In February 1945, LIFE magazine declared Mont-Tremblant, a resort in the Laurentian Mountains 90 miles north of Montreal, the “ski-fashion center of the world.” The reasons for Mont Tremblant’s surpassing winter-style meccas like St. Moritz and Sun Valley, according to LIFE, were two: “Many of the guests are rich, well-dressed friends of the owner, Joseph B. Ryan, grandson of financier Thomas Fortune Ryan, [and] one of the instructors is a beautiful former model, Blanche Rybizka.”
In the midst of one of the snowiest, most unsettled winters in decades, LIFE.com remembers that long-ago issue of LIFE — and the lovely Blanche Rybizka’s singular fashion sense — with a series of Alfred Eisenstaedt photos of Canadian winter scenery and winter finery.
Mont-Tremblant, Canada, 1945.Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesCaption from LIFE. For skiing at 40 degrees below zero Blanche [Rybizka] wears a deerhide jacket, a raccoon-edged hood, fur-lined mittens and two pairs of underwear under her trim pants.Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesMont Tremblant, Canada, 1945.Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesCaption from LIFE. Nunlike coif, worn under a cap keeps both ears and neck warm. Blanche's coifs, of which she has many, made by herself in different colors of wool jersey, have started a new ski-headgoer fashion.Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesMont Tremblant, Canada, 1945.Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesCaption from LIFE. Dark sweater or dark parka is usually combined by Blanche with lighter trousers. When skiing in a sweater on very cold days, she wears a parka underneath.Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesMont-Tremblant, Canada, 1945.Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesCaption from LIFE. White parka is usually worn by Blanche with a pair of dark ski trousers. A parka is a lightweight hooded ski jacket. Over hood of parka Blanche wears a cap with visor.Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesMont-Tremblant, Canada, 1945.Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesCaption from LIFE. Gray tweed jacket and other wool jackets are worn by Blanche on days when the wind doesn't blow too hard. Though warm, tweed is not as wind-resistant as closely woven cloth used for parkas.Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesMont-Tremblant, Canada, 1945.Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesLIFE Magazine cover, February 19, 1945LIFE Magazine
![For skiing at 40 degrees below zero Blanche [Rybizka] wears a deerhide jacket, a raccoon-edged hood, fur-lined mittens and two pairs of underwear under her trim pants.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/141205-canada-winter-fashions-02.jpg?quality=75&w=2400 "00749978.JPG")
