History of Port Arthur Ski Club

In 1929 the Port Arthur Ski Club established a location on the ridge running above Strathcona Golf Course, just off of Hodder Avenue, known as Strathcona Heights. The club members spent the summer clearing brush and building the trestle for a jump out of logs from the site. A clubhouse was built with a road established to access the chalet, with skiers also travelling to the hill via the local trolley. The 1930s saw the construction of a new jump and the installation of electric lights on the slopes and in the clubhouse. Night hikes along the trails were made possible with illumination by coal-oil torches.

Located five miles north of Strathcona on a burned over area, the development of Mount Baldy can be traced back to the winter of 1933-34 when some members of the PASC thought it would be a good place to create some downhill ski runs and eventually a trail was cut from the PASC Strathcona location to the foot of Baldy. The group continued to work on the site, adding a tar-paper shack, followed by a log clubhouse. In 1935 the first downhill run was cut and the following year a slalom trail was developed.

In 1946 the PASC took over the operation of Mount Baldy and continued to develop it, building a road which allowed people to drive to the hill and installing a long rope-tow. By 1951 the Club hosted their first major ski meet, the Central Canadian Championships and in 1954 were home to the National Junior Ski Championships. During the 1960s the Spiess family took over the operation of the facility, continuing to do so until just recently with the Kardas family now at the helm of the resort.

Imrie, Diane. “High Flying” Bayview Magazine, November 2017