From wooden skis to COVID challenges: iconic Calgary ski store looks back on 75 years in business

Seventy-five years is a long time in the ever-changing world of ski and snowboard innovation.

It's also a long time to be in business in Calgary, with a retail landscape that doesn't stay the same for very long. 

And Ski Cellar Snowboard has seen its fair share of changes since opening in 1946.

Founded by Al Compton, its first location was in downtown Calgary before moving to a store on 14th Street. It then settled in its current location on 17th Avenue in 1956. Compton was a founding member of Snow Ridge, which eventually became the Fortress Ski Resort in Kananaskis Country.

It started as a general sporting goods store focused mainly on hunting and fishing before transforming its basement into a ski shop and service department in the 1960s, which is where the name Ski Cellar Snowboard came from.

"The original name was The Sportsman," said Dan Russell, co-owner and general manager of Ski Cellar Snowboard and unofficial company historian. Skiing is in his blood; his dad and grandpa both worked in ski shops.

You can still see The Sportsman sign at the back of the present day 17th Avenue store. 

The Sportsman store changed hands in the 1970s when Hans Reinhardt, who had been running the ski department, took over.

Another two stores were added in the 80s and 90s in Bowness and on Macleod Trail as more partners came on board. There's now one in the Frank King Day Lodge at Winsport as well.

If you look closely you'll find bits of history — old skis, boots and equipment — dotted around the stores. Walls of faded photos and old marketing posters document the decades of changing tech, partners and staff members.

"In the '60s they started bringing in more ski equipment," said Russell. "We had Norquay, Sunshine, Lake Louise was starting out.

"It was a tough thing to get skiing but there were dedicated people. There were some real enthusiasts that really helped the shops along."

Russell says early in Calgary's ski scene, the only other store looking at skis — wooden skis, at the time — was The Bay.

"I still have a pair that were originally sold by my grandpa," he said. A long-time customer brought them in one day so Russell could display them on the wall at Ski Cellar Snowboard.