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Ski Museums of the World 2026

Updated 2021: Of the 128 nations (up from 110 in 2012) that belong to the Fédération Internationale de Ski (FIS), 21 have established museums focusing on the history of skiing. Some are entirely devoted to skiing; some are part of a small, local museum; others are simply one section within a broader collection of folk material; and a few private collections are listed. The dozens of ski museums and libraries in this list are not all of a kind—but for skiers and snowboarders interested in the rich heritage of what we now call “snowsports,” any would merit a visit.

Skis were on public view as early as 1655, but the first dedicated ski museum was founded in Norway in 1923 and is now in its 95th year, still remaining in the same area at Holmenkollen, bordering Oslo’s own skiing grounds, the Nordmarka. But the huge majority of museums are post-World War II creations, many initiated by individuals like Theodor Hüttenegger in Mürzzuschlag, Austria, and Gilbert Merlin in Grenoble, France. In the United States, many ski museums were started by individuals but then, in an effort to raise money, transformed into Halls of Fame. American museums are all private ventures, although a few may receive some government funding at the local, regional or national level.

Ski heritage and its preservation rely heavily on specialized libraries, many of them an integral part of a museum. Others are beholden to an institution of learning, such as the library of the Deutsche Sporthochschule, the German Sports University in Cologne. Other leading resources include the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and its massive Olympic museum in Lausanne, Switzerland, and the FIS, which has sponsored a half-dozen conferences on the history of skiing.

From amassing “a bunch of old stuff” in the early days, ski museums have made significant progress in recent years with computerized collection management and archival treatments of wood and cloth, film and photographs, documents and art. The online “digital museum” or “virtual museum” is the latest trend, consisting solely of a Website-based collection of images and information. At the moment, the two most successful online-only collections are the Austrian Olympic Committee’s museum and Luzi Hitz’ and Pierre Schneider’s “Swiss History of Skiing” museum. This sophisticated approach requires major financial support. Europeans have to persuade their municipalities, county and national governments to send Euros in their direction, while Americans try hard to increase membership to finance and improve their museums and libraries.

Over the past 42 years, I have visited many ski-related museums; for an historian, there is nothing like seeing the actual artifacts. Many of the museums have specialized libraries and are invaluable for anyone interested in following the old ski tracks. It was a natural project for me to publish a list for other interested parties. The list, last updated in 2012, had 119 entries; this new one contains 151—the latest addition being the archive of the Ski Club of Great Britain that was added to the Special Collections of De Montfort University in Leicester in February 2018. There are a further half-dozen museums waiting in the wings or in storage.

As ski travelers and students of ski history, I hope you will find it useful. But be warned: Some of the information came from websites or e-mail correspondence, information that can easily change. It is always wise to contact the museum ahead of a visit, and a requirement for anyone working on a research project. —E. John B. Allen

Museum list updated March 2026 

AUSTRALIA

Mount Buller, Victoria

National Alpine Museum of Australia, Inc.

Level 1 Alpine Central, Summit Road, Mt. Buller, Victoria 3723

Curator: Michelle Stevenson

E-mail: info@nama.org

Tel: +61 418 976 338

Website: www.nama.org.au

Open Winter: Saturday 12.00 – 15.00

Open Summer: Saturday 11.00 – 15.00.  Every second Thursday 11.00 – 15.00.

Admission: Free

 

Thredbo, New South Wales

Thredbo Ski Museum

Thredbo Historical Society, P.O. Box 6, Thredbo, NSW 2625

Contact: Christina Webb

E-mail: via website

Tel: +61 2 9449 7610

Website: www.thredboskimuseum.com

Open: 26 December – 26 January (closed Mondays)

            February, March, April, October weekends and public holidays

            July - September daily (closed Mondays)

            Call for hours

 Closed: May, November, December 1 – 25

Admission: Free

 

 

AUSTRIA

Damüls, Vorarlberg

FIS Skimuseum Damüls

Kirchdorf 138, 6884 Damüls

Director/Curator: Christian Lingenhöle

E-mail: info@damuels.travel

Tel: +43 5510 6200

Website: www.damuels.travel

Open: December—April, and June—September: Tuesday and Friday 15.00—18.00

Closed: May, October, November

Admission: Free

Emphasis on Vorarlberg skiing and ski production and competition. Victor Sohm, Hannes Schneider, Georg Bilgeri featured.

 

Haus im Ennstal, Steiermark/Styria

Wintersportmuseum

Schlossplatz 189, 8967 Haus im Ennstal

Director: Willi Wawra

E-mail: wintersportmuseum@haus.at

Tel: +43 3686 2207-17

Website: www.haus.at/de/kultur/wintersportmuseum.php

Open: Tuesdays 10.00 – 12.00 and Wednesdays 16.30 – 20.30 and by appointment

Admission: €2 ($2.50), children: €1 ($1.25)

 

Hinterstoder, Oberösterreich/Upper Austria

Alpineum Hinterstoder

4573 Hinterstoder

Contact: Sabrina Plursch

E-mail: hinterstoder@pyhrn-priel.net

Tel: +43 7564 5263 99

Website: www.alpineum.at

Open: Monday—Friday 8.00—12.00 and 14.00—17.00

           Weekends by arrangement

Admission: Adult €4 ($5), Child €2.20 ($2.50), Family €8 ($10)

Exhibits showing change from mountain farm village to summer and winter tourism. Strong on local skiing with downhill simulator and avalanche detector exhibits.

 

Hirschegg, Vorarlberg

Wintersportmuseum im Walserhaus

Walserhaus, Walserstrasse 64, 6992 Hirschegg

E-mail: info@walserhaus.at

Tel: +43 5517 5114 460

Website: www.walserhaus.at

Open: Monday-Saturday 9.00—17.00.  Sundays and holidays 8.00—15.00

Admission: Free

 

Hochpillberg, Tirol

Schimuseum Hotel Grafenast

Bio-Hotel Grafenast, Pillbergstrasse 205, 6130 Hochpillberg

E-mail: sehnsucht@grafenast.at

Tel: +43 5242 63209

Website: www.grafenast.at

Open: By appointment

Admission: Free

Private collection of the Unterlechner family.

 

 

Lilienfeld, Nieder Österreich/Lower Austria

Bezirks-Heimatmuseum mit Zdarsky-Skimuseum und Archiv

Babenbergerstrasse 3, 3180 Lilienfeld

Director: Heinz Eppensteiner

E-mail: tourismus@lilienfeld.at or bez.heimatmuseum-lilienfeld@aon.at

Tel: +43 2762 52478 or +43 2762 52478

Website: www.zdarsky-ski-museum.at

Open: Thursday, Saturday, Sunday 16.00-18.00

Admission: Adult €5 ($6.25), Student €2.50 ($3)

Best museum for Mathias Zdarsky

 

Mürzzuschlag, Steiermark/Styria

Winter!Sport!Museum!

Wienerstrasse 13, 8680 Mürzzuschlag

Director: Hannes Nothnagl

E-mail: office@wintersportmuseum.com

Tel: +43 3852 3504

Website: www.wintersportmuseum.com    

NB:  Museum is being reorganized; probable reopening date is January 2019, admission hours and fees will be announced.

Large museum, excellent collections, good library.

 

Seefeld, Tirol

Olympic and Nostalgia Exhibition (1964, 1976 Winter Olympic Games) in the Rosshütte Panoramic Restaurant above Seefeld

E-mail: info@rosshuette.at

Tel: +43 5212 2416-0

Website: www.seefeld-sports.at                  

Open: call to find out dates and times

Admission: Free

 

St. Anton am Arlberg, Tirol

The Museum of St. Anton in the Kandahar Haus

Rudi-Matt-Weg 10, 6580 St. Anton am Arlberg

E-mail: office@museum-stanton.com

Tel: +43 5446 22690

Website: www.museum-stanton.com

Open: Winter: 12.00—18.00.  Summer not announced (April 2018)

Admission: Adult €4 ($5), Child €2 ($2.50)

Local history.  Emphasis on Hannes Schneider period.

 

Werfenweng, Salzburg

Salzburger FIS Landes-Skimuseum

Weng 138, 5453 Weng

Director: Hans Müller

E-mail: info@skimuseum.at

Tel: +43 664 50 000 96

Website: www.werfenweng.eu/EN/129-FIS-Landes-Skimuseum.html

Open: May—October: Monday, Friday, Sunday 13.00-17.00

            November—April: Monday, Friday, Sunday 14.00—18.00

Admission: Adult €5 ($6.25). Senior/Student €3.50 ($4.50), Child €2.50 ($3) Family €10 ($12.50)

Local history with emphasis on Rudolf Lettner’s steel ski edges.

 

OTHER MUSEUMS AND LIBRARIES

 

Gröbming, Steiermark/Styria

Heimatmuseum Gröbming

Dr. Franz-Xavier-Mayr Strasse 123, 8962 Gröbming

Contact: Hubert Pleninger

E-mail: pleninger@aon.at

Tel: +43 664 960 5006 or +43 3685 22 573

Website: www.museum-gb.at

Open: From 18 June 2018—31 October: Thursday 16.00—19.00 and Sunday 10.00—12.00.     

            Other times by appointment.

Admission: Free

Local museum including small regional ski development.

 

Jochberg, Tirol

Bergbau- und Heimatmuseum

Schulgasse 3, 6373 Jochberg

Curator: Anneliese Hechenberger

E-mail: info@museum-jochberg.at

Tel: +43 664 330 6302

Website: www.museum-jochberg.at

Open: Year round: Tuesday 17.00—19.00

            Group arrangements can be made for other times

Admission: Free

Small collection of ski material.

 

Kitzbühel, Tirol

Museum Kitzbühel

Hinterstadt 32, 6370 Kitzbühel

E-mail: info@museum-kitzbuehel.at

Tel: +43 5356 67274

Website: www.museum-kitzbuehel.at

Open: Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday 14.00—18.00

            Thursday 14.00—20.00 and Saturday 10.00—18.00

Closed: Monday

Admission: €6.50 ($8).  Free for under 18.

Many paintings by Alfons Walde.

 

Lech, Vorarlberg

Walsermuseum Lech-Tannberg

6764 Lech

E-mail: museumvereine@aon.at

Tel: +43 5583 2213 36

Website: www.vorarlbergermuseen.at/museen/walsermuseum-lech-tannberg/information

Open: Wednesday and Friday 15.00—18.00

Admission: Free

Ski display among many others.

 

 

Mariazell, Steiermark/Styria

Mariazell Heimatmuseum

Wienerstrasse 35, 8630 Mariazell

E-mail: mariazeller.heimathaus@aon.at

Tel: +43 3882 431 26

Website: www.mariazeller-heimathaus.at/heimathaus/wintersport

Open: Call ahead for days and hours

Admission: Adult €6 ($7.50), Youth €3 ($3.75), Family €12 ($15)

Small section of skis among local history artifacts.

 

Saalbach, Salzburg

Skimuseum und Heimathaus Saalbach-Hinterglemm

Dorfplatz 36, 5753 Saalbach

E-mail: gemeinde@saalbach.at

Tel: +43 664 4767 807

Website: www.saalbach.or.at/de/einrichtungen/heimathausskimuseum

Open: July-August: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday 14.00—18.00

            End of May, June, September: Tuesday, Thursday 14.00—18.00

            Winter: 14.00—18.00

Admission: Adult € 4.50 ($6), Child €2 ($2.50), Family €9 ($11.25)

 

Wien/Vienna

Österreichisches Olympiamuseum: this is the virtual museum of the Austrian Olympic Committee

E-mail: office@olympia.at [the e-mail of the Austrian Olympic Committee]

Tel: +43 1799 5511 [telephone of the Austrian Olympic Committee]

Website: www.olympia.at/museum

 

Vordernberg, Steiermark/Styria

Erzbergbahn- und Wintersportmuseum

Hauptstrasse 140, 8794 Vordernberg

Contact: Helma Moitzi

E-mail: office@erzbergbahn.at

Tel: +43 3849 832 or +43 3849 6246

Website: www.vordernberg.at/geschichte/museum.html

Open: By appointment

Admission: Adult €2 ($2.50), child €1 ($1.25)

This railway museum also exhibits ski material.

 

 

Innsbruck, Tirol

Österreichischer Alpenverein/Austrian Alpine Association

Olympiastrasse 37, 6020 Innsbruck

Contact: Veronika Raich

E-mail: veronika.raich@alpenverein.at

Tel: +43 512 595 47-19

Website: www.alpenverein.at

Closed: while looking for new premises (April 2018). 

Available: Lists of ski material from the Alpine Clubs of Germany, Austria, and the South Tirol can be found at www.historiches-alpenarchiv.org.

.

 

Schruns, Vorarlberg

Montafon Folk Museum and Montafon Archive

Kirchplatz 15, 6780 Schruns

Director: Michael Kasper

E-mail: info@montafoner-museen.at

Tel: +43 5556 74723

Website: www.montafoner-museen.at

Open: Museum: 12 June—26 October 2018: Tuesday—Friday and Sunday 14.00—18.00

            Archive: By appointment

Closed: Monday and Saturday

Admission: Adult €5 ($6.25), Youth and Child Free

Regional museum that also contains ski material and much documentation.

 

 

CANADA

Banff, Alberta

Canadian Ski Museum West

Cascade Plaza, 317 Banff Ave., Banff, AB T1L 1C1

Tel: 43 762 8484

Website: www.Banffnationalpark.com/Banff-activities/Banff-museums/Canadian-ski-museum-west

Open: When shopping plaza is open

Admission: Free

Variety of a few artifacts hung in shopping mall.

 

Revelstoke, British Columbia

Revelstoke Ski Museum (part of Revelstoke Museum and Archives)

315 First St. West.  Box 1908, Revelstoke, BC  VOE 250

Curator: Cathy English

E-mail: curator@revelstokemuseum.ca

Tel: 250 837 3067

Website: www.revelstokemuseum.ca

Open: Monday—Friday 10.00—17.00, Saturday 11.00—17.00. 

Admissions: Adult $5, Seniors/Teens $4, Family $12

Western Canadian Rocky Mountain skiing.

 

St. Sauveur, Quebec

Musée du Ski des Laurentides/Laurentian Ski Museum

30 Ave. Fillon, St. Sauveur, Québec JOR 1RO

Curator: Nancy Belhumeur

E-mail: Nancy@museeduski.com

Tel: 450 227 2564 x 222

Website: www.museeduskideslaurentides.com

Open: Tuesday—Wednesday 10.00—17.00

            Thursday—Monday 10.00—18.00

Admission: Free

Early skiing in the Laurentians, Emile Cochand, ski trains and village-ski growth.

 

Associated with the Musée du Ski des Laurentides is the Historical Directory of Québec Ski Sites, a virtual museum

Director: Pierre Dumas

E-mail: info@museeduski.com

Tel: 450 227 2564 x 222

Website: www.museeduskideslaurentides.com/index.php?q=node/221

Ca. 700 past and present ski areas, includes 444 alpine areas with lifts and 98 jumps, and ca. 12,500 documents.

 

OTHER MUSEUMS AND LIBRARIES

Banff, Alberta

Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies

111 Bear St., P.O. Box 160, Banff AB T1l 1A3

Head archivist and Librarian: Elizabeth Kundert-Cameron

E-mail: info@whyte.org

Tel: 403 762 2291 x 332

Website: www.whyte.org

Open: 10.00—17.00

Admission: Call before any research visit

Library and photographic records.

 

Calgary, Alberta

Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame

169 Canada Olympic Way SW, Calgary, AB T3B 6B7

Director: Interim director Janice Smith

E-mail: jsmith@cshof.ca  

Tel: 403 776 1061

Website: www.sporthall.ca

Open: September—June: Wednesday—Sunday 10.00-17.00

            July—August: Monday--Sunday 10.00—17.00

Admission:  Adult Canadian $12 ($9.50), Senior $10 ($8), Youth $8 ($6.50), Family (4) $35 ($28)

 

London, Ontario

The International Centre for Olympic Studies at University of Western Ontario

1151 Richmond St., London, ON N6A 5B9

Director: Michael Heine

E-mail: via website

Tel: 519 661 4113

Website: www.uwo.ca/olympic/about/contact_icos.html

Open: Essential to inquire

Admission: Free

Olympic research center contains Avery Brundage papers. Publishes annual Olympika and edited papers of biennial symposia on Olympic research.

 

Rossland, British Columbia

Rossland Museum and Discovery Center

P.O. Box 26, 1100 Hwy 3B, Rossland, BC VOG 1YO

Director: Joelle Hodgins

E-mail: info@rosslandmuseum.ca

Tel: 250 362 7722

Website: www.rosslandmuseum.ca

Open: Mid-May—end June: Tuesday—Sunday 10.00—17.00

            July—August: Monday—Sunday 10.00—18.00

            Rest of year: Wednesday—Saturday 12.00—17.00

Admission: Adult Canadian $10 ($8) Senior/student $8 ($6.50), Youth $5 ($4), Family (4) $24 ($19)

Small display, emphasis on early skiing from 1896 with Olaus Jeldness.

 

 

Thunder Bay, Ontario

Northwestern Ontario Sports Hall of Fame

219 May Street South, Thunder Bay, ON P7E 1B5

Exec. Director: Diane Imrie

Curator: Kate Dwyer

E-mail: nwosport@tbaytel.net

Tel: 807 622 2852

Website: www.nwosportshalloffame.com

Open: Tuesday—Saturday 12.00—17.00

Admission: Canadian $3 ($2.50)

 

Whistler, British Columbia

Whistler Museum and Archives

433 Main St., Whistler, BC VON 1B4

Director and Curator: Bradley Nichols

E-mail: info@whistlermuseum.org

Tel: 604 932 2019

Website: www.whistlermuseum.org

Open: 11.00—17.00 with extended hours Thursday

Admission: Free

Local skiing with emphasis on Olympics 2010.

 

 

 

CHINA

Changchun, Jilin

Vasaloppet museum

Changchun Jingyuetan Park, 5840 Jingyue St., Changchun

Tel: +86 431 8964 5455

Website: www.vasaloppetchina.com

Open: The museum is closed and only open on request.  I am told that it is difficult to make connections with the museum.  The website given and phone number are those for the Chinese Vasaloppet race organization.  There are no specific people, website or telephone for the museum.

 

CZECH REPULIC

Harachov, Liberec Region

Ski Museum Harrachov

Nový Svet 378, Harrachov 512 46

E-mail: turistik@sklarnaharrachov.cz

Tel: +420 603 470 113

Website: www.giant-mountains.info/tourism/ski-museum-harrachov.harachov.html and www.liberecky-kraj.cz

Open: January—December: Wednesday—Friday 14.00—17.00 and Saturday 10.00—17.00

Admission: 70 Koruna ($3.50), Senior 50 K ($2.50), Child 20 K ($1), Family 150 K ($7)

Local development of skiing and especially jumping.

 

Jilemnice, Liberec Region

Krkonosske Muzeum in Jilemnice Castle

Zamek 75, 514 01 Jilemnice

Director: Jan Luštinc

E-mail: kmjilemnice@kmap.cz

Tel: +420 481 543 041

Website: www.kmjilemnice.cz

Open: January—April: 8.00—16.00

            July—August: 8.00—12.00 and 13.00—17.00

            November—December: 8.00—12.00 and 13.00—16.00

 Closed: Monday

Admission: Adult 70 Koruna ($3.50)

Graf Harrach and early skiing in area.

 

Nové Mesto na Morave, Vysočina Region

Horacké Muzeum

Vratislavovo námĕstí 114, 592 31 Nové Mesto

E-mail: horacke.muzeum@nmnm.cz

Tel: +420 566 216

Website: www.hm.nmnm.cz

Open: October—April: Tuesday—Saturday 9.00—16.00

            May—June: Tuesday—Sunday 9.00—16.00

             July—August: Tuesday—Sunday 9.00—17.00

             September: Tuesday—Sunday 9.00—16.00

Closed:  Monday

Admission: Adult 40 Koruna ($2), Senior/student 20 Koruna ($1)

Late 19th century skiing in area.

 

ESTONIA

Otepää, Valga County

Talispordimuuseum (Otepää Winter Sports Museum—a branch of the Estonian Sport and Olympic museum, but concentrating on winter sports)

Tehvandi Sports Center, Valga mit 12

Contact: Jana Mae

E-mail: info@spordimuuseum.ee or jana@spordimuuseum.ee

Tel: +372 766 3670 or +372 501 6082 (Jana Mae)

Website: www.spordimuuseum.ee/info/otepaa-talispordimuuseum.ee

Open: Wednesday—Friday 11.00—17.00

            Saturday—Sunday 11.00—16.00

Admission: Adult €2 ($2.50), Senior/student €1.50 ($2), Family (4) €5 ($6.25)

General collection with emphasis on cross-country skiing.

 

Tartu

Eesti Spordi-ja Olümpiamuuseum/Estonian Sport and Olympic Museum

15 Rüütli Street, 51005 Tartu

Director: Daimar Lell

E-mail: info@spordimuuseum.ee

Tel: +372 730 0750

Website: www.spordimuuseum.ee

Open: Wednesday—Sunday 11.00—18.00

Closed: Monday and Tuesday

Admission: Adult €6 ($7.50), Family (4) €15 ($18.50)

Olympic exhibits.

 

FINLAND

Helsinki

Suomen Urheilumuseo/Sports Museum of Finland

Olympiastadion, Paavo Nurman tie 1, FI-00250 Helsinki

Director: Pekka Honkanen

E-mail: urheilumeseo@urheilumuseo.fi

Tel: +358 9 434 2250

Website: www.urheilumuseo.fi

Closed: For renovations.  Will reopen in 2019. Admission hours and fees will be announced

Displays, library especially strong in Finnish newspapers and periodicals.

 

Lahti, Päijänne Tavastia Region

Lahti Hiihtomuseo/Lahti Ski Museum

Sports Center (Urheilukeskus), Salpausselänkatu 8, P.O. Box 113, FI 15110 Lahti

Curator: Suvi Kuisma

E-mail: hiihtomuseo@lahti.fi

Tel: +358 50 398 5523 or +358 50 398 5521

Website: www.ladenmuseo.fi

Open:  Tuesday—Friday 9.00—17.00

            Saturday—Sunday 11.00—16.00

Closed: Monday

Admission: Adult €10 ($12.50), Senior/student €7 ($8.50)

Impressive displays, good library

 

FRANCE

Besse-et-Saint-Anastaise (Besse-en-Chandesse), Puy-de-Dôme

Musée du Ski

Maison de la Reine Margot, 11 Rue Boucherie, 63610 Besse-et-Saint-Anastaise

Owner and Curator: Pierre-André Chauvet

Tel: +33 4 7379 5730

Open: During school holidays: 9.00—12.00 and 14.00—18.00

            Other times only by telephone arrangement

Admission: €4.50 ($6)

Large and excellent private collection, small library.

 

Grenoble, Isère

Musée du Ski is part of the Musée Dauphinois

30 Rue Maurice Gignoux, Cedex 1000, 38100 Grenoble

Director: Olivier Cogne

E-mail: musee.dauphinois@cg38.fr

Tel: +33 45758 8901

Website: www.musee-dauphinois.fr

Open: 1 September—31 May: 10.00—18.00

           1 June—31 August: 10.00—19.00

Admission: Free

Excellent collection, much from Rossignol, good library.

 

Les Rousses, Jura

Le Grand Tétras

705 route des Rousses, 39220 Les Rousses, Jura

Owner: Roger Tangueley and Stéphane Tangueley

E-mail: grandtetras39@aol.com

Tel: +33 3846 05113  

Website: www.legrandtetras.troumad.org/Le_musee.html

Open: Thursday 17.00—19.00

Closed: April and October to Christmas

Admission: Free but call ahead

Large and excellent private collection, especially material from the Jura.

 

OTHER MUSEUMS AND LIBRARIES

Albertville, Savoie

Maison des Jeux Olympiques d’Hiver

11, rue Pargoud, 73200 Albertville

Director: Claire Grangé

E-mail: contact@maisonjeuxolympiques-albertville.org

Tel: +33 44793 77571

Website: www.maisonjeuxolympiques-albertville.org

Open: Monday—Saturday 10.00—13.00 and 14.00—19.00

           Sunday 14.00—19.00

Admission: Adult: €4 ($5), Senior/student €3 ($3.75), Family (3) €11 ($13.50)

Winter Olympic material from 1992.

 

Chamonix, Haute Savoie

Musée Alpin

89 Ave. Michel Croz, 74400 Chamonix-Mont-Blanc

E-mail: via website

Tel: +33 450 539 998 (Tourist office)

Website: www.chamonix.com/musee-alpin,49-187321,fr.html

Open: 7 April—7 May: 10.00—12.00 and 14.00—18.00.  Closed Tuesday

           8 May—25 May: 14.00—18.00.  Closed Tuesday

           1 July—2 September: daily 10.00—13.00 and 14.00—18.00

            3 September—30 September: 14.00—18.00.  Closed Tuesday

           22 October—4 November: 10.00—12.00 and 14.00—18.00.  Closed Tuesday

           22 December—7 January: 10.00-12.00 and 14.00—18.00.  Closed Tuesday

Closed: See above

Admission: Adult €5.90 ($7). Youth and child free

Local museum, much mountaineering material.  Includes winter sports. Library.

 

Nice, Alpes-Maritimes

Musée National du Sport (moved from Paris in 2014)

Stade Allianz Riviera, Bd. des Jardiniers, 06203 Nice cedex 3

E-mail: contact@museedusport.fr

Tel: +33 4892 24400

Website: www.allianz-riviera.fr/fr/le-musee-national-du-sport

Open: May—September: 10.00—18.00

           October—April: 11.00—17.00

Admission: Adult €6 ($8) for permanent or temporary exhibit

                              €8 ($10) for permanent and temporary exhibit

                              Free for youth and free on first Sunday of each month October-April

 

PARIS

Club Alpin Français/French Alpine Club

24 avenue Laumière, 75019 Paris

E-mail: via website

Tel: +33 1537 28700

Website: www.ffcam.fr

Open: Tuesday—Wednesday 9.00—17.30

           Thursday—Friday 9.00—18.00

           Saturday 9.00—12.00

Admission: Free, but call ahead

Many documents of the CAF.  Other CAF sections hold regional library materials too.

 

 

GERMANY

Bernau im Schwarzwald, Baden-Württemberg [Schwarzwald/Black Forest]

Ski-Köpfer-Museum—a digitalized museum with texts

Kaiserhausstrasse 27, 79872 Bernau im Schwarzwald

Contact: Walter Strohmeier

E-mail: info@ski-koepfer.de

Tel: +49 7675 1600 25 and +49 7675 1088

Website: www.ski-koepfer.de

Information and details: Contact essential

 

Braunlage, Niedersachsen/Lower Saxony [Oberharz]

Heimat- und Skimuseum

Dr.-Kurt-Schroeder-Promenade 4, 38700 Braunlage

Director: Jürgen Schütz

Email: mail@museum-braunlage.de

Tel: +49 5520 1646

Website: www.museum-braunlage.de

Open: Tuesday and Friday 10.00—12.00

Closed: November to mid-December

Admission: Adult €2.50 ($3), Child €1.50 ($2)

Braunlage in late 19th century.

 

Hinterzarten, Baden-Württemberg [Schwarzwald/Black Forest]

Schwarzwald Skimuseum

Hugenhof, Erlenbruckerstrasse 35, 79856 Hinterzarten

Director: Brigitte von Savigny

E-mail: info@schwarzwaelder-skimuseum.de

Tel: +49 7652 982 192

Website: www.schwarzwaelder-skimuseum.de

Open: Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday 14.00—17.00

            Saturday, Sunday 12.00—17.00

Closed:  Monday

Admission: Adult €5 ($6.25), Youth €1 ($1.25), Family €8 ($10)

Exhibits on Black Forest, Georg Thoma and Sepp Allgeier.

 

Kempten, Bayern/Bavaria [Allgäu]

Alpinmuseum

Marstallgebäude, Landwehrstrasse 4, 87439 Kempten

Contact: Christine Müller Horn

E-mail: museen@kempten.de

Tel: +49 831 2525 740

Website: www.kempten.de/alpin-museum.html

Open: Tuesday—Sunday 10.00—16.00

Closed: Monday

Admission: Adult €4 ($5), Youth €2 ($2.50), Family €8 ($10). First Sunday in month free

History of the Alps, Alpinism and Skiing. Wilhelm Paulcke, Mathias Zdarsky, Georg Bilgeri featured.  Good library.

 

Fischen, Bayern/Bavaria [Allgäu]

Skimuseum Fischinger Heimathaus

Geschwenderhaus, Hauptstrasse 3, 87538 Fischen

Contact: Florian Ruppaner

E-mail: info@skimuseum-fischen.de

Tel: +49 175 202 1404

Website: www.skimuseum-fischen.de

Open: Call ahead for hours

Admission: Call ahead

Local heroes and excellent historical ski repair shop.

 

Nesselwang, Bayern/Bavaria [Allgäu]

Skimuseum Nesselwang

Hauptstrasse 20, 87484 Nesselwang

Contact: Tourist Office

E-mail: info@nesselwang.de

Tel: +49 8361 9230 40

Website: www.nesselwang.de/museen-in-nesselwang.html

Open:  Call ahead for hours

Admission: Call ahead

Skiing in Allgäu.

 

Oberwiesenthal, Sachsen/Saxony [Erzgebirge]

Oberwiesenthal Ski Museum

Karlsbaderstrasse 3, 09484 Oberwiesenthal

Contact: Brigitte Roscher

E-mail: info@oberwiesenthal.de

Tel: +49 373 487 521

Website: www.oberwiesenthal.com/urlaubsziel/sehenswertes/skimuseum.htm

Open: 1 April—2 December: Monday—Friday 9.30—17.00

                                                 Saturday—Sunday 10.00—13.00

           2 December—31 May: daily 9.30—17.00

Admission: Adult €5 ($6.25), Youth free

 

Planegg, Bayern/Bavaria

Deutsches Skimuseum

Hubertusstrasse 1, 82152 Planegg

Director: Gerd Falkner

E-mail: gerd.falkner@deutscherskiverband.de

Tel: +49 898 5790 211

Website: www.deutscherskiverband.de/ueber_uns_skimuseum_uebersicht_de,348.html

Open: Monday—Friday 8.30—16.00 and by appointment

Admission: Free

Excellent displays, good library but no longer holds the Luther Archive.

 

Reit im Winkl, Bayern/Bavaria

Skimuseum Alfons Dorner

Contact: Franz Höflinger

E-mail: via website

Tel: +49 8640 800 200

Website: www.reitimwinkl.de/winterurlaub/skimuseum

Open: Winter: Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday 15.00—17.00

           Summer: Tuesday, Thursday 15.00—17.00

Admission: Free with guest card

Excellent displays from c.1880s on.

 

OTHER MUSEUMS AND LIBRARIES

Hannover, Niedersachsen/Lower Saxony

Niedersächsisches Institut für Sportgeschichte (Lower Saxony Institute for Sport History)

Ferdinand-Wilhelm-Fricke-Weg 10, 30169 Hannover

E-mail: info@nish.de

Tel: +49 511 1268 5060

Website: www.nish.de

Open: Essential to call

Admission: Essential to call

Documents relating mostly to Lower Saxony including the Harz.

 

Köln/Cologne, Nordrhein-Westfalen/North Rhine Westphalia

Deutsche Sporthochschule/German Sports University

Institut für Sportgeschichte

Am Sportpark Müngersdorf 6, 50933 Köln

Director: Stefan Wassong

E-mail: sporthistory@dshs-koeln.de

Tel: +49 221 4982-3740

Website: www.dshs-koeln.de

Open: Essential to call

Admission: Free but essential to call

Best library for ski materials in Germany. Now holds the Luther Archive.

 

Köln/Cologne, Nordrhein-Westfalen/North Rhine Westphalia

Deutsches Sport & Olympia Museum

Im Zollhafen 1, 50678 Köln

Secretary: Jennifer Guthof

E-mail: info@sportmuseum.de

Tel: +49 221 33609-0

Website: www.sportmuseum.de

Open: Tuesday—Friday 9.00—18.00

           Saturday—Sunday 11.00—19.00

Closed: Monday

Admission: Adult €6 ($7.50), Family (4) €15 ($18.50)

Concentrates on 1936-1972 Olympic Games. Comparatively little on skiing.

 

Leipzig, Sachsen/Saxony

Leipzig Sportmuseum

Am Sportforum 10, 4105 Leipzig

Director: Gerlinde Rohr

E-mail: sportmuseum.Leipzig@t-online.de

Tel: +49 341 98051 12

Website: www.leipzig-online.de/sportmuseum-leipzig.html

Open: Monday—Friday 8.00—16.00

Admission: Inquire

Large general collection with some ski material.

 

Peiting, Bayern/Bavaria

Museum im Kloesterle

Kapellenstrasse 1, 86971 Peiting

E-mail: kloesterle-museu@gmx.de

Tel: +49 8861 59961

Website: www.peiting.de/tourismus/.../peiting/museum-im-kloesterle

Open: June—September: Monday—Friday 8.00—12.00

                                          Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday 14.00—16.00

                                          Thursday 14.00—18.00

          October—May: Monday—Friday 8.00—12.00

                                     Thursday 14.00—18.00

Admission: Inquire

Skiing is one section of the museum.

 

Winterberg, Nordrhein-Westfalen/North Rhine Westphalia

Wintersport Museum Neuastenberg (sometimes called the Westdeutsches Wintersport Museum)

Neuastenbergstrasse 17, 59955 Winterberg

E-mail: info@skimuseum-winterberg.de

Tel: +49 2981 2636

Website: www.skimuseum-winterberg.de

Open: Saturday and Sunday 15.00—17.00 and by appointment

Admission: Adult €3 ($3.75), Child €1.50 ($2)

 

ITALY

Montebelluna, Treviso

Museo dello Scarpone/Museum of the Boot

Vicolo Zuccaareda 5, 31044 Montebelluna

E-mail: info@museoscarpone.it

Tel: +39 423 303282

Website: www.museoscarpone.it

Open: Monday—Friday 9.00—12.00, 14.30—17.30

           Saturday 16.00—19.00 and Sunday 15.30—19.00

Admission: free

Largest collection of ski boots (among others) including, for example, those of Alberto Tomba.

 

Torino/Turin, Piemontese/Piedmont

Museo Nazionale della Montagna ‘Duca degli Abruzzi’/National Museum of the Mountain ‘Duke of the Abruzzi’

Piazzale Monte del Cappuccini 7, 10131 Torino

Director: Aldo Audisio

E-mail: post@museomontagna.org

Tel: +39 116604 104

Website: www.museuomontagna.org

Open: Tuesday—Sunday 10.00—18.00

Closed: Monday

Admission: Adult €10 ($12.50), Child €7 ($8.50)

Although this is a mountaineering museum, there is much on skiing here, film is specialty.

 

OTHER MUSEUMS AND LIBRARIES

Temù, Brescia

Museo della Guerra Bianca/Museum of the White War

Via Roma 40, 25050 Temù

Tel: +39 334 648 7127

E-mail: info@museoguerrabianca.it

Website: www.museoguerrabianca.it

Open: Essential to email or call for hours

Admission: Adult €7 ($8.50), Child €4 ($5)

Ski material of World War I mountain warfare.

 

TORINO/TURIN

Club Alpino Italiano, Sezione di Torino/Italian Alpine Club, Turin Section

Via Guiseppe Barboux 1, Torino

E-mail: segreteria@caitorino.it

Tel: +39 11 54 6031

Website: www.caitorino.it

Open: Monday 14.00—18.30

           Tuesday—Friday 10.00—18.30

Admission: Free

Although a mountaineering society, the library has interesting ski material.

 

JAPAN

Nagano, Nagano Prefecture

Nozawaonsen-mura/Ski Museum (also called Japanese Ski Museum)

9780-4 Toyosato, Nozawaonsen-mura, Shimotakai-gun, Nagano Prefecture

E-mail: info@nozawaski.com

Tel: +81 26985 3418

Website: www.nozawaski.com/summer/skihakubutsukan.php

Open: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday 9.30—16.00

Closed: Thursday, Sunday

Admission: Adult 300 yen ($3), Student 150 yen ($1.50)

Displays European background and then development of skiing in Japan.

 

Sapporo, Hokkaido Prefecture

Sapporo Olympic Museum

1274 Miyanomori, Chuo-ku, Sapporo 064-0958

Director: Masashi Abe

Tel: +81 11 641 8585

Website: www.sapporo-olympiamuseum.jp

Open: 28 April—4 November: 9.00—18.00

           5 November—26 April: 9.30—17.00

Admission: Adult 600 yen ($6), Senior 450 yen ($4.50), Child free

Many displays, especially of Olympics. Prince Takamatsu and Dr. Seishichi Ohno ski collections.

 

LIECHTENSTEIN

Eschen

Geissmann Collection

Rainer Geissmann, Renkwiller, Eschen

E-mail: Geissmann.rainer@adon.li

Private collection of Swiss Schwendener skis. Essential to E-mail for appointment.

 

NORWAY

Kongsberg, Buskerud

Ski Museum in Bergverksmuseet/Ski Museum in the Mining Museum

Hyttegata 3, Kongsberg

E-mail: bergverksmuseet@bvm.no

Tel: +47 9191 3200

Website: https://norsk-bergverksmuseum.no/skihistorisk-samlung

Open: 2 January—16 May: Tuesday—Sunday 12.00—16.00

           18 May—26 August: daily 10.00-17.00

           28 August—23 December: Tuesday—Sunday 12.00—16.00

Admission: Adult 90 NOK ($11.50) Senior/Student 70 NOK ($9), Child 50 NOK ($6)

The ski museum is part of the Mining museum.  Especially strong in Kongsberg region and Birger Ruud materials.

 

Lillehammer, Oppland

Norges Olympiske Museet/Norwegian Olympic Museum

Maihaugveien 1, 2609 Lillehammer

E-mail: post@lillehammer.no

Tel: +47 6128 89000

Website: www.ol.museum.no

Open: September—May: Tuesday—Sunday 11.00—16.00

           June—August: daily 10.00-17.00

Admission: Adult 135 NOK ($17), Senior/Student 95 NOK ($12), Child 65 NOK ($8), Family NOK 335 ($43)

Excellent displays on all Olympics but especially those held in Norway in 1952 and 1994, and the Youth Olympic Games in 2016.

 

Morgedal, Telemark

Norsk skieventyr/ /Norwegian Ski Adventure

3850 Kvitseit, 3848 Morgedal

Director: Kristi Marie Tveit

E-mail: kmt@vtm.no

Tel: +47 3506 9080

Website: www.vest-telemark.museum.no/...norsk-skieventyr-skimuseet-i-morgedal

Open: 26 January—30 April: Tuesday—Friday 10.00—17.00

                                                Saturday 11.00—17.00

                                                Sunday 11.00--1800

           1 May—14 June: Monday—Friday 10.00—17.00

                                        Saturday 11.00—17.00

                                        Sunday 12.00—17.00

          15 June—15 August: daily 10.00—18.00

           16 August—31 August: Monday—Friday 10.00—17.00

                                                   Saturday 11.00—17.00

                                                   Sunday 11.00—18.00

             1 September—16 December: Tuesday—Friday 10.00—17.00

                                                             Saturday 11.00—17.00

                                                             Sunday 11.00—18.00

Admission: Adult 100 NOK ($13), Senior/Student 80 NOK ($10), Child 50 NOK ($6.50), Family 250 NOK ($32)

Part of the Vest-Telemark museum system, good displays with special attention to Norheim (house available for visit) and Bjaaland.  Good library.

 

Oslo

Holmenkollen Skimuseet/Holmenkollen Ski Museum

Kongsveien 5, 0787 Oslo

Director: Åslaug Midtdal

E-mail: 

Aslaug.midtdal@skiforeningen.no

Tel: +47 917 69 758

Website: www.skiforeningen.no/en/holmenkollen/skimuseet

Open:  October—April: 10.00—16.00

             May—September: 10.00—17.00

             June—August: 9.00—20.00

Admission:  Adult 140 Kroner ($18), Senior/Student 120 Kr ($15), Child 70 Kr (49), Family (4) 350 Kr ($45)

The world’s most comprehensive ski museum.  Call ahead for research purposes.

 

Tromsø, Troms

Polarmuseet, Polar museum

Søndre Tollbodgate 11, 9008 Tromsø

E-mail: via website

Tel: +47 776233 60

Website: www.uit.no

Open: 1 January—14 June: 11.00—17.00

           15 June—15 August: 9.00—18.00

           16 August—31 December: 11.00—17.00

Admission: Adult 60 NOK ($8), Senior 30 NOK ($4), Family (4) 120 NOK ($16)

Tickets can be purchased for both the university museum and the polar museum.

Fridtjof Nansen, Roald Amundsen and also Helmer Hanssen and Hjalmar Johansen with Amundsen to S. Pole.

 

Tromsø, Troms

Tromsø Universitetsmuseet/Tromsø University Museum

P.O. Box 6050 Langnes, 9037 Tromsø

Contact: Anita Maurstad

E-mail: postmottak@tmu.uit.no

Tel: +47 776 450 01

Website: https://uit.no

Website for skis: www.unimus.no/etnografi/tmu/samling/index.php

 

Open: 1 June—31 August: 9.00—18.00

           1 September—31 May: Monday—Friday 10.00—16.30

                                                  Saturday 12.00—15.00

                                                   Sunday 11.00—16.00

Admission: Adult 60 NOK ($8), Senior/Student/Child 30 NOK ($4), Family 120 NOK ($16)

Tickets can be purchased for both the University Museum and the Polar Museum

General exhibits on northern life, especially Sami culture.  Some ski material including ca. 25 skis.

 

Trondheim, Trøndelag

Skimuseet Sverresborg, part of the Sverresborg Trøndelag Folkmuseet

Sverresborg Allé 13, Postboks 1107, 7020 Trondheim

E-mail: post@sverresborg.no

Tel: +47 7389 0100

Website: www.sverresborg.no

Open: Tuesday—Friday 10.00—15.00

           Saturday—Sunday 12.00—16.00

Closed: Monday

Admission: Adult 125 NOK ($16), Senior/Student 110 NOK ($14), Child Free

Ski museum is among a large number of buildings which comprise the Folk Museum of the area

 

Trysil, Hedmark

Trysil-Knut Ski Museum

Vestsidevegen 4, 2420 Trysil

E-mail: rvingels@gmail.com

Tel: +47 918933 77

Website: www.expology.com/trysil-knut

Open: By appointment only: Tuesday—Sunday 12.00—19.00

Admission: 40 NOK ($5)

Small museum, nice displays.

 

OTHER MUSEUMS AND LIBRARIES

Alta, Finnmark

World Heritage Rock Art Centre—Alta Museum

Altaveien 19, 9518 Alta

Director: Harriet Hagen

E-mail: post@altamuseum.no

Tel: +47 41756330

Website: www.alta.museum.no

Open: 2 January—13 May: Monday—Friday: 9.00—15.00

                                             Saturday—Sunday: 11.00—16.00

           14 May—8 June: daily 8.00—17.00

            9 June—19 August: daily 08.00—20.00

           20 August—14 September: daily 08.00—17.00

           15 September—30 December: Monday—Friday 9.00—15.00

                                                             Saturday—Sunday 11.00—16.00

Admission: Summer/Winter (1 May—30 September/1 October—30 April): Adult 115/75 NOK ($16/10), Senior 105/65 NOK ($13/8), Student 100/55 NOK ($13/7), Child 35/20 NOK ($5/3)

Impressive rock carving. Exhibition jumping and Bjorn Wirkola.

 

Elverum, Hedmark

Norsk Skogbruksmuseet/Norwegian Forestry Museum

Solørvegen 151, 2407 Elverum

Director: Bjørn Bækkelund

E-mail: skogmus@annomuseum.no

Tel: +47 6240 9000

Website: www.skogmus.no

Open: 24 June—13 August: 10.00—17.00

           Rest of the year: 10.00—16.00

Admission: Adult 110 NOK ($13.50), Senior 80 NOK ($10), Youth/child 60 NOK ($7.50)

Concentrates on forestry, hunting and fishing and few skis on view. To see the 100 skis in storage appointment must be made for Monday-Friday 10.00—15.30 at bookingskogmus@annomuseum.no.

 

Oslo

Norskfolkemuseum/Norwegian Folk Museum

Museumveien 10, Bygdøy, 0287 Oslo

Conservator: Morten Bing

E-mail: post@norskfolkemuseum.no

Tel: +47 2212 3700

Website: www.norskfolkemuseum.no

Open: 15 May—14 September: daily 10.00—18.00

            15 September—14 May: Monday—Friday 11.00—15.00

                                                     Saturday—Sunday 11.00—16.00

Admission: Adult 130 NOK ($17), Senior/Student 100 NOK ($13), Child 40 NOK ($5), Family 260 NOK ($33)

The ski material is digitalized at www.digitalmuseum.no/search/?q=Ski&aq=owner%3F%3A%22NF%22

.

 

POLAND

Cieklin, Subcarpathian Voivodeship

Muzeum Narciarstwa w Cieklin: Stanisław Barabasz Ski Museum in Cieklin

38-222 Cieklin

Director: Wiesław Czechowicz

Scientific Director: Leon Rak

E-mail: muzeumnarciarstwa@op.pl; leorak1964@gmail.com and lrak@ajd.czest.pl

Tel: +48 791 994 591

Website: www.muzeum-narciarstwa.pl

Open: Wednesday 9.00—14.00

           Saturday 9.00—11.00

           Other times by arrangement

Admission: Free

Tadeusz Wowkonowicz and Stanisław Barabasz archives, and local ski development.

 

OTHER MUSEUMS AND LIBRARIES

Warsaw

Muzeum Sportu i Turystyki/Museum of Sport and Tourism

Pope Jan Pawell (John Paul) II Olympic Center, ul. Wybrzeże Gdyńskie 4, 01-531 Warszawa

Director: Tomasz Jagodziński

E-mail: muzsport@muzeumsportu.waw.pl

Tel: +48 225 603 780

Website: www.muzeumsport.waw.pl

Open: Wednesday—Friday 9.00—17.00

           Saturday—Sunday 10.00—17.00

Closed: Monday

Admission: 12 zloty ($3.50).  Saturday: Free

Skiing presented among other sports. Large library, museum publications.

 

Zakopane, Maloposkie/Province of Lesser Poland

Muzeum Tatrazańskie/ Museum of the Tatra Mountains

ul. Krupówki 10, 34-500 Zakopane

Director: Anna Wende-Surmiak

E-mail: biuro@muzeumtatrzanskie.pl

Tel: +48 182 0152 05

Website: www.muzeumtatrzanskie.pl

Open: 1 January—30 April: Wednesday—Saturday 9.00—17.00

           1 May—30 September: Tuesday—Saturday 9.00—18.00

           1 October—31 December: Wednesday—Saturday 9.00—17.00

           Year round Sundays: 9.00—15.00

Library open: Tuesday—Friday 8.00—16.00

Archives open: Tuesday—Friday 8.00—15.00

Admission: 7 zloty ($2)

Ski material and excellent photographs among much local history.

 

RUSSIA

OTHER MUSEUMS AND LIBRARIES

Moscow

State Historical Museum

Red Square 1, Moscow 109012

Tel: +7 495 692 4019

Website: www.shm.ru (but there is nothing about skis)

Information about the few bog skis held in this museum comes from Natalia I. Astashova, “Skis from the Archeological Collections of the State Historical Museum,” in Karin Berg et al (Eds.), History of Skiing Conference Holmenkollen, Oslo 16. – 18.9.1998.  Holmenkollen: Skiforeningen, 1998, 89-94.

 

St. Petersburg

Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography

University Embankment 3, 199034 St. Petersburg

Website: www.kunstkamera.ru (but there is nothing about skis)

Tel: +7 812 328 0812

Information about the few skis held in this museum comes from Tatyana Shrader, “Skis in Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography (The Kunstkammer),” in Karin Berg et al (Eds.), History of Skiing Conference Holmenkollen, Oslo 16. – 18.9.1998. Holmenkollen: Skiforeningen, 1998,  13-15.

 

SLOVENIA

Begunje, Gorenjska/Upper Carniola

ELAN Alpine Ski Museum

4275 Begunje na Gorenjskem

Director: Tomaž Šlibar

E-mail: info@elanskimuseum.com

Tel: +386 453 511 09

Website: www.elanskimuseum.com

Open: 15 April—15 September: Tuesday—Thursday 10.00—19.00

                                                    Friday—Saturday 10.00—20.00

            16 September—14 April: Tuesday—Thursday, Sunday 10.00—19.00

Closed: Monday

Note: Groups by appointment outside listed times

Admission: Adult €5 ($6.25), Senior/Student €4 ($5), Child €3 ($3.75)

This is the ELAN factory museum.

 

Planica, Gorenjska/Upper Carniola

Planiški muzej/Planica Museum in the Nordic Center Planica

Rateče 4283

E-mail: info@nc-planica.si

Tel: +386 316 898 06

Website: www.nc-planica.si

Open: July—August: daily 9.00—20.00.  Rest of year: daily 9.00—18.00

Admission: Adult €6 ($7.50)

Excellent displays of jumping and ski flying.

 

 

Pohorje

Smučarski Mozej Pohorje/Pohorje Ski Museum

Hočko Pohorje 36b, 2208 Pohorje

Owner and Curator: Prof. Dr. Duško Uršič

E-mail: dusko.ursic@um.si

Open: By appointment

Admission: Adults €10 ($13), child up to 15: free

Largest private collection in Slovenia.  Opening Summer 2021.

 

Tržič, Gorenjska/Upper Carniola

Tržiški muzej—Slovenski smučarski muzej, Tržič/Tržič Museum—Slovenian Ski Museum

Muzejska 11, 4290 Tržič

Curator: Boštjan Meglič

E-mail: trziski.muzej@siol.net

Tel: + 386 4592 3810

Website: www.trziski-muzej.si

Open: Tuesday—Sunday 10.00—18.00

Closed: Monday

Admission: Adult €3 ($3.75), Senior/Student, Child €2 ($2.50), Family €5 ($6.25)

Ski materials are only one part of the museum.

 

OTHER MUSEUMS AND LIBRARIES

Bloke

Nova vas 4 a, 1385 Nova vas, Bloke

Contact: Matej Pakiž

E-mail: obcina.bloke@bloke.si

Tel: +386 1709 8918 or +386 313 261 58

Open: Call ahead

Exhibition is sponsored by the municipality of Bloke (Občina Bloke)

Emphasis on local skis.  Bloke considers itself the founding place of Slovenian skiing.

 

Ljubljana

Muzej Športa/[Slovenian] Sports Museum

Kopitarjeva ulica 4, 1000 Ljubljana

Director: Tomaž Pavlin

E-mail: info@muzejsporta.si

Tel: +386 1431 8340

Website: https://museu.ms/museum/details/35/muzej-sporta

Open: Monday—Friday 9.00—14.00

Closed: Saturday, Sunday

Admission: Free

Most of the ski material has been moved to the complex at Planica. Good library, especially on Olympics.

 

Maribor, Podravska/Drava

Vojaški muzej slovenske vojske/Military Museum of the Slovenian Armed Forces

Kadetnica, Engelsova 15, 2111 Maribor

Contact: Gregor Kastelic

E-mail: gregor.kastelic@mors.si

Tel: +386 2449 5006

Website: www.vojaskimuzej.si

Open: January, February, June—September: 10.00—17.00

           March—May, October, November: 10.00—15.00

           Saturday, Sunday during the holidays: 10.00—15.00

Admission: Free but call before visit

The museum is inside the main building of the officers’ military training college and has minor displays on skiing.

 

Mojstrana, Gorenjska/Upper Carniola

Slovenski planinski muzej/Slovenian Alpine Museum

Triglavska cesta 49, 4281 Mojstrana

Contact: Miro Eržen

E-mail: info@planinskimuzej.si

Tel: +386 8380 6730

Website: www.planinskimuzej.si

Open: 1 June—14 September: 9.00—19.00

           15 September—31 May: 9.00—17.00

Admission: Adult €6 ($7.50), Senior/Student €3.60 ($4.50), Family €13 ($16)

A  mountain museum with occasional ski-mountaineering material.

 

SPAIN

Unha, Lleida

Musèu dera Nhèu/The Snow Museum

Santa Eulàlia 17-19, Unha-Naut Aran

E-mail: vielha@baqueira.es

Tel: +34 973 644 030

Website: www.bazueira.es/aran-aneu/vall-aran/aran-museos

Open: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday 10.00—13.00

           Thursday, Friday, Saturday 17.00—20.00      

Closed: Sunday                                                                                                     

Admission: Adult €3 ($3.75), Student €2 ($2.50), Child free

Snow seen from a scientific, ethnological, and sporting point of view. 

 

SWEDEN

Åsarna, Jamtland

Skimuseum Åsarna

Åsarna Ski Center, Olstavägen 45, 840 31 Åsarna

E-mail: info@asarnaskicenter.se

Tel: +46 687 302 30

Website: www.asarnaskicenter.se

Open: June—August: 9.00—20.00

           September—May: 9.00—19.00

Admission: 20 SKR ($2.50)

 

Mora, Dalarna

Vasaloppsmuseet/The Vasalopp Museum

792-32 Mora

E-mail: info@vasaloppet.se

Tel: +46 250 392 25

Website: www.vasaloppet.se

Open: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday 8.00—16.30

           Thursday 9.00—15.00

Closed: Monday—Friday 12.00—13.00 and Saturday and Sunday

Admission: Call for prices

Museum of the Vasalopp.  Special exhibits, one on Mora Nisse.

 

Umeå, Västerbotten

Ski Museum is part of Västerbotten museum complex

Helena Elisabethsväg 3, Box 3183, 903 42 Umeå

E-mail: info@vbm.se

Tel: +46 9016 3900                                                                                                       

Website: www.vbm.se

Open: Tuesday, Thursday, Friday 10.00—17.00

           Wednesday 10.00—20.00

           Saturday, Sunday 11.00—17.00

Closed: Monday

Admission: Free

Open air cultural museum of Västerbotten. Incorporates the best ski museum in Sweden, with excellent library.

 

SWITZERLAND

Bad Ragaz, Canton St. Gall/St. Gallen

Jürg Hess Collection

Unterrainstrasse 12, 7310 Bad Ragaz

Owner: Jürg Hess

E-mail: hess_juerg@bluewin.ch

 Tel: +41 79 616 7885

Open: By appointment only

Massive private collection of equipment, especially skis and bindings.

 

Davos, Canton Graubünden/Grisons

Wintersport-Museum/Winter Sport Museum

Promenade 43, 7270 Davos Platz

E-mail: andresguler@bluewin.ch

Tel: +41 814 132 484

Website: www.wintersportmuseum.ch

Open:  Winter: Tuesday, Thursday 16.30—18.30

             Summer: (Opening 19 June) 16.30—18.30

             Other times by appointment

Closed: April—18 June

Admission: Free

Excellent displays.

 

Lausanne, Canton Vaud/Waadt

Musée Olympique/Olympic Museum

Quai d’Ouchy 1, 1006 Lausanne

E-mail: info.museum@olympic.org

Tel: +41 216 216 511

Website: www.olympic.org/museum

Open:1 May—15 October: daily 9.00—18.00

           16 October—30 April: Tuesday—Sunday 10.00—18.00

Closed: Monday 16 October—30 April

Admission: Adult CHF 18 ($18), Senior CHF 16 ($16), Student CHF 12 ($12), Child CHF 10 ($10), Family CHF 40 ($40)

Vast museum, excellent displays, includes winter Olympics.  Olympic library and documentation center. Essential to call for research information.

 

Les Bois, Canton Jura

Laurent Donzé Collection

Sous les rangs 31, 2336 Les Blois

E-mail: l.donze@bluewin.ch

Tel: +41 794 188 252

Open: By appointment only

Private collection of c.a. 2000 cross-country skis.

 

Oberwald, Canton Valais/Wallis

Toni Hischier’s Ski Museum

Oberwald 3999

Tel: +41 793 299 400

Website: www.obergoms.ch/activities/for-mind-soul/museums

Open: By appointment only

Private collection of over 1000 skis.

 

Swiss Ski Lifts, a virtual museum

Contact: Jakob Schuler

E-mail: via website

Tel: +41 79 894 51 01

Website: www.skilift-nostalgie.ch

Comprehensive on-line depiction of ski lifts in Switzerland.

 

Swiss Ski Museum, a virtual museum

Case Postale 67, 1937 Orsières

Contact: Pierre Schneider

E-mail: info@swissskimuseum.com

Tel: +41 79 736 6947

Website: www.swissskimuseum.com

The most comprehensive on-line depiction and explanation of skiing development in Switzerland founded by Luzi Hitz (d.) and Pierre Schneider.

 

 

OTHER MUSEUMS AND LIBRARIES

 

Arosa, Canton Graubünden/Grisons

Heimatmuseum und Kulturarchiv Arosa—Schanfigg

Egga-Hus, 7050 Arosa

E-mail: info@arosa-museum.ch

Tel: +41 796 765 658 and +41 813 771 731

Website: www.arosa-museum.ch

Open: 22 December—13 April: Tuesday, Friday 14.30—16.30

           18 June—19 October: Monday, Wednesday, Friday 14.30—16.30

Closed: 14 April—17 June and 20 October—21 December

Admission: CHF 3 ($3)

Local museum with local archive.  Essential to call ahead.

 

Bern/Berne

Alpines Museum der Schweiz/Swiss Alpine Museum

Helvetiaplatz 4, 3005 Bern

E-mail: info@alpinesmuseum.ch

Tel: +41 3135 004 40

Website: www.alpinesmuseum.ch

Open: Tuesday—Sunday: 10.00—17.00

Closed: Monday

Admission: Adult CHF 16 ($16), Student CHF 12 ($12), Child CHF 6 ($6), Family CHF 35 ($35)

Includes winter sports material, also skis of Hermann Hesse. Good library. 

 

 

Grindelwald, Canton Bern/Berne

Heimatmuseum Grindelwald

Almisgässli, 3, 3818 Grindelwald

Director: Marco Bomio

E-mail: grindelwald-museum@bluewin.ch

Tel: +41 338 5343 02

Website: www.grindelwald-museum.ch

Open: 1 June—8 October: Tuesday—Friday, Sunday 15.00—18.00

Closed: 1 April—31 May

Admission: Adult CHF 7 ($7), Child CHF 2 ($2)

The winter sport section is on the second floor.

 

Lauterbrunnen, Canton Bern/Berne

Talmuseum Lauterbrunnen

Ey, 3822 Lauterbrunnen

Contact: Esther Graf

E-mail: info@talmuseumlauterbrunnen.ch

Tel: +41 338 553 586

Website: www.talmuseumlauterbrunnen.ch

Open: 3 June—14 October: Tuesday, Thursday—Sunday: 14.00—17.30

Closed: Monday, Wednesday

Closed: 15 October—2 June, but possible entry by arrangement

Admission: Adult 5 CHF ($5)

One of 12 sections is a small display of skis and equipment.

 

Luzern/Lucerne, Canton Luzern/Lucerne

Verkehrshaus der Schweiz/Swiss Transport Museum

Lidostrasse 5, 6006 Luzern

E-mail: mail@verkehrshaus.ch

Tel: +41 413 704 444

Website: www.verkehrshaus.ch

Open: Summer: daily 10.00—18.00

           Winter: daily 10.00—17.00

Admission: Adult CHF 32 ($32), Student CHF 22 ($22), Child CHF 12 ($12).  Note these are for museum only.  Other prices apply for various aspects of this large museum

Includes a replica of the Davos-Bolgen ski lift, and much on aerial tramways and their inspection.  Good library.

 

Magglingen/Macolin, Canton Bern/Berne

Eidgenössische Hochschule für Sport/Swiss Sports University

Federal Office of Sport, Swiss Federal Institute of Sports, 2532 Magglingen

E-mail: via internet at ‘media library’

Tel: +41 323 276 226

Website: www.ehsm.ch

Open: Library: Monday—Friday 9.00—12.00 and 13.30—17.00

Closed: Saturday and Sunday

Admission: Free

No ski exhibits but very good library.  Essential to call ahead.

 

Münchenstein, Canton Basel

Schweizer Sportmuseum/Sport Museum of Switzerland

Reinacherstrasse 1, 442 Münchenstein

E-mail: info@sportmuseum.ch

Tel: +41 612 611 221

Website: www.sportmuseum.ch

Open: Wednesday, Friday: 14.00—17.00

Admission: CHF 8 ($8)

Much ski material among vast collection of sport artifacts.  Good library.  Essential to call ahead for research.

 

Näfels, Canton Glarus/Glaris

Museum des Landes Glarus

Freulerpalast, 8752 Näfels

Director: Bettina Giersberg

E-mail: info@freulerpalast.ch

Tel: +41 556 121 378

Website: www.freulerpalast.ch

Open: 1 April—30 November: Tuesday—Friday 10.00—12.00 and 14.00—17.00

                                                   Saturday—Sunday 10.00—17.00

Closed: 1 December—31 March but will open for groups by appointment

Admission: Adult CHF 10 ($10), Student CHF 5 ($5)

Local museum, skiing being one of seven major exhibits with emphasis on Glarus.

 

Obervaz, Canton Graubünden/Grisons

Obervaz Museum

Voa da Solis 2, 7082 Vaz/Obervaz

Director: Anna Maria Elmer-Cantieni

E-mail: museum.vaz@bluewin.ch

Tel: +41 813 842 159

Website: www.vazobervaz.ch/sportmuseum

Open:  Call for hours

Admission: Adult CHF 7 ($7), Child CHF 3 ($3)

Local museum displaying importance of tourism and holding late 19th century skis and a display of local Olympic (1976) star, Heine Hemmi.

 

Pontresina, Canton Graubünden/Grisons

Museum Alpin Pontresina

Chesa Delnon Haus, via Maistra 199, 7504 Pontresina

Contact: Annemarie Brülisauer

E-mail: museum@pontresina.ch

Tel: +41 818 427 273

Website: www.pontresina.ch/museumalpin

Open: 11 June—20 October: Monday—Saturday 15.30—18.00

Closed: Sunday

Admission: Adult CHF 8 ($8), Youth and Child CHF 2 ($2)

Local museum with some ski material. Exhibit on 50th anniversary of Engadin marathon.

 

Saas-Fee, Canton Valais/Wallis

Saaser Museum

Dorfstrasse 6, 3906 Saas-Fee

Contact: Damian Bumann

E-mail: museum@3906.ch

Tel: +41 792 202 853 or +41 279 571 475

Website: www.3906.ch/de/leben/kultur/saasermuseum

Open: 18 June—14 October: Tuesday and Thursday 14.30—17.00 and on request

Admission: Adult CHF 5 ($5), Child CHF 2.50 ($2.50)

Local museum with some ski related material.

 

Schönenwerd, Canton Solothurn

Bally Schuhmuseum/Bally Shoe Museum

Oltnerstrasse 6, 5012 Schönenwerd

E-mail: receptioncaslano@bally.ch

Tel: +41 916 129 111

Website: www.bally.com

Open: For individuals only on the last Friday and Saturday of every month.  For groups by arrangement.

Admission: Call ahead

One of the largest collections of boots and shoes with occasional early ski boots.

 

Tramelin, Canton Bern/Berne

Musée du Ski Geiser

In shop Geiser-Sports, Grand-Rue 39, 2720 Tramelin

E-mail: info@geiser-sports.ch

Tel: +41 324 874 160

Website: www.geiser-sports.ch

Open: October—April: Monday 13.30—18.30

                                       Tuesday—Friday 9.00—12.00 and 13.30—18.30

                                        Saturday 9.00—12.00

           May: Monday—Friday 14.00—18.00

           September: Wednesday 14.00—18.00

Closed: June—August

Admission: Free

The ski museum is in the shop, various exhibits are available for ski clubs etc.

         

Zermatt, Canton Valais/Wallis

Matterhorn Museum

Kirchplatz, Zermatt 3920

E-mail: matterhornmuseum@zermatt.ch

Tel: +41 279 674 100

Website: www.zermatt.ch/en/museum

Open: 9 April—30 June: daily 14.00—18.00

            1 July—30 September: daily 11.00—18.00

            1 October—31 October: daily 15.00—18.00

            23 November—20 December: Friday, Saturday, Sunday 15.00—18.00

Closed: 1 November—22 November

               23 November—20 December Monday--Thursday

Admission: Adult CHF 10 ($10), Senior/Student CHF 8 ($8), Child CHF 5 ($5)

Mostly on growth of Zermatt from mountain farm community to summer and winter alpine resort with much on Matterhorn climbing.

 

 

UNITED KINGDOM

OTHER MUSEUMS AND LIBRARIES

Leicester, Leicestershire

The Ski Club of Great Britain Archives in Special Collections of De Montfort University

Special Collections Kimberlin Library, Leicester LE1 9BH

Archivist: Katharine Short

E-mail: kshort@dmu.ac.uk and archives@dmu.ac.uk

Tel: +44 116 250 6392

Website: www.dmu.ac.uk

Open: Monday—Friday 9.00—17.00.  Essential to call ahead for research

Entire archives of Ski Club of Great Britain is now (April 2018) housed at De Montfort University.

 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

 

Boise, Idaho

Glory Days Ski Museum

4432 N. Burnside Place, Boise, ID 83702

Owner: Kirk Luba

E-mail: glorydaysskimuseum@gmail.com

Tel: 208 629 8329

Open: By appointment.

Private collection of 1960s-1980s skis.

Davis, West Virginia

Snow Sports Museum of West Virginia

466 William Avenue, Davis, WV 26260 (postal P.O. Box 421)

Executive Director: Andy Snyder

E-mail: ssmwv@icloud.com

Tel: 334-663-1172

Website: www.snowsportsmuseumwv.org

Open: 15 April—31 October: Thursday-Monday 11.00-18.00

            2021 until 11 April: Friday-Sunday 11.00-18.00

Admission: Free

Monthly Newsletter on website. Collections 1950—1990

 

Fort Drum, New York

10th Mountain Deivision & Fort Drum Museum

Building 2509 Col. Reade Road, Fort Drum, NY 13602

Director: to be names Fall 2022

Curator: Kent Bolke

E-mail: 10thmountainmuseum@gmail.com

Tel: 315 774 0391

Website: https://history/army/mil/fieldmuseum/fortDrum/index.html

Open: All year, Tuesdays-Saturdays 9 am-5 pm

Closed: Sundays, Mondays, and federal holidays

Admission: Free

History of Fort Drum and 10t Mountain Division from beginning to modern deployments.  Military mountaineering and skiing in US army.

 

Franconia, New Hampshire

New England Ski Museum

135 Tramway Drive, P.O. Box 267, Franconia, NH 03580

Executive Director: Jeffrey R. Leich

E-mail: staff@skimuseum.org

Tel: 603 823 7177

Website: www.skimuseum.org

Open: 1 December—ca.15 April: 9.00—17.00

           31 May—ca.15 October: 9.00—17.00

Closed: 15 April—30 May and 15 October—1 December

Admission: Free.  Admission during closed periods by appointment

Exhibits highlight New England skiing.  One of the finest libraries in the USA with manuscript archives and films. Journal is published four times a year.

 

Ishpeming, Michigan

U.S Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame

610 Palms Avenue, P.O. Box 191, Ishpeming, MI 49849

E-mail: Administrator@skihall.com

Tel: 906 485 6323

Website: www.skihall.com

Open: Monday—Saturday 10.00—17.00

Closed: Sunday and national holidays

Admission: Free

Many exhibits, Roland Palmedo library.

 

Kingfield, Maine

Ski Museum of Maine

256 Maine St., P.O. Box 359, Kingfield, ME 04947

Director: Theresa Shanahan

E-mail: info@skimuseumofmaine.org

Tel: 207 265 2023

Website: www.skimuseumofmaine.org

Open: Year round Monday--Friday 10.00—16.00

Admission: Free

Emphasis on Maine skiing, with special reference to Sugarloaf and manufacturers.

 

North Conway,  New Hampshire

New England Ski Museum: Eastern Slopes Branch

P.O. Box 1673, North Conway, NH 03860-1673

Manager: Brian Fowler

E-mail: brian@skimuseum.org

Tel: 603 730 5044

Website: www.skimuseum.org

Open: daily 9.00—16.00 until further notice

Admission: Free

Irwin Exhibit Hall displays Eastern skiing with special reference to Harvey Dow Gibson and Hannes Schneider. Library.

 

Park City, Utah

Alf Engen Ski Museum located in Olympic complex

Joe Quinney Winter Sports Park, Utah Olympic Park, P.O. Box 980187, Park City, UT 84098

Executive Director: Connie Nelson

E-mail: via website

Tel: 435 658 4240

Website: www.engenmuseum.org

Open: daily 10.00—18.00

Admission: Free

Emphasis on Alf Engen and Utah skiing.  The Eccles 2002 Olympic Winter Games Museum is also a part of this museum.

 

Red Wing, Minnesota

The American Ski Jumping Hall of Fame and Museum

Inside the St. James Hotel, 406 Main St., Red Wing, MN 55066

Contact: St. James Hotel

E-mail: info@americanskijumping.com

Tel: 651 388 2846 (Hotel telephone)

Website: www.americanskijumping.com

Open: On request only, essential to call hotel ahead

Admission: Free

History of jumping, especially Scandinavian immigrants.  Hall of Fame.

 

Salt Lake City, Utah

Utah Ski and Snowboard Archives

University of Utah Marriot Library Special Collections, 295 South 1500 East, Salt Lake City, UT 84112

Manager: Judy Jarrow

E-mail: via website

Tel: 801 581 3421

Website: www.lib.utah.edu

Open: Essential to call ahead

Admission: Free

Documentation on Utah skiing, resort growth and the 2002 Winter Olympic Games.

 

Sandia Peak, New Mexico

New Mexico Ski Hall of Fame and Ski Museum

Base of Sandia Peak Aerial Tram, 10 Tramway Rd. NE, P.O. Box 09937, Albuquerque, NM 87122

Contact: Jay Blackwood

E-mail: jblackw796@aol.com

Tel: 505 857 8916

Website: www.nmskihall.org

Open: daily 9.00—20.00

Admission: Free

Small museum, local emphasis.

 

Snoqualmie Pass, Washington

Washington State Ski and Snowboard Museum

Snoqualmie Pass, WA 98068

Contact: Dave Moffett

Email: info@wsssm.org

Tel: (206) 854-3626

Website: www.wsssm.org

Opened in 2015, WSSSM is a modern museum featuring 11 permanent exhibits on Washington's snow sport venues. Olympians, manufacturers, Alpine, Nordic, mountaineering, adaptive, and snowboarding history.

 

Soda Springs, California

Western SkiSport Museum

On Donner Pass.  P.O. Box 829, Soda Springs, CA 95728

Director: Bill Clark

E-mail: bclark@inc.auburnskiclub.org

Tel: 530 426 3313 x 101

Website: www.auburnskiclub.com/asctc/about-us/ski-museum

Open: Ski season: daily 10.00—16.00

            Off season: by appointment

Admission: Free

Displays of Western states skiing and of Squaw Olympics. Strong on Sierra “longboard” skiing of the Gold Rush era. Library and documents.

Note: The Museum of Sierra Ski History and the Olympic Museum are presently (April 2018) fundraising and obtaining land permits.  If all goes as planned, the Olympic artifacts from the Western SkiSport Museum will go to the Olympic Museum, and the other artifacts will go to the Museum of Sierra Ski History.  Eventually, the hope is to combine all three in the Olympic Museum (www.olympicskimuseum.org) planned for Squaw Valley opening in 2023.

 

Stowe, Vermont

Vermont Ski and Snowboard Museum

1 South Main St., P.O. Box 1511, The Perkins Building, Stowe, VT 05672

Director: Abby Blackburn

E-mail: info@vermontskimuseum.org

Tel: 802 253 9911

Website: www.vtssm.com

Open: 26 May—15 October: Wednesday—Sunday 12.00—17.00

Closed: Monday and Tuesday and 16 April—25 May

Admission: Free

Vermont exhibits, also 10th Mountain.

 

Squaw Valley, California

Olympic Museum—See Soda Springs: Western SkiSport Museum note

 

Tahoe City, California

Museum of Sierra Ski History—See Soda Springs: Western SkiSport Museum note

Currently artifacts are displayed at the Gatekeepers Cabin Museum, 130 W. Lake Blvd., Tahoe City, CA 96145

Tel: 530 583 1762

Website: www.tahoecity.org

Open: daily in Summer.  Rest of the year: Wednesday—Sunday.  Call for hours

Local ski history.

 

 

Tannersville, Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania Ski and Snow Sports Museum

Exhibit at base lodge of Camelback Ski Area, Tannersville, PA 18372

Contact: Paul Prutzman, Goggleworks Suite 506 A, 201 Wahington St., Reading, PA 19601

E-mail: Pasmoffice@gmail.com

Tel: 610 334 4378

Website: www.pasnowsportsmuseum.com

Open: When ski area is open

Admission: Free

Local ski development.  Hall of Fame.

 

Vail, Colorado

Colorado Snowsports Museum and Hall of Fame

231 South Frontage Road East, P.O. Box 1976, Vail, CO 81657

Director: John McMurtry

E-mail: skimuseum@gmail.com

Tel: 970 476 1876

Website: www.skimuseum.net

Open: 5 March 2018 on limited basis due to renovations: daily 10.00—18.00

Admission: Free

Exhibits Colorado material, extensive 10th Mountain collection

 

OTHER MUSEUMS AND LIBRARIES

Aspen, Colorado

Aspen Historical Society

620 West Bleeker St., Aspen, CO 81611

Curator: Lisa Hancock

E-mail: info@aspenhistory.com

Tel: 970 925 3721

Website: www.aspenhistory.com

Open: Call for opening hours

Admission: Free

Documents relating to Aspen’s skiing history.

 

 

Decorah, Iowa

Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum

520 West Water St., P.O. Box 379, Decorah, IA 52101

Curator:  Laurann Gilbertson

E-mail: info@vesterheim.org

Tel: 563 382 9681

Website: www.vesterheim.org

Open: 1 May—31 October: 9.00—17.00

           1 November—30 April: 10.00—16.00

Admission: Adult $10, Senior $8, Youth $5

Museum of Norwegian immigration in the Midwest with small collection on immigrant skiing.

 

Denver, Colorado

10th Mountain Division Resource Center in the Denver Public Library

Denver Public Library, 10 W 14the Ave Parkway, Denver, CO 80204-2731

Archivist: Keli Schmid

E-mail: kschmid@denverplibrary.org

Tel: 720 865 1812

Website: www.denverlibrary.org

 Open: Monday and Tuesday 10.00—20.00

           Wednesday, Thursday, Friday 10.00—18.00

           Saturday: 9.00—17.00 and Sunday 13.00—17.00

Admission: Free

Archives of letters, diaries, photos, films with emphasis on World War II.

 

Government Camp, Oregon

Mount Hood Cultural Center and Museum

88900 East Hwy 26, Business Loop, P.O. Box 55, Government Camp, OR 97028

Contact: Lloyd Musser or Cheryl Maki

E-mail: info@mthoodmuseum.org

Tel: 503 272 3301

Website: www.mthoodmuseum.org

Open: daily 9.00—17.00

Admission: Free

Local museum with ski documents and artifacts from local clubs on second floor.

 

Ketchum, Idaho 

Sun Valley Museum of History

180 East 1st St., P.O. Box 2168, Ketchum, ID 83340

Director of Regional History: Mary Tyson

E-mail: mtyson@comlib.org

Tel: 208 726 8118 and 208 726 3493 x 103

Website: www.ksvhs.com

Open: Monday—Saturday 10.00—18.00

Admission: Free

Local material including much on skiing.

 

Lake Placid, New York

Lake Placid Winter Olympic Museum

Olympic Center, 2634 Main St., Lake Placid, NY 12946

Director: Alison Haas

E-mail: via website

Tel: 518 302 5326

Website: www.lpom.org

Open: daily 10.00—17.00

Admission: Adult/Youth $7, Senior/Junior $5

Much on skiing but also on the other winter sports.  Exhibitions highlight the Games of 1932 and 1980.

 

New England Lost Ski Areas Project (NELSAP)

Digitalized list of closed ski areas

Director: Jeremy Davis

E-mail: nelsap@yahoo.com

Tel: 518 581 8755

Website: www.nelsap.org

Admission: Free

Detailed list on line of closed past ski areas of New England with brochures, photos, tales.

 

Norco, California

California Ski Library

3321 Aryana Ave., P.O. Box 283, Norco, CA 92860

Owner: Ingrid P. Wicken

E-mail: ingrid@skilibrary.com

Tel: 951 207 9218

Website: www.skilibrary.com

Open: By appointment only

Admission: Free

One of the finest ski libraries in the USA.  Documentation on western US skiing.

 

Park City, Utah

Park City Historical Society and Museum

528 Main St., P.O.Box 555, Park City, UT84060

Director: Morgan Pierce

E-mail: via website

Tel: 435 649 7457

Website: http://parkcityhistory.org

Open: Monday—Saturday 10.00—19.00

            Sunday 12.00—18.00

Admission: Adult $12, Senior/Student $10, Child $5

Much on mining and ski history.

 

Steamboat Springs, Colorado

Tread of Pioneers Museum

800 Oak St., P.O. Box 772372, Steamboat Springs, CO 80487

Executive Director: Candice Bannister

E-mail: cbannister@treadofpioneers.org

Tel: 970 879 2214

Website: www.treadofpioneers.org

Open: Tuesday—Saturday 11.00—17.00

Closed: Sunday and Monday

Admission: Adult $6, Senior $5, Child $2

Local museum with display of skiing personalities and material.

 

Stratton Mountain, Vermont

Stratton Mountain Foundation

Stratton Foundation, 2D Village Square, P.O. Box 523, Stratton Mountain, VT 05155

E-mail: info@strattonfoundation.org

Tel: 802 277 2096

Open:  Only by appointment

Stratton Mountain archives of local area and papers of personalities.

 

Washington, DC

Sir Arnold Lunn Papers, Lauinger Library, Georgetown University

Special Collections, Lauinger Library, 37th & O Streets, Washington DC 20057

Contact: Essential for appointments to see special collections: www.library.georgetown.edu/special-collections/contact

E-mail: https://findingaids.library.georgetown.edu

Tel: 202 6878 0100

Website: www.library.georgetown.edu

Open: Essential to call for hours special collections are open

21 linear feet of Arnold Lunn’s correspondence, manuscripts, notebooks, ephemera from 1896-1978.

 

 

COLLECTIONS and LIBRARIES now in STORAGE or in CLOSED museums:

 

AUSTRIA/LIECHTENSTEIN

Noldi Beck’s collection, once on display in Liechtenstein, is believed to be in Austria.  Once it has been inventoried, there is a hope that it will be exhibited.  The ‘drama’ is best followed in an article by Bernhard Odehnal, “Ein Museum verschwindet” (“A Museum Vanishes”) in the Swiss Tagesanzeiger 28 October 2017.

The Austrian Alpine Association in Innsbruck is closed (April 2018) while they look for new premises.  However, the digitalized lists can be searched, so I have left it as an entry.

 

CANADA

Canadian Ski Hall of Fame and Museum, as of April 2018, is planned for Mont Tremblant, Quebec.  The Executive Director: Joanne Heward can be reached at 514-715-0245 or at joanne@hewardgroup.com.  No opening date yet.

 

USA

Beekley International Collection of Art and Library in storage in Westminster, Colorado while searching for a new venue.  Open to research by appointment only.  For information: Natale Messina, P.O. Box 426, Plantsville, CT 06479 and/or tel: 860 240 6027 and email:  nmessina@legacyfws.com.  Or from Kim Carrera email: Kcarrera1@cox.net.

Neptune Mountaineering and Ski Museum (Boulder, Colorado) is in storage until further notice.

Olympic Museum (Squaw Valley, California) and Sierra Ski History Museum (Tahoe City, California)—see note at Soda Springs.

Feature Image Media
Image
Timestamp

Ski Museums of the World 2018

Updated March, 2021

By E. John B. Allen

Of the 128 nations (up from 110 in 2012) that belong to the Fédération Internationale de Ski (FIS), 21 have established museums focusing on the history of skiing. Some are entirely devoted to skiing; some are part of a small, local museum; others are simply one section within a broader collection of folk material; and a few private collections are listed. The dozens of ski museums and libraries in this list are not all of a kind—but for skiers and snowboarders interested in the rich heritage of what we now call “snowsports,” any would merit a visit.

Skis were on public view as early as 1655, but the first dedicated ski museum was founded in Norway in 1923 and is now in its 95th year, still remaining in the same area at Holmenkollen, bordering Oslo’s own skiing grounds, the Nordmarka. But the huge majority of museums are post-World War II creations, many initiated by individuals like Theodor Hüttenegger in Mürzzuschlag, Austria, and Gilbert Merlin in Grenoble, France. In the United States, many ski museums were started by individuals but then, in an effort to raise money, transformed into Halls of Fame. American museums are all private ventures, although a few may receive some government funding at the local, regional or national level.

Ski heritage and its preservation rely heavily on specialized libraries, many of them an integral part of a museum. Others are beholden to an institution of learning, such as the library of the Deutsche Sporthochschule, the German Sports University in Cologne. Other leading resources include the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and its massive Olympic museum in Lausanne, Switzerland, and the FIS, which has sponsored a half-dozen conferences on the history of skiing.

From amassing “a bunch of old stuff” in the early days, ski museums have made significant progress in recent years with computerized collection management and archival treatments of wood and cloth, film and photographs, documents and art. The online “digital museum” or “virtual museum” is the latest trend, consisting solely of a Website-based collection of images and information. At the moment, the two most successful online-only collections are the Austrian Olympic Committee’s museum and Luzi Hitz’ and Pierre Schneider’s “Swiss History of Skiing” museum. This sophisticated approach requires major financial support. Europeans have to persuade their municipalities, county and national governments to send Euros in their direction, while Americans try hard to increase membership to finance and improve their museums and libraries.

Over the past 42 years, I have visited many ski-related museums; for an historian, there is nothing like seeing the actual artifacts. Many of the museums have specialized libraries and are invaluable for anyone interested in following the old ski tracks. It was a natural project for me to publish a list for other interested parties. The list, last updated in 2012, had 119 entries; this new one contains 151—the latest addition being the archive of the Ski Club of Great Britain that was added to the Special Collections of De Montfort University in Leicester in February 2018. There are a further half-dozen museums waiting in the wings or in storage.

As ski travelers and students of ski history, I hope you will find it useful. But be warned: Some of the information came from websites or e-mail correspondence, information that can easily change. It is always wise to contact the museum ahead of a visit, and a requirement for anyone working on a research project. —E. John B. Allen

 

AUSTRALIA

Mount Buller, Victoria

National Alpine Museum of Australia, Inc.

Level 1 Alpine Central, Summit Road, Mt. Buller, Victoria 3723

Curator: Michelle Stevenson

E-mail: info@nama.org

Tel: +61 418 976 338

Website: www.nama.org.au

Open Winter: Saturday 12.00 – 15.00

Open Summer: Saturday 11.00 – 15.00.  Every second Thursday 11.00 – 15.00.

Admission: Free

 

Thredbo, New South Wales

Thredbo Ski Museum

Thredbo Historical Society, P.O. Box 6, Thredbo, NSW 2625

Contact: Christina Webb

E-mail: via website

Tel: +61 2 9449 7610

Website: www.thredboskimuseum.com

Open: 26 December – 26 January (closed Mondays)

            February, March, April, October weekends and public holidays

            July - September daily (closed Mondays)

            Call for hours

 Closed: May, November, December 1 – 25

Admission: Free

 

 

AUSTRIA

Damüls, Vorarlberg

FIS Skimuseum Damüls

Kirchdorf 138, 6884 Damüls

Director/Curator: Christian Lingenhöle

E-mail: info@damuels.travel

Tel: +43 5510 6200

Website: www.damuels.travel

Open: December—April, and June—September: Tuesday and Friday 15.00—18.00

Closed: May, October, November

Admission: Free

Emphasis on Vorarlberg skiing and ski production and competition. Victor Sohm, Hannes Schneider, Georg Bilgeri featured.

 

Haus im Ennstal, Steiermark/Styria

Wintersportmuseum

Schlossplatz 189, 8967 Haus im Ennstal

Director: Willi Wawra

E-mail: wintersportmuseum@haus.at

Tel: +43 3686 2207-17

Website: www.haus.at/de/kultur/wintersportmuseum.php

Open: Tuesdays 10.00 – 12.00 and Wednesdays 16.30 – 20.30 and by appointment

Admission: €2 ($2.50), children: €1 ($1.25)

 

Hinterstoder, Oberösterreich/Upper Austria

Alpineum Hinterstoder

4573 Hinterstoder

Contact: Sabrina Plursch

E-mail: hinterstoder@pyhrn-priel.net

Tel: +43 7564 5263 99

Website: www.alpineum.at

Open: Monday—Friday 8.00—12.00 and 14.00—17.00

           Weekends by arrangement

Admission: Adult €4 ($5), Child €2.20 ($2.50), Family €8 ($10)

Exhibits showing change from mountain farm village to summer and winter tourism. Strong on local skiing with downhill simulator and avalanche detector exhibits.

 

Hirschegg, Vorarlberg

Wintersportmuseum im Walserhaus

Walserhaus, Walserstrasse 64, 6992 Hirschegg

E-mail: info@walserhaus.at

Tel: +43 5517 5114 460

Website: www.walserhaus.at

Open: Monday-Saturday 9.00—17.00.  Sundays and holidays 8.00—15.00

Admission: Free

 

Hochpillberg, Tirol

Schimuseum Hotel Grafenast

Bio-Hotel Grafenast, Pillbergstrasse 205, 6130 Hochpillberg

E-mail: sehnsucht@grafenast.at

Tel: +43 5242 63209

Website: www.grafenast.at

Open: By appointment

Admission: Free

Private collection of the Unterlechner family.

 

 

Lilienfeld, Nieder Österreich/Lower Austria

Bezirks-Heimatmuseum mit Zdarsky-Skimuseum und Archiv

Babenbergerstrasse 3, 3180 Lilienfeld

Director: Heinz Eppensteiner

E-mail: tourismus@lilienfeld.at or bez.heimatmuseum-lilienfeld@aon.at

Tel: +43 2762 52478 or +43 2762 52478

Website: www.zdarsky-ski-museum.at

Open: Thursday, Saturday, Sunday 16.00-18.00

Admission: Adult €5 ($6.25), Student €2.50 ($3)

Best museum for Mathias Zdarsky

 

Mürzzuschlag, Steiermark/Styria

Winter!Sport!Museum!

Wienerstrasse 13, 8680 Mürzzuschlag

Director: Hannes Nothnagl

E-mail: office@wintersportmuseum.com

Tel: +43 3852 3504

Website: www.wintersportmuseum.com    

NB:  Museum is being reorganized; probable reopening date is January 2019, admission hours and fees will be announced.

Large museum, excellent collections, good library.

 

Seefeld, Tirol

Olympic and Nostalgia Exhibition (1964, 1976 Winter Olympic Games) in the Rosshütte Panoramic Restaurant above Seefeld

E-mail: info@rosshuette.at

Tel: +43 5212 2416-0

Website: www.seefeld-sports.at                  

Open: call to find out dates and times

Admission: Free

 

St. Anton am Arlberg, Tirol

The Museum of St. Anton in the Kandahar Haus

Rudi-Matt-Weg 10, 6580 St. Anton am Arlberg

E-mail: office@museum-stanton.com

Tel: +43 5446 22690

Website: www.museum-stanton.com

Open: Winter: 12.00—18.00.  Summer not announced (April 2018)

Admission: Adult €4 ($5), Child €2 ($2.50)

Local history.  Emphasis on Hannes Schneider period.

 

Werfenweng, Salzburg

Salzburger FIS Landes-Skimuseum

Weng 138, 5453 Weng

Director: Hans Müller

E-mail: info@skimuseum.at

Tel: +43 664 50 000 96

Website: www.werfenweng.eu/EN/129-FIS-Landes-Skimuseum.html

Open: May—October: Monday, Friday, Sunday 13.00-17.00

            November—April: Monday, Friday, Sunday 14.00—18.00

Admission: Adult €5 ($6.25). Senior/Student €3.50 ($4.50), Child €2.50 ($3) Family €10 ($12.50)

Local history with emphasis on Rudolf Lettner’s steel ski edges.

 

OTHER MUSEUMS AND LIBRARIES

 

Gröbming, Steiermark/Styria

Heimatmuseum Gröbming

Dr. Franz-Xavier-Mayr Strasse 123, 8962 Gröbming

Contact: Hubert Pleninger

E-mail: pleninger@aon.at

Tel: +43 664 960 5006 or +43 3685 22 573

Website: www.museum-gb.at

Open: From 18 June 2018—31 October: Thursday 16.00—19.00 and Sunday 10.00—12.00.     

            Other times by appointment.

Admission: Free

Local museum including small regional ski development.

 

Jochberg, Tirol

Bergbau- und Heimatmuseum

Schulgasse 3, 6373 Jochberg

Curator: Anneliese Hechenberger

E-mail: info@museum-jochberg.at

Tel: +43 664 330 6302

Website: www.museum-jochberg.at

Open: Year round: Tuesday 17.00—19.00

            Group arrangements can be made for other times

Admission: Free

Small collection of ski material.

 

Kitzbühel, Tirol

Museum Kitzbühel

Hinterstadt 32, 6370 Kitzbühel

E-mail: info@museum-kitzbuehel.at

Tel: +43 5356 67274

Website: www.museum-kitzbuehel.at

Open: Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday 14.00—18.00

            Thursday 14.00—20.00 and Saturday 10.00—18.00

Closed: Monday

Admission: €6.50 ($8).  Free for under 18.

Many paintings by Alfons Walde.

 

Lech, Vorarlberg

Walsermuseum Lech-Tannberg

6764 Lech

E-mail: museumvereine@aon.at

Tel: +43 5583 2213 36

Website: www.vorarlbergermuseen.at/museen/walsermuseum-lech-tannberg/information

Open: Wednesday and Friday 15.00—18.00

Admission: Free

Ski display among many others.

 

 

Mariazell, Steiermark/Styria

Mariazell Heimatmuseum

Wienerstrasse 35, 8630 Mariazell

E-mail: mariazeller.heimathaus@aon.at

Tel: +43 3882 431 26

Website: www.mariazeller-heimathaus.at/heimathaus/wintersport

Open: Call ahead for days and hours

Admission: Adult €6 ($7.50), Youth €3 ($3.75), Family €12 ($15)

Small section of skis among local history artifacts.

 

Saalbach, Salzburg

Skimuseum und Heimathaus Saalbach-Hinterglemm

Dorfplatz 36, 5753 Saalbach

E-mail: gemeinde@saalbach.at

Tel: +43 664 4767 807

Website: www.saalbach.or.at/de/einrichtungen/heimathausskimuseum

Open: July-August: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday 14.00—18.00

            End of May, June, September: Tuesday, Thursday 14.00—18.00

            Winter: 14.00—18.00

Admission: Adult € 4.50 ($6), Child €2 ($2.50), Family €9 ($11.25)

 

Wien/Vienna

Österreichisches Olympiamuseum: this is the virtual museum of the Austrian Olympic Committee

E-mail: office@olympia.at [the e-mail of the Austrian Olympic Committee]

Tel: +43 1799 5511 [telephone of the Austrian Olympic Committee]

Website: www.olympia.at/museum

 

Vordernberg, Steiermark/Styria

Erzbergbahn- und Wintersportmuseum

Hauptstrasse 140, 8794 Vordernberg

Contact: Helma Moitzi

E-mail: office@erzbergbahn.at

Tel: +43 3849 832 or +43 3849 6246

Website: www.vordernberg.at/geschichte/museum.html

Open: By appointment

Admission: Adult €2 ($2.50), child €1 ($1.25)

This railway museum also exhibits ski material.

 

 

Innsbruck, Tirol

Österreichischer Alpenverein/Austrian Alpine Association

Olympiastrasse 37, 6020 Innsbruck

Contact: Veronika Raich

E-mail: veronika.raich@alpenverein.at

Tel: +43 512 595 47-19

Website: www.alpenverein.at

Closed: while looking for new premises (April 2018). 

Available: Lists of ski material from the Alpine Clubs of Germany, Austria, and the South Tirol can be found at www.historiches-alpenarchiv.org.

.

 

Schruns, Vorarlberg

Montafon Folk Museum and Montafon Archive

Kirchplatz 15, 6780 Schruns

Director: Michael Kasper

E-mail: info@montafoner-museen.at

Tel: +43 5556 74723

Website: www.montafoner-museen.at

Open: Museum: 12 June—26 October 2018: Tuesday—Friday and Sunday 14.00—18.00

            Archive: By appointment

Closed: Monday and Saturday

Admission: Adult €5 ($6.25), Youth and Child Free

Regional museum that also contains ski material and much documentation.

 

 

CANADA

Banff, Alberta

Canadian Ski Museum West

Cascade Plaza, 317 Banff Ave., Banff, AB T1L 1C1

Tel: 43 762 8484

Website: www.Banffnationalpark.com/Banff-activities/Banff-museums/Canadian-ski-museum-west

Open: When shopping plaza is open

Admission: Free

Variety of a few artifacts hung in shopping mall.

 

Revelstoke, British Columbia

Revelstoke Ski Museum (part of Revelstoke Museum and Archives)

315 First St. West.  Box 1908, Revelstoke, BC  VOE 250

Curator: Cathy English

E-mail: curator@revelstokemuseum.ca

Tel: 250 837 3067

Website: www.revelstokemuseum.ca

Open: Monday—Friday 10.00—17.00, Saturday 11.00—17.00. 

Admissions: Adult $5, Seniors/Teens $4, Family $12

Western Canadian Rocky Mountain skiing.

 

St. Sauveur, Quebec

Musée du Ski des Laurentides/Laurentian Ski Museum

30 Ave. Fillon, St. Sauveur, Québec JOR 1RO

Curator: Nancy Belhumeur

E-mail: Nancy@museeduski.com

Tel: 450 227 2564 x 222

Website: www.museeduskideslaurentides.com

Open: Tuesday—Wednesday 10.00—17.00

            Thursday—Monday 10.00—18.00

Admission: Free

Early skiing in the Laurentians, Emile Cochand, ski trains and village-ski growth.

 

Associated with the Musée du Ski des Laurentides is the Historical Directory of Québec Ski Sites, a virtual museum

Director: Pierre Dumas

E-mail: info@museeduski.com

Tel: 450 227 2564 x 222

Website: www.museeduskideslaurentides.com/index.php?q=node/221

Ca. 700 past and present ski areas, includes 444 alpine areas with lifts and 98 jumps, and ca. 12,500 documents.

 

OTHER MUSEUMS AND LIBRARIES

Banff, Alberta

Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies

111 Bear St., P.O. Box 160, Banff AB T1l 1A3

Head archivist and Librarian: Elizabeth Kundert-Cameron

E-mail: info@whyte.org

Tel: 403 762 2291 x 332

Website: www.whyte.org

Open: 10.00—17.00

Admission: Call before any research visit

Library and photographic records.

 

Calgary, Alberta

Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame

169 Canada Olympic Way SW, Calgary, AB T3B 6B7

Director: Interim director Janice Smith

E-mail: jsmith@cshof.ca  

Tel: 403 776 1061

Website: www.sporthall.ca

Open: September—June: Wednesday—Sunday 10.00-17.00

            July—August: Monday--Sunday 10.00—17.00

Admission:  Adult Canadian $12 ($9.50), Senior $10 ($8), Youth $8 ($6.50), Family (4) $35 ($28)

 

London, Ontario

The International Centre for Olympic Studies at University of Western Ontario

1151 Richmond St., London, ON N6A 5B9

Director: Michael Heine

E-mail: via website

Tel: 519 661 4113

Website: www.uwo.ca/olympic/about/contact_icos.html

Open: Essential to inquire

Admission: Free

Olympic research center contains Avery Brundage papers. Publishes annual Olympika and edited papers of biennial symposia on Olympic research.

 

Rossland, British Columbia

Rossland Museum and Discovery Center

P.O. Box 26, 1100 Hwy 3B, Rossland, BC VOG 1YO

Director: Joelle Hodgins

E-mail: info@rosslandmuseum.ca

Tel: 250 362 7722

Website: www.rosslandmuseum.ca

Open: Mid-May—end June: Tuesday—Sunday 10.00—17.00

            July—August: Monday—Sunday 10.00—18.00

            Rest of year: Wednesday—Saturday 12.00—17.00

Admission: Adult Canadian $10 ($8) Senior/student $8 ($6.50), Youth $5 ($4), Family (4) $24 ($19)

Small display, emphasis on early skiing from 1896 with Olaus Jeldness.

 

 

Thunder Bay, Ontario

Northwestern Ontario Sports Hall of Fame

219 May Street South, Thunder Bay, ON P7E 1B5

Exec. Director: Diane Imrie

Curator: Kate Dwyer

E-mail: nwosport@tbaytel.net

Tel: 807 622 2852

Website: www.nwosportshalloffame.com

Open: Tuesday—Saturday 12.00—17.00

Admission: Canadian $3 ($2.50)

 

Whistler, British Columbia

Whistler Museum and Archives

433 Main St., Whistler, BC VON 1B4

Director and Curator: Bradley Nichols

E-mail: info@whistlermuseum.org

Tel: 604 932 2019

Website: www.whistlermuseum.org

Open: 11.00—17.00 with extended hours Thursday

Admission: Free

Local skiing with emphasis on Olympics 2010.

 

 

 

CHINA

Changchun, Jilin

Vasaloppet museum

Changchun Jingyuetan Park, 5840 Jingyue St., Changchun

Tel: +86 431 8964 5455

Website: www.vasaloppetchina.com

Open: The museum is closed and only open on request.  I am told that it is difficult to make connections with the museum.  The website given and phone number are those for the Chinese Vasaloppet race organization.  There are no specific people, website or telephone for the museum.

 

CZECH REPULIC

Harachov, Liberec Region

Ski Museum Harrachov

Nový Svet 378, Harrachov 512 46

E-mail: turistik@sklarnaharrachov.cz

Tel: +420 603 470 113

Website: www.giant-mountains.info/tourism/ski-museum-harrachov.harachov.html and www.liberecky-kraj.cz

Open: January—December: Wednesday—Friday 14.00—17.00 and Saturday 10.00—17.00

Admission: 70 Koruna ($3.50), Senior 50 K ($2.50), Child 20 K ($1), Family 150 K ($7)

Local development of skiing and especially jumping.

 

Jilemnice, Liberec Region

Krkonosske Muzeum in Jilemnice Castle

Zamek 75, 514 01 Jilemnice

Director: Jan Luštinc

E-mail: kmjilemnice@kmap.cz

Tel: +420 481 543 041

Website: www.kmjilemnice.cz

Open: January—April: 8.00—16.00

            July—August: 8.00—12.00 and 13.00—17.00

            November—December: 8.00—12.00 and 13.00—16.00

 Closed: Monday

Admission: Adult 70 Koruna ($3.50)

Graf Harrach and early skiing in area.

 

Nové Mesto na Morave, Vysočina Region

Horacké Muzeum

Vratislavovo námĕstí 114, 592 31 Nové Mesto

E-mail: horacke.muzeum@nmnm.cz

Tel: +420 566 216

Website: www.hm.nmnm.cz

Open: October—April: Tuesday—Saturday 9.00—16.00

            May—June: Tuesday—Sunday 9.00—16.00

             July—August: Tuesday—Sunday 9.00—17.00

             September: Tuesday—Sunday 9.00—16.00

Closed:  Monday

Admission: Adult 40 Koruna ($2), Senior/student 20 Koruna ($1)

Late 19th century skiing in area.

 

ESTONIA

Otepää, Valga County

Talispordimuuseum (Otepää Winter Sports Museum—a branch of the Estonian Sport and Olympic museum, but concentrating on winter sports)

Tehvandi Sports Center, Valga mit 12

Contact: Jana Mae

E-mail: info@spordimuuseum.ee or jana@spordimuuseum.ee

Tel: +372 766 3670 or +372 501 6082 (Jana Mae)

Website: www.spordimuuseum.ee/info/otepaa-talispordimuuseum.ee

Open: Wednesday—Friday 11.00—17.00

            Saturday—Sunday 11.00—16.00

Admission: Adult €2 ($2.50), Senior/student €1.50 ($2), Family (4) €5 ($6.25)

General collection with emphasis on cross-country skiing.

 

Tartu

Eesti Spordi-ja Olümpiamuuseum/Estonian Sport and Olympic Museum

15 Rüütli Street, 51005 Tartu

Director: Daimar Lell

E-mail: info@spordimuuseum.ee

Tel: +372 730 0750

Website: www.spordimuuseum.ee

Open: Wednesday—Sunday 11.00—18.00

Closed: Monday and Tuesday

Admission: Adult €6 ($7.50), Family (4) €15 ($18.50)

Olympic exhibits.

 

FINLAND

Helsinki

Suomen Urheilumuseo/Sports Museum of Finland

Olympiastadion, Paavo Nurman tie 1, FI-00250 Helsinki

Director: Pekka Honkanen

E-mail: urheilumeseo@urheilumuseo.fi

Tel: +358 9 434 2250

Website: www.urheilumuseo.fi

Closed: For renovations.  Will reopen in 2019. Admission hours and fees will be announced

Displays, library especially strong in Finnish newspapers and periodicals.

 

Lahti, Päijänne Tavastia Region

Lahti Hiihtomuseo/Lahti Ski Museum

Sports Center (Urheilukeskus), Salpausselänkatu 8, P.O. Box 113, FI 15110 Lahti

Curator: Suvi Kuisma

E-mail: hiihtomuseo@lahti.fi

Tel: +358 50 398 5523 or +358 50 398 5521

Website: www.ladenmuseo.fi

Open:  Tuesday—Friday 9.00—17.00

            Saturday—Sunday 11.00—16.00

Closed: Monday

Admission: Adult €10 ($12.50), Senior/student €7 ($8.50)

Impressive displays, good library

 

FRANCE

Besse-et-Saint-Anastaise (Besse-en-Chandesse), Puy-de-Dôme

Musée du Ski

Maison de la Reine Margot, 11 Rue Boucherie, 63610 Besse-et-Saint-Anastaise

Owner and Curator: Pierre-André Chauvet

Tel: +33 4 7379 5730

Open: During school holidays: 9.00—12.00 and 14.00—18.00

            Other times only by telephone arrangement

Admission: €4.50 ($6)

Large and excellent private collection, small library.

 

Grenoble, Isère

Musée du Ski is part of the Musée Dauphinois

30 Rue Maurice Gignoux, Cedex 1000, 38100 Grenoble

Director: Olivier Cogne

E-mail: musee.dauphinois@cg38.fr

Tel: +33 45758 8901

Website: www.musee-dauphinois.fr

Open: 1 September—31 May: 10.00—18.00

           1 June—31 August: 10.00—19.00

Admission: Free

Excellent collection, much from Rossignol, good library.

 

Les Rousses, Jura

Le Grand Tétras

705 route des Rousses, 39220 Les Rousses, Jura

Owner: Roger Tangueley and Stéphane Tangueley

E-mail: grandtetras39@aol.com

Tel: +33 3846 05113  

Website: www.legrandtetras.troumad.org/Le_musee.html

Open: Thursday 17.00—19.00

Closed: April and October to Christmas

Admission: Free but call ahead

Large and excellent private collection, especially material from the Jura.

 

OTHER MUSEUMS AND LIBRARIES

Albertville, Savoie

Maison des Jeux Olympiques d’Hiver

11, rue Pargoud, 73200 Albertville

Director: Claire Grangé

E-mail: contact@maisonjeuxolympiques-albertville.org

Tel: +33 44793 77571

Website: www.maisonjeuxolympiques-albertville.org

Open: Monday—Saturday 10.00—13.00 and 14.00—19.00

           Sunday 14.00—19.00

Admission: Adult: €4 ($5), Senior/student €3 ($3.75), Family (3) €11 ($13.50)

Winter Olympic material from 1992.

 

Chamonix, Haute Savoie

Musée Alpin

89 Ave. Michel Croz, 74400 Chamonix-Mont-Blanc

E-mail: via website

Tel: +33 450 539 998 (Tourist office)

Website: www.chamonix.com/musee-alpin,49-187321,fr.html

Open: 7 April—7 May: 10.00—12.00 and 14.00—18.00.  Closed Tuesday

           8 May—25 May: 14.00—18.00.  Closed Tuesday

           1 July—2 September: daily 10.00—13.00 and 14.00—18.00

            3 September—30 September: 14.00—18.00.  Closed Tuesday

           22 October—4 November: 10.00—12.00 and 14.00—18.00.  Closed Tuesday

           22 December—7 January: 10.00-12.00 and 14.00—18.00.  Closed Tuesday

Closed: See above

Admission: Adult €5.90 ($7). Youth and child free

Local museum, much mountaineering material.  Includes winter sports. Library.

 

Nice, Alpes-Maritimes

Musée National du Sport (moved from Paris in 2014)

Stade Allianz Riviera, Bd. des Jardiniers, 06203 Nice cedex 3

E-mail: contact@museedusport.fr

Tel: +33 4892 24400

Website: www.allianz-riviera.fr/fr/le-musee-national-du-sport

Open: May—September: 10.00—18.00

           October—April: 11.00—17.00

Admission: Adult €6 ($8) for permanent or temporary exhibit

                              €8 ($10) for permanent and temporary exhibit

                              Free for youth and free on first Sunday of each month October-April

 

PARIS

Club Alpin Français/French Alpine Club

24 avenue Laumière, 75019 Paris

E-mail: via website

Tel: +33 1537 28700

Website: www.ffcam.fr

Open: Tuesday—Wednesday 9.00—17.30

           Thursday—Friday 9.00—18.00

           Saturday 9.00—12.00

Admission: Free, but call ahead

Many documents of the CAF.  Other CAF sections hold regional library materials too.

 

 

GERMANY

Bernau im Schwarzwald, Baden-Württemberg [Schwarzwald/Black Forest]

Ski-Köpfer-Museum—a digitalized museum with texts

Kaiserhausstrasse 27, 79872 Bernau im Schwarzwald

Contact: Walter Strohmeier

E-mail: info@ski-koepfer.de

Tel: +49 7675 1600 25 and +49 7675 1088

Website: www.ski-koepfer.de

Information and details: Contact essential

 

Braunlage, Niedersachsen/Lower Saxony [Oberharz]

Heimat- und Skimuseum

Dr.-Kurt-Schroeder-Promenade 4, 38700 Braunlage

Director: Jürgen Schütz

Email: mail@museum-braunlage.de

Tel: +49 5520 1646

Website: www.museum-braunlage.de

Open: Tuesday and Friday 10.00—12.00

Closed: November to mid-December

Admission: Adult €2.50 ($3), Child €1.50 ($2)

Braunlage in late 19th century.

 

Hinterzarten, Baden-Württemberg [Schwarzwald/Black Forest]

Schwarzwald Skimuseum

Hugenhof, Erlenbruckerstrasse 35, 79856 Hinterzarten

Director: Brigitte von Savigny

E-mail: info@schwarzwaelder-skimuseum.de

Tel: +49 7652 982 192

Website: www.schwarzwaelder-skimuseum.de

Open: Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday 14.00—17.00

            Saturday, Sunday 12.00—17.00

Closed:  Monday

Admission: Adult €5 ($6.25), Youth €1 ($1.25), Family €8 ($10)

Exhibits on Black Forest, Georg Thoma and Sepp Allgeier.

 

Kempten, Bayern/Bavaria [Allgäu]

Alpinmuseum

Marstallgebäude, Landwehrstrasse 4, 87439 Kempten

Contact: Christine Müller Horn

E-mail: museen@kempten.de

Tel: +49 831 2525 740

Website: www.kempten.de/alpin-museum.html

Open: Tuesday—Sunday 10.00—16.00

Closed: Monday

Admission: Adult €4 ($5), Youth €2 ($2.50), Family €8 ($10). First Sunday in month free

History of the Alps, Alpinism and Skiing. Wilhelm Paulcke, Mathias Zdarsky, Georg Bilgeri featured.  Good library.

 

Fischen, Bayern/Bavaria [Allgäu]

Skimuseum Fischinger Heimathaus

Geschwenderhaus, Hauptstrasse 3, 87538 Fischen

Contact: Florian Ruppaner

E-mail: info@skimuseum-fischen.de

Tel: +49 175 202 1404

Website: www.skimuseum-fischen.de

Open: Call ahead for hours

Admission: Call ahead

Local heroes and excellent historical ski repair shop.

 

Nesselwang, Bayern/Bavaria [Allgäu]

Skimuseum Nesselwang

Hauptstrasse 20, 87484 Nesselwang

Contact: Tourist Office

E-mail: info@nesselwang.de

Tel: +49 8361 9230 40

Website: www.nesselwang.de/museen-in-nesselwang.html

Open:  Call ahead for hours

Admission: Call ahead

Skiing in Allgäu.

 

Oberwiesenthal, Sachsen/Saxony [Erzgebirge]

Oberwiesenthal Ski Museum

Karlsbaderstrasse 3, 09484 Oberwiesenthal

Contact: Brigitte Roscher

E-mail: info@oberwiesenthal.de

Tel: +49 373 487 521

Website: www.oberwiesenthal.com/urlaubsziel/sehenswertes/skimuseum.htm

Open: 1 April—2 December: Monday—Friday 9.30—17.00

                                                 Saturday—Sunday 10.00—13.00

           2 December—31 May: daily 9.30—17.00

Admission: Adult €5 ($6.25), Youth free

 

Planegg, Bayern/Bavaria

Deutsches Skimuseum

Hubertusstrasse 1, 82152 Planegg

Director: Gerd Falkner

E-mail: gerd.falkner@deutscherskiverband.de

Tel: +49 898 5790 211

Website: www.deutscherskiverband.de/ueber_uns_skimuseum_uebersicht_de,348.html

Open: Monday—Friday 8.30—16.00 and by appointment

Admission: Free

Excellent displays, good library but no longer holds the Luther Archive.

 

Reit im Winkl, Bayern/Bavaria

Skimuseum Alfons Dorner

Contact: Franz Höflinger

E-mail: via website

Tel: +49 8640 800 200

Website: www.reitimwinkl.de/winterurlaub/skimuseum

Open: Winter: Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday 15.00—17.00

           Summer: Tuesday, Thursday 15.00—17.00

Admission: Free with guest card

Excellent displays from c.1880s on.

 

OTHER MUSEUMS AND LIBRARIES

Hannover, Niedersachsen/Lower Saxony

Niedersächsisches Institut für Sportgeschichte (Lower Saxony Institute for Sport History)

Ferdinand-Wilhelm-Fricke-Weg 10, 30169 Hannover

E-mail: info@nish.de

Tel: +49 511 1268 5060

Website: www.nish.de

Open: Essential to call

Admission: Essential to call

Documents relating mostly to Lower Saxony including the Harz.

 

Köln/Cologne, Nordrhein-Westfalen/North Rhine Westphalia

Deutsche Sporthochschule/German Sports University

Institut für Sportgeschichte

Am Sportpark Müngersdorf 6, 50933 Köln

Director: Stefan Wassong

E-mail: sporthistory@dshs-koeln.de

Tel: +49 221 4982-3740

Website: www.dshs-koeln.de

Open: Essential to call

Admission: Free but essential to call

Best library for ski materials in Germany. Now holds the Luther Archive.

 

Köln/Cologne, Nordrhein-Westfalen/North Rhine Westphalia

Deutsches Sport & Olympia Museum

Im Zollhafen 1, 50678 Köln

Secretary: Jennifer Guthof

E-mail: info@sportmuseum.de

Tel: +49 221 33609-0

Website: www.sportmuseum.de

Open: Tuesday—Friday 9.00—18.00

           Saturday—Sunday 11.00—19.00

Closed: Monday

Admission: Adult €6 ($7.50), Family (4) €15 ($18.50)

Concentrates on 1936-1972 Olympic Games. Comparatively little on skiing.

 

Leipzig, Sachsen/Saxony

Leipzig Sportmuseum

Am Sportforum 10, 4105 Leipzig

Director: Gerlinde Rohr

E-mail: sportmuseum.Leipzig@t-online.de

Tel: +49 341 98051 12

Website: www.leipzig-online.de/sportmuseum-leipzig.html

Open: Monday—Friday 8.00—16.00

Admission: Inquire

Large general collection with some ski material.

 

Peiting, Bayern/Bavaria

Museum im Kloesterle

Kapellenstrasse 1, 86971 Peiting

E-mail: kloesterle-museu@gmx.de

Tel: +49 8861 59961

Website: www.peiting.de/tourismus/.../peiting/museum-im-kloesterle

Open: June—September: Monday—Friday 8.00—12.00

                                          Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday 14.00—16.00

                                          Thursday 14.00—18.00

          October—May: Monday—Friday 8.00—12.00

                                     Thursday 14.00—18.00

Admission: Inquire

Skiing is one section of the museum.

 

Winterberg, Nordrhein-Westfalen/North Rhine Westphalia

Wintersport Museum Neuastenberg (sometimes called the Westdeutsches Wintersport Museum)

Neuastenbergstrasse 17, 59955 Winterberg

E-mail: info@skimuseum-winterberg.de

Tel: +49 2981 2636

Website: www.skimuseum-winterberg.de

Open: Saturday and Sunday 15.00—17.00 and by appointment

Admission: Adult €3 ($3.75), Child €1.50 ($2)

 

ITALY

Montebelluna, Treviso

Museo dello Scarpone/Museum of the Boot

Vicolo Zuccaareda 5, 31044 Montebelluna

E-mail: info@museoscarpone.it

Tel: +39 423 303282

Website: www.museoscarpone.it

Open: Monday—Friday 9.00—12.00, 14.30—17.30

           Saturday 16.00—19.00 and Sunday 15.30—19.00

Admission: free

Largest collection of ski boots (among others) including, for example, those of Alberto Tomba.

 

Torino/Turin, Piemontese/Piedmont

Museo Nazionale della Montagna ‘Duca degli Abruzzi’/National Museum of the Mountain ‘Duke of the Abruzzi’

Piazzale Monte del Cappuccini 7, 10131 Torino

Director: Aldo Audisio

E-mail: post@museomontagna.org

Tel: +39 116604 104

Website: www.museuomontagna.org

Open: Tuesday—Sunday 10.00—18.00

Closed: Monday

Admission: Adult €10 ($12.50), Child €7 ($8.50)

Although this is a mountaineering museum, there is much on skiing here, film is specialty.

 

OTHER MUSEUMS AND LIBRARIES

Temù, Brescia

Museo della Guerra Bianca/Museum of the White War

Via Roma 40, 25050 Temù

Tel: +39 334 648 7127

E-mail: info@museoguerrabianca.it

Website: www.museoguerrabianca.it

Open: Essential to email or call for hours

Admission: Adult €7 ($8.50), Child €4 ($5)

Ski material of World War I mountain warfare.

 

TORINO/TURIN

Club Alpino Italiano, Sezione di Torino/Italian Alpine Club, Turin Section

Via Guiseppe Barboux 1, Torino

E-mail: segreteria@caitorino.it

Tel: +39 11 54 6031

Website: www.caitorino.it

Open: Monday 14.00—18.30

           Tuesday—Friday 10.00—18.30

Admission: Free

Although a mountaineering society, the library has interesting ski material.

 

JAPAN

Nagano, Nagano Prefecture

Nozawaonsen-mura/Ski Museum (also called Japanese Ski Museum)

9780-4 Toyosato, Nozawaonsen-mura, Shimotakai-gun, Nagano Prefecture

E-mail: info@nozawaski.com

Tel: +81 26985 3418

Website: www.nozawaski.com/summer/skihakubutsukan.php

Open: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday 9.30—16.00

Closed: Thursday, Sunday

Admission: Adult 300 yen ($3), Student 150 yen ($1.50)

Displays European background and then development of skiing in Japan.

 

Sapporo, Hokkaido Prefecture

Sapporo Olympic Museum

1274 Miyanomori, Chuo-ku, Sapporo 064-0958

Director: Masashi Abe

Tel: +81 11 641 8585

Website: www.sapporo-olympiamuseum.jp

Open: 28 April—4 November: 9.00—18.00

           5 November—26 April: 9.30—17.00

Admission: Adult 600 yen ($6), Senior 450 yen ($4.50), Child free

Many displays, especially of Olympics. Prince Takamatsu and Dr. Seishichi Ohno ski collections.

 

LIECHTENSTEIN

Eschen

Geissmann Collection

Rainer Geissmann, Renkwiller, Eschen

E-mail: Geissmann.rainer@adon.li

Private collection of Swiss Schwendener skis. Essential to E-mail for appointment.

 

NORWAY

Kongsberg, Buskerud

Ski Museum in Bergverksmuseet/Ski Museum in the Mining Museum

Hyttegata 3, Kongsberg

E-mail: bergverksmuseet@bvm.no

Tel: +47 9191 3200

Website: https://norsk-bergverksmuseum.no/skihistorisk-samlung

Open: 2 January—16 May: Tuesday—Sunday 12.00—16.00

           18 May—26 August: daily 10.00-17.00

           28 August—23 December: Tuesday—Sunday 12.00—16.00

Admission: Adult 90 NOK ($11.50) Senior/Student 70 NOK ($9), Child 50 NOK ($6)

The ski museum is part of the Mining museum.  Especially strong in Kongsberg region and Birger Ruud materials.

 

Lillehammer, Oppland

Norges Olympiske Museet/Norwegian Olympic Museum

Maihaugveien 1, 2609 Lillehammer

E-mail: post@lillehammer.no

Tel: +47 6128 89000

Website: www.ol.museum.no

Open: September—May: Tuesday—Sunday 11.00—16.00

           June—August: daily 10.00-17.00

Admission: Adult 135 NOK ($17), Senior/Student 95 NOK ($12), Child 65 NOK ($8), Family NOK 335 ($43)

Excellent displays on all Olympics but especially those held in Norway in 1952 and 1994, and the Youth Olympic Games in 2016.

 

Morgedal, Telemark

Norsk skieventyr/ /Norwegian Ski Adventure

3850 Kvitseit, 3848 Morgedal

Director: Kristi Marie Tveit

E-mail: kmt@vtm.no

Tel: +47 3506 9080

Website: www.vest-telemark.museum.no/...norsk-skieventyr-skimuseet-i-morgedal

Open: 26 January—30 April: Tuesday—Friday 10.00—17.00

                                                Saturday 11.00—17.00

                                                Sunday 11.00--1800

           1 May—14 June: Monday—Friday 10.00—17.00

                                        Saturday 11.00—17.00

                                        Sunday 12.00—17.00

          15 June—15 August: daily 10.00—18.00

           16 August—31 August: Monday—Friday 10.00—17.00

                                                   Saturday 11.00—17.00

                                                   Sunday 11.00—18.00

             1 September—16 December: Tuesday—Friday 10.00—17.00

                                                             Saturday 11.00—17.00

                                                             Sunday 11.00—18.00

Admission: Adult 100 NOK ($13), Senior/Student 80 NOK ($10), Child 50 NOK ($6.50), Family 250 NOK ($32)

Part of the Vest-Telemark museum system, good displays with special attention to Norheim (house available for visit) and Bjaaland.  Good library.

 

Oslo

Holmenkollen Skimuseet/Holmenkollen Ski Museum

Kongsveien 5, 0787 Oslo

Director: Åslaug Midtdal

E-mail: 

Aslaug.midtdal@skiforeningen.no

Tel: +47 917 69 758

Website: www.skiforeningen.no/en/holmenkollen/skimuseet

Open:  October—April: 10.00—16.00

             May—September: 10.00—17.00

             June—August: 9.00—20.00

Admission:  Adult 140 Kroner ($18), Senior/Student 120 Kr ($15), Child 70 Kr (49), Family (4) 350 Kr ($45)

The world’s most comprehensive ski museum.  Call ahead for research purposes.

 

Tromsø, Troms

Polarmuseet, Polar museum

Søndre Tollbodgate 11, 9008 Tromsø

E-mail: via website

Tel: +47 776233 60

Website: www.uit.no

Open: 1 January—14 June: 11.00—17.00

           15 June—15 August: 9.00—18.00

           16 August—31 December: 11.00—17.00

Admission: Adult 60 NOK ($8), Senior 30 NOK ($4), Family (4) 120 NOK ($16)

Tickets can be purchased for both the university museum and the polar museum.

Fridtjof Nansen, Roald Amundsen and also Helmer Hanssen and Hjalmar Johansen with Amundsen to S. Pole.

 

Tromsø, Troms

Tromsø Universitetsmuseet/Tromsø University Museum

P.O. Box 6050 Langnes, 9037 Tromsø

Contact: Anita Maurstad

E-mail: postmottak@tmu.uit.no

Tel: +47 776 450 01

Website: https://uit.no

Website for skis: www.unimus.no/etnografi/tmu/samling/index.php

 

Open: 1 June—31 August: 9.00—18.00

           1 September—31 May: Monday—Friday 10.00—16.30

                                                  Saturday 12.00—15.00

                                                   Sunday 11.00—16.00

Admission: Adult 60 NOK ($8), Senior/Student/Child 30 NOK ($4), Family 120 NOK ($16)

Tickets can be purchased for both the University Museum and the Polar Museum

General exhibits on northern life, especially Sami culture.  Some ski material including ca. 25 skis.

 

Trondheim, Trøndelag

Skimuseet Sverresborg, part of the Sverresborg Trøndelag Folkmuseet

Sverresborg Allé 13, Postboks 1107, 7020 Trondheim

E-mail: post@sverresborg.no

Tel: +47 7389 0100

Website: www.sverresborg.no

Open: Tuesday—Friday 10.00—15.00

           Saturday—Sunday 12.00—16.00

Closed: Monday

Admission: Adult 125 NOK ($16), Senior/Student 110 NOK ($14), Child Free

Ski museum is among a large number of buildings which comprise the Folk Museum of the area

 

Trysil, Hedmark

Trysil-Knut Ski Museum

Vestsidevegen 4, 2420 Trysil

E-mail: rvingels@gmail.com

Tel: +47 918933 77

Website: www.expology.com/trysil-knut

Open: By appointment only: Tuesday—Sunday 12.00—19.00

Admission: 40 NOK ($5)

Small museum, nice displays.

 

OTHER MUSEUMS AND LIBRARIES

Alta, Finnmark

World Heritage Rock Art Centre—Alta Museum

Altaveien 19, 9518 Alta

Director: Harriet Hagen

E-mail: post@altamuseum.no

Tel: +47 41756330

Website: www.alta.museum.no

Open: 2 January—13 May: Monday—Friday: 9.00—15.00

                                             Saturday—Sunday: 11.00—16.00

           14 May—8 June: daily 8.00—17.00

            9 June—19 August: daily 08.00—20.00

           20 August—14 September: daily 08.00—17.00

           15 September—30 December: Monday—Friday 9.00—15.00

                                                             Saturday—Sunday 11.00—16.00

Admission: Summer/Winter (1 May—30 September/1 October—30 April): Adult 115/75 NOK ($16/10), Senior 105/65 NOK ($13/8), Student 100/55 NOK ($13/7), Child 35/20 NOK ($5/3)

Impressive rock carving. Exhibition jumping and Bjorn Wirkola.

 

Elverum, Hedmark

Norsk Skogbruksmuseet/Norwegian Forestry Museum

Solørvegen 151, 2407 Elverum

Director: Bjørn Bækkelund

E-mail: skogmus@annomuseum.no

Tel: +47 6240 9000

Website: www.skogmus.no

Open: 24 June—13 August: 10.00—17.00

           Rest of the year: 10.00—16.00

Admission: Adult 110 NOK ($13.50), Senior 80 NOK ($10), Youth/child 60 NOK ($7.50)

Concentrates on forestry, hunting and fishing and few skis on view. To see the 100 skis in storage appointment must be made for Monday-Friday 10.00—15.30 at bookingskogmus@annomuseum.no.

 

Oslo

Norskfolkemuseum/Norwegian Folk Museum

Museumveien 10, Bygdøy, 0287 Oslo

Conservator: Morten Bing

E-mail: post@norskfolkemuseum.no

Tel: +47 2212 3700

Website: www.norskfolkemuseum.no

Open: 15 May—14 September: daily 10.00—18.00

            15 September—14 May: Monday—Friday 11.00—15.00

                                                     Saturday—Sunday 11.00—16.00

Admission: Adult 130 NOK ($17), Senior/Student 100 NOK ($13), Child 40 NOK ($5), Family 260 NOK ($33)

The ski material is digitalized at www.digitalmuseum.no/search/?q=Ski&aq=owner%3F%3A%22NF%22

.

 

POLAND

Cieklin, Subcarpathian Voivodeship

Muzeum Narciarstwa w Cieklin: Stanisław Barabasz Ski Museum in Cieklin

38-222 Cieklin

Director: Wiesław Czechowicz

Scientific Director: Leon Rak

E-mail: muzeumnarciarstwa@op.pl; leorak1964@gmail.com and lrak@ajd.czest.pl

Tel: +48 791 994 591

Website: www.muzeum-narciarstwa.pl

Open: Wednesday 9.00—14.00

           Saturday 9.00—11.00

           Other times by arrangement

Admission: Free

Tadeusz Wowkonowicz and Stanisław Barabasz archives, and local ski development.

 

OTHER MUSEUMS AND LIBRARIES

Warsaw

Muzeum Sportu i Turystyki/Museum of Sport and Tourism

Pope Jan Pawell (John Paul) II Olympic Center, ul. Wybrzeże Gdyńskie 4, 01-531 Warszawa

Director: Tomasz Jagodziński

E-mail: muzsport@muzeumsportu.waw.pl

Tel: +48 225 603 780

Website: www.muzeumsport.waw.pl

Open: Wednesday—Friday 9.00—17.00

           Saturday—Sunday 10.00—17.00

Closed: Monday

Admission: 12 zloty ($3.50).  Saturday: Free

Skiing presented among other sports. Large library, museum publications.

 

Zakopane, Maloposkie/Province of Lesser Poland

Muzeum Tatrazańskie/ Museum of the Tatra Mountains

ul. Krupówki 10, 34-500 Zakopane

Director: Anna Wende-Surmiak

E-mail: biuro@muzeumtatrzanskie.pl

Tel: +48 182 0152 05

Website: www.muzeumtatrzanskie.pl

Open: 1 January—30 April: Wednesday—Saturday 9.00—17.00

           1 May—30 September: Tuesday—Saturday 9.00—18.00

           1 October—31 December: Wednesday—Saturday 9.00—17.00

           Year round Sundays: 9.00—15.00

Library open: Tuesday—Friday 8.00—16.00

Archives open: Tuesday—Friday 8.00—15.00

Admission: 7 zloty ($2)

Ski material and excellent photographs among much local history.

 

RUSSIA

OTHER MUSEUMS AND LIBRARIES

Moscow

State Historical Museum

Red Square 1, Moscow 109012

Tel: +7 495 692 4019

Website: www.shm.ru (but there is nothing about skis)

Information about the few bog skis held in this museum comes from Natalia I. Astashova, “Skis from the Archeological Collections of the State Historical Museum,” in Karin Berg et al (Eds.), History of Skiing Conference Holmenkollen, Oslo 16. – 18.9.1998.  Holmenkollen: Skiforeningen, 1998, 89-94.

 

St. Petersburg

Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography

University Embankment 3, 199034 St. Petersburg

Website: www.kunstkamera.ru (but there is nothing about skis)

Tel: +7 812 328 0812

Information about the few skis held in this museum comes from Tatyana Shrader, “Skis in Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography (The Kunstkammer),” in Karin Berg et al (Eds.), History of Skiing Conference Holmenkollen, Oslo 16. – 18.9.1998. Holmenkollen: Skiforeningen, 1998,  13-15.

 

SLOVENIA

Begunje, Gorenjska/Upper Carniola

ELAN Alpine Ski Museum

4275 Begunje na Gorenjskem

Director: Tomaž Šlibar

E-mail: info@elanskimuseum.com

Tel: +386 453 511 09

Website: www.elanskimuseum.com

Open: 15 April—15 September: Tuesday—Thursday 10.00—19.00

                                                    Friday—Saturday 10.00—20.00

            16 September—14 April: Tuesday—Thursday, Sunday 10.00—19.00

Closed: Monday

Note: Groups by appointment outside listed times

Admission: Adult €5 ($6.25), Senior/Student €4 ($5), Child €3 ($3.75)

This is the ELAN factory museum.

 

Planica, Gorenjska/Upper Carniola

Planiški muzej/Planica Museum in the Nordic Center Planica

Rateče 4283

E-mail: info@nc-planica.si

Tel: +386 316 898 06

Website: www.nc-planica.si

Open: July—August: daily 9.00—20.00.  Rest of year: daily 9.00—18.00

Admission: Adult €6 ($7.50)

Excellent displays of jumping and ski flying.

 

 

Pohorje

Smučarski Mozej Pohorje/Pohorje Ski Museum

Hočko Pohorje 36b, 2208 Pohorje

Owner and Curator: Prof. Dr. Duško Uršič

E-mail: dusko.ursic@um.si

Open: By appointment

Admission: Adults €10 ($13), child up to 15: free

Largest private collection in Slovenia.  Opening Summer 2021.

 

Tržič, Gorenjska/Upper Carniola

Tržiški muzej—Slovenski smučarski muzej, Tržič/Tržič Museum—Slovenian Ski Museum

Muzejska 11, 4290 Tržič

Curator: Boštjan Meglič

E-mail: trziski.muzej@siol.net

Tel: + 386 4592 3810

Website: www.trziski-muzej.si

Open: Tuesday—Sunday 10.00—18.00

Closed: Monday

Admission: Adult €3 ($3.75), Senior/Student, Child €2 ($2.50), Family €5 ($6.25)

Ski materials are only one part of the museum.

 

OTHER MUSEUMS AND LIBRARIES

Bloke

Nova vas 4 a, 1385 Nova vas, Bloke

Contact: Matej Pakiž

E-mail: obcina.bloke@bloke.si

Tel: +386 1709 8918 or +386 313 261 58

Open: Call ahead

Exhibition is sponsored by the municipality of Bloke (Občina Bloke)

Emphasis on local skis.  Bloke considers itself the founding place of Slovenian skiing.

 

Ljubljana

Muzej Športa/[Slovenian] Sports Museum

Kopitarjeva ulica 4, 1000 Ljubljana

Director: Tomaž Pavlin

E-mail: info@muzejsporta.si

Tel: +386 1431 8340

Website: https://museu.ms/museum/details/35/muzej-sporta

Open: Monday—Friday 9.00—14.00

Closed: Saturday, Sunday

Admission: Free

Most of the ski material has been moved to the complex at Planica. Good library, especially on Olympics.

 

Maribor, Podravska/Drava

Vojaški muzej slovenske vojske/Military Museum of the Slovenian Armed Forces

Kadetnica, Engelsova 15, 2111 Maribor

Contact: Gregor Kastelic

E-mail: gregor.kastelic@mors.si

Tel: +386 2449 5006

Website: www.vojaskimuzej.si

Open: January, February, June—September: 10.00—17.00

           March—May, October, November: 10.00—15.00

           Saturday, Sunday during the holidays: 10.00—15.00

Admission: Free but call before visit

The museum is inside the main building of the officers’ military training college and has minor displays on skiing.

 

Mojstrana, Gorenjska/Upper Carniola

Slovenski planinski muzej/Slovenian Alpine Museum

Triglavska cesta 49, 4281 Mojstrana

Contact: Miro Eržen

E-mail: info@planinskimuzej.si

Tel: +386 8380 6730

Website: www.planinskimuzej.si

Open: 1 June—14 September: 9.00—19.00

           15 September—31 May: 9.00—17.00

Admission: Adult €6 ($7.50), Senior/Student €3.60 ($4.50), Family €13 ($16)

A  mountain museum with occasional ski-mountaineering material.

 

SPAIN

Unha, Lleida

Musèu dera Nhèu/The Snow Museum

Santa Eulàlia 17-19, Unha-Naut Aran

E-mail: vielha@baqueira.es

Tel: +34 973 644 030

Website: www.bazueira.es/aran-aneu/vall-aran/aran-museos

Open: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday 10.00—13.00

           Thursday, Friday, Saturday 17.00—20.00      

Closed: Sunday                                                                                                     

Admission: Adult €3 ($3.75), Student €2 ($2.50), Child free

Snow seen from a scientific, ethnological, and sporting point of view. 

 

SWEDEN

Åsarna, Jamtland

Skimuseum Åsarna

Åsarna Ski Center, Olstavägen 45, 840 31 Åsarna

E-mail: info@asarnaskicenter.se

Tel: +46 687 302 30

Website: www.asarnaskicenter.se

Open: June—August: 9.00—20.00

           September—May: 9.00—19.00

Admission: 20 SKR ($2.50)

 

Mora, Dalarna

Vasaloppsmuseet/The Vasalopp Museum

792-32 Mora

E-mail: info@vasaloppet.se

Tel: +46 250 392 25

Website: www.vasaloppet.se

Open: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday 8.00—16.30

           Thursday 9.00—15.00

Closed: Monday—Friday 12.00—13.00 and Saturday and Sunday

Admission: Call for prices

Museum of the Vasalopp.  Special exhibits, one on Mora Nisse.

 

Umeå, Västerbotten

Ski Museum is part of Västerbotten museum complex

Helena Elisabethsväg 3, Box 3183, 903 42 Umeå

E-mail: info@vbm.se

Tel: +46 9016 3900                                                                                                       

Website: www.vbm.se

Open: Tuesday, Thursday, Friday 10.00—17.00

           Wednesday 10.00—20.00

           Saturday, Sunday 11.00—17.00

Closed: Monday

Admission: Free

Open air cultural museum of Västerbotten. Incorporates the best ski museum in Sweden, with excellent library.

 

SWITZERLAND

Bad Ragaz, Canton St. Gall/St. Gallen

Jürg Hess Collection

Unterrainstrasse 12, 7310 Bad Ragaz

Owner: Jürg Hess

E-mail: hess_juerg@bluewin.ch

 Tel: +41 79 616 7885

Open: By appointment only

Massive private collection of equipment, especially skis and bindings.

 

Davos, Canton Graubünden/Grisons

Wintersport-Museum/Winter Sport Museum

Promenade 43, 7270 Davos Platz

E-mail: andresguler@bluewin.ch

Tel: +41 814 132 484

Website: www.wintersportmuseum.ch

Open:  Winter: Tuesday, Thursday 16.30—18.30

             Summer: (Opening 19 June) 16.30—18.30

             Other times by appointment

Closed: April—18 June

Admission: Free

Excellent displays.

 

Lausanne, Canton Vaud/Waadt

Musée Olympique/Olympic Museum

Quai d’Ouchy 1, 1006 Lausanne

E-mail: info.museum@olympic.org

Tel: +41 216 216 511

Website: www.olympic.org/museum

Open:1 May—15 October: daily 9.00—18.00

           16 October—30 April: Tuesday—Sunday 10.00—18.00

Closed: Monday 16 October—30 April

Admission: Adult CHF 18 ($18), Senior CHF 16 ($16), Student CHF 12 ($12), Child CHF 10 ($10), Family CHF 40 ($40)

Vast museum, excellent displays, includes winter Olympics.  Olympic library and documentation center. Essential to call for research information.

 

Les Bois, Canton Jura

Laurent Donzé Collection

Sous les rangs 31, 2336 Les Blois

E-mail: l.donze@bluewin.ch

Tel: +41 794 188 252

Open: By appointment only

Private collection of c.a. 2000 cross-country skis.

 

Oberwald, Canton Valais/Wallis

Toni Hischier’s Ski Museum

Oberwald 3999

Tel: +41 793 299 400

Website: www.obergoms.ch/activities/for-mind-soul/museums

Open: By appointment only

Private collection of over 1000 skis.

 

Swiss Ski Lifts, a virtual museum

Contact: Jakob Schuler

E-mail: via website

Tel: +41 79 894 51 01

Website: www.skilift-nostalgie.ch

Comprehensive on-line depiction of ski lifts in Switzerland.

 

Swiss Ski Museum, a virtual museum

Case Postale 67, 1937 Orsières

Contact: Pierre Schneider

E-mail: info@swissskimuseum.com

Tel: +41 79 736 6947

Website: www.swissskimuseum.com

The most comprehensive on-line depiction and explanation of skiing development in Switzerland founded by Luzi Hitz (d.) and Pierre Schneider.

 

 

OTHER MUSEUMS AND LIBRARIES

 

Arosa, Canton Graubünden/Grisons

Heimatmuseum und Kulturarchiv Arosa—Schanfigg

Egga-Hus, 7050 Arosa

E-mail: info@arosa-museum.ch

Tel: +41 796 765 658 and +41 813 771 731

Website: www.arosa-museum.ch

Open: 22 December—13 April: Tuesday, Friday 14.30—16.30

           18 June—19 October: Monday, Wednesday, Friday 14.30—16.30

Closed: 14 April—17 June and 20 October—21 December

Admission: CHF 3 ($3)

Local museum with local archive.  Essential to call ahead.

 

Bern/Berne

Alpines Museum der Schweiz/Swiss Alpine Museum

Helvetiaplatz 4, 3005 Bern

E-mail: info@alpinesmuseum.ch

Tel: +41 3135 004 40

Website: www.alpinesmuseum.ch

Open: Tuesday—Sunday: 10.00—17.00

Closed: Monday

Admission: Adult CHF 16 ($16), Student CHF 12 ($12), Child CHF 6 ($6), Family CHF 35 ($35)

Includes winter sports material, also skis of Hermann Hesse. Good library. 

 

 

Grindelwald, Canton Bern/Berne

Heimatmuseum Grindelwald

Almisgässli, 3, 3818 Grindelwald

Director: Marco Bomio

E-mail: grindelwald-museum@bluewin.ch

Tel: +41 338 5343 02

Website: www.grindelwald-museum.ch

Open: 1 June—8 October: Tuesday—Friday, Sunday 15.00—18.00

Closed: 1 April—31 May

Admission: Adult CHF 7 ($7), Child CHF 2 ($2)

The winter sport section is on the second floor.

 

Lauterbrunnen, Canton Bern/Berne

Talmuseum Lauterbrunnen

Ey, 3822 Lauterbrunnen

Contact: Esther Graf

E-mail: info@talmuseumlauterbrunnen.ch

Tel: +41 338 553 586

Website: www.talmuseumlauterbrunnen.ch

Open: 3 June—14 October: Tuesday, Thursday—Sunday: 14.00—17.30

Closed: Monday, Wednesday

Closed: 15 October—2 June, but possible entry by arrangement

Admission: Adult 5 CHF ($5)

One of 12 sections is a small display of skis and equipment.

 

Luzern/Lucerne, Canton Luzern/Lucerne

Verkehrshaus der Schweiz/Swiss Transport Museum

Lidostrasse 5, 6006 Luzern

E-mail: mail@verkehrshaus.ch

Tel: +41 413 704 444

Website: www.verkehrshaus.ch

Open: Summer: daily 10.00—18.00

           Winter: daily 10.00—17.00

Admission: Adult CHF 32 ($32), Student CHF 22 ($22), Child CHF 12 ($12).  Note these are for museum only.  Other prices apply for various aspects of this large museum

Includes a replica of the Davos-Bolgen ski lift, and much on aerial tramways and their inspection.  Good library.

 

Magglingen/Macolin, Canton Bern/Berne

Eidgenössische Hochschule für Sport/Swiss Sports University

Federal Office of Sport, Swiss Federal Institute of Sports, 2532 Magglingen

E-mail: via internet at ‘media library’

Tel: +41 323 276 226

Website: www.ehsm.ch

Open: Library: Monday—Friday 9.00—12.00 and 13.30—17.00

Closed: Saturday and Sunday

Admission: Free

No ski exhibits but very good library.  Essential to call ahead.

 

Münchenstein, Canton Basel

Schweizer Sportmuseum/Sport Museum of Switzerland

Reinacherstrasse 1, 442 Münchenstein

E-mail: info@sportmuseum.ch

Tel: +41 612 611 221

Website: www.sportmuseum.ch

Open: Wednesday, Friday: 14.00—17.00

Admission: CHF 8 ($8)

Much ski material among vast collection of sport artifacts.  Good library.  Essential to call ahead for research.

 

Näfels, Canton Glarus/Glaris

Museum des Landes Glarus

Freulerpalast, 8752 Näfels

Director: Bettina Giersberg

E-mail: info@freulerpalast.ch

Tel: +41 556 121 378

Website: www.freulerpalast.ch

Open: 1 April—30 November: Tuesday—Friday 10.00—12.00 and 14.00—17.00

                                                   Saturday—Sunday 10.00—17.00

Closed: 1 December—31 March but will open for groups by appointment

Admission: Adult CHF 10 ($10), Student CHF 5 ($5)

Local museum, skiing being one of seven major exhibits with emphasis on Glarus.

 

Obervaz, Canton Graubünden/Grisons

Obervaz Museum

Voa da Solis 2, 7082 Vaz/Obervaz

Director: Anna Maria Elmer-Cantieni

E-mail: museum.vaz@bluewin.ch

Tel: +41 813 842 159

Website: www.vazobervaz.ch/sportmuseum

Open:  Call for hours

Admission: Adult CHF 7 ($7), Child CHF 3 ($3)

Local museum displaying importance of tourism and holding late 19th century skis and a display of local Olympic (1976) star, Heine Hemmi.

 

Pontresina, Canton Graubünden/Grisons

Museum Alpin Pontresina

Chesa Delnon Haus, via Maistra 199, 7504 Pontresina

Contact: Annemarie Brülisauer

E-mail: museum@pontresina.ch

Tel: +41 818 427 273

Website: www.pontresina.ch/museumalpin

Open: 11 June—20 October: Monday—Saturday 15.30—18.00

Closed: Sunday

Admission: Adult CHF 8 ($8), Youth and Child CHF 2 ($2)

Local museum with some ski material. Exhibit on 50th anniversary of Engadin marathon.

 

Saas-Fee, Canton Valais/Wallis

Saaser Museum

Dorfstrasse 6, 3906 Saas-Fee

Contact: Damian Bumann

E-mail: museum@3906.ch

Tel: +41 792 202 853 or +41 279 571 475

Website: www.3906.ch/de/leben/kultur/saasermuseum

Open: 18 June—14 October: Tuesday and Thursday 14.30—17.00 and on request

Admission: Adult CHF 5 ($5), Child CHF 2.50 ($2.50)

Local museum with some ski related material.

 

Schönenwerd, Canton Solothurn

Bally Schuhmuseum/Bally Shoe Museum

Oltnerstrasse 6, 5012 Schönenwerd

E-mail: receptioncaslano@bally.ch

Tel: +41 916 129 111

Website: www.bally.com

Open: For individuals only on the last Friday and Saturday of every month.  For groups by arrangement.

Admission: Call ahead

One of the largest collections of boots and shoes with occasional early ski boots.

 

Tramelin, Canton Bern/Berne

Musée du Ski Geiser

In shop Geiser-Sports, Grand-Rue 39, 2720 Tramelin

E-mail: info@geiser-sports.ch

Tel: +41 324 874 160

Website: www.geiser-sports.ch

Open: October—April: Monday 13.30—18.30

                                       Tuesday—Friday 9.00—12.00 and 13.30—18.30

                                        Saturday 9.00—12.00

           May: Monday—Friday 14.00—18.00

           September: Wednesday 14.00—18.00

Closed: June—August

Admission: Free

The ski museum is in the shop, various exhibits are available for ski clubs etc.

         

Zermatt, Canton Valais/Wallis

Matterhorn Museum

Kirchplatz, Zermatt 3920

E-mail: matterhornmuseum@zermatt.ch

Tel: +41 279 674 100

Website: www.zermatt.ch/en/museum

Open: 9 April—30 June: daily 14.00—18.00

            1 July—30 September: daily 11.00—18.00

            1 October—31 October: daily 15.00—18.00

            23 November—20 December: Friday, Saturday, Sunday 15.00—18.00

Closed: 1 November—22 November

               23 November—20 December Monday--Thursday

Admission: Adult CHF 10 ($10), Senior/Student CHF 8 ($8), Child CHF 5 ($5)

Mostly on growth of Zermatt from mountain farm community to summer and winter alpine resort with much on Matterhorn climbing.

 

 

UNITED KINGDOM

OTHER MUSEUMS AND LIBRARIES

Leicester, Leicestershire

The Ski Club of Great Britain Archives in Special Collections of De Montfort University

Special Collections Kimberlin Library, Leicester LE1 9BH

Archivist: Katharine Short

E-mail: kshort@dmu.ac.uk and archives@dmu.ac.uk

Tel: +44 116 250 6392

Website: www.dmu.ac.uk

Open: Monday—Friday 9.00—17.00.  Essential to call ahead for research

Entire archives of Ski Club of Great Britain is now (April 2018) housed at De Montfort University.

 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

 

Boise, Idaho

Glory Days Ski Museum

4432 N. Burnside Place, Boise, ID 83702

Owner: Kirk Luba

E-mail: glorydaysskimuseum@gmail.com

Tel: 208 629 8329

Open: By appointment.

Private collection of 1960s-1980s skis.

Davis, West Virginia

Snow Sports Museum of West Virginia

466 William Avenue, Davis, WV 26260 (postal P.O. Box 421)

Executive Director: Andy Snyder

E-mail: ssmwv@icloud.com

Tel: 334-663-1172

Website: www.snowsportsmuseumwv.org

Open: 15 April—31 October: Thursday-Monday 11.00-18.00

            2021 until 11 April: Friday-Sunday 11.00-18.00

Admission: Free

Monthly Newsletter on website. Collections 1950—1990

 

Fort Drum, New York

10th Mountain Deivision & Fort Drum Museum

Building 2509 Col. Reade Road, Fort Drum, NY 13602

Director: to be names Fall 2022

Curator: Kent Bolke

E-mail: 10thmountainmuseum@gmail.com

Tel: 315 774 0391

Website: https://history/army/mil/fieldmuseum/fortDrum/index.html

Open: All year, Tuesdays-Saturdays 9 am-5 pm

Closed: Sundays, Mondays, and federal holidays

Admission: Free

History of Fort Drum and 10t Mountain Division from beginning to modern deployments.  Military mountaineering and skiing in US army.

 

Franconia, New Hampshire

New England Ski Museum

135 Tramway Drive, P.O. Box 267, Franconia, NH 03580

Executive Director: Jeffrey R. Leich

E-mail: staff@skimuseum.org

Tel: 603 823 7177

Website: www.skimuseum.org

Open: 1 December—ca.15 April: 9.00—17.00

           31 May—ca.15 October: 9.00—17.00

Closed: 15 April—30 May and 15 October—1 December

Admission: Free.  Admission during closed periods by appointment

Exhibits highlight New England skiing.  One of the finest libraries in the USA with manuscript archives and films. Journal is published four times a year.

 

Ishpeming, Michigan

U.S Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame

610 Palms Avenue, P.O. Box 191, Ishpeming, MI 49849

E-mail: Administrator@skihall.com

Tel: 906 485 6323

Website: www.skihall.com

Open: Monday—Saturday 10.00—17.00

Closed: Sunday and national holidays

Admission: Free

Many exhibits, Roland Palmedo library.

 

Kingfield, Maine

Ski Museum of Maine

256 Maine St., P.O. Box 359, Kingfield, ME 04947

Director: Theresa Shanahan

E-mail: info@skimuseumofmaine.org

Tel: 207 265 2023

Website: www.skimuseumofmaine.org

Open: Year round Monday--Friday 10.00—16.00

Admission: Free

Emphasis on Maine skiing, with special reference to Sugarloaf and manufacturers.

 

North Conway,  New Hampshire

New England Ski Museum: Eastern Slopes Branch

P.O. Box 1673, North Conway, NH 03860-1673

Manager: Brian Fowler

E-mail: brian@skimuseum.org

Tel: 603 730 5044

Website: www.skimuseum.org

Open: daily 9.00—16.00 until further notice

Admission: Free

Irwin Exhibit Hall displays Eastern skiing with special reference to Harvey Dow Gibson and Hannes Schneider. Library.

 

Park City, Utah

Alf Engen Ski Museum located in Olympic complex

Joe Quinney Winter Sports Park, Utah Olympic Park, P.O. Box 980187, Park City, UT 84098

Executive Director: Connie Nelson

E-mail: via website

Tel: 435 658 4240

Website: www.engenmuseum.org

Open: daily 10.00—18.00

Admission: Free

Emphasis on Alf Engen and Utah skiing.  The Eccles 2002 Olympic Winter Games Museum is also a part of this museum.

 

Red Wing, Minnesota

The American Ski Jumping Hall of Fame and Museum

Inside the St. James Hotel, 406 Main St., Red Wing, MN 55066

Contact: St. James Hotel

E-mail: info@americanskijumping.com

Tel: 651 388 2846 (Hotel telephone)

Website: www.americanskijumping.com

Open: On request only, essential to call hotel ahead

Admission: Free

History of jumping, especially Scandinavian immigrants.  Hall of Fame.

 

Salt Lake City, Utah

Utah Ski and Snowboard Archives

University of Utah Marriot Library Special Collections, 295 South 1500 East, Salt Lake City, UT 84112

Manager: Judy Jarrow

E-mail: via website

Tel: 801 581 3421

Website: www.lib.utah.edu

Open: Essential to call ahead

Admission: Free

Documentation on Utah skiing, resort growth and the 2002 Winter Olympic Games.

 

Sandia Peak, New Mexico

New Mexico Ski Hall of Fame and Ski Museum

Base of Sandia Peak Aerial Tram, 10 Tramway Rd. NE, P.O. Box 09937, Albuquerque, NM 87122

Contact: Jay Blackwood

E-mail: jblackw796@aol.com

Tel: 505 857 8916

Website: www.nmskihall.org

Open: daily 9.00—20.00

Admission: Free

Small museum, local emphasis.

 

Snoqualmie Pass, Washington

Washington State Ski and Snowboard Museum

At the top of the pass between the Commonwealth Café and Dru Bru Tap Room

P.O. Box 1301, Mercer Island, WA 98040

Contact: Dave Moffett

Email: info@wsssm.org

Tel: 424 434 0827

Website: www.wsssm.org

Open: daily Thursday—Sunday 12.00—17.00 but call to confirm hours

Admission: Free

Washington State ski development and recognized skiers.  Hall of Fame.

 

Soda Springs, California

Western SkiSport Museum

On Donner Pass.  P.O. Box 829, Soda Springs, CA 95728

Director: Bill Clark

E-mail: bclark@inc.auburnskiclub.org

Tel: 530 426 3313 x 101

Website: www.auburnskiclub.com/asctc/about-us/ski-museum

Open: Ski season: daily 10.00—16.00

            Off season: by appointment

Admission: Free

Displays of Western states skiing and of Squaw Olympics. Strong on Sierra “longboard” skiing of the Gold Rush era. Library and documents.

Note: The Museum of Sierra Ski History and the Olympic Museum are presently (April 2018) fundraising and obtaining land permits.  If all goes as planned, the Olympic artifacts from the Western SkiSport Museum will go to the Olympic Museum, and the other artifacts will go to the Museum of Sierra Ski History.  Eventually, the hope is to combine all three in the Olympic Museum (www.olympicskimuseum.org) planned for Squaw Valley opening in 2023.

 

Stowe, Vermont

Vermont Ski and Snowboard Museum

1 South Main St., P.O. Box 1511, The Perkins Building, Stowe, VT 05672

Director: Abby Blackburn

E-mail: info@vermontskimuseum.org

Tel: 802 253 9911

Website: www.vtssm.com

Open: 26 May—15 October: Wednesday—Sunday 12.00—17.00

Closed: Monday and Tuesday and 16 April—25 May

Admission: Free

Vermont exhibits, also 10th Mountain.

 

Squaw Valley, California

Olympic Museum—See Soda Springs: Western SkiSport Museum note

 

Tahoe City, California

Museum of Sierra Ski History—See Soda Springs: Western SkiSport Museum note

Currently artifacts are displayed at the Gatekeepers Cabin Museum, 130 W. Lake Blvd., Tahoe City, CA 96145

Tel: 530 583 1762

Website: www.tahoecity.org

Open: daily in Summer.  Rest of the year: Wednesday—Sunday.  Call for hours

Local ski history.

 

 

Tannersville, Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania Ski and Snow Sports Museum

Exhibit at base lodge of Camelback Ski Area, Tannersville, PA 18372

Contact: Paul Prutzman, Goggleworks Suite 506 A, 201 Wahington St., Reading, PA 19601

E-mail: Pasmoffice@gmail.com

Tel: 610 334 4378

Website: www.pasnowsportsmuseum.com

Open: When ski area is open

Admission: Free

Local ski development.  Hall of Fame.

 

Vail, Colorado

Colorado Snowsports Museum and Hall of Fame

231 South Frontage Road East, P.O. Box 1976, Vail, CO 81657

Director: John McMurtry

E-mail: skimuseum@gmail.com

Tel: 970 476 1876

Website: www.skimuseum.net

Open: 5 March 2018 on limited basis due to renovations: daily 10.00—18.00

Admission: Free

Exhibits Colorado material, extensive 10th Mountain collection

 

OTHER MUSEUMS AND LIBRARIES

Aspen, Colorado

Aspen Historical Society

620 West Bleeker St., Aspen, CO 81611

Curator: Lisa Hancock

E-mail: info@aspenhistory.com

Tel: 970 925 3721

Website: www.aspenhistory.com

Open: Call for opening hours

Admission: Free

Documents relating to Aspen’s skiing history.

 

 

Decorah, Iowa

Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum

520 West Water St., P.O. Box 379, Decorah, IA 52101

Curator:  Laurann Gilbertson

E-mail: info@vesterheim.org

Tel: 563 382 9681

Website: www.vesterheim.org

Open: 1 May—31 October: 9.00—17.00

           1 November—30 April: 10.00—16.00

Admission: Adult $10, Senior $8, Youth $5

Museum of Norwegian immigration in the Midwest with small collection on immigrant skiing.

 

Denver, Colorado

10th Mountain Division Resource Center in the Denver Public Library

Denver Public Library, 10 W 14the Ave Parkway, Denver, CO 80204-2731

Archivist: Keli Schmid

E-mail: kschmid@denverplibrary.org

Tel: 720 865 1812

Website: www.denverlibrary.org

 Open: Monday and Tuesday 10.00—20.00

           Wednesday, Thursday, Friday 10.00—18.00

           Saturday: 9.00—17.00 and Sunday 13.00—17.00

Admission: Free

Archives of letters, diaries, photos, films with emphasis on World War II.

 

Government Camp, Oregon

Mount Hood Cultural Center and Museum

88900 East Hwy 26, Business Loop, P.O. Box 55, Government Camp, OR 97028

Contact: Lloyd Musser or Cheryl Maki

E-mail: info@mthoodmuseum.org

Tel: 503 272 3301

Website: www.mthoodmuseum.org

Open: daily 9.00—17.00

Admission: Free

Local museum with ski documents and artifacts from local clubs on second floor.

 

Ketchum, Idaho 

Sun Valley Museum of History

180 East 1st St., P.O. Box 2168, Ketchum, ID 83340

Director of Regional History: Mary Tyson

E-mail: mtyson@comlib.org

Tel: 208 726 8118 and 208 726 3493 x 103

Website: www.ksvhs.com

Open: Monday—Saturday 10.00—18.00

Admission: Free

Local material including much on skiing.

 

Lake Placid, New York

Lake Placid Winter Olympic Museum

Olympic Center, 2634 Main St., Lake Placid, NY 12946

Director: Alison Haas

E-mail: via website

Tel: 518 302 5326

Website: www.lpom.org

Open: daily 10.00—17.00

Admission: Adult/Youth $7, Senior/Junior $5

Much on skiing but also on the other winter sports.  Exhibitions highlight the Games of 1932 and 1980.

 

New England Lost Ski Areas Project (NELSAP)

Digitalized list of closed ski areas

Director: Jeremy Davis

E-mail: nelsap@yahoo.com

Tel: 518 581 8755

Website: www.nelsap.org

Admission: Free

Detailed list on line of closed past ski areas of New England with brochures, photos, tales.

 

Norco, California

California Ski Library

3321 Aryana Ave., P.O. Box 283, Norco, CA 92860

Owner: Ingrid P. Wicken

E-mail: ingrid@skilibrary.com

Tel: 951 207 9218

Website: www.skilibrary.com

Open: By appointment only

Admission: Free

One of the finest ski libraries in the USA.  Documentation on western US skiing.

 

Park City, Utah

Park City Historical Society and Museum

528 Main St., P.O.Box 555, Park City, UT84060

Director: Morgan Pierce

E-mail: via website

Tel: 435 649 7457

Website: http://parkcityhistory.org

Open: Monday—Saturday 10.00—19.00

            Sunday 12.00—18.00

Admission: Adult $12, Senior/Student $10, Child $5

Much on mining and ski history.

 

Steamboat Springs, Colorado

Tread of Pioneers Museum

800 Oak St., P.O. Box 772372, Steamboat Springs, CO 80487

Executive Director: Candice Bannister

E-mail: cbannister@treadofpioneers.org

Tel: 970 879 2214

Website: www.treadofpioneers.org

Open: Tuesday—Saturday 11.00—17.00

Closed: Sunday and Monday

Admission: Adult $6, Senior $5, Child $2

Local museum with display of skiing personalities and material.

 

Stratton Mountain, Vermont

Stratton Mountain Foundation

Stratton Foundation, 2D Village Square, P.O. Box 523, Stratton Mountain, VT 05155

E-mail: info@strattonfoundation.org

Tel: 802 277 2096

Open:  Only by appointment

Stratton Mountain archives of local area and papers of personalities.

 

Washington, DC

Sir Arnold Lunn Papers, Lauinger Library, Georgetown University

Special Collections, Lauinger Library, 37th & O Streets, Washington DC 20057

Contact: Essential for appointments to see special collections: www.library.georgetown.edu/special-collections/contact

E-mail: https://findingaids.library.georgetown.edu

Tel: 202 6878 0100

Website: www.library.georgetown.edu

Open: Essential to call for hours special collections are open

21 linear feet of Arnold Lunn’s correspondence, manuscripts, notebooks, ephemera from 1896-1978.

 

 

COLLECTIONS and LIBRARIES now in STORAGE or in CLOSED museums:

 

AUSTRIA/LIECHTENSTEIN

Noldi Beck’s collection, once on display in Liechtenstein, is believed to be in Austria.  Once it has been inventoried, there is a hope that it will be exhibited.  The ‘drama’ is best followed in an article by Bernhard Odehnal, “Ein Museum verschwindet” (“A Museum Vanishes”) in the Swiss Tagesanzeiger 28 October 2017.

The Austrian Alpine Association in Innsbruck is closed (April 2018) while they look for new premises.  However, the digitalized lists can be searched, so I have left it as an entry.

 

CANADA

Canadian Ski Hall of Fame and Museum, as of April 2018, is planned for Mont Tremblant, Quebec.  The Executive Director: Joanne Heward can be reached at 514-715-0245 or at joanne@hewardgroup.com.  No opening date yet.

 

USA

Beekley International Collection of Art and Library in storage in Westminster, Colorado while searching for a new venue.  Open to research by appointment only.  For information: Natale Messina, P.O. Box 426, Plantsville, CT 06479 and/or tel: 860 240 6027 and email:  nmessina@legacyfws.com.  Or from Kim Carrera email: Kcarrera1@cox.net.

Neptune Mountaineering and Ski Museum (Boulder, Colorado) is in storage until further notice.

Olympic Museum (Squaw Valley, California) and Sierra Ski History Museum (Tahoe City, California)—see note at Soda Springs.

 

Category
Open to Public?
On
Full Access Article for Public

By William D. Frank

The winter sport of biathlon combines rifle sharpshooting and cross-country skiing. The name itself is a neologism derived from the pentathlon of the ancient Greek Olympics. Although many well-meaning biathlon promoters in the decades following World War II tried to make the sport more palatable by suggesting prehistoric antecedents in hunting or this link to ancient Greece, such impressions are a red herring: throughout the twentieth century and into the twenty-first, the conflation of sport with warfare, especially at the Olympics, has informed the very concept of biathlon and its prior iteration, Military Patrol. 

Since 1993, the International Biathlon Union (IBU) has administered biathlon competition worldwide in association with sixty-one national federations. Today, biathletes compete in eleven separate events, each with its own rules and regulations: the Individual; the Short Individual; the Sprint: the Super Sprint; the Pursuit; the Mass Start 30; the Mass Start 60; the women's 4 x 6km Relay; the men's 4 x 7.5 km Relay; the Mixed Relay; and the Single Mixed Relay. These intriguing competitions—devised for compelling television coverage—have attracted ever-increasing viewership, elevating biathlon into the ranks of the most popular winter spectator sports. 

From its tenuous introduction to the Olympics in 1960 through its current status as one of the world’s premier winter events, the nations of Scandinavia and central Europe have monopolized biathlon, most significantly Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, Finland, and Russia. Why these nations in particular have dominated the sport for over half a century stems from the significance of nationalism, militarism, and winter warfare across the northern reaches of the Eurasian landmass during the late-nineteenth through twentieth centuries. During the Cold War, state-sponsored athletes of the Soviet Union, East Germany, and the eastern-bloc countries used biathlon as an international stage upon which to promote a purported communist superiority to the west. In the twenty-first century, this militarized notion of east-west confrontation still holds sway at biathlon venues: as a result of Russia’s rampant violation of IBUregulations through a decades-long, state-sponsored drug enhancement program and its invasion of Ukraine in 2022, athletes of the Russian Federation and Belarus have been banned from all IBU-sanctioned competitions, including the Olympics. 

Early History

A sixteenth-century engraving showing soldiers armed with bows and arrows skiing on wooden shoes with long pointed toes; three riders mounted on reindeer draw bow and arrow; two riders brandish clubs, one of whom wears a crown representing Tengild, King of Finnmark.An illustration from Olaus Magnus’s 1555 edition of History of the Northern Peoples depicting Saxo Grammaticus’s twelfth-century story about Finns on skis and riding reindeer who attacked forces allied with Denmark in the ninth century. The Italian artist commissioned for this volume, published in Rome, obviously had never seen skis. These fanciful renditions of the ski (resembling a wooden clog with an enormously elongated toe) are visual interpretations of the term “snowshoe” (Schneeschuh in German, or soulier à neige in French), a common descriptor used throughout Europe until the early twentieth century. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Olaus_Magnus_-_Tengild_and_his_men.jpg

Millennia-old rock carvings of skiers and wooden remnants of skis themselves substantiate prehistoric use of skis along the northern tier of the Eurasian landmass. The indigenous peoples required skis for the basics of life, travel, work, and hunting, because of the region’s harsh winter conditions. As territorial defense grew in importance on either side of the Arctic circle, nations whose climate produced snow during the winter months developed the use of skis for military purposes (Allen, 2007; Frank, 2013; Frank and Allen, 2019). 

The first written reference to combat carried out on skis dates from the twelfth century. In his Gesta Danorum, Saxo Grammaticus documents how Finns "gliding on slick logs" attacked Ragnar Lodbrok and the Danes in a region Grammaticus knew as Bjarmia during the ninth century (Figure 1). By the middle of the sixteenth century, the militarization of skiing increased dramatically, due especially to the efforts of Sweden’s King Gustav Vasa. Vasa formed Scandinavia’s first mobile ski units in 1555, boasting in a letter that his troops could travel 185 kilometers in a single day. That year, during the Russo-Swedish War, five hundred Swedish and Finnish ski troops routed a far superior Russian army of five thousand in Finland at Joutselkä.  A decade later, combined Swedish and Finnish skiers invaded the province of Ingria, at the time ruled by the Tsardom of Russia; as the Russians swept back in 1590, six hundred Finnish farmers on skis thwarted a potential invasion in Karelia. By the end of the decade, during Russia’s struggle over dynastic succession from 1598-1613 (the Time of Troubles), Mikhail Skopkin-Shuiskii led five divisions of skiers to Moscow against the cavalry of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth at the siege of Troitse-Sergieva Lavra, one of the watershed events of the Polish-Muscovite War (Frank, 2013). 

During the modern period (circa 1500), rapid improvement of firearms influenced changes in military strategy, which in turn led to incorporating skis for rapid troop movements during winter campaigns among nations occupying the Scandinavian Peninsula and northwestern Russia. By mid-eighteenth century, the Norwegian army had established regular ski detachments: as part of their training, troops began to engage in military ski competitions formulated by Schach Karl Rantzau in 1767 (Holm, 1965). In Russia, Catherine the Great’s commanders deployed ski troops near the Ural mountains during Pugachev's Rebellion. Throughout the Napoleonic Wars, these Russian ski troops served both in Aleksandr Suvarov’s campaign in the Alps and against Sweden’s own ski detachments during the Finnish War at the battles of Puhäjoki, Revolax, and Pulkkila (Frank, 2013; Frank and Allen, 2019). Russia’s annexation of the Grand Duchy of Finland during this period had significant impact on the Russian Civil War and the Winter War in the twentieth century.

The 1815 Treaty of Paris ended twelve years of European-wide warfare and, as a result, skiing gradually fell by the wayside in the military. By 1826, ski troops were no longer part of the army in either Sweden and Norway, now conjoined in an uneasy union. Nonetheless, patriotic Norwegians banded together in 1831 to revitalize skiing as a means of national self-defense; in 1861, the foundation of the Trysil Rifle and Ski Club further bolstered the military aspects of the sport by combining it with sharpshooting. (Frank, 2013; Stegan, 2019). These developments led to a revitalization of ski exercises in the Norwegian army, resulting in Oscar Wergeland’s publication of an up-to-date ski drill manual in 1863 and a history of military skiing in 1865; nonetheless, skis were only in common use among Norway’s general public in thinly-populated interior and northern regions outside of major towns. During the period between 1880 and Norwegian independence from Sweden in 1905, skiing revived all across Norway and provided the basis for a national sports identity known as idræt: “striving to perfect the individual soul as well as the body” and “develop the physical and moral strength of nations” (Allen, 1993; Allen, 2007). 

This concept of idræt defined an amalgamation of sport, militarism, and nationalism already on the rise all across the globe by mid-nineteenth century. Most significantly, idræt informed the polar exploration of Fridtjof Nansen: his successful crossing of Greenland on skis in 1888-1889 and attempt to reach the North Pole from 1893 to 1896, propelled skiing into the consciousness of people all around the world. (Allen, 1993; Goksøyr, 2002; Allen, 2007; Frank, 2013).

Cavalry

With saber drawn, a German army officer on skis leads a team of eight ski troopers with rifles ready at the hip out of a forest into a clearing. All members of the platoon wear Prussian-style Pickelhauben rather than appropriate winter headgear. Neither the officer nor troopers have ski poles. “Exercises du patin dans l’armée Allemande. Manœuvres d’un peloton du 82e hessois, aux environs de Goslar, dans le Hanovre [Ski exercises in the German army. Platoon maneuvers among the 82nd Hessians in the Goslar region of Hannover].” An imaginative 1892 rendering of German soldiers drilling in ski formations by Louis Bombled for the French magazine L’Illustration. At the time, the Norwegian term “ski” did not exist in French: patin [ice skate] or patin à neige [snow-skate] often served as a descriptor. This image captures the late-nineteenth century notion of a cavalry-style winter attack carried out on skis. Source: E. John B. Allen Collection. L’Illustration No. 2599 (17 Décembre 1892), 509.

Modifications in the tactical use of cavalry during the nineteenth century played a crucial role in the militarization of skiing in the twentieth. With antecedents stretching back to ancient warfare, European armies emphasized the frontal cavalry charge to “shock” and soften enemy positions for a follow-up by infantry. During the American Civil War, the wide-open countryside traversed by both Union and Confederate armies encouraged some cavalry units to morph into mounted infantry with the ability to undertake long-range raids behind enemy lines, reconnaissance, and  screening. These lessons were not lost on European military theoreticians in the latter half of the century when the armed forces of most nations transformed cavalry regiments into mobile and stealthy field units. By the time of the Second Boer War, both the Boers and forces of the British Empire used horse-mounted riflemen rather than traditional saber-brandishing cavalry. Still, the romanticized notion of the cavalry charge lingered well into the twentieth century. (Hamilton, 1908; Stuart, 1971; Frank, 2011). 

However, military maneuvers conducted on either side of the equator differed significantly from those carried out at higher latitudes. The disastrous invasion of Russia by Napoleon in 1812 and experiences nearly six decades later during the Franco-Prussian War indicated that in winter, mounted troops and horse-drawn vehicles faced limitations from heavy snowfall and icy roads. Recalling that French dragoons had been unable to pursue ski troops of Prussia’s Swedish ally during the Pomeranian War earlier in the century, some in the European press suggested that the Prussians would have had more success in winter combat against the irregular troops of the French army had they been equipped with skis in northern France. (Frank and Allen, 2019) (Figure 2). By the end of the century, Alpine nations were incorporating skiing and mountaineering into the military (Figure 3). 

Four skiers pose with skis and ice axes on snow beside a steep rock outcrop. The leader, Wilhelm Paulcke, points with his right hand into the distance.

The first ski ascent of a 3,000-meter peak, 5 January 1896: (left to right) Victor de Beauclair, Peter Steinweg, Erwin Bauer, and Wilhelm Paulcke on the Oberalpstock. The following year, de Beauclair and Paulcke with three other companions completed the first ski traverse of the Bernese Oberland, generally acknowledged as the birth of ski mountaineering. A life-long ski enthusiast, Paulcke had an inadvertent yet profound impact on Military Patrol, biathlon, and competitive ski mountaineering, an optional sport at the 2026 Winter Olympics. Paulcke integrated the German Turnen concept of physical fitness as military preparation and team building into the organization of Germany’s first ski unit attached to the Eighth Jäger Battalion in 1898. During World War I, he served with German mountain troops in the Vosges and on the Italian Front as well as teaching skiing to the Ottoman army. During the inter-war years, he helped establish the German, Austrian, and Central European ski clubs while promoting the military value of skiing and mountaineering. Source: Landesarchiv Baden-Württenberg, Generallandesarchiv Karlsruhe, F-S Paulcke Nr. 8085 

Russo-Japanese War

Concurrent with the Boer War in southern Africa, the Boxer Rebellion in northern China—a reaction to European meddling at the height of the age of imperialism—involved multi-national military intervention. Russia’s refusal to remove troops from Manchuria after the rebellion clashed with Japan’s own imperial ambitions in the region. Emboldened by a military alliance with Britain signed in 1902, the Japanese navy attacked and sank Russian battleships at Port Arthur in February 1904. The ensuing Russo-Japanese War proved to be an unmitigated disaster for the Russian Empire (Allen and Frank, 2020) and a game-changing success for Japan (Koda, 2005). Contemporary advancements employed during this war, such as large-caliber artillery, rapid-fire machine guns, railroad transportation, and communication via telephone and telegraph, altered warfare’s organization and tactics, foreshadowing the world-wide hostilities that followed one after another as the century progressed (Salik, 2020). In addition, the Russo-Japanese War was the first intercontinental confrontation to witness combat at high latitudes in the middle of winter which sparked further interest in Military Patrol and biathlon in the twentieth century.

This early twentieth-century clash of empires attracted world-wide attention. Some on-the-ground military observers considered Pavel Mishchenko’s raid behind Japanese lines at Yinkou from January 9-16, 1905 the most significant cavalry operation in the history of modern warfare in Europe, comparable to those undertaken during the American Civil War (German General Staff, 1910). Equally important were the severe winter conditions endured by both sides during the battle of Sandepu (or Heikoutai), January 25-29, 1905. Temperatures during the day peaked at -12 °C and at night dropped to -28 °C. Although there was only a thin layer of snow at the beginning of the battle, a blizzard on January 26-27 impeded a 25-kilometer night-march of the Japanese Fifth Division. Similar conditions hampered the winter-hardy Third Siberia Corps prior to the battle of Mukden at the end of February. All of these details were duly noted by international observers (Vaissiere, 1910; Gripenberg, 1910; von Tettau, 1911a; von Tettau, 1911b; German General Staff, 1913; Committee of Imperial Defense, 1920). Contemporary publications and photographic evidence from Russia indicate that okhotniki had skis on the ground there (Figure 4). Medics of the imperial army employed skis to transport the wounded across the snow and ice, a popular subject for illustrations in the European press during the war (Komets, 1904; Meshetich, 1906). On the other hand, these same Russian skiers became the object of ridicule for artists in Japan (Allen and Frank, 2020).

Conclusions drawn by the Russian General Staff in the war’s aftermath changed the imperial army’s perception of military tactics prior to World War I and led to major reform. Turn-of-the-century advances in the technology of ammunition and firearms made frontal attacks more lethal. This put a premium on an aggressive offense: seizing the initiative while both sides were still maneuvering into battle positions while engaging in flanking operations, rear attacks, and envelopment to displace the enemy from potential defensive deployments. In addition, carrying out a war far from major supply centers and in the harsh climate of the Russian Far East meant that geography, weather, and lines of communication would all factor into a successful campaign; and that training for combat in winter conditions would be an essential component of military preparation (Martynov, 1906; Menning, 1992; Frank and Allen, 2019). Although these notions played only a minor role in World War I they were crucial in the Russian Civil War, the Winter War, and the Soviet Union’s counteroffensive to Germany’s Operation Barbarossa during World War II (Frank, 2013).

Okhotniki

A soldier of the Russian Imperial Army with rifle and attached bayonet slung across his back skis downhill in greatcoat and papakha hat.

An okhotnik of the Russian Imperial Army circa 1891. From Vladimir N. Danilov and V. Polzikov, Uchebnik dlia soldata-okhotnika [Handbook for the Soldier-Okhotnik] (1896). Source: Courtesy New York Public Library

As the Norwegian revival of skiing spread across Europe’s northern tier in the late-nineteenth century, the Russian imperial army began to incorporate skiing into the training of troops posted to regions inKarelia, especially among soldiers from the Grand Duchy of Finlandwho filled the ranks of the Finnish Rifle Battalion (Frank, 2013; Frank and Allen, 2019). For service among all brigades comprising the Russian imperial army, the General Command established okhotnich'i komandy (hunter-scout teams) in 1886. Originally designated as only four men per group, by the time of the Russo-Japanese War these elite teams could consist of up to a dozen or more specially-trained okhotniki or “hunter-scouts” for each infantry and cavalry regiment. They were tasked with independent assignments that required resourcefulness and courage operating unsupported by the main army along enemy flanks and rear. These individuals were trained in reconnaissance, surveillance, communications, skiing, riding (both horse and bicycle), swimming, rapid multi-day travel, foraging and hunting, and all manner of specialized military skills (Figure 4) (Danilov and Polzikov, 1896; Meshetich, 1906). Despite the widely-despised Russification program imposed on Finland by Nicholas II and the dissolution of the Finnish Rifle Battalion in 1901, many Finns, already experts in a hunter-scout lifestyle including cross-country travel by foot, horse, or ski, volunteered to become okhotniki at the outbreak of the Russo-Japanese War (although several hundreds of ex-pat Finns living in the United States intended to join Japan in their war effort). Okhotniki served throughout the conflict in all aspects of scouting and skirmishing; they also undertook clandestine raids and sabotage targeting railroad lines, bridges, and other structures, prompting Japanese searchlight teams to operate nearly every night from defensive positions to thwart them. After the Battle of Mukden, during which intense Japanese artillery barrages increased the distance between battlelines, the Russian imperial army blended the okhotnich’i komandy reconnaissance model with cavalry to form 100-horse konno-okhotnich’i komandy attached to each infantry regiment for long-range scouting (Taburin, 1904; Talin, 1904; Girs, 1906; Meshetich, 1906; Toepfer, 1910;  Committee of Imperial Defense, 1912; Sytin, 1913; Sytin, 1914). Although the introduction of horse-mounted hunter-scouts came too late to help defeat Japan, the concept proved beneficial for the Bolsheviks during the Russian Civil War.

Eleven okhotniki pose in formation standing on skis, poles in hand, with rifles slung over their backs; the team commander, sword sheathed at his side, stands on skis a step forward, poles in hand, with a dog facing him.Title page of A. Meshetich, Polnoe Rukovodstvo dlia okhotnich’ikh komand [Complete Handbook for Hunter-Scout Teams](1906). The double placement of an image of skiers on both the title page and cover of this handbook, published immediately after the end of the Russo-Japanese War, indicates the importance of skiing for okhotniki training: it is the only photograph included among sixty-five hand-drawn or linotype illustrations, maps, charts, and tables in the 104-page booklet. Source: University of Calgary Archives and Special Collections, Calgary, Alberta, CAN

The okhotniki provided a template six years after the end of the Russo-Japanese War for ski units that could operate in place of cavalry in winter, a notion proposed by Finland’s Carl Bror Emil Aejmelaeus-Ãimä (Figure 7) in a ski treatise written for the Russian imperial army. He details essential techniques of skiing along with a few lessons learned from okhotniki experiences in the Russo-Japanese War. As a warning to the Russian General Staff, Aejmelaeus-Äimä bemoans the loss of the Finnish Rifle Battalion and catalogues the growth of ski training in the military forces of Sweden, Norway, the Austro-Hungarian and British Empires, France, Switzerland, Spain, Italy, Japan, and Germany just three years prior to the outbreak of World War I. Okhotniki-style sabotage forays carried out behind enemy lines also foreshadowed similar actions by Russian partisan ski brigades during Operation Barbarossa and World War II (Frank, 2013; Frank and Allen, 2019).

Nationalism and Sport

During the long nineteenth century (1789-1914), the rise of nationalism permeated nearly every aspect of politics, economics, and society with profound influence on sports. Beginning in mid-1800s, world fairs and international exhibitions occasionally included sideshows featuring the breaking of records for national prestige and athletic championships. Based on these examples, Pierre de Coubertin in 1894 proposed the modern Olympic Games as a venue for promoting internationalism through national rivalry. Early on, this idealistic notion mutated into the usurpation of the Games for political and ideological ends as nations vied with one another to showcase their strength and vitality: the armed forces in turn promoted fitness among youth in order to establish a basis for military readiness. Prior to World War I, Sweden and Germany began to invest government funds to enhance athletic performance: other nations soon followed suit. By the early decades of the twentieth century, Olympic events were already morphing into a metaphor for war. (Krüger, 1995; Rider and Llewellyn, 2015). 

De Coubertin modeled his Olympic vision on the ancient Olympics but with many updated events, one in particular of his own devising: modern pentathlon. Introduced in 1912 at the Stockholm Games as a contemporary version of the ancient pentathlon, this contest epitomized a turn-of-the-century conflation of nationalism, militarism, and sport. De Coubertin intended that the five events—fencing, swimming, pistol shooting, equestrian steeplechase, and cross-country run—would showcase the pre-World War I skillset necessary for a cavalry officer caught behind enemy lines: as such, military personnel dominated the sport in its early years. Military observers bestowed tremendous prestige on the modern pentathlon medalists even as results from all Olympic events were parsed carefully by military staffs from around the world. (Frank, 2013; Frank and Allen, 2019). 

A decade prior to de Coubertin’s foundation of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1894, the Norwegian Association for Promotion of Ski Sports had sponsored local and national ski competitions, culminating in their flagship event held in the neighborhoods of Norway’s capital, Kristiania. In 1891, organizers moved the ski events to Holmenkollen in the hills outside Kristiania. This transfer coincided with the rise of skiing’s popularity resulting from worldwide infatuation with the polar exploration of Fridtjof Nansen. Soon, non-Norwegian competitors were allowed entry and, by the turn of the century, the Holmenkollen Ski Festival had become the most important ski event in Europe, attracting huge international crowds. In 1901, Sweden organized the Nordiska Spelen to counterbalance the Norwegian Holmenkollen Festival as a celebration of all winter sports. These events were soon dubbed “Olympic” and were, in fact, the precursor to the first Winter Olympics held in Chamonix in 1924. Just as de Coubertin’s Olympics embraced the militarized modern pentathlon, so did Nordiska Spelen include a special team event, the Military Patrol race, a combination of rifle shooting and cross-country skiing. (Jönnson, 2001; Allen, 2007; Terret, 2011; Frank, 2013; Frank, 2017).

Polar Exploration

Two figures on skis with two poles of unequal length (the longer one fitted with a small ice axe head) pull a fully-loaded supply sled across the snow; following behind are four similarly-equipped skiers pulling sleds.“We trudged along for weeks over an endless flat snowy desert.” Fridtjof Nansen’s ski traverse of Greenland in 1888-1889 propelled skiing into a world-wide phenomenon. An Andreas Bloch illustration from Nansen’s book Paa Ski over Grønland published in 1890. Source: https://no.wikisource.org/w/index.php?curid=61807

Polar exploration was another venue that conflated nationalism and sport with militarism during the long nineteenth century. On the world stage, national prestige accrued with the discovery of the last unknown places, infusing points on a map from Congo to the Caucasus with immense geo-political significance. At high latitudes, the turn-of-the-century military utility of skiing factored into the successful attainment of the last frontiers at either end of the earth’s poles (Frank, 2013). Great Britain was preeminent among those nations exploring the polar regions during the nineteenth century. The British Royal Navy took control of the nation’s Arctic and Antarctic exploration resulting in expensive and unwieldy expeditions devoid of cold-weather savvy. Fridtjof Nansen’s ski across Greenland and attempt on the North Pole proved the catalyst for a sea-change in the practice of polar exploration (Figure 5). Nansendemonstrated that a small, nimble group of skiers traveling unencumbered could potentially reach the ultimate polar destinations. His exploits launched world-wide enthusiasm for the sport of skiing into the bargain. Nansen’s compatriot and protégé Roald Amundsen delivered a stunning blow to the British Empire’s national pride when he out-raced Robert Falcon Scott to the South Pole in 1911. Amundsen established unquestionably the utility of the Norwegian method of applying skis and dog-sleds to a quasi-military operation at high latitudes (Allen, 2007; Frank, 2013; Frank and Allen, 2019).

World War I

World War I spanned a confounding four-year period during which warfare’s conventional wisdom based on nineteenth-century practices from the American Civil Warand the Russo-Japanese War collided with the realities of twentieth-century industrial modernization. Improvements in the lethality of machine-guns, long-range artillery, and magazine-fed rifles suggested that infantry on the attack would be vulnerable on the modern battlefield. Nonetheless, tactics at the outbreak of World War I evoked those at Vicksburg and Port Arthur with construction of complex trenchworks; massed artillery barrages preceding attacks on enemy positions; railways providing rapid deployment of troops; and cavalry maneuvering to encircle and pursue. However, as the German advance ground to a halt in the fall of 1914, the Western Front stabilized for the next twenty-seven months into a narrow line of trenches bristling with machine-guns and barbed wire from the North Sea to the Swiss border. There were no flanks around which to send cavalry units and no opportunities for envelopment; for vulnerable cavalrymen, frontal assaults were suicidal. On other fronts, however, the extremes of trench warfare did not apply. In Africa, both sides carried out wide-ranging maneuvers across vast swaths of territory: cavalry played a crucial role in the first Battle of Gaza and the Battle of Aqaba. On the Eastern Front, battlelines stretched from the Baltic Sea on the north to the Black Sea on the south. The tactical element common to both sectors was the ability of cavalry to outflank and surprise the enemy (Allen, 2007; Frank, 2013).

The Italian Front (or White War) offered a different set of circumstances. Most of the border between Italy and the Austro-Hungarian Empire straddled high alpine regions demanding an alternative method of warfare altogether. Because of the extraordinary topography, troops assigned to this region had to be well-versed in mountaineering and cold-weather travel and survival. In the pre-war years, alpinists had found skiing a useful skill for negotiating mountainous snow-covered terrain (Figure 3): the erstwhile winter sport thus became required training for specialized troops on either side of the conflict manning the region’s high-altitude peaks and passes. (Wachtler and O'Toole, 2006; Allen, 2007; Frank, 2013; Frank, 2022) (Figure 6).

Three German ski troopers pause on an Alpine overlook. A kneeling figure peers through binoculars as his companions observe.“Schneeshuhläufer-Patrouille [ski patrol],” a painting by Albert Singer featured on this German fund-raising postcard published in Dessau, postmarked 2 December 1916. Source: E. John B. Allen Collection

Russian Civil War

Although it was part of the training for troops on World War I’s Italian Front, skiing only factored marginally into actual warfare in this theater due in large part to the fixed nature of the mountainous battlelines. On the Western Front, German and French ski troops, sharing a fraternal mountaineering bond, faced off on occasion in the Vosges (Allen, 2007). Skiing truly came into play as a dynamic military activity following the expansion of the Eastern Front into post-Revolutionary Russia’s wide-open spaces. 

When the Bolsheviks seized power from tsarist rule in 1917 and disengaged from the war in Europe, they refused to acknowledge any kind of shared, multi-party socialist government. The outcome was a contentious, three-year-long Civil War, most notably against the White Army. Running concurrently, a civil war in Finland and privately-organized raids (Heimosodat) into Russian Kareliacomplicated winter warfare and year-round politics along the Russian-Finnish border from 1918 to 1922. During this time, the Bolsheviks struggled to consolidate national control and establish a functioning government; one early success, however, was Leon Trotsky’s innovation in creating and organizing the Red Army. Especially effective was his application of wide, circumambulatory cavalry raids behind the White Army’s far-distant lines in Siberia and Ukraine. By 1919, mobile mounted units evolved as the mainstay of Red Army operations, symbolizing in the Civil War’s aftermath the might of the Bolshevik enterprise (Trotsky, 1921; Weiner, 2001; Frank, 2011).

Nonetheless, just as snow and ice had hampered European cavalry in the nineteenth century, so did the severity of the northern Russian winter limit horse-mounted reconnaissance and pursuit early in the twentieth. In 1918, White forces travelling on skis from Finland during the early stages of Heimosodat attacked Pechenga, presaging allied intervention the following year in the Murmansk-Arkhangel’sk region while the Bolsheviks were embroiled with their Civil War. These early wintertime successes by the Whites and allied troops prompted the Red Army to introduce ski training into its regular military regimen. The Bolshevik government tasked the Central Board of Universal Military Training with preparation of combat skiers, specifically for the coming winter campaigns of 1919-1920. 

On the northern and eastern fronts, the Red Army consistently lacked enough cavalrymen; and military planners already understood that deep snow would limit the range and capabilities of mounted troops. Thus, the Russian cavalry’s fundamental functions of reconnaissance and pursuit would fall to the ski divisions. This conflation of cavalry with skiing both in military and sport (“winter cavalry” or "snow cavalry")—a concept already established in the western press in reference to Norway’s ski troops in the 1870s (see Figure 2)—carried over well into the Cold War era (Allen, 2007; Frank, 2011). 

But skiing was much more than a substitute for cavalry operations: the sport was imbued with proletarian significance bolstering fundamental Marxist-Leninist theory. According to Trotsky, aristocrats and the wealthy had filled the cavalry ranks for centuries: now it was imperative that communists become cavalrymen (Trotksy, 1921). This meshed with a socio-economic dichotomy that had developed in sports around the turn of the century: European sporting organizations considered anyone who had received money or prizes in competitions, or wages for work as a sport instructor or coach, a professional and therefore ineligible for events meant only for amateur athletes. This rule eliminated most working-class athletes, allowing those from the upper-class to dominate high-profile events like the Olympics. 

This class distinction spilled over into winter sports as British elites flocked to Swiss spas after World War I. These wealthy tourists preferred tobogganing (or bobsleigh) and exhilarating downhill ski runs to the more mundane aspects of cross-country skiing. Tobogganing was included for the first time at the 1922 Nordiska Spelen, raising a furor when sledders received better prizes than skiers. As the Scandinavian press pointed out, tobogganing was a pleasurable diversion for the leisure class whereas skiing was the sport of the proletariat. As more well-to-do vacationers visited the Alps in the years leading up to the 1924 Chamonix Games, a further rift developed between bourgeois Alpine and working-class Nordic branches of skiing (Allen, 2007). In Bolshevik and Soviet Russia, Nordic skiing was the preferred discipline for socialist citizens: Trotsky himself emphasized the important roles both skiing and rifle sharpshooting played in the army and among the general population. Throughout the era of the first Five-Year Plans, the government urged members of the Russian collectives to learn how to ski. Thus, the future sport of biathlon embodied the very soul of the Marxist-Leninist project from the early decades of the twentieth century (Frank, 2013).

Aejmelaeus-Äimä seated in Russian Imperial cavalry officer’s uniform in 1913, shako in his right hand, saber in his left.

 

Toivo AntikainenCarl Bror Emil Aejmelaeus-Äima (1882-1935) and Toivo Antikainen (1898-1941). The divergent lives of these two Finnish military skiers illustrate the fluid political situation along the border with Russia during the early twentieth century. Aejmelaeus-Äimä (left, in Russian Imperial cavalry uniform) was born in Porvoo and attended Russian military schools in St. Petersburg prior to World War I. As a cavalry officer in the Russian Imperial army, he survived the war and returned to Finland after independence to serve in the administrations of the nation’s first two presidents. His 1912 book on skiing, prepared for the Russian Imperial army, was the first to incorporate photographic montages of a skier in motion. Antikainen (right, in Red Army officer’s greatcoat and budenovka hat) was born in Helsinki and fled to Moscow at the end of the Finnish Civil War in 1918 to help establish the Communist Party of Finland in exile. He served as an officer with the Red Army in East Karelia during the Russian Civil War. Antikainen’s 1922 ski raid on Kimasozero took on legendary status in the Soviet Union. Source Museovirasto, Historian kuvakokoelma, HK19740427:3 https://finna.fi/Record/museovirasto.DC5C25A16DAAD06394D5423F7B26831A?sid=5103246439

As the Whites consolidated power in Finland after its civil war, a group of Finnish nationalists attempted to wrest control of East Karelia from Russia during a five-month period spanning the winter of 1921-1922. Because of the exigencies battling the White forces in winter, the Bolshevik government ordered the Petrograd Military District to establish ski battalions. Among those recruited to serve was Toivo Antikainen (Figure 8) whose 1,000-kilometer ski-reconnaissance maneuver behind White lines to capture the railway station at Kimasozero became legendary in Soviet film and book prior to World War II (Frank, 2011).

As soon as possible after Finland declared independence at the close of 1917, former Russian Imperial cavalry officer Carl Bror Emil Aejmelaeus-Äimä returned home to serve in the new Finnish government’s administration (Figure 7). In 1919, he was assigned to south Kareliato reform cavalry instruction at Lappeenranta. For his troops, Aejmelaeus-Äimä included the lessons he had formulated in his 1912 ski handbook, bolstering the efforts of Lauri “Tahko” Pihkala to establish biathlon-style competitions among the Finnish Home Guard during the 1920s. In this period of turmoil between the world wars, similar ski training was taking place in Norway, Sweden, and the Baltics (Hautamäki, 1975; Frank, 2013; Mainla, 2017; Frank and Allen, 2019; Stegen, 2019; Kanerva, 2021). Outside Scandinavia and Finland, Military Patrol, the pre-cursor to modern biathlon, had become a feature of international competition at the beginning of the twentieth century.

Military Patrol

Four skiers in military uniform skiing together, three with rifles slung across their backs.

Switzerland’s Military Patrol team, gold medalists at the Chamonix Games on 29 January 1924 (left to right): Denis Vaucher, Alfred Aufdenblatten, Anton Julen, Alfons Julen. The 30-kilometer course was a continuous loop from the stadium in Chamonix (1037m) through Argentière to Charamillon (1810m) and back: the shooting range was located near Les Chosalets at around the 20-kilometer mark. This was the first Olympic military patrol race and the only one designated as a medal event. Source: Courtesy International Biathlon Union www.biathlonworld.com

 

Perhaps even more so than modern pentathlon, military patrol encapsulated the amalgamation of nationalism, sport, and militarismat the Olympic Games. Because it was a team event restricted to the armed forces, military patrol provided an obvious method of comparing the level of physical conditioning and military training of each nation’s army within a sporting environment. The sport’s first iteration took place in Germany in 1902 and gained inclusion in Nordiska Spelen in 1922 (Jönsson, 2001; Frank, 2013). Similar in configuration to the original four-man okhotniki teams of the Russian imperial army, military patrol teams consisted of an officer and three enlisted men who skied together on a 25- to 30-kilometer course, often over more challenging terrain than encountered on regular cross-country ski tracks. Although rules varied over the years, for the most part enlisted men, dressed in military kit, carried rifles, ammunition, and rucksacks with a total combined weight of 24 kilograms; the officer was either unarmed or carried a pistol; three competitors shot in the range with an option that the officer could substitute for one of the enlisted men; a penalty accrued for each shot missed on the firing line; and the final time registered when the last team member crossed the finish line. Military patrol was a medal event at the Chamonix Games of 1924 (Figure 9), then an Olympic demonstration sport in St. Moritz in 1928 and 1948 (Figure 10) as well as in Garmisch-Partenkirchen in 1936; the event was discontinued after 1948 because of strong international anti-military sentiments following World War II. (Jönsson, 2001; Frank, 2013; Stegen, 2019).

A range official crouches in the foreground as three skiers shoot from the prone position; an officer competing in the race observes on the left.

On the shooting range at the last Olympic Military Patrol race in St. Moritz, SUI, 8 February 1948. Competitors are firing at three balloons over a distance of 150 meters. Source: Courtesy International Biathlon Union www.biathlonworld.com

 

Winter War

The Winter War was the single-most important event leading to development of biathlon during the Cold War era. All of the hostilities in Kareliafrom 1918 to 1939 came to a head when Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union signed a non-aggression pact in August 1939 that included a secret agreement establishing mutual spheres of influence in eastern Europe. This prompted both nations to invade Poland from opposite directions in September and demarcate a new borderline separating Germany from Russia. Joseph Stalin and his government subsequently strong-armed Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia into pacts allowing the Soviet Union to establish military bases fronting the Baltic Sea and Gulf of Finland. Turning their sights on Finland for a similar agreement, Soviet ministers experienced stubborn intransigence from their Finnish counterparts throughout protracted negotiations. 

On 30 November 1939, the massed forces of the Soviet Union rolled across the Finnish border expecting to burst through Finland’s defensive Mannerheim Line and reach Helsinki within a matter of weeks. Finland’s asymmetrical guerrilla tactics over the course of three months thwarted these plans: and Finnish soldiers draped in white camouflage captured the imagination of the world while showcasing their adept use of skiing as a means of lethal warfare (Chew, 1971; Trotter, 1991; Frank, 2013; Kotkin, 2017). In a manner harking back to okhotniki teams of the Russo-Japanese War, small Finnish ski detachments used mobile guerrilla stratagems to decimate the Soviet flanks and rearat Suomussalmi, the most famous battle of the Winter War. It is worth noting that a Scandinavian volunteer infantry corps fought against the Soviet Union alongside Finland up to the war’s conclusion and beyond. Thus, Russia, Finland, Norway, and Sweden—the four main proponents of post-war biathlon—were simultaneously on the ground in  Kareliathat winter. 

In its aftermath, the Winter War sparked military ski training all around the world. Conventional wisdom at the end of World War I held that mountain warfare would be inevitable in future land battles; many nations continued to train mountain troops in the technical details of mountaineering just as they had prior to the war, most notably in the alpine regions of Austria, Germany, France, and Italy. The Winter War brought about a different perspective on this type of training with greater emphasis placed on ski combat. From Germany to Japan; from the United States to France, New Zealand, and Great Britain; from Denmark to Switzerland: belligerents as well as neutral nations established military ski training programs inspired by Finland (Frank, 2013; Frank, 2022).

Although the Soviet Union eventually prevailed in March 1940, Finland’s stout resistance to the Soviet mechanized onslaught proved a humiliation to the vaunted Red Army, prompting a re-assessment that spring of winter combat readiness by the Soviet general command (Glantz, 1998; Frank, 2013). Based on the debacle in Finland, many agreed that preparing skiers for the army was a priority; and in October 1940, mobilization efforts began in earnest. Newspapers promoted skiing throughout the winter of 1940-1941 urging readers “na lyzhi [to skis]!” just as Trotsky had urged potential communist cavalrymen “to horse!” during the Civil War. During the winter of 1941, Komsomol, in conjunction with the armed forces, arranged a nation-wide series of cross-country ski races for soldiers and citizens alike, all with a military bent. Within one year of subduing Finland, the Soviet government elevated skiing from a winter pastime into a primary building block of socialism integral to national defense (Frank, 2009; Frank, 2013).

Operation Barbarossa

The largest invasion of its kind, Operation Barbarossa involved blitzkrieg-style warfare in an attack against the Soviet Union along a 2,900-kilometer front in June 1941. A massive onslaught of personnel and ordnance divided into three areas of advance mirrored the Soviet Union’s own 1939 invasion of Finland although on a much broader scale. Even though the German army replaced horses with tanks, airplanes, and armored personnel carriers, cavalry tactics remained relevant: outflank the enemy to attack from the rear. The Russians retreated as rapid encirclements of the Red Army eliminated nearly half of the Soviet Union’s troops. Expecting to reach Moscow easily, the German army halted just 40 kilometers from the city’s outskirts as autumn turned to winter. The Soviet Union mounted a winter counter-offensive in December that expanded from the outskirts of Moscow into a front stretching from Leningrad to Crimea. During this campaign, the lessons of winter warfare dearly acquired in Finland bolstered the maneuvers of the Red Armyacross the vast spaces of the Russian steppe (Frank, 2013).

Red Army ski battalions were especially effective in the initial counter-offensive to Operation Barbarossa. Soviet ski detachments, just like their okhotniki predecessors, employed tried-and-true cavalry tactics in the form of swift raids across battlelines to attack the rear of harassed German troops mired in severe Russian weather throughout a vast theater of war. An early deployment that gained renown in January 1942 involved the demise of a small detachment of  twenty-seven ski troopers who made a nighttime cross-country trek to battle over 400 Germans and four tanks at the battle of Khludnevo. One of the deadliest and hardest-fought campaigns stretched from December 1941 to March 1942 along the German supply route south of Smolensk. Marauding ski divisions, partisans, and Soviet paratroopers sought to cut supplies to the German Fourth Army on the outskirts of Moscow: by mid-winter, the Russians were successfully overwhelming German defensive attempts in temperatures that had plummeted to a range between -35 and -45 °C until the spring thaw in March turned the region into a corpse-strewn bog. Reports from this region as well as others across the frontlines throughout the war made wintertime news all around the world with images of Soviet skiers in action featured in newspapers and flickering in movies and newsreels. (Pospelov, 1960; Frank, 2013; Smirnov, 2016). Throughout the war, the Red Army continued to integrate horse-mounted troops with tank divisions; but during the winter, ski troops replaced the cavalry. As the war progressed, skiers rather than cavalrymen came to represent the military strength of the Soviet Union on a par with tanks, artillery, and airplanes, a notion still prevalent in twenty-first-century Russia (Frank, 2013).

Continuation War

Two German soldiers in white camouflage hold at gunpoint a Russian prisoner with arms above his head; two bodies lie in the snow; a pair of skis extends into the foreground from outside the picture’s edge.

 “. . . der letzte wird durchsucht [The last one is searched].” One of thirty-eight pencil illustrations by Kurt Kranz from Winteralltag im Urwald Lapplands [Daily Winter Life in Lapland’s Forest]. This 1944 propaganda collection was published in Berlin but printed in Porvoo, FIN (where the artist was serving with the army) for distribution in Germany. Kranz’s sketch shows German mountain troops in the act of capturing a Russian along the Soviet-Finnish border late in World War II. The prisoner wears a greatcoat and the budenovka headgear closely associated with the Red Army from the Russian Civil War through the Winter War but less frequently in use at the time of this fictional vignette. Source: E. John B. Allen Collection

Because of virulent anti-Soviet sentiment after the Winter War, and wedged between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, Finland agreed to allow German troops to operate on Finnish soil after its defeat. As Operation Barbarossa unfolded in June 1941, the Soviet Union labeled Finland a German ally which brought about repeated bombing of Helsinki and a declaration of war on the part of Finland. Finnish troops along with some Swedish and Estonian volunteers crossed back over the border into Karelia, eventually reaching the outskirts of Leningrad and Murmansk. The resumption of war lasted from 1941 to 1944 and engendered further hostilities between the two countries (Figure 11). To be sure, this final iteration of the Soviet-Finnish Wars lacked the clear-cut moral divide of the previous conflict in 1939-1940. The subsequent peace settlement between Finland and the Soviet Union led to a Cold Warstalemate known as Finlandization that generated a wary truce, a sense of unease in the rest of Scandinavia, and athletic rivalries all across the region, reflecting the ideological divide that separated east from west during the Cold War era.

Cold War

From the Bolshevik Revolution to the end of World War II, the Soviet Union refused to take part in nearly all international athletic events. The Soviet government considered these competitions elitist and bourgeois, preferring to establish a sports system based on cooperative physical culture. Post-war, the Soviet Union rivaled the United States as one of the world’s two superpowers, prompting a radical change of perspective. Now the two nations were battling for supremacy in politics and society, pitting communism against market capitalism. In this new era, international sports became a surrogate battlefield (Guttmann, 1988; Coates, 2017; Parks, 2017).

In the immediate post-war years, the Soviet Union continually promoted physical fitness programs around the nation with special emphasis on activities that had explicit military application as viewed through the filter of recent war experiences: cross-country skiing and target shooting were among the principal disciplines. Skiing especially evolved as an all-encompassing Soviet metaphor as teams from Russia began to attend international cross-country ski races, ideal platforms for celebrating the victory over Nazi Germany (in self-referential Soviet terminology, The Great Patriotic War) as well as demonstrating national strength and the superiority of communism. A ski event with shooting would elevate these notions to another level altogether (Frank, 2013).

After a war-induced twelve-year hiatus, IOC awarded the 1948 Winter Olympics to neutral Switzerland. Exhausted by World War II, the organizers banned Germany and Japan; the Soviet Union sent observers rather than participants. Military Patrol was a demonstration sport along with winter pentathlon, a five-event contest open to civilians and modeled on modern pentathlon, with Nordic and alpine skiing replacing swimming and running. The Union Internationale de Pentahlon Moderne (UIPM) established in 1948 to promote and administer both the winter and summer versions of pentathlon, was unable to keep both: because of its complexity, winter pentathlon was discontinued along with military patrol for the 1952 Winter Olympics. However, enthusiasm at IOC for some form of multi-event winter competition remained.

In the mid-to-late 1940s, Swedish defense forces had developed field shooting with a format resembling military patrol but open to all athletes competing individually: with Sweden’s input, the International Military Council devised a 20-kilometer individual time-trial event in 1948.  UIPM accepted responsibility for developing this new event in 1953 and, three years later, put forth official rules of competition subsequently adopted all across Scandinavia and in the armed forces of the Soviet Union: in 1956, Norway and Finland sent teams to Sweden to compete, while the Red Armyscheduled its own intramural series. UIPMofficially assumed oversight of biathlon in 1957 and proposed to IOC that biathlon should gain a spot at a future Winter Olympics. IOC agreed; and, since bobsled had been cancelled for the next Olympics, allowed substitution of biathlon at the 1960 Winter Games. Continuation on the Olympic card would be contingent on observation, experiences, and feedback from this one-off event. (Hautamäki, 1975; Niinimaa, 1998; Heck, 2011; Frank, 2013; Stegen, 2019). 

Old Program

As a lead-up to the 1960 Olympics, UIPM organized two Biathlon World Championships in Saalfelden, AUS in 1958and Courmayeur, ITA in 1959. For these events, and all subsequent individual 20-kilometer biathlon races through the 1965 Biathlon World Championships in Elverum, NOR, competitors followed a format now known as Old Program. Biathletes left the start-finish area in staggered starts of one- or two-minute intervals and skied a single continuous loop, stopping to fire large-bore, open sight rifles at four separate shooting ranges along the way. Skiers took five shots prone at each of three ranges over distances of 250, 200, and 150 meters, and then five shots from standing position at the fourth and final 100-meter range, for a total of twenty shots. Cardboard or paper targets measured 30, 25, 20, and 30 centimeters in diameter respectively. Every shot missed added a two-minute penalty to the ski time for each individual. (Hautamäki, 1975; Frank, 2013). 

Compared to biathlon racing as it has evolved in the twenty-first century, Old Program provided a more equitable balance between shooting and skiing. The two-minute penalty placed a premium on marksmanship as a counter to sheer speed on the ski track. Biathletes had to contend with multiple variables at four separate ranges of varying lengths: at the first Biathlon World Championship and at subsequent early races in the 1960s at subsequent early races in the 1960s, competitors sometimes were even forbidden from practicing at the ranges: they were given a sketch of the ski-course and range locations only forty-eight hours before the start of the race. Shooting high-recoil rifles at paper targets on rudimentary and unstable firing lines, biathletes had to have confidence in their own abilities: they did not know their degree of accuracy until after the race, when targets were removed, gathered together from all four ranges, and scored by a panel of judges. 

However, Old Program had significant disadvantages. It required a huge amount of space to set up the entire 20-kilometer loop and then staff the start-finish area and each shooting range. Compiling the shooting scores and adjusting the overall times of every competitor became a logistical nightmare. The most significant drawback was that spectators could not view the race in a coherent way: assessing the staggered starts in real-time was confusing; action at each of the separate ranges was far removed from the start-finish area; and waiting for results as judges tallied scores could take hours. Just as problematic was the biathlon team event, a medal-winning opportunity included at each Biathlon World Championship (excluding the Olympics) from 1958 through 1965, determined by combining individual times of a nation’s four-man team (Figure 12). Ideologically, this was a significant factor during the Cold War indicating the strength and depth of each nation’s squad, but, as an event, devoid of any possibility for spectator viewing (Frank, 2013).

Three four-man teams stand at attention on a medal podium while saluting in military boots, overcoats, berets, and peaked caps.

Team competition podium at the first Biathlon World Championships in Saalfelden, AUS in 1958 on 9 February: 1) Sweden; 2) Soviet Union; 3) Norway. This photograph illustrates how aspects of Military Patrol carried over into the new sport of biathlon. Competitors from the armed forces filled the ranks of biathlon until the switch from large-caliber rifles to .22 rimfire rifles in 1977, making the sport more accessible to civilians. Team competition continued at biathlon world championships through 1965, after which it was replaced by the 4 x 7.5-kilometer relay. In the twenty-first century, four variations on the relay format are part of the World Cup and Olympic biathlon schedules. Courtesy International Biathlon Union www.biathlonworld.com

IOC found these details concerning and, even before the first Olympic race took place in 1960, cut biathlon from the 1964 Games on the pretense of being too militaristic. At the next IOC Congress, held prior to the Summer Games in Rome, the Soviet Union made an unsuccessful bid to re-introduce biathlon as an Olympic event. At the next meeting in 1961, UIPMpleaded for reinstatement: IOC relented, but only if converted to some type of winter pentathlon to make it more spectator-friendly. To satisfy this demand yet retain the essence of biathlon, UIPMdevised a new format to replace Old Program after the 1964 Innsbruck Games, only the second yet final Olympic Old Program contest. The very last Old Program race took place at the Sixth Biathlon World Championship in Elverum, NOR in 1965, the sport having survived yet another vote taken to discontinue it at the IOC Congress at Innsbruck the year prior. In an attempt at self-preservation, UIPM held a test run of a new event in Elverum, the 4 x 7.5-kilometer relay which initiated changes in biathlon that had profound impact on the future viability of the sport (Frank, 2013; Stegen, 2019).

New Era

At the 1965 World Biathlon Championship in Elverum, instead of four separate shooting areas, the four different-length ranges of the Old Program 20-kilometer individual time-trial were laid out side-by-side with three prone and one standing stage: starting in 1966, the different lengths were consolidated into a single 150-meter range with two bouts of prone alternating with two standing, inside a stadium with the start-finish area nearby; and rather than a single 20-kilometer loop, smaller 3- to 5-kilometer loops connected the ski course to the stadium and shooting range: this allowed spectators to follow a biathlon race from a single vantage point. A new scoring system allowed either a one- or two-minute penalty to accrue for different distances from the center of the target. Reducing the penalty for a “pretty close” shot by a minute made the race more competitive and exciting, even though the 20-kilometer staggered starts and delayed final results from analyzing paper targets still dampened spectator enthusiasm. However, the relay format introduced at Elverum revolutionized the relationship of biathlon spectators to the sport. This new event, essentially Military Patrol in a different guise, gained immediate relevance with the often-partisan crowds on either side of the Iron Curtain at the height of the Cold War (Frank, 2013).

In the relay, each team fielded four members who skied a 7.5-kilometer course in succession with two shooting bouts at 150 meters, one prone and one standing. Each biathlete shot at five targets at both bouts; the targets were hung in a frame with cutouts the size of the regular paper targets, behind which were balloons (in subsequent years replaced by glass discs) that would burst (or shatter) when hit. For each unbroken balloon (or disc), the competitor had to ski a 200-meter penalty loop (later reduced to 150 meters) before returning to the course. Competitors could fire at the five targets at each stage with eight (originally ten) bullets (five loaded into a magazine cartridge plus five, later three, loose). Rather than staggered departures from the start-finish area, the relay featured a mass start with racers skiing and shooting head-to-head, the winner of the contest determined by the first team across the finish line. This proved to be a successful formula for attracting huge crowds, replacing the moribund team event of world championships prior to 1966 with an exciting new spectacle. 

Success in the relay depended on speed: fast on the track and fast on the range. This was a far different sport than the 20-kilometer individual time-trial which placed a premium on the mental control necessary for maintaining a proper pace and having confidence in the ability to place shots onto a paper target. The relay was more visceral: each stage was a flat-out sprint from start to finish over a short 7.5-kilometer course against other racers, with immediate feedback from the bank of breakable targets at each shooting bout. This breakable-target-style short race was so popular that a 10-kilometer individual time-trial based on the relay format was introduced at the 1974 Biathlon World Championships in Minsk. 

Another concerted effort to eliminate biathlon occurred during IOC deliberations at the 1972 Sapporo Winter Games by limiting the number of teams allowed to participate at the following Olympics in Innsbruck. To counteract these measures, UIPMB (the “B” for biathlon added io UIPMin 1968) eliminated large-bore rifles in favor of .22 small-caliber, rim-fire rifles for use on a 50-meter range with proportionally smaller targets, for implementation after the 1976 Winter Olympics. This switch to more accessible rifles and ammunition proved to be the sport’s saving grace because it broadened the world-wide pool of potential biathletes and opened opportunities for women by the late 1970s. The 10-kilometer sprint became an official Olympic event at the Lake Placid Games in 1980 with knockdown (or silhouette-style) targets replacing breakable glass discs in both the sprint and relay. The following year, this type of target replaced paper in the 20-kilometer race and the two-minute penalty was reduced to one minute, making the 20-kilometer individual time-trial more competitive (Frank, 2013; Stegen, 2019). By this point, biathlon—a recurring theme in books, cinema, and magazines behind the Iron Curtain for decades—began to seep into popular culture in the west: an East German biathlete/assassin becomes the main antagonist during the ski chase sequence in the 1981 James Bond film, For Your Eyes Only.

Biathlon’s administrators began to reconfigure their sport with an eye toward the future. In 1984, women competed in the first Biathlon World Championships with women’s individual, sprint, and relay events introduced at the 1992 Olympics. UIPMB stole the march on the International Ski Federation in 1986 by officially allowing biathletes to use a new technique that mimicked speedskating rather than traditional striding in tracks for all events. By the turn of the century, the International Biathlon Union, the new governing body for biathlon as of 1993, introduced pursuit and mass start races at World Championships in 1997 and the Olympics of 1998 and 2002, setting biathlon on the path to becoming one of Europe’s most popular winter spectator sports.

German biathlete Laura Dahlmeier shoots her rifle at a bank of targets from the standing position in Kontiolahti, FIN prior to a world cup race in March 2017.

Laura Dahlmeier of Germany zeros her rifle from the standing position prior to a 2017 World Cup race in Kontiolahti, FIN. Dahlmeier (1993-2025) was a bronze and double gold medalist in biathlon at the 2018 Winter Olympics. After retiring from competition in 2019, she took up climbing and high-altitude mountaineering. In 2025, Dahlmeier lost her life in the Pakistan Himalaya at the age of 31. From the 1950s through the early 1980s, official world championships in biathlon were restricted to men only; but during that time, women were participating in biathlon competitions in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union with a smattering of involvement in Scandinavia and North America. In 1970, the German Democratic Republic, Bulgaria, Poland, Czechoslovakia, and the Soviet Union held the first international women’s biathlon competitions known as Za druzhbu i bratstvo [For Friendship and Brotherhood]. The first Biathlon World Championships for women took place in in Chamonix, FRA in 1984. IOC finally included three women’s biathlon events at the 1992 Olympics in Albertville, FRA. Source: William D. Frank photographs

 

Television and Spectator Sport

Television has played a significant role in boosting biathlon’s profile due to increased interest worldwide in all aspects of the Olympics. The first broadcast of the Winter Games from Cortina in 1956 featured easily-filmed events like figure skating, ice hockey, and ski jumping. As Olympic viewership grew, money from sponsors flowed to events like alpine skiing and bobsled that were flashy, fast, and simple to follow. Less-telegenic events such as cross-country and biathlon had to reconfigure their sports to attract similar audiences. The addition of pursuit and mass start biathlon was a particularly brilliant move on the part of IBU.

In mass start, skiers leave the starting line together to fire two bouts prone, then two standing, with a penalty lap for each miss at the range, a psychologically-demanding scenario. Pursuit incorporates the Gundersen start method from the two-day Nordic Combined: results from a 10-kilometer sprint time-trial on one day determine the pursuit start order on the next. The winning skier from the previous 10-kilometer race starts first followed by competitors according to their order and time-gap behind, with a penalty lap for each miss at the range over four shooting stages. In both mass start and pursuit, the first skier across the finish line is the winner. 

These events along with new relay formats are ideal subjects for live television. Viewing mass start and pursuit with the aid of technical advancements in cameras, electronic scoring, split-screen formatting, and knowledgeable color commentary makes it easy to follow the racers with exciting action on the shooting range thrown into the mix: a disaster on the firing line can dash the hopes of the race leader in a heartbeat. Biathlon’s on-line streaming services have mushroomed viewership figures in the twenty-first century, outpacing nearly all other winter sports: for the 2021-2022 Biathlon World Cup season, European television broadcast 608 hours; by 2023-2024, the number of hours had increased to 2,332 (Frank, 2013; Morton, 2018; Stegen, 2019; IBU, 2025; Herz and Kershaw, 2025; Niinimaa, forthcoming).

Team Sport, Nationalism, and NATO

From its inception, nationalism has been woven into the very fabric of the Olympics as well as world championship competitions (Coates, 2017). Although nations certainly celebrate individual medals, the team events have held particular importance as a method of gauging national fitness and preparedness as well as the depth of a nation’s program throughout the Cold War and into the post-Cold-War era. The biathlon relay has been a prime example of this notion. From 1966 through the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Soviet Union won every gold medal in the biathlon relay over six consecutive Olympics, and eighteen out of a possible twenty-eight at the world championships. This event evinced an extraordinary relationship to Soviet national self-perception, as the mythology of Operation Barbarossa and the Great Patriotic War displaced that of the Russian Civil War and its iconic connection to cavalry. The joint memory of World War II and 27 million Soviet casualties outlasted the Soviet Union (Weiner, 2001) and remains a potent force in a revanchist Russian Federation. 

Similarly, a reciprocal notion applies to Finland and the Scandinavian countries as a reflection of their shared experience fending off the Soviet Union during the Winter War and Continuation War, then maintaining a defensive posture in the decades following World War II. From the very first biathlon competitions in the 1950s, the idea that Scandinavian countries bordering the Soviet Union employed biathlon as a surrogate display of national defense has been a hallmark of international racing (Frank, 2013). This concept, still viable in the twenty-first century, underscored the decision by both Sweden and Finland to join NATO in 2023 after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Memories of the Winter War among modern-day okhotniki infuse defensive training throughout NATO’s new northern expanse. 

It is worth noting that just weeks prior to Vladimir Putin’s seizure of Crimea in 2014, Russia won the men’s biathlon relay at the Sochi Olympics after a hiatus of over two decades, a major anti-Western propaganda coup for Putin and the Russian regime. However, the extent to which Russia had engaged in corruption and clandestine cheating for years leading up to and during Sochi came to light in 2016: the scandal engulfed biathlon in 2021 following a two-year investigation into illicit ties between Russia and IBU’s longtime Norwegian president, Anders Besseberg. In 2025, IBUstripped Russia of its first-place relay finish at Sochi after the Biathlon Integrity Unit, the Court of Arbitration for Sport, and the Swiss Federal Tribunal all judged relay team member Evgenii Ustiugov guilty of anti-doping rule violations after a years-long appeals process. At the 2026 Cortina Olympics, IOC redistributed biathlon medals awarded at the 2010 Vancouver and 2014 Sochi Winter Games based on these investigations.

Eighty years prior to this final judgement in the Ustiugov case, George Orwell wrote: “Serious sport . . . is war without the shooting.” Orwell’s phrase is still apt, even in a sport like biathlon where, quite to the contrary, the contest has always included both.

Bibliography

Allen, E. John B. (2007). The culture and sport of skiing: from antiquity to World War II. University of Massachusetts Press.

 

Allen, E. John B. (1993). From Skisport to Skiing: One Hundred Years of an American Sport, 1840-1940. University of Massachusetts Press.

 

Allen, E. John B. and Frank, William D. (2020). “The Russo-Japanese War 1905: Crisis Year for Military Skiing.” Urheilun kriisejä: Suomen urheiluhistoriallisen seuran vuosikirja 2019-2020, 39-56. Jyväskylän Yliopistopaino.

https://www.suhs.fi/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Allen-E.-John-B.-Frank-William-D.-The-Russo-Japanese-War-1905-Crisis-Year-for-Military-Skiing-SUHS-vsk-2019-2020.pdf.

 

Chew, Allen F. (1971). The White Death: The Epic of the Soviet-Finnish Winter War. Michigan State University Press.

 

Coates, Dennis C. (2017). “Weaponization of Sports: The Battle for World Influence through Sporting Success.” The Independent Review 22(2), 215-221.

 

Committee of Imperial Defense (1912). Official History (Naval and Military) of The Russo-Japanese War (2). HM Stationary Office.

 

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Danilov, Vladimir N. and Polzikov, V. (1896). Uchebnik dlia soldata-okhotnika. Tipografiia Trenke i Fiusno.

 

Frank, William D. (2009). “Cold Bullets, Hot Borders: The Shooting War that Russia Won.” Skiing Heritage: Journal of the International Skiing History Association 21 (2), 36-41.

 

Frank, William D. (2013). Everyone to Skis! Skiing in Russia and the Rise of Soviet Biathlon.Northern Illinois University Press.

 

Frank, William D. (2011). “’Proletarii, na konia!’ Bolshevism, Cavalry and the Sport of Skiing.” Winter Sport and Outdoor Life. Norsk Skieventyr, 275-283.

 

Frank, William D. (2017). “Mud in the Tracks and Soviet Wax: Nikolai Vasil’ev at Russia’s First International Ski Race, 1913.” Journal of Sport History 44(3), 421-437.

 

Frank, William D. and Allen, E. John B. (2019). Skis in the Art of War K.B.E.E. Eimeleus. Cornell University Press.

 

Frank, William D. (2022). “Skiing and Mountaineering.” Let’s Take the Sporting Route: Mountaineering in Central Washington 1949-1970. Yakima Valley Museum, 85-90.

 

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Girs, P. D. (1906). Konno-Okhotnich’i Komandy v Russko-Iapanskuiu voiny. V. K. Shneur.

 

Glantz, David M. (1998). Stumbling Colossus: The Red Army on the Eve of World War. University of Kansas Press.

 

Goksøyr, Matti (2002). “Skis as National Symbols, Ski Tracks as Historical Traits: The Case of Norway.” 2002 International Ski History Congress: Selected Papers From the Seminars Held in Park City, Utah, January 20-24, 2002 International Ski History Association, 197-203.

 

Gripenberg, O. (1910). Iznanka “operatsii okhvata levago flanga raspolozheniia armii Oku” v Ianvare 1905 g. Tipografiia Bezobrazova.

 

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Heck, Sandra (2011). “‘A Superfluous Appearance’? The Olympic Winter Pentathlon 1948.” Winter Sport and Outdoor Life. Norsk Skieventyr, 184-192.

 

Herz, Nathaniel and Kershaw, Devon (2025). “The Devon Kershaw Show: Carrots and yellow cards and biathlete trash-talking.” 

https://fasterskier.com/2025/03/the-devon-kershaw-show-carrots-and-yellow-cards-and-biathlete-trash-talking/

 

Holm, Tor (1965). En hærordningsforandring, offentlig premiering av skiløping, og opprinnelsen til den moderne skisport for 200 år siden. Hærmuseet Akershus.

 

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Jönnson, Åke (2001). Nordiska Spelen: Historien om sju vinterspel i Stockholm av olympiskt format 1901 till 1926. Bokförlaget Arena.

 

Kanerva, Jari (2021). “Kadonneen hiihto-oppaan jäljillä.” Liikuntatieteellinen Seura https://www.lts.fi/liikunta-tiede/artikkelit/kadonneen-hiihto-oppaan-jaljilla.html

 

Koda, Yoji (2005). “The Russo-Japanese War: Primary Causes of Japanese Success.” Naval War College Review 58(2), 10-44.

 

Komets, Konstantin (1904). Lyzhnyi i lyzhno-parusnyi sport. [self-published].

 

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Krüger, Arnd (1995). “‘Buying Victories is Positively Degrading’: European Origins of Government Pursuit of National Prestige Through Sport.” The International Journal of the History of Sport 12(2), 183-200.

 

Mainla, Enn (2017). “The Estonians as Apprentices at the World Championships in Lahti 1938.” The Many Faces of Snow Sports: Ski Congress 2017. Jyväskylä University Press, 241-253.

 

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This ad comprised the back cover of the American Ski Annual 1938. Norwegian immigrant Oscar Hambro opened his Boston shop in 1928 by importing a boatload of Scandinavian gear. In 1957, ski instructor Newt Tolman wrote in the Atlantic that Hambro “touched off a social revolution in New England equal to the shake-up Admiral Perry gave to old Japan. In no time every New Hampshire hayfield was a potential ski school. The Era of Glamor had dawned. Dodging debutantes was the only serious hazard of the ‘ski pro.’ It remains a sociological mystery why so many girls so suddenly wanted to propose marriage, or at least propose, to any male eking out a living on skis.” 

Coming Up In Future Issues

  • Ski Pioneers: Dorothy McClung Wullich, the first female member of the National Ski Patrol.
  • Unmasked: Jeff Blumenfeld looks behind the history of the much-maligned ski mask.
  • The Evolution of Adaptive Skiing: Jay Cowan explores the rich history of aided skiing.
  • Fast Women: Edie Thys Morgan catches up with the “Olympic Ladies” at the star racers’ annual reunion.

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Authors and producers to be honored March 22 in Park City

ISHA’s Awards Committee has announced the winners of the 2023 ISHA Awards, honoring the best works of history published or produced during this past year.

The awards will be presented during a banquet in Park City, Utah, on March 22. Watch for reviews of the winning books and films in the Media Reviews section of this magazine.
 

Ullr Awards

• Around the World in 50 Slopes, by Patrick Thorne

• Georges Blanchon: Cet homme protée libre et généreux, by Daniel Sage

• Winterdanse: The Misplaced Art of Snow Ballet, by Michael Russell

• Une Histoire des skis Dynamic: Skis de Légende adoptés par des coureurs exceptionnels, by Jean Michal

Baldur Awards

• Junior Bounous and the Joys of Skiing, by Ayja Bounous

• Disneyland on the Mountain: Walt, the Environmentalists, and the Ski Resort That Never Was, by Greg Glasgow & Kathryn Mayer

Skade Awards

• From Ranch to Resort: The History of Sierra at Tahoe, by Christopher C. Couper

• Eldora: Six Decades of Adventure, by Rett Ertl and Andy Bigford

• Skiing off the Roof, by Rick Walkom

Film Awards

• Full Circle: A Story of Post Traumatic Growth 
Trevor Kennison, Barry Corbet, Josh Berman and Trish Sullivan-Rothberg

• Buried: The 1982 Alpine Meadows
Avalanche Jared Drake, Steven Siig (directors and producers); Evan Hayes, Mark Gogolewski, Shannon
Houchins, David Hillman and Michael Sugar (executive producers)

• Alf Engen: Snapshots of a Sports Icon
Alan and Barbara Engen (producers)

Cyber Award

• Perisherhistory.org/au, Perisher Historical Society

Honorable Mentions

• Baldur: Without Restraint, by Robert C. DeLena and Ryan C. DeLena

• Skade: Skiing in Colorado, by Colorado Snowsports Museum and Hall of Fame and Dana Mathios

• Film: NGR: The Fabulous Life of Nancy Greene Raine, by Lainey Mullins

• Film: Sierra Nevada Ski and Olympic History: And the Future SNOW Museum, by Eddy Ancinas and Steve
Jensen

Join us in Park City, March 20–23

The International Skiing History Association and the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Hall of Fame will hold our annual joint gathering in Utah. We invite you to join us for four days of skiing with friends and colleagues, on-snow tours, lectures, fashion shows, meet-and-greets and back-to-back evenings of awards honoring the 2023 ISHA Award winners (Friday evening) and Hall of Fame Class of 2023 (Saturday evening).

Schedule of Events 
(subject to change)

Wednesday, March 20

100 Years of Winter Olympics anniversary party, with vintage fashion show beginning 5 p.m., at the Alf Engen Museum

Thursday, March 21

• Group skiing at Sundance Ski Resort

• ISHA John Fry Lecture: Billy Kidd discusses the 1964 Olympics

• Doug Pfeiffer memorial dinner

•Welcome Party

Friday, March 22

• Group skiing at Solitude; free-heel skiing at White Pine Touring with Jan Reynolds

• Women in Industry Award, honoring Judy Gray

• Gorsuch fashion show

• ISHA Awards Reception and Gala Banquet

• Industry party

Saturday, March 23

• USSS Hall of Fame Induction Banquet

• After-burner party

For full event details, ticket packages and discounted lodging at Black Rock Mountain Resort, go to skiinghistory.org/events. Details on discounted lift passes will be sent after you book banquet tickets. 

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Racer, writer, broadcaster, coach.

Photo top: Race face on, Ballard speeds through a Master's race at Mammoth.

Lisa Ballard grew up on skis and skates in Lake Placid, New York. She had the genes for it: Her dad, Phillip Feinberg, was an avid skier, racer and ski club official, and her mom, Phyllis Krinovitz, was a champion figure skater.

Ballard won her first ski race at age six, the Candy Bar Slalom at Mt. Pisgah, N.Y.—so called because the trophy was a candy bar. “That was great motivation for getting into ski racing,” she says. She both skied and skated until age 11, then had to pick one or the other. She picked racing because victory was determined by the clock.

During her sophomore year at Saranac Lake High School, Ballard transferred to Stratton Mountain School. Her fans in Lake Placid anticipated that she would make the 1980 Olympic Team, but Ballard broke her leg in a downhill at Killington, and that was that.

Dartmouth team 1982
Ballard (center) with Dartmouth team, at the 1982 AIAW championships on her home hill, Whiteface, New York.

Instead, she went to Dartmouth. Back then, once you went to college, the U. S. Ski Team doubted your commitment to racing. Today, however, many athletes from college teams go to the World Cup. Ballard credits her Dartmouth teammate Tiger Shaw for making this breakthrough. He graduated to the U.S. Ski Team in 1985 and raced in the ’88 and ’92 Olympics. Ballard believes Shaw’s success created the change whereby college ski racers now have the chance to compete on the world stage.

Ballard graduated in 1983 and took a job at an investment bank on Wall Street. Disillusioned within a year, she was ready when Stratton teammate Kim Reichhelm invited her to a pro race at Okemo. Before heading to Dartmouth, Ballard says, “I knew at the end of college that if I wanted to keep racing, there was always the pro tour. It was very equivalent in the minds of the athletes in terms of racing competition and in some ways a better opportunity because you could win prize money and get direct sponsorships. This was the way to become a professional ski racer because back then, the World Cup, though elite, was still considered amateur.”

Reichhelm talked Ballard into entering the Okemo race, and she qualified for the round of 16, which guaranteed prize money. She had a blast and called her old coach Herman Goellner, saying “Herman, I want to quit my job and ski race again.” He put together a dryland conditioning and on-snow program for her. She quit her desk job and went to Europe to train.

Ballard raced on Jill Wing’s Women’s Pro Ski Racing Tour for six years. In 1989, en route to the pro tour’s world championships at Sierra Summit, California (now China Peak), the airline misrouted her racing skis to Japan, and she was not able to race. Instead, Hugh Arian of Echo Entertainment, the producer of the event’s television coverage, asked her to do guest commentary. She agreed and turned out to be a natural broadcaster.

When Ballard retired from the pro tour after the 1990 season, ready for a change but still wanting to stay involved in skiing, her agent, Fred Sharf, hooked her up with the Travel Channel, which hired her to host a new series, Ski New England. At the same time, ESPN brought her in as a commentator for women’s pro ski racing. This launched Ballard’s full-time career in broadcast television, which would continue over the next two decades.

She became a field producer as well as an on-camera host. During this time, she also did some writing and consulting; one project was helping Ski Industries America (now Snowsports Industries America) with its image work. John Fry brought her in as a fashion editor at Snow Country and as director of the National Skiwear Design Awards. After a year, she became the magazine’s instruction editor.

When shaped skis were introduced in the mid-’90s, Ballard helped the world learn how to carve on them. She joined the design team at Head, helping create its first complete line of women’s shaped skis, then a line of ski boots in which both the shell and the liner were lasted for a woman’s foot. “I named them the ‘Dream’ series because they were my dream ski boots,” she says.

But Ballard wasn’t done racing. In 1991, at age 29, she joined the Masters racing circuit as her first husband, Jason Densmore, was an avid Masters racer at the time. “I’m not much of a spectator, and it looked like a lot of fun,” she explains. However, as a pro, she had to regain her amateur status by petitioning the then-U.S. Ski Association. That year, at the U.S. Alpine Masters National Championships in Vail, Ballard raced downhill and won. She raced GS and won. And then she had the slalom—not her specialty. She remembers this race like it was yesterday. She had a good first run. The second run she almost crashed three times because she was so nervous, but she won and that set the hook for her future. She had a lot of friends who were racing on the circuit. It was fun, and a different type of ski racing.

From her home in Hanover, New Hampshire, Ballard spent 20 years racing on the New England Masters circuit and served on its board of directors. She went to the regional and national championships every year. After her son, Parker Densmore, was born in 1996, she kept racing, bringing him to her races and eventually attending his, too, as a coach for the Ford Sayre Ski Club.

By the mid-2010s, Ballard had won more than a hundred national Masters’ titles and quit counting. After dabbling at the FIS Masters Cup—the World Cup of Masters racing—in 2016, she started racing more frequently on the international Masters circuit and has now garnered eight globes, more than any American, male or female. For the 2023–24 season, she’s the defending super G champion, second in GS and fifth in slalom among all women in all age groups.

Ballard with trophies
Defending super G champ on the international Master's circuit.

Ballard is still involved with U.S. Ski and Snowboard, entering her sixth year as chair of the Masters working group. She calls herself a pied piper, trying to get folks back into ski racing or start ski racing as an adult. She hopes to make people understand that ski racing is a sport you can do your whole life, just like golf, tennis, swimming, track and field or mountain biking. “They all have Masters programs that keep you active and fit,” she says.

In a national survey, one of the barriers to Masters ski racing is the lack of training opportunities. Ballard has hosted women’s ski clinics around the country since 1991, and some 8,500 women have gone through her program. “I knew how to put ski instructional programs together, so why not Masters race camps?” she says. “It filled a need while helping raise money for local junior or Masters programs. She now directs Masters training programs and camps in the Rockies, the Northeast and in South America.

After Ballard met her second husband, the outdoor writer Jack Ballard, she moved to Montana in 2011. The family—Lisa, Jack, Parker and Jack’s kids Micah, Dominic and Zoe—live near Red Lodge Mountain, where Lisa coaches when she’s not travelling to races or hosting clinics elsewhere. “I never planned to be a ski coach, but I love every day on the hill,” she says. “I feel extremely rich in experiences, and to me that is really important. I tell my son, ‘You have to follow your heart and do what you care about most.’ I have met some amazing and wonderful people. I feel very fortunate, and the rest comes easy when you love something.” 

Melinda Moulton wrote about Wini Jones in the July-August issue. In October, Lisa Ballard was elected to the ISHA board of directors.

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By Warren Miller

At a certain point in life, it’s best to reward joy, not athletic achievement. That way, you can never lose. 

Most of us these days refuse to accept the fact that our bodies are aging before our eyes. There was a time in college when I could play basketball for four hours straight and not get tired. I could paddle a hundred-pound redwood surfboard all day or ski summit to base from first chair to last and not take a break. As I look back on my modest athletic career, I realize that the way I measure success has changed as much as I have.

In 1962, after surfing for 25 years, I gave it up and started racing sailboats. I knew that racing my catamaran didn’t require the agility of a teenager. I raced sailboats for 20 years, until I found myself getting beat by people half my age. So I moved on. To windsurfing.

I even moved to Maui for three months out of the year so I could do as much windsurfing as possible before my body wore out. When I was 65, I surfed from Maui to Molokai. About the same time, I came to realize that I would never ride the giant waves at Hookipa. Slowly it came into focus that my pursuit of any particular sport was changing at the same rate that my body was wearing out. I finally gave up windsurfing because it was just too hard on my body.

A while back, I pedaled my mountain bike to the top of Vail Mountain and then coasted down. I didn’t enjoy going up, but I really enjoyed coming down. That was about the same time Vail announced its lifts would haul you and your mountain bike to the top for a few bucks. My wife and I did just that. We coasted from the top to Mid-Vail, where we had a nice lunch and then coasted on down to the village.

In route we passed a lot of sweaty people pedaling up. We also passed the bike patrol administering first aid to a tourist who had hit a tree. We coasted all the way back to our house without turning a pedal. We didn’t set any speed records, but I loved how the wind felt on my face as I careened down the mountain. Were we lazy? Probably. But at my age, I didn’t feel the need to tell my friends how fast I pedaled to the top. The first liar never has a chance in these kinds of conversations.

When it comes to skiing, I have long maintained that moguls on the hill are like heartbeats: You only have so many of them in your knees, and when they’re gone, they’re gone. My knees wore out a long time ago, and since bumps make you turn in specific places, I avoid bumps the way I avoid political discussions.

Yes, I would still like to be able to jump cliffs, but my body won’t do that anymore. Come to think of it, my body never did jump cliffs—I just filmed other people doing that. But because of advances in snow grooming and shorter, wider skis to match my wider body, I can still ski down a hill at a speed that gets my adrenaline going. It remains a thrill like no other.

Is there a moral to this story? No. There is a lesson, however: As you age, recalibrate your values to reward joy, not physical prowess. No one keeps score on what you’re doing except you. Are you the fastest person in the over-50 age group to run up Mt. Baldy in your underwear? Who cares?

As I get older, I measure my athletic achievements by the width of my smile. This won’t give you bragging rights around the dinner table with your grandkids, but it does keep life interesting. Don’t give up on athletics; just reset your standards—and definition of success.

Climbing Mt. Everest is very difficult. A few years ago, a young Norwegian rode his mountain bike from Norway to Nepal, towing all his climbing equipment in a small trailer. Then he climbed Mt. Everest alone. At the summit, he snapped a few pictures, climbed down and pedaled his bike all the way back to Norway.

There is a lesson in this story: No matter what you do, there always will be someone who does it better. So do everything for the fun of it, and never mind keeping score. 

This column was published in the February 2008 issue of SKI magazine. Miller’s autobiography, Freedom Found, My Life Story, was published in 2016. He died in January 2018, at the age of 93.

 

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By E. John B. Allen

Edgar Wittmark's bold, color-blast style hit the sweet spot for mass-entertainment pulp magazines.

This American artist grew up during the period when magazines published thrilling entertainment, including fiction and tales of high-action sports, for an increasingly literate population. Many stories, as this cover shows, were geared to youth. In 1910, 72 percent of American kids attended school. By 1930, all 48 states required students to complete elementary school. The newly educated readers bought these magazines with their bold illustrations and content varying from serious literature and reportage to pulp fiction.

Wittmark, born in New York City in 1895, spent three summers working on a farm in Montana, then served in France during World War I. He later studied at New York’s Art Students League and in 1925 returned to France to enroll in the Académie de la Grande Chaumière in Paris. This school allowed students to experiment rather than follow the academic rules for painting enforced at the more famous École des Beaux-Arts. It was at the Grande Chaumière that he began to develop what critics later called his “retro-futuristic” style that promised “potential reality.”

When Wittmark returned to New York, his bold and colorful action paintings, usually in oil, became staple covers for the well-known American Boy, Collier’s, Outdoor Life, Saturday Evening Post and Scientific American magazines. He also did covers for pulp magazines like Adventure, Frontier Stories and West, probably echoing his farm life in Montana as a young man.

The 1937 cover illustrated here portrays a youthful, healthy, sporting male America getting out of the Depression, the “potential reality” of what was possible. Those with available wealth had a choice of two of the most physical and exciting sports then captivating a steadily recovering United States. 

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By E. John B. Allen

It is unusual to choose a medalist as the subject for this art column. In this case, I’m not talking about an Olympic or World Championship medalist but about an artist who creates medals: Helmut Zobl, the Austrian who designed the 100-schilling coin, illustrated here, in commemoration of the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck.

Zobl was born in Schwarzach im Pongau, about an hour south of Salzburg, in 1941. His art training began in a Kunstgewerbeschule, the arts and crafts school in Steyr. From 1960 to 1965 he studied at the prestigious Akademie der Bildenden Künste—the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna. In 1961, he took a summer course with Oskar Kokoschka, best known for his expressionistic portraits and avant-garde literature.

Zobl worked as an assistant in Ferdinand Welz’s medaling master school, a department of the Academy of Fine Arts. Welz was renowned for his many schilling coins and commemorative medals, and Zobl followed his master.

In 1970, Zobl started freelancing. The following year he joined the Vienna Secession group and about 20 years later he took membership in the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Medaillenkunst, the German Society for Medal Art. In 1976, he designed the 100-schilling coin for the Olympics. At the time, a 120-schilling ticket, for example, would get you up to Axamer Lizum ski area, 10 kilometers out of Innsbruck, to watch the men’s giant slalom.

Besides the lettering around the edge of the coin—XII Olympische Winterspiele 1976 Innsbruck—the face depicts a skier going full speed. The stylized figure is made more powerful by the well-defined “squares,” which give the skier solidity as he powers down the hill. It presages Franz Klammer’s wild ride in the downhill on the Patscherkofel at Igls, when he beat Bernhard Russi by a third of a second to take the gold medal in those 1976 Winter Games. 

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