Milestones of Modern XC Skiing In the US
Remember Skiing On Wooden Skis With A Pine Tar Base And Lathered In Klistervox? Wasn’t That Long Ago.
Norway-born Snowshoe Thompson learned to ski in Telemark, his home town.
Editor Note: XCSkiResort Publisher Roger Lohr has catalogued the main events that propelled XC skiing from a peculiar sport with a small following in the US to a major recreational and racing enterprise with a huge following. Thanks, Roger, for tracing the trail.
Since wooden skis were found in a peat bog in Sweden dating to 2,000 BC, there have been many milestones that brought xc skiing to where it is today. In the US, the forefathers of xc skiing include legends like Snowshoe Thompson, who delivered the mail in the Sierra Mountains of California and Jack Rabbit Johannsen, who xc skied in northern New York.
The editors of XCSkiResorts.com researched the milestones of modern XC skiing in order of significance:
1. Development of synthetic xc skis in 1974.
2. Development of the waxless based ski in the early 1970’s, most notably the Trak ski with synthetic fish scales on the ski base to eliminate the need for ski waxes. The waxless base gave the recreational skier grip on uphill travel while also allowing gliding downhill.
3. Integrated xc ski binding systems, which provided substantial improvements in simplicity of boot/binding interface and control in the mid 70’s.
4. Bill Koch won the Olympic silver medal in 1976 at Innsbruck and at the World Cup in 1982, the first American to ever win at that level. The Nordic Track exerciser used the Koch image as a fitness icon in advertisements for years. In 2010, there were US Olympic medalists in Nordic Combined and in 2012 there was a World Cup winner in women’s sprint.
5. The onset of the commercial xc ski area concept began in 1968-69 at Trapp Family Lodge. This brought designed, groomed, and maintained trails making xc skiing easier and safer for the average person.
6. The skating technique proliferated for a faster paced and higher performance form of recreation.
7. Revolution Skis developed by Fischer led the way to shorter skis, which were easier to use and consolidated ski sizing and simplified ski selection.
8. New, lighter clothing with synthetic and breathable materials made XC skiing more comfortable; company brands such as Mother Karen led the way in the late 1970’s.
9. Other technological advances such as the 2 Wax System that offered one wax for cold temperatures and one for warm temperatures simplified ski waxing. BackCountry binding systems provided a beefed up boot/binding system that provided substantially more support and control for backcountry recreation.
New NIS bindings link boot with ski using a plate.
10. Will the Nordic Integrated System (NIS) developed in 2005 change the ski/binding interface? This system combines the ski and binding at manufacture rather than at the retail store.
This Week In SeniorsSkiing.com (Dec. 30)
Happy New Year! Ski Carefully. This Week: Fun Videos, Almost Lost Ski Area, Where To Find Our Senior Ski Recommendations.
SKIING magazine editor and ski legend Doug Pfeiffer at a ski show sometime in the early 70s.
Another busy week at SeniorsSkiing.com’s press room. We hope your holidays were happy, and that, as we head to the New Year, everyone reflects on their blessings and the promise of the year ahead.
We’ve apparently aroused major interest in our readership when it comes to skis for seniors. We have had a great boost in the number of subscriptions (free, fun), but some new folks are having trouble finding our valuable content assets for subscribers only. So, we spelled out simple instructions for finding our senior ski recommendations and for downloading our other free offers to subscribers. Just click here for directions.
Correspondent Cathie Judge, a long-ago colleague at SKIING magazine, sent us a nostalgia-tinged video reflecting the classic Harry Leonard ski shows of yesteryear. Industry veterans will appreciate this view of the personalities that dominated the biz in those inchoate days. Thanks, Cathie.
We also found a cartoon from the 60s that shows how skiing was viewed from Goofy and Mickey’s perspective. Kinda fun. Thanks, Walt Disney.
We all know that owning a ski area is a challenging business. Success depends on many factors that owners don’t have control over. As a result, as the industry grew, many small and medium-sized ski resorts have become “lost” over the years, trails overgrowing and property reverted to condos or other uses. The great exception in this story is Laurel Mountain in Western Pennsylvania. Laurel was built around the same time as Cranmore Mountain, NH, another pioneer area. And, it was backed by some of the same moguls. Better, the trails were laid out by none other than Hannes Schneider. Thanks to correspondent Pat McCloskey for bringing this story of reclaiming an almost lost ski area to us.
Next week we will be bring you more resort reviews, advice on using old equipment, a report on Stein Eriksen Day in Utah, and more.
As you enjoy winter sports this week, please remember that SeniorsSkiing.com depends on you telling your friends about us. There really are more of us everyday, and we aren’t going away.
Happy New Year 2017!
Flipping out at a 60s ski show.
Short Swings!
CALIFORNIA
Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows received 25 inches over the holiday weekend. Wow, what a difference from last year.
COLORADO
In recognition of National Safety Month (January) Colorado Ski Country USA (CSCUSA) member resorts are hosting special safety-related programs and activities to raise awareness and demonstrate how to be safe on the slopes. Events include joining ski patrol on end-of-day patrol sweeps, demonstrations with avalanche dogs, and increased awareness about helmet use.
MONTANA
As it has for the past decade, Big Sky Resort hosted a holiday dinner for more than 1,500 workers. Resort management served the food and cleaned. This year, Big Sky employs about 600 new out-of-state workers and roughly 114 international employees. The area provides free ski and snowboard lessons and rentals to all employees and their children.
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Jackson Ski Touring Center’s Get 4 and Go program is a great way to learn x-country! Participants pay $199, for four days of cross country ski and boot/pole rentals, two group lessons, and two private lessons. Upon completion, participants receive a Certificate of Achievement and a season pass for the rest of winter — a total value of $423. The center also has a variety of other discounted offerings to encourage people to learn x-country and skate skiing. Kids under 10 ski free. Nice outing for parents/grandparents with small children/grandchildren: towable kid-sized sleds. Oh, that aching back! Thanks to Roger Lohr, publisher of XCSkiResorts.com for the tip.
PENNSYLVANNIA
The Area Agency on Aging of Luzerne and Wyoming Counties hosts a free ski/snowboard/telemark clinic, 9:30 AM, Wednesdays starting January 4 at Jack Frost Mountain. Participants will need equipment and lift ticket. A special luncheon, with presentations about eating well and remaining in shape, is scheduled for January 18.
UTAH
The U.S. Speed Skating Championships will be held at the Utah Olympic Oval in Kearns (Salt Lake City), January 6-8. The best U.S. short and long track speed skating athletes will attempt to qualify to represent the U.S. in the World Cup and World Cup Sprint circuits. Admission is free.
December’s snowfall has given Utah over 100% of its average snowfall to date. In the past week, many resorts received 2 to 4 feet of snow.
VERMONT
Woodstock Inn & Resort, a quintessential New England ski hostelry, is offering several ski and snowshoe packages. The resort includes the Suicide Six Ski Area.
OTHER
January is Learn to Ski & Ride Month. Seventy-five+ US and Canadian resorts are expected to go for a Guinness World Record for the largest ski and snowboard lesson ever taught. About 6,000 people took part in last year’s record attempt.
MDV Sports is new name of the corporate owner of the Marker, Dalbello and Völkl brands. A company announcement states the three brands will cooperate in the areas of R&D, production, sales and marketing.
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