The train out west from Toronto. David, Pete Freeman and Frank. 1962
David. Lake Agnes. 1962.
Arriving at Lake Louise in 1962 began a new chapter in my young life. Seventeen years old and away from home on my own for the first time ever was both daunting and exhilarating. Huge mountains, a still frozen over lake, the hotel still dressed in winter clothing and meeting up with groups of young people who, like me, were on a summer holiday adventure thousands of miles from home. I was a gardener! There was lots of snow and no signs of a garden. If you see photos of Chateau Lake Louise you will still see banks of Shirley poppies, hydrangea bushes and various border plants enhancing the look and feel of the place. I think we planted 60,000 poppies before opening day.In those days the hotel was open for three months in the summer. Then it was shuttered and prepared for nine months of winter. I was involved for five years as part of the opening and closing crew. My bunk mates in those years were Hudson and Frank. Les Trois Musketiers.We were accommodated, fed and we worked hard. After work we explored, walked, climbed and partied. I had my trusty guitar and became the unofficial leader of the singalongs ( called hootenannies ). Lake Louise is a mile high. The air is thin and for the first few days I panted and seemed to always feel tired. One afternoon an 84 year old Swiss guide ( Edward Feuz ) took us on a walk to the Devil's Thumb and Needles. There was snow on the trail and I raced ahead. After a few hundred meters Edward passed me. His pace was even and steady. He was smoking a pipe and appeared to be out for a stroll. This went on several times. We all got there in the end. He told us to find a pace and stick to it. A life lesson. The Feuz brothers were legends at Lake Louise and their stories have been written in countless books. And how lucky I was to walk with this giant only two days after entering the mountains.
The social life was whatever you made it. There was always a gathering to attend. There was a hierarchy and the gardeners were at the bottom. The following year I was a Doorman and the next four years I was a bellman. We lived in Gables which was above the laundry and therefore always warm and we thought of ourselves as the top of the food chain. There were thousands of dollars to be made in tips and the work itself was easy and mostly fun. There was dancing in the ballroom every evening, a piano concert before the dancing and the atmosphere was from another era. Probably the 1960’s saw one era disappear and another develop.
We had one day off a week. If the weather was good we went for a climb or an abseil and if it was not so good we could go to Banff ( 40 miles away ) to soak in the hot pools, hang out in the pubs and check out the talent. (In 1972 Stephanie and I worked at the Banff Springs hotel for four months ).
We would often go down over the Kicking Horse Pass to drink beer at the pub in Field. You could legally drink at 18 in British Columbia as compared with 21 in Alberta. We became friendly with one of the firemen on the train and once I got to ride in the engine down the Pass and through the spiral tunnels. The tunnels were regarded as one of the wonders of the world and the view from the engine was boggling. The old boys put tomato juice in their beer and put quarters on their forehead. The game was if a quarter fell off your forehead you had to buy the next round.
Hiking to Skoki Lodge through the Ptarmigan Valley was a particular treat. I skied it once and walked it several times. The last time was with Stephanie which was an added bonus. In the other direction we could go hiking from Lake O'Hara, catch trout in the lake and climb up to the Abbots Pass hut where you could see both the Lake O'Hara Lodge and the Chateau Lake Louise. If you had time and/or the inclination you could climb to Center Peak of Mt. Victoria and from there you could see everything there was to see. You were also straddling the BC/Alberta border. I was not so keen on difficult climbing so another peak to climb was Mt Shaffer which I did with Ed Alm and Stephanie. The photos shown give you an idea, but they pale into very little compared to the real deal.
The end of the summer came around and some of us stayed on an extra month to wrap the hotel up for winter. The trip home was fun. Tired, comparatively wealthy ( a student ) and looking forward to the other half of the year: Bishops University.
The social life was whatever you made it. There was always a gathering to attend. There was a hierarchy and the gardeners were at the bottom. The following year I was a Doorman and the next four years I was a bellman. We lived in Gables which was above the laundry and therefore always warm and we thought of ourselves as the top of the food chain. There were thousands of dollars to be made in tips and the work itself was easy and mostly fun. There was dancing in the ballroom every evening, a piano concert before the dancing and the atmosphere was from another era. Probably the 1960’s saw one era disappear and another develop.
We had one day off a week. If the weather was good we went for a climb or an abseil and if it was not so good we could go to Banff ( 40 miles away ) to soak in the hot pools, hang out in the pubs and check out the talent. (In 1972 Stephanie and I worked at the Banff Springs hotel for four months ).
We would often go down over the Kicking Horse Pass to drink beer at the pub in Field. You could legally drink at 18 in British Columbia as compared with 21 in Alberta. We became friendly with one of the firemen on the train and once I got to ride in the engine down the Pass and through the spiral tunnels. The tunnels were regarded as one of the wonders of the world and the view from the engine was boggling. The old boys put tomato juice in their beer and put quarters on their forehead. The game was if a quarter fell off your forehead you had to buy the next round.
Hiking to Skoki Lodge through the Ptarmigan Valley was a particular treat. I skied it once and walked it several times. The last time was with Stephanie which was an added bonus. In the other direction we could go hiking from Lake O'Hara, catch trout in the lake and climb up to the Abbots Pass hut where you could see both the Lake O'Hara Lodge and the Chateau Lake Louise. If you had time and/or the inclination you could climb to Center Peak of Mt. Victoria and from there you could see everything there was to see. You were also straddling the BC/Alberta border. I was not so keen on difficult climbing so another peak to climb was Mt Shaffer which I did with Ed Alm and Stephanie. The photos shown give you an idea, but they pale into very little compared to the real deal.
The end of the summer came around and some of us stayed on an extra month to wrap the hotel up for winter. The trip home was fun. Tired, comparatively wealthy ( a student ) and looking forward to the other half of the year: Bishops University.
David Robinson. Frank Cole. Lake Louise. Canadian Rockies. 1961
At the bell desk. 1965. The mark on my forehead is from a climbing mishap
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Skoki Lodge. Built 1931.
