SKI-ING in the CANADIAN ROCKIES by G

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24 CANADIAN SKI ANNUAL wegian school, which regards form and muscles just as sore as those of your thighs method secondary to successful getting and calves. there. Suffice to say that in Switzerland, You'll be discouraged, of course. Watch where one hears that the English are rapidly ing the effortless skill of an expert is always making themselves into the finest formal discouraging, as I once learned from a ski runners in the world and organizing the little boy who lived, with a dozen or 'so sport into endless clubs for competition and brothers and sisters, on a typical habitant classification of records, purity and grace of farm a couple of miles from our inn, in the execution are the thing. In the Norwegian Laurentians. Behind the sprawling, weather school, which the Canadians tend to follow, beaten farm buildings rose a perfect practice . ski running is rather a cross country sport, slope three or four hundred yards long, with with form less emphasized, and the attitude varying gradients to suit any taste. On it in general more easy-going. A good runner we were engaged in the usual novice occupa (incidentally, the correct term is ski running, tion of practising standing up, and getting so not ski-ing) can make prodigious time over good at it that some of us were trying to the snow, and in this his poles are half add flourishes to our signatures in the shape the game, increasing his speed downhill and of tentative and invariably abortive stops powerfully helping him along on the flat and turns. Yet, were we impressed with our by keeping up the run between strokes. On selves, until this child emerged from the uphill work the arms do as useful work as the farmhouse with barrel staves tied with string legs, if not more useful. In fact it would be to his ankles, toddled up the hill, and pro hard to name a muscle in the body that ceeded to whizz down again in radiant isn't used, vigorously, in ski-ing. You your curves and zigzags, ending at the bottom self will be surprised, after your first day, with a sharp (and successful) christiania. to find your shoulder, back, and abdominal Discouraging, like watching Bobby Jones.

SKI-ING IN THE CANADIAN ROCKIES By G. CAMERON STOCKAND NEVER in the comparatively brief history of crusted. It worked admirably, and even ski-ing in the Canadian Rockies have we of until well into the spring marvellous soft the Banff-Lake Louise region been privileged snow running was always available, to say to look back on a season so uniformly and nothing of the excellent practise afforded delightfully successful as that of the last in dodging in and amongst trees on ,a fast winter and spring. In happy contrast to the descent. ., snow-poor winter of 1930-31 when ski-ing Also, with improved facilities contributing, could be practised only at high altitudes, the slalom has become a regular Mount everything seemed to have conspired for the Norquay institution. On practically every peculiar benefit of the ski-runner from late week-end two or more courses were flagged November until May. Quite naturally, in out, the practise on these contributing im terest in the sport increased in a most measurably to the standard of downhill gratifying manner. running of the numerous devotees. There are some who, intoxicated by the MOUNT NORQUAY, BANFF charms of glacier and mountain ski running At the original Club hut on Norquay Pass in the higher Rockies, claim that Norquay at Banff snow conditions were ideal by offers little of interest to the enthusiast of December 1, and on the greatly improved and Alpine-type ski-ing, but with these we can extended ski-ing slopes of Mount Norquay scarcely force ourselves to agree. True, .local runners were given unlimited op there are none of the almost limitless portunities to practise and train intensively descents where thousands of downward feet for tours and ski climbs in the spring. Over may be encompassed in one flashing run; it two hundred and fifty feet of additional may lack the majesty and grandeur of the running above the fu'st practise slopes was higher hills and some of the indefinable made available by the clearing of all under charm of ski-ing in the remoteness of bush and deciduous timber from the steep mountainous wilderness. But for all that, it terrain, only the sparsely-scattered ever is not to be scorned by any means. In the greens being left. The evergreens were un fu'st place it provides ski-ing, and good ski disturbed, partly for aesthetic reasons and ing, for the many who would never ski at all partly to assist in holding powder snow if it were necessary to travel any distance when, later in the season, the open slopes into the mountains for their sport. There is on each side have become windswept and no hardship for the devotee of the ski in the CANADIAN SKI ANNUAL 25

short hour's climb from Banff to the hut, and even that will be done away with by the comple tion of the long awai t ed motor highway to the summit of 110unt Stoney Squaw whicb is now actually under construction. Tfris highway will pass within a few q ..... hundred yards of the Club hut, and will, we are convinced, provide the final im petus in making N or quay Pass one of the leading ski resorts of the West. The ski ing, while admittedly not. of a parity with PHOTO CLIFFORD WHITE that ,.of the great NEARING SUMMIT OF DECEPTION PASS glaciers and mountain slopes a few miles to the westward is still Ptarmigan Pass, traverses the pass about infinitely superior to that of many centres in half its length and leaves it for a second the East, and, as has been mentioned, it pro climb, over Deception Pass. From the col of vides, even for the high country enthusiast an Deception Pass the trip is climaxed by a admirable training ground at a time when thousand vertical feet of fast downhill running in high altitudes is handicapped by running into the Skoki Valley where his skis the then usual heavy falls of deep, soft, finally swing to a stop at the welcome door mid-winter snow. of the main lodge in a sheltered spot at the edge of timberline. PTARMIGAN PASS AND SKOKI VALLEY 11anaged for the Club this last season by Starting in the late summer of 1931, ex 11r. and 11rs. Peter Whyte, both well tensive improvements and preparations for known in North American ski-ing circles, the the coming season were under way in the Skoki Ski Lodge was headquarters; not only now famous Skoki Valley immediately north for high-speed downhill running, but also for of Lake Louise. The original lodge built in some particularly ambitious tours and ski 1930 to open up this marvellous ski-ing climbs executed by visiting runners from terrain had proved too small for the demands eastern Canada. the United States and Great upon its accommodational facilities and was Britain. The Ptarmigan Glacier, pioneered consequently enlarged. Two additional as a ski climb the winter before by Clifford sleeping cabins were constructed adjoining White's party, was ascended no less than the main lodge and still another cosy little four times to the ten thousand foot mark, log ski lodge was erected at the foot of twice by lady ski-runners, and the actual Ptarmigan Pass, overlooking the magnificent rock sumnrit (10,070 feet) was attained panorama of the great peaks of the Lake twice, once by Henry S. Kingman, of Louise group-Temple, the Ten Peaks, Lefroy, 11inneapolis, and once by A. N. T. Rankin, Victoria, amongst them, true monarchs of of London, England. Both parties were the Rockies, all over ten and some over guided by the Club's Arlberg ski teacher, eleven thousand feet. This little supplemen Vic Kutschera. tary lodge, now universally known as the From the ski-mountaineer's standpoint "Halfway Hut" is situated in excellent ski-ing Ptarmigan is an ideal peak. The glacier's country, is fully equipped and offers a pleasant crevasses, dangerous in summer, are well haven of rest for the ski-runner who has filled and bridged safely in the spring, and travelled about three hours in climbing two skis may be retained all the way from the thousand feet to timberline from the Skoki lodge at about seven thousand feet to Canadian Pacific main line at Lake Louise. a "joch" at ten thousand, fr6m which point Leaving the Halfway Hut, the ski-runner, to the summit is a short but exci ting en route for the Skoki, ascends rapidly scramble on foot over rock of only moderate through wide open country to the summit of difficulty. 26 CANADIAN SKI ANNUAL

portion in eighty seven (we counted them) semi - com pleted jerked christ ianias he finally pointed his skis straight downhill for one glorious "schuss" at airplane speed to a point half-way down Deception Pass where a high-speed downhill turn and another straight run brought him to rest in the valley floor a superb exhibition of continuous downhill running without a falter or a fall. Day in and day out, however, Deception

PHOTO CLIFFORD WHITE Pass is the favourite CREVASSES ON ICEFALL OF PTARMIGAN GLACIER playground of visitors to the Skoki. The run down is, of course, one of the Reaching upward for a thousand feet imme classics of the Skoki region-three thousand diately above the main lodge, it was casually vertical feet of wide open glacier ski-ing, given its unofficial name by one of the first some of it on morainal slopes of forty degrees parties to cross it on skis, for on the climb by actual measurement. As its exposure from either side one crosses about a dozen is generally northern, snow conditions re false summits, each of which appears to be main excellent until extremely late in the the final crest, and isn't. Hence the name. spring, . and even on the steeper portions While it may be tiresome uphill, downhill any danger from avalanche may be avoided Deception provides a variety of ski-ing to by reasonable care. Clifford White told me suit runners of all kinds, whatever their after his first ascent of the glacier on May 15, qualifications. Particularly this is true.of the 1931, that powder snow prevailed right to northwesterly lope which faces the' Skoki ten thousand feet ... imagine it! Pure lodge. There are overhanging snow-cornices powder snow running in mid-May! towering above slopes terrifyingly near the From the out-and-out downhill runner's vertical-ideal for gelandesprings and cross point of view, however, a typical "sheep jumps; steep, long traverses; easy nursery mountain" Fossil Peak, (9,665 feet) is the slopes for beginners; and some glorious wood alpha and omega of Skoki ski-ing. To begin running through widely-spaced larches just with the climb is less arduous than Ptarmi before reaching the headquarters cabin. On gan, and as a rule skis can be used to the the opposite slope the pass falls at an un final summit. Once this is attained, by an varying steep slope, ideal for a big Slalom easy ridge, the runner has a choice of half course, seven hundred feet to the frozen a dozen routes down to the lodge, the surface of the lake which lies on the summit favourite descent being by way of a wide, of Ptarmigan Pass. snow-filled couloir sweeping downward at As might be expected at a centre like the about the slope of a big jumping hill for two Skoki the average standard of ski-ing thousand feet. Barring several obvious and technique is high-or soon becomes that easy-to-avoid boulders there is not a single way. The White brothers, Clifford and obstacle to contend with and in contrast Peter, are magnificent runners both in open with Ptarmigan Peak, across the valley. the and obstructed country, as are also several snow is almost invariably hard and is other local young men with mountain always fast-altogether an ideal location experience-Knight, the three Paris bro for practising hard snow running and those thers, Weaver, the Edwards brothers, to "tail-wagging" tactics so useful in checking single out just a few. But even these, who speed in steep terrain. One of the fmest have all skied extensively in the Rockies downhill runs of Skoki's last season was were hard pressed to retain their laurels by made by the Club instructor in this same certain of the visiting ski-runners. Per couloir. "Tail-wagging" the steepest upper sonalities, as a rule, are things to be avoided, CANADIAN SKI ANNUAL 27

but mention should be made of some of The lodges were kept open until the last these visitors. . Hill, of Boston, for instance, of April, although good ski-ing was ex who spent practically the entire spring in perienced by local parties until well into . the Skoki was a better-than-average runner May, and at the date of writing, prospects when he arrived, but when he left he was a for next season are equally as promising as hard man to keep in sight on any big descent. last, than which we can hope for no more! Chapman of Winnipeg, who also made an extended stay, began as a skier of mediocre MOUNT ASSINIBOINE ability and finished the season more than At this centre, two days travel on skis equal to holding his own in pretty fast com from Banff, a group of members of the Lake pany. Several Massachusetts runners, pupils Placid Club spent over two weeks for the of Proctor's, possessed excellent technique spring ski-ing in the delectable but rather right from the first, and after several days in inaccessible terrain surrounding the great becoming acclimated to the altitude and peak of Mount Assiniboine (11,870 feet). accustomed to the extent of the terrain, it They were guided by the well-known 01' was a pleasure to watch them negotiating wegian ski-runner, Erling Strom, official ski difficult ground at high speed. Of the instructor of the Lake Placid Club, who, middle-western contingent led by Henry after the Assiniboine trip, left Banff for Kingman of Minneapolis, one of the pioneers Alaska where, with two Alaskans and of ski-touring in the Rockies, some were ski Alfred E. Lindley of Minneapolis, a climb of runners of long experience and some were Mount McKinley was accomplished with the complete novices, but all showed pheno use of skis. Strom and his erstwhile com menal progress after a short stay. Lady panion, the Marquis Nicholas d'egli Albizzi Jean fRankin, London, Miss Billie Carson, were the first outside ski-runners to conduct Iowa, and Miss Faith Donaldson, Massa organized ski tours into the Canadian chusetts, were all runners of exceptional Rockies, specializing on the Mount Assini ability. Both Lady Jean Rankin and her boine region. The Canadian Pacific Railway husband had skied in the Alps and con summer bungalow camp at this point is sequently appeared quite at home under any utilized by winter parties. . conditions, and that they enjoyed Skoki is SKI RUNNERS OF THE CANADIAN ROCKIES evidenced by the fact that they came out Believed to be the first of its kind in the direct from Lucerne-in-Quebec with the in world, a new type of ski club, destined to do tention of spending a week in the Rockies for ski-running what the now world-famous and actually spent six! "Trail Riders Order" has done for horseback During his stay, Mr. A. N. T. Rankin touring in the Canadian Rockies, has attempted a very ambitious two-day tour, recently come into being with headquarters guided by Kutschera, of the little-known at Banff. John Murray Gibbon of Montreal territory surrounding the Bonnet Glacier, is the founder and Honorary President of Douglas Peaks, and the Valley of the Hidden the "Ski Runners of the Canadian Rockies." . Lakes-all virgin ter ritory as far as ski ing is concerned. Unfortunately the expedition was ham pered by a severe spring blizzard which came very close to causing them actual hardship .. A bivouac had to be made for a night in the shelter of a shallow crevasse on an exposed portion of the Bonnet Glacier where the danger from avalanche was more than imagin ary, but luckily no ill effects were suffer ed, although the trip was a failure from a photographic point PHOTO PETER WHITE of view. ASCENDING THE PTAUMIGAN GLACIER-CROSSING A SNOW BRIDGE OVER CREVASSE 28 CANADIAN SKI ANNUAL

The Ski Runners' Order does not con fine its activities solely to ski-touring, but embraces every phase of the sport, and competitions will be held in the Rock ies under its auspices, slalom and downhill races being particu larly featured at the present although long distance racing and jumping will be in cluded if warranted by sufficient interest amongst the mem bership. An important fea ture of the Ski Run ners are the three PHOTO PETER WHITE DOWNHILL RUNNING. DECEPTION PASS ski-ing tests adapted to suit conditions To become a member of the Ski Runners peculiar to the Canadian Rockies. Badges in one must have travelled at least fifty miles the form of a small engraved bar in gold, on ski in the Canadian Rockies, for which silver, and bronze are awarded for these qualification the bronze badge of the Order tests, and are worn in conjunction with the is awarded. This is followed by three higher Ski Runners' regular badge. grades of membership for which silver, gold, The Order has already a very distinguished and gold-and-enamel are awarded, being list of patrons from Canada, the United based on mileage requirements of two hun States, Great Britain, and Europe, each of dred, five hundred and one thousand miles, whom is prominently connected with ski respectively, subject, however, to certain ing activities in his own land, and the other conditions deemed necessary as criteria number of ski-runners who have qualified of experience in mountain ski- running. for active membership is surprisingl~ large. OXFORD-CAMBRIDGE vs McGILL IN MID-DECEMBER the Ski teams of Oxford Oxford and Cambridge, at St. Margarets, and Cambridge Universities landed on our which resul ted in Cambridge winning both shores from England to engage in friendly the Slalom and Langlauf. The lack of snow competition with the best of McGill's ski made it inadvisable to hold a Downhill men. Mr. Alexander Keiller, the well-known race as had been planned, so the competition British ski expert, was in charge of the party with McGill was limited to a Langlauf and of twenty, and later on he was joined also Slalom race. The Slalom race on Friday, by Mr. H. Spence, a noted British ski ace, January 2, was set on the big hill at Shaw who made the long trip across to help. After bridge, lack of snow necessitating a short a couple of days at Lucerne, to ·work off but exceedingly tricky course. One heat was their sea legs, t.he party settled down at the run in the morning and the second over a Alpine Inn at St. M argarets, where they were new course in the afternoon. The following most comfortably quartered and well looked is the official score:- 1st 2nd after by Mr. De Laplante and his capable RWI Run Points staff. Unfortunately the snow conditions 1 A. F. P. Fane, Cambridge .. . 41.2 47.8 100.00 were unfavourable all over the Laurentians, 2 C. F. S. Taylor, Cambridge . . 46.2 45.2 97.38 and when our visitors arrived the ground 3 J. K . Lawrence, Cambridge . . 51.8 43.6 93.30 4 George Jost , McGill ...... 43.0 52.8 92.90 was barely covered, and only in the valleys 5 F. B. Campbell, McGill . . .. 45.2 51.6 91.94 was there any to speak of. However, it 6 R. J. BushelJ, Cambridge .. . 47.4 52.8 88.84 was lovely overhead, and making the best of 7 R. J. Nield, Oxford ...... 44.4 57.8 87.10 the little we had to offer, they started in at 8 P. Reynolds, McGill ...... 63.0 54.6 82.69 once to get in condition and to learn our 9 W. Dorken, McGill ...... 66.0 56.0 72.95 10 George Sumner, McGill . ... 69.6 57.0 70.30 ski country. It was decided to first hold the Oxford and Cambridge won 100 points to annual competition between the ski teams of McGill's 88.02.