Fernie Alpine Resort celebrates its 50th anniversary

An exhibition at the Fernie Museum traces the 50-year history of the resort

Lori Bradish stands beside some mountain equipment displayed in the Power of Powder exhibition. — Breanne Massey photo

The Fernie Museum is currently displaying an exhibit that honours Fernie's reputation as a boarder's dream.

A summer student, Chalice Walker, started conducting interviews and doing research for the Power of Powder exhibition last year. When Walker completed her summer student position at the Fernie Museum in August to return to university, Lori Bradish took over the project in November 2011.

“We’re still gathering old photos about different aspects of the (ski) hill,” said Bradish. “We wanted to go right from the early days until now; some of the photos were done last week.”

The 50th anniversary of Fernie Alpine Resort reflects the history of Fernie for both locals and visitors. The exhibition has archived photographs and Ryan Radchenko helped produce a short video that includes the history of Fernie, interviews with people who made significant contributions to the expansions of the resort and a collection of personal stories about the impact the hill made on their lives.

Radchenko, owner and director of Powder Highway Productions, contributed to the exhibition by creating the film.

“I had a month and a half and it was done to the wire,” said Radchenko. “I basically worked on it every day.”

The film covers the history of Mount Fernie from 1955 to present day—and how people started skiing in the Elk Valley.

Radchenko stitched together a video compilation that integrates video interviews with photographs. It features the owners, management and current activities at Fernie Alpine Resort, including Griz Days, Powder Pedal Paddle and some of the patrol efforts.

“I’m going to enter it as a submission for locals night at the (Fernie Mountain) film festival,” said Radchenko. “The best local film gets a cash prize of $400. Hopefully this year, people will enjoy my film and vote for me.”

For Radchenko, the story of the Griz was an important portion of the video. Radchenko will be adding the Power of Powder video to his personal websites after it’s presented in the Fernie Mountain Film Festival.

“I suspect it will be a popular exhibit,” said Mike Pennock, director of the Fernie Museum.

This exhibition received financial aid from Resorts of the Canadian Rockies, the Columbia Basin Trust, the Community Arts Council, the City of Fernie, the Fernie and District Historical Society and the Province of B.C.

“The financial support for organizations like ours is fundamental to the success of museums,” said Pennock, “not just here, but across the province.”