When Grouse Mountain had a grand reopening in 1996, there was a special pullout in the North Shore News. With a touch of nostalgia, the piece looks back at the early years of the resort — including Al Beaton's tale of drunken dignitaries on the 1948 opening day of the original chairlift (that travelled up the mountain from near the top of Lonsdale Avenue).

Spending around $15 on bamboo poles, boots, cable bindings and skis made of ash wood was a lot of money for James Adam Craig’s mother. At the time she bought them, around 1940, it would have been similar to spending roughly $270 today. And James did not even like skiing. But, as this article shows, his time spent on Grouse Mountain with friends has stuck with him for decades.

His memories of the 1940s are detailed, giving us a glimpse into his time building cabins and socializing in them, even skipping off work to help with construction, and the effort involved just to get to the slopes.

He also gives a good account of ski equipment of the time.

Grouse Mountain Ski Club cabin. How many friendships were cemented here? How many trips were planned or successful ones celebrated? If only the cabin could talk, it would have had many stories to tell.

L. to R: D. Manley, V. Poulter (?), N. Nelsen (?)

These men look dressed to impress on the slopes. Each has the Grouse Mountain Ski Club motif on their sweaters. The men were skiing on Dam Mountain north of Grouse Mountain in 1928, which would have meant quite a trek to get there. This makes their dapper appearance even more impressive.

The men are club members (left to right) Frank Owston, C.H. Mead, Ernie Wintemute and John Hope.

This stylish and happy group would look at home on the front of magazine, showing just what fun winter can be for a Vancouverite in the mid-twentieth century.

Grouse Mountain Ski Club group near the Club cabin. L. to R: Mildred Bridges, Frank White, [unknown], [unknown], Vincent Poulter.

The Hiker & Skier was a twice-monthly magazine that covered hiking, winter sports and outdoor life in the North Shore Mountains. Updates from ski clubs, ads for businesses selling clothing or equipment, and tales from ski trips further afield are all to be found in these pages. Without web pages or social media, magazines like this were the way to find out what was going on in the world of outdoor adventure.

The Hiker & Skier was a twice-monthly magazine that covered hiking, winter sports and outdoor life in the North Shore Mountains. Updates from ski clubs, ads for businesses selling clothing or equipment, and tales from ski trips further afield are all to be found in these pages. Without web pages or social media, magazines like this were the way to find out what was going on in the world of outdoor adventure.

In the 1930s, Fred Williams would not let a lack of ski equipment or money beat him. Keen to get onto the snow, he crafted his own skis from a maple tree, and his own bamboo poles. When he was finally able to upgrade his skis a few years later, he made his old skis into a pack board. This initiative and creativity was a sign of the times for the Great Depression in which he lived.

It must have been a warm, spring day when this photo was taken. Nip Stone, Doug Manley and Hubert Ackroyd (left to right) pose in wool swimsuits on Grouse Mountain.

Nip Stone ski-jumped for Canada in the 1932 Winter Olympics at Lake Placid, New York.

The Vancouver skiers of the 1930s and 1940s were a "hardy bunch." With no road or gondola, it was a hike — with skis — for around six hundred metres (~2000 feet) to get to the slopes. The fortunate ones had cabins and could extend their stay, getting the most from that gruelling hike. For the rest, they hiked up, skied, then had to hike out again.

Here, James Adam Craig recalls his winter memories, of Whistler, Grouse Mountain, Hollyburn, and in Washington, learning the Christiania ski turn, and the equipment that took him onto the slopes.

The Hiker & Skier was a twice-monthly magazine that covered hiking, winter sports and outdoor life in the North Shore Mountains. Updates from ski clubs, ads for businesses selling clothing or equipment, and tales from ski trips further afield are all to be found in these pages. Without web pages or social media, magazines like this were the way to find out what was going on in the world of outdoor adventure.

It could be said that this was heli-skiing in its infancy. If hiking up Grouse Mountain with skis on your back did not appeal, then how about a helicopter?

In 1948, Grouse Mountain began a helicopter service taking supplies and skiers to the slopes. At only a five-minute journey, it beat the long, steep hike to get there.