Skiing Heritage News

If you have bound volumes or collections of old ski magazines, please consider donating them to ISHA for inclusion in our reference libraries. A tax-deductible donation or bequest will help us produce a better, more useful, more entertaining magazine. Email seth@masia.org to arrange for a pick-up.

SKIING HERITAGE: A quarterly journal

Subscribe now to enjoy these features from the current issue:

Third Issue 2007, September, Vol 19 #3 Loden poster

Cover: A 1930s poster by German artist Edwin Henel advertised skiwear of loden fabric. Poster available from Vintage Ski World.

Norway: How It All Started by Morten Lund
Skiing's earliest innovations were sparked by the Norwegians' need for speed, control, adventure, and a national pride that valued athleticism, stamina and courage.

The Morgedal heel strap permitted jumping and, more important, ski-driven as opposed to stick-driven turns. By 1860 the town's skiers had begun perfecting both the Telemark and the skidded Christiania turn. And by 1866, skiers from all of Norway were invited to compete on a hillside in the capital city -- the beginnings of a national championship and of an national organizing committee.

Chick Igaya: A Dartmouth Star Returns by Tony Lane
Dartmouth's first Olympic medal -- slalom silver in 1956 -- was also Japan's first Winter Games medal. The Hokkaido native, a five-time US alpine champion, became a top insurance industry executive and vice president of the International Olympic Committee. Now retired from the insurance company, Chick Igaya returned to Dartmouth last spring, fifty years after his graduation, to receive an honorary degree.

Tracking the 10th by Charlie Meyers
The 10th Mountain Division produced not only wartime heroes, but also heroes in skiing. For 65 years, the bond among members of the 10th have always been close and personal, as they built the North American ski industry together. About 2000 veterans became ski instructors or launched small lift operations through seat-of-the-pants financing and management. 34 vets have been inducted into the U.S. National Ski Hall of Fame. Here's a look back at the 10th's training, combat and post-war service history.

Hale and Farewell by Bob Parker
In early August, members of the 10th Mountain Division organized their last reunion, in Denver; the next reunion, scheduled for Fort Drum, New York in 2010, will be managed by their descendents. 312 vets and 700 descendents, friends and journalists attended the Denver meetings. While Denver's altitude meant that a few veterans were unable to attend, others were able to tour to Camp Hale and to the Tennessee Pass memorial that pays homage to the 1000 10th Mountain men who gave their lives in World War II.

Classic Races: Aspen's Roch Cup by Christin Cooper
From its first running, it has been a celebration of skiing as the economic and spiritual engine of Aspen. In the winter of 1936, Swiss avalanche expert Andre Roch helped to organize the local ski club and laid out a race trail on Ajax Mountain, tough enough to challenge the world's best skiers. Locals cut the trail the following year and the Ski Club staged the U.S. Western Amateur Championships in 1938, and the U.S. Nationals in 1941. Friedl Pfeiffer launched the Roch Cup race in 1946; that first race was won by Barney McLean and Barbara Kidder. Extant as a women's World Cup, today the Roch Cup is the longest-running perpetual award for an international-caliber race in the history of U.S. skiing.

Historic Resorts: Sandia Peak, New Mexico by Morten Lund
Built in the most unlikely location, with the snowline at a lofty 6500 feet, Sandia benefitted from the passion of its early skiers and Depression-era government support in the form of CCC trail crews. Born in New Mexico in 1909, Bob Nordhaus learned to ski at Andover, and after graduating from Yale Law School in 1935 went straight home to found the Albuquerque Ski Club. The first trail went in for the following winter, and Dartmouth's Jack Feth began giving lessons. With the enthusiastic support of the Forest Service, the Club built a rope tow in 1937, and second one in 1939. That winter saw the first races, including a mile-long downhill on the Sandia Crest Trail. Returning from service in the 10th Mountain Division, Nordhaus talked the ski club into going public and installing a T-bar and a lodge. After Ben Abruzzo came in as a partner in 1952, a chairlift went to the summit. Then, for the 1966-67 season, a tram from brought skiers and non-skiers alike directly from Albuquerque's suburbs to the summit, year-round.

The Canadian Ski Museum by Doug Pfeiffer
Freshly relocated to what amounts to the attic of a commercial building near downtown Ottawa, the Canadian Museum is a hidden gem. A significant collection of books, posters and artifacts centers on Canada's Winter Olympics history and the nation's Ski Hall of Fame. One highlight: Jack Rabbit Smith-Johanssen's backwoods gear.

Remembering: Eugene Bahniuk, Joe Petre
.

Skier's Bookshelf by Morten Lund
The Culture and Sport of Skiing From Antiquity to World War II, by E. John B. Allen
Available from the New England Ski Museum, (800) 639-4181.
America's ranking ski historian offers an ambitious survey of skiing worldwide. This is a treasure of meticulous research, beginning with archaeological evidence of the earliest signs of skiing and finishing up with the role of skiing in the Russo-Finnish War and World War II. There are groundbreaking chapters on the roles of women and children, on the development of the sport in some very odd corners of the world, on the first three Winter Olympics, on the significance of Fritdjof Nansen, Hannes Schneider and the invasion of the Alps by the British upper class.
The Last Ridge, a film by Abbie Kealy
Available from the New England Ski Museum or visit lastridge.com, or phone (800) 679-0604.
Produced for WXXI, PBS and American Public Television, this one-hour DVD tells the story of the 10th Mountain Division. To its everlasting credit, the film recaptures the feeling of the Italian campaign, building quietly, without the gloss of heroics, conveying at gut level the deadly determination of soldiers who believed they held in their hands the future of their nation.

Long Thongs: It Must Be In There Somewhere by Burt Sims
The End of Season Checklist is the most efficient way to be ready for the first ski trip of the Fall. Or else it's a road-map for a full summer of reorganizing. From the Spring 1967 issue of Skiing Magazine.

Index of Back Issues

JOURNAL OF ISHA, THE INTERNATIONAL SKIING HISTORY ASSOCIATION
The International Skiing History Association is a not-for-profit corporation, whose mission is to preserve and advance the knowledge of ski history and to increase public awareness of the sport's heritage.

ISHA, 530 Cheese Factory Rd., So. Burlington VT 05403 802-985-1283
Skiing Heritage, 133 South Van Gordon St #300, Lakewood CO 80228 303-987-1111