Today, when we talk of inspired skiers, we usually picture a teen sensation uncorking impossible aerials on the world stage or some extreme Big Mountain freerider making a positively suicidal line look fun. In 1955, an Edmonton skier named Bob Sutherland was so inspired that he transformed a picturesque strip of riverbank into Rabbit Hill.
Rabbit Hill Snow Resort, Alberta
Still Just A Hop, Skip And A Jump Away
Ski Hill:
Rabbit Hill
Location:
Edmonton, Alberta
Vertical:
91.4 m (300 ft.)
Snowfall:
1.23 m (48.6 in.)
Map:
Find us here
That’s Not Just A Riverbank, Dear.
It’s A Ski Slope!
One day while canoeing along the North Saskatchewan River, newlywed Bob and his wife found the perfect site for what is now Edmonton’s biggest ski and snowboard resort. At the time, the River City hosted four or five ski clubs, each with its own slopes either in or near town. When he wasn’t attending university or falling in love, Bob ate, lived and breathed skiing. During WW2, he dutifully kept a ski journal without ever once mentioning the war. So, when Bob saw that riverbank, he was smitten. After convincing the owners (farmers Don and Bernice Stelter), that they should lease him part of their land, Bob went to work building his dream ski hill. That fall, he bought an old milk truck, some rope and Gerry-rigged his first ski lift. In 1955, Saskatchewan Mountain opened with one trail, one rope tow and one very happy Bob Sutherland. Day tickets cost about fifty cents and the lift ran until Bob called out: “Last run.”
Bob Sutherland and his wife Daurel Mills in vintage gear and dress.
You Can Do It If You Really Want
Over the next decade, Saskatchewan Mountain opened and closed somewhat sporadically. While Northern Alberta winters are brutally long and bitterly cold, snowfalls can be surprisingly light and sparse. Compounding matters, after Bob graduated, the Sutherlands moved to Calgary where he set up shop as an eye-specialist and skied the Rockies whenever he could. According to his son, Jim, “in the early to mid-Sixties, Dad put a private company together and developed the newly renamed Rabbit Hill.” Instead of clearing trails with an axe, he brought in a Cat. Added two new T-bars. And cobbled together the ski area’s first base lodge. Always looking for new and better ways, Bob helped pioneer snowmaking in western Canada. Says Jim, “He bought the equipment from the manufacturers, but pretty much designed the system himself.”
“I think it’s just amazing to us that we get to do the thing we love with our family, so close to home and the kids enjoy it too.”
— Melissa Chalmers, Rabbit Hill Ski Club and Rabbit Hill Ski Team Volunteer
A Tale of Two Families
Jim Sutherland remembers that, “Mondays, Dad would go to Edmonton to meet with his crew at Rabbit Hill.” Says fourth-generation Stelter family member Stewart, “As the hill grew, we all worked down here. And my family did help run the hill in the Seventies. My sister met her husband who was in the ski patrol. It was just a big part of the family.” Rabbit Hill’s family grew to include local school children, night skiers and the disabled who participated in the ski area’s new CADS (Canadian Association for Disabled Skiing) program. (First developed in the 1960s by Sunshine Village ski school director, Jerry Johnston, the programme was renamed Canadian Adaptive Snowsports when it was officially founded in 1976.) For Bob Sutherland, skiing truly was an all-inclusive sport. And so, Rabbit Hill continued to grow and attract more and more skiers.
Bill Oak (left) and Bill Oak (right).
Think Evolution And Not Revolution
In 1981, Jim Sutherland came to Rabbit Hill for a summer job. He never left. Says Jim, “Converting from a Calgarian to being an Edmontonian took a while. The Stanley Cup helped with that.” Three years later, Jim hired Bill Oak who’d been working as manager at the Edmonton Ski Club. One day, when Bill expressed an interest in attending law school and becoming a lawyer, Jim said, “Well, we can’t have that. So, he and I formed our own company and together we bought Rabbit Hill from my Dad. We were always adding stuff. We built a new equipment facility. A new maintenance building. We were constantly making improvements.” This included making a silk purse out of the lodge which had become a proverbial sow’s ear. After years of tirelessly improving, enhancing and promoting Rabbit Hill, Bill sold his shares to Rich Parie.
“A lot of local guys just come out and help. Help us build. Help us shovel. They get that we care. And a lot of them end up working here too, because they’ve been around and they see the crew.”
— Scott Keller, Terrain Park Manager for 20 years
They Came. They Saw. They Stayed.
Jim Sutherland wasn’t the only person who started working here part-time and subsequently stayed on… forever. Doug Balzer, who in his words, was “one of four amigos that helped establish Rabbit Hill” briefly temped here as a lift attendant. Decades later, he’s still in charge of grooming operations. The ‘Balzer’s Way’ ski trail was named in honour of his 40th anniversary working here. In 1982, British ex-pat, Bryan Wallace signed up for a winter gig in the rental shop. When Jim and Bill suggested he become assistant manager, he politely declined. He preferred working outdoors. Although he’s now part-time, Bryan has been at Rabbit Hill for over 43 years, operating, repairing and otherwise managing the lifts. Fittingly, Rabbit Hill named their chairlift after him.
Jim Sutherland, Bryan Wallace and Doug Balzer (left to right)
Bryan Wallace with his grandkids
Snowmaking at Rabbit Hill Snow Resort
Bob Sutherland
Bob Sutherland
Jim Sutherland
Derek Look and family
Chuck Amerongen and his wife Lara
A Changing of the Guard
While longevity has been both a measure of and a key to Rabbit Hill’s success, Jim Sutherland knew when it was time to pass the torch. Though he still serves as a consultant, he sold Rabbit Hill to Derek Look and Chuck Amerongen in 2023. Derek grew up skiing and racing at nearby Snow Valley, where his parents and siblings had also worked. After completing the Ski Resort Operations and Management program at Selkirk College, in Nelson, B.C. Derek worked at Silver Star where he met his wife, Anna. They came here in 2009 and in 2018, Derek was named General Manager. Chuck Amerongen, for his part, was Rabbit Hill’s chief accountant. Like Bob and Jim Sutherland, both are equally committed to “making skiing as affordable for as many people as we possibly can.” For example: weeknights, a lift-ticket costs $20. Ditto, a ski or snowboard equipment rental. The kicker is that a portion of each ticket sale is donated to a local charity.
“Just because we’re a small, urban ski area doesn’t mean we can’t do some of things that our big neighbours to the West do.”
— Derek Look, President and Co-Owner
A 70-Year-Old Embraces A New Vision
After 70 years in the ski business, Rabbit Hill Snow Resort has pretty much seen and survived it all. Despite skyrocketing insurance costs, a shrinking labour pool and increasingly unpredictable weather, the new owners remain steadfast. Already, they’re looking to give even more people more ways to “go outside in the winter and play, so they don’t have to hibernate for six months.” This summer work began relocating and expanding their tubing park. When it opens in 2026, it will have six tubing lanes, a ticket office, a snack shack, and a dedicated lift. Since they introduced an RFID automated ticketing system, guests can buy and renew their lift tickets online, thus eliminating lineups and reducing fraud. Since Rabbit Hill still sits on leased land, Derek says that, “We can’t grow exponentially. We can’t open new runs. We can’t make our hill bigger. So now, we just have to see what we can do to make the guest experience more enjoyable. I’m a big believer that technology is a way to get us there.” Of course, being inspired by some true visionaries helps.
Something new is coming to Rabbit Hill Snow Resort in winter 2026!
Construction has begun, and Rabbit Hill is super excited to announce their newest addition to the winter season! Follow along on their social media and website to see the progress.
Writer: Dave Fonda
Web designer & integrator: Dominique Paquette
Photographs courtesy of Rabbit Hill and used with their permission.
Thanks to Anna Look and her illuminating Campfire Stories for many of the quotes that appear in this story.
© 2025 Canadian Ski Hall of Fame Museum. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written permission.