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Gold Mining to Gold Medals: A Century of Ski Racing in Rossland is up on the Digital Museums Canada website. Follow the link below and click through the website to read, watch, and listen to the whole story!
The Red Mountain Racers
Timeline - The Development of the Red Mountain Racers
2292.0013: Ski Race on Red Mountain, n.d.
The ski racers from Red Mountain were referred to by many names over the decades.
Some other names were: “racers/skiers from Red Mountain”, “Red Mountain team”, “Red Mountain Racers/racers.” After 1980, the team was almost always referred to as “Red Mountain Racers.”
In 1984, the Red Mountain Racers Society was officially incorporated.
Before the Red Chair lift was built (1940s)
Trygve Nora, a talented ski jumper, had also introduced slalom skiing to Rossland skiers
Skiing was centred around ski clubs and the focus was on ski jumping
Trail Ski Club (on the east side of Red Mountain)
Rossland Ski Club (mostly on Monte Christo Mountain)
Ches Edwards was persuaded by Ed Stiles of the Trail Ski Club to come to Rossland and teach the locals how to improve their skiing. He came from Banff, Alberta and taught everyone new ski techniques.
1947:
Spearheaded by Ed Stiles and Ches Edwards (both from the Trail Ski Club), the Rossland Ski Club and Trail Ski Club amalgamated with the goal of building a chairlift up Red Mountain. The chairlift - the Red Chair - opened in December 1947. Going forward, the amalgamated ski clubs were known as the Red Mountain Ski Club (RMSC).
1948:
Ches Edwards persuaded regional colleges and universities to come to Rossland for the first annual Triple '“I” Ski Meet (“International Intercollegiate Invitational”). It was held on January 17th and 18th, and featured the new chairlift. The combined results of the four different events - ski jumping, slalom, downhill, and cross-country - were used to determine the winners.
Ches persuaded the coaches of the visiting colleges and universities to allow the RMSC to enter a team and compete in all four events. This gave the male skiers of the RMSC the opportunity to race against the best and improve their technique. It also gave the visiting coaches the opprotunity to see the talent that Rossland and Trail had to offer - as a result, serveral RMSC skiers received ski scholarships. Allan Fisher was the first of many Rossland skiers to be awarded a ski scholarship as a result of these ski meets.
1950s:
Rossland skiers were making a name for themselves in competition!
In 1952, George Merry went to the Olympics. Shortly after, Bill Stevens and John Platt went to Europe to compete on the European circuit and in the World Championships. These skiers were the first of a long line of Rossland skiers who won accolades over the past seven decades. They brought what they learned - new levels of speed and improved techniques - home to the Red Mountain racing team.
Other notable skiers who competed internationally were Ginger Edwards (now Baines), and Pat Nora.
1960s:
An ever expanding group of talented skiers was being trained at Red Mountain. In 1960, Rosslanders Elizabeth Greene, Nancy Greene, Pat Nora, Verne Anderson and Don Bruneski were named to the Olympic Alpine Ski Team. Although they did not get any medals, they watched their teammate Anne Heggtveit win gold. By 1967, Nancy Greene took the spotlight, winning the World Cup and setting her sights on Olympic Gold. At the 1968 Olympics in Grenoble, France, Nancy took silver in the slalom and gold in the giant slalom. Her final World Cup circuit before she retired included a race - the first World Cup to be held in Canada- at home on Red Mountain: the 1968 du Maurier International. She again won the World Cup in front of an ecstatic hometown crowd!
Coaches were: John Platt, Verne Anderson
2292.0071: Greene sisters at 1960 Olympics
1970s:
In the ‘70s, there were five Red Mountain racers competing on the national team - Pam Aiken, Teresa Delich, Grant Rutherglen, Gary Aiken, and Jack Woods.
Grant Rutherglen was one of many racers who returned to Red Mountain to coach up-and-coming athletes. He coached several other prominent Red Mountain skiers who also were added to the National Team in 1980s, such as - Diana Haight, Feliz Belczyk, Don Stevens, Chris McIver, Derek Trussler, Brian Fry, and Stan Hanson.
Red Mountain has also put a number of coaches on the National Team including Verne Anderson (1963-68), John Platt (1966-68), and Butch Boutry (1973-76). Guy Christie was an assistant coach in 1968 and 1969.
Contribute your own memories/experiences of the Red Mountain Racers:
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