Letters: Don't Expect San Moritz

I always enjoy the annual review of Swann’s poster auction by Everett Potter. When I perused the catalog before this year’s sale, I found an intriguing poster that appeared both fun and ridiculous. And there it was, adorning the cover of another fantastic issue of Skiing History (May-June 2025)! The poster of a skier advertising Puente del Inca represents classic marketing hype rather than any real skiing opportunity at the time. In 1931, recreational skiing in Argentina was just getting going with the forming of the Club Andino Bariloche. While there are unspecified, sporadic reports of skiing between stations of the trans-Andean rail line (by the European engineers), it is a desolate, barren, rugged place that rarely receives much snow in the winter. In 1925, a spa hotel was developed at the site intending to attract Argentine health tourists, and the poster represents an attempt to fill empty rooms in the winter. Los Penitentes wasn’t developed as a ski area until the 1970s. Buenos Aires is often called the “Paris of South America,” but Puente del Inca should never be compared to St. Mortiz.

Chris I. Lizza
Author, South America Ski Guide
Lee Vining, California

Tragedy Leads to the Founding of the National Ski Patrol

Well done with the important article, “The Evolution of On-Course Safety” (March-April 2025). The photograph on page 18 (see below) reminded me of another contribution to skiing’s safety made by a ski-racing accident. In 1936, in a race on the Ghost Trail on Pine Mountain [Pittsfield, Massachusetts], similar to the Thunderbolt Trail, Frank Edison fell, crashing into a tree. His rescue was mishandled, which led to his death. The next day my father, Roland Palmedo, organized a committee chaired by Minnie Dole to study skiing safety. That led to the establishment of the National Ski Patrol, with Dole as its director. 

Philip Palmedo
St. James, New York