PIONEER SKIERS' REUNION - Wednesday, September 15th, 2010.
In September pioneer skiers and cabin owners from the early days of the North Shore Mountains will gather for friendship and memories. If you built a cabin on Hollyburn, Grouse or Seymour, or were part of the ski or hiking scene during the 30’s, 40’s, 50’s, 60’s, 70’s then you want to attend and meet many old friends.
WHERE: Returning to Hollyburn for 2010 then back to Seymour for 2011 is the plan.
NOTE: Please bring a stamped self-addressed envelope so we can mail you the 2011 reunion information. Also anyone who has not been to the reunion in 2 years or written either HHS or myself has NOT been sent this mail out, so it’s OK to call family and friends and remind them of this reunion. As more and more people are using computers your E-mail address would be appreciated.
PLEASE NOTE THAT the PROVINCIAL PARK is now a parking fee park. Parking for the day cost $3 or $1 per hour or a $25 Season Pass is available. Sorry but there are no (official) way around the fee.
This year's gathering will be as usual noon to 4 pm at the new Cypress Creek Lodge, the home base for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games on Black Mountain. In the “Crazy Raven Bar” snacks, tea & coffee available, no host bar for a beer. An elevator is available on ground floor to take you upstairs.
About 2:30 pm a pilgrimage to the Old Hollyburn Lodge – for those who can't walk the distance from the Nordic ski parking lot, 4 wheel transportation will be available at Nordic kiosk.
NEW PAGE (April 23, 2010) "A Volunteer's View of the 2010 Winter Olympics"
NEW Page (April 24, 2010) "Winter Olympic Panoramas"
NEW PAGE (April 28, 2010) "The Swedes at the Hollyburn Ski Camp (1926 - 1946)"
NEW PAGE (May 11, 2010) "The 2010 Winter Olympics - Cypress Mountain Photo Gallery"
PAGE UPDATED (June 2, 2010) The script for "Heroes of the Harnessed Hickory has been added to the "Mtn Sports" page. (PHOTOS added on June 8, 2010.)
NEW Page (June 26, 2010) "Hollyburn Mountain Historical Timeline"
Many North Shore hikers have been visiting "The New 'BCMC' Trail on Grouse Mountain" page which provides a trail description and a link to a slide show featuring over 100 photos of the route.
Read journals, articles and memoirs written by Hollyburn's pioneers and browse our photo galleries to learn about the history of Vancouver's North Shore mountains. As the world now knows, Black Mountain, on the southwest side of Cypress Bowl, was the site of the freestyle skiing and snowboarding events during the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. ("Cypress Mountain" is the name of the company that manages the ski facilities on the three mountains that form Cypress Bowl; Black Mountain, Hollyburn Mountain, and Mount Strachan.)
Arguably, Vancouver's dream to host the Winter Olympics was born in 1928 when Hollyburn's legendary entrepreneur, Rudolph Jules Verne wrote, "Looking ahead, I can see that when the Olympic Games are held in Los Angeles in 1932, that we will be well able to take the place that St. Moritz does this year, as we have everything at Hollyburn that can be offered by any ski centre in the whole world."
Learn about Verne's historic Hollyburn Ski Camp/Lodge, located only 2 km from the Olympic venues on Black Mountain. View photos of the lodge and read about current efforts to restore this heritage building. (The restoration of Hollyburn Lodge has been identified as one of the District of West Vancouver's 2010 Olympic Legacy projects and has produced a video, "Hollyburn Lodge: Past, Present, and Future" to provide more information about the project.)
Those who are already familiar with Hollyburn's legendary ski lodges, ski runs, hiking trails and champions are encouraged to use the 'SEARCH' feature to locate specific people, places and events.
Visit the Diamond Head Chalet Photos page to view awe-inspiring photographs of the mountain retreat built by Hollyburn pioneers Joan Mathews, Ottar Brandvold, and Emil Brandvold near Elfin Lakes in Garibaldi Provincial Park. Recently added is Irene Howard's compelling article, "The Brandvolds of Diamond Head". This article, first published in 1976, provides interested readers with a detailed history of the lodge and is a 'must read for those who love heritage buildings and landscapes.
After eight years of research and writing, "Hollyburn: The Mountain and the City", has been published by Ronsdale Press. This detailed and evocative history of Hollyburn Mountain, the first definitive history of Hollyburn and its neighbours, Black and Starchan, has been written by noted author, archivist and local historian Francis Mansbridge with the support of the Hollyburn Heritage Society and many individuals who have close ties to the North Shore mountains. For more details about the book, please visit the Ronsdale Press web site. "Hollyburn: The Mountain and the City" may be pre-ordered from Amazon, Chapters/Indigo and other online stores.
