2010s

In 2019, long-distance runner and ski mountaineer Kilian Jornet—with the goal of just testing “how his body will perform”—completed 51 laps on Tusten ski area in Molde, Norway, in 24 hours. He climbed 78,274 feet, crushing previous 24-hour records by a ridiculous margin. To be clear, Molde is at sea level. Jornet climbed 1,535 feet, 51 times, on roughly a one-mile piste. That works out to skinning up at about 2.25 mph for 25 minutes and resting a couple of minutes during a 36-mph schuss. Fifty-one times.

Photo above: Kilian Jornet has been rewriting the record books for ski mountaineering and high-altitude running for more than a decade, sometimes merely as a result of his training regimen. Right: An early ski-endurance competition, the 24 Hours of Aspen attracted elite athletes, television audiences and sponsorship dollars in the 1980s-1990s. YouTube photo

That’s nothing for the Catalan Jornet, who grew up in Chamonix. For more than 15 years he’s been methodically assaulting the records for high-altitude marathons and ski mountaineering. In his recent five-year “Summits of My Life” project, he set the fastest known times (or FKT) for the ascent and ski descent of major mountains including Kilimanjaro, Denali, Aconcagua, the Matterhorn and Mont Blanc, at times shaving hours off previous records. Some of his records have since been broken by Ecuadorian mountain guide Karl Egloff.

Climbing and skiing massive verticals has become a passion with today’s endurance athletes, who are repeatedly blowing by many of the world's best times. Which begs the question, when did vertical-feet-skied become a thing?

Before smart watches and phone apps made vertical-feet scorekeeping easy, it was possible to estimate your numbers from the number of runs completed. Heliski operators charged by the vertical foot, and kept accurate count. You could keep track of your bragging rights whether for 24 hours, a week, a season or a lifetime. Heliski operations certified guest accomplishments with pins and special million-foot prizes, like Mike Wiegele’s silver belt buckles and limited-edition powder suits at Canadian Mountain Holidays.

One of the first vertical-foot-based competitions was the late 24 Hours of Aspen. After 13 events in 16 years, declining television ratings scuttled the show in 2003. But it left behind a slew of records. Chris Kent of Canada did 83 laps for 271,161 feet for the men’s mark in 1991. That’s 216 miles of skiing at an average 66 mph. Kate McBride and Anda Rojs set the women’s vertical record of 261,360 feet in 1997.

Once the genie was out of the bottle, lift- and rotor-assisted records started to topple. In 1994, Canadian speed skier and Chamonix resident Mark Jones logged 212,000 vertical feet in just 12 hours at Les Grands Montets. Next, Dr. Mark Bennett racked up 294,380 feet in 14 hours in the Yukon in 1997 for a new “daylight” world record. Fourteen months later, former U.S. Ski Team racer Rusty Squires chartered a specialized high-altitude helicopter and recorded 331,160 vertical feet in 10 hours and 15 minutes at Big Sky, Montana.

In the meantime, the guides at Wiegele’s were determined to set a record based on the normal constraints of commercial heli-skiing, with a full group of skiers and a single machine. In 1998, Swiss extreme skier Dominique Perret, Chris Kent and Austrian guide Robert Reindl, with Edi Podivinsky and Luke Sauder of the Canadian Alpine Team, logged 353,600 vertical feet in 14½ hours.

By this point recognition was growing that assisted vertical-foot records were as much about money as skill and endurance. As ski mountaineering boomed (it’ll be a full medal event at the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics) interest focused on self-powered athletes. In 2009, Austrian Eckhard Dorschlag set a 24-hour world record of 60,350 feet. Ultra-marathoner Mike Foote broke that in 2018 with 68,697 feet. A few months later Norwegian Lars Erik Eriksen took it to 68,697 feet. Then Jornet obliterated that.

Born in 1987, Jornet has captured more Skyrunner World Series and Skimo (ski mountaineering) World Championship medals than we have room to list. He still holds the mark for the Innominata ski traverse on Mont Blanc linking Chamonix and Courmayeur (8 hours 42 minutes), as well as the fastest ascent/descent of Mont Blanc from Chamonix (4:57) and of the Matterhorn from Breuil-Cervinia (2:52).

As for why all the fuss over vertical speed records advancing every season, Nick Heil, writing in Outside, quoted Foote: “How many push-ups can I do in a minute? How long can I hold my breath? How far can I ski in a day? In the end, it’s all arbitrary and contrived, but it gets people to ask, what am I capable of?” 

Snapshots in Time

1958 Be Careful What You Wish For
A penetrating statistical study of the ski industry in Colorado and New Mexico has been published by the University of Colorado. Pointing out that a great many more tourists visit Colorado and New Mexico in June, July and August than in the other months of the year, the authors ask if it is not possible to develop the winter tourist industry so that tourist facilities can be used all year. — “Skiers Under Scrutiny in Colorado and New Mexico” (SKI Magazine, October 1958)

1970 The Continuing Death of the Ski Bum
Once upon a time, the ski bum was the ultimate ski insider. As neither an entrenched member of the ski-area management nor a local profiteer, he enjoyed a free-swinging life with lots of time to ski and unlimited access to the inner circles of the ski establishment. It is, therefore, ironic that as the need for ski workers grows, the reputation of the ski bum diminishes. Ski bums, industry management will tell you, are bad news; the title is now synonymous with “hippie.” Many employers won’t consider hiring ski bums, even for temporary jobs. As a result, there are fewer of the old-time ski-bum types than ever before. — Janet Nelson, “But They’re Employed” (SKI Magazine, January 1970)

1978 Risk v. Reward
I have been skiing o.b. for many years. Skiing out of bounds is extremely dangerous. Inevitably some crazy powder addicts (myself included) will continue to leave the “safe” confines of patrolled areas. After reading Lou Dawson’s account and subtle hints (“... how far can you crawl with a spinal fracture?”), I realized certain steps must be taken to ensure the safety or at least the survival of o.b. skiers. Education is what is needed on this topic. — Steven Harrison, Central Valley, New York, “Whistling in the Dark" (Letters, Powder Magazine, Spring 1978)

1981 Crowds and Crashes
The rapidly increasing skiing population has led to an alarming increase in inconsiderate and out-of-control skiers who are a serious menace. Last season, an out-of-control skier crashed into me. He never so much as asked if I needed help. I’ll have a scar I’ll carry for the rest of my life. For too long ski areas have allowed Bonzai Bombers to endanger others on the slope without adequate punishment. It’s time something was done to protect the rest of us from these slope-side criminals. —Thomas F. Warda, Rochester, N.Y., "Slope menaces" (Letters, Skiing Magazine, October 1981)

2007 Bode Rules
Call them the Bode Rules. This year every athlete on the U.S. Ski Team is required to stay in official team housing. Every racer on the team is also prohibited from having a celebratory drink with the coaches after a big win, because it’s a slippery slope from that to, say, being photographed carousing with Miss March 2002 draped on your arm during the Olympics. U.S. Ski Team chief Bill Marolt implemented the stricter guidelines after the strongest American squad in decades limped away from the 2006 Torino Games with only two medals—neither of them won by the phenomenally gifted Bode Miller. —Nathaniel Vinton, “Ski Fast but Party Slow”(SKI Magazine, February 2007)

2021 A Woman’s Place Is On Patrol
“When there are women on a team like this, it lends an important voice and perspective to the job. I can say that having women on patrol keeps everyone connected. Men muscle their way through the job and women do it with finesse,” said Addy McCord, 64, one of the longest-standing professional patrollers in the industry. — Shauna Farnell, “A Surge of Women in Ski Patrols, Once Nearly All Men” (New York Times, February 11, 2021)

This winter, Israel’s Ski Hermon (skihermon.co.il) centre celebrated 50 years since opening its first ski lift, on land captured from Syria during the 1967 war. Of course, this was a freaky winter. Covid-19 kept the resort closed for half the season. Then, Israel’s successful vaccination campaign coincided with a meter of new snow in mid-February, and the resort opened on February 21.  

Israel isn’t the only country in the Middle East to offer ski slopes, in fact, most of the region’s 17 nations now offer snow skiing of one sort or another, and for some, they have been doing so for over a century.

In 1913, after young engineer Ramez Ghazzoui returned to Lebanon from his studies in Switzerland, he introduced his friends to skiing on the slopes near Aley. By the 1930s a national ski club had been formed. 1953 saw lifts installed at the Cedars (facebook.com/teleskiscedarsslopes), one of half a dozen centres that now exist in the country. Proximity to the Mediterranean means you can ski in the morning and surf in the afternoon.

In Iran, German railway engineers introduced skiing around 1930, and grew popular especially among young men returning from studies in France and Switzerland. One such student even manufactured skis in Tehran beginning in in 1938. The first ski lifts were installed in 1951. With mountains rising over 14,000 feet, Iran has probably the most extensive lift-served skiing in the region.

Iraq’s Korek ski centre (thekorekmountain.com) owes its existence to the country’s ethnic battles. As they gained autonomy, the Kurds have sought to broaden their economic base beyond oil drilling. The Korek gondola may not draw international tourism yet.

Where there’s no natural snow (or mountains), indoor skiing is booming. Egypt, Qatar, Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Kuwait have created snowdomes, so you can find lifts turning in 10 Middle Eastern nations. And for its part, Syria has announced plans for a resort on Mt. Hermon – if it can get the land back from Israel. –Patrick Thorne

Photo: Mt. Hermon by Noa.

Artificial slopes, using carpet or matting in place of snow, bring skiing to areas without reliable natural snowfall. Skiers have used them for over a century, but the earliest artificial surfaces manufactured specifically for skiing date from the 1950s. Since then, more than 1,000 have been built in 50-plus countries worldwide. The slopes come in many different shapes and sizes, with several companies involved in their manufacturing over the past 70 years, so no two are ever the same.

Dry ski slopes are essential for teaching millions of people to ski or snowboard. They can take the basic skills acquired on artificial slopes and then ski at conventional resorts around the world. Indeed, claims ski writer Patrick Thorne, dryland slopes have been a major factor in the success of the global ski industry. Many established dry slopes have strong community support, enabling children and people with special needs to learn to ski or board as well as practice regularly. They’ve also bred some of the world’s best skiers and snowboarders who’ve gone on to World Cup and Olympic glory.

The website DrySlopeNews.com includes an extensive directory of existing and former dry slope operations, with a timeline history going back to the Vienna Schneepalast of 1927. The site is the brainchild of Thorne, who learned to ski on a dry slope as a youngster in the late 1970s. 

Thorne has covered skiing from his base in the United Kingdom for more than 30 years and has recently joined ISHA as a contributor to Skiing History and skiinghistory.org. He operates the news site InTheSnow.com and a sister site, indoorsnownews.com, covering the snowdome universe. DrySlopeNews.com won a 2019 ISHA Cyber Award. —Seth Masia

The Berkshires of Massachusetts have long been known as a winter sports paradise. Forty-four ski areas popped up across the region from the 1930s to the 1970s. The legendary Thunderbolt Ski Trail put the Berkshires on the map for challenging terrain, while major resorts like Brodie Mountain sparked the popularity of night skiing with lighted trails. All-inclusive areas—like Oak n’ Spruce, Eastover and Jug End—brought thousands of new skiers into the sport between the 1940s and 1970s. Meanwhile, snow trains made it fun and easy for metro-area skiers to plan weekend ski excursions.

But despite the surge of interest in skiing in Berkshire County, the majority of these ski areas would not last. Early areas closed permanently during World War II, followed by lift relocations and the shutdown of the snow trains. In the 1970s and 1980s, the pace of closures increased due to competition from larger areas to the north, gasoline shortages, a dearth of natural snow, and a lack of volunteers at community ski centers. Over the last few decades, these once-storied places faded away and were nearly forgotten. Trails became forests once again, base lodges rotted into the ground, and lifts rusted away.

In Lost Ski Areas of the Berkshires, author Jeremy Davis has brought these lost locales back to life, chronicling their rich histories and contributions to the ski industry. 

Each former ski area, no matter how small or brief in operation, is chronicled, along with 75 historical photographs and trail maps, and the stories of those who skied them. For those who wish to explore these areas and see their ruins, a hiking guide is included for publicly accessible locations. The seven still-surviving ski areas have their own chapter. 

Jeremy Davis is the founder of the New England and North East Lost Ski Areas Project (www.nelsap.org) and has written five books on lost ski areas. He serves on the Skiing History editorial review board and the board of directors of the New England Ski Museum. He is a senior meteorologist and operations manager at Weather Routing Inc., forecasting for the marine industry.   

Lost Ski Areas of the Berkshires by Jeremy Davis. 240 pages. The History Press. $22 softcover, Kindle edition available. Winner: 2019 ISHA Skade Award.

Since 2004, ski historian and ISHA Award winner Ingrid Wicken has housed her California Ski Library in a 960-foot modular building behind her home in Norco, California. The library has grown steadily over the years and is now one of the most extensive collections of ski books, magazines, photographs and paper memorabilia in the United States. The photo archive, for example, includes images of U.S. skiing from the 1930s through the 2000s, covering Sun Valley, Aspen, Squaw Valley, Mammoth Mountain, Yosemite, Mount Hood, American ski jumping, and many California ski areas, large and small. Her book collection numbers 4,500 titles from around the globe. She also has located many rare and hard-to-find brochures, programs, research documents and correspondence from ski racers, writers and resort developers. 

Now Ingrid needs our help! Freestyle pioneer Doug Pfeiffer—honored member of both the U.S. and Canadian Ski and Snowboard Halls of Fame—has recently donated 99 boxes of one-of-a-kind ski books and vintage magazines. The building is chock full, and Wicken has launched a Go Fund Me page to add another 480 square feet of display and storage space. 

The California Ski Library is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, so donations are tax-deductible. Chip in to the fundraising campaign online at: https://tinyurl.com/CASkiLibrary. Learn more about Ingrid’s library at skilibrary.com.

For six decades, West Mountain in upstate New York has been bringing skiers—and racers—into the sport. 

By Paul Post

Spencer and Sara Montgomery purchased West Mountain in 2013 and have given the family-oriented ski area a $17 million makeover.

Spencer and Sara Montgomery moved east to West Mountain, where they’re pursuing the adventure of a lifetime in his hometown of Queensbury, New York. They’ve given the Southern Adirondacks
resort a $17 million makeover since purchasing it in 2013, including three new chairlifts, 40,000 feet of snowmaking pipeline, 200 new snow guns, four groomers and a 500-foot lift for the tubing park. 

It’s quite a change for a couple who met on the Chicago trading floor and spent 10 years in Colorado, skiing at some of the world’s most famous resorts. 

West Mountain has been a family-oriented resort since the founding Brandt clan opened it on Christmas Day 1962. By installing lights for night skiing, they quickly attracted local curiosity seekers and developed a strong customer base throughout the region. The
Adirondack Northway (Interstate 87) opened in the early 1960s, providing a direct link from the Albany area, about an hour away. While small in size, with a 1,000-foot vertical drop, the center has made a big contribution to the sport.

“It’s a feeder mountain,” Spencer said. “I’m willing to bet that West Mountain has taught more people how to ski and is one of the top training mountains in the United States. We have 1,600 kids in after-school programs. That’s our history and our future.”

The site’s steep trails have hosted competitive racing since 1962, when the late Tom Jacobs, who founded the ski school, begain coaching young racers (see obituary). With on-mountain upgrades complete, the Montgomerys are now turning their attention to developing a full-time ski racing

academy. One of their first moves was to hire Steve Lathrop, a former five-year World Cup competitor on the U.S. “A” Ski Team, who previously worked at Stratton Mountain School in southern Vermont. Lathrop is starting his third year as West Mountain’s alpine race director. 

A New Hampshire native, Lathrop learned how to ski on a rope tow built by his father, who served with the 10th Mountain Division during World War II. At one point, Lathrop was ranked 16th in the world in slalom. If not for injury, he would have gone to the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo, Japan, so he knows what a good racing program needs and believes West Mountain has all the key elements.

In January 2020—prior to the COVID-19 shutdown—West Mountain hosted a four-day FIS event including two huge U-16 and U-19 races, with 225 racers each day from all over the East. A full slate of high school, masters and New York State Racing Association competition is on tap for the 2020–2021 season.

This fall, West Mountain also opened a brand-new ski racing academy that allows student-athletes to train full time. Those from outside the area, a half-dozen from western New York and New York City, take classes remotely through Queensbury High School or their own home school. Next year, plans call for having a full-fledged lodging component as well.

“The academy is for older kids who are able to live on their own and handle their studies and ski training,” Sara Montgomery says. “A lot of kids at that U-19 level drop out of ski racing because it becomes unaffordable for their families, with all of the travel and the high cost of equipment. This gives them the opportunity to continue racing at a competitive level at a more affordable rate.”

With good coaching and top-notch facilities, it might just be a matter of time before a West Mountain racer achieves international success. “I really believe this mountain has everything needed to develop world-class ski racers,” Lathrop says.

California Ski Library: Chip In!

Since 2004, ski historian and ISHA Award winner Ingrid Wicken has housed her California Ski Library in a 960-foot modular building behind her home in Norco, California. The library has grown steadily over the years and is now one of the most extensive collections of ski books, magazines, photographs and paper memorabilia in the United States. The photo archive, for example, includes images of U.S. skiing from the 1930s through the 2000s, covering Sun Valley, Aspen, Squaw Valley, Mammoth Mountain, Yosemite, Mount Hood, American ski jumping, and many California ski areas, large and small. Her book collection numbers 4,500 titles from around the globe. She also has located many rare and hard-to-find brochures, programs, research documents and correspondence from ski racers, writers and resort developers.

Now Ingrid needs our help! Freestyle pioneer Doug Pfeiffer—honored member of both the U.S. and Canadian Ski and Snowboard Halls of Fame—has recently donated 99 boxes of one-of-a-kind ski books and vintage magazines. The building is chock full, and Wicken has launched a Go Fund Me page to add another 480 square feet of display and storage space.

The California Ski Library is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, so donations are tax-deductible. Chip in to the fundraising campaign online at: https://tinyurl.com/
CASkiLibrary. Learn more about Ingrid’s library at skilibrary.com.

COVID-19 Puts Historic Ski Train on Hold Again

The Winter Park Express ski train, which has hauled Denver skiers through the Moffat Tunnel on and off since 1940, will take another hiatus for the 2020–2021 winter season. According to a Winter Park press release, Amtrak has been reducing the number of seats sold on each train to enable social distancing during the pandemic. “After evaluating seating options on the Winter Park Express … it is not possible to operate the train successfully this season,” read the release, while noting a hopeful return for the popular rail service in 2022.

In March 2015, to celebrate its 75th anniversary, Winter Park revived the train as a one-weekend experiment with Amtrak. Tickets sold out fast, so Amtrak scheduled regular weekend trips—leaving from Denver’s Union Station for the 56-mile journey across the Continental Divide—beginning in January 2017. To learn more about the history of ski trains, go to: skiinghistory.org/history/ski-trains-history.

Lost Ski Areas of Japan

Japan’s skiing history is rich and varied. People had long used simple homemade skis to get around, but in the 1930s Hannes Schneider arrived from the Arlberg to introduce his downhill technique.

From then on, as in Europe and North America, skiing grew as a popular sport. Hundreds of ski areas opened. By the 1980s there might have been more ski areas in Japan than anywhere else—at least 700, some open 24 hours a day.

During the recession that followed the 1989 collapse of Japan’s real-estate bubble, skier visits dropped from more than 20 million to nearer five million. Hundreds of Japanese ski areas closed, many quickly overgrown by bamboo forests.

Now Andrew Lea, creator of Japan’s largest ski-oriented website SnowJapan.com, has launched http://SnowJapanHistory.com. The new site documents all of these lost Japanese ski areas. Lea is meticulously cataloguing the former areas, making personal visits, taking current pictures and adding aerial images. The work in progress so far has more than 150 former ski areas and almost 1,000 pictures.

Among the listings, for example, is Goshiki in Yamagata, which opened in 1911 when the Austrian Egon Edler von Kratzer skied there, and closed in 1998. Nanamaki, located less than 3km (2 miles) from Nozawa Onsen (home to the world-famous Japan Ski Museum) operated only 10 years, until 1982. Dedicated skiers walked a kilometer from the rail station, crossing a river on a cable-pulled ferry to reach the slopes. —Patrick Thorne

The Man Who Skied on Rocks

When snow is unavailable, skiers will glide on anything: grass, pine needles, sawdust, sand dunes, volcanic ash, carpet, plastic mat, soap flakes, powdered mica and soda crystals.

In 1958, German industrialist Dr Rudolf Alberti (1907–1974) patented the concept of skiing on gravel. Alberti owned a mine in the Harz Mountains (still going today) that produced barium sulphate—a bright white dye—and calcium fluoride. The ore contained barite, or heavy spar, a very dense mineral used today in X-ray shielding, rubber mudflaps and oil-drilling mud. American industry alone uses about 3.3 million tons of the stuff annually.

Alberti noticed that barite nodules have a very low friction co-efficient and is dust free. He built a 1,300-foot-long (400-meter) ski run and covered it with a mix of river gravel and barite, about six inches (15cm) deep.

Contemporary reports recorded the surface proved pretty good for skiing, but that skis disintegrated due to the heat generated. Alberti ordered up a stock of skis with steel bases, and with a concrete mixer coated the gravel with used engine oil. This reportedly “dramatically increased ski speed but producing some hair-raising results and near disastrous falls.” Alberti received patents in Germany and the United States.

The slope does not appear ever to have operated as a commercial venture. But to this day Alberti’s home town, St. Andreasberg, has a small ski area operated by Alberti-Lifts. —Patrick Thorne

Sarah Lewis Out at FIS

The FIS Council abruptly dismissed Sarah Lewis on October 9 from her post as secretary general, a job she held for 20 years. The FIS announced the decision in a terse one-sentence statement that said the move was “based on a complete loss of confidence,” without providing specifics. The statement was amended within days, and no longer includes that verbiage.

Lewis, 55, was a member of the British alpine national team from 1982 to 1988, and participated in the 1987 Ski World Championships and 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, before joining the FIS in 1994 as a Continental Cups coordinator.

Lewis had been considered a candidate to run for FIS president to succeed Gian-Franco Kasper, who last year announced plans to step down at the next International Ski Congress, according to European media reports. The election has been postponed several times due to the pandemic, and is now scheduled for June 2021.

The current Swiss ski federation president, the 1993 downhill world champion Urs Lehmann, has declared his candidacy to replace Kasper. Two other possible contenders are FIS vice president Mats Arjes and Johan Eliasch, the London-based billionaire CEO of the Head Sport group, who was nominated by the British national ski association (GB Snowsport). FIS has had only two presidents—both Swiss men—over the past 70 years. Marc Hodler held the top spot from 1951 to 1998, with Kasper taking over for him. —Greg Ditrinco

The Crown’s Royal Avalanche isn’t a Snow Job

Television isn’t known for accurately depicting historic events. Where’s the drama, and ratings, in that?

The popular Netflix series The Crown, which chronicles the reign of Queen Elizabeth II, gets mixed reviews on that score. Critics have applauded the show, which has 39 Emmy nominations, winning 10 times. The Telegraph, Britain’s daily broadsheet, calls it “TV’s best soap opera,” a format not known for its accuracy. While historians quibble, the BBC claims the show, now in its fourth season, generally follows the facts.

The fourth-season episode “Avalanche” opens on an incident during a ski holiday at Klosters, Switzerland. The episode begins with a spectacular dry-snow avalanche obliterating a couloir in the Alps. The next shot shows the Queen and Prince Philip in Buckingham Palace, as her private secretary Martin Charteris reports the involvement of four skiers, including Prince Charles, and that two of the group were swept away. No one can say yet whether Charles is safe, and the family contemplates the possibility that he has died.

ISHA members will remember this March 10, 1988 incident. While skiing on steep off-piste terrain on the Gotschnagrat, two of Charles’ friends were swept up in the avalanche, which just missed the prince and local guide Bruno Sprecher. Major Hugh Lindsay, 34, a former equerry to the Queen, was killed, and Patricia Palmer-Tomkinson broke both legs but survived. The royal party flew home to London on March 12, accompanying Lindsay’s body. 

Why's it called that?

Dead End? Not for Skiers

Touted as North America’s equivalent of the French Alps, the granite spires of the Bugaboos tower over glaciers in eastern British Columbia. First officially noted by a surveying expedition in the late 1800s, the range attracted Europeans to the region during a luckless mini-gold rush in 1895. Miners staked out claims, but the modest deposits turned out to be galena and pyrite (whose yellow metallic luster gave it the nickname of fool’s gold). Frustrated prospectors soon anointed the area “bugaboo,” their term for a dead end. Deeper etymological roots, probably Celtic in origin, date to the mid-18th century or so, with the meaning of “an object of fear or alarm.” Any way you look at it, the Bugaboo name was an intimidating, rather than inviting, moniker for the mountain range. The Bugaboo name stuck, but the miners did not. What gold seekers abandoned, mountaineers soon championed, and one after another the flinty spires were summited. Next to arrive were adventurous skiers, with the Bugaboos becoming the cradle of heliskiing in the mid-1960s.

SKI ART

Edwin Holgate (1892–1977)

Edwin Holgate was born in Allandale, Ontario in 1892 and died in Montreal in 1977. He painted “The Skier,” a portrait of his friend Jackrabbit Johannsen, circa 1935. Oil on canvas (66.5 by 56.6 cm). Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Arthur M. Terroux Bequest (Acquisition No. 1980.9). Photo for MMFA by Brian Merrett. Copyright: Jonathan Rittenhouse

Nobody had to be told who “The Skier” was! So it’s surprising that this painting of Canadian ski pioneer Hermann Smith-Johannsen, known to many as “The Chief” and to even more as “Jackrabbit,” is not better known.

Edwin Holgate, his artist friend, painted this portrait in a typically direct approach—both in the way that Johannsen lived his life and the way that Holgate portrayed his subjects. Jackrabbit was proud to bear the symbol of the Canadian Red Birds ski club on his chest, while the Norwegian patterned gloves symbolize his heritage. The Laurentian hills around St. Sauveur, or perhaps Mont Tremblant, provide the backdrop.

He studied at the Art Association of Montreal before leaving for Paris to attend the Académie de la Grande Chaumière in 1912. He was visiting Ukraine when the war broke out and had to make his way back to Canada via Siberia and Japan. He joined the 4th Canadian Division that saw action on the western front and, after the armistice, was stationed in Flanders.

Holgate joined the Beaver Group, a liberal organization that included about a dozen women artists in Montreal in 1920. He was married that year, and the couple moved to Paris, where he was influenced by young Russian emigré painters. Back in Montreal in 1922, he had his first exhibition at the Arts Club and was later an instructor in wood engraving at the École des Beaux Arts. He joined the famous Group of Seven prominent landscape painters—as the ninth member!—in 1929 and was elected to full membership in the Canadian Academy of Arts in 1935. In the 1920s and 1930s, Holgate became well known for his woodcuts, book illustrations, landscapes and murals—he created one for the Canadian Pavilion at the World’s Fair in New York in 1939—and for portraits, too: Around 1935 he painted his friend Jackrabbit, a perfect model for “The Skier.”

Holgate secured a position as a war artist in World War II in England, but there were “difficulties,” and once back in Montreal, found that the art scene had changed…so he moved to the Laurentians. He died in May 1977. The National Gallery of Canada held a retrospective of his work in 1975 and a second retrospective was mounted by the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts in 2005. — E. John B. Allen

FIS calls for a ban on all fluorinated waxes for next season. By Greg Ditrinco

The International Ski Federation (FIS) surprised some ski-race insiders by calling for a ban on the use of all fluorinated ski waxes for next season. The announcement, made at the Federation’s annual fall meeting in Constance, Germany, will catalyze changes in race ski-prep procedures and technology.  

“The use of fluorinated ski waxes, which have been shown to have a negative environmental and health impact, were banned for all FIS disciplines from the 2020–2021 season,” according to a FIS press statement released in November 2019. A working group will be formed to establish the new regulations.

The ban originated from the Committee for Competition Equipment, a panel that defines the technical specifications used across the FIS snow sports spectrum: alpine, cross-country skiing, nordic combined, ski jumping, snowboard, freestyle and freeski. The new working group has a rugged road ahead to unite a diverse array of nations and competitive disciplines to agree upon compliance standards.

The Norwegian Ski Federation banned the use of “fluoros” for all racers U16 and under last season, which was used as a test case by FIS to determine if a widespread ban was feasible, according to Ski Racing. Apparently, the answer was yes.  

Fluorinated waxes significantly decrease friction and increase glide, and can be used across all ski and snowboard disciplines. As with all bans involving athletic performance or equipment, the success of a prohibition greatly depends on the ability to enforce the ban in the field and reliably test for non-compliance. 

The waxes contain perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, collectively known as PFAS, which have been linked to a growing list of health concerns. The chemicals are found in drinking water and persistently remain in the food chain. Sometimes called “forever chemicals,” PFAS are resistant to moisture and extremely slow to break down. These are the same qualities that make them so effective in ski waxes. 

From pine tar to fluorocarbons, waxing to win has been a constant in ski competitions. Ski waxing, however, long predates alpine skiing. It arose in the early days of Scandinavian ski-sport, from the coincidence that waterproofing wood also helps it to glide on snow. Whether you’re building a ship or a ski, you need to apply a preservative to wood. The earliest known preservative was pine tar, often called pitch.

Waxing evolved along with ski gear. Cross country racer Peter Østbye, born near Lillehammer in 1888, patented Østbyes Klister in 1913. By 1940, a rub-on alpine wax called 1-3-5 was sold under the brand Toko. In 1946, a company was founded under the name of Swix, a blend of the words ski and wax. Swix offered hard and soft waxes to cover a range of snow conditions, providing both glide and durability. Beginning in 1986, Terry Hertel in California and Swix chemists in Norway independently discovered that adding fluorocarbon to wax increased glide by two percent, which can determine the margin of victory in a race. Hertel introduced a commercial version in 1986; Swix followed in 1990, with a fluorocarbon powder that sold for $100 for three grams.

The growing use of fluorinated waxes came with increased scrutiny. Recent studies and subsequent publicity apparently accelerated the push for the ban. In 2016 Congress amended the Toxic Substances Control Act, requiring the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to control chemicals deemed harmful to human health. As one result, starting in early 2018 the EPA notified all companies using fluorocarbons in their products to document the specific chemicals and amounts used. For ski wax manufacturers and importers this would mean reporting all chemicals – dyes, scents, waxes, hardeners and fluorines, retroactively. Most wax companies couldn’t afford the complex procedures and many immediately stopped selling and making fluorowaxes. Besides, the most common fluorines will be banned in the EU starting in July 2020. It was in this context that FIS imposed the new ban. 

For more information on the history of ski wax, see “Grip and Glide” by Seth Masia in the June 2010 issue of Skiing History, or read a variation of his article online:  skiinghistory.org/
history/grip-and-glide-short-history-ski-wax

Another Record Year for ISHA Fundraising

In 2019, charitable giving and corporate sponsorships together rose 14.1 percent over the previous record.

For the sixth year in a row, donors to the nonprofit International Skiing History Association (ISHA) set a record for unrestricted donations. Thanks to the generosity of ISHA members, individual donations and corporate contributions together rose to $176,466 — 14.1 percent over last year’s record. Donors beat ISHA’s 2019 budget goal by 10 percent.

The 2019 fundraising campaign raised a total of $123,446 in gifts from 391 individuals. The amount contributed beats the 2018 record by 0.7 percent. The ISHA Board of Directors thanks Christin Cooper-Taché for leading the annual drive, for the third year, and we welcome the return of John McMurtry to the post of vice president for fundraising.

Five dozen companies and organizations contributed $53,000, up an astonishing 32 percent over 2018. These firms (listed as corporate sponsors) support ISHA’s mission generously, and deserve our support in return.

In 2019, membership dues covered about 20 percent of ISHA’s annual costs for publishing the magazine, maintaining the website, producing the annual ISHA Awards program, and maintaining communications with the membership. The balance of the budget was met through charitable contributions, corporate sponsorships, bulk sales of the magazine to our museum partners, foundation grants and revenue from investment funds.

On the expense side of the ledger, 66 percent of the budget went to support ISHA programs (magazine and website publishing, awards program). The remainder went to administration (member service, bookkeeping and audit, fundraising, member recruitment).

ISHA is a 501(c)(3) public charity, eligible to receive grants from family and community foundations, donor-advised funds and corporate matching programs, in addition to direct contributions from individuals.

If you’re interested in supporting a specific ISHA program, contact president Seth Masia at (303) 594-1657. If your firm would like to be a corporate sponsor, contact Peter Kirkpatrick at (541) 944.3095. Listed here are the donors who supported ISHA’s mission with tax-free donations and gift memberships above and beyond membership dues in 2019. —Seth Masia, President

Income 2019

 Individual donations $123,446
 Memberships $48,257
 Corporate sponsorships $53,000
 Event tickets and other sales $15,198
 Magazine sales (museums, other partners) $6,432
Total $246,333

Expenditures 2019

 Magazine articles & photography $73,188
 Magazine printing & distribution $40,156
 Events, ISHA Awards program $28,739
 Website content and management $13,272
 Administration & bookkeeping $55,405
 Fundraising, member recruitment $20,983
 Audit, tax preparation $3,500
Total $235,243

ISHA Donors Honor Roll

Chairman's Circle
$5,000 and up

• Beekley Family Foundation
• Rigo Thurmer Fund
• Jake & Maureen Hoeschler
• Jean-Claude Killy
• Barry & Kristine Stott

Super Givers
$2,000 to $4,999

• John J. Byrne
• Dave & Renie Gorsuch
• Mike & Carol Hundert In memory of Coach Bob Beattie
• Liza-Lee & George Kremer
• James Mace In memory of Warren Miller
• Stephanie McLennan
• Laurie Miller
• Jack Nixon
• Nicholas Skinner

History Leader
$1,000 to $1,999

• Skip Beitzel
• Albert & Gretchen Besser
• Christin Cooper-Taché & Mark Taché
• Elliot Cooperstone
• Tania & Tom Evans
• Charles Ferries
• John Fry
• E. Nicholas Giustina
• Adolph Imboden
• Peter R. and Cynthia K.
• Kellogg Foundation
• Kitzbueheler Ski Club
• Dr. Michael Huber
• Bill Leonard
• Peter Looram
• Serge & Caroline Lussi
• Debby McClenahan
• Judy McLennan
• Seth Masia In memory of John Fry
• Richard & Deborah Pearce
• Lee Perry
• William & Cornelia Prime
• Charles Sanders
• James Schaefer
• Barbara Alley Simon
• Sam Stout
• Thomas Wilkins

Gold Medalist
$500 to $999

• Sam-Paul Allison In memory of Richard Hanson
• Osvaldo & Eddy Ancinas
• Graham Anderson In memory of John Fry
• Brian Balusek
• Jack Beattie In memory of Bob Beattie 
• Natalie Bombard Leduc
• Michael & Jennifer Calderone
• Chris & Eileen Diamond
• Brian Fairbank
• Peter Fischer
• Jim & Barbara Gaddis
• Hugh Harley
• Martha Head
• David Ingemie
• Bill Irwin
• Jim & Dorothy Klein
• Eva Kuchar
• John Logan
• J. Howard Marshall
• Paul & Linda Mathews
• Andy & Linda McLane McLane Harper Charitable Foundation
• Marvin & Renee Melville
• Chauncey & Edith Morgan In memory of Edouard “Buck” Thys
• David Moulton
• Trygve Myhren
• Bradley Olch
• Penny Pitou Penny Pitou and Milo Pike Charitable Fund of the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation
• Preston Smith
• Bob Soden
• Barry & Carol Stone In memory of Mort Lund
• Einar Sunde
• Betty Tung
• Bernie Weichsel

Silver Medalist
$100 to $499

• Sally Brew
• Alf Engen Ski Museum Foundation
• Jon Allsop
• Russell Amick
• Coralue Anderson & John Krueger
• Chris Anthony
• Gordon Arwine
• Michelle Avery
• Peter Barrett
• Pat Bauman
• Kevin Beardsley & Cyndy Gimble
• Bryan Berkowitz
• Stephen & Louise Berry
• Michael Bing
• Peter Birkeland
• Kerri & Mike Bisner
• Heather Black
• Tom Blair
• Jeff Blumenfeld
• Spencer Bocks
• Robert Bolduc Charles Bowen
• T. Anthony & Linda L.Brooks, Brooks Foundation
• Frank Brown
• G. Stanley Brown
• Jan & Judith Brunvand
• Charlie & Mary Seaton Brush
• John & Jacolyn Bucksbaum Family Foundation
• William Burns In memory of James Reilly
• Doug Campbell
• Harvey & Reserl Chalker
• Jaycee & Patty Clark
• Blaise Colt
• Julie Conn
• Phil Cooke
• Sven & Mary Coomer
• Jean & Drury Cooper
• Robert Craven
• Rusty Crook
• Jeff Crowley (Wachusett Mountain)
• Richard Crumb
• Art & Sharon Currier
• Keith D’Entremont
• Andrew & Lucinda Daly
• Michael Dawson & Vicki Dunaway
• Mike Day
• Mike Dederer
• Michael Delich
• Yves Desgouttes
• Kathe Dillmann
• Peter Dirkes
• John Douglas
• Jack & Kathleen Eck
• Carol & Richard Fallon
• Sally Faulkner
• Robert Finley
• Mitch & Kim Fleischer
• Victor & Karin Frohlich
• Ken Gallard
• Hans Geier
• Kirby Gilbert
• Sepp Gmuender
• Christana & Robert Gnehm-Boyle In memory of Gus Gnehm
• Peter Graves
• James Graves
• Austen Gray
• Ellen Greer
• Larry Gubb
• Steve Haber
• Susie Hagemeister In honor of Hans Hagemeister
• Maurice Halladay
• Thomas Halloran
• Mike Halstead
• D. Anne Heggtveit Hamilton
• John Hansen
• Jeff Hastings
• T. Newlin & Liz Hastings
• Bettie Hastings
• Bob Hatcher
• Cathy Hay
• Thomas Hayward
• James & Linda Henderson
• Luzi Hitz
• John Hoagland
• Ron Hoffman
• Jackson Hogen
• David Holton
• Paul & Kathy Hooge
• Bill Humes
• Jim Hunter
• Joe Irwin
• Steve Irwin
• Jeffrey Jacobs
• JJ Johansson
• Phil & Brigitte Johnson
• Donald Jones
• Alison Jones
• Wini Jones
• David Kaufman
• Hank Kaufmann
• Stuart Keiller
• John & Denise Kelley
• LeRoy Kingland
• Peter Kirkpatrick In memory of Bob Beattie
• Gene Kliot
• Mike Korologos
• Madi Kraus
• Erik Kvarsten
• Michael Lafferty
• Gary & Debbie Lambert
• William Lash
• Charlie Leavitt
• Jeff & Martha Leich
• Robert Leonard
• Mimi Levitt
• John Lewis
• Rick & Mali Lind
• Tom & Laurel Lippert
• Alan Lizee
• Chris Lizza
• John Lovett
• Bob & Susie Luby
• John Lundin
• Phil Lutey
• Bob Lutz
• John Maas
• James Mangan
• Bob & Trudy Matarese
• Jeff Mayfield
• Sloan McBurney
• John McMurtry
• Robert McNeill
• Christine McRoy
• Charlie McWilliams
• Wayne Metcalf
• Danny Minogue
• Alan Moskowitz
• Janet Mosser In memory of Donn Mosser
• Tim Mullin
• Paul Naeseth
• Michael Neal
• James Niehues
• Gary & JoAnn Olson
• George Page
• Tom Parrott
• Fred Passmore
• Tom & Sally Patterson
• Peter Pell
• Chuck Perkins
• Michelle & Tim Petrick
• Albert & Carol Pierce Pierce
• Thomas Pierce & Lu Ann Dillon
• Michael Prinster
• Peggy Proctor Dean
• Dave Pym
• Christian & Joanie Raaum
• Ken Read
• Haldor Reinholt
• Ken Rendell
• Grant Reynolds
• Wilbur Rice
• Rodgers Ski & Sport
• Mary Sargent
• David Schames
• Bill Scott
• Allan & Sally Seymour
• Tom & Sandy Sharp
• John & Judy Sherman
• Brad Simmons
• Curt Simonson
• Alan Skelley
• Lowell Skoog
• Rod Slifer
• Geoff Smith
• Ann Soden
• John Stahler
• Arthur Stegen
• Joan Stevens
• Nancy Stone
• Stephen Storey
• John Stout
• William & Carolyn Stutt
• The Carwill Foundation
• Ted & Herta Sutton
• Robert Tengdin
• Mark & Joannie (Teorey) Ter Molen
• Robert & Sue Thibault
• David Thurgood
• Charles Todd
• Brent & Bonnie Tregaskis
• Richard Tucker
• Dana Turvey In memory of John Gianotti
• Charles Upson
• US Ski & Snowboard Hall of Fame & Museum
• Ray Van Epps
• Louise Van Winkle
• Bruce Wadsworth
• Karl Wallach
• Lawrence Walsh
• Dave Warner
• James Wick
• Thomas Wies

Bronze Medalist
Up to $99

• Nancy Abens
• Gerald Albertson
• Robert & Margaret Albrecht
• Guy Alexander
• Richard Allen
• Alan Baker
• F. Michael Bannon In memory of John Howe
• William Barker
• James Berry
• Henri Bigo
• Rick Birk
• Art & Julie Bookstrom
• Robert Bossange
• Richard Boutelle
• John A. Briggs
• Jerome Britton
• John Caldwell
• Duncan Campbell
• Frank Carrannante
• Warren & Gretchen Cash
• Brian E. Clark
• Barbara Clark
• Jim Clarke
• Ned & Jan Cochran
• Katherine Coppock
• Jay Cowan
• Christopher Cunio
• Chris Dawkins
• Ralph Derbyshire
• Enzo DiSalvatore
• David Downs
• Randy Draper
• Thomas Duhs
• Dorothy Dyer
• Jacob Entjes
• Donald Evons
• Bill Fallon
• John Farley
• Diane & Jim Fisher
• Robert Fries & Deborah Teal
• Margaret Fuller
• Janice Ganong
• Caleb & Sidney Gates
• Jack Geortner
• Cecily Grant
• Philip & Shirley Gravink
• Wende Gray
• Les Guilford
• Brett Heineman
• Bill Howell
• Julien & Trudy Hutchinson
• Walter Jackson
• Walter Jaeger
• Kathleen James
• Kirk Johnson
• Nigel Jones
• Kirk Jordan
• Paul Kenny
• Earl Kishida
• AJ Kitt
• Gary Kropp
• Ivo Krupka
• John Ladd
• Warren Lerude
• John Lippman
• Jean Luce
• John Lutz
• Dick & Jo Anne Malmgren
• David Mandy
• Frank May
• Robert & Nancy McCafferty
• James McHale
• O. Ross McIntyre & Helen Whyte
• Walter Melvin
• Pam Merrill
• Millie Merrill
• Louis Miller
• Mark Miller
• Scott Moore
• Kathy & Bill Moser
• Dana Moses
• Rick Moulton
• Roger Moyer
• Karla Mundt
• Barbara Nelson
• Robert Nessle
• Nancy Oden In memory of Dr. Robert Oden
• James Oertel
• Deanna & Val Painter
• Ruth Parton
• Nancy Pesman In memory of Ian Ferguson
• Tom Powers
• Charles Quinn In honor of Bea-Bea
• Thomas Quinn
• David Rand
• Andrea Reilly
• James Reilly
• Stuart Rempel
• Joseph & Cynthia Riggs
• Bill Roberts
• Robert Rose
• Rick Rust
• Fred Schaaff
• Jake Schuler
• Henry Schwarzberg
• Richard Scott
• Constantine Siversky
• Linda Socher
• John & Ann Spencer
• Glenn Spiller
• Simeon Thomas
• Egils & Patricia Vigants
• Tom Walker & Cindy Shumway
• Patrick Walsh
• William Watson
• Tom West
• Greg Witt
• Bob Woodward
• Linda Zimmerman

LEADING THE WAY

The following ISHA members have kick-started our 2020 fundraising by giving $100 or more by March 1, 2020.

• Graham Anderson | In memory of John Fry
• F. Michael Bannon | In memory of John Howe
• John J. Byrne
• Duncan Campbell
• Bonnie, Tom & Matt Clark
• Chris & Jessica Davenport
• Alex Douglas | Mount Seymour History Project
• Caleb & Sidney Gates
• Stefi Hastings
• Hickory & Tweed Ski Shop | Skip Beitzel
• Jake & Maureen Hoeschler | Jake Hoeschler Family Foundation
• Mike Korologos
• James & Dianne Mahaffey
• Judy McLennan
• Stephanie McLennan
• Bob Presson
• Alex Riddell
• Albert & Julia Rosenblatt | In memory of John Fry
• Charlie Sanders
• Rod Schrage
• David Scott
• Richard Sippel
• Otto Tschudi
• Annie Ward

Top exec will step down after five decades at the sport’s governing body. 

Gian Franco Kasper, the president of the International Ski Federation (FIS), recently announced that he will step down this spring after 22 years at the helm of the sport’s governing organization. Both an effective and controversial executive, Kasper has held different roles at FIS for nearly 50 years...

Spence Eccles and Alan Engen at the 2019 Intermountain Ski Hall of Fame ceremony. Eccles won the 2019 Crystal Award for his decades of leadership and support for the Engen Museum.

The Intermountain Ski Hall of Fame, located at the Alf Engen Ski Museum in Park City, Utah, inducted three new honored members at its annual banquet on September 25, 2019.

As part owner and vice president of marketing at Park City Resort, Badami staged the first alpine World Cup race in Utah in 1985. For the next four years, Park City kicked off the season’s World Cup circuit with the “America’s Opening” races — a critical component in the state’s successful bid to host the 2002 Winter Olympics. He died in a helicopter accident near the Park City base area in 1989.

Darrell “Pinky” Robison moved from Peoria, Illinois to Salt Lake City at age 12 and fell in love with skiing.

Less than a decade later, he won the Harriman Cup at Sun Valley in 1951, the Snow Cup at Alta in 1953 and the slalom in the Pan American Games in Bariloche, Argentina in 1954. The pinnacle of his career came in 1952 when the U.S. Olympian finished 22nd in slalom at the Oslo Games. 

Erik Schlopy amassed one of the longest and most successful careers in U.S. ski racing history. He is a two-time Junior Olympic champion, a seven-time U.S. national champion, and three-time U.S. Olympian. He was named to six FIS World Championship teams, capturing a bronze medal in giant slalom in 2003.

Schlopy is the only ski racer in history to successfully go from World Cup skiing to the Pro Tour and back to World Cup ski racing. In his first pro season, Schlopy was the 1995 Serengeti Rookie of the Year

Gramshammer Day in Vail

Hundreds of people packed the Ford Amphitheater in Vail, Colorado on September 20, 2019 to celebrate the life of Pepi Gramshammer, the Austrian ski racer who became the town’s leading and legendary innkeeper. In 1962 he helped to found the fledgling resort’s ski school and, with wife Sheika, in 1964 opened the Austrian-style Gasthof Gramshammer. (Gramshammer died on August 17, 2019; see the September-October 2019 issue of Skiing History or read online at skiinghistory.org/lives). Colorado Gov. Jared Polis presented Sheika and family members with a citation declaring September 20 as “Pepi Gramshammer Day” in perpetuity statewide.