August 1995 Blazer

Miners and mail carriers were among the first skiers in Utah

THE HISTORY BLAZER ATEHTS OF UTAH'S PAST FROM THE Utah State Historical Society 300 Rio Grande Salt Lake City. vT 84101 ( 801) 533- 3500 FAX ( 801) 333- 3503 Miners and Mail Carriers Were among the First Skiers in Utah TODAYSN OW S ~- IS EGNIOY ED - BY- .~ WSANDS. O F UTAIIN- San d - visitors. . The state's - - alpine and nordic fiicilities were famous worldwide even before Salt Lake City was selected to host the 2002 Winter Olympics. What was once a dangerous diversion enjoyed by only a few, or for some a useful means of transportation, is now a multimillion dollar industry. Several influences have combined to make skiing and Utah synonymous in the minds of many. The foremost factors are natural, as the state has been blessed with rugged mountain peaks and a deep, reliable snow base. Some of Utah's prime skiing areas in Little Cottonwood Canyon average 450 inches of snow a year, much of it the light, dry powder most favored by western skiers. Hardy Utah residents began skiing ( sometimes by necessity) long before today's fashionable resorts were developed. The techniques for sliding down slopes on wooden planks were introduced by Scandinavian immigrants for whom skiing was a vital part of their cultural heritage. Hard- rock miners, battling 40- foot snowpacks in the Wasatch canyons, began experimenting with skis in the late 19th century. Mailmen made their deliveries to the tiny town of Alta on skis in the 1870s. A young assayer showed off his rudimentary ski equipment to a visitor in the 1880s: ' He brought out a pair of Norwegian snow- shoes- skees- fourteen feet long and six inches wide- his winter walking boots- his only means of going abroad. Pointing to the precipitous mountain wall opposite, he astonished us by saying that he had ridden down it on his skees. He could not fasten the snowshoes to his feet, that would not be safe. It was dangerous, but exciting work, he said simply. " A number of ski organizations were founded in the early 20th century. The Wasatch Mountain Club, formed in 1912, still organizes ski trips today. In 1915 the Nowegian Young F o b Society began sponsoring ski excursions and races. The sport grew in popularity over the next few years, despite the primitive equipment and almost complete lack of facilities. A ski jumping competition on January 16, 1916, in the foothills near the University of Utah drew a reported 15,000 spectators, and ski jumping continued in popularity for years. Utah's Norwegian residents, including Alf Engen, long dominated the sport. Dubbed ' the Human Aeroplane" for his powerful ski jumping technique, Engen came to the United States in 1929 at age 19. He had been a sports hero in Norway, but he was unsure of his future in America he told a reporter in the late 1970s. He went on to become ' the only person to ever win first place in all four events of the National Four- way Skiing Championships " : downhill, slalom, jumping, and cross- country. ( more) Moreover, he did it twice- in 1940 and again in 1941. A legend in his own lifetime, wen has won hundreds of trophies; skied in Hollywood films; worked to develop winter sports areas in Utah, Idaho, Nevada, and Wyoming; coached the 1948 Olympic ski team; and taught at least 30,000 skiers. He was inducted into the Utah Sports Hall of Fame in 1971 and the Beehive Hall of Fame in 1986. World War I and the Great Depression slowed skiing's progress, but the late 1930s saw the sport enter its modern phase as primitive tows were installed at Brighton, Beaver Mountain, and Snow Basin. When America's first ski lifts were built in Sun Valley, Idaho, in 1936, George H. Watson, the self- styled mayor ( and sometimes only resident) of Alta, recognized Alta's potential as a ski area and began promoting the idea. His ideas quickly gained support; the Forest M c e saw a chance to develop a recreation facility, the Works Progress Administration and Civilian Conservation Corps saw the potential for jobs, and a group of Salt Lake City businessmen recognized a fmancial opportunity. During the winter of 1938- 39 a single chairlift, built partly from an old mining tram, took skiers ( when it was working). up the face of- Collins Gulch in Alta. By the following winter the bugs had been worked out and Alta began its long history of develop-ment. In the 56 intervening years Utah has attmcted skiers from all over the world. See Anthony W. Bowman, " From Silver to Skis: A History of Alta, Utah, and Little Cottonwood Canyon, 1847- 1966" ( M. A. thesis, Utah State University, 1% 7); Beehiw Hall of Fdme, 1986, program in USHS collections; Alexis Kelner, Skiing in Utah: A History ( Salt Lake City, 1980). nzE HISTOBRLYA ZERi s produced by the Utah State Historical Society and hded in part by a grant fiom the Utah Statehood Centennial Commission. For more information about the Historical Society telephone [phone].