No Limits

No Limits is subtitled “The Amazing Life Story of Rhona and Rhoda Wurtele, Canada’s Olympian Skiing Pioneers” – and amazing it is. The fearless twins first strapped on skis, “seven-foot hickory slats,” at the age of five, in 1927. No poles. “Poles were for sissies.” By the age of 11 they had mastered the Côte des Neiges 125-foot senior jump. They were the youngest girls to take this leap, and the only girls to do it in 15 years.

This hit-the-ground-running start got even better. The twins won everything they entered – usually in first and second place. They swam, skied, raced, and participated in track and field meets. Since the Wurteles learned first hand how difficult it was for a woman to train and compete, they opened the Twinski ski club for women. But No Limits is not just a catalogue of achievements: Rempel has captured the spirit of the times with side-bar information about Montreal and the social barriers that were in place. The many illustrations from newspapers, magazines, as well as photos from the Wurtele family album, show how extraordinary the drive and optimism of the twins was.