Readers Respond

Photo top: Phil Mahre carries bamboo between his knees, slowing his pace on the way to winning a silver in the 1980 Lake Placid Olympic slalom.

In your great story on the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics (“The Amateur Hours,” January-February 2025), you note that Phil Mahre carried a “bamboo stick” between his feet for three gates in the slalom and you quote him as saying that “there’s no question that I was outskied on the second run.” But I beg to differ. Mahre was being too modest. Tony Blair (1958 Canadian junior Alpine ski champion) and I watched the slalom from close to the edge of the course about two-thirds of the way up on the “first run” side, but we could see the second run clearly on the other side of the hill. As soon as we saw Mahre carrying that “bamboo stick” between his legs, we knew it was over for him—at least for the gold. It was clear to us that he had been slowed down by more than the 1.08 seconds by which Stenmark won the run [and therefore the gold]. It’s worth noting that less than a year before, Mahre had fractured his ankle badly at a pre-Olympic giant slalom. At first, it wasn’t clear that he was going to be able to walk properly again, let alone ski and race. A metal plate and seven screws in his ankle did the job, however, and he followed up his 1980 silver medal with a gold at Sarajevo in 1984.

Ivo Krupka
Former chair
Canadian Ski Hall of Fame and Museum
Ottawa, Canada

1980 Lake Placid Rewind

I wanted to compliment you on the article on the Lake Placid 1980 Olympics (“The Amateur Hours,” January-February 2025) It brought back memories. As a new Atomic rep of two years, I was there. I brought a good dealer at the time, who just happened to be Ken Gart.

I was there with Ken, Frank Hurt and Alois Rohrmoser in a house in Saranac Lake, I think. We saw Annemarie Moser-Pröll win the downhill on Atomic, which was great. So thanks! 

Charlie Webb
Edwards, Colorado

Thank you so much for the comprehensive biographical profile of my dad, Roxy Rothafel, in the January-February issue (“The Roxy Ski Reports”). The article accurately outlines his journey from childhood into adult years where he honed his skills as journalist, broadcaster and expert skier—all of which culminated in “Ski Reports by Roxy.” Every so often I run into a fellow skier who remembers him. But, despite having millions of listeners for two decades, today he’s largely forgotten. Thankfully, organizations and publications like Skiing History will help keep his memory alive and acknowledge his contributions to the sport he truly loved.

Art Rothafel, Jr.
Villa Park, California

Thank you for calling the Belknap Snow Report

That was a great article on Roxy Rothafel. The photograph on page 21 showing the Belknap Ski School shows my grandfather, Fritzie Baer, on the far right wearing his red hat, which was his trademark. My grandfather set up one of the first answering machines at Belknap, which gave an accurate snow report. He was very proud of how he transformed Belknap in the nine years he was general manager. 

Bobby Arnold
Bow, New Hampshire

New isha Member Wins Rossignol Skis

During the final quarter of 2024, Rossignol offered a pair of skis and bindings as a lottery prize for a lucky ISHA member who joined or renewed during the calendar year. The winner is Bob Kelsey of Glen Carbon, Illinois, who first joined ISHA in March 2022. He’s a 67-year-old retired structural engineer who grew up skiing in the Adirondacks and now spends about a month every winter skiing in the West. Kelsey plans to spend February in South Lake Tahoe and is thrilled to have new skis to take with him. He says he’s hooked on Skiing History and will be a lifelong reader.

I am a lifelong Southern skier in the mountains of North Carolina, West Virginia and elsewhere. I have spent many wonderful days on the slopes! I noticed that in the July-August 2024 issue there was an article, “The College That Taught the South to Ski.” I learned to ski at Appalachian Ski Mountain and was familiar with the French-Swiss Ski College. I remember Jack Lester and the Special Forces training at Appalachian. My mother’s picture is in the first brochure for Appalachian Ski Mountain. Many good memories!

James Davis
Columbia, South Carolina

Best Ever

Kudos! November-December is the best issue I’ve ever read. 

Bill Danner
Byfeld, Massachusetts

Please remember ISHA in estate planning

Preserving the history of snowsports is the ongoing mission of the International Skiing History Association (ISHA). Through the publishing of Skiing History magazine, by maintaining the extensive online library of reference materials and educational media at skiinghistory.org and by annually sponsoring the ISHA Awards programs honoring books, films, ski museums and other important initiatives, ISHA is dedicated to keeping the spirit and freedom of skiing alive for future generations.

Bequests that make achievement of these goals possible can take many forms, including trusts, annuities, stocks, real estate and other legacy gifts. As a 501(c)(3) public charity, all contributions to ISHA are tax-deductible for U.S. taxpayers.

ISHA would be grateful for any life-celebration contributions you wish to consider. Please contact ISHA Executive Director Janet White for more information at Janet@skiinghistory.org, and speak with your estate planners today about the benefits of gifting for posterity!

I am inspired to write because of the super technique piece Seth Masia penned in the latest Skiing History issue (Sept-Oct) on lead change. I hope there is more like it. Perhaps that is the plan. With Ron LeMaster sadly gone, Masia could so ably fill that space. And you can use LeMaster’s photo sequences, as was done in the issue. Yay. Technique changes (and ways things have not changed) through the ages are fun to think about and read about and try out on the slopes. Thanks for keeping the magazine alive and well. 

Peter Shelton
Bend, Oregon

Seth Masia appears to have lost his mind. In the article "Whatever Happened to Lead Change?", he writes "only stronger skiers learned to hold the tips even so as to use the power of the entire outside ski". He concludes the article by praising "advancing the outside ski and keeping the tips even." 

There are plenty of photos and videos of the first World Cup races this season, and they all show the racers with the inside ski way in front, just as in previous seasons. There's no need to change your technique; keep leading with the inside ski and changing the lead between turns. 

Scott Peer 
Glendale, California

Correction

In the July-August 2024 issue, the article “Changing of the Guard” in the News from ISHA section mentioned Ken Hugessen’s departure from the ISHA Board. That item should have read as follows: Ken Hugessen, a Toronto-based cross-country ski racer, grew up to found a management consultancy firm specializing in executive compensation and governance, with offices in Toronto, Montreal and Calgary. In 2021, Ken was invited to join ISHA on the basis of his involvement in the world of high finance and the accordant value he would bring to the board. During his term, Ken underwrote the Canadian Ski History Writers Project.

Be a Holiday Hero

Impress your family and friends by immersing them in the history of our sport for the holidays. A subscription to Skiing History magazine is the ideal gift for the discerning skier or rider­­—and conveniently suitable as a great stocking-stuffer. Go to skiinghistory.org/join to send a subscription to a friend or family member at a discounted holiday gift rate.

On the morning of July 15, I received a sad phone call from Marie Jose Valencot, informing me that my friend and her longtime partner, Sylvain Saudan, had passed away the previous night.

Her voice made me recall when I met the legend for the first time. The year was 1989. I had read that Sylvain was running a helicopter ski operation in the Himalayas of Kashmir, and the article said, “For more information, call 50530469 in France.” I recognized this to be a number in Chamonix, and I dialed. A female voice told me via a recorded message to leave my name and telephone number. Sometime later the phone rang.

“Allo, is zeese Jeemie Petterzon? Yes? Good. Zeese is Sylvain Saudan. My girlfriend told me you called. I am calling from a ... What you call it in English? A phone box in Paris ... excuse me, I must put in some more coins.” ... clink, clink, clink ... “now we are okay?”

This was heli-skiing in the Himalayas operated from his private apartment in Chamonix. No travel agent. No secretary … and calling me from a phone booth instead of from his hotel room. As I chatted with Sylvain from his phone booth, I felt an immediate sense of comradeship. He was one of us. This legend was perhaps the greatest ski bum of all time, but a ski bum, nevertheless.

The Guinness Book of Records has no category for ski bums, but under the heading of skiing, Sylvain has been listed as follows: “Steepest Descent-Sylvain Saudan (b Lausanne, Switzerland, Sept. 23, 1936.) Achieved a descent of Mt. Blanc on the northeast side down the Couloir Gervasutti from 13,937 ft. on Oct. 17,1967, skiing gradients of about 60 degrees.” Sylvain has appeared previously in this record book for other remarkable skiing feats.

Skiing, nowadays, has more different tangents than ever before. There are specialists and competitions in cross-country, telemark, ski jumping, downhill, slalom, giant slalom, super G, ballet, moguls, figure eights, aerial acrobatics, freestyle, ski cross and speed skiing, as well as extreme skiing. But not many people can claim to be the founder of one of these categories. Sylvain Saudan is truly the father of extreme skiing—and one can make a good case for the fact that this particular kind of skiing is the discipline that is most representative of the consummate skier.

Sylvain described his steep-skiing exploits as neither a quest for fame nor financial remuneration, but rather as a natural progression of his life of skiing. As he insisted, his ever-increasing renown was a mere byproduct of “doing what I want to do.” He simply loved the special challenge of extreme skiing. Whereas most excellent skiers would feel a sense of satisfaction having successfully negotiated a slope of 40 degrees, Sylvain told me, “For me, what is steep, is if you make a mistake, you are dead.”

He viewed his frequent dance with death as a gift. “People who face death,” related Sylvain, “know exactly zee value of life.” Perhaps this statement partly explains why someone who loved life could take so many risks. 

Jimmy Petterson
Gothenburg, Sweden

Editor’s Note: For more on Sylvain Saudan, see page 30.

Letters to the Editor: We’re All Ears

There may not be a more experienced and distinguished readership in the ski industry than ISHA’s audience. We’d like to hear from you. Send letters to the editor to seth@skiinghistory.org. Please include your name and your town of residence.

Buddy Werner and Me

I was intrigued with the January-February 2024 issue of the magazine. I found the article “1964: Breakthrough at Innsbruck” fascinating. In 1958-1959 I lived with my family in St. Anton. My parents were friends of Pepi Gabl, who was also a patient of my father’s. We were from Portland, Oregon, where my father was an orthopedic surgeon and Pepi was head of the ski school at Timberline Lodge. Pepi had built a small pension in St. Anton and was thrilled that my parents rented the entire place since Austria was really struggling after its brutal occupation after World War II. Paying guests were a rare commodity.

One day a patient of my fathers, Ron Funk, showed up with most of the U.S. Ski Team. Ron asked if they could live with us because we had room and they had no money. My father thought that was a great idea so long as some of them skied with me when they were in St. Anton during breaks in the racing schedule. All I can say is what an experience I had as a young ski racer from the States skiing with Buddy Werner who was living with us. That was the year Buddy won the Hahnenkamm downhill, which was an absolutely spectacular achievement. He fell in the slalom, and I remember walking down the street in St. Anton and seeing the headline of the newspaper saying, “Werner loses Hahnenkamm slalom”—not “Molterer wins slalom.” The Austrians absolutely loved him. I later went on to be (for what it is worth) the No. 1 Alpine skier for Williams College. Nothing, however, from a skiing point of view was as special as that winter with Buddy Werner, Max Marolt and some of the others.

Jock Kimberley
Portland, Oregon

Oscar Hambro Company Revisited

I liked the back cover feature advertisement of Oscar Hambro Co. (“Ads from the Past,” January-February 2024). From some Norwegian skier research I did years ago, I found that Oscar opened his store in Boston in 1927, behind the Copley Plaza Hotel (now Fairmont Copley Plaza). It was one of the main ski stores in New England until World War II. He also added a store in New York City and opened the second ski factory in New Hampshire in 1937, just after Carl Lund established the Lund Ski factory in Laconia. Skis made in Oscar’s factory bore the Ski-Craft marking, which he patented. 

Oscar’s real name was Oscar Pedersen Hamre, born in 1894 to a fishing family on a farm near Stavanger, Norway. He migrated to Montreal in 1926, bringing a consignment of skis, boots and poles to sell. In the winter of 1927, he came to Boston and set up his ski-import store near the Carver Plaza Hotel. In the off season he worked as a sail maker for the yachting and fishing communities around Boston. His store was quite successful. The back cover of the American Ski Annual hosted his ads every year from 1934 through 1940. After World War II he closed the ski shop and bought a 75-foot retired Coast Guard boat he used for commercial fishing. In 1954 he moved to Seattle and later to LaConner, in Skagit County, where he was a well-known part of the commercial fishing community until his passing in 1971. 

Kirby Gilbert
Bellevue, Washington

Editor Seth Masia and authors Paul Hooge (“The Odyssey of Walter Neuron”) and Andreas Praher (“Skiing in Nazi Austria”) are deserving of enormous credit and thanks for finally helping bring to light in the November-December 2023 issue of Skiing History the long-ignored subject of National Socialism’s entanglement with the skiing and mountaineering communities of Austria and Germany, beginning in the earliest days of Nazism. Moreover, the virtual erasure from history of the strong Jewish presence in both those communities prior to the Aryan race laws and regulations being implemented starting in the ١٩٢٠s is also finally coming into focus. 

(Photo above: Walter Neuron in Chamonix, 1940)

Of the many facts and stories related to these issues that researcher Jason Williams and I have uncovered in our 15 years of research (which will soon be the subject of a book tentatively titled The Snow Angel) is the crusade in the 1920s and ’30s of Austrian Alpenverein officer Eduard Pichl to eliminate the historical record concerning Jewish free-climbing progenitor Dr. Paul Preuss (acknowledged by Reinhold Messner as perhaps the greatest mountaineer in Austria’s history), the Alpenverein’s close association with Hitler going back to Munich prior to the failed 1923 beer hall putsch, the life-saving ski and mountaineering escapes to Switzerland and Bohemia organized by Jewish skiers in Germany and Austria in the 1930s, and the fact that British skier Sir Nicholas Winton (son of Jewish parents from Germany) used the pretext of a ski trip to the Czech-German border to organize the kindertransport program that saved the lives of hundreds of Jewish children and teens in Prague just prior to the start of the Second World War in Europe (the subject of a forthcoming major motion picture). 

Some of those older children ended up returning to Europe as elite combat troops in the US 10th Mountain Division. These stories need to be told and remembered. By assisting in that process, Skiing History is fulfilling a vital service not only as a repository of historical data, but as an important torch illuminating both the proud legacy—and the occasionally not-so-proud deviations from
egalitarianism—that marks the story of skiing around the world. 

Charles J. Sanders
Briarcliff Manor, New York

Connecting Continents

The November-December edition of Skiing History published my article “Pan-American Championships,” discussing the ski competitions between the Esquiadores Yanquis from the U.S. and South American skiers for the Championship of the Americas from 1937–1950. There was great hope that the competitions would continue to further connect skiing in North and South America.

Despite the good will developed between the skiers from the two continents, World War II prevented future reciprocal visits. Only one more Pan-American Championship was held after the war. No attempts were made to continue the Pan-American Championships, even though interest in Alpine skiing grew substantially on both continents. During the short time the championships were held, they showed that skiing is a way to open bridges between different countries. 

John Lundin
Seattle, Washington

Correction

We omitted mention in the November-December issue of the vintage fashion show in our overview of the upcoming Skiing History Week in Park City, Utah, March 20-23, 2024. One of the week’s most popular events, the fashion show is scheduled for the bar to open at 5 pm, with the show at 5:45 pm, on March 20, at the Alf Engen Museum.

Thank you for honoring the late, great Doug Pfeiffer by reprinting one of his many articles (“Revolution in Ski Teaching,” September-October 2023). 

Here’s an extra dash of trivia for Doug’s remembrance: He was an early adopter and instructor of snowboarding. At a time when prejudice against snowboarders ran high and many ski areas would not allow “knuckle draggers” on lifts, Doug dropped in. He taught snowboarding at Snow Summit, California, in the late 1980s.

Doug was skeptical at first. In a February 1990 article for Snow Country 
magazine, he described snowboarding as “the art of going downhill while standing sideways with feet cast in concrete.” Whatever inefficiencies he saw in the fledgling sport were overcome by his curiosity and perseverance. “A year ago, had anyone told me—a skier of long standing—that I’d actually become joyfully addicted to snowboarding, I’d have fallen off my skis laughing,” he wrote.

He developed a system to teach snowboarding with three basic moves for edge control, pressure control and turning control, promising proficiency in eight hours or less. “I logged 16 hours on a board before white-knuckled terror, even on intermediate runs, was replaced by mostly pleasurable rides. Now I’m able to teach the sport, and my students learn in five to eight hours what took me 16.” The man not only knew how to get down a hill on multiple conveyances, but he shared his knowledge and wrote about it with flair.

Ron Rudolph
Fairfield, Connecticut

Skiing’s Mark Twain

Doug was very special to me. He and Ginny were so welcoming and solicitous to me and my wife, Corinne, on our many trips to Park City/Deer Valley for veteran ski instructors reunions in the early 2000s. He introduced us all around, took us to parties of skiing’s movers and shakers and other friends, made sure we were teamed up with a group for skiing for the next day and skied with us on many, many runs. He loved to do his “Pfeiffer Tuck,” “Royale Christies” and the “Mambo.”

When I mentioned to Doug that I couldn’t believe how well Stein Eriksen skied at Deer Valley, even though Stein at that time was 80, Doug replied to me, “I’m older than Stein!” And Doug was skiing like a teenager.

The year I nominated John Fry and Doug to the Laurentian Ski Museum Hall of Fame, John gave a great acceptance speech, entitled “I Remember/Je me Souviens.” But Doug’s brought the house down. He was witty, funny and historical. I used to call John the dean of North America’s ski history; I often said that Doug was skiing history’s Mark Twain.

Doug was inducted into the U.S. National Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame in 1987; the Canadian Ski Museum Hall of Fame in 2000; and the Laurentian Ski Museum’s Hall of Fame in 2016. 

Bob Soden
Montreal, Quebec

Be a Holiday Hero

Impress your family and friends by immersing them in the history of our sport for the holidays. A subscription to Skiing History magazine is the ideal gift for the discerning skier or rider­­—and conveniently suitable as a great stocking-stuffer. Go to skiinghistory.org/join to send a subscription to a friend or family member at a discounted holiday gift rate.

In late July, a celebration was held for the life of Freda Langell Nieters at Arapahoe Basin Ski Area in Colorado. Old-timers learned new tales of Freda from other old-timers. Freda had a lifetime of skiing and of contributions to her sport, from girlhood in Oslo to the collegiate team of the University of New Hampshire and winning the intercollegiate downhill championship. She missed an Olympics only because of an injury, yet soon after beat the entire Norway national team. Years later her daughter Ingrid would make up for her mother’s missed Olympics as a cross-country skier in the Lillehammer Olympics. Freda taught as a Nordic instructor and examiner, then in Alpine, primarily at
Keystone and Arapahoe Basin resorts. My understanding is that she was also an Alpine examiner for the Professional Ski Instructors of America .

Hank Thiess, former ski school director at Keystone, where he knew Freda, and at several other resorts, explained about Freda, “An organizer, she developed a cadre of older instructors that took sessions with her and young instructors/coaches with the intent of assuring the ski school’s veterans stayed current in their style and knowledge, calling the group “Freda’s Flying Fossils.” And to instructors she coached regarding their students: “They will never care how much you know until they know how much you care!”

It occurs to me that Skiing History readers who knew of Freda would appreciate knowing of her passing, at 91. And those unfortunate enough to not have known her would also appreciate learning of the legacy of a dedicated life-long skier who brought the meaning of camaraderie and joy to the sport for so many.   

William R Jones
Silverthorne, Colorado

Better Late than Never

During the 1947 Silver Skis race on Mt. Rainier, confusion about the location of the finish line led to a delay in awarding trophies. Don Amick left for home before learning he’d won third place. Early this year, a family in the Yakima Valley sent the engraved platter to the Washington State Ski & Snowboard Museum, which sent it on to Russ Amick, shown here, a mere 76 years after his father finished the race.

Kirby Gilbert
Seattle, Washington

Just got the May-June 2023 issue and saw the short piece on Colorado’s oldest ski lift. It did start as Chair 3 at Aspen, installed by Bob Heron in 1954 from Spar Gulch to the Sundeck, relieving pressure on the old, slow Number 2 single. But now it’s mostly a much newer Riblet lift. When the chair was moved to Sunlight in 1972, Riblet was called in and made major modifications. Most of the lift dates from 1973: Those are all Riblet chair carriers with Riblet clips securing chairs to cable. The lift is powered by a 1973 Riblet 150 hp vault drive at the top terminal. Only the steel lattice towers, and the return tension station at the bottom, are
original 70-year-old Heron components from 1954.

Kirby Gilbert
Seattle, Washington

The Mighty Terry Peak

Regarding the cover art of the March-April 2023, I would guess the skier is meant to be skiing at Terry Peak, in Deadwood, South Dakota since, as far as I believe, it is the only ski area located near Mount Rushmore in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Interesting tidbit: The top of Terry Peak is at 7,100 feet and, as the area notes on its website, that makes Terry Peak the highest point between the Alps to the east and the Rockies to the west!

Bernie Weichsel
Wayland, Massachusetts

Decisions, Decisions

I get up here to Whistler, and I have the best choices for reading material. Just the best ski magazine ever.  

Nigel Jones
Seattle, Washington