8 minute read
Knute’s Chalet
A thick slice of ski heritage on the banks of the Beaver River
words & photos :: Kristin Schnelten
In 1976, Knute Dohnberg bought a little ski chalet at the base of Beaver Valley Ski Club. It wasn’t much—an open main floor, bedroom upstairs, running water, some well-worn furniture. He paid just $18,000 for the place, which sat right on the bank of the Beaver River.
“I was in my 20s then. I was single, too busy with girlfriends and skiing to care about a fancy house. The place was perfect for me at the time,” laughs Dohnberg.
But he wasn’t just any young, single guy carving up the hill a day or two a week. Dohnberg had recently been hired as the club’s ski school director (a position he’d go on to hold for almost 15 years) and would eventually become both the general manager and director of marketing. Big Jim’s Ski and Rental Shop, a fixture at the hill for decades, was a side project for Dohnberg, as well. At a time when each Ontario ski area had its own big personality, Knute Dohnberg was the man at Beaver Valley.
Fifteen years prior to Dohnberg’s arrival at the club, back when it was just Beaver Valley Resort, Malcolm MacLean constructed three chalets on the edge of the river, just across the bridge from the main lodge. The centre chalet was a dining space for skiers as well as living quarters for the innkeeper and cook, Chris Parfree, who later became Beaver Valley’s first general manager. Guests of the matching cabins on either side—one for men and one for women, bring your own sleeping bag—gathered at the centre chalet and its long, communal table.
“It was very simple stuff, a sort of early, budget bed and breakfast,” says Dohnberg. After a particularly poor-weather winter, the owner threw in the towel, severing lots and selling the buildings separately. Howard Hawke purchased the larger centre chalet, then sold it to Bob Henderson before Dohnberg became the new owner, a young man now with his own permanent place to party.
TOP LEFT & BOTTOM RIGHT SUPPLIED BY KNUTE DOHNBERG
“Those were really fun times,” he remembers. “Society just doesn’t give kids the opportunity to get into the same kind of trouble as we did back then.”
When he did choose to settle down, Dohnberg and his first wife held their wedding ceremony on the river side of the chalet, and a horse and carriage carried guests to the lodge reception. A son followed a couple years later, and two major additions to the chalet made room for the growing family.
“I did all kinds of renovations over the years, but kept the integrity of the place. I always used pine, never drywall,” says Dohnberg. “I wanted to keep it as a true ski chalet.”
For 43 years Dohnberg cared for his winter home—adding a dormer or two here, three or four dormers there. But maintaining the ski-chalet vibe is what eventually led to its sale. “We wanted to move to the area permanently, but with little storage and no garage, we decided to move down the road to Markdale,” says Knute. “People always say to me, I can’t believe you sold that place! But hey, life changes.”
The new owners fully embrace its story. The son of charter member David Byers, Ted and Dorothy Byers had been renting near the club for years. “We always said that if the right place came along, we would seriously consider it. This chalet is the right place,” says Dorothy. “We’re thrilled to be the guardians of this historical site.” The Byers welcomed their grandchildren to the chalet this winter, adding a fourth generation to their own family’s history on the hill.
TOP & BOTTOM RIGHT SUPPLIED BY KNUTE DOHNBERG
“I think it speaks to the atmosphere of the place, really. I sold to people who appreciate what I appreciated as a skier,” says Dohnberg. “They replaced my photos with
their photos, but other than that it’s exactly the same. They love it just the way it is.”
“I do miss sitting on the deck, listening to the river, watching the water go by,” he admits. “But the Byers and I have become good friends, and I stop by from time to time for a beer.”
Eventually asked to choose between the many hats he wore at the club, Dohnberg is now a trainer at Beaver Valley’s snow school, content with the eight-minute commute from his new
Markdale home. One artifact that made its way there from the chalet is a large crest from the exterior that reads, “Knute’s Ski Chalet.”
“It’s not a home, and it’s not a cottage. It’s a ski chalet,” he says. “I’m at peace with no longer being there, and I’m really pleased that the right people bought it.”
The locals rip! Halaina Poldmaa-Rask dropping a knee.
Ski & Snowboard The Soo
words & photos by Colin Field
Dropping in, we fl ow through the trees in kneedeep snow. The locals ride and ski through the woods like water down a stream: eff ortlessly. Their movements are beautiful to watch. We’re all whooping with joy; it’s impossible not to. We absolutely nailed the conditions today: blower Lake Superior-aff ected powder. And lots of it. We reach the bottom and without even speaking I ski through the non-existent lift line and hop right back on the chair. Glorious. Friends be damned, it’s a powder day.
With a vertical drop of 700 feet and an average snowfall of 132 inches, Searchmont Resort is the underdog of Ontario’s ski resorts. There’s no Starbucks at the base lodge. You can’t buy a Canada Goose jacket in the pro shop and there are no waterslides or amusement parks. But that’s part of its charm. It’s a ski hill. You come here to ski (or snowboard obviously). And that’s what everyone is here to do.
While Searchmont didn’t open in the winter of 2020/21, they’re stoked to fi re up the chairlifts and get those bull wheels turning again in 2021/22.
“There’s a lot going on,” says media coordinator Darren Sanderson. “We’re replacing our old double lift with a new triple and we are building a brand new triple, which will also feed into two new runs. Our goal is to make it so there’s more of a transition between our learning centre and the main runs.” Not only that, the owners that took over in 2018 have invested in a new restaurant called the Kiln and the new Caribou Cafe, and their villas are being completely rebuilt, both inside and out. Hopefully they’re ready for this season. And perhaps most importantly, they’ve upgraded their snowmaking capability.
Amen to that. Come on Ullr!
If you’re up in the Soo on a day when Searchmont isn’t open (they’re open Wednesday
through Sunday) and want to recreate the winter of 2020/2021 (by earning your turns) then Bellevue Valley Lodge is a must. Robin MacIntyre and partner Enn Poldmaa have been quietly glading runs up here for more than 30 years. This is the epicentre of backcountry skiing in Ontario. The 2,000 acres in their backyard feature 20 runs all with about 700 feet of fall line. With an Airbnb on the property, you can ski in and ski out for as long as your legs will allow.
Simply get up, eat breakfast, drink coffee and ski. For fresh tracks, there’s no rush to beat the locals; you can get out as early or as late as you want. And when your legs finally give out, Enn’s sauna will cure all that ails you; it’s hot! It’s the perfect way to cure your lactic acid buildup and somersaulting into the snow will have you ready to click into your skis all over again.
Without a doubt I’ve had some of my best turns in Ontario with Enn. And getting to watch him ski is inspirational; at 69 years old the guy is a freaking workhorse. Seeing him come down in waist-deep powder, linking one beautiful telemark turn after another, I get goosebumps. If I can ski half as well at his age, I’ll consider this a life well-lived. While they didn’t open in the winter of 2020/21 that didn’t stop Enn and friends from skiing; they had the hills all to themselves. But this fall they’ll be out there glading once again and they’re ready to share turns and good times with guests again this winter.
And I for one am pumped to get back up to Sault Ste. Marie, to Bellevue and Searchmont.
Note: Sault Ste. Marie Tourism sponsored Colin Field’s trip.
