Eddie Hunter, a 91-year-old alpine skier, came to Banff in 1934, when he was just 8.Dan Evans
He's been a photographer and an author and once hosted a children's television show in Calgary. Before that, he appeared in a short-subject feature that was nominated for an Academy Award. Now, Eddie Hunter has a new claim: He's about to become an 82-year customer at a Banff-area ski resort. Before he picked up his season's pass, the 91-year-old Albertan talked to Allan Maki about life and the Zen of skiing.
What is it about alpine skiing and Mount Norquay that has kept you coming back decade after decade after decade?
You can get all the skiing you want there. Seldom do you go up and have to line up. Norquay opened in 1926; I was born in 1926. I did a book on the turn of the century and the history of skiing from the Norquay point of view. The people there have been good to me. They even named a run after me, hEaD Hunter … I think being [in the Rockies] transfers you to another world. And you've got snowflakes following you down the mountain. It really makes it quite religious in a way. In the summer, when CBC was on computers asking people to make their happy birthday wishes to Canada, I started thinking, "It's is such a wonderful country – even when the wind is blowing in my face, I feel it's at my back." It's a Canadian gift and I feel that when I'm on the mountain.
What were your first skis like?
I had just turned 8 when I came to Banff in 1934. I'd had skis on in Edmonton [his birthplace] but I didn't know that you went downhill on them. My [Banff skis] were three feet long. They were plain wooden pine. The cheap ones were made of pine. If you were lucky, you got a pair made of ash. That was a better wood. They used to have a toe-strap. We used to cut rubber inner-tubes. You cut them into huge elastic bands and you put your foot in the toe-belt and you put the rubberband over your toe and on your heel. It didn't give you any support at all but it kept the ski from flopping off. Now, I ski on hand-me-downs from my grandkids.
Considering how many times you've skied down a mountain, have you ever been seriously hurt?
It was on a downhill a long time ago, when we skied the old North American run at Norquay. There was a place where you ran along a ridge then took a sharp turn down to the gulley. I didn't make that turn. I went straight ahead off the end. It was called the End of the World and I actually got hung upside down in a tree, held there by my skis. And I think of that so often. There was no helmet on. I could have knocked myself silly. I guess the ski patrol got me down. I don't recall getting any medical attention. I was 21 at the time.
How did you end up in a movie nominated for an Academy Award?
There was a film we did in 1947. [Legendary Banff mountaineer] Bruno Engler was in it and our junior ski team – there were about five or six of us – was in it and the storyline was skiing behind Bruno. We went up to the top of the world and we started skiing down and one at a time we started dropping off because we couldn't keep up with Bruno. Also, the director got me to do a bit of comedy skiing [pretending to fall] and it really turned out well. The film was chosen for an Academy Award, one of five in 1948. It was called Snow Capers. I did this comedy skiing in it and they took about a minute of it and put it in news reels across the country. At that time, news used to be shown in movie houses. And it ran all across North America. I remember when I came to Banff; a local guy gave me free admission [to the theatre] for a week. I thought maybe there was a career here.
What is the secret to living a long life?
I've started thinking about my life and the only mountain term I can give it is that it never peaked. If it did, I missed it … Longevity is all in the head. It's mostly what you're thinking. Up to a few years ago, I skied Norquay's Mountain Smoker – it's where you could ski [a specific run] for three hours. I did it non-stop. I did it 17 times; the winning round was 23. And people younger than me would say, "Ed, I could never do that." They're not thinking they can do it. They're good skiers, there's no faulting them there. And if your head is in the right place it's surprising what you can do … I think much younger than I am. That's why I do things. I don't go out thinking, "I've got to do this because I want to live another year or so." I go out for the pleasure of doing it. And that's it.
This interview has been edited and condensed.