2021 - 2022 Far West Skier's Guide - 34

The Basis for a
History Program in FWSA
by John Watson, History Chair
Our history program started in the early 2000s when we recognized we had a 75th birthday
coming up in 2005. There had always been members who could speak of people, incidents,
and times past. Then President Mike Sanford took the initiative to formalize and added committee
members concerned with our skiing history; and he recruited several members to lead
it, including Catherine Ohl, Chuck Morse, and me (there were and are many others who have
gems to share). Mike later found a sponsor for one piece of the program in 2004 - Steamboat
Ski Resort.
Why have a history program? There are several reasons. First, to expose or educate
members to the dynamic history of their sport. Second, to provide educational material for
public use. Third, to promote the establishment, growth, and continuance of preservation in
learning centers and museums. And, Fourth, to provide opportunities for research into snowsport
history.
We started with the Ski Club/Council Recognition patterned after the outstanding club
competition. We laid out a detailed template for guidance on what could be in such a history.
The competing entries would be judged by an expert panel. Criteria includes support activity
in the public community. Such histories show the pace of the Association's development (within
the larger universe of ski industry development), inform members - and conceivably be patched
together into a broader history. It can be used for outreach and recruiting.
The amount of work that must go into a substantial history discouraged participation and
caused us to create a recognition other than the original. So, we started the Historic Ski Club
Program for clubs who could prove operation for 50 years or more. Note that this now means
formation before and operation since 1971. Just provide the History Chair an application available
on www.fwsa.org, your proof of founding date and a good hi-res color logo. The HSC program
proves the enduring attraction of clubs and the need for them to provide a basic
information center at the grassroots. Clubs started in North America in 1861 with the Alturas
Snowshoe Club (could also be considered a league) but the longest operating clubs are the Cascade
Ski Club of Portland and the Yosemite Winter Club, both formed in 1928. We know though
that there were exercise clubs in Seattle in 1930 who may have had skiing as part of their programs.
(See page 31 for the listing.)
The HSC programs also include Ski Patrols and Ski Schools within the Far West region.
If you know of a deserving Ski School; or Patrol that has been in existence for 50 or more
years, please, as above, complete the application available on www.fwsa.org, provide the proof
of founding date and supply a good hi-res color logo.
The Western Ski Heritage Program is an award based on the Steamboat Sonsorship.
Steamboat is an historic odyssey. It was designed to recognize recent work which designed to
show the role of snowsport in the larger community. We have recognized many authors and
research projects, all shown on wwwfwsa.org.
There is still work to be done in the preservation of Association records and the trends
that could be gained from them. If you read through our 90th history and fact book, entitled
" The Far West Ski Association Turns 90 " , you will see several possible historic sketches that
need authors. Using the Secretary's minutes and reports from councils and committee
chairmen, an annual narrative could be written. All good for recruiting memberships to our
clubs, councils and organization!
FWSA HEROES...
Have an unrecognized or under-recognized hero in your organization? We try to remedy this with recognition panels at the FWSA
Convention. At the 2019 Convention, we posted portraits of Jimmie Heuga - Olympian and humanitarian, Lila Lapanja - US Ski Team
aspirant, Lindsey Van and Sarah Hendrickson - US Ski Jumpers, Royall Brown - Public Lands Advisory Board, Bruce Campbell - 10th
Mountain Division, and Doug Pringle - DSUSA Founder. These were easy and most have been recognized in some way. However, there
is a host of people who undeservedly remain in obscurity. Help us spotlight them! Just send your nominee's name to the FWSA History
Chair, with an image that can be digitally reproduced and a brief paragraph or more, citing the reasons the candidate is a hero. Send
them when you have them, but the cutoff is March 19, 2022.
34 Far West Skier's Guide 2O21 - 2O22
John Lundin Wins
2021 Western Ski
Heritage Award
by John Watson
Skiing Sun Valley: a History from Union
Pacific to the Holdings, published by The History
Press in 2020, is an in-depth history of the
country's first destination ski resort where
modern skiing in this country began. The book
authored by John Lundin includes more than
180 historic photos from a variety of sources.
It tells previously untold stories from
original Union Pacific documents, oral histories
of individuals involved with the resort
from its beginning, and histories of Union Pacific
and the Harriman family.
The book discusses the history of Sun
Valley, the country's first destination ski resort
built in 1936 by Averell Harriman and Union
Pacific in the wilds of Central Idaho for $1.5
million. Harriman intended to regenerate rail
passenger traffic that had been decimated by
the Great Depression.
The resort was designed to bring European
ambiance to the U.S., and was called America's
St. Moritz. Sun Valley had an ultra-modern
lodge with big city amenities, a ski school with
Austrian instructors that made skiing sexy,
and chair lifts invented by Union pacific engineers
based on a system to load bananas onto
boats.
Skiing Sun Valley explores Sun Valley's relationship
with Averell Harriman and the
Union Pacific Railroad, Harriman's personal
involvement with virtually every decision
made about the resort, and how its role was
governed by railroad economics. It demonstrates
how Harriman used ski tournaments
to make Sun Valley an international resort.
Skiing Sun Valley explores the unique history
of our first destination ski resort that introduced
modern skiing to this country.
Developed as an economic asset of the Union
Pacific Railroad, Sun Valley became a cultural

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2021 - 2022 Far West Skier's Guide

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