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Early references suggest that skiing was introduced to the National Capital region in the late 19th century by an unlikely source, Governor General Lord Hamilton.
The grounds of the Governor General's Residence, Rideau Hall, and adjacent Rockcliffe Park, both a stone's throw from the parliament buildings, became the focus for the new activity close to the heart of the Nation's Capital, Ottawa, ON. |
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Archie Gordon, skiing on the grounds of Rideau Hall 75.33.1 1897 (?) Governor General's Residence: Rideau Hall, Ottawa, ON
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Skiers at Rockcliffe Park, note the use of single long pole, 1895
74.39.1.26 1895 Rockcliffe Park, Ottawa, ON
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Interest in the sport evolved rapidly and by 1899 the record indicates that "It (was) as common a sight here now to see people with a pair of skis on their shoulder as to see them carrying an umbrella". (History of the Ottawa Ski Club, 1972, by Herbert Marshall, p.4)
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Original members of the Ottawa Ski Club
74.39.1.38 1910 (?) Rockcliffe Park, Ottawa, ON
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Demand for equipment had grown such that in 1901, on February 5th, the Ottawa Journal carried an advertisement for skis and equipment imported from Stockholm. Eleven years later, custom skis were available from $4.00 up while skis imported from Norway were priced from $3 to $9 a pair. By today's standards the skis of the early 20th century were primitive to say the least.
Mr C E Mortureux, President of the Ottawa Ski Club for 27 years from 1919 - 1946, described a pair of skis he purchased in 1906 as being made of maple, eight feet long, nearly five inches wide, accompanied by "a splendid pole nine feet long". (Marshall, p.5)
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Members of the Cliffside Ski Club gather outside of the Rockcliffe Park tea house.
76.15.1
1919 (?) Rockcliffe Park, Ottawa, ON
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Skiers at Rockcliffe Park,
74.39.1.67F 1920 (?) Rockcliffe Park, Ottawa, ON
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Three women skiers in early ski attire, at Pink Lake, Gatineau Hills early 1900s
74.39.1.37 1900 (?) Pink Lake, Gatineau Park, QC
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Sigurd Lockeberg Jumping on early cordwood ski jump 74.39.1.97 1910 Rockcliffe Park, Ottawa, ON
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As cross-country or trail skiing gained in popularity, there was a parallel development involving a smaller but equally enthusiastic following: ski jumping. This too originated in Rockcliffe Park on a slope known appropriately as Suicide Hill.
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Side view of Rockcliffe Park ski jump with unidentified skier in the foreground.
x2004.2.1 1911 (?) Rockcliffe Park, Ottawa, ON
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Gathering of Ottawa Ski Club jumping group and others 74.39.1.76 1910 Rockcliffe Park, Ottawa, ON
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It was the "plank hoppers", as they were described by C E Mortureux , who, between 1910 and the outbreak of World War l in 1914, built the first wooden jumping tower in Rockcliffe Park. The jumpers built the tower in annual stages until it reached a final height in excess of 100 feet.
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View of large crowds of people flanking either side of the outrun of the Rockcliffe Park ski jump. Note the horse drawn sleighs out on the frozen Ottawa River
72.22.54 1914 (?) Rockcliffe Park, Ottawa, ON
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Weekend jumping practice became a popular spectator sport attracting hundreds of spectators and on at least one weekend drawing a crowd estimated at 5,000.
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Jumping group, founding members of the Ottawa Ski Club
74.39.1.32 1910 Rockcliffe Park, Ottawa, ON
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They were the same "plank hoppers" whose need for better jumping facilities provided the impetus for the formation of the original Ottawa Ski Club in 1910. While the constitution of the Club specified that all aspects of skiing be encouraged, the early emphasis on ski jumping ensured that other forms of skiing activity were neglected, trail skiing in particular.
In the winter of 1914 the membership base had finally expanded sufficiently to allow the first cross-country race to be organized in January of that year. At the same time, jumping activity declined as men enlisted for military service at the outbreak of World War l. It would come to an end following the Dominion Championship held in Rockcliffe Park on March 6th, 1915 and would only resume following completion of another jumping tower in Rockcliffe Park in 1920. Unfortunately, the original tower, laboriously constructed in stages over four years, collapsed in a windstorm in the fall of 1915.
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Jumper in flight off the Rockcliffe ski jump
74.39.1.94 1914 (?) Rockcliffe Park, Ottawa, ON
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Only the older men were left to accompany the women skiers during the war years, 1914 to 1918
74.39.1.33 1916 Rockcliffe Park, Ottawa, ON
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Throughout the war years, 1914-1918, ski touring continued as a weekend sport and the main emphasis of the Ottawa Ski Club when it was re-organized in 1919. New trails were surveyed both within the Ottawa city limits and throughout the hills of the Gatineau in Quebec. By 1920 the emerging system covered over 31 kms.
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