Olaus

Have you gotten a selfie with Olaus yet? Captured in many visitor’s photographs of downtown, this iconic statue has watched over Rossland since Winter Carnival 2013.

The Spirit of Red—a club formed to preserve and celebrate skiing culture in Rossland—commissioned the statue to honour skiing pioneer, Olaus Jeldness. Considered the “Father of Competitive Skiing in Canada”, Olaus started Rossland’s Winter Carnival—the oldest in Canada—in 1896. The inaugural event was a ski race from the top of Red Mountain to the heart of Columbia Avenue—a race Olaus won in eight minutes with skis and a pole like those depicted in the sculpture.

Originally from Norway, Olaus lived in Rossland for only four years but returned often from his home in Spokane, Washington. The statue was initiated by Spirit of Red’s Roly Worsfold after learning Olaus’ ashes were spread on the top of Red Mountain following his death in 1935. 

“He (did) so much for the town. He helped build the arena even though he didn’t skate. He was so charitable. He was a very good promoter but also very kind in teaching young people to ski,” said Worsfold. “He’s a Canadian Hero… We should have a memorial for him.”

To design the sculpture, Worsfold collected photographs and museum artefacts from the late 1800s and sent them to Chinese sculptors. “We want(ed) to support the artists in China. We really feel that we owe the Chinese for what they did for us 100 years ago,” Worsfold said, referring to people who helped build Rossland but weren’t allowed to work in the underground mines.   

The statue was created through a three-step process, starting with a mini clay statue less than a meter high. After review by the Spirit of Red team, the artist produced a wax mould that was then used to cast the statue in high quality bronze. 

At three meters high, the likeness of Olaus is roughly 150% taller than he was in real life. He stands on a lighted, concrete base wearing full 1890s ski gear.

“It (had) to be bigger than life-size otherwise it gets dwarfed in an outdoor situation,” said Raymond Gaudart who helped spearhead the project for Spirit of Red. With his great sense of humour, Gaudart added that the base needed to be high enough to keep the founding father of mountain fun above the snow. “Olaus would never be buried in a snowbank.”

Olaus was funded through Spirit of Red fundraising activities and a generous donation from Nelson and District Credit Union.