I never met my grandfather Eddie, but the accounts I have gleaned paint a picture of a man full of adventure and enthusiasm. The story goes that he was impressed by the sport of skiing that he experienced in the early 1920’s during a period of study in Europe. On his return to South Africa he wanted to continue it, which led to the construction of a small hut way up in a peak of the Hex River mountains in the Western Cape. Philip Pells compiled a short book of the story of the construction of this hut, which still stands today. A copy of the book can be found here: Story of the Pells Hut
There is an anecdote about Eddie on page 7 and 8 of the book that, to me, is just a perfect description of my own father.
