Whistler: Creating one of the world’s biggest ski resorts

Witness History

BBC

History, Personal Journals, Society & Culture

4.4 • 1.6K Ratings

🗓️ 23 February 2024

⏱️ 10 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In 2003, Whistler Blackcomb won its bid to host the Winter Olympic Games for the first time.

It was sixth time lucky for the Canadian ski resort which had been opened to the public in 1966.

The mountain – which is named after the high-pitched whistle of the native marmot – has been through a lot of iterations and one man has been there to see nearly all of them.

Hugh Smythe, known as one of the ‘founding fathers’ of Whistler, has been sharing his memories of the mountain with Matt Pintus.

(Photo: Whistler mountain. Credit: Getty Images)

Transcript

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0:00.0	If you could have a conversation with your younger self, what would you tell them?
0:06.0	Anonymity is our most valuable gift.
0:09.0	I'm Kirstie Young, and in Young again, I'll be asking my guests what honest advice they would give their past self.
0:16.0	Believe it when they say that loving yourself is the answer.
0:20.0	Among those joining me will be Jamie Oliver, Jeda Pinkett Smith and Mel B.
0:24.2	I knew that I had a voice and I knew that I wanted to say certain things and represent certain things.
0:30.1	Young again, with me, Kirstie Young.
0:33.0	Listen on BBC Sounds.
0:39.0	Hello, you're listening to the Witness History podcast
0:42.0	from the BBC World Service, me, Matt Pintus.
0:46.2	Today, how untouched Canadian wilderness became one of the most popular ski destinations in the world.
0:55.0	Whistler Blackcomb is visited by over 2.5 million people every year.
1:00.0	60 years ago, it was an area without roads or sanitation.
1:05.0	One man has been there since day one.
1:08.0	This is his story.
1:11.0	It's the 3rd of July 2003 and thousands of people have gathered inside Wisler Ski Village in Canada.
1:19.0	It's a big day for the resort's president of operations, Hugh Smyth. He's about to find out
1:24.9	whether Whistler Blackcomb will play host to the Winter Olympic Games for the first
1:30.0	time ever. I was standing in Whistler Square with, oh I'm guessing maybe 5,000 other people and we had a big screen up and we had
1:40.0	our delegation back in Prague where it was going to be announced and we were all
1:45.5	waiting to hear as they were going through the voting. Jock Rogue who was the
1:51.0	president of the IOC was going through the other areas that had been that year
	...

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