1944-1945 Year Book - the Gatineau Valley Historical Society

Ottawa Ski Club Year Book 1944-45 55
thrilled me as I took it full blast
from the top; and not yet knowing
the intricacies of slaloming,
I could barely make a sweeping
turn at the bottom.
Finally I graduated to Camp
Fortune. The first few times I
parked at Dunlop's, until I m;tde
the thrilling acquaintance of th_e
Canyon trail and its initial
bumps. Henceforth I parked at
King,smere, crossing the golf
course and cljmbing to the Ridge
Road. I can remember many a
beautiful Sunday when the pines
were covered with fresh snow,
the dark green of their branches
contrasting with the blue of the
skies and the golden sun casting
shadows on the virgin snow.
No wonder Canada has produced
such good landscape artists:
this is a painter's paradise! To
this vivid picture of nature, the
reds, yellows, blues, and khakis
of the skiers must be added, as
well as the occasdonal cries of:
"Track! Track!". Camp Fortune
on a Sunday: how refreshing
in one's weekly schedule!­
a true communion with nature.
The pinnacle of my thrilling
experiences on skis was wheri
my exploring spirit took me to
investigate the trail behind the
Divide. Although I did not
know it, it was no less than the
cote du Nord'. What a descent!
It was my eighth time on skis
and I actually did not fall once,
but please don't ask me to repeat
that feat again-at least not until
I have learned how to check
properly. As the season advanced,
I negotiated the Merrygo-round
and its spine-tickling
Dippers, as well as the washboard
of the Highland Fling.
One evening I was giving special
tuition in Spanish at ·a
private home, when I happened
to see a picture of two attractive
young ladies in bathing coatumes
and on skis. I enquired
about this new phenomenon,
since I had experienced Canadian
winter weather. Although
reluctant to accept the fact, I
was emphatically assured of its
feasability. So at the first opportunity
in spring, I stripped
to the waist and sat on one of
the benches outside the clubhouse
and acquired a nice tan.
Frankly I was shivering, although
I was proud to be one of
the very few to brave the cold
breeze blowing down from Bonny
Brae.
I have 1 been asked by many
about skiing conditions outside
of Canada. In Europe the Alps
are the main skiing grounds, although
other countries boast of
their skiing facilities. The fact
is that one has to travel far to
reach skrling terrain, and this
makes skiing an exclusive and
expensive sport. Canada is
particularly privileged in that
skiing is truly democratic and
within economic reach of the
average citizen.
In that respect the Ottawa
Ski Club has the finest facilities
of any ski club I know. Even
the famous ski ground·s north of
Montreal are only accessible
after a tedious train journey of
several hours. As Ottawa is almost
at sea-level, the descent
from Camp Fortune to Ottawa
is as great as those in the Laurentians,
which froin a skiing
standpoint is the important
issue. The trails in and around
Camp Fortune are of the best I
have seen, although I have not
been to the Mont Tremblant'