There used to be another skihill in Jasper - Whistler ski hill. Same mountain that the tramway is on. The current hostel I believe was the original lodge.

While I don't ski, I am an Albertan and I am interested in Alberta's history and I really enjoyed this. We (my wife and I) were in Canmore and were talking about the Pigeon ski area while having dinner (we could see the old runs from our table in the restaurant).

@Skier72

2 жыл бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it!

Fortress as I remember was one of the only ski hills that allowed snowboarders as the other ski hills discouraged or even banned them. I skied there a lot but the winds were pretty severe at times. My wife of 28 years worked there as a waitress in the 70’s and I am sure I saw her in the lodge but of course I had no idea I would marry this person many years later. I heard that Pigeon Mt. was going to be open the next ski season and we was very excited about this new ski area. I skied there many times and remember a high school friend broking his leg there. I enjoyed the runs which were steeper blues, fairly wide and straight down. Wintergreen was a short drive and had night skiing which was great. I learned to ski at Happy Valley after coming from New Brunswick to attend high school. My uncle and his two boys and myself skied there nearly every evening as we lived close by. It was a fun place to ski and quite a recreation area in the summer with ground level trampolines, a beautiful swimming pool with port hole windows that you could look under the water and of course high school boys enjoyed that. Paskapoo now COP on the other side of the highway above Happy Valley was something to be desired NOT ! I remember skiing there only once and the weeds and tall grass was coming up through the snow and it was difficult to even get an edge so Happy Valley was the place to ski. As a footnote in the late 70’s and 80’s I started to teach at Paskapoo. The conditions had improved a lot and I think had snow making. I taught the GLM method .The Graduated Length Method which was learning to ski with a short ski then progressing to longer & longer skis. We had around 30 groups of 10 mostly oil company employees who I think might have been sponsored by their company to learn to ski. It was a four evening program Monday to Thursday 7-9pm. Each evening we increased the length of their skis by a couple of centimetres so by Thursday their skis were a fair bit longer. After the class on Thursday evening we had a get together with beer and snacks. It was one of my most fun times teaching a group. Let me know if anyone out there reading this did the GLM at Paskapoo. Fortunately for a lot of people but unfortunately for us when Paskapoo became COP we called it a salt mine as all the fun was gone teaching there. Norquay, Lake Louise, Sunshine. I was brought up racing at Norquay and at that time there was only a rope tow and the chair up to the tea house so not for the faint of heart skier. One would see skiers going up on the chair then come back down on the chair. At lake Louise you parked by the highway and took the gondola up to Whitehorn lodge then only a Poma. In 1971 the Eagle chair replaced the poma. I raced The Sir Norman Watson downhill in 1964 that was on the newly created Ladies downhill run. I missed a pre jump by Whitehorn lodge and crashed breaking my right ski in half ahead of the binding only the top laminate holding it together. There was no netting at any of the races at that time only hay bales to hopefully keep the bodies close to the course. At Louise you could ski over to Temple but there was no lift to come back so on occasion we would ski over in the afternoon then do the ski out at the end of the day. In the spring it was a long slog as the snow was mushy and the creek was running so off with the skis and crossing the creek. Sunshine one took the bus from the Brewster station in Banff and the bus took you all the way up to the lodge at Sunshine which was quite a windy road trip. There was a T-bar beside where Wawa chair is now and a Poma where Standish Chair is now. If you wanted ski Goat eye there was a snow cat you could take up in the afternoon for the expensive cost of $4.00 an unbelievable amount for me as I could get a room at Brewster Block in Banff for $2.00. I am 78 and still teaching in the Okanagan and a few weeks ago went to Oregon to give my grandson lessons at Mt. Hood. I have done many sports but skiing is by far my favourite and skiing at Apex Resort in Penticton yesterday was a 10 out of 10. Have fun And there are no bad ski days only ones that are better than others.

@amsivertson

Жыл бұрын

God those winds on that Fortress “Ridge Run!”

@donwurbadit

Жыл бұрын

'There are no bad ski days'. my mantra for the 50 years I have skiied. Agree 100%. Some days the scenery is enough to heal the soul.

Wintergreen and Fortress hit hard....... Plus they were the most loved.

1982 grade 4 class trip to Swiss Valley. We had a tonne of fun there. I think it had moguls on one run. 1982-83 at Lake Eden--my first chair lift ride and pretty much where I learned to really ski. Seeing that Ski School sign triggered a lot of memories. LOVE these videos.

@Skier72

Ай бұрын

I have another video that goes into way more detail on Eden Lake if you’re interested

My first attempt at snowboarding was at Mistahiya in 1997. I lasted 30minutes before switching back to skiis and enjoying the rest of the evening as they had night skiing available on the front slope only. It was a pretty fun weekend as I recall.

Thanks for doing this, these are excellent!

Great job on this video! Super interesting and informative!

Nice work on this

I remember in the 80s . Fortress had two for one Tuesday.....two tickets for about 18 bucks..We would stay in the lodge on Monday night for 20 bucks! It was 8 bunks to a room..bought a sleeping bag to sleep in. We used to skip school and go up on Monday afternoon...😂 what a blast! Drink beer , play cards and ski.

It’s finally here!!

Edmonton had a sister ski hill to Snow Valley in the 60s or 70s, 2km north in the same ravine in what is now Whitemud Park. Afaik It had one rope tow that served an approximate 125' vertical drop. It is now a popular sledding and hiking area. The Grandview Stairs climbs to the top of what was the main run.

I love these please do more

Moved to Calgary in 70, learned to ski at Paskapoo aka COP...skied till 95 Shaganappi was open until 79 or 80. Skiied there a few times. I completely forgot about Lyon/ Wintergreen, only skied there once. It wasn't worth the price and the snow wasn't very good night skiing at COP was better.. Fortress was my favorite The Canadian under the Watchme was my favorite run. Never skied Norquay! Lake Loise and Sunshine were my other two places. Fortress was the most affordable and easiest to get too. Skied Nakiska a couple times, it was always icy.

Great video !!

@Skier72

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you!

You are too underrated!

Good job on the final thumbnail!

Shaganappi was open in the 70’s. I moved to Calgary in 1973 when I was a child and used to cross country ski with my dad on the golf course but remember the downhill course

Hindsight is 20/20 but you gotta wonder what some of these places who averaged 20 cm of snow a season were thinking when they opened a ski area.

I grew up skiing at the Devon ski hill. One reason they closed was due to a massive flood. The river came over the banks and destroyed much of the ski lodge and the lift equipment I miss that place. So many good memories.

Crazy how many resorts existed when Alberta had a fraction of the population it has now. Hope we see mountain biking help justify reopening some places back up to buffer the seasonality and give the ever increasing Calgarians nearby more to do.

Fortress: “Including maintaining the access road” we all remember that evil road to get up there !

@djteako

11 ай бұрын

Half the fun of skiing Fortress was the road there !!!! As a kid we had a van, and once we turned on the access road, my older brother and I would get our ski boots on , and then stand in the back of the van for the ride up. It was fun!

@DerekMatthewCoverSongs

11 ай бұрын

@@djteako genius !

@mikej238

4 ай бұрын

We used to drive up that in my 72 Ford Meteor..no such thing as awd back then ..RWD fish tailing !!!! to the top 😂 shit you didn't care ..it was fun.

Learned to ski at Swiss Valley when I was really little. And then went to Lake Eden later with the school ski club. Always wondered what happened to Swiss Valley.

Interesting documentary. You should check your dates on the Shagganppi/Bowness section. There is a picture of the Calgary Tower in the background, which was opened in June 1967 (you said it closed in 1960). I’m pretty sure it was operating until the mid-1970s.

@Skier72

4 ай бұрын

Yup that was pointed out to me by the cross country ski area after I asked them. It seems that the Calgary Ski Club and the ski run on Shaganappi were two separate operations, the Shaganappi hill had a Mueller T-Bar and operated through until at least the late 70's/early 80's.

Woodlea is still used as a toboggan hill, and some people will put up small jumps for skiing and snowboarding

I went to ephata house as a kid, I had heard it used to be a ski hill but had no idea that the building was the lodge

There was an old ski hill between penhold and pine lake. I live very close to it. Don’t know anything about it other than it used a top tow. Probably closed in the 70s or 80s

@Skier72

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the info

@jo-lynnhodgson6363

Жыл бұрын

Darwell?

@stynnieuwenhuis9999

Жыл бұрын

@@jo-lynnhodgson6363 Yes!

@djteako

11 ай бұрын

yes that would be Darwell, Myself and many Red Deerians learned to ski there, and burnt off many a pair of mitts on the two rope tows!!

@stynnieuwenhuis9999

11 ай бұрын

@@djteako awesome! hard to find any info about it online unfortunatly

I used to ski many of these. I actually still have an intact Fortress lift ticket on my ski jacket from 2003 (EDIT: It is actually 03/03/01 on the date, so I think that means 2001), the last time I was there. Also a "Channel 2&7 Wintergreen" pin on the jacket collar. It used to give you discount night skiing prices!

Castle is my favourite ski hill since I live kind of close

Fortress was so good man feels bad

It appears the Silver Summit isn’t on the list of Alberta’s lost ski areas. Did they end up reopening?

@Skier72

2 жыл бұрын

That is true, I didn't put Silver Summit on here. In hindsight, I probably should have (there is a group actively trying to re-open the mountain, much like Fortress). As to my knowledge, they have not re-opened yet.

You are incorrect for #11. He also built ski in and ski out cabins that at the time you could rent. This little village still exists out there, I'm not sure if they are individual owned or rented and they look pretty run down, I discovered it by accident and it was like a time warp to another land....kinda a weird place

@Skier72

3 ай бұрын

Okay, thanks for letting me know. It appears it's now all used as a Catholic retreat centre, that would make sense that the cabins were built to be ski-in, ski-out.

lesgo

My parents used to ski fortress. They said it had great mogul runs but it never got very good snow.

@Skier72

2 жыл бұрын

Yes and no. The early 2000s, from what I can gather, were pretty bad snow years. I think Fortress usually gets pretty good snow (better than Nakiska), but the combination of deferred maintenance/bad snow kind of forced the closure in 2004.

@darrensmith9143

2 жыл бұрын

I learned to ski primarily at Fortress in the 70s. Due to their unique location they actually enjoyed massive snowfalls (unlike their neighbor down the road, Nakiska, who survives on man-made snow). However, also due to their unique location they suffered from incredible wind at times. I remember in particular the backside having incredible snow and that it was somewhat protected from the terrible winds on the front.

@johnbolt665

9 ай бұрын

Because the snow blew away is my guess

My wife skied at Shaganpi in the 70’s so I think the closure date is a bit later.

@Skier72

11 ай бұрын

Interesting - finding any information about Shaganappi is a pain, but that would make sense if the closure was a bit later.

Aspen heights is for sale, 1 other closure local ski hill close to aspen hieghts was know as sugarbowl. In operation in the 70s till a fire on chalet and most of the 90s off& on till aspen hieghts popularity took off

@Skier72

Жыл бұрын

Thanks Chris, had no idea! Also thanks for the information about Sugarbowl. Will have to research that one a bit more.

@travisholte3241

Жыл бұрын

@@Skier72 highly doubt you will find anything there was 3 runs and one rope lift, closest town amisk

@Skier72

Жыл бұрын

@@travisholte3241 Interesting. It appears Aspen Heights just sold a week or so ago as all the listings I've found say "not available". Maybe I will make a short update video. Hopefully it comes back, as the property looks super unique

@travisholte3241

Жыл бұрын

@@Skier72 I don’t think it sold or at least I haven’t heard that but yes it would be nice if it was brought back

Hey, is this Benjamin?

@Skier72

9 ай бұрын

Yes maybe lol. Who is this?

@RealCarlsJr

9 ай бұрын

Someone named Alex.

@RealCarlsJr

9 ай бұрын

@@Skier72 is this Benjamin?

@Skier72

9 ай бұрын

@@RealCarlsJr Yeah. Where do you know me from though, I'm curious?

@RealCarlsJr

9 ай бұрын

@@Skier72 I am neighbours with Margaret. I think your grandma?

this guy represents everything wrong with humanity right now

@Skier72

2 жыл бұрын

... please explain?

@BigDickMark

Жыл бұрын

Dude what?

@Levity64

3 ай бұрын

?