Winter
luredme to thisEscarpment over40yearsago. Itwasaprocess that beganwhen
IwasayoungMom, living inOrangevilleanddecided to try skiing for the first time.A small
club inHockleyValleyoffered lessonsand Iwas instantlyhooked. Those few frostyhours
eachweek igniteda loveaffairwith the sport—one, that, asmy familyexpanded innumbers,
becamea full-blownpassion infectingusall.
Babyhillswere fine, but soon,we lusted formore. BlueMountainwas theobviousanswer.
In the1930s, enthusiastic locals formed theBlueMountainSkiClubwithhelp fromThe
TorontoSkiClubandbecame the first touse theEscarpment in the fledgling sport of downhill
skiing. The first liftwas installedon theSchuss in1937—TheRedDevil—it consistedof two
sledspulledup thehill byacable runningon thegroundandpoweredbya truckengine!
Thedevelopment of BlueMountainResorts LimitedbeganwithToronto lawyer Peter
Campbell and JozoWeider in1941when theyacquired landand Jozobegan the
constructionof a small chalet at thebaseof thehill, clearing the landbyhand.
A tireless visionary, Jozowas relentless inhisdreams for the resort andhenever
missedanopportunity forgrowth. (Readabout hisBlueMountainPotteryventure in this
issue.)When Jozowas killed inacaraccident in1971, his familycontinuedon, ledby
sonGeorge,who took thehelmasChairmanwhileGordCanning, Jozo’s son-in-law
handledday todaymanagement. The70swerea timeof seriousgrowth for theResort.
The terrainwasexpanded, additional chair liftswere installedandanew ‘SouthBase
Lodge’wasbuilt.Most importantly, the slopeswere improvedwithamajor snowmaking
system. Itwasaperfectweekenddestination.And, it got better. By theendof the
decade therewere17 lifts serving thehill—3 triplechairs, 5doublechairs, 6pomas,
oneT-baranda rope tow.And, it got evenbetter.
In1999, IntrawestCorporationpurchased
a50% interest in theownershipof Blue
Mountain, sparkingamajor expansion
process. Youknowwhat it is today—
42 trails, 364 skiableacres, 15 lifts including
5high speed, sixperson, express chairlifts.
And this is just theWinter season’s specs.
Summer isawholeother story.
Thispast September, Intrawest announced it
hadpurchased the remaining50% stakeof
BlueMountainResorts still beingheldby the
Weider family.
Soendsone family’s skiing sagabut
countlessnumbersof other familieswill
continue tobenefit from thededication
of theWeiders.Onbehalf ofmyself,
my fivechildren,mygrandchildren
and thismagazine’smany thousands
of readers, I extenda sincere thankyou
to theWeider familyandGordCanning,
for theirdiligent commitment to Jozo’s
passion, visionand simple loveof snow.
Seeyouon the slopes.
|E|
16
|
VIEW
of the escarpment
DEENA DOLAN FINDLAY
PUBLISHER
|
EDITOR
|
DESIGNER
O
WNER
/P
UBLISHER
/E
DITOR
/D
ESIGNER
:
Deena Dolan Findlay
T:
519.599.7545
F:
519.599.6551
E:
P
HOTOGRAPHER
/C
ONTRIBUTING
W
RITER
:
Clay Dolan
T:
519.599.7545
C:
705.441.6621
E:
F
OR
A
DVERTISING
I
NFORMATION
P
LEASE
C
ONTACT
:
CaraWilliams
519.599.7545
C:
705.888.5712
Assistant Editor - OnlineEditor - Director of AdvertisingSales
ClayDolan
519.599.7545
C:
705.441.6621
Thismagazine is published four times a year byGeorgianBay Living - EscarpmentMagazine Inc.
Distributed free of charge to over 20,000homes, businesses and services.
Paid Subscriptionholders haveguaranteeddelivery.
Subscription rates: 4 issues-$13.50HST incl. (Oneyear)or8 issues-$24.00HST incl (Two years)
No part or portions of this publicationmay be reproducedwithout writtenpermission of the Editor.
Wewelcome all comments and letters. Uncreditedphotos purchased fromBigstock.
AttentionPostmaster: Please direct post office returns& changes of address to:
GBL-Escarpment Magazine Inc. 16739
th
Sideroad, RR#1 Thornbury, ON N0H2P0
GeorgianBay Living - EscarpmentMagazine
®
is a registered trademark of Georgian Bay Living - Escarpment Magazine Inc
.
Canadian Publications Mail Product Sales - Agreement #048-4008. Postage paid at Thornbury, On.
Return postage guaranteed.©1994 All rights reserved.
Escarpment
®
GEORGIANBAYLIVING
agaz ine
PRINTED IN CANADA
Opinions and statements written by contributors of Escarpment and that appear in this issue or others are entirely their own
responsibility and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the owner of GBL--Escarpment Magazine Inc.
ESCARPMENT is printed in a Canadian facility that operates in strict compliance to Environmental concerns and has a
reputation for its social responsibility, good corporate citizenship and its strong sense of ethics—striving everyday
to improve their environmental performance. Please recycle this magazine.
your link to style, culture& recreation
Theoriginal painting isavailable forpurchase.
Pleasedirect all inquiries to:
Toviewmoreoriginalworks, tour theGallery site -
THIS
ISSUE’S
COVER
ART
WINTER BRANCHES -
original paintingbyDeenaDolan (Findlay)
Acrylicon rough-sawnpineboard - 11.25”x15.5”’
WINTER
2015
ESCARPMENT
®
|
EDITOR’SPAGE
