18
MLBLUE
WINTER2017
NED
ITORIAL
“Can youget us intoTheVault?”
We put this question toBlueMountain staff as
wewere planning this issue,which is dedicated in
large part to theResort’s 75th anniversary.We’d
heard rumours of a“Vault”or archive containing
thousands of photographs andpromomaterial
accumulated since the 1940s.We needed to see it.
I imagined a dusty basement room inone of the
older buildings,with a solidmetal door thatwould
open and closewith a resonant
click
. In the end,
no such roommaterialized and in factTheVault
came tous—BMR staff laidout sevenoverflowing
banker’s boxes on a boardroom table.
We sifted throughhundreds of files full to
burstingwithphotos, slides, brochures andother
paraphernalia includingbadges andbuttons, trying
to categorize them for use inourmagazine. Some
photos immediately caughtmy eye: old-world
merrymakers in the original Ski Barn singing along
topiano and accordion; 1950s ski-school staff
holdingup improbably long, skinny skis; 1960s
chairlift riders looking like they strolledoff the set
of
MadMen
in smart cable-knit ski sweaters.The
“Vault”was an embarrassment of snow-culture
photo riches from the last 75 years. But I had to
pick one representative photo towrite about here.
Though itwas shot beforemy time, this photoof
BlueMountain’s Central Base Lodge (probably
shot in the early ‘70s) instantly transportsme back
to thewarm french-fry air—sowelcome on a day
riding chairlifts in the bitterwind.The sensations
floodback: the grateful looseningof ski boots; the
taste of themachine-brewedhot chocolate and
maybe a sharedbagof chips.And the inevitable
gazingout the plate glass to the hill outside, the
eye drawn there as if to a television screen.
Thisphoto clearly captures a candidmoment; I’m
guessing the lodgepatronsdon’t know they’rebeing
photographed, especiallynot for posterity.The shot
feels spontaneous,a random sliceof everyday lodge
life roughly in themiddleof BMR’s first 75 years.
The twoguys in the foreground look tobe on
pause from a deep conversationover Cokes and
smokes.The lonewoman at the table behind them
carries a lot of visual weight in the photograph,
maybe because she’swearing such sensational
sunglasses.The bespectacledguy toher left
appears tobe gazingdirectly into the camera
without realizing it.As I peer deeper I notice other
people I could speculate about.There’s something
serene in the air here; everyone seems loosely
boundby the feelingof the goodplace they’re in,
on awarminghiatus from a coldly exhilarating
workout. I want tobe in that room
right now
.And
thenheadback out for a fewmore laps.
Let’s have at least another 75 years of such
moments.
—NedMorgan
Imagine if Rembrandtwas sucker-punchedbyBenjamin
Moore.
ONEFROMTHEVAULT
Central Base Lodge, BlueMountain, early 1970s. BMR
There’s something serene in the air
here; ever
yone s
eems loosely bound
by the feeling of the good place
they’re in…
CHERRY-PICKINGBMR’SHISTORICALPHOTOARCHIVE
