Cover: Walter Foeger at Jay Peak, circa 1955

Letter From The President: ISHA President John Fry writes that four out of five ISHA members learned to ski between 1930 and 1960, which raises the question of how many learned before 1930. Half the members still ski more than 20 days a year.

The ISHA board of directors has approved a budget of $110,000 for this year. At least half the money still needs to be raised. Development Committee Chairman Bernie Weischsel is working on a raffle, featuring vacation and product prizes, which should fund much of the deficit.

We welcome as new readers 500 members of the Colorado Ski Museum.

The next annual Gathering will be held in Utah, organized by Alan Engen.

Readers Respond Alan Engen writes about carrying the Olympic Torch through Park City. Marvin Chandler, one of first certified members of the National Ski Patrol (number 8), asks about the "official" founding date. Kim Menster notes that some of the original 1939 Mt. Baldy chairs are still in use in Alaska -- and will be sold soon. Filmmaker Roger Brown mourns the loss of affordable small-town ski hills. Fritz Schmidt of the 10th Mountain Division recalls the 1943 training trek from Camp Hale to Aspen. Olympic gold medalist Anne Heggtveit Hamilton -- the first North American to win the Arlberg-Kandahar Trophy -- notes that we omitted to mentiion women in our roundup of that event. And Tom Corcoran gives a detailed account of the internal working's of the original Scott ski pole enterprise.

Walter Foeger: Stemming the Stem by Bob Soden
When he arrived in Vermont, Walter Foeger had two big challenges: Open Jay Peak on schedule, and shake up the Arlberg-dominated ski teaching establishment.

Working in sub-zero conditions through the winter of 1957, Foeger got the trails cut and the lifts built on time. Then he settled in as ski shool director, and over the next ten years was a leader in the "direct parallel" movement. His Natur Teknik, which taught beginners to ski parallel from the first day, was adopted at 15 ski areas on two continents.

Colorado Ski Hall of Fame: Class of 2002
Bios on John Litchefield, Dr. Robert Oden, Cindy Nelson, Anderl Molterer and Dave Gorsuch.

The Colorado Ski Museum
By John Allen. Historian John Allen takes us on a tour of the Colorado Ski Museum in Vail. Highlights include an admirable 10th Mountain Division Exhibit, the popular History of Snowboarding and History of Freestyle, and the newest exhibit, Spirit of American Champions, illuminating our Olympians dating back to 1924.

Historic Lodges: Gasthof Gramshammer By Morten Lund. Most skiers know it simply as Pepi's. This classic Tyrolean gasthaus has been the spiritual center of Vail Village since 1964.

A Triumph of Attitude: Jimmie Heuga By Seth Masia. The toughest, straightest and most-admired of America's ski heroes is one James Frederick Heuga. This scrappy little kid from Squaw Valley became the first North American man to win an alpine Olympic medal -- and went on to set an example of courage for the whole world.

The Industry: The Short Happy Eras of the American Ski Boot By Seth Masia. Wildly innovative and chaotically managed, the American ski boot industry had one glorious decade of dominance. Today, only Daleboot survives. But remember Bass, SkiSport, and Limmer? Remember Rosemount, Scott, PK, and Hanson?

Looking Back: 30 years ago -- Bye-bye leather. 40 years ago -- War against the Wedel. 50 years ago -- Brookie Dodge laments that European racers get more respect. "An American is handicapped by being regarded as a playboy or ski bum."

Classic Gear: The Immortal Grand Prix By Seth Masia. The Nordica Grand Prix has been in continuous production for three decades. Its current incarnation, the Dobermann, is still the boot of choice for Norwegian and American Olympians, including Bode Miller.

Midwest Ski History: Forefather: Carl Tellefsen By Alice Johnson and Mary Morissette. Ski jumper Tellefsen was the founding president of the National Ski Association, in 1905.

ISHA News: The 2002 Vail Gathering The Eleventh Gathering featured talks by Pete Seibert, Dick Durrance, Max and Edna Dercum, Jerry Groswold and Roger Brown. ISHA awards went to Charlie Meyers (Lifetime Achievement), Mary Hayes (for The Aspen Story), Bernard Mergen (for Snow in America), The Red Birds Ski Club (for The Trail Breakers), and Catherine and Neil McKenty (for Skiing Legends and the Laurentian Ski Club).

Longthongs: Commuting to Wall Street Mort Lund skis across the Brooklyn Bridge, photographed by Kim Massie for the December, 1965 issue of Ski.

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