Thanks to Émile Cochand, we now distinguish between downhill skiing and cross-country skiing. Coming from Switzerland where he was a champion ski jumper, Cochand, having brought with him some hundred pairs of skis and poles, began to teach skiing at the Laurentide Inn in Sainte-Agathe in 1911. During the First World War, the hotel was used as a convalescent hospital, at which time Cochand left to look for work in Montreal. It wasn’t long before he returned to the Laurentians, however, this time to Sainte-Marguerite-Station with his new bride, Léa, also Swiss. For $500, he purchased 500 acres, including a chalet and farmhouse, with the intention of welcoming tourists to the area.