Embracing Our History & Heritage - A Tale of Two Lodges

During the week of March 3-9, 2013, HHS made two trips to Cypress Mountain.

On a sunny Tuesday, we visited Hollyburn Lodge and had lunch . (The BC burger is our favourite item on the menu.) No matter how many times we have visited the Lodge, we are always surprised and grateful that it is still there. The greeting sign above the original front entrance is as relevant today as it was in 1927, "Be of good cheer; you're welcome here. If sad and alone let this be your home. Here you will find a welcome kind.”

Hollyburn Lodge is showing her age. People we have talked to have expressed alarm about the increasing warp and sagging of the floor. Different sections of the wall appear to be leaning outward.

We believe the time for a major restoration is at hand and recommend that this important work be completed no later than the Fall of 2014. Some of us began to work on the Hollyburn Lodge restoration project in 1998. Since then, we have gained a lot of support from people on the mountain and in West Vancouver. We are very close to achieving this important goal. People who are in a position to make decisions regarding the future of the Lodge need to act now.

When we visited Cypress Creek Lodge on March 6, a light snow was falling. From the parking lot, the similarity between the southern aspect of Hollyburn Lodge and Cypress Creek Lodge was very apparent. This was the intention of those who designed and built the new Lodge.

There are similarities in the two Lodges connections to ski history as well. Three months after Hollyburn Lodge was opened on January 16, 1927, the first sanctioned Canadian Amateur Ski Association cross-country race for men in Western Canada took place at First Lake, about 100 metres from the Lodge. Less than two years after Cypress Creek Lodge opened in 2008, the first Olympic gold medals won by Canadian men and women on Canadian soil took place on the slopes of nearby Black Mountain.)

During our visit, we were particularly interested in seeing how much work had been done on the new Heritage Lounge. Tommy Swain and his team have done a great job installing photo banners and ski gear used in past decades At some point, a cabinet will be added in which trophies and other ski memorabilia will be displayed.