The history of skiing on Forbidden Plateau dates all the way back to the 1930s. After the Courtenay and Comox District Mountaineering Club was formed in 1928, skiing became prevalent within the club during the winter. In 1934, the first ski lodge on the mountain was constructed, further cementing the location as a winter sports site. Much of Forbidden Plateau was logged in the early 1930s, making ideal skiing conditions down the clear cut mountain.

In 1937, a group of skiers officially formed the Forbidden plateau Ski Club. This ski club wouldn’t just stay on the mountainside of Forbidden Plateau, often hiking up mountains such as Mt. Albert Edward or other peaks. 

In 1946, the first lift at Forbidden Plateau was constructed: a humble rope tow. The Comox District Mountaineering Club was the main proponent of this lift, providing all the funding and manpower to build it. With this addition, Forbidden Plateau started to boom in popularity, expanding the club’s lodge and opening a ski school. The only hindrance was the maintenance of the access road.

The mountain land that Forbidden Plateau was located on belonged to the Scott Paper Company. In 1961, the ski club asked the paper company for a purchase or a lease agreement regarding the land the ski runs sat on. The paper company unexpectedly denied this request, instead revoking all public access to the land. This resulted in a boycott of all Scott Paper products, including a Canadian affiliate brand of Scott Paper, who suffered financial losses from the boycott. A month later, Scott Paper backed down on it’s position, eventually agreeing to do a land swap with the provincial government. The government designated the 240 acres of mountain land to be “Wood Mountain Ski Park,” and designated it as Class C. This meant that the land would be used to provide recreation to the community, and would be managed by a local board. 

1964 was a busy year for the mountain. First, the government finally extended the access road to the base of the rope tows, and built a parking lot. Second, the mountain installed a GMD Mueller T-Bar, costing $32,300. This t-bar serviced the lower slopes, officially opening to the public in 1965. Finally, the ski club formed a new corporation titled Mt. Becher Ski Development Society, who managed all operations at Forbidden Plateau.

Forbidden Plateau exploded with popularity in the late 1960s. For example, in 1965, the mountain recorded 3,826 skier visits. In 1966, this number had increased to almost 8,000. After this good year, the mountain installed its second Mueller T-Bar, opening the entire mountain face up to skiing. Additionally, night skiing was added, and the ski resort officially changed names from Wood Mountain Ski Park to Forbidden Plateau.

While the society had taken a lot of debt to finance the upgrades, they were still dreaming big. By 1968, a chairlift had been planned up the main face, as well as an additional T-Bar up an entire new peak. Unfortunately, a poor winter in 1967 caused the society to have to borrow $5,000 in order to stay afloat. It was also around this time that an unexpected annual tax bill was served to the ski society. The society elected not to pay it year after year, arguing that they were a not for profit organisation, and thus should not have to pay tax.

In 1971, a new day lodge was constructed, indirectly replacing the original building. One year later, a state of the art Mueller double up the frontside was constructed. This lift was a game changer for the resort, and helped boost visitation numbers. However, around this time the provincial government began garnishing the ski resort’s bank account in regards to the unpaid taxes the society owed.

A second chairlift and another T-Bar up to the summit were on the resort’s master plan. The second chairlift idea was scrapped due to rising costs, however a third Mueller T-Bar was indeed constructed in 1975.

In 1976, the provincial government proposed a private ski development on Coronation Mountain. The Island’s three existing resorts fiercely banded against this proposal, arguing that the government should be investing further in the already developed resorts. Ultimately, the ski resort development on Coronation Mountain went nowhere.

However, the mountain did have to deal with the brand new development of Mt. Washington Ski Resort in 1979. Though initially Forbidden Plateau wasn’t too concerned with the new competition, things were about to get rough.

While the mountain had proposed an ambitious master development plan, including more lifts, runs and general improvements, the 1980 to 1981 ski season was a complete disaster. In 1980, the province promised the resort to give them a $142,000 dollar grant from the lottery fund. Based on this promise, the ski area undertook a huge expansion of the daylodge. Ultimately, the government never gave Forbidden the grant money, leaving the ski area in a financial bind. Along with the lodge debt, The ski resort was left owing over $160,000 to small businesses all over the valley, as well as carrying an accumulated debt of $900,000. 

To try and raise cash, in 1981 Forbidden introduced a 10-year ski pass, costing $500 dollars. While this pass deal indeed surpassed expectations, the winters of 1981-82 and 82-83 brought very little snow for Forbidden Plateau, only allowing for limited winter operations. Additionally, with Mt. Washington ski resort located at a higher elevation, with better lifts, and more runs, It was clear that many skiers were drawn over to Mt. Washington vs. Forbidden Plateau.

In 1984, the Mt. Becher Ski Development finally went bankrupt after the Federal Business Development Bank called in a loan of $208,000. Unable to pay any of it, the society shuttered Forbidden Plateau. Coincidentally, this was the same year that Green Mountain permanently closed.

Later that summer, a group of Naniamo shareholders formed Forbidden Plateau Recreation Ltd., and scraped together $300,000 to purchase all assets from the bankruptcy court. By 1987, the group had re-opened the mountain, finally operating debt-free. 

Forbidden Plateau operated through the 1990s, though it became a very bare-bones operation. Though there were some improvements, such as night lights installed in 1998, Forbidden Plateau overall struggled. One of the biggest challenges the resort faced was the close proximity to the better capitalized Mt. Washington, which boasted better snow, more runs and overall better equipment. Forbidden Plateau began the search for an investor who would take control of the resort while doing necessary upgrades to compete with Mt. Washington.

On Febuary 27, 1999, part of the ski lodge roof above the cafeteria collapsed under heavy snowfall. Thankfully, as it happened in the evening, no one was injured, and the remaining building was relatively undamaged. The building was not insured, and damages were estimated to be around $250,000. Regardless, Forbidden Plateau managed to re-open around a week later, and that summer hosted a fundraising concert to repair the lodge. This concert was a success, and the lodge roof was repaired.

Sadly, in September of 1999, Robert Kirk, president of Forbidden Plateau announced that the mountain would not re-open. Kirk claimed that the last few winters for Forbidden had been a disaster, and that he was subsidizing operations out of his own pocket. Kirk claimed that all Forbidden needed was an outside investor who would upgrade the resort. Kirk claimed that Forbidden was not dead, but mothballed.

In Febuary of 2002, a suspicious fire completely destroyed the ski lodge. Unfortunately, in the 3 years leading up to the fire, the lodge had become a target to vandals, who would frequently force their way into the lodge. While Kirk and his group had hoped for an investor to come in, the loss of the lodge was the nail in the coffin.

In 2004, the ski hill’s 20 year lease with the province expired, marking the final end of Forbidden Plateau. Over the next decade, the remaining buildings, equipment and lifts would continue to deteriorate further and further. Finally, in 2018, everything was finally removed from the mountain, including the chairlift and all remaining structures.