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Hollyburn Lodge rebuild nears completion

Historic Nordic lodge on track to reopen this ski season
Hollyburn Lodge

The restored Hollyburn Lodge is just a few weeks and a few thousand dollars away from completion.

After a series of construction delays due to unco-operative winter weather and a busier than usual spring building season, the historic ski lodge located next to First Lake in Cypress Mountain’s Nordic area is on track to reopen its doors for the 2016/17 ski season.

Jackie Swanson, past president of the Hollyburn Ridge Association, says volunteers salvaged much of the original construction material and memorabilia in order to preserve the rustic charm of the old lodge.

“We’ve done everything we can to maintain the heritage and old feel, which is what everybody loved,” she says.

The board-and-batten exterior is being painted the familiar barn red colour, while the windows, which are now double-glazed, will feature the original refurbished frames.

“People love the old floorboards on the dance floor, so we’ve saved those,” Swanson adds.

One of the best heritage finds to be recovered, she says, are pieces of wall carved with names and messages from patrons in 1927 – the year the lodge opened.

“When we took the lodge apart, we discovered them for the first time.”

A popular rest stop for cross-country skiers and snowshoers, the 90-year-old one-storey building has been undergoing much-needed structural upgrades since last year. Thanks to a new sewer hookup, the lodge is now equipped to stay open year round so summer hikers can also take advantage of the mountain refuge.

“I think it’s going to be a real asset for the North Shore,” Swanson says.

Of the $1.1 million required to rebuild Hollyburn Lodge, $500,000 came from Cypress Mountain’s ownership group, the District of West Vancouver pitched in $200,000, and B.C. Parks contributed $100,000. The Hollyburn Ridge Association and the Hollyburn Heritage Society have been collecting corporate and public donations to make up the rest.

“I think we have about $15,000 more before we can really ring the bell,” Swanson says, estimating the current total at approximately $1.086 million.

With people finishing their summer holidays and settling back into their fall routines, she hopes to close the fundraising gap in time for the grand opening.

Make a donation at fundaid.ca/hollyburnlodge.