Ski Museum Directory
HOW TO USE THIS GUIDE
The Ski Museums of the World guidebook is organized alphabetically first by country, and then by city/town. (For example, within the United States, you will find the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame listed under Ishpeming, rather than Michigan.) Within each nation’s listing, the dedicated ski museums appear in the first section, followed by other museums, collections and libraries that contain ski-history material. Museums or collections that are in storage, or have recently closed, are listed at the end of the guide.
Click here to read an overview of this guide by author and ski historian E. John B. Allen
Publication of this guidebook was partially supported by a generous grant from the Marc Hodler Foundation in Switzerland.
Saas-Fee, Wallis
Saaser MuseumAddress:Saas-Fee, Wallis 3906 Switzerland Contact: Damian Bumann Email: museum@3906.ch Telephone: (41) 792 202 853 Website: www.3906.ch/de/leben/kultur/saasermuseum Local museum with some ski-related material. |
Münchenstein, Basel
Sport Museum of SwitzerlandAddress:Münchenstein, Basel 442 Switzerland Contact: Email: info@sportmuseum.ch Telephone: () Website: As of 2019, closed and in liquidation. |
Bern, Berne
Swiss Alpine MuseumAddress:Bern, Berne 3005 Switzerland Contact: Email: info@alpinesmuseum.ch Telephone: (41) 3135 004 40 Website: www.alpinesmuseum.ch Includes skis of Hermann Hesse. Good library. |
Swiss Ski LiftsAddress:Switzerland Contact: Jakob Schuler Email: via website Telephone: (41) 79 894 51 01 Website: www.skilift-nostalgic.ch A virtual museum; comprehensive on-line depiction of ski lifts in Switzerland. |
Orsières,
Swiss Ski MuseumAddress:Orsières, 1937 Switzerland Contact: Luzi Hitz and Pierre Schneider Email: info@swissskimuseum.com Telephone: (41) 21 921 9866 Website: www.swissskimuseum.com A virtual museum; the most comprehensive online depiction and explanation of skiing development in Switzerland, run by ISHA board member Luzi Hitz and Pierre Schneider. |
Magglingen, Berne
Swiss Sports UniversityAddress:Magglingen, Berne 2532 Switzerland Contact: Email: via internet at 'media library' Telephone: (41) 323 276 226 Website: www.ehsm.ch No ski exhibits but very good library. Essential to call ahead. |
Luzern, Lucerne
Swiss Transport MuseumAddress:Luzern, Lucerne 6006 Switzerland Contact: Email: mail@verkehrshaus.ch Telephone: (41) 413 704 444 Website: www.verkehrshaus.ch Includes a replica of the Davos-Bolgen ski lift, and much on aerial tramways and their inspection. Good library. |
Lauterbrunnen, Berne
Talmuseum LauterbrunnenAddress:Lauterbrunnen, Berne 3822 Switzerland Contact: Esther Graf Email: info@talmuseumlauterbrunnen.ch Telephone: (41) 338 553 586 Website: www.talmuseumlauterbrunnen.ch One of 12 sections is a small display of skis. |
Oberwald, Wallis
Toni Hischier's Ski MuseumAddress:Oberwald, Wallis 3999 Switzerland Contact: Email: Telephone: (41) 793 299 400 Website: www.obergoms.ch/activities/for-mind-soul/museums Private collection of over 1000 skis. |
Davos, Grisons
Wintersport MuseumAddress:Davos, Grisons 7270 Switzerland Contact: Email: andresguler@bluewin.ch Telephone: (41) 814 132 484 Website: www.wintersportmuseum.ch Skiing displays are one part of the museum. |
Leicester, Leicestershire
The Ski Club of Great Britain Archives Special Collections of De Montfort UniversityAddress:Leicester, Leicestershire LE1 9BH United Kingdom Contact: Katharine Short Email: kshort@dmu.ac.uk Telephone: (44) 116 250 6392 Website: www.dmu.ac.uk Includes archives of Ski Club of Great Britain. |
Denver, Colorado
10th Mountain Division Resource Center Denver Public LibraryAddress:Denver, Colorado United States Contact: Keli Schmid Email: kschmid@denverplibrary.org Telephone: () 720 865 1812 Website: www.denverlibrary.org Archives of letters, diaries, photos, films with emphasis on World War II. |
Park City, Utah
Alf Engen Ski Museum & Eccles 2002 Winter Olympic Games MuseumAddress:Park City, Utah 84098 United States Contact: Annie Bommer Email: engenmuseum@uolf.org Telephone: () 435-658-4240 Website: www.engenmuseum.org Emphasis on Alf Engen and skiing in the Intermountain Region, plus the 2002 Olympics. Open seven days a week, free admission. Mailing address: PO Box 980187, Park City UT 84098 |
Aspen, Colorado
Aspen Historical SocietyAddress:Aspen, Colorado 81611 United States Contact: Lisa Hancock Email: info@aspenhistory.com Telephone: () 970 925 3721 Website: www.aspenhistory.com Documents relating to Aspen's skiing history. |
Westminster, Colorado
Beekley International Collection of Art and LibraryAddress:Westminster, Colorado United States Contact: Natale Messina Email: nmessina@legacyfws.com Telephone: () 860 240 6027 Website: In storage in Westminster, Colorado while searching for a new venue. Open to research by appointment only. |
Norco, California
California Ski LibraryAddress:Norco, California 92860 United States Contact: Ingrid P. Wicken Email: ingrid@skilibrary.com Telephone: () 951 207 9218 Website: www.skilibrary.com One of the finest ski libraries in the USA. Documentation on western US skiing. |
Vail, Colorado
Colorado Snowsports Museum and Hall of FameAddress:Vail, Colorado 81657 United States Contact: Jen Mason Email: skimuseum@gmail.com Telephone: () 970 476 1876 Website: www.snowsportsmuseum.org Extensive 10th Mountain collection. |
Boise, Idaho
Glory Days Ski MuseumAddress:Boise, Idaho 83702 United States Contact: Kirk Luba Email: glorydaysskimuseum@gmail.com Telephone: () 208 629 8329 Website: Private collection of 1960s-1980s skis. |
Lake Placid, New York
Lake Placid Winter Olympic MusuemAddress:2634 Main Street Lake Placid, New York 12946 United States Contact: Courtney Bastian Email: museum@orda.org Telephone: () 518 302 5326 Website: www.lpom.org As a 2x Winter Olympic Host City, we are the home to North America’s second-largest Winter Olympic artifact collection. Come explore the new interactive exhibits and discover the Olympic spirit while learning about remarkable athletes who changed the world of sports. |
Government Camp, Oregon
Mount Hood Cultural Center and MuseumAddress:Government Camp, Oregon 97028 United States Contact: Lloyd Musser or Cheryl Maki Email: info@mthoodmuseum.org Telephone: () 503 272 3301 Website: www.mthoodmuseum.org Local museum with ski documents and artifacts from local clubs on second floor. |
Tahoe City, California
Museum of Sierra Ski HistoryAddress:Tahoe City, California 96145 United States Contact: Email: Telephone: () 530 583 1762 Website: www.tahoecity.org Currently artifacts are displayed at the Gatekeepers Cabin Museum, 130 W. Lake Blvd., Tahoe City, CA 96145 |
Boulder, Colorado
Neptune Mountaineering and Ski MuseumAddress:Boulder, Colorado United States Contact: Email: Telephone: () Website: In storage until further notice. |
New England Lost Ski Areas Project (NELSAP)Address:United States Contact: Jeremy David Email: nelsap@yahoo.com Telephone: () 518 321 3155 Website: www.nelsap.org Detailed online compendium of closed ski areas of New England with brochures, photos, tales. |
North Conway, New Hampshire
New England Ski Museum - Eastern Slope BranchAddress:2628 White Mountain Hwy North Conway, New Hampshire 03860 United States Contact: Andrea Masters Email: staff@skimuseum.org Telephone: (+1) 603-730-5044 Website: skimuseum.org The New England Ski Museum is dedicated to collecting, preserving, and exhibiting the vast history of skiing. Its permanent exhibit, "From the First Tracks to the Fall Line," traces skiing's 8,000-year evolution, highlighting New England's pivotal role, the legacy of the 10th Mountain Division, and the career of local Olympic champion Bode Miller. The museum also has one of the finest ski libraries in the USA, along with a vast collection of ski-related objects. A museum journal on various fascinating skiing history topics is published four times a year. |
Franconia, New Hampshire
New England Ski Museum - Franconia BranchAddress:Franconia, New Hampshire 03580-4403 United States Contact: Andrea Masters Email: staff@skimuseum.org Telephone: () 603 823 7177 Website: www.skimuseum.org The New England Ski Museum is dedicated to collecting, preserving, and exhibiting the vast history of skiing. Its permanent exhibit, "From the First Tracks to the Fall Line," traces skiing's 8,000-year evolution, highlighting New England's pivotal role, the legacy of the 10th Mountain Division, and the career of local Olympic champion Bode Miller. The museum also has one of the finest ski libraries in the USA, along with a vast collection of ski-related objects. A museum journal on various fascinating skiing history topics is published four times a year. |
About the Author
E. John B. Allen is an emeritus professor of history at Plymouth State University and the historian for the New England Ski Museum, both located in New Hampshire, USA. Allen has had an interest in ski history since 1976. He’s an active member of the editorial review board for Skiing History, the bimonthly journal of the nonprofit International Skiing History Association (ISHA), helping to vet all articles for historical accuracy prior to publication. In writing his ten books on skiing, he has traveled to many of the museums listed in this guide. His leading books include From Skisport to Skiing: 100 Years of an American Sport (1993), The Culture and Sport of Skiing from Antiquity to World War II (2008), and FIS: 100 Years of International Skiing (2010), coauthored with Egon Theiner. He’s also the junior partner in a 2019 translation by William Frank of a Russian ski book by K.B.E.E. Eimelius, Skis in the Art of War. In 2020, his short book on 35 skiing artworks and artists will be published in Vienna.
Allen has edited two books of conference papers, International Ski History Congress Collected Papers (2002) and The Spirit of Skiing (2009). He has also published more than 60 articles and book chapters in regional, national and international journals, and written 13 encyclopedia entries. He has consulted on ten films, including Legends of American Skiing, which has appeared on the the U.S. Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) from time to time since the early 1980s. He is a frequent lecturer in the United States and Europe and has been keynote speaker at academic conferences in Norway, France, Finland and in Austria, and a seminar leader in Switzerland in 2018. In 2009, he made an eight-lecture tour of Slovenia. He has received the Ullr award from the International Skiing History Association (ISHA) for three of his books and ISHA honored him with its prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award in 2009.