A clan, by definition, is a group of people linked by a common ancestor or by a common affinity or interest. The Goodmans, whom I write about this month, are linked both by blood and by their shared passion for skiing.

The Goodman ancestor, of Scottish descent, settled in Nova Scotia and it was in Halifax, in 1918, that Aubry Goodman was born. The young man was brilliant and obtained his CPA from McGill University, in Montréal.

While his father was an excellent cricket player, Aubry adored skiing and travelled to the snowy Laurentian mountains on the P’tit Train du Nord. It was, in fact, on this legendary train that he met Joan, a lively woman as passionate about skiing as he. They married and settled in Pointe-Claire. Aubry’s career was in full swing and he and Joan founded a family of three sons: Peter (1951), Russell (1953) and Gary (1954.

It was agreed that the boys would do sports: swimming, rock climbing, football and skiing. It was the era of ski-lifts when you grabbed the moving cable, hoping not to lose your grip. The little family got its start skiing at the Marquise and the boys quickly moved on to training in slalom under the informal coaching of Phil Beaulieu. They participated in races run at the Chalet Cochand. Joan and Aubry, for their part, ensured that the edges were sharpened and the skis waxed.

The following year, everyone found themselves on Hills 70 and 71, which are now part of the Sommets Saint-Sauveur. Aubry was linked by friendship with Class A skiers Jean-Marc Léonard, Leslie Streeter and Jim Quarles. Peter, Russell and Gary skied with them every weekend.

Skiing was in full growth mode and while there were competition clubs for the youngsters, it was – in particular – the skiers’ parents who made the difference. Besides Aubry and Joan Goodman, in the Laurentians, you could count on the Laframboise and Cloutier parents, both fully devoted to the development of the young racers. Aubry created the “Ski Hawks” ski club first for the boys, and then for the girls starting in 1965. It offered a demanding training program.

In 1966, Russell and Gary joined the first summer training camp on the glacier of Mount Hood, Oregon, where Ernie McCulloch would be their coach. That’s all it took to get the family to set themselves up at Mont-Tremblant the following winter. A demanding coach, Ernie set courses for them on the new Expo run, where they were required always to be in contact with the snow in spite of bumps, ice and rocks. Ernie always believed that repetition of courses would lead to victories on the weekends. That year, Russell became the junior champion at the Laurentian Ski Division (DLS) championships. In 1967, Peter, Russell and Gary, thanks to their talent and their results, became members of the DLS team with, as coaches, Jean-Guy Brunet and Bob Gilmour.

During this time, their father Aubry travelled a lot on business in Europe. It was the era when I was a member of the Canadian Alpine Ski Team. You may already know that during the ‘60s and ‘70s, when we left our families for the competition season in Europe, we only returned to our country at the end of that season. I remember that one morning of slalom in Val Gardena, during the 1970 world championships, I saw a man sitting at my table when I went to the dining room for breakfast. It was Aubry Goodman who had come from Geneva just to say that he supported me in what I was doing. I was the only Canadian racer there and I felt a bit alone. I knew that this man was dignified and charming, but it was on that morning that I discovered what a big heart he had.

In 1970, focused on the European Cup, the three Goodman brothers were part of the Canadian program: Gary in the development team, Russell in the Can-Am team, and Peter in the B team. It was a new era for Canada, that of the Crazy Canucks. During this period the energy was concentrated on downhill skiing. After a few disappointments, Russell decided that this particular type of racing was not for him and moved to slalom. After the Sapporo Games, he spent the summer on the glacier at Whistler, often without a coach. He reproduced runs like those favoured by the European racers. He also adopted a way of training through kinesiology courses that his brother Peter was taking. The work quickly paid off. The following year he had a lot of success in the European Cup. In spring 1973 he was considered one of Canada’s best slalom skiers. Among his good results? His 10th place in the world Championships in Saint-Moritz in 1974. It was not until 2005, 31 years later, that Thomas Grandi – with his sixth place – held this distinction.

Like his father, Russell completed his studies at McGill. In 1979 he married Sarah Ellwood, who was from a family of skiers. They had three children: Geoffrey, Peter and Anne. Russell and his family, in turn, adopted the Mont-Tremblant area as the place to live their passion for skiing and share it with their young family. The children have skiing in their blood.

Geoffrey represented Canada at Topolino during the K2 competitions. He won a silver medal in the Canadian FIS championships. Peter was part of the Laurentian Ski Division for two years, including a year at FIS level. And Anna was a member of the Canadian Alpine Ski Team for nine years. She was in the top 15 many times on the World Cup circuit and at the world championships. She represented Canada at the Vancouver Olympic Games in 2010 and she is one of the rare Canadian women to win a victory at the American championships at Squaw Valley.

So many beautiful turns, so much speed, so many fine results. In my memory, there’s nothing so fascinating as watching Aubry and my father Charlie compete in the Legends Classic at Mont-Tremblant. For ten years, they exchanged first and second places, and watching them ski the runs was worth a gold medal.

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