Skoki Ski Lodge, Backcountry ski lodge in Banff National Park, Canada
Skoki Ski Lodge is a log building complex in the Skoki Valley of Banff National Park, Alberta, built in 1930–31 and expanded through 1936. The first version was a single-storey log structure 25 by 16 feet (7.6 by 4.9 m); upper-storey rooms, a bathhouse and more cabins were added in 1935–36. It stands 6.8 miles (10.9 km) from the nearest road.
The Ski Club of the Canadian Rockies built the lodge in 1930–31, the first commercial building made for skiers in Canada. Earl Spencer designed and built it with Spud White and Victor Kutschera. Jim Boyce managed it after the 1932 season and expanded it through 1936, adding upper-storey rooms, a bathhouse and cabins. It was designated a National Historic Site in 1992.
The name Skoki comes from a word Porter's party proposed for the valley, later respelled; Porter's Illinois home area was renamed Skokie after it. The lodge is open year-round and has served skiers continuously since the 1930s, with the Halfway Hut built as a resting stop between the lodge and the Lake Louise railway station.
The lodge is located about 11 kilometers from the nearest road and is accessible only by hiking or skiing along trails through Banff National Park. The journey requires physical fitness and preparation, especially during winter months.
During the 2011 royal tour of Canada, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge stayed at the lodge. The visit came 80 years after the first guests, and the building had remained unaltered since its 1936 expansion, so the royal party slept in the same log rooms as earlier skiers.
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