Old Glory Weather Station
Officially opened: October 1st, 1944
Destroyed by fire: January 7th, 1968
In the 1940s, the Old Glory Weather Station was constructed as a mountain observatory for Trans-Canada Airlines (now Air Canada). Technicians at the station recorded weather data and icing conditions for the route from Vancouver to Lethbridge. This route was extremely difficult to fly due to the mountains and the high probability of fog, low clouds, and sudden, violent storms. The weather station was anchored to the ground to reinforce it against the extreme weather conditions, including wind as well as lightning strikes, which happened fairly often and terrified those inside. The Station was the highest weather station in North America and was continuously operated until it was destroyed by fire in 1968.
2334.0018: The Old Glory Weather Station covered in snow, date unknown.
“If the storm got real serious, you ran down to the basement and lay on the floor, waiting for the end of the world to come.”
2334.0059 - Office inside of the Weather Station, date unknown.
Met Men
The station housed three meteorological technicians—the “Met Men”—year-round, who were on the job 24/7, having to send weather reports once an hour. The Met Men were required to be seasoned skiers in order to get around the mountain. However, many of the recruits were subpar skiers, who embellished their abilities to get the job. They were forced to quickly learn in order to navigate the difficult terrain during the long winter months.
It could take up to two days to get to the top of Old Glory, depending on how severe the weather conditions were. There was a cabin halfway along Unnecessary Ridge that the Met Boys often took advantage of if it looked like they would not make it to the top by dark. In addition to their weather reports, the Met Boys also measured the water content in the snow. This helped the forestry departments in Washington, Idaho, and Montana determine water run-off in the spring. This eventually became more important than the weather reports.
National Film Board “Eyewitness” Films
Old Glory Weather Station: Check out the 1954 depiction of life atop Old Glory in the National Film Board’s 6.5-min film, featuring both the meteorological technicians (aka the “Met Men”) at work and also the pioneer and horse packer Wilf Gibbard (1913-2011).
Note: Following this short film is a second, unrelated “Eyewitness” film: Easter in Jerusalem.
“Looking for an adventure, I filled out the accompanying questionnaire answering yes to all their silly questions like can you ski? Can you cook? Even though I didn’t know how, at 19 years old there was nothing you didn’t know or at least figured you couldn’t learn. The questionnaire didn’t really mean a lot.”
“We had a special dispensation from the police to carry a .455 Webley revolver. It threw a slug that would not deny a steel barrel at 40 paces. Al Laatsch didn’t think much of the gun so he consulted a gunsmith. He was told that if he put the barrel of the gun in a grizzly’s ear, the bear might get a headache, so we gave up carrying it.”
Staff between 1944-1968
Stan Bremner | Mac Broda | Lloyd Bryant | Bill Clark | Mike Dolan | Bart Dudley | Lyle Fleming | Ellis Gratten | Glen Hawthorne | Bob Henderson | Peter Holm | Paul Jarvis | Wally Johnson | Barney Keane | Al Laatsch | Dick LeDrew | Dick Lopeschuck | Bud Matheson | Hank Matheson | Hugh McCaffrey | Don McDermit | Archie Novakowski | Ernie Perrisini | Bill Poliski | George Price | Vern Ratzlaffe | Bill Raithby | Otto Schwentke | Ken Sheppe | Bill Shypitka | Bud Skinner | Ray Skirten | Dave Smart | Don Speirs | Al Storey | Wayne Syverson | Paul Tian | Don Todd | Bert Toews | Earl Townsend | Ron Walker | Ted Wilson | Peter Wright | Earl Zilkie
The Forestry Lookout
Original structure ~1926
Current structure ~1969
The peak of Old Glory was also home to a Forestry Lookout, which was built in the late 1920s. The Lookout hosted a lookout-man or woman, a one-person position. The Lookout was constantly having to repair telephone lines up and down the mountain, as they were often damaged by falling trees, landslides, and snow slides. These lines allowed communication to other forestry lookouts and Ranger Stations. Though they had reliable radios for communication, the Met Boys were also keen on keeping phone lines open in order to continue having pleasant evening chats with the ladies operating the telephone switchboards!
1995.16.1 - Wooden Sign from the Old Glory Lookout
2334.0060 - The supply room in the Weather Station loaded with all the necessary supplies, date unknown
“We tried our hand at baking bread and pastries, but because of the altitude we seldom got the yeast right. It was the same for beer and after a few batches literally blew up we gave that up and only did root beer.”
Supplies
It was difficult to get the necessary supplies to the men on Old Glory. Sometimes they would be air-dropped by an aircraft. The drop had to be very precise, or it ran the risk of falling into the “Goat Hole”, a 2000 ft. drop on the north face of the peak. The majority of supplies were brought up by packhorses, led by the very capable Wilf Gibbard. Gibbard delivered 25 tons of supplies a year that included coal, gas, hydrogen, drinking water, and groceries.
On one of Gibbard’s many supply runs, he came across a previously lost plane crash in the Plewman basin. Click here for more information
“In the winter of 1956/57, we packed up a 15-inch TV and a power inverter so that we could watch the occasional hockey game or maybe the news...”
“During the summer, our wives or girlfriends would occasionally come up the mountain. Usually they’d hike, but thanks to Wilf sometimes a horse was available. On one trip Ena, my wife, who was about six months pregnant at the time, ran into a pack of three or four Grizzlies. The horses bolted, and they made a record-breaking trip to camp with Ena scared out of her wits and Wilf galloping along behind screaming, “Hold on, Ena, hold on!” I packed our sons, Lorne and Rob, up there for a week one summer when they were about three or four. The same summer Wayne Syverson packed up Nancy, his daughter. It’s hard to believe now that we’d willingly pack a 60-pound, squirming load up there and think it was fun.”
Rossland Miner Headline - January 11th, 1968
The End for the Weather Station
On 7 January 1968, the weather station was destroyed by a fire started by an overheated furnace. Thankfully, there were no casualties. By this time, improved aircraft technology meant that the station was not as needed, so it would not be rebuilt. What currently remains atop Old Glory is the old forestry lookout, now closed after 51 years of service. Old bits of rusted metal can still be found, scattered around the basement remains of the weather station.
Rossland Miner - January 11th, 1968
“After the news, we would discuss what we heard. It’s unbelievable the number of world problems we solved sitting around the table. Unfortunately, now that we knew the answers, no one would listen to us because we were so young. How strange, because now, no one will listen to us because we’re so old.”
For More Information:
Heritage BC Columbia Basin Heritage Mapping Project - Old Glory Weather Station/Fire Lookout
Rossland Telegraph - TALES AND LEGENDS OF THE MOUNTAIN KINGDOM: The Met Men of Old Glory
A&A Painting - “No Job is Too Hard or Too High: Repainting the Fire Lookout Station on Old Glory Mountain near Rossland, B.C.”
Lots of great before and after photos of the restoration work - “..the whole painting crew had to be flown in by helicopter because of the equipment necessary as well as the cans of paint needed for the job.”
Available in our gift shop:
Ron Walker’s book: Old Glory
Wilf & Ruth Gibbard’s book: Up the Mountain and Back Again
Image courtesy of Friends of the Rossland Range
Image courtesy of Friends of the Rossland Range
Image courtesy of Friends of the Rossland Range
Contribute your own memories/experiences with Old Glory or the Weather Station:
The form below will email us your message. If you prefer to speak to us directly or have other questions or comments about this page, please call (250) 362-7722 or email the archives directly at archives@rosslandmuseum.ca