At a time when the practice of skiing was largely dominated by Anglophone, Arthur Gravel was able to stand out as both an athlete and an accomplished skier. Born in Québec City on July 4, 1904, he took part in ski competitions from 1920 to 1936. In 1922, he won the University Championship in nordic skiing at Lake Placid, New York. In 1926, he represented Canada at the World Championships of nordic skiing in Holmenkollen, Norway. In 1930, he won the first official downhill race held in Canada, in Saint-Sauveur. He was on the Combined Ski Canada team (cross-country and ski jumping) at the Winter Olympics held in Lake Placid in 1932. In 1934 and 1935, he took the first place in the downhill event at the Quebec-Kandahar meeting in Mont-Tremblant. These victories bear testimony to the immense talent of this firt-class athlete who left his mark on the beginning of skiing as a sport in his country.