Per Hall

Per Hall also ranks high among those who contributed to Mont Saint-Sauveur's growing fame as an important ski centre. Originally from Denmark, Per Hall came to Canada to complete a doctorate at the University of Toronto. When Denmark was invaded by Germany, he decided to settle here.

During the war years, he spent much time on the ski trails of the Laurentians where he became friends with Mark and Joanne Farrell. The three of them talked about developing a modern ski centre.

At the end of the war, Per Hall and the Farrells formed the company Up-Hill Ltd. and set about looking for the best spot to invest in a ski hill. After several visits to the Laurentians, they settled on Saint-Sauveur. As well as being served by two railway lines and a good road, the village had hotels and pensions that could accommodate more than 700 visitors. And Saint-Sauveur was already known for Hills 69, 70 and 71, which were equipped with rope tows, and for the slope at La Maquise with its T-bar and two rope tows.

Per Hall and his colleagues contacted Constam & Co., a Swiss manufacturer of mechanical lifts, and approached the Charette family, then owners of Hills 70 and 71. But Arthur Charette had just signed an offer to purchase with Victor Nymark. So, on October 10, 1945, Per Hall and colleagues met Victor and agreed to rent space to install a T-bar mid-way between Hills 70 and 71. This lift started running December 6, 1946. Ten years later, another T-bar was installed to the east of Hill 70.

Back in 1946, we skied on natural snow. Any "grooming" was thanks to young people who herringboned up the hill to pack the snow - in exchange for free skiing. I didn't have money to pay for lifts so I was part of that group. In 1956 Up-Hill bought a Tucker grooming machine to replace the young people - so we can definitely say that Per Hall contributed to improved ski conditions.