2019 - 2020 Far West Skier's Guide - 58

hat we now call skiing started as a utilitarian solution to the challenges of mobility,
hunting and transport over snow. The solution was to attach flat objects to one's feet.
These objects had many names, mostly in the
local vernacular or referring to the source.
The source was usually wood available
nearby, shaped and attached to the foot with
hides or woven with straw and bark strips.
Today, we would call these snowshoes; in fact,
early skis were often called snowshoes even
through the 19th Century.
Skis have an 8,000 year history, based on
archeological evidence and radiocarbon dating. The most ancient evidence shows that
skis have been found in Russia (6,000 BCE)
and cave paintings with skiers found in the
Chinese Altai (3,000 BCE). The idea of snowshoe-aided mobility traveled westward toward Scandinavia for three millennia, each
region creating and using a design adapted to
their purposes. There were different lengths
and widths, and some pairs were not of equal
length. Scandinavian evidence ranges in age
from 4,000 - 2,500 BCE: the later date includes
rock carvings from a Norwegian island that
were used as trademarks for the Winter
Olympics at Lillehammer in 1994. The Sami
people of Scandinavia may have played a role
in these ski designs and westward knowledge
transfer from northern Russia sites over several millennia.
Skis were in use by Norwegian soldiers
as early as 1200 AD; adaptations for military
use continue to this day. By the 1700s, over
the snow skis were in use in the Telemark Region of Norway. This is the beginning of skis
for recreation. Many Norwegians immigrated
to North America, attracted by availability of
land in the Midwest and the lure of the Gold
Rush in California, one of whom was the legendary Snowshoe Thompson from Kongsberg. They brought the ancient Sami knowledge of ski designs then in current use. Skiing
was on its way to becoming an organized
sport. In the "Lost Sierra", as it came to be
called by William Banks ("Bill") Berry, the
winter days when gold could not be mined
created an opportunity for exercise and competitions. In winter, the many gold camps
competed with each other in downhill speed
runs and through or around obstacles for
purses of gold dust. This racing was the birth
in 1861 of skiing as a sport in North America
and it is thought to have paralleled or predated that milestone in Norway by a few
years. The creation of teams with champion
racers fronted by camps (and the whole competitive league concept) was likewise a first. The

A History of Skiing
To the Current Day in FWSA
John Watson
History Chair, FWSA

Alturas Ski Club (probably the oldest ski club
in continuous operation) in LaPorte was formed
to formalize these races, first conducted in
February, 1867. That winner received a purse
of $600. Ski racing in the Lost Sierra was done
on skis 10-14 feet long; that's why it is called
longboard racing. It is still practiced today
with great pride in their skis. Speed is affected
by waxing, and the materials and formulas
used were called doping, and were carefully
guarded by competitors. Alturas Ski Club was
folded into Plumas Ski Club of Quincy, which
creates a racing schedule and a world championship each March, conducted on the historic courses in Plumas County.
But, national organization was half a
century in the future from the gold camp
races. It came in 1905 with the forming of
the National Ski Association of America in
Ishpeming, Michigan. In those days, ski
jumping events attracted spectators by the
thousands; trains were run out of Chicago to
the jumping hills in Michigan. Such was the
case with Ishpeming when the idea for a national organization was put forward at a 1904
meet by Carl Tellefsen, who was elected as
President the following year. The founding
clubs were from Ishpeming, Michigan; Minneapolis and Red Wing in Minnesota; and Eau
Claire, Wisconsin. Bylaws were adopted to include divisional associations that meet the requirements and standards of NSAA, with
provisions for including further divisions.
The divisions were the Eastern Amateur Ski
Assn., Central USSA, Rocky Mountain, California and Pacific Northwestern. NSAA itself was incorporated under the laws of the
state of Wisconsin in May, 1923.
Concurrent with the national organization of skiing and the early availability of
equipment, the popularity of skiing began to
rise. But, skiing was limited by access to sites
suitable for skiing; roads were not necessarily
cleared in winter. This changed in 1915 with
winter train service to Truckee from Sacramento. This brought a wave of city dwellers
to the ski slopes where earlier only locals
skied. The waning of the gold prospects and mines
had reduced their numbers. Skiing's growth was
energized, limited only by the drawdowns of
World War I. With the war over, the 1920s saw
many key ski clubs formed, facilities constructed or improved and many new ski sites

were established. Auburn Ski Club was formed
in 1928, as was Yosemite Winter Club and Cascade Ski Club.
The year 1930 saw the formation of the
California Ski Association and the Pacific
Northwest Ski Association as divisions of the
NSAA. Both were formed within months of
each other with California formed October 7.
It was a busy year and the kickoff of vigorous
growth of skisports in the USA.
The Pacific Northwest Ski Association
(PNSA) was organized by six ski clubs -- the
Cle Elum Ski Club, Seattle Ski Club, Leavenworth
Ski Club, Bend (Oregon) Skyliners, Hood River
Ski Club and the Cascade Ski Club of Portland - to promote skiing and ski competitions in the
Northwest. The Association established standards and testing for ski instructors and became the regional organization for the
National Ski Association, promoting sanctioned ski competitions. This formalized a
structure under which competition events
could be organized. Washington was already
witnessing many competition events before
1930. Today there are 44 clubs affiliated with
the new PNSA, a division of US Ski and
Snowboard.
The formation of the California Ski Association had an intriguing beginning. The
State of California had for decades promoted
the fun in the sun idea designed for tourism
and attracting new residents. Snow didn't quite
mix with this campaign! The excitement of skiing and jumping events and taking a train to
ski, though, was recognized as a new way to
promote California. The Winter Sports Committee of the California Chamber of Commerce called a meeting for October 7 in the
Palace Hotel with the objective of creating a
ski association to promote skiing in California
- and run by the state. In attendance were
skiers from Auburn Ski Club and other clubs,
and several businessmen invited by the Chamber. The discussion wore on longer than expected and attendees began to leave, including
the state employees. The skiers, led by Wendell Robie of Auburn, stayed on until it came
time to elect a set of officers. Robie was
elected President and the California Ski Association was born as an organization run by
skiers, and as a prospective division of the
NSAA. The Auburn skiers celebrated by
heading to where the cable car ended its route

58 Far West Skier's Guide 2O19 - 2O2O / Visit the Digital Edition at www.fwsa.org..

http://www.fwsa.org

2019 - 2020 Far West Skier's Guide

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of 2019 - 2020 Far West Skier's Guide