PRESIDENT AND CEO OF THE 2010 VANCOUVER OLYMPIC ORGANIZING COMMITTEE JOHN FURLONG, PAST PRESIDENT OF THE INTERNATIONAL ICE HOCKEY FEDERATION RENE FASEL, FORMER WHISTLER MAYOR KEN MELAMED, WITH OLYMPIC ATHLETE ROB BOYD HOLDING THE TORCH DURING THE OLYMPIC PLAZA OPENING FEB 13, 2010. W
From sewers to affordable housing and zoning bylaws, at the end of the day, those who have served as RMOW politicians have had their community’s interest at heart—even as Whistler grew in international profile to become one of the top ski resorts in the world.
“It’s very nostalgic, raising kids here and going to Meadow Park and playing on the same equipment on the same playground that I grew up on and seeing my friends have kids and us getting together and playing. It’s really great,” Morden says. “I want to make sure that my kids, if they decide to buy a house here, that they have access to affordable housing. It’s everything I do. I think about my kids and my family and how my decisions will impact them in the future.”
BURTYNSKY, COAST MOUNTAINS
#3, THE BLACK TUSK, 2023, PHOTO © EDWARD BURTYNSKY, COURTESY PAUL KUHN
GALLERY, CALGARY / NICHOLAS METIVIER
GALLERY, TORONTO
GLACIERS ON DISPLAY
whistlerites are more aware than most of the devastating impact global warming is having on our glaciers. We see it everyday. A look up into the snow-capped peaks tells us that things are changing. This stark reality will be on display at the Audain Art Museum (AAM) this summer when acclaimed Toronto-based artist Edward Burtynsky will showcase a selection of large-scale photo-based works. This is a closeup look of our surrounding natural environment.
Called The Coast Mountains: Recent Works by Edward Burtynsky, the exhibit highlights one of the pressing issues of our day: the retreat of our glaciers. “Recent reports on the world’s remaining glaciers provide sobering news,” says Burtynsky in a press release about his exhibition. “Estimates are that most of Western Canada’s glaciers will be lost to melting within the next 80 years. By the end of this century, they could all be gone. My daughters, who are in their 20s, will not be looking at the same world when they are my age. These images are a reminder of what’s being lost—relics of ancient ice and an essential resource for ecosystems and freshwater in this part of the world.” The exhibition takes place from April 27-September 15 in the AAM’s Upper Galleries. It’s one more reason to visit this worldclass museum that has elevated Whistler’s art scene.
WHISTLER GALLERIES
AUDAIN ART MUSEUM
4350 Blackcomb Way
604-962-0413 audainartmuseum.com
ADELE CAMPBELL FINE ART GALLERY
In the Westin Resort & Spa
604-938-0887 adelecampbell.com
ART JUNCTION GALLERY & FRAME STUDIO
1068 Millar Creek Road, Function Junction
604-938-9000 artjunction.ca
MOUNTAIN GALLERIES AT THE FAIRMONT
In the Fairmont Chateau Whistler
604-935-1862 mountaingalleries.com
THE PLAZA GALLERIES
22-4314 Main Street
604-938-6233 plazagalleries.com
THE GALLERY AT MAURY YOUNG ARTS CENTRE
4335 Blackcomb Way 604-935-8410 artswhistler.com
SQUAMISH LIL’WAT CULTURAL CENTRE
4584 Blackcomb Way 1-866-441-SLCC (7522) slcc.ca
WHISTLER CONTEMPORARY GALLERY
In the Hilton Resort
604-938-3001 (main) In the Four Seasons Resort 604-935-3999 whistlerart.com
EDWARD
ARCHITECTURAL EVOLUTION
TODAY’S DISCERNING BUILDERS AND BUYERS WANT A MIX OF CLEAN LINES AS WELL AS HIGH-PERFORMANCE, TIMELESS FEATURES, AS EVIDENCED BY THIS FIVE-BEDROOM CHALET
FINALIST FOR GEORGIE AWARD –UNLIMITED BUDGET OVER $3 MILLION CATEGORY
BUILDER: GLEN LYNSKEY, ALTA LAKE LUMBER COMPANY
DESIGNER: JENNIFER HEFFEL, HEFFEL BALAGNO
ARCHITECT: BRENT MURDOCH, MURDOCH + COMPANY
LEFT: EXQUISITELY CRAFTED NATURAL WOOD PANELLING, EXPOSED BEAMS AND STAINED GLASS INSERTS BRING WARMTH TO THE MODERN CONTEMPORARY LINES AT THIS LUXURIOUS WHISTLER CHALET.
ABOVE: BOCCI PENDANT LIGHTING MAKES A STATEMENT ABOVE THE KITCHEN ISLAND WHICH EXPANDS INTO A LIVING AREA WHERE RESIDENTS CAN RELAX WITH A DRINK APRÈS SKI. LARGE, OPEN-CONCEPT SPACES PLAY PROMINENTLY THROUGHOUT THE HOME, WHICH MURDOCH ORIGINALLY DESIGNED FOR A LARGE FAMILY.
STORY BY LISE BOULLARD
PHOTOS COURTESY JOHN RYAN | PERSONAL REAL ESTATE CORPORATION
Like fashion, architecture is a product of its time, place and people. And Whistler’s residential home design evolution represents the resort’s transformation over the last fifty years—from local weekend escape to jet set destination.
Long-time Whistler realtor John Ryan has witnessed how home design has changed based on building technology and buyer demographics. “I’ve been selling here for 30-plus years and ‘classic Whistler architecture’ seems to be ever-evolving,” says Ryan. “Back in the day it was A-frames and gothic arches, then you got into frame construction and log homes,” he continues. “Then came modern contemporary which is more stone and wood.”
FOR THEIR IMPECCABLE ATTENTION TO DETAIL IN BRINGING THE INTERIOR WOOD PANELLING AND
A perfect example of a Whistler chalet that incorporates both modern contemporary elements and traditional features is a five-bed, seven-bath 5,315-square-foot property situated on the upscale Horstman Lane. Initially constructed in 2008 at the base of Blackcomb mountain in the 30-home Horstman Estates subdivision, the home underwent a renovation update in 2018. At press time, the property’s second owners, a California-based family who no longer ski as they used to, have listed the property for $11.9 million, with Ryan acting as the listing agent.
The home’s original architect, Brent Murdoch, was instrumental in designing and developing Whistler as we know it today. After completing his bachelors’ degree in landscape architecture and a masters’ in architecture at UBC, then gaining experience at firms in Vancouver, the long-term
Whistler skier made the move to the ski resort. “I worked for the municipality for just about two years, coordinating a lot of the development of Village North under the director of planning at the time,” Murdoch explains. As Whistler made its mark on the map and began experiencing a boom in the mid ’90s, the architect started moonlighting, taking on residential projects.
When designing the Horstman home, Murdoch worked closely with the original owners, who commissioned him on their friends’ recommendation. “They have a large extended family, as well as their own immediate family so that [played into the practical design] and functionality of the house,” he explains. This meant creating a dining area that could accommodate 12 people for dinner, as well as a wine cellar and an expansive outdoor living space with a stone fireplace.
LEFT: WHILE THE PEAKED ROOF AND THE LARGE WOOD BEAMS IN THIS BATH ARE A NOD TO WHISTLER A-FRAMES AND LOG CABINS OF DAYS’ PAST, ANGULAR LINES AND CONTEMPORARY CABINETRY BRING THE HOME INTO THE 21ST CENTURY. TOP AND BOTTOM RIGHT: ARCHITECT BRENT MURDOCH CREDITS THE TEAM OF TALENTED WOOD CRAFTSPEOPLE
CABINETRY DESIGN VISION TO LIFE.
TOP: MODERN LUXURY AND TRADITIONAL DESIGN ELEMENTS COME TOGETHER TO CREATE A HOME THAT IS SOPHISTICATED AND FUNCTIONAL, YET ALSO COZY AND WELCOMING — EVERYTHING YOU NEED IN A CHALET.
BOTTOM LEFT: STONEWORK ON THE HOME’S EXTERIOR ADDS A TRADITIONAL, REGAL TOUCH WHILE HUGE FLOOR-TO-CEILING WINDOWS ARE MODERN AND CREATE SYNERGY BETWEEN EXTERIOR AND INTERIOR SPACES.
Because the home was intended as a vacation property, Murdoch created spaces for resting and relaxing—a large open-concept living area on the main floor, and a media room and fitness centre downstairs—as well as a private office space for catching up on work.
The lot’s undulating topography and beautiful natural setting along with Murdoch’s education and experience as a landscape architect, played a big part in informing the home’s multi-level design. “It’s always important to me that the building feels integral to the site it’s built on,” he explains.
While the property boasts a number of traditional architectural features, including rock masonry and a big sloping roof, these aspects are done in a contemporary, refined fashion that appeals to Whistler’s sophisticated international buyers.
Instead of logs, the home is constructed using a steel metal skeleton to support the home’s “large volumetric spaces,” which is then masterfully clad in clear edge-grain fir.
ABOVE: WHEN DRAWING UP THE PLANS FOR THIS CHALET, BRENT MURDOCH WAS INSPIRED BY WHISTLER’S SPECTACULAR NATURAL SETTING. SITUATED AT THE BASE OF BLACKCOMB MOUNTAIN, WITH SKI-IN SKI-OUT ACCESS, THE HOME IS A LAUNCHPAD FOR OUTDOOR ADVENTURE IN ALL SEASONS.
“There’s an amazing level of organization with attention to detail. Back in the day you would have used a chainsaw and it would have been rough and ready,” Murdoch explains.
Ryan says this home has more wood and millwork in the interior than you would normally see in other Whistler properties “just because it’s such an incredible added cost.”
Designing Whistler residential structures has become a lot more interesting with the number of international clients commissioning and purchasing vacation homes at the resort, according to Murdoch. “These people have homes around the world. They have a very cosmopolitan approach to design and they're borrowing all sorts of ideas from their travels,” he continues. It’s a far cry from the lumberyard materials Murdoch would look to for inspiration in the ’70s and ’80s. “Now we can import that from Italy or China and that's what makes these homes so special and unique,” he continues.
This worldly design aesthetic is evident at this Horstman Lane property, which boasts custom stained-glass panels that let jewelled light flood in, along with an elevator and smart home technology, offering convenience and ease of living to Whistler’s most discerning residents.
Despite its modern design elements, as well as its sustainability and high-performance features, Murdoch wanted Horstman Lane to feel timeless. “You don’t have tiny windows; you have big massive areas of glass that look out onto the landscape and make you feel connected to the outside,” he says.
“We chose materials that reflect the natural settings and surroundings, so by the time the house is all done and (by) the time it’s landscaped, it feels like it’s been there for a long time.” W
PHOTO | KRISTEN MCGAUGHEY
PHOTO | MATT ANTHONY
PHOTO | KRISTEN MCGAUGHEY
PHOTO | MATT ANTHONY
BEST OF THE BOUTIQUES
WHILE MUCH OF YOUR FOCUS MIGHT BE on spending time in the the beautiful great outdoors when you’re here in Whistler, make sure to indulge yourself with a little time in the great indoors too! Whistler has an abundance of boutique shops filled with amazing items you’re going to want to take home with you. Here are some of our favourites from the plethora of purchase possibilities!
TAMARA ALAIN BOHO BF SLICE RING
Raised in the Coast Mountains, Tamara Alain has always had a deep love for the outdoors—a passion that has taken her on adventures across the globe. Along the way, she collected unique gemstones that now feature prominently in her handcrafted, one-of-a-kind jewelry pieces. Based in her studio in Pemberton, B.C., Alain continues to create from nature’s inspiration. This stunning sterling silver ring showcases a vibrant Royston turquoise—believed to promote healing of the mind and soul.
Available at Arthentic by Arts Whistler
$225
WOMEN’S EVERYDAY PARTY SHORT SLEEVE BUTTON DOWN
When a T-shirt's too casual and a long sleeve button down is too formal, this button down delivers the best of both. The lightweight outdoor essential features a recycled stretch-woven fabric with a quick-dry finish and a Merino Sport fabric that combines the benefits of Merino with durable recycled polyester for all-day sweat and odour control. From backyard hangouts to days spent exploring, the regular fit offers room to move without additional bulk, helping to bring more comfort to every activity.
Available at Smartwool
$105
DALE OF NORWAY FALUN SWEATER
The Falun sweater in natural is crafted from a newly developed, undyed Norwegian wool that showcases the fiber’s authentic character and sustainability. This fine wool, sourced from the first shearing, results in
QUEEN
OF SHEBA POST EARRINGS BY AYALA BAR
Experience the essence of royal splendour with the Ayala Bar Queen of Sheba post earrings. Crafted with meticulous artistry these earrings embody the opulence and sophistication inspired by the legendary queen. Adorn yourself in jewelry that captures the timeless beauty of ancient kingdoms, whether worn as a statement piece or to elevate your everyday elegance. These exquisite earrings reflect Ayala Bar's dedication to artistic excellence and the enduring allure of historical inspiration. 2.25 inches long.
Available from Ruby Tuesday $129.95
SPIRIT WITHIN MASK
Chief Ray Natraoro (Ses Siyam) is a master carver and seventh-generation canoe carver who works in many different styles. Many of the carvings in the Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre and around Whistler are works by Natraoro, including canoes, welcome poles, house posts and contemporary artwork, and the Xaays Canoe—a 40ft ocean-going canoe —a distinctive feature of the Great Hall at the SLCC.
Available at the Squamish Lil'wat Cultural Centre
$2,900
HELLY HANSEN KESTREL TRAIL RUNNING SHOES
From quick sprints to all-day trail runs, these trail running shoes are designed for dynamic performance on any terrain. Lightweight and breathable with a no-sew mesh upper, they feature a nitrogen-injected midsole for responsive cushioning and a PEBAX® rock plate for protection and energy return. Water-repellent and quick-drying, these shoes are ready for muddy, wet, or dry trails. Available in men’s and women's.
Available at Helly Hansen $190
>>
SNOWFALL DINNER RING
Humans have been enchanted by anything that glitters and sparkles since the beginning of time, and this ring will definitely enchant you and your dinner guests! The stunning 14 karat yellow gold satin finish snowfall ring is embedded with 46 round brilliant diamonds. It is available in a variety of widths and colours of gold, including white gold and black gold. Available at Keir Fine Jewellery
$6,499
MINK CLUTCH
Experience the luxurious beauty of genuine mink with this handcrafted clutch. The elegant design features a sculpted curved base, subtle leather side panels, and a magnetic flap closure, complete with a contemporary silver-toned chain strap that can be removed for versatile day to evening wear. Keep your essentials organized with the internal zip pocket. Choose from a variety of stunning colours. Available from Snowflake
$265 >>
NOCS STANDARD ISSUE WATERPROOF BINOCULARS
Built from the ground up as a binocular ready for anything. Designed to pack easily, and be held effortlessly, the Standard Issue is the binocular you wished you had all along. Top shelf optics in a compact go-anywhere package. Waterproof (IPX7) and Fogproof with nitrogen sealed O-rings, they have a wide field of view, fully multi-coated lenses and BaK4 roof prisms, with rugged impact absorbing housing and scratch-resistant lenses. And there's no problem if you’re wearing glasses— they sport twist-up eyecups. 8X or 10x magnification. Available at Camp Lifestyle & Coffee Co. $159
ASOBU BESTIE BOTTLE
Excite your kids with our charming, unique, and patented Bestie Bottle! Irresistibly cute and endlessly fun, these first-of-their-kind drinking bottles for children offer a collection of lovable characters. This adorable, insulated water bottle features a removable, collectible silicone character head, making hydration fun and playful. With double-wall vacuum insulation to keep drinks cold for 24 hours, it's the perfect companion for any adventure. Asobu is a Canadian company. Available in different animals. Available at Whistler Kitchen Works $38.99 W
CELEBRATING CORNUCOPIA
WINEMAKERS’ DINNERS AT THE ANNUAL FOOD AND WINE FESTIVAL ELEVATE WHISTLER’S CULINARY SCENE
STORY BY ALISON TAYLOR
Every fall thousands of people come to Whistler to indulge in the mountains. They come to take part in Cornucopia, a long-running food and wine festival, which spans 10 days in November, and takes Whistler’s foodie scene to a whole new level, firmly establishing its place on the culinary map. There are parties, seminars, grand tastings, and, at many of Whistler’s top restaurants, winemakers’ dinners set the stage for elegance and indulgence.
Here, wineries both from B.C. and from around the world take centre stage, and Whistler’s chefs, in partnership with their wine directors, rise to the challenge of creating unique menus to showcase the wine. There is arguably no better time to go out for dinner in Whistler than at a winemakers’ dinner during Cornucopia.
The festival draws more than 4,000 attendees at over 100 separate events, providing a platform for local restaurants and chefs to shine.
“It puts Whistler’s restaurants on the map on a much greater scale than we can do on our own,” says Bearfoot Bistro’s Wine Director and General Manager Luc Trottier of the annual festival. “It’s a unique little market that really brings big names for such a small town.” >>
THIS PAGE: DINERS RECEIVE THEIR FIRST COURSE AT A
LEFT: THE INCREDIBLE CHARCUTERIE BOARD AT THE FAIRMONT CHATEAU WHISTLER’S WINEMAKERS’ DINNER.
BEARFOOT BISTRO WINEMAKERS’ DINNER.
Winemakers’ dinners are just one facet of the Cornucopia experience. This is a 10-day festival in the pursuit of pleasure—good food, good drinks, and good times.
Cornucopia’s signature events are a mainstay of Whistler’s calendar, turning a typically dreary fall shoulder season into a party in the mountains. There are several that stand out: the West Coast House Party, Cornucopia’s kick-off event with food, drinks and live music; CRUSH Grand Tasting, the flagship event showcasing exceptional wineries; and Night Market: Taste of the World, a global culinary journey.
In addition to these main events, there is so much more. For those wanting to put their mind and their taste buds to the test, check out the drink seminars, held at various times over the course of the festival, like last year’s Nooks and Crannies of Great Scotch Whisky, or the European Beer Discovery. Or, enjoy a fourcourse mountain brunch, prepared at the hands of a top chef, like Executive Chef Quang Dang who also prepared a dinner called the Taste of Vietnam
There’s a murder mystery dinner, a silent disco, a comedy show, and so much more. Suffice to say, there’s something for everyone. Check out whistlercornucopia. com in the fall for schedule and tickets.
WILD BLUE—BALANCE AND HARMONY
“Great wine has great balance,” says Wild Blue’s Executive Chef Derek Bendig. Therein lies the challenge for any chef at the heart of the winemakers’ dinner: how to showcase this wonderful balance in the wine without the food overpowering it, while “elevating the experience to another level.”
That balance, adds Bendig, becomes the pinnacle of his focus at winemakers’ dinners. Though only a few years old, Wild Blue has played a pivotal role in Cornucopia’s winemakers’ dinners every year, hosting a handful of sell-out events during each festival.
It’s a natural fit for this seafood-forward elegant eatery.
“We have a lot of great wine knowledge,” adds Bendig, who himself holds a Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET) diploma. “Wine plays such an important role in the restaurant.”
With balance at the heart of these unique dinners, harmony is key. Take a pinot noir, explains Bendig. You can taste the sweetness of the pinot noir with notes of black cherry. If the pinot noir has aged, there will be tertiary notes with hints of mushroom, adding to its complexity. You don’t want something to interfere with this. “Duck is an obvious accompaniment,” says Bendig. “Keeping it a fairly clean dish that’s
not going to overpower the pinot (is key).”
Typically, the dinners will include four to six courses. Often, there’s a cheese dish to finish. Or, if the winery makes a sweet wine, it will be paired with dessert.
Winemakers’ dinners also allow for good learning opportunities in the kitchen, where young chefs can push the boundaries and explore why some things work together like duck and pinot noir, and why some things don’t. “It’s fun for us too,” adds Bendig.
Last year, Wild Blue hosted dinners with Culmina Estate Family Winery from the South Okanagan, as well as Unsworth from the Cowichan Valley, and Covert Farms Family Estates from Osoyoos. Whistler’s Cornucopia gives these B.C. wines great exposure, particularly after the weather challenges for farmers and wineries of the last few years, including deep freezes and fires. There are, adds Bendig, incredible wines in B.C. “(They) get better and better every year.”
ARAXI AND IL CAMINETTO— KEEPING IT LOCAL
As the culinary director for Toptable Group in Whistler, overseeing Araxi, Il Caminetto, Bar Oso, the Cellar, and Provisions, Chef James Walt has been at the cutting edge of fine dining in Whistler for decades. And that includes overseeing dozens of winemakers’ dinners over the years.
THE BLUE FIN TARTARE WITH WILD BLUE CAVIAR AND PONZU JELLY FROM WILD BLUE.
Experience the brilliance and warmth of Radiante, Fairmont Chateau Whistler’s summer taqueria terrace. Here, the vibrant flavors of Mexico and the allure of summer evenings combine to create unforgettable dining experience.
P: JUSTA JESKOVA
ABOVE: ALASKAN KING CRAB, LEEK VELOUTATO, CHARRED LEEKS, AND NORTH ARM FARM CARROTS AND TURNIPS, FROM IL CAMINETTO.
He says this is one of the best times of the year for chefs, giving them a chance to stretch their imaginations and push the boundaries of culinary creativity, all while creating dishes that take a backseat to the wine.
“It’s an experience all created around the wine,” he says.
To create the special menus, the team works backwards, taste testing the wine before developing the menu.
In keeping with Il Caminetto’s Italian theme, often an Italian winery is chosen—last year’s dinner was A Tour Through the Wine Regions of Sicily with Planeta. This event included wine from five different wineries. Il Caminetto also hosted A Trip Through Northern Italy with Ethica Wines.
For Walt, Cornucopia is also a time to showcase what’s in Whistler’s backyard, the fresh product coming from Pemberton’s farms.
“Cornucopia really highlights just what we have and the quality of product… We’re using premium everything…It’s a real deal.”
Last year, The Cellar by Araxi hosted Poplar Grove as well as Burrowing Owl Winery and Quail’s Gate Winery. This intimate setting was the perfect space to learn about the wine and what it takes to produce it.
Walt adds: “You’re getting the best of Whistler.” W
Cornucopia 2025 takes place from November 6-16. Check whistlercornucopia.com
french at heart west coast soul
TOP: ROASTED FRASER VALLEY DUCK BREAST, RAINBOW CARROTS, CELERY ROOT AND SHALLOTS WITH A RED WINE AND RED CURRANT GLAZE, FROM ARAXI.
A TASTE OF THE PAST
LONG-RUNNING EATERIES SERVE UP SOME LOCAL LORE AS A SIDE TO YOUR STEAK, NACHOS AND PIZZA
STORY BY WILL JOHNSON
Some stories outlive the people that tell them, while others are baked directly into the floorboards. Such is the case at some of Whistler’s long-standing buildings that have been serving up good food, and legendary tales, for decades.
As the resort municipality turns half a century this summer, Whistler Magazine takes a stroll down memory lane with the people at the helm of three local hotspots, offering a little taste of Whistler’s past, as well as its present.
TOP: TAPLEY’S SERVER NICOLE WILSON AND GENERAL MANAGER SAM CARTWRIGHT WITH AN ORDER OF NACHOS AND BUCKET OF GIBBONS LAGERS.
ABOVE: BARTENDERS IN THE BRAND-NEW TAPLEY’S, BUILT IN 1981. >>
ABOVE: CREEKBREAD GENERAL MANAGER
KAILYN GALLIANO WITH THE LUMBERJACK PIZZA, AND A HUNGRY FRIEND.
RIGHT, TOP:
MUSICIANS JOHN LAVIN AND GARY KOLIGER AT THE CREEKHOUSE, THE RESTAURANT THAT ORIGINALLY INHABITED THE SAME BUILDING AS CREEKBREAD.
RIGHT, BELOW:
BRIAN MORAN, KEN TILL, BOB ELLIOTT AND JOHN GRILLS POSE WITH THE SIGN OF THE SOON-TO-BE-OPENED WHISTLER KEG IN LATE JANUARY 1983.
THE LONELY LUMBERJACK
If you head down to Whistler Creekside at twilight, you might happen upon a lonely spectre that looks like a lumberjack, or maybe a trapper, wandering along the shores of Nita Lake just a stone’s throw from Creekbread, a woodfire pizzeria on the south side of town.
If locals are to be believed, this is one of the construction workers who helped build the nearby Nita Lake Lodge. Completely harmless, they’ve nicknamed him Bill. And he’s not the only ghost haunting the area. The Creekbread building is one of Whistler’s originals and it’s said to have its own otherworldly residents..
“I heard they had mediums come in and try to pass the spirits on, so maybe that’s why they’re not coming to see me,” says general manager Kailyn Galliano.
Over the years, there have been reports of a little girl floating across the room, and staff members routinely hear unexplainable noises or find that things have been moved during the night. “There’s a fun old-school feeling about the place, an ongoing presence that makes you feel like there’s something going on in the background.”
Several restaurants have come and gone in this building, which has a prime location just off the highway at
Creekside. Creekbread, however, has been going strong for 15 years, since opening just before the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Its heart and soul is its wood-fired pizza oven, which sits centre stage at the restaurant.
To pay homage to Bill, Creekbread offers a lumberjack pizza which is one of its most popular menu items. It’s made with maple fennel sausage, double-smoked bacon, caramelized onions, mozzarella, smoked cheddar and asiago cheese.
50 YEARS OF STEAK
There’s one particularly wide section of the Sea to Sky highway thanks to The Whistler Keg Steakhouse and Bar. Originally situated on the north shore of Alta Lake, this first building was moved to Whistler Village in 1979 and transformed into the local municipal building—where it still stands today as Municipal Hall—but not before requiring crews to down power lines and blast along the highway to facilitate the move.
Old pictures of the original Keg and Cleaver, as it was originally called, show a ski lodge-style ambience, with the patrons sporting ’70s ski attire along with sideburns, cowboy boots and plaid shirts. These moments are
DAVID BUZZARD
immortalized in plaques at the current location today.
But the move to the Village wasn’t completely seamless. A devastating fire in 1982 burned The Keg to the ground. It took a year to rebuild, finally opening its doors in 1983, complete with a lounge called Brandy’s. Its longevity is testament to its guaranteed good food and good vibes.
“After that fire, the building was restored to what is today, and since then it hasn’t changed,” says Brandon MacPherson, assistant general manager.
Over the years the spirit has remained the same too. Patrons who sit down for a meal in 2025 will be bathed in the same amber lights and firelight as when the Keg and Cleaver first opened and it still has that same laidback local vibe.
The establishment has earned a reputation for more than just steak—it also hosts a bustling nightlife.
“The Keg team feels an immense sense of pride and gratitude to have been a part of Whistler’s journey for so many years,” says MacPherson.
Its signature dish is a juicy rib steak grilled to perfection.
“It’s marinated in signature steak spice and grilled at 800-plus degrees with sautéed mushrooms, and sides like creamy mashed potatoes or a twice-baked potato. After working here for 13 years, it still makes my mouth water.”
OPEN LATE
ABOVE: THE KEG’S CLASSIC, MOUTH-WATERING RIB STEAK SERVED WITH SAUTÉED MUSHROOMS, GRILLED VEGETABLES AND A TWICE-BAKED POTATO.
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
THROUGHOUT THE SUMMER
GATHERED LEAVES: DISCOVERIES FROM THE DRAWINGS VAULT
The Audain Art Museum presents rarely seen masterworks from the National Gallery of Canada, including pieces from Edgar Degas, Gustav Klimt, Edvard Munch, Pablo Picasso and more. audainartmuseum.com
EVERY SUNDAY FROM MAY 18 TO OCT. 13 WHISTLER FARMERS’ MARKET
Head to the Upper Village Stroll at the base of Blackcomb Mountain for farm-fresh fruits and veggies, handmade jewelry and art, food and drink vendors, and so much more. Additional Saturday markets on long weekends. 11 am to 4 pm.
APRIL 28 TO SEPT. 15
THE COAST MOUNTAINS: RECENT WORKS BY EDWARD BURTYNSKY
The Audain Art Museum features pieces of Toronto-based photographer Edward Burtynsky, with large scale works capturing the grandeur of the surrounding natural environment. audainartmuseum.com
MAY 28, JUNE 25, SEPT. 24, OCT. 29, NOV. 26
THE PEOPLE’S FILM
The community will decide the next film at the Maury Young Arts Centre. This is more than a movie screening! Movies are chosen around a theme and each film has a special place in pop culture. Check out artswhistler.com
MAY
MAY 16
Whistler Mountain Bike Park opens
MAY 16-18
Whistler Children’s Festival
It’s been 42 years and counting so it must be doing something right! This is Whistler’s longestrunning festival for children and families. Circus performers, free activities, workshops, magic shows, interactive experiences, and arts and crafts. whistlerchildrensfestival.com
MAY 31 – JUNE 29
Nourish Whistler Wellness Series
Various events throughout June to celebrate the spring season of renewal in the mountains. There’s something for everyone: arts, food, mindfulness events, and more. Check out whistler.com
JUNE
JUNE 7
Whistler Half Marathon
It’s a weekend for all racers. There’s a kids run, a 5K, a 10K, and of course, the Whistler half marathon. There’s also a 32K course to really test your mettle.
JUNE 14
The Back Forty
A 28-kilometre mountain biking race in the heart of Whistler. Last year riders faced a 1,461-metre climb and 1,471-metre descent over three stages: Check out Cheakamus, the West Side Wallop, and Beaver’s Epic. The 2025 course details will be released closer to the date. Go to worca.com
JUNE 28 – JULY 1
Canada Day Long Weekend
Don your red and white this weekend and celebrate all things Canadian.
JULY
JULY 1
Whistler Summer Concert Series: Bahamas
Free outdoor music in the mountains.
Whistler Olympic Plaza 6:30pm
JULY 3 – 4
Whistler Summer Concert Series: TBA
Free outdoor music in the mountains.
Whistler Olympic Plaza 6:30pm
10/11
Whistler Summer Concert Series: TBA
Free outdoor music in the mountains.
Whistler Olympic Plaza 6:30pm
JULY 10 – 11
Art on the Lake
Free live music and working artists celebrate in the height of summer at this unique art event. This year the event is taking place at Lost Lake rather than Lakeside Park. Free to attend. artswhistler.com
JULY 17 – 18
Whistler Summer Concert Series: TBA
Free outdoor music in the mountains.
Whistler Olympic Plaza 6:30pm
JULY 24 – 25
Whistler Summer Concert Series: TBA
Free outdoor music in the mountains.
Whistler Olympic Plaza 6:30pm
AUGUST
AUG. 6 – 9
Flag Stop Theatre & Arts Festival
This is the 14th annual Flag Stop festival in Whistler with four days and nights of original theatre, live music, comedy and more. thepointartists.com
AUG. 8 – 17
Crankworx
Ten days of the best mountain biking festival in the world. Crankworx was born in Whistler 20 years ago and returns once again this summer, bringing all levels of race competition, cultural events and more. This is Whistler at its summertime best. crankworx.com
AUG. 12
Deep Summer
Six photographers showcase their art set to music. Free. On the big screen at Whistler Olympic Plaza. 8-9:30pm
AUG. 14
Dirt Diaries
Do not miss this filmmaker showdown with six unique stories about riding bikes. Free. On the big screen at Whistler Olympic Plaza. 8-9:30 pm.
AUG. 21 – 22
Whistler Summer Concert Series: TBA
Free outdoor music in the mountains.
Whistler Olympic Plaza 6:30pm.
AUG. 23
The Witsend
An enduro mountain bike ride for female bikers, The Witsend is back this year with another awesome event. Geared to intermediate to advanced riders, this is a way to connect with other female riders in the community. The full course is 29 km long, the short course is 22 km. Check out worca.com
AUG. 28 – 29
Whistler Summer Concert Series: TBA
Free outdoor music in the mountains.
Whistler Olympic Plaza 6:30pm.
SEPTEMBER
SEPT. 13
Whistler Village Beer Festival
Enjoy beer in the mountains at Whistler Olympic Plaza at the annual beer festival. For tickets go to gibbonswhistler.com
OCTOBER
OCT. 13
Whistler Mountain Bike Park closes
OCT. 30 –NOV. 2
Whistler Writers’ Festival
The annual fall event is a celebration of the written word. Guest authors, workshops, readings, speaker panels and great conversation. Check out whistlerwritersfest.com
NOVEMBER
NOV. 6 – 16
Cornucopia
Ten days celebrating food and wine in the mountains in this annual festival. Check out whistler. com for more details.
NOV. 21
Whistler Blackcomb opening day For the 2025-26 winter season
Explore Whistler by bus!
WHISTLER VILLAGE & UPPER VILLAGE MAP
