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By the mid 1920s, most of the loggers and mill workers hod abandoned Hollyburn because they were unable to make a profit from their operations, the remaining stands of useable timber were inaccessible due to their high elevation and the water supply for the flumes was unreliable. In 1923, Rudolph Jules Verne, a Swedish immigrant and an accomplished skier, made hi first trip to Hollyburn. Intending to go to Grouse Mountain, Verne and his companions got on the ferry to West Vancouver by mistake. Rather than return, they walked through the small village and eventually found a trail that let to the deserted buildings near the Naismith Shinglebolt Mill at the western end of Hollyburn Ridge. Higher up, they encountered enticing expanses of snow on the plateau below Hollyburn Peak. Verne, always the enthusiastic entrepreneur, recognized that money might be made here. By the beginning of January, 1925, Verne, Eilif Haxthow, Uno Hillstrom and others had set up a ski lodge and rental shop in the bunkhouses at the abandoned mill. Hikers began to make the two to three hour trip to the new ‘ski camp’ where they could purchase meals and overnight accommodation on a wooden bunk in an unheated room with a layer of green boughs for a mattress. In the evening, if so inclined, they could dance to music from a gramophone player. In the morning, heavy wooden skis could be rented and were strapped onto any shoes the renter happened to be wearing. A large snow-covered sawdust heap became the first ski run. More adventurous skiers hiked up to First Lake, where snow conditions were better. During the winters of 1925 and 1926 there was so little snowfall at the Naismith Mill site that Verne decided to move his operation to First Lake. With the help of three Swedes - Oscar Pearson, Ole Anderson, Andrew Irvine and a team of horses, Verne skidded the dismantled ski camp building up a muddy, slippery trail to a site on the west side of the lake. There they constructed a ‘temporary’ shelter out of the salvaged logs, planks and shakes, intending to replace it with a more elaborate lodge later on. This ‘temporary’ building, named the Hollyburn Ski Camp, was never replaced. It still stands beside First Lake. Like its predecessor at the Old Mill site, the Hollyburn Ski Camp was combined lodge, restaurant and dance hall, complete with a gramophone player. It ‘officially’ opened on January 16, 1927. Assisted by local skiers, the Swedes cut ski runs out of the virgin forest, using the timber to build rental cabins. The main ski run was 20 to 23 feet (6-7 m) wide, but it ran from Hollyburn Peak down to West Lake, a distance of 2 V2 to three miles (4-5 km). There were several ski jumps, including one at First Lake, where ‘the three musketeers’ - Nordahl Kaldahl, Henry Sotvedt, Tom Mobraaten, (Canadian jumper at the 1934 and 1948 Olympics) and others like Nels Nelson, Axel Sneiss, Jack Pratt and Jack Roocroft trained and competed. By 1931, Verne had incurred such deep debts with the Swedes, they took over the operation. It is widely accepted that the thirties, forties and early fifties were Hollyburn’s ‘golden age.’ Late Friday afternoon, up to 400 young men and women from Vancouver would start their weekend trip to the mountain with a ride on the streetcar to the ferry slip at the foot of Columbia and Hastings and walk to the ferry. There they paid ten cents for the 30 minute ride through the First Narrows to the dock at Ambleside. In the gathering dark, skiers and partygoers would make their way from the ferry dock up the trail to the lodges and cabins of Hollyburn, lighting their way with bug lights and miners’ carbide lamps. On Saturday, more folks would hike up the mountain for an afternoon of skiing before going to the lodge for the Saturday Night Dance. In 1946, the Hollyburn Ski Camp was purchased by the Burfield family from Oscar, Ole and Andrew who were growing weary from carrying the heavy loads of supplies up the mountain. The Burfields renamed the ski camp “Hollyburn Ski Lodge." Men’s and women’s dorms were built near the lodge to accommodate the increasing numbers of visitors.