Whistler Museum

View of The Table and Black Tusk from Warren Glacier [1960s].

This photograph was taken by Cliff Fenner, who became Park Supervisor for Garibaldi Provincial Park in 1953. He played a key role in opening up the park to the public by developing roads and trails, and conducting field inspections. An avid photographer, Fenner created an extensive photographic record of Garibaldi Park's landscapes throughout his career.

In March 1960, Fenner also carried out a helicopter survey to identify a potential site for the Garibaldi Olympic Development Association's proposed bid for the 1968 Winter Olympics. His recommended location, at the west end of Cheakamus Lake with ski runs on the southwestern slopes of Whistler Mountain, helped lay the groundwork for the creation of Whistler as a ski resort in 1965.

Photo: Cliff Fenner Collection.

Filmmakers Bjørn Enga and Christian Begin, through their company Radical Films, developed the iconic Kranked film series, helping document the rise of freeride mountain biking and introducing British Columbia's trails, riders, and mountain culture to audiences around the world. From 16mm film shoots in the forests of Whistler to sold-out premiere nights, the series helped establish Whistler as a global centre for mountain biking and mountain bike storytelling.

Today, action sports photography and filmmaking remain an important part of Whistler's cultural identity, building on a legacy shaped by pioneers such as Enga and Begin.

Photos:
1. Kranked 1–5 on DVD
2. Bjørn Enga riding in Whistler, mid-1990s. Rowles Collection
3. Filming Kranked III in Whistler, 1999. Rowles Collection
4. Kranked III opening night ticket, 2000. Rowles Collection

Timber air-drying at Parkhurst Mill on the edges of Green Lake (thought to be taken in the 1930s). Parkhurst - now a ghosttown - began in the 1920s, burnt down in 1938, moved operations to Lost Lake for a bit, before returning and rebuilding on Green Lake. The Parkhurst Mill was in operation into the 1950s.

According to Norman Barr (one of the original purchasers of the land from Mrs. Parkhurst in 1926):more money could be made if the timber was ready-dried, but it was a lot of work to pile the wood so high.

Photo: Barr Collection

Stories create, craft, cultivate and sustain culture...

The Museum is both a collection and collector of stories — your stories, the stories that make up the patchwork of this place — please never underestimate the value of your story — of sharing your experience — as an essential part of place-making and supporting a diversity of understandings.

Today we are given a chance, anew, to reflect upon, celebrate and honour the value of stories and experience with Whistler's Multicultural Festival.

For more information about the Whistler Multicultural Festival taking place between Florence Peterson Park and the Whistler Library today, 4:00-8:00 pm, visit: festval.wmsociety.ca

We'd love to hear your story. If you'd like to participate in an oral history interview with the Museum, please reach out.

Photo: Storytelling Circle presented by Arts Whistler during the 2010 Winter Olympic Games, February 19, 2010. Anastasia / RMOW

"A look back at the local census 105 years ago" is the focus of this week's Museum Musings feature. 98 people lived in the Valley back in 1921. The article touches on jobs, marital status, ages of the residents back then -- and celebrates that 15 different countries were listed as place of origin. Whistler continues to be a culture mosaic...

Read the full article in this week's Pique Newsmagazine or at this link:
https://whistlermuseum.org/2026/06/09/a-look-back-at-the-local-census-105-years-ago/

DAILY (by Donation!) Walking Tours begin TODAY! We meet at 11 a.m. outside the Visitor Centre...tours are just over an hour! Step into the past, falling into the footfalls of this town's vibrant history! Rain or Shine!

Donations gratefully accepted.

Logging operation at Parkhurst Mill (between 1927-1929), on the edges of Green Lake. The photograph shows the railcar, a spar tree, and the steam donkey. The man standing on the log in the foreground is Ross Barr.

Photo: Barr Collection

Special Exhibition closes on June 14th ... less than a week-and-a-half remains for you to come in and view Through His Lens: The Bruce Rowles Photography Collection.

Bruce Rowles was a celebrated Whistler photographer. His collection both captures and expresses several positive emotions – celebration, humour, excitement, and curiosity, to name a few – while also making space for absence. The Whistler Museum was donated over 70, 000 of Bruce's photographic slides and this Special Exhibition is an opportunity to share some of them ...

Admission is by donation.

Photo 1: Johnny Foon near Disease Ridge in the Blackcomb backcountry [1994]
Photo 2: Climbing Up the "Blowhole" on Blackcomb [1990s/2000s]

Rowles Collection.

Group exercise and stretching at Rainbow Lodge. [1930]

Pictured here is Ivan Ackery leading a group exercise session with chorus girls at Rainbow Lodge around 1930. A close friend of Rainbow Lodge owner Alex Philip, Ackery was a frequent visitor to the area. Better known as a theatre manager than a fitness instructor, he managed some of British Columbia's most prominent venues, including Vancouver's Capitol Theatre and later the Orpheum Theatre.

As Tourism Whistler's Nourish Whistler Wellness Series gets underway this month, this scene reminds us that organized group exercise has been part of life in the Whistler Valley since at least a century, whether for recreation, wellness, or simply an excuse to gather outdoors.