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A resurgence of interest in skiing followed the end of the First World War in 1918. Unlike the years preceding the conflict when the primary interest of the Ottawa Ski Club was ski jumping supported by a limited number of devotees, the new emphasis was on ski touring, an activity far easier to learn and having far broader appeal.2
Skiers on the trail to East Side Lodge 74.39.11926
Gatineau Hills, QC
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At this time, however, the Ottawa Ski Club languished. It was quickly recognized that only a re-constitution of the organization, completed in 1919, would provide the people and material resources essential to satisfying the need to expand the existing trail system. Almost immediately, the officers of the OSC devoted considerable time to surveying new trails within the city boundaries and throughout the Gatineau hills and by 1920 the emerging system covered over 31 kms.4
Skiers on the trail 74.39.1.201922
Gatineau Hills, QC
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'Woodcutters shack' first lodge of the Ottawa Ski Club 74.39.1.1171918
Gatineau Hills, QC
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As the trail system expanded and trips became longer, so did the need to provide shelter in which a weary skier could eat and rest. Although seven lodges were available by 1921 only two of these, Camp Fortune and Pink Lake were owned by the OSC. More club-owned property was clearly desirable and in 1920 property was acquired in the Camp Fortune valley together with a small wood cutter's shack that had been vacant for years. The Ottawa Journal of November 23, 1920 described a visit by Club members:"A strong party, armed with axes, hammers and saws plodded to Kingsmere to put the finishing touches to Camp Fortune - the rustic little lodge perched half way up the great Lake Fortune Hill, in the midst of the broad acres of the Club…The party was accompanied by four ladies who had come to supervise the decoration of the cabin and who brought with them a wealth of curtains, cushions, and oriental rugs….After a couple of hours of hammering and decorating - the inside of the lodge looked like a fairy palace. The party spent some time in exploring their newly-acquired domain. The elevation of the hill is over 250 feet. On all sides are countless hills making this country, which now belongs to the Ottawa Ski Club, a real skiers' paradise."
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Line of skiers touring the trails 74.39.1.41922
Gatineau Hills, QC
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From this small beginning came the impetus for a more ambitious plan for lodge development. At the beginning of the 1921-22 season the Club's secretary-treasurer, W R Stevenson sent a letter to all members. In part, it read: "…It is now proposed to extend and improve the system, to build larger cabins, and more of them…It will necessitate the building of roomy lodges at the foot of Dome Hill at Ironsides…at Camp Fortune…and probably at Kirk's Ferry or Tenaga" (History of the Ottawa Ski Club,1972, by Herbert Marshall, p.16) To raise the $3,000 needed OSC would issue treasury notes for $10 each, bearing interest at 6%. At the same time, the Club would apply for letters of incorporation to allow it to borrow the money from members.9
First Lodge built by Ottawa Ski Club on the knoll at Camp Fortune 74.39.1.1291921
Gatineau Hills, Old Chelsea, QC
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Early in 1922 the original wood cutter's shack, a modest 14' x 12' building, was replaced by new lodge, much larger at 36' x 24' to accommodate a growing membership. A wing, 46' x 26', and dormitory, 40' x 20', were added in 1925 and a further wing, 60' x 26', built in 1926. From its original 168 square feet in 1920, the Camp Fortune Lodge grew to 4,424 square feet in 1926. It served its purpose until 1938 when some major internal improvements were undertaken. Unfortunately, the membership had no time to take advantage of them as the lodge burned down on 28 December 1938.11
Original Ottawa Ski Club lodge at Camp Fortune with additional wing and dormitory.1925
Gatineau Hills, Old Chelsea, QC
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Writing about the lodge in the Canadian Amateur Year Book of 1939, C E Mortureux, the Club's long-standing President, said,"…Other wings had been added to the original structure at the rate of one every three years, until it stretched and straggled, shed like, in a straight and monotonous line only broken by a dozen stove pipes arising through the roof over two hundred and fifty feet of ground…It could not by any stretch of the imagination have been classed among the architectural wonders of the world, and as a shelter it did not have very much to commend it either…none of the wings except the front one had ever received the light of the sun; in very cold weather the inside of the camp was only a little warmer than the outside, in spite of 16 stoves. Yet with all its faults, the old lodge at Camp Fortune stood very close to the heart of skiers…" (Marshall, pp15-16)"
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Skiers on the trail 72.22.251925
Gatineau Hills, QC
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The Great White Lodge, opened in 1939 by Lord Tweedsmuir.1945
Gatineau Hills, Old Chelsea, QC
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