The Basin Record Newsletter Vol.6 Issue 2

Published by the Columbia Basin Institute of Regional History CBIRH Newsletter : Vol. 6 No.2 The Red Mountain Ski club was formed in May 1947. It was an amalgamation of two pre-existing clubs. The Trail Ski Club that had a ski jump at Red Mountain and a ski jump about 1.5 miles south of Trail and the Rossland Ski Club that operated off Monte Christo Mountain. The club was formed with four main objectives: build a lodge, chair lift, improve road access, and to clear additional runs. Red mountain was the natural choice as it had suitable terrain for beginners, intermediates, and expert skiers. Of course no one involved in planning had actually seen a chair lift. At the time there was only one chair lift in Canada at Mont Tremblant in Quebec and a handful in the United States. The club incorporated as a society on July 11, 1947 and began selling debentures to finance construction. Many of the engineers working for the Consolidated Mining & Smelting Company (CM&S) in Trail were involved in the project. Chief engineer, Ed Stiles, was instrumental in getting the black bear compressor house donated for the lodge. George Phillips, an expert on aerial trams, did the structural design for the lifts. He had a prototype chair built and tested in the CM&S pipe fitting shop. The company donated the bull wheel and head pulley which were from the Red Rose mine. A tungsten mine near Hazleton, BC that CM&S operated during World War 2. The lift’s 1900 era 450 hp. motor was obtained from the company as well. Chuck Sankey, a mechanical engineer, was in charge of the drive. All the heavy machinery was brought to the top via old logging and mine roads on the back side of Red Mountain. Jack Mitchell, an electrical engineer, oversaw the wiring of the lift. Bob Greene (Nancy Greene ’s father) an engineer at CM&S was in charge of publicity and contacted local, provincial, and national media outlets. CM&S was not the only company to donate to the project. West Kootenay Power & Light donated insulators, pins, and crossbeams for the electrical and phone lines. The company also ran power line from an abandoned mine to the top of Red. While the Department of Highways helped with road construction. Local building supply stores donated everything from nails to roofing materials. Paul Jones oversaw the construction of the lift and surveyed the line. The 14 towers between the bottom and the top towers were built from logs peeled at the site by Ed Wyder and several volunteers. All the towers were in place by October 14, 1947. The lift was fired up for the first time on December 7, 1947 with 2 chairs. The rest of the 68 chairs were installed. Paul Jones and Ernie Mason road the lift for the first time on December 16, 1947. The lift opened for business on Boxing Day 1947 with an official opening in January 1948. Carl Tindall was the first lift operator. He was busy as he took cash, checked tickets and passes as well as loaded the chairs. The lift would operate until 1973 when it was replaced with a factory built lift. Become a Member of CBIRH Name:_____________________________________________ Mailing Address:_____________________________________ Phone Number:______________________________________ Email Address:______________________________________ Please drop off or mail this form with payments in cash, cheque or money order to Columbia Basin Institute of Regional History. 926 Baker St #3, Cranbrook, BC V1C 1A5 | Telephone: 1-844-550-9150 | E-mail: info@basininstitute.org Annual Membership Fee : Individual $ 25.00 : Family $ 40.00 : Institutional $ 50.00 :Corporate $ 200.00 2289.0013 2289.0014