Speculation on Old Trail Names

You might remember that I formally asked the NCC to consider reinstating names instead of numbers on the historic ski trails in Gatineau Park. Marie Lemay, CEO of the NCC responded back in October

…we will be pleased to consider your suggestion once the Plan for Cultural Heritage for the Park, currently under development, is completed.  This project is scheduled for the summer of 2011.

My attendance at the Cultural Heritage Plan Workshop gave me some insight into how heritage assets might be evaluated and I couldn’t help applying in my mind the draft criteria to the merit of bringing back the old ski trail names. Here’s how that went (even though these might not be the criteria that are ultimately used):

• In terms of “historic value” do the trail names relate to one of the historic themes that had been identified? In this case they sure do; the second of these themes is “an outstanding recreational setting.”
• How significant is this theme in the history of Gatineau Park? Very significant! The ski clubs, mainly OSC were one of the leaders in advocating for the protection against widespread timber cutting which lead to the creation of the park. Further, these clubs enticed many thousands of visitors who might otherwise not have come to the Gatineau hills; they were likely the single most influential element bringing visitors, particularly winter visitors, in the first half of the 20^th century. They helped make cottager support for protection into popular support.
• In terms of historic value a resource is considered in terms how strong and significant its link is with the area? Of course the OSC made its base in what became Gatineau Park and its trails are a legacy of that.
• Is the heritage resource associated with a person or group, and how significant is that group to Gatineau Park? In the case of the trails and their names the association with the OSC is absolute. It is certainly arguable that skiers helped establish the park but even if it weren’t the trails remain, an entire Camp Fortune remains and many thousands of skiers still flock to Gatineau Park to this day.
• There is an aesthetic element to the evaluation criteria which is better suited to evaluating heritage buildings than ski trails, but there is no question that the old trail names represent the style of the time, both in their whimsical nature and topological layout. It was hills and winding trails that were in demand before the formation of the park, while skate lanes and trackset is what’s called for today. I have a 1933 Laurentien ski map showing a route near Shawbridge marked Trail of Fallen Women and I see that Gatineau Park’s trail #34 which had been called Pleasant Valley was also at one time suggested to be called Cherchez la Femme. I think trail names come out pretty well in this aesthetic category as well; for instance one of the questions is “how strongly linked is the cultural resource to its creators?’

• The final area of evaluation is “context” which inquires as to the integrity of the relationship of the resource to its physical context. Since a ski trail name shouldn’t be anywhere but associated with a ski trail I think we look good here too. And lastly the question of “social meaning” is raised and how important the resource is to the community that cares about it. Well, the petition is closing on 600 signatories and the reproduction map with all the trail names raised about $10,000 in sales for the Ski Museum. Seems like that tick box fills in pretty well too.

Moreover several people at the workshop seemed of the mind that it was a slam dunk that the names should be revived (and I didn’t even bring it up). But of course no one has done an evaluation on bringing back the trail names, plus the criteria for doing so hasn’t even been solidified. Besides these supportive heritage experts don’t actually work for the NCC. There may be other forces at work.

Anyhow, I remain optimistic.

Photo credits: Top skier from the cover of the 1943 Ottawa Ski Club Guide, Shawbridge detail from 1940-41 Sweet Caporal Skier’s Book.