It is slow progress without a chairlift or tow rope. Step by step, the only way to ski down is to hike up first, as this skier is doing on Mount Seymour in the 1930s.

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.

With no crowds to compete with and high above the clouds, how was this skier at Mount Seymour enjoying their day?

Unnamed woman skiing at Mount Seymour in 1950. The onlookers suggest she may be in a race.