Mountain Life
  • Daily Content
    • Trips & Expeditions
    • Climbing
    • Mountain Biking
    • Mountain Lifer
    • Multiplicity
    • On The Trail
    • Paddling
    • Photography
    • Skiing
    • Snowboarding
    • Stay & Play
    • Surfing
    • The Great Outdoors
    • The ML Interview
    • Travel
  • GEAR
  • VIDEOS
  • STORE
  • Magazines
    • ML Coast Mountains
    • ML Rocky Mountains
    • Vie En Montagne
    • ML Blue Mountains
    • ML Annual
    • ML Subscriptions
  • ABOUT
    • What is ML?
    • Our Team
    • Newsletter
    • Adventure Grant
    • Distribution
  • Podcast
  • Contests
  • CONTACT
    • ML Agency
    • Advertising
    • Contribute
Subscription Form

Get notified of the best News

Social Links
Instagram 22K Followers
Facebook 25K Likes
Twitter 5K Followers
Pinterest 1K Followers
Vimeo 34 Followers
LinkedIn
22K Followers
25K Likes
5K Followers
1K Followers
Mountain Life
Mountain Life
  • Daily Content
    • Trips & Expeditions
    • Climbing
    • Mountain Biking
    • Mountain Lifer
    • Multiplicity
    • On The Trail
    • Paddling
    • Photography
    • Skiing
    • Snowboarding
    • Stay & Play
    • Surfing
    • The Great Outdoors
    • The ML Interview
    • Travel
  • GEAR
  • VIDEOS
  • STORE
  • Magazines
    • ML Coast Mountains
    • ML Rocky Mountains
    • Vie En Montagne
    • ML Blue Mountains
    • ML Annual
    • ML Subscriptions
  • ABOUT
    • What is ML?
    • Our Team
    • Newsletter
    • Adventure Grant
    • Distribution
  • Podcast
  • Contests
  • CONTACT
    • ML Agency
    • Advertising
    • Contribute
  • The Great Outdoors
  • Skiing
  • Snowboarding

From the Vault: Celebrating 75 Years of Blue Mountain Resort — Part 6

  • March 2, 2017
  • Ben Osborne
Total
19
Shares
19
0
0
0
0
0
Total
19
Shares
Share 19
Tweet 0
Pin it 0
Share 0
Share 0
Share 0

After 14 years of publishing Mountain Life in Ontario, we finally gained access to The Vault—Blue Mountain Resort’s historical archive stretching back to 1941, the year Jozo Weider founded the resort. For this 75th anniversary issue tribute we’ve searched through many boxes of unseen material and conducted interviews with BMR insiders. We’ve selected these 75 images and anecdotes—in no particular order—that commemorate life at Blue since that long-ago first winter season of ‘41/’42. We hope you find them every bit as enlightening as we did.

 

Glen Harris photo

51. TRANQUILITY
On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong stepped onto the Sea of Tranquility, a site known as Tranquility Base, where human beings first landed on the Moon during Apollo 11. Armstrong named the site just 18 seconds after touching down, announcing to the world, “Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed.” Back on earth, Blue Mountain’s Tranquility, christened not long after the Moon landing, is a choice trail for powder days with some cold moondust of its own.

 

Andrea Hamlin photo courtesy of BMR

52. CORDOROY CAPTAINS
Blue’s grooming staff work mostly in the dead of night. “I feel like a lot of people have no idea what goes on here at night,” says nightshift park groomer Tyler. “I spend all night in the park. Eight, ten, twelve hours, just grooming and building. I push a lot of snow. I don’t do much tiller work until morning.” The tiller, mounted on the rear of the cat, breaks up hard snow and ice and mixes old and new snow. Then it presses those telltale corduroy patterns.

 

Photo courtesy of BMR

53. HELENA WEIDER
Helen (Helena) Weider was born near Prague, Czechoslovakia in 1908. She assisted her husband Jozo at his lodge in the Slovak mountains and then immigrated with Jozo and infant George to Canada in 1938. She wrote three books and was almost 102 years old when she died in 2008. This undated photo may predate the couple’s arrival in Canada.

 

Canadian Press photo

54. TODD BROOKER
The World Cup champion downhiller grew up at Blue under the tutelage of Ernie McCulloch, Blue’s ski school supremo, and Austrian-born coach Rudy Hiegelsberger at the Toronto Ski Club. Here, Brooker is on the road to recovery after his near-fatal crash at Kitzbuehel, Austria in 1987.

 

Photo courtesy of BMR

55. NIGHT SHIFT
Rob Sheridan has been working at Blue since 1977, two years before the launch of night skiing at the resort, initially on O-Hill and Big Baby. “I worked night skiing in ’82 and it wasn’t anything big,” says Sheridan. “It just wasn’t attractive. It was the long, cold rides up—a 12, 15-minute ride up. Night skiing only started growing in the late 1980s and early 1990s once we started running high-speed quad lifts and could offer shorter rides. Since then we’ve been constantly expanding.” We don’t have a date on this archive photo but it looks to be in the first decade of night skiing at Blue.

 

Photo Erika Langman courtesy of BMR

56. THE POND SKIM
Skiers and boarders throw an end-of-winter hurrah by attempting to skim across a large pool or trough of water at the base of the hill. Quite often, they fail spectacularly. And that is the point. Recent events, known as the Spring Meltdown or Retro Pond Skim, have helped raise funds for the Collingwood General & Marine Hospital.

 

Photo courtesy of BMR

57. ORIGINAL SKI SHOP
In the early 1950s Jozo Weider converted a sheep barn into a ski shop. Jozo’s wife Helena ran the shop and sold her own “Weidermade” sweaters and mitts. In the fall the building served as a storehouse for the apples picked from the orchard where Apple Bowl trail is today.

 

Photo courtesy of BMR

58. MOGULS
From the Austro-Bavarian dialect word mugel, meaning “small hill”. Testing quadriceps on Mogul Alley, 1980s.

 

Photo courtesy of BMR

59. ONE-PIECE SUIT
Does this photo need more mauve, or more mousse? BMR

 

Nelson Phillips photo

60. HOG’S BACK
With its distinctly porcine curvature, this north end C-shaped trail is named after—you guessed it—the spine of a hog. Or maybe its name speaks to the squeals of glee emitted along the way.

 

You might also like:

FROM THE VAULT: CELEBRATING 75 YEARS OF BLUE MOUNTAIN RESORT—PART 5
After 14 years of publishing Mountain Life in Ontario, we finally gained access to The Vault—Blue Mountain Resort’s historical archive stretching back to 1941, the year Jozo Weider founded the resort. For this 75th anniversary issue tribute we’ve searched through many boxes of unseen material and conducted interviews with BMR insiders. We’ve selected these 75 images and anecdotes—in no particular order—that commemorate life at Blue since that long-ago first winter season of ‘41/’42… Read more

Total
19
Shares
Share 19
Tweet 0
Pin it 0
Share 0
Share 0
Share 0
Related Topics
  • Blue Mountain
  • Blue Mountain Resort
  • Jozo Wieder
Ben Osborne

Previous Article
  • The Great Outdoors

Would You Like Bugs With That? Test Dining BC’s Newest Insect-Based Protein Bars

  • March 2, 2017
  • Ben Osborne
View Post
Next Article
  • The Great Outdoors
  • Skiing

Behind The Photo: Austin Ross “There Are No Tracks in the Sky.”

  • March 6, 2017
  • Ben Osborne
View Post
You May Also Like
River-crossing-Cambria-Icefield-ABBY-COOPER
View Post
  • Features
  • Skiing

Kwhlixhoosa’anskw: A River Runs Through

  • Mountain Life Media
  • May 19, 2022
Jamie-Mocrazy-portrait
View Post
  • Mountain Lifer
  • Skiing
  • The ML Interview

Jamie MoCrazy: Thriving after Traumatic Brain Injury

  • Mountain Life Media
  • May 17, 2022
View Post
  • On The Trail
  • The Great Outdoors

Helly Hansen Presents: Adventure Planning 101 with Squamish SAR

  • Sarah Bulford
  • May 16, 2022
Dynafit-Sea-to-Summit-Delphi-harbor-revised
View Post
  • Skiing
  • Videos

Friday Flick: Skiing with the Gods of Delphi

  • Mountain Life Media
  • May 13, 2022
View Post
  • Skiing
  • Snowboarding
  • The Great Outdoors

Blower Pow and Disappearing Pants

  • Sarah Bulford
  • April 26, 2022
Skiing-the-Chief-North-Gully-Chris-Christie-pano
View Post
  • Photography
  • Skiing

Behind the Photo: Skiing the Chief’s North Gully

  • Mountain Life Media
  • April 4, 2022
View Post
  • In This Issue
  • The Great Outdoors

ML Launches Mushroom Life

  • Sarah Bulford
  • April 1, 2022
Red-fox-snow
View Post
  • Mountain Lifer
  • Skiing
  • Snowboarding

The Underworld: What’s Going on Beneath our Skis and Snowboards?

  • Mountain Life Media
  • March 31, 2022
Featured Posts
  • Jason-Hardrath-Journey-to-100-standing-peak 1
    Friday Flick: Journey to 100
    • May 20, 2022
  • 2
    Friday Flick: Waterproofing 101
    • May 13, 2022
  • Jamie-Mocrazy-portrait 3
    Jamie MoCrazy: Thriving after Traumatic Brain Injury
    • May 17, 2022
  • River-crossing-Cambria-Icefield-ABBY-COOPER 4
    Kwhlixhoosa’anskw: A River Runs Through
    • May 19, 2022
  • Relic-The-Beachcombers-Ben-Tour-illustration 5
    Requiem for a Relic
    • May 16, 2022
RECENT POSTS
  • Helly Hansen Presents: Adventure Planning 101 with Squamish SAR
    • May 16, 2022
  • Dynafit-Sea-to-Summit-Delphi-harbor-revised
    Friday Flick: Skiing with the Gods of Delphi
    • May 13, 2022
  • Nick-Gottlieb-Pereval-Dzhuku-pass
    Touching the Mountains of Heaven
    • May 12, 2022
Social Links
Instagram 22K Followers
Facebook 25K Likes
Twitter 5K Followers
Pinterest 1K Followers
Vimeo 34 Followers
LinkedIn
INSTAGRAM
mountainlifemedia
22K Followers
#ThrowbackThursday 👉Rhythmic raindrops pounded on the truck’s canopy. Wet snow avalanches growled down the slopes, and the river echoed its roar—evidence the Nass Valley’s spirit was very alive. According to the Nisga’a people, K’alii-Aksim-Lisims (the Nass River, one of BC’s richest river systems) is as much a part of them as their own flesh and blood, flowing through their land and lives.
Join us to hear from the Squamish Search & Rescue on trip planning, outdoor safety, outing ideas, and tips for backcountry travel while enjoying local beer and good company at @hellyhansenwhistler tomorrow eve! #Linkinbio to register!
@jamiemocrazy’s traumatic brain injury (TBI) occurred on her second competition run in slopestyle skiing at the finals of the World Ski & Snowboard Festival in Whistler in April, 2015.
Reel Rock 16 is coming to #Squamish! There are two showings 👉 May 20th and June 1st at the Eagle Eye Theatre, Howe Sound Secondary School, in beautiful Squamish supported by @climbonsquamish! #Linkinbio to get your tickets! #climbing #film #filmfest #climbers #adventure #climbon #adventure #squamishbc #tickets
Finding that picture perfect moment with @sweenyj #mountainlifer
The winter that just keeps on given-er! 🤘#mountainlifer
FRIDAY FLICK 💥 This past March, speed mountaineer Benedikt Böhm @benediktboehm rocked a five-hour sea-to-summit expedition up Mount Parnassus in central Greece. Starting at sea level on his road bike at the village of Itea on the Gulf of Corinth, he climbed up to an altitude of 2.414 metres. #linkinbio to watch the film!
I had no idea what to expect from this trip, neither from bikepacking, a fancy term for cycle touring and a sport I’d never done before, nor from Kyrgyzstan, a country most people cannot find on a map. Carl, who I’d only just met recently after moving to Canada—I’d flagged him down after backcountry skiing after seeing his Montana license plate—had invited me on this trip while on a mountain bike ride. I said no. A few weeks later I figured, “Why not?”
The @rab.equipment  dynamic Cirrus Flex is a soft, lightweight hybrid synthetic insulation for mountain-friendly layering. Keeping you warm and perfectly suited to journey in the mountains. #TheMountainPeople #WeAreRab
"@normhann and I lashed paddleboards to the roof of his truck and headed north along the Island Highway, towards Telegraph Cove. Norm had invited me to tag along on a commercial paddleboard group he would be guiding in the Broughton Archipelago. Despite a long history of SUP expeditions, I harboured some reservations."
Follow

Subscribe

Subscribe now to our newsletter

#ThrowbackThursday 👉Rhythmic raindrops pounded on the truck’s canopy. Wet snow avalanches growled down the slopes, and the river echoed its roar—evidence the Nass Valley’s spirit was very alive. According to the Nisga’a people, K’alii-Aksim-Lisims (the Nass River, one of BC’s richest river systems) is as much a part of them as their own flesh and blood, flowing through their land and lives.
Join us to hear from the Squamish Search & Rescue on trip planning, outdoor safety, outing ideas, and tips for backcountry travel while enjoying local beer and good company at @hellyhansenwhistler tomorrow eve! #Linkinbio to register!
@jamiemocrazy’s traumatic brain injury (TBI) occurred on her second competition run in slopestyle skiing at the finals of the World Ski & Snowboard Festival in Whistler in April, 2015.
Reel Rock 16 is coming to #Squamish! There are two showings 👉 May 20th and June 1st at the Eagle Eye Theatre, Howe Sound Secondary School, in beautiful Squamish supported by @climbonsquamish! #Linkinbio to get your tickets! #climbing #film #filmfest #climbers #adventure #climbon #adventure #squamishbc #tickets
Finding that picture perfect moment with @sweenyj #mountainlifer
The winter that just keeps on given-er! 🤘#mountainlifer
Mountain Life
  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Subscribe
  • Advertising

Input your search keywords and press Enter.