Whistler Museum

05/30/2026

Participants at the Whistler Marathon, August 1982.

Today, runners lace up for Run Comfy Numb, often described as "Whistler's OG trail race."

The race began in 2004, shortly after the completion of the Comfortably Numb Trail. The 19 km trail, designed and built by local legend Chris Markle and crew, was originally a point-to-point route with no shortcuts, no exits, and no cell reception. Once you were committed, you were all in. It has changed a little over the past 20 years, but it remains the longest point-to-point trail in the Whistler Valley.

While we don't currently have photographs of the early Run Comfy Numb races in our collection, Whistler's running history stretches back much further. The community's first marathon event, the Whistler Marathon, was held in 1982. Since then, Whistler has embraced trail running, ultramarathons, and other endurance events. Running also formed a key part of the Great Snow Earth Water Race, which began in 1975 and combined running with skiing, canoeing, and cycling.

Today, we cheer on everyone taking to the trails for the 22nd running of Run Comfy Numb.

Have you ever raced Comfortably Numb, or do you remember the early years of trail running in Whistler?

Photos: Whistler Question Collection

05/28/2026

The seasons are changing... bikers (and hikers) avidly wait for the snow to recede to reveal more terrain.

Photograph from the Blackcomb Collection, photographer Chris Speedie, 1992.

05/27/2026

The Whistler Museum is hiring guides for our Valley of Dreams Walking Tours...be part of making local history come alive!

Tour run from June through the end of September.
Flexible Shifts. 2 hours each. 10:30-12:30.
Tours last 1+ hour.
Wage: $21/hour.
Work one or more days per week.

www.whistlermuseum.org/employment/

05/26/2026

"Dairy Delivery by Dugout: Local Cream and Cow’s Milk Carted by Canoe" is the title of this week's article looking at the Barnfield Farm.

Photo: A dairy cow at the Barnfield Farm [1920s]. Whistler Museum collection.
https://whistlermuseum.org/2026/05/26/dairy-delivery-by-dugout-local-cream-and-cows-milk-carted-by-canoe/

Featured Image: A dairy cow at the Barnfield Farm [1920s]. Whistler Museum Collection. The lay of the local landscape was much different in the early 1900s. The area’s epicentre was Alta Lake. Pros…

05/25/2026

Aerial photograph of the Spearhead Range, 1947.

The Province of British Columbia has been capturing aerial photographs of the Whistler area since 1931. In 2004, the Whistler Museum worked with Don Maclaurin and John Hammons on the Whistler Forest History Project, a community-led initiative that explored how the Whistler Valley changed between 1914 and 2004 through logging, development, wildfires, and other natural and human impacts.

As part of the project, the Museum acquired a large collection of provincial aerial photographs dating from 1931 to 2001. Today, these images remain an important research resource within the Museum’s archives and reference collection.

Photo: BC Government

More information on the BC aerial photography collection can be found at gov.bc.ca

05/24/2026

1970 May Party held at Jordan’s Lodge, on the site where Nita Lake Lodge now stands.

Jordan's Lodge was first built in 1936 by Russell Jordan (former operator of the Alta Lake Hotel which burnt down in 1933 and Nita Lake Fur Farm). He, and his wife Maxine, ran the fishing lodge until the 1950s. It was sold in the 1960s. Some of the buildings of Jordan’s Lodge continued to stand on the shores of Nita Lake, though in increasingly dilapidated condition, until 2003 when they were torn down before the construction of Nita Lake Lodge.

Photo: George Benjamin Collection

05/22/2026

Before Whistler Blackcomb took over and expanded operations of the Whistler Bike Park, lift-accessed mountain biking in the valley was being pioneered by a small group of local riders, trail builders, and entrepreneurs.

This Whistler Question story from 1996 captures a moment when lift-accessed mountain biking in Whistler was still experimental — and much of that early momentum can be traced back to local rider and entrepreneur Eric Wight.

As early as 1985, Eric was already approaching Whistler Mountain with the idea of using chairlifts for summer bike access. The concept was ambitious, and perhaps a little ahead of its time. By the early 1990s, however, Whistler Mountain partnered with Wight to expand guided biking into summer operations and develop bike-specific trails, including Bear Cub and Rippin’ Rutabaga — a route that would later help lay the foundation for Dirt Merchant. By the early to mid 1990s, chairlifts were regularly running in summer to transport bikes uphill, helping shape the future of lift-accessed riding in Whistler.

Do you remember Whistler’s early original lift-access trails? or did you take a guided MTB tour?

Image 1: Whistler Question article - Thursday July 4. 1996
Image 2: Whistler Mountain Summer Trail Map 1997
Image3: Bike Park logo design mock up - [1996]
Image 4: Whistler Backroads pamphlet [Early 1990s]

Wight Collection

05/20/2026

Begins Tomorrow! Space still available to join this course... sign-up options include the three-day or individual days ($85/day) ... Book now ... Led by Kristina Swehun, biologist ...

05/19/2026

"The Four-Wheel Force" Stacy Kohut, the dynamic mountain biking powerhouse is the focus of this week's article in the Pique and on the Whistler Museum's website... Read it here: https://whistlermuseum.org/2026/05/19/the-four-wheel-force/

Photo: Kohut in the Whistler Bike Park in 2000. Whistler Museum / Insight Photography Collection.

05/17/2026

Bert and Agnes Harrop outside their tearoom near Alta Lake, 1932.

In the 1920s, Bert Harrop purchased a point of land on the west side of Alta Lake after visiting the area as a guest of Rainbow Lodge. During his stay, his asthma improved dramatically, and he and his wife Agnes soon decided to make Whistler their home.

After first living in a rented cabin, Bert framed a house on the shores of Rainbow Lodge and floated it across Alta Lake on a raft of cedar logs to their new property. Secured to the shoreline, it became a floating cottage.

On the water’s edge, Bert built a building with a large porch which was supported by log piles in the lake. Harrop’s Tearoom was born and Agnes went into business.

Read more here: https://whistlermuseum.org/2025/12/02/time-for-tea-treats-tales-and-a-tow-rope/

Photo: Philip Collection