Loch Lomond Ski Area
Loch Lomond Ski Area is an alpine ski area at 1800 Loch Lomond Road in Neebing, about 9 km south of Thunder Bay, Ontario, on the north-facing escarpment of one of the Nor'Wester Mountains above the lake Loch Lomond.[1][2]
Bill and Mary Irwin opened the area on 17 March 1956 with T-bars built in their basement.[1][3] Ward Bond bought it in 1979 and ran it until 2014, when he sold it to Jason Gerry and Grant Brodeur's Skico Development Inc.[4][5] The Canadian Ski Hall of Fame gives a vertical of 229 m; skiresort.info gives 179 m.[1][6]
Bayview Magazine describes Bill Irwin as a 1948 Olympian who owned and operated Loch Lomond for twenty-three years, consistent with Ward Bond's purchase in 1979; the hill was the training ground of his son Dave Irwin, one of the "Crazy Canucks" downhill racers.[7][8]
See also
Thunder Bay Museum material (October 2026)
- 1963–64: The new Little Norway resort (later Big Thunder) was described as a couple of miles south of, or "five minutes past", Loch Lomond. Its vertical of "just under 800 feet" was "almost the same at Loch Lomond" (as printed).[9][10][11]
- 1964 plans: Bill Irwin's crew planned a new T-bar on the south side, a moved and lengthened north T-bar with a new giant slalom run, and more lighting.[11]
See History of skiing in Thunder Bay: Thunder Bay Museum material.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Loch Lomond Ski Area, Ontario". Canadian Ski Hall of Fame and Museum.
- ↑ Ontario Geological Survey (2011). 1:250 000 scale bedrock geology of Ontario, Miscellaneous Release–Data 126, Revision 1; queried by point through Macrostrat map_query API (bedrock unit and DEM elevation), 25 October 2026.
- ↑ "Bill Irwin". Canadian Ski Hall of Fame and Museum.
- ↑ Dunick, Leith. "New owners: Loch Lomond Ski Area sale complete". TBNewsWatch, 6 September 2014.
- ↑ "Loch Lomond Ski Area gets new owners". CBC News, 3 September 2014.
- ↑ "Size: Loch Lomond". skiresort.info.
- ↑ Imrie, Diane. "High flying". Bayview Magazine, November 2017.
- ↑ Imrie, Diane. "50 years of memorable moments in local sports". Bayview Magazine, November 2020.
- ↑ Sports column ("A new ski resort is in the making..."). Port Arthur News-Chronicle, 29 August 1963; clipping from the Thunder Bay Museum archives, supplied by Emma Hurley Warren (archival assistant) in an email to Michael Currie, 26 October 2026 (personal communication). Scan.
- ↑ "'Little Norway' In Operation". Port Arthur News-Chronicle, 28 February 1964; clipping from the Thunder Bay Museum archives, supplied by Emma Hurley Warren (archival assistant) in an email to Michael Currie, 26 October 2026 (personal communication). Scan.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Patola, Roger. "Big Plans Ahead For Skiing Areas". Port Arthur News-Chronicle, 28 April 1964; clipping from the Thunder Bay Museum archives, supplied by Emma Hurley Warren (archival assistant) in an email to Michael Currie, 26 October 2026 (personal communication). Scan.
