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Page 6 WEST VANCOUVER HISTORICAL SOCIETY February 1997 FEATURE PRESENTATION REPORT Grouse Mountain on a New High! Reported by: Anne Vernon Stuart McLaughlin. President and General Manager of Grouse Mountain Resorts, spoke about 100 years of history on Grouse Mountain. Mr McLaughlin, resident Caulfeild since 1991, is Chair of North Vancouver Chamber of Commerce, holds office in many other local bodies, and is involved in production of West Vancouver’s Coho Festival. Stuart began by saying that he first visited Grouse Mountain in 1989. The mountain must have made a deep impression on him and captured his interest as a few years later, after his family had bought an interest in the mountain development company, he left Ontario to become General Manager of Grouse Mountain Resorts and to take up residence in Caulfeild. Many of the people employed by the company have lived and worked on the mountain for over 20 years and they have shared their love and knowledge of its history with Mr. McLaughlin. He is at present writing a book about the mountain’s history which has involved him in collecting many facts on the "‘old days” as well as digging out many old photographs - some of which he showed during his talk. (If you think you have memories or photographs going back many years which you would like to share, Stuart would be delighted to hear from you. The Society can put you in touch with him.) In 1894 residents of Vancouver began to come across the water to hike, climb and tent on the mountain, taking photographs to commemorate their feats. Can you imagine climbing up the steep slopes, carrying all the gear they must have required: the heavy cameras, cooking utensils, tenting equipment, etc. The ladies especially must have found it cumbersome to climb in their long, heavy skirts - to say nothing of the hats which were de rigueur! WVHS About this time many hunting parties came to the mountain and me of the hunto^ shot a Blue (jrouse - giving the mountain its name. In 1901 the first shack was erected, shortly after which Don Mundy and his wife built a small house up on the far slopes, living there for many years. All supplies had to be baclq)acked in. Attempts were made to build a railway in 1910 but this failed as the cost of steel was too great. At that time two hotels had been built - one on the banks of the Capilano River and one at the current lakehead further uphill. Also by 1910 several trails had been blazed which inspired the BC Mountaineering Club to build a log cabin. The view from its porch must have been magnificent. In 1920 a Mr. Shelley, a local businessman whose two daughters had just returned from their finishing school in Switzerland, was so impressed by their enthusiasm about the Swiss sport of skiing that he built a paved road to the upper slopes, taking 4 years to complete it (The road was famous for its switchbacks.) The growing popularity of mountain skiing encouraged Mr. Shelley into a business venture which resulted in his creating the original and much loved Grouse Mountain Chalet. Former Grouse Mountain Chalet - Lost in a Fire, 1962 There seemed to be much more snow in those years and the road often became impassable so people hiked up and skied down - the switchbacks made a great ski run. Several cabins were built around this time resulting in residents, holiday makers or weekend skiers being able to live in comparative comfort. After some years Mr. Shelley got into business difficulties and declared bankruptcy and the Ehstrict of North Vancouver took over the property in lieu of owed taxes. By 1937 there were no fewer than five ski clubs operating on the slopes and they produced some excellent skiers. One of them, Gertie Wepsala of the TVee Club, won the Dominion Championship at Jasper that year. She attended an awards dinner for champions and met a young basketball champion, A1 Beaton, whom she was to marry a few years later. Together with Gertie’s father Joe, who had long dreamt of the mountain coming into its own, they played a great part in its development. Fifteen friends donated money and built the first double chair lift in the world on the mountain. (It was good to see Gertie and A1 at our meeting and they spoke to many old friends over coffee afterwards.) During this time A1 Lewis built the Village Inn which he operated for over 20 years. In the 1950’s a lift was built in the Cut. Many more people came to hike and ski as a result. In 1963 a kitchen fire destroyed the Wlage Inn, but the $20K insurance money built the Outpost, part of which serves 'mountaineers’today. After that things happened quickly. An aerial tram, which could carry 50 people at a time, was installed in 1966, followed by the closure and removal of the old Village Lift. In’68 the Blueberry chairlift (its trams were red in colour!) was built and this was followed in 1970 by the Peak Chairlift which was opened by Nancy Green Raine and Jean Claude Killy in time for the Du Maurier C3old Cup held on the Grouse slopes that year. In 1974 an extensive snow-making system ensured that ‘The Cut’ could operate even when natural snow was sparse. In 1976, a further tramway, with a capacity of 100 people, was Ixiilt making Grouse the mountain with the largest tramway system in North America. The McLaughlin family had bought into the company in ’74 and in ’89 Stuart McLaugh^ and his sisters decided that to keep the business moving they would have to make changes. Grouse Mountain Resorts became a private company again and The ‘Theatre in the Sky’ was built. The first show was the magical "Our Spirit Soarf\ to be followed by "Bom To Fly”. Continued on Page 8 - See ^Grouse Mountain on aNew High!*