Mt. Norquay Celebrates 85 Years
Mt. Norquay Celebrates 85 Years
Mt. Norquay, nestled in the Canadian Rockies just outside of Banff, is celebrating its 85th anniversary this year, and while the mountain is nowhere near the same as it was in 1926, it still offers those on a Canadian vacation a fantastic day on the slopes.
The Calgary Sun recently took a look back at the mountain's history, which will likely make visitors realize just how much the sport of skiing has changed over the years. Norquay was first skied in 1926 by members of the Banff Ski Club, who had cut a small run down the side of the mountain. There were no chair lifts back them - skiers had to trudge all the way up the hill for each ride down.
A group of local enthusiasts, presumably sick of waking up with sore legs, engineered the mountain's first gasoline-powered tow rope in 1941, which is also when the Norquay Lodge was completed. That's when skiing really took off in the area, and the mountain later became the home of Canada's first chairlift.
While Norquay isn't the most popular destination in the region, it was previously the go-to spot for Canadian skiing. Marilyn Monroe even got in a few runs here when she visited Banff in 1952.
Now, the news source reports that Norquay is one of the best values in the Canadian Rockies, at $55 for an all-day pass. That gives travelers access to some challenging black diamond runs and fresh powder with short wait times.
The Calgary Sun recently took a look back at the mountain's history, which will likely make visitors realize just how much the sport of skiing has changed over the years. Norquay was first skied in 1926 by members of the Banff Ski Club, who had cut a small run down the side of the mountain. There were no chair lifts back them - skiers had to trudge all the way up the hill for each ride down.
A group of local enthusiasts, presumably sick of waking up with sore legs, engineered the mountain's first gasoline-powered tow rope in 1941, which is also when the Norquay Lodge was completed. That's when skiing really took off in the area, and the mountain later became the home of Canada's first chairlift.
While Norquay isn't the most popular destination in the region, it was previously the go-to spot for Canadian skiing. Marilyn Monroe even got in a few runs here when she visited Banff in 1952.
Now, the news source reports that Norquay is one of the best values in the Canadian Rockies, at $55 for an all-day pass. That gives travelers access to some challenging black diamond runs and fresh powder with short wait times.
Posted on Monday, Mar 7, 2011 by Dan Macleod
