Cross-Country Skiing

Rossland’s ski history dates all the way back to the mid-1890s, when legendary skier Olaus Jeldness began to conquer the slopes of Red Mountain.

Olaus Jeldness participated in and organized many competitions in both ski running and jumping - the most popular forms of skiing during this period. It is unclear when Rossland’s cross-country ski history officially began as there was no sport that was referred to as ‘cross-country’ from the 1890s to around the 1920s. However, modern cross-country skiing, also referred to as ‘Nordic skiing,’ shares many similarities to the sport of ski running. In 1908, the Rossland Winter Carnival held a competition called the “Seven-Mile Ski Race,” featuring Nordic skiing. It is therefore assumed that aspects of cross-country were practiced from the very beginning of Rossland’s ski history.

2289.0028: Skiing near Rossland, date unknown.

 

2292.0033: Cross-country race on 2nd Ave in Rossland, 1940.

By 1929, the sport was being referred to as ‘cross-country’ when the Trail-Rossland Ski Club was formed. As a part of the group’s constitution, cross-country was included as its own category. One of the first known ski competitions to feature cross-country was held in January 1937, featuring separate men’s and women’s cross-country races. Cross-country was included in the Rossland Winter Carnival for the first time in 1947, but Nordic skiing events were taking place independently as well. In February 1948, Red Mountain hosted the Kootenay Zone Tournament. Well-known skier, Al Fisher, came in first place in the Junior Four-Way Combined, which included Nordic skiing, with 108.24 points. Cross-country continued to expand in Rossland, and in 1976, the Monte Cristo Challenge was created. The challenge - which changed locations annually - is known to have been quite intense.

 

Black Jack Cross-Country Ski Club

Rossland’s cross-country history began a new period when the Black Jack Cross-Country Ski Club was formed in 1982.  The club formed following the BC Winter Games in Trail, hastily adopting a constitution and registering as a society.  More trails were completed by 1983, and the Jack Rabbit program for young skiers was created.  Around 1984, a warm-up hut at Torresan’s Field was built and a snowcat purchased.  On February 16, 1985, the first Black Jack Loppet was held in Rossland, one of twelve marathons in the BC Swix Loppet series.  The race had sixty-two entrants and also an on-site computer, reportedly the first Club in BC to use one.  It was a 40 kilometre, multi-loop race, with ideal weather and snow conditions.  The success of the Black Jack Loppet arguably established the reputation of the ski club in the BC cross-country racing scene.  

 

Over the years, the club has continued to grow, with more and more trails, permanent warming huts, and a cabin built at the trailhead.  As the club expanded, the ownership of the lands became a concern.  Due to the trail’s proximity to private property, maintaining relationships with landowners, particularly in regards to liability, has been an ever-present concern. 

As of 2022, the Black Jack Cross-Country Ski Club and its racing program had over 700 members.

2020.11.10: Black Jack Patch, circa late-1980s

 

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