The townsite of Cassiar is located in northern British Columbia and is extremely remote. It is only around 2 hours south of Watson Lake, Yukon, and lies an hour and 45 minutes north of Dease Lake, British Columbia. The ski hill was located on the southern slopes of an unnamed mountain directly above the townsite of Cassiar.

The story of Cassiar begins in the 1950s. In 1951, it was announced that a new asbestos mine would open in northern British Columbia. Initial explorations yielded significant asbestos deposits, and a Canadian mining firm, Conwest Exploration Co., funded research into the site. By November that year, the deposits were so promising that the Cassiar Asbestos Company was incorporated on the Toronto Stock Exchange and a 320-acre lease was signed to the company by the provincial government.

By February of 1952, a road had been built and a temporary camp was constructed at Cassiar. By November of 1952, the first asbestos mining operations had commenced and the town started to be constructed. The asbestos mine in Cassiar was initially the only fibre that met US stockpile requirements, and the mine quickly became extremely profitable in its early days. The Cassiar Asbestos Company quickly purchased all rights that Conwest Exploration owned in the company and its share price quickly went up. In 1956, a tramway was ordered from the British Ropeway Engineering Corporation and was installed later that year. This impressive lift facilitated the movement of over 200 tons of asbestos per day from the mine to the valley floor.

As already mentioned, the town of Cassiar was extremely remote. At its peak, the town housed around 1,200 people, all of whom directly or indirectly worked for the asbestos mine. Thus the town boasted many amenities, all of which were owned by the Cassiar Community Club. These amenities included a cinema, hockey arena, swimming pool, curling rink, a cafe, and a ski hill.

The ski hill was first built in 1965 when the first rope tow was ordered and installed. The land that the ski hill sat on was leased to the Cassiar Asbestos Company, though the top of the mountain was provincial Crown land. Officially called the McDame Mountain Ski Club, the operation was fully owned by the Cassiar Community Club and for the first half of its life was 100% volunteer run. There was a small base lodge, though it also served as an arts and crafts centre for the community.

While the Cassiar Asbestos Company replaced the old tramway system in 1976, the ski hill got a new lift in 1978 when they replaced both rope tows with a modern Dopplemayr platter lift. This platter ascended 150 feet higher than the rope tows did and opened up 55 new vertical feet of skiing. While the club considered expanding further up the mountain, they ultimately did not, due to the land belonging to the provincial government as well as avalanche dangers the ski hill would have to mitigate. Throughout the life of the ski hill it served the local residents of Cassiar as well as the surrounding communities, with the ski team from Mount Maczady often competing with Cassiar and Cassiar often traveling up to Mount Maczady.

Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, the Cassiar Asbestos mine and the town went through multiple strikes, accidents, and several prolonged closures. However, with worldwide demand for asbestos receding and the mine's supply of asbestos diminishing, it had become clear that the mine was not sustainable long term. In 1990, the British Columbia government loaned $25 million to the Cassiar Asbestos Company to develop a new underground mine. The mine opened in late 1991, heavily financed by debt. One year later, the company found itself unable to make loan payments on its staggering $57 million debt. The new government, which was elected in 1991, refused to lend any more money to the company, which immediately ceased operations and laid off virtually everyone. Shortly after, the company and all its assets were placed in foreclosure. While there were initially several offers to buy the operation, none went through.

By late 1992, the provincial government liquidated all assets. A massive auction was held and almost every building in Cassiar was auctioned off. Many of Cassiar's buildings ended up in Whitehorse and Watson Lake. However, apart from a collapsed arena, a vacant church, and former streets, nothing more remains of the once-busy town and the ski hill of Cassiar.