Rossland Ski Clubs & Cabins
Although Rosslanders continued to ski in the early 1920s, it took the 1927 arrival of Trygve Nora, another Norwegian and a remarkable jumper and slalom skier, to revive the competitive sport and renew overall interest in skiing.
2292.0026: Trail Ski Club clearing run on Red Mountain, circa 1935
Trail Ski Club, clearing run for rope tow at the base of Red Mountain. Circa 1935. This is at the bottom of the chair left that was built in 1947.
In 1929, the Trail-Rossland Ski Club was formed. In 1933 the Club split to form the Trail Ski Club (TSC) and the Rossland Ski Club (RSC). Ski jumping was still the primary competitive sport and by 1934, the TSC had built two hills, one north of the reservoir and one down in the Trail area. Their club cabin was up what is now called the Old Red Mountain Road. In 1934, the RSC built a cabin and a jump on Monte Christo Mountain, across from the present-day Block Motel.
In addition, members from the TSC and RSC got together to install a gas-driven rope tow on the present lift line on Red Mountain – from approximately towers 2 to 5. This was installed in 1941.
While each club had its own club cabins, skiers from both clubs built and used other cabins around the mountains as basecamps for touring up to the higher peaks and ridges. Cabins were built in the area between Grey and Granite Mountains (roughly along Rino’s Run is at RED Mountain Resort). The first was the Klister Klub cabin, built by TSC members. Ed Stiles, Ernie Mason and other members of the TSC started work on the Klister Klub cabin in 1938 and finished in 1939. Most of the work was done on-site such as cutting and fitting logs and making the cedar shake roof. Any other materials they needed were carried in on their backs.
In 1939, RSC members built their own cabin a few hundred yards down the creek.
2292.0044: Squaw Basin Cabin
Group of people at Squaw Basin Cabin, under construction. Date unknown.
The RMDC acknowledges that the name of the “Squaw Basin,” the area between Granite and Grey Mountains, is derogatory and that the term “Squaw” has historically been used as a slur against Indigenous people. The RMDC does not intend to cause offence by using this terminology within its historical context.
2292.0023: Rossland Ski Jump, 1935
Rossland Ski Club Ski Jumping meet in 1935. Cabin North of Reservoir, Red Mountain in background.
2292.0010: First Ski Cabin in Rossland
First Ski Cabin In Rossland. Front Row (Left to Right): Dolly Riley (Mrs. Pat), Jean Wilson, Allan Stinson, Bob Scorgie ??, Morden Hoyte. Back Row (Left to Right): Les Treverton (forehead only), Mary & Ernie Beaulieu, Doreen Wilson, Dot Van, Molly Beley, Jimmy Shearer, Jimmy Douglas.
2289.0068: Rossland Ski Club Cabin
Other groups built their own cabins as well. The Yodel Inn was built in 1944 by Ches Edwards, Sammy Martin, Windy Williams, Gil Page, and Vic Walker. Bob & Dot Van and Judge Plewman had cabins as well, and Sig By and Ton Kalhovd built one in Plewman Basin. Even Richie Mann and friends built a cabin on Indian Flats when they were teenagers! Many of the cabins were destroyed or fell into disuse, but there are some that are still actively used - watch the videos below to learn more!
“At Yodel Inn”
Composed by Mrs. Ches Edwards
Tune: - “Don’t Fence me in”
Oh give me snow, lots of snow ‘neath a starry sky above
At Yodel Inn.
Let me ski through those wide open spaces that I love
At Yodel Inn.
Let me be by myself on Record or Green
Schuss off the ridge with that forward lean
Hike up to Grey where all my friends are ski-in
At Yodel Inn.
Just turn me loose let me slide and glide along on top of the powder snow
On my old skis let me wander over yonder where I see old Glory glow
I want to ride through the basin where the creek begins
Ski through the trees with their frosty limbs
Shake off my troubles and put on those grins
At Yodel Inn.
Oh give me rum, lots of rum and a mug to mix it in
At Yodel Inn.
Give me sugar, not much water, I don’t like it too damned thin
At Yodel Inn.
Let me sit by the fire, toast my feet and read Esquire
Eat lots of chow, what more could I desire
The rum will make me high and I’ll get higher and higher
At Yodel Inn.
The Backcountry Cabins
“Cookie” L’Ecluse and “Booty” Griffiths were two of the most prolific cabin builders in the Rossland Range. Many of the cabins still in the Rossland Range were originally built by the two of them with a whole group of friends and volunteers over the years. These early cabins, except one, were a unique design: ‘A’ frames with a roof of heavy, clear plastic. Each shelter needed a stove. The snow slid down the sides of the plastic and with the heat of the stove, built a solid base of snow on the outside walls, which insulated the cabin! Sunlight could come in through the clear plastic roof. The cabins were built so people could have a place to take shelter or warm up while out enjoying skiing or hiking in the back country. Most of the cabins have been updated and rebuilt over decades.
One of the cabins, the Red Dog Cabin, is a conventional log cabin. Cookie L’Ecluse and Glenn Fisher spearheaded the building of this cabin.
In the early 1970s, Booty and friends (called the “X-C Runners”) began exploring the Sheep Creek area north of Rossland. There were several old trails in that area used by trappers and prospectors. The Runners built a plastic covered shelter - the Ben Shaw shelter - on the Ben Shaw trail in 1974. Later, they built several more shelters of a similar nature, to be used as warm-up huts. These trails and some cabins (all have been rebuilt) are now part of the Paulson Cross Country Ski Trails, developed by the BC Forest Service in cooperation with the Castlegar Nordic Club.
Accessible Nature Loop, featuring Booty’s Cabin. Credit: WheelinSoulSeer.
Some of the Old Timers who helped build these cabins were:
Gordon Lloyd, Harvey McKay, Dave Jones, Willie Dorey, Bob Glover, Bob Hammond, John Walton, John Forrest, Ken (Moose) Parisotto, Carlo Crema, Mike Keffner, Don McMillan, Cedric Hanson.
Cabins in the Rossland Range:
Lepsoe Basin Cabin (replaced Berry Ridge Cabin), Sunspot, Eagles’s Nest, Booty’s, Cookie Jar
Red Dog, Mosquito, Chimo (replaced Rock n Roll), Viewpoint
Cookie’s Stoves
“Cookie” built stoves for the cabins to keep all visitors warm. He used 1/4” aluminum so the stoves would be easier to transport. Each stove was unique - he decorated them all with fun features and painted pictures.
"The Nancy Greene Cabins" by Chris Tremblay and Jordon Strobel is a 6 minute video telling some of the history of the original cabin builders and featuring Cookie L'ecluse.
+ Mosquito Cabin rebuild
In the summer of 2015, Rosslanders Don Liszt and Laura Mackay took up the project of rebuilding the Mosquito Cabin. The original cabin was an A-frame structure with a Tyvek and tin roof and a severe pest problem!
Liszt, Mackay, and many FORR volunteers were working towards ensuring that all cabins were rodent-proof for the health and safety of all users. The new structure was built three feet off the ground with a pressure-treated wooden sub-floor containing a layer of mesh between the sub-floor and the plywood floor of the cabin.
The volunteers made a conscious effort to keep what they could from the old cabin, including old guest books and a photograph of the crew that built the original structure in 1990. The photo was framed with a list of everyone shown - thanks to John Forrest, a member of the original crew.
Don Liszt is the wood shop and construction teacher at Stanley Humphries Secondary School in Castlegar, and his students helped with pre-cuts for some of the walls. A new outhouse was also donated from the Recreation Sites and Trails branch of the BC Minintry of Forests. In the end, 28 volunteers put in over 750 hours to help build the new cabin and many local companies donated material or provided discounts along the way:
- Interfor Building Value
- Columbia Glass
- Maglio’s Building Centre
- Korpack
- Gold Island Timber
- Kootenay Sawyer
For more information:
Thank you to Al Fisher for sharing his memories of the Rossland Range cabins
Contribute your own memories/experiences with the cabins throughout the Rossland Range:
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.