B.C. Interior's rich ski history presented in Kamloops exhibit
Show features old wooden skis, fashions from decades past, photos and awards
A new exhibit at the Kamloops Museum and Archives takes visitors through a history of ski culture in the region.
Featuring old helmets, equipment, chairlifts, photos and awards, Powder Keg: Downhill Ski Culture in Kamloops, explores the history of skiing and the culture around the popular winter sport in B.C.'s Interior.
"Kamloops is many things. Among those things, it's a ski town. We wanted to take a snapshot of the ski culture in Kamloops," said Matt Macintosh, curator at the museum.
The opening of the exhibit is timely, with the Winter Olympics on the horizon and the B.C. Winter Games set to take place in Kamloops later this month.
"It's a great opportunity for everyone to get together and celebrate the sport of skiing," said Christina Antoniak, Sun Peaks director of marketing and communications.
"There are so many people in the Sun Peaks community that have been around for many, many years and have seen the evolution from Tod Mountain into what it is today, and a lot of that history lives in the hands of our locals."
Sun Peaks, formerly Tod Mountain, is one of many ski hills that have operated in the Kamloops area. There is also the family-oriented and lower-priced Harper Mountain; Kamloops Ski Hill, which is no longer in operation; and Grandview Ski Acres, a family-run hill in Knutsford, just outside of Kamloops, which is also no longer running.
In addition, several world-class athletes have called the Kamloops area home, including Nancy Greene Raine, Elli Terwiel, Lark Frolek-Dale, and Kenny Dale.
"[The exhibit] is really a good reminder of how rich the history is," Greene Raine said. "It's kind of neat."
"I hope it gets people excited to ski," Macintosh said.
The exhibit runs until May 26.
With files from Doug Herbert
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