Fitzsimmons Creek is a large creek in

Whistler, British Columbia Whistler ( Lillooet/Ucwalmícwts: Cwitima, ; Squamish/Sḵwx̱wú7mesh: Sḵwiḵw, ) is a resort municipality in Squamish-Lillooet Regional District, British Columbia, Canada. It is located in the southern Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mounta ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, having its origins at the Fitzsimmons Glacier in the

Garibaldi Ranges The Garibaldi Ranges are the next-to-southwesternmost subdivision of the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains; only the North Shore Mountains are farther southwest. They lie between the valley formed by the pass between the Cheakamus River and ...

of the

Coast Mountains The Coast Mountains (french: La chaîne Côtière) are a major mountain range in the Pacific Coast Ranges of western North America, extending from southwestern Yukon through the Alaska Panhandle and virtually all of the Coast of British Columbia ...

. For half its length of approximately 10 kilometres, the creek courses a U-shaped glacial valley which separates two ski mountains of the

Whistler Blackcomb Whistler Blackcomb is a ski resort located in Whistler, British Columbia, Canada. By many measures it is the largest ski resort in North America and has the greatest uphill lift capacity. It features the Peak 2 Peak Gondola for moving between ...

resort, Blackcomb to the north and Whistler to the south.

Whistler Village

Issuing onto the relative lowland of the Whistler Valley just adjacent to

Whistler Village Whistler ( Lillooet/Ucwalmícwts: Cwitima, ; Squamish/Sḵwx̱wú7mesh: Sḵwiḵw, ) is a resort municipality in Squamish-Lillooet Regional District, British Columbia, Canada. It is located in the southern Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mounta ...

, the creek turns more northwest, flowing past the White Gold residential area and entering Green Lake just east of

Mons Mons (; German and nl, Bergen, ; Walloon and pcd, Mont) is a city and municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the province of Hainaut, Belgium. Mons was made into a fortified city by Count Baldwin IV of Hainaut in the 12th century. T ...

. Fitzsimmons Creek is a very large and dynamic creek with a history of debris-laden flash floods in times of heavy weather, and is dyked with heavy

rip-rap Riprap (in North American English), also known as rip rap, rip-rap, shot rock, rock armour (in British English) or rubble, is human-placed rock or other material used to protect shoreline structures against scour and water, wave, or ice erosion. ...

in its source through the area of the village. Adjacent to the creek on the lowermost slopes of Blackcomb is the

Whistler Sliding Centre The Whistler Sliding Centre (french: link=no, Centre des sports de glisse de Whistler) is a Canadian bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track located in Whistler, British Columbia, that is north of Vancouver. The centre is part of the Whistler Blackc ...

, built for the

2010 Winter Olympics )'' , nations = 82 , athletes = 2,626 , events = 86 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , opening = February 12, 2010 , closing = February 28, 2010 , opened_by = Governor General Michaëlle Jean , cauldron = Catriona Le May DoanNancy GreeneWayne Gretz ...

, which was co-hosted by Whistler and Vancouver. The creek's valley is spanned by the

Peak 2 Peak Gondola The Peak 2 Peak Gondola is a tricable gondola lift at Whistler Blackcomb Resort in Whistler, British Columbia, linking Whistler Mountain's Roundhouse Lodge with Blackcomb Mountain's Rendezvous Lodge. It is the first lift to join the two side-by ...

, the world's highest and longest inter-montagne gondola span.

Name

The creek, and Fitzsimmons Glacier and Mount Fitzsimmons, are named for Jimmy Fitzsimmons, who operated a small mine near the head of the creek.

Fitzsimmons Creek Hydro

A run-of-river hydroelectric plant, completed in 2010, the project temporarily diverts creek water through a penstock 4.5 km downstream, an elevation drop of nearly 250 meters, to a powerhouse generating 7.5 MW of electricity. The powerhouse is located between the creek and the lowest point of the bobsleigh track built for the 2010 Winter Olympics. It is majority owned by

Innergex Renewable Energy Innergex Renewable Energy () is a developer, owner and operator of run-of-river hydroelectric facilities, wind energy, and solar farms in North America, France and South America. While many of the firm's operational assets are located in its home ...

who has a contract as an Independent power producer to sell its power to BC Hydro.
Location & constructionWhistler Museum - Hydro layout

References

* {{coord, 50, 09, 00, N, 122, 57, 00, W, display=title Garibaldi Ranges Whistler, British Columbia Rivers of the Pacific Ranges New Westminster Land District