Ski History Project

Revelstoke Museum and Archives is embarked on an exciting new project. During the year, we will be compiling photographs and information for a major new book on ski history in Revelstoke. The book will chronicle the early recreational ski clubs in the 1890s, the rise of competitive skiing in 1915, and advances in technique and equipment right up until the present day. Ski jumping on Mount Revelstoke will be highlighted, as well as distance and downhill skiing, and what we believe to be one of the earliest heli-skiing photographs around. The book will be 144 pages, with fine-art quality black and white photographs with accompanying text.

During the year, we will be conducting interviews and compiling information as well as additional photographs and artifacts. As a result, we will be mounting a major exhibit on skiing in addition to the book project. We are especially seeking information on the downhill and slalom runs on Mount Revelstoke and the early development on Mount Mackenzie. Please contact us if you can contribute to this project.

In the course of the project, we are already uncovering amazing stories and photographs. One of my favourite stories is Bob Lymburne’s ski ascent of Mount Begbie in 1932, as chronicled in the Canadian Alpine Journal. At the time of this feat, Bob Lymburne was the new Amateur World Record holder in ski jumping, having achieved a jump of 269 feet earlier in the year. On the 15th of May, 1932, Bob Lymburne left town at 4 am and drove as close as he could get to the base of Mount Begbie. He was not too far up the mountain before he put on his skis and set a fast pace, not knowing how long it would take him.

Lymburne described his ascent in the journal: “On reaching the foot of the glacier I was surprised to find that it was just 8 a.m. I enjoyed the wonderful ski-ing that is to be had on the long, smooth slopes of the glacier. After two hours ski-ing on the glacier, I halted and enjoyed my lunch. This consisted of raw eggs, oranges and raising which, in my opinion, forms the most satisfactory lunch for strenuous exercise.”

He continued upward to the highest peak. “In places there were crevasses four feet in width, thousands of feet in length and so deep that I could not see the bottom. The safe passage of these was much facilitated by the fact that I was wearing skis. Climbing to the last pinnacle, I was forced to remove my skis as it was necessary to hack out holes in the ice with my ski poles, in order to get a foot hold. The ice-walls were exceedingly steep and I had to go very carefully as a misstep would have led to a two thousand-foot fall. Before attempting the last bit, I sized up the situation very carefully, and convincing myself that I could complete the climb, reached the summit at 1 p.m.” He started to descend about 2 p.m. “After many wild, swift rides down the mountain side, the valley was reached and I arrived at Revelstoke the same evening at 6 p.m.”

The accompanying photograph shows Bob Lymburne in his glory days around 1932.

What a Guy!

In my last Brown Bag History session, I talked about John Guy Barber, known locally as Guy. I referred to him as our honourary ghost. One of the most frequently asked questions in the museum is whether we have a ghost. After working here for over 25 years, I would have to say that either we do not a ghost, or I lack the required sensitivity to notice such a presence. However, after answering the question over and over I decided that perhaps we should have a ghost, and if we did, I would like our ghost to be Guy Barber.

Guy Barber came to Revelstoke in 1890 as the young community’s first resident jeweller. He was born in either the United States or Manitoba, depending on which census you believe, and received his apprenticeship as a jeweller and watchmaker in Winnipeg before coming first to Kamloops and then to Revelstoke. His father was born in the United States, and his mother was probably born in Manitoba., unless we believe the 1891 Revelstoke census, where he claimed that his mother was Cuban and was born in Cuba. Was this the truth, or was this a young man in his early twenties having a bit of fun with the census-taker? Our reseach shows that his mother was indeed from Manitoba, so for now we will go with the young man’s hijinks theory.

Guy Barber appears in many photographs in the museum’s collection. Many of them are sports pictures, such as the 1891 ski club and the 1909 curling club and the snowshoe club; others show Guy in front of his jewellery store on Front Street, and his later store on Mackenzie Avenue. He also appears in several photographs of local entertainments, such as the 1911 Fireman’s Masquerade Ball.

The early newspapers are full of writeups telling of Guy Barber’s talent as an entertainer. There is hardly a local event that didn’t have Guy listed as a soloist or part of a quartette. His voice was said to be particularly good, and he was also a talented banjo player. He also played alto horn in the city’s first brass band in 1897.

In the mid 1890s, Guy Barber’s name was often linked with that of Lyda Edwards. They were partners in tennis, and at other local events. In November of 1897, though, Lyda married Charles Holten, a Revelstoke pioneer who had made a small fortune with a mining claim in the Lardeau. The museum now has many of the personal papers of the Holten family and they contain some material on Guy Barber, including photographs of Guy’s father and sister, and photographs showing Guy and Lyda on outings together, even while Charles Holten was still alive. What was the connection between Guy and Lyda? Were they friends, or more than that? Guy never married, but does that mean that he didn’t have any children? We’ll never know for sure, but there were rumours.

The early photographs of Guy Barber showed him as a tall, dark, slim man. As time passed, he became quite heavy. He played for the “Fats” team in the “Fats” versus “Leans” Red Cross benefit baseball game in 1915, and continued to grow in girth over the years.. In the 1930s, Guy moved back to Winnipeg, where he passed away in 1937 at the age of about 70.

The photograph shows Guy Barber, far left, with the Revelstoke Ski Club, circa 1891. F.B. Wells is at the right. He brought skis in from Minnesota and sold them in his men's clothing store.