A labor of love, the new facility could rightfully be called Donzé’s Dream.
New exhibits, in planning since 2017.
Who has ever heard of Le Boéchet? It is a small village located in the Swiss Jura, about six miles (10 kilometers) north of the watch-making capital of La Chaux-de Fonds. During the last five years, the old railroad station’s restaurant has been superbly remodeled to house Musée du Ski, Switzerland’s most important collection of more than 2,500 pairs of skis, 500 pairs of poles, hundreds of boots, waxes and so on.
Photo top: A renovated railway restaurant now houses a massive collection of ski gear and a large library.
In support of those collections are 1,200 books and many other holdings, such as newspapers and postcards. This vast collection is the work and pleasure of Laurent Donzé, who started amassing skis in the 1970s. These he crammed into his old farmhouse, a few kilometers from that decaying railroad restaurant. They were lined up on wall after wall, in every corner and up on the ceiling, as the accompanying photo shows.
Laurent Donzé
The history of the museum began in 2017 when Andrée Guenat, a friend of Donzé’s, bought the station building and told him, “Well, we’ll build you a museum!” Donzé claims, and I believe him, he could not sleep for two days. It took six years, with continued financial support, before the museum opened to the public on September, 30, 2023.
Donzé is a retired chemistry professor who first skied to the village school, continued on in university and remains a passionate cross-country skier, and one of major standing. Although never a member of the Swiss national team, he was notably Swiss university champion, representing his country in two Winter Universiades. He has run in the World Loppet marathons of Vasaloppet, Engadin and, of course, the
Transjuerassienne.
The original farmhouse.
Currently, Donzé is president of the Romandie Ski de Fond, an organization that brings together the more than 40 Nordic ski centers in French-speaking Switzerland.
Donzé has the assistance of Cheyenne Dubois, who brings a background in museology and who understands the many aspects of preservation as well as exposition to the public. Museum revenue comes from annual membership in Friends of the Museum and from daily admission fees (12 Swiss francs).
On entering the museum, at reception, you are immediately immersed in skiing’s prehistory, a reminder that before becoming a sport, skiing was a utilitarian means of transport. Then on the first floor, you'll discover a temporary exhibition entitled Project Podium: Spotlight on Modern Skiing. It explains the diversity of 21st century competition with its 20-odd different disciplines across Nordic, Alpine and snowboarding.
The idea here is to show various aspects of ski culture. On the second floor, there’s a semi-permanent exhibition entitled In the Tracks of Skiing History, which takes a chronological look at the development of Alpine and Nordic skiing from 1900 to the present day. This floor also features a children’s area for younger visitors. For hours and other information, please see the website: www.museeduski.ch.
Special thanks to Laurent Donzé for his help. All photos courtesy Musée du Ski - Le Boéchet.
USSSHOF, Ishpeming, Michigan
U.S. Ski & Snowboard Hall of Fame Awarded 2024 ISHA Museum Grant
The International Skiing History Association is pleased to announce that the recipient of its 2024 Museum Grant is the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame and Museum. The $5,000 grant will be used to create a new exhibit designed to teach schoolchildren about the culture and history of snowsports. The museum is located in Ishpeming, Michigan.
The 2023 $5,000 grant was awarded to the Maine Ski and Snowboard Museum for use in creating an exhibit dedicated to Maine Ski Hall of Fame inductees. The Maine museum is in Carrabassett Valley, Maine.
Opened in 1954, the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Hall of Fame and Museum celebrates its 70th year this season. The hall includes the "Passion to Fly" statue and the Roland Palmedo Memorial Library, one of the largest winter-sports libraries in the United States.
Denver Public Library hosts hundreds of WWII artifacts.
Photo top courtesy History Colorado, Zellers Collection
In the cavernous, climate-controlled archives of the 10th Mountain Division Resource Center at the Denver Public Library (DPL) lie untold numbers of flat file cabinets. My guide opens one of the drawers, and it takes my breath away. Inside is a large Nazi flag —a swastika—the evil black icon over a white circle on a blood-red field. It’s the ancient religious and cultural symbol that was appropriated by the Nazi party. This flag was captured in war-torn Italy in 1945 by members of the 10th Mountain Division, then signed by many of these ski troops.
Flag seized and signed by troopers. Jeff Blumenfeld photo.
The signatures include Eddy Tann, Elliott Tucker Jr, Herbert Eisenstein, Elmer Karr, Arthur Koski, Paul Hatmaker, John Runyon, Thomas F. Coleman and 30 others, all of whom have passed by now. Their names are memorialized by this flag and in the hearts and minds of their descendants.
Just a few steps away, another drawer contains the tattered sketchbook of Arnold C. Holeywell (1923–2010), an artist and mapmaker. The battered book contains a pencil drawing of a simple rock-foundation farmhouse near the village of Iola, Italy. To the left of the sketch, next to a rip in the page, is Holeywell’s simple explanation, almost an apology to future readers for the condition of the notepad: “Shrapnel hit my pack where I had my sketchbook.”
Shrapnel-damaged sketchbook. Jeff Blumenfeld photo.
Holeywell became a prominent contributing illustrator for Field and Stream magazine, where his work appeared on several covers. He also produced a series of watercolors for the Ford Motor Company’s publication Ford Times.
When New York’s Whiteface Mountain ski area was dedicated to the men of the 10th Mountain Division, Holeywell arranged to have a large stone quarried from Mount Belvedere, Italy, to serve as a base for a commemorative plaque installed at Little Whiteface Mountain.
Legendary Ski Troops
The 10th Mountain troops—a full division of the U.S. Army specializing in mountain and winter warfare—fought enemy forces in the Italian campaign of 1945. Dubbed the “ski troops” by the press, the 10th Mountain remains the only military division recruited by a civilian organization, the National Ski Patrol.
In February 1945, the 10th, which had arrived on the front several weeks before, launched Operation Encore, an offensive to take Monte della Riva (“Riva Ridge” to the U.S. Army) and Monte Belvedere. They reached Monte Terminale, above Iola, within a few days.
Then on March 3, 1945, the 10th’s 86th Regiment engaged in a fierce battle for the conquest of Iola. This was achieved after violent house-to-house clashes, according to an historical account by the Municipality of Montese, in the province of Modena, Emilia-Romagna, Italy.
An Astounding Collection
The Nazi flag and Holeywell’s sketchbooks are just two of the thousands of items available to the public at the Denver Public Library since the archive was established at the request of veterans in 1987. At that time, the library partnered with the History Colorado Center and the National Association of the 10th Mountain Division to create the 10th Mountain Division Resource Center. The library houses flat ephemera, while the museum, located nearby, houses three-dimensional artifacts, including uniforms, equipment and even a Studebaker M29 Weasel.
The resource center is the official repository for the records and artifacts related to the 32,247 soldiers who served in the 10th, including my late father-in-law. The astounding collection includes material from the National Archives in Maryland plus hundreds of documents, like Holeywell’s sketchbooks, provided by veterans.
Here, you’ll find field and technical manuals; sketches and watercolors by soldiers; motion picture films, videotapes and audio recordings; meeting minutes, reports and historical notes; newspaper clippings; and even a car tag and visitor pass from Camp Hale near Leadville, Colorado.
There’s a German map case, a Japanese flag captured at Kiska and medals, patches and propaganda leaflets and posters, including one particularly egregious example: a painted wood sign from Camp Hale that depicts the unflattering caricature of a Japanese soldier, holding a knife dripping in blood, under the heading, “Let’s Sink the Yellow Bastard.” (The anti-Japanese photo is available online, accompanied by the disclaimer, “Though racist in nature, it represents a theme seen in propaganda on both sides of the Pacific.”) Another sign from Camp Hale shows an unappealing, pointy-nosed image of Adolph Hitler beneath the heading, “We’ve Got a Date with This Sonofabitch. Let’s Be on Time!”
Searching for My Father-in-Law
I had come looking for records of my father-in-law, Arnold Robert Kirbach. Until his death in 2009 at the age of 95—after years of ski teaching at Vermont’s Pico Peak and Killington—he would regale us around the Thanksgiving table about his time as a skiing and rock-climbing instructor at Camp Hale, and about wrestling with the notorious mules at Camp Swift, near Austin, where the 10th underwent infantry training on the hot Texas prairie.
Keli Schmid. Jeff Blumenfeld photo.
We knew not to get him started about those mules. According to The Boys of Winter, by ISHA board member Charles J. Sanders (University Press of Colorado, 2005), there were 6,000 pack mules, plus dogsled teams and motorized snow-going “weasels” assigned to the 10th.
Keli Schmid, Denver Public Library Special Collections librarian and my host, has a degree in library science from San Jose State University and has been at DPL for eight years. She brings out a legal box crammed with yellow acid-free folders, the personal papers of Charles Minot “Minnie” Dole (1899–1976), best known as the founder of the National Ski Patrol in 1938 and instigator of the American ski troops beginning in 1940.
Within the Dole collection is paperwork showing that my father-in-law was a corporal in Company K of the 86th Infantry. There’s a Western Union telegram confirming he reported for duty on July 13, 1943, to Fort Dix. Never shipped overseas, he remained an instructor until being transferred back to Fort Dix in New Jersey for honorable discharge in December 1944.
Learning more about his military service reinforced for our family what an extraordinary era this was for the Greatest Generation.
The unit’s legacy is not lost on today’s 10th Mountain Division soldiers. New recruits are briefed on the division’s history and participate in a “Powder Keg” patching ceremony to help instill a sense of pride from those who came before, according to a U.S. Army Fort Drum press release dated Jan. 19, 2023. tinyurl.com/TenthPatching)
Sergeant Major Alexis Sprakties of the 10th’s Training and Doctrine Command Band, based in Fort Eustis, Virginia, joined the U.S. Army in 2005 at age 28, inspired by the 9/11 attacks, which occurred about a mile from her New York City home. During a previous stint as first sergeant of the 10th Mountain Division Band in 2020–2022, Sprakties led the remake of the classic 10th song “90 Pounds of Rucksack.” She attended virtual meetings with the descendants of the 10th Mountain Division, whose fathers were part of the WWII–era 10th, and picked their brains on appropriate song selection. The new barbershop quartet–style version includes the updated lyrics, “We’ll climb the mountain like our grandpa used to do.” (tinyurl.com/TenthRemake).
Sprakties adds, “As the 10th Mountain Division prepares to fight in environments similar to those it fought in WWII it must look back and learn from the ‘old climbs’ and channel the strength, grit and humility of the original 10th Mountain Division Soldiers. There is a sense of pride in striving to be ‘Mountain Tough.’”
Editor’s note: In October 2022, President Joseph R. Biden created Camp Hale as the country’s 130th national monument, protecting for future generations a rugged landscape in the heart of the Rocky Mountains where the legendary 10th Mountain Division trained for Alpine warfare. See Skiing History, November-December 2022.
Jeff Blumenfeld, vice president of ISHA and author of Travel with Purpose: A Field Guide to Voluntourism (Rowman & Littlefield), wrote about John Lawton, inventor of the avalanche transceiver, in the September-October 2023 issue.
Guide to Using the Resource Center
10th Mountain archives and ancestry records are open to the public.
The resource center is open to the public inperson, through prior appointment, or anytime online. Start your search at archives.denverlibrary.org.
Visitors also have access to the library’s Ancestry.com account to use while in the Denver facility. It provides images of the U.S. Federal Census from 1790 forward, the American Genealogical Biographical Index, immigration lists and over 9,000 additional databases.
Archivists and historians share information about their 10th Mountain collections and the programs they support in an hour-long webinar created in 2021. Also included is information about the 10th Mountain Division Resource Center at the History Colorado Center. tinyurl.com/TenthMt.
As archivist of the 10th Mountain Division Resource Center, Keli Schmid maintains collections and ensures the preservation of materials. “I process new acquisitions, assist with research requests, and I help descendants and historians fill in the stories of individual soldiers and the time they spent with the division.” The best way to contact Schmid is by email at kschmid@denverlibrary.org.
Propaganda posters were frequently used to motivate troops in World War II. These examples were displayed at the 10th Mountain Division’s training center at Camp Hale, Colorado.
I had come looking for records of my father-in-law, Arnold Robert Kirbach. Until his death in 2009 at the age of 95—after years of ski teaching at Vermont’s Pico Peak and Killington—he would regale us around the Thanksgiving table about his time as a skiing and rock-climbing instructor at Camp Hale.
History of the 10th Mountain Patch
According to the U.S. Army press release issued by Fort Drum (Jan. 19, 2023), the original division soldiers adopted an unofficial patch called the “Pando Commando” while training at Camp Hale. It depicted a panda bear skiing down a slope with a rifle slung over its shoulder. The Institute of Heraldry rejected it for being too cartoonish.
On Nov. 6, 1944, the division was redesignated the 10th Mountain Division. Only then were the soldiers authorized to wear the mountain tab and the now iconic shoulder sleeve insignia. The “powder keg” patch features a base in the shape of a gunpowder keg to highlight the explosive power of the division. The crossed bayonets signify the primary infantry role of the division, as well as the Roman numeral “X,” or 10. The design features the crossed bayonets on a field of blue that resembles a powder keg. (tinyurl.com/TenthPatching)
The U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame has elected eight honorees for induction at a banquet in Park City, Utah, on March 23, 2024. The new class includes:
Ross Anderson A Native American speed skier, Anderson holds the record as the fastest American on skis, hitting a speed of 154.060 mph in 2006 at Les Arcs, France. A native of Durango, Colorado, he grew up as a ski racer and ski jumper, discovering speed skiing in 1994. He won the bronze medal at the 2005 World Championships and is an eight-time national champion. (See the July-August 2023 issue of Skiing History for more about Anderson.)
Shannon Bahrke Known for her pink hair and as the exuberant face of moguls skiing, the Lake Tahoe native won Olympic silver at the 2002 Winter Games, then came back from injuries to win Olympic bronze in 2010. In a 12-year career with the U.S. Ski Team, Bahrke won the 2003 World Cup moguls title, claimed 27 World Cup podiums (including seven victories) and earned six U.S. titles. She competed in three Olympics and was on six World Championship teams.
Jeff Brushie Vermont’s Brushie had one of the most successful contest careers of any American snowboarder. In an era before the X Games, and before snowboarding was an Olympic sport, he was the most successful pro snowboarder of his generation, winning more than 20 major contests, including three world championships. In the 1990s, his crossover appeal to mainstream media on MTV and ESPN was America’s first real look into snowboarding style and culture.
Billy Demong As a Nordic combined athlete and a team leader, Demong won the first Olympic gold medal by an American Nordic skier, inspiring the U.S. Nordic combined team to an unprecedented four medals at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games. He grew up near Lake Placid, inspired by the 1980 Winter Games there. In a career lasting 16 seasons, he won Olympic gold and silver, four World Championship medals (including one gold) and earned 21 World Cup podiums with nine wins.
Hank Kashiwa World Cup skier and Olympian Kashiwa went on to win the 1975 World Pro Skiing Championship, then parlayed his success into a thriving career as a skiing entrepreneur. Together with brother Bucky, he founded Volant, which went on to become the largest American ski manufacturer of its era with its innovative stainless-steel cap models. After the sale of Volant to Atomic, Kashiwa led marketing efforts for Montana’s Yellowstone Club, the world’s first private ski and golf community, which now boasts 875 families in its private membership.
Jake and Dave Moe Skiing was at the height of its boom years in 1971 when the Moe brothers introduced the world to Powder magazine. Under the mantra “Powder to the People,” they offered a new, more independent look at skiing with the photos and words on their pages, literally changing the direction of the sport as skiers were pushed to discover their own independence on the mountain. As publisher and editor, the Moes had a knack for finding the wordsmiths and photographers to tell the story of skiing in a new way.
Les Otten The resort developer had a profound impact on the entire industry as an innovator and visionary. He parlayed a college gig as a ski instructor to eventually own nine ski areas; he built American Ski Company into a publicly traded resort leader. He innovated teaching techniques to make entering the sport easier, focused on the quality of snow making and recognized the benefits of shaped skis early on. Never satisfied with the status quo, his pioneering efforts transformed the industry into what it is today.
Mike Porter In a career that spanned a half century, Porter became one of the world’s most influential ski educators. He served the Professional Ski Instructors of America National Alpine Team as a member and, later, as its longest-tenured head coach, also helping to found the American Teaching System. His work helped bring global recognition to PSIA-AASI, as he oversaw much of the U.S. content presented every four years at Interski. With his in-depth research on ski racing, he was also pivotal in bringing coaches and instructors together.
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Cutting the ribbon at the LSM opening are (from left) political adviser Michel Kieffer, LSM curator Nancy Belhumeur, Municipal Councillor Rosa Borregrine, Olympic medalist and honorary LSM president Lucile Wheeler-Vaughan, Health Minister Sonia Bélanger, St. Sauveur Mayor Jacques Gariépy, LSM General Director Pierre Urquhart and LSM President Guy Thibaudeau. Melon Digital photo.
On June 21, the Laurentian Ski Museum (LSM), now in its 41st year, officially opened its expanded new headquarters at 6 avenue de la Gare, in St-Sauveur, Québec. The well-attended ceremony featured a ribbon-cutting event and the receipt of a large check from the local government.
From left: Sonia Bélanger accepts the check from Guy Thibaudeau, Pierre Urquhart and Nancy Belhumeur.
Formerly a National Bank building, this charming Québecois-style edifice has been happily repurposed as a ski museum and is now leased from the municipality. The collection was carefully transferred from the former museum home in a renovated fire station just a few blocks away.
The museum is open daily all summer, from Sunday to Wednesday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Thursday to Saturday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Winter hours will vary (check the museum’s website, below). If you come as a group, please call ahead to reserve a guided tour. Entry is free.
History of the Museum
The museum’s story began in the 1960s when historian Bernard Brazeau began to indulge his passion for collecting ski artifacts. In 1980, he teamed up with two ski-historian colleagues, Jacques Beauchamp-Forget and Fernand Trottier, and together they created a “research group on skiing in the Laurentians.” The Laurentian Ski Museum became a reality two years later. In 1992, Alice Johannsen merged her Musée Jackrabbit with the LSM. Founded in 1987, her collection recalled and honored the life and work of her father, Herman Smith-Johannsen (1875–1987).
Since its inception, the LSM has held an annual soirée of the Laurentian Ski Hall of Fame, which is part of the museum. The venue most often selected for this event has been the nearby Mont St. Sauveur main ski lodge (the ski area is now known as Sommet St. Sauveur). The list of inductees, some 178 over the past 39 years, includes such skiing luminaries as Émile Cochand, Sr., creator of North America’s first ski resort, Chalet Cochand (1915); Lucile Wheeler-Vaughan, the first North American to win an Olympic medal in the downhill (Cortina d’Ampezzo, 1956) and the honorary hostess of the Hall of Fame for many years; and Linda Crutchfield, five-time Olympic competitor in skiing and luge, ski instructor and Level IV CSIA examiner. More recently, in 2016, the LSM inducted ISHA’s own John Fry and Doug Pfeiffer.
The museum is justly proud of its extensive holdings, which include more than 7,500 artifacts and 20 private archive collections. Prominent among these collections are Jackrabbit’s memorabilia and the mementos of the ski-racing careers of Rhona and Rhoda Wurtele; the LSM also maintains the website of the Répertoire-des-centres-de-ski-du-Québec (Directory of Quebec Ski Sites), by Pierre Dumas, which documents and geo-locates more than 600 ski centers, current and abandoned. The Dumas site received the ISHA Cyber Award in 2017.
Hildner, Jensen, Masia, Nelson and Norton to be inducted August 27 in Vail.
The Colorado Snowsports Hall of Fame will induct Sandy Hildner, Cheryl Jensen, Seth Masia, Hilaree Nelson and John Norton on August 27, at the Ford Amphitheater in Vail.
Sandy Hildner (1944-2019). Before the University of Colorado had a women’s ski team, Sandy trained with the men’s team. She won national championships in slalom and GS, the Roch Cup in 1967, and raced Olympic downhill in 1968. Sandy innovated Lange boots and was one of only two women in the ski hardgoods industry in the 1960s. She was first female coach of the Winter Park Ski Team, embedding world-class skiing techniques and the mental preparation necessary to excel at the highest levels. Sandy led Copper Mountain’s Over the Hill Gang for 20 seasons and was instrumental in offering women’s clinics.
Cheryl Jensen. Cheryl Jensen’s contribution to the snow sports community has been lifesaving. She founded The Vail Veterans Program which introduces veterans to alpine sports both independently and with loved ones. By keeping veterans active from the beginning of their recovery, their mental and physical health is greatly improved, giving them hope and confidence in their future. Many veterans who have experienced Cheryl’s generosity and kindness have made Colorado their home, becoming leaders in their communities and champions in Paralympic sports and life.
Seth Masia. Few Colorado-based ski writers are read and respected as widely as Seth Masia. For five decades, as a colorful writer and influential editor, Masia has educated skiers (and potential skiers) about the sport. He was a key editor and writer for SKI Magazine at the peak of its influence, and pioneered online ski journalism. Since 1994 he has been an independent voice representing Colorado skiing to the world. Today Masia is recognized as a leading historian of snowsports, both for his original research and for his stewardship of Skiing History magazine.
Hilaree Nelson (1972-2022). Hilaree Nelson was among the most accomplished ski mountaineers and alpinists on the planet. While summiting and skiing 8,000-meter peaks around the world, she became the first woman to summit two 8000-meter peaks (Everest and Lhotse) in a 24-hour period. Hilaree leveraged her platform to bring attention to pertinent issues such as climate change and to empower young girls and women. She opened doors and changed the rules of equity and access for the next generation.
John Norton. During John’s career in Crested Butte and Aspen, he simply made the Colorado ski resorts and communities better. His contributions to marketing programs, special events, community alliance-building, and the guest experience encouraged other resort leaders to seek new opportunities and programs to keep pace. He pioneered non-stop airline programs, founded the adaptive program at Crested Butte, introduced “ski-free” programs to attract new customers, and convinced the Aspen Ski Corporation to lift its snowboard ban, thus accommodating all demographics, abilities, and lifestyles.
Founded in 1975 and located in Vail, Colorado, the organization's mission is to celebrate Colorado snow sports by telling stories that educate and inspire others to seek adventure. The artifacts collected and displayed tell the story of the birth, rise and explosion of skiing and snowboarding in Colorado. The Museum features displays including "Climb to Glory" about the 10th Mountain Division, "Vail’s DNA," The Colorado Snowboard Archive, and The Colorado Snowsports Hall of Fame, among many others. Membership information can be found at snowsportsmuseum.org.
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Canadian Ski Hall of Fame Inducts Class of 2020
This induction class (Class of 2020) was recognized in 2022 after Covid-related delays. The Class of 2021 will be recognized at a physical event in the Fall of 2022.
Alexandre Bilodeau (Athlete Freestyle) of Montreal (photo above) won two Olympic gold medals in moguls, at the 2010 and 2014 Games. He won five FIS World Championship medals (three golds) and achieved 48 World Cup podiums, including 19 victories. In 2006, at 18, he became the youngest skier to win a World Cup mogul event. In 2009, he won the FIS overall titles for both moguls and freestyle.
Gordon Canning
Gordon Canning (Alpine Builder) joined the staff of Blue Mountain in 1970 under his father-in-law, Jojo Weider, and became president in 1978. He built the business into a year-round resort and retired in 2014. He built it into a year around resort. In 1999 he led a successful partnership with Intrawest to create Blue Mountain Village.
Philip Chew
Philip Chew (Para Alpine Coach) was diagnosed with bone cancer at age 25. During treatment he heard about disabled skiing, and went on to win Canadian, European and World Championship medals in all Alpine disciplines. After retiring from the Para National Ski Team in 1992, Phil became the first Level 3 Coach with a disability. He coached for 21 years and trained 24 athletes who moved up to the National Team, among them Paralympic and World Championship medalists.
Joe Fitzgerald
Joe Fitzgerald (Freestyle Builder) was a founding member of the Canadian Freestyle Ski Association. After earning a degree in physical education, Fitzgerald became the first freestyle technical director at the Canadian Ski Association. He developed certification programs, organized World Cup events in Canada and was chief of competition for the Calgary Olympics. He joined FIS in 2000 as freestyle director and oversaw inclusion of ski cross, halfpipe, slopestyle and big air to World Cup and Olympic status.
Darrell MacLachlan
Darrell MacLachlan (Alpine Builder) grew up racing in Calgary and became an Alpine race official. Beginning in 1992 he served as chief of race for the Lake Louise World Cup. He took the same role for men’s Alpine events at the 2010 Olympics and served as a technical delegate in Sochi. He died of cancer at age 63.
Dave Wood
Dave Wood (Nordic Coach) began skiing in his late teens in Prince George, British Columbia, and raced cross-country beginning in 1980. He began coaching in 1986. In 1998, Dave took over the struggling national cross-country ski team. Under his helm, Beckie Scott won gold at the 2002 Olympics. At the 2006 Games, Chandra Crawford won gold, while Sara Renner and Beckie Scott won silver in the team sprint.
Vermont Hall of Fame Names Class of 2022
After a two-year hiatus, the Vermont Ski and Snowboard Museum will hold its induction ceremony at Bolton Valley on September 24. Honorees are:
• Ralph DesLauriers, founder of Bolton Valley Resort
• Jim Holland, ski jumper and entrepreneur
• Rip McManus, Olympian, broadcaster, film star
• Betsy Pratt, steward of Mad River Glen ski area
• Greg Morrill, historian (Paul Robbins Award)
• Catamount Trail Association (Bill McCollum Community
Award)
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Canadian Ski Hall of Fame Inducts Class of 2020
This induction class (Class of 2020) was recognized in 2022 after Covid-related delays. The Class of 2021 will be recognized at a physical event in the Fall of 2022.
Alexandre Bilodeau (Athlete Freestyle) of Montreal (photo above) won two Olympic gold medals in moguls, at the 2010 and 2014 Games. He won five FIS World Championship medals (three golds) and achieved 48 World Cup podiums, including 19 victories. In 2006, at 18, he became the youngest skier to win a World Cup mogul event. In 2009, he won the FIS overall titles for both moguls and freestyle.
Gordon Canning
Gordon Canning (Alpine Builder) joined the staff of Blue Mountain in 1970 under his father-in-law, Jojo Weider, and became president in 1978. He built the business into a year-round resort and retired in 2014. He built it into a year around resort. In 1999 he led a successful partnership with Intrawest to create Blue Mountain Village.
Philip Chew
Philip Chew (Para Alpine Coach) was diagnosed with bone cancer at age 25. During treatment he heard about disabled skiing, and went on to win Canadian, European and World Championship medals in all Alpine disciplines. After retiring from the Para National Ski Team in 1992, Phil became the first Level 3 Coach with a disability. He coached for 21 years and trained 24 athletes who moved up to the National Team, among them Paralympic and World Championship medalists.
Joe Fitzgerald
Joe Fitzgerald (Freestyle Builder) was a founding member of the Canadian Freestyle Ski Association. After earning a degree in physical education, Fitzgerald became the first freestyle technical director at the Canadian Ski Association. He developed certification programs, organized World Cup events in Canada and was chief of competition for the Calgary Olympics. He joined FIS in 2000 as freestyle director and oversaw inclusion of ski cross, halfpipe, slopestyle and big air to World Cup and Olympic status.
Darrell MacLachlan
Darrell MacLachlan (Alpine Builder) grew up racing in Calgary and became an Alpine race official. Beginning in 1992 he served as chief of race for the Lake Louise World Cup. He took the same role for men’s Alpine events at the 2010 Olympics and served as a technical delegate in Sochi. He died of cancer at age 63.
Dave Wood
Dave Wood (Nordic Coach) began skiing in his late teens in Prince George, British Columbia, and raced cross-country beginning in 1980. He began coaching in 1986. In 1998, Dave took over the struggling national cross-country ski team. Under his helm, Beckie Scott won gold at the 2002 Olympics. At the 2006 Games, Chandra Crawford won gold, while Sara Renner and Beckie Scott won silver in the team sprint.
Vermont Hall of Fame Names Class of 2022
After a two-year hiatus, the Vermont Ski and Snowboard Museum will hold its induction ceremony at Bolton Valley on September 24. Honorees are:
• Ralph DesLauriers, founder of Bolton Valley Resort
• Jim Holland, ski jumper and entrepreneur
• Rip McManus, Olympian, broadcaster, film star
• Betsy Pratt, steward of Mad River Glen ski area
• Greg Morrill, historian (Paul Robbins Award)
• Catamount Trail Association (Bill McCollum Community
Award)
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Dakin, LeMaster, Rietz, Thoren, Upham and Bleiler to be honored August 21.
The Colorado Snowsports Hall of Fame has announced its Class of 2022, to be formally inducted on August 21 at the Gerald. R. Ford Amphitheater in Vail, Colorado. They are:
John Dakin
John Dakin, Sport Builder
John served as spokesman for the organizing committee of Vail’s FIS World Ski Championships in1989, 1999 and 2015. He told Colorado’s story with worldwide impact. His impact is befitting recognition in the Colorado Snowsports Hall of Fame.
Ron LeMaster
Ron LeMaster, Inspirational
Over five decades, Ron brought his engineering and science acumen to the analysis of ski technique, to the benefit of skiers, ski coaches and instructors all over Colorado and the world. His writing and photographic skills, published in national magazines and in his own books, enabled a clear understanding of expert- and racing-level skiing. Colorado-born and educated, LeMaster was widely respected as a racing coach and PSIA advisor.
Paul Rietz
Peter Rietz, Sport Builder
Peter served as special counsel for the National Ski Areas Association for 13 years and was a founding member and past president of the Association of Ski Defense Attorneys, a global group networking amongst attorneys that defend ski areas. Peter was a contributing author on the last two amendments to the Colorado Ski Safety Act and a co-author of “Your Responsibility Code.” He has devoted countless volunteer hours contributing to the safety of employees and guests of ski areas.
Jeannie
Thoren
Jeannie Thoren, Sport Builder
For four decades, Jeannie has worked to perfect skis and boots to help women ski better. In 1986 she built Blizzard's first women-specific ski at the factory in Mittersill, Austria. In 2005, Dynastar/Lange hired her to perfect the Dynastar Exclusive Carve ski, honored as a Gear of the Year selection in 2006-'07. In 2009 she opened Vail’s first women's ski shop. Since 2018 Jeannie has partnered with the Steadman Philippon Research Institute’s Biomotion Lab in Vail to study the effects of ski boots in relation to ACL injury risk in women. Jeannie has elevated the skiing experience for women worldwide.
Chet Upham
Chester (Chet) Upham, Sport Builder
Chet was the owner (with family) and “hands-on” president of Loveland Ski Area for more than fifty years, and the resort remains the longest operating privately owned ski area in the state. Chet’s vision created this iconic mid-sized ski area and influenced the industry through many Loveland alumni who went on to work key jobs at other Colorado resorts. Five of his former employees are Colorado Snowsports Hall of Famers.
Gretchen
Bleiler
In addition, the Colorado Snowsports Hall of Fame is excited to welcome Gretchen Bleiler to the stage at this year’s celebration. Gretchen was inducted as an athlete in 2019 but could not make the induction ceremony. In a professional career that spanned nearly 20 years, Gretchen was the top star in snowboard halfpipe from 2002 through 2010, winning four X Games gold medals, World Superpipe Championships gold and two Vans Triple Crown titles. She dominated qualifying for the 2006 Olympics, going on to win Olympic silver. Following her Olympic medal, she used the platform to speak about her firsthand experiences with climate change around the world.
News from the New England Ski Museum, U.S. Hall of Fame and Bob Beattie Foundation.
25th Running of the Hannes Schneider Meister Cup Race
After a year’s hiatus due to Covid, the Hannes Schneider Meister Cup Race returned to Cranmore Mountain Resort in North Conway, New Hampshire, on March 4 to 6. After a Friday evening reception and dinner, New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu led Saturday’s Opening Ceremony by honoring Cranmore owner Brian Fairbank, who would be inducted into the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame that evening at the OMNI Mount Washington Hotel. There followed two runs of a dual GS format team competition, a silent auction, a fashion show featuring vintage skiwear, an awards ceremony and a Sunday morning breakfast with ski history presentation—were held in superb weather and snow conditions.
Twenty-eight teams of five competed, as well as a handful of individuals whose teams did not fill up. In tribute to the 10th Mountain Division, six of those teams were active-duty or retired military teams trained in mountain operations. The race was founded in 1996 as a benefit for the New England Ski Museum. —Jeff Leich
(Photo above: The team from Eastern Mountain Sports won the 2022 edition of the Schneider Meister Cup race. Left to right: Marcus Schneider, Kamden Burke (also fastest man in the race), Carter Tasker, Trevor Tasker, Keegan Burke, Tim Simoneau, Hannes Schneider. Fastest woman was Olympian Leanne Smith. Marcus and Hannes are great-grandsons of Arlberg School founder Hannes Schneider.)
Hall of Fame Bretton Woods Induction
The U.S. Ski & Snowboard Hall of Fame on March 5 inducted Seth Wescott, Barbara Alley Simon, Howard Peterson, Holly Flanders, Brian Fairbank and Kristean Porter. Also inducted was Sherman Poppen (deceased).
Art Clay and Ben Finley. Tyler Macleod
photo.
Hall of fame Sun Valley Induction
On March 26, the Hall of Fame inducted Hank Tauber, Greg Stump, Johnny Spillane, James Niehues, Kit DesLauriers, Art Clay and Ben Finley and Scott Brooksbank. Bobby Burns was also inducted.
(Photo left) At Sun Valley, Art Clay (left) and Ben Finley were inducted into the Hall of Fame, Class of 2019. In 1973, the duo organized a holiday in Aspen for 13 Black ski clubs; the following year they founded the National Brotherhood of Skiers, which today coordinates 54 ski clubs with more than 3,500 members. The NBS Summit drew 1,200 skiers to Snowmass, February 5-12, 2022.
Spider Sabich induction at Snowmass
Right: The Hall of Fame and Bob Beattie Foundation staged a special induction ceremony on April 8 for Spider Sabich. Left to right: Justin Koski intones the official induction, while Spider’s daughter Missy Greis waits to receive the Hall of Fame Medal of Honor from Mike Hundert. The evening featured a showing of the limited-release one-hour film Spider Lives!, produced by the Bob Beattie Foundation.
Three years in the making, museum unveils a dramatic facelift and new exhibits.
This past December, after three years of fundraising and design work, the Alf Engen Ski Museum completed its latest renovation, featuring ten brand-new or redesigned exhibits.
On display are interactive tributes to Utah’s most celebrated Norwegians, Alf Engen and Stein Eriksen. The Engen exhibit includes a vast trophy case containing around 100 of Engen’s trophies and plaques, plus innumerable medals.
A new exhibit about avalanches and the history of avalanche-control work is built around the interior of a ski patrol shack, circa 1940. It includes the story of Monty Atwater’s research center in Alta, and an early M20 recoilless rifle is on display.
A series of display cases highlights the evolution of snowsport equipment, including dedicated installations for snowboards, freestyle skis, cross country skis, and various flavors of Alpine skis, all with their corresponding boots.
The 10th Mountain Division is an important part of this area’s ski history. This exhibit features World War II artifacts, including camouflage jackets, pants and skis, “trigger finger” gloves, snowshoes, a hat and goggles.
Interactive electronics drive two key exhibits. First is the spectacular three-dimensional topo map of the Wasatch Range, showing the locations of each of the Salt Lake area’s ski resorts. The map features an integrated touch screen which allows museum visitors to learn about any topic related to skiing in Utah, from resort statistics to weather conditions and historic events and people. Ski areas and backcountry access points are projection mapped directly onto the scale model’s surface.
The second electronic marvel is the greenscreen photo booth. Visitors pose for a camera and can choose from a variety of projected scenic or action-oriented backgrounds for their souvenir photo, which is then texted to their mobile device to share with family and friends.
Celebrating its twentieth anniversary in May, the museum is located at Utah Olympic Park in Park City, Utah, and educates more than 500,000 visitors annually. The museum’s building began life as the press center for the 2002 Winter Olympics, and today houses not only the Alf Engen Ski Museum, but also includes the Eccles 2002 Olympic Winter Games Museum. Admission to both museums is free.
The 1,800 sq. ft. hall was designed and installed by Ogden-based Unrivaled, Inc., a digital and three-dimensional design agency and exhibit producer.
Connie Nelson has been executive director of the Alf Engen Museum since 2004 and is a former director of ISHA.
The U.S. Army's 10th Mountain Division and Fort Drum Museum will reopen in March.
The 10th Mountain Division had a profound and well-known influence in World War II, and its veterans went on to key roles in developing the U.S. ski and outdoor industries. The 10th has been reactivated twice, from 1948 to 1958 and from 1985 to the present. Still the army’s only mountain division, it’s also the most-deployed division. The troops train at Fort Drum in New York (established as Pine Camp in 1908), which has grown to be the largest training base in the northeastern United States.
Finnish troops on skis during the 1939-40
Winter War. Finnish Wartime Photograph
Archive.
Newly renovated, the 10th Mountain Division and Fort Drum Museum tells the story of the birth of American military skiing and all that follows, through more than 400 objects, nearly twice as many period photographs and a collection of archival documents, all in almost 5,000 square feet of exhibit space.
On entry, visitors are greeted by a potbelly stove like those used in the wooden barracks of Camp Hale, Colorado, where the division also trained. The initial gallery then explains the early role of the U.S. Army in this region of New York, including cold-weather training for units destined to fight in Europe during World War II.
Visitors then move into a gallery focusing on the development of the 10th Mountain Division. Here they’ll find a selection of equipment, including a Weasel tracked vehicle and ski boots clad with leather soles, as rubber was rationed for the war effort. Additional galleries explore division veterans’ post-war influence on the ski and outdoor industries and show how the division’s history still impacts the U.S. Army today.
Soldiers emerging from a smoke screen
during 1940 training at Pine Camp, NY.
NPR North Country at Work.
Skiing History readers are familiar with the basic story: In 1939, as the world descended into the chaos of World War II, Germany and Russia were gobbling up their neighbors. The ski season of 1939–1940 was interrupted by the war, and there would be no 1940 Olympics. Newsreels were filled with scenes from the Finnish-Soviet Winter War, showing lightly armed Finnish ski troops destroying two Soviet armored divisions. Watching those newsreels in America, U.S. Army leaders tried to prepare for the coming conflict, in the face of much public opposition.
The army’s winter equipment hadn’t been updated in decades, nor were any units trained for winter operations. Brigadier General Irving J. Phillipson, then stationed at Fort Ontario in Oswego, New York, knew that time was limited. He wanted to try something the U.S. Army had never attempted: winter tactical training.
Inspired by those scenes of Finns on skis fighting a numerically and technologically stronger foe, Phillipson sought permission from his superior, Lieutenant General Hugh Drum, to test winter maneuvers at Pine Camp, notorious for its heavy snow, borne on winds from Lake Ontario. In January and February 1940, two years before Pearl Harbor, Phillipson and Drum conducted the army’s first known winter tactical training exercise. On February 26, the Plattsburgh Daily Press reported: “Winter Maneuvers May Revolutionize Army Life; Experiment Is a Success. Skis and snowshoes, toboggans and white camouflage shrouds may henceforth be donned as an integral part of the Army future training program.”
At almost the same time, while skiing in Vermont, Minot “Minnie” Dole and his National Ski Patrol leadership discussed the need for a military ski unit. Dole lobbied the army, and in September, Chief of Staff General George C. Marshall authorized six ski patrols (platoons, really) drawn from infantry divisions in the states of New York and Washington. But it wasn’t until Greek troops whipped the Italians in the mountains of Albania that Marshall got serious. In October 1941, he ordered the formation of the 87th Mountain Infantry Regiment in Fort Lewis, Washington. Dole and the National Ski Patrol got busy recruiting.
2nd Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 10th
Mountain Division at Fort Drum, 2018. US Army.
Beyond World War II, a reactivated 10th Infantry Division trained draftees for the Korean conflict in the flatlands of Kansas, then tested the first major overseas troop rotation into Germany during the early Cold War, serving on the central German plains to defend against a potential Soviet invasion. The division came to Fort Drum in 1985 and earned the title of the most-deployed division in the U.S. Army, serving wherever the nation called: in Somalia, where its soldiers fought in the Battle of Mogadishu in October 1993, remaining as the last U.S. troops there as part of the United Nations mission; re-establishing democratic control in Haiti in 1994; and 20 years of deployments in Afghanistan and Iraq. The division was the first conventional force to enter Afghanistan following the September 11 terrorist attacks, and its troops were among the last to depart in September 2021.
The museum offers a unique view for anyone interested in ski history, military history and the U.S. Army through the decades. We look forward to welcoming you into our expanded gallery spaces when we reopen our doors in March 2022. The museum will be open from 9:30 a.m. until 5 p.m., Monday through Saturday. Until then, follow us at Facebook.com/FortDrumMuseum. Climb to Glory, and ski safe!
Sepp Scanlin is director of the 10th Mountain Division and Fort Drum Museum.
10th Mountain Division Hall of Fame Inducts
Roger and Deborah Bankart Eddy
Deborah Bankart at the front in Italy.
Denver Public Library.
In September, the 10th Mountain Division and Fort Drum Warrior Legend Hall of Fame inducted five new members, including Major Roger Eddy and his wife, Deborah Bankart Eddy.
Deborah Bankart, certified as a ski instructor in 1939, directed the Hanover (New Hampshire) Ski School. When filmmaker John Jay joined the 87th Mountain Infantry Regiment in 1941, Bankart took over his film-touring circuit and used it to recruit for the 87th and then for the 10th Mountain Division. In 1944 she volunteered for the Red Cross and served with the 10th in Italy, with the rank of captain. Roger Eddy served as commander of K Company, 87th Regiment, in the Aleutians, Northern Apennines and Po Valley campaigns. He earned the Silver Star with Oak Leaf Cluster and Bronze Star.
The Hall of Fame also inducted new members Brigadier General Onslow S. Rolfe, the first commander of the 87th Mountain Infantry Regiment, who served until 1942 when he took command of the Mountain Training Center Camp Hale; Command Sergeant Major Christoper K. Greca, an Army Ranger who served with the 10th from 2004 to 2011; and Staff Sergeant Michael H. Ollis, who on August 28, 2013, sacrificed his own life to shield a wounded Polish officer from the blast of a suicide bomber. He received the Distinguished Service Cross.
Opened in 1954, the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Hall of Fame and Museum celebrates its 70th year this season. The hall includes the "Passion to Fly" statue and the Roland Palmedo Memorial Library, one of the largest winter-sports libraries in the United States.
Ross Anderson A Native American speed skier, Anderson holds the record as the fastest American on skis, hitting a speed of 154.060 mph in 2006 at Les Arcs, France. A native of Durango, Colorado, he grew up as a ski racer and ski jumper, discovering speed skiing in 1994. He won the bronze medal at the 2005 World Championships and is an eight-time national champion. (See the July-August 2023 issue of Skiing History for more about Anderson.)
Shannon Bahrke Known for her pink hair and as the exuberant face of moguls skiing, the Lake Tahoe native won Olympic silver at the 2002 Winter Games, then came back from injuries to win Olympic bronze in 2010. In a 12-year career with the U.S. Ski Team, Bahrke won the 2003 World Cup moguls title, claimed 27 World Cup podiums (including seven victories) and earned six U.S. titles. She competed in three Olympics and was on six World Championship teams.
Jeff Brushie Vermont’s Brushie had one of the most successful contest careers of any American snowboarder. In an era before the X Games, and before snowboarding was an Olympic sport, he was the most successful pro snowboarder of his generation, winning more than 20 major contests, including three world championships. In the 1990s, his crossover appeal to mainstream media on MTV and ESPN was America’s first real look into snowboarding style and culture.
Billy Demong As a Nordic combined athlete and a team leader, Demong won the first Olympic gold medal by an American Nordic skier, inspiring the U.S. Nordic combined team to an unprecedented four medals at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games. He grew up near Lake Placid, inspired by the 1980 Winter Games there. In a career lasting 16 seasons, he won Olympic gold and silver, four World Championship medals (including one gold) and earned 21 World Cup podiums with nine wins.
Hank Kashiwa World Cup skier and Olympian Kashiwa went on to win the 1975 World Pro Skiing Championship, then parlayed his success into a thriving career as a skiing entrepreneur. Together with brother Bucky, he founded Volant, which went on to become the largest American ski manufacturer of its era with its innovative stainless-steel cap models. After the sale of Volant to Atomic, Kashiwa led marketing efforts for Montana’s Yellowstone Club, the world’s first private ski and golf community, which now boasts 875 families in its private membership.
Jake and Dave Moe Skiing was at the height of its boom years in 1971 when the Moe brothers introduced the world to Powder magazine. Under the mantra “Powder to the People,” they offered a new, more independent look at skiing with the photos and words on their pages, literally changing the direction of the sport as skiers were pushed to discover their own independence on the mountain. As publisher and editor, the Moes had a knack for finding the wordsmiths and photographers to tell the story of skiing in a new way.
Les Otten The resort developer had a profound impact on the entire industry as an innovator and visionary. He parlayed a college gig as a ski instructor to eventually own nine ski areas; he built American Ski Company into a publicly traded resort leader. He innovated teaching techniques to make entering the sport easier, focused on the quality of snow making and recognized the benefits of shaped skis early on. Never satisfied with the status quo, his pioneering efforts transformed the industry into what it is today.
Mike Porter In a career that spanned a half century, Porter became one of the world’s most influential ski educators. He served the Professional Ski Instructors of America National Alpine Team as a member and, later, as its longest-tenured head coach, also helping to found the American Teaching System. His work helped bring global recognition to PSIA-AASI, as he oversaw much of the U.S. content presented every four years at Interski. With his in-depth research on ski racing, he was also pivotal in bringing coaches and instructors together. 
Sandy Hildner (1944-2019). Before the University of Colorado had a women’s ski team, Sandy trained with the men’s team. She won national championships in slalom and GS, the Roch Cup in 1967, and raced Olympic downhill in 1968. Sandy innovated Lange boots and was one of only two women in the ski hardgoods industry in the 1960s. She was first female coach of the Winter Park Ski Team, embedding world-class skiing techniques and the mental preparation necessary to excel at the highest levels. Sandy led Copper Mountain’s Over the Hill Gang for 20 seasons and was instrumental in offering women’s clinics.
Cheryl Jensen. Cheryl Jensen’s contribution to the snow sports community has been lifesaving. She founded The Vail Veterans Program which introduces veterans to alpine sports both independently and with loved ones. By keeping veterans active from the beginning of their recovery, their mental and physical health is greatly improved, giving them hope and confidence in their future. Many veterans who have experienced Cheryl’s generosity and kindness have made Colorado their home, becoming leaders in their communities and champions in Paralympic sports and life.
Seth Masia. Few Colorado-based ski writers are read and respected as widely as Seth Masia. For five decades, as a colorful writer and influential editor, Masia has educated skiers (and potential skiers) about the sport. He was a key editor and writer for SKI Magazine at the peak of its influence, and pioneered online ski journalism. Since 1994 he has been an independent voice representing Colorado skiing to the world. Today Masia is recognized as a leading historian of snowsports, both for his original research and for his stewardship of Skiing History magazine.
Hilaree Nelson (1972-2022). Hilaree Nelson was among the most accomplished ski mountaineers and alpinists on the planet. While summiting and skiing 8,000-meter peaks around the world, she became the first woman to summit two 8000-meter peaks (Everest and Lhotse) in a 24-hour period. Hilaree leveraged her platform to bring attention to pertinent issues such as climate change and to empower young girls and women. She opened doors and changed the rules of equity and access for the next generation.
John Norton. During John’s career in Crested Butte and Aspen, he simply made the Colorado ski resorts and communities better. His contributions to marketing programs, special events, community alliance-building, and the guest experience encouraged other resort leaders to seek new opportunities and programs to keep pace. He pioneered non-stop airline programs, founded the adaptive program at Crested Butte, introduced “ski-free” programs to attract new customers, and convinced the Aspen Ski Corporation to lift its snowboard ban, thus accommodating all demographics, abilities, and lifestyles.
