Media

Using the website for research

The skiinghistory.org website has become an invaluable research tool for students and writers. An increasing number of journalists now rely on the site as a fact-check resource. Here’s a quick summary of some of the techniques that can quickly find accurate information on names, places and dates.

First, there are three major search tools available: site search (also called text search), page search and magazine-archive search.

The site search tool will survey the main skiinghistory.org website content, including the index of back issues and the indices to SKI, Skiing and Snow Country magazines and the ski bibliography. To use it, find the white rectangular text-search box in the upper right corner of the page. Enter the word or phrase you want to search for. This could be a name, a place, a topic, or a date. Then hit Enter or Return. You'll get a list of all the pages within this site which contain that word or phrase. You may go to each page in turn by clicking on its title.

Hint: If you’re looking for a multi-word term, like a name, put it in quotes. That will narrow down the search results dramatically. For instance, searching for Hannes Schneider will return all pages with the name Hannes, (Hannes Nothnagl, Hannes Trinkl, etc.), and all pages with name Schneider (Othmar Schneider, Herbert Schneider, etc.) but "Hannes Schneider" in quotes will return only Hannes Schneider himself.

Some of the pages that come up are very long – especially the magazine index and bibliography pages. Rather than scroll through these documents line by line looking for the reference you want, use the page search tool. While holding down the Control key, hit the letter F. A small text-search box will open at the top or bottom of your screen (top or bottom depends on the software installed on your computer). Once again, type in the name, place, race or other term you’re looking for. Then use the up and down arrows to move to the next occurrence of that term within the page.

Finally, the Skiing Heritage archive in Google Books has its own very efficient internal search tool. Use the text search box and check the box labeled "seach all issues,' or scroll down to "Browse all issues" where you can read each issue organized chronologically.

Once there, you’ll see a text search box. Put a check in the “Search All Issues” box, then enter your search terms in the box and hit the Enter or Return key. As usual, putting your search term in quotes will narrow the search results. –Seth Masia

Sun Valley Skier Shares Rare Find

By David Butterfield

In 1979, 18-year-old, Marc Corney, did his best to become a Sun Valley ski bum. He left his So Cal home of Glendora with high hopes of joblessness, raucous nightlife, and endless days of skiing Baldy. He had some early success but eventually succumbed to responsibility and regular employment. He even went back to school, became an architect, and now has a family. Though a failed ski bum, Marc still skis over 60 days a year and contributes as a Guest Services supervisor. Over the years he has developed an appreciation for Sun Valley history and traditions of mountain camaraderie.

It was a special night of on-line ski history study when he came across a bookseller in Vermont with something rare and unique to offer. The Sun Valley Ski Book is a 1939 pictorial ski instruction tome by Friedl Pfeifer that is not uncommon among collectors and aficionados, but this copy had buried treasure. Along with ski school director Pfeifer’s step by step instruction and mountain lifestyle photos, there are hand-written captions from photo subjects and a four-page signature spread. Also tucked in are a few vintage newspaper clippings and a song lyric by poet, Christopher La Farge, a friend of Ernest Hemingway.

Marc snapped up the souvenir and with his wife, Jill, put the probable story together. The book most likely belonged to Pfeifer and his wife and must have been passed around at parties or on their coffee table around the time of their wedding in the spring of 1940. The captions are directed to the Pfeifers and the signatures are those of the inner circle of accomplished skiers in Sun Valley’s magical formative years. Every time Marc and Jill open the book, they know they are holding traces of Sun Valley ski heroes in their hands and are pleased to share a look with Skiing History readers. 

ISHA is grateful for the World Championship sponsorship support of Polartec.

This advertisement, from the Winter 1966–1967 issue of LIFE magazine, featured happy
skiers motoring uphill near the Sun Valley Lodge in Idaho.

COMING UP IN FUTURE ISSUES

TO CHINA ON SKIS
In 1980, John Fry, Ned Gillette and Jan Reynolds were among the first Westerners to ski in China, which will host the 2022 Winter Olympics. Here’s what they found 40 years ago.

ALL-NATURAL, ALL-ALPINE
A brief history of gelande jumping—the art and sport of hucking off a hill.

SHORT TURNS
Ski news from around the world, viewed through the lens of history.

RESORTS THEN AND NOW
An intrepid journey to Björgafall, a small ski area in Swedish Lapland

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
Extreme ski pioneer Glen Plake: The evolution of a rebel

Skis in the Art of War

Kalle Bror Emil Aejmelaeus-Äimä (1882–1935) grew up on skis in Finland, when it was still a duchy in the Russian Empire. At age 17 he ran off to fight in the Boer War, on the losing side. He then fought in a South American revolution, became a sea captain and joined the U.S. Army as a cavalry sergeant stationed in Texas. He then worked as a cowboy.

Back in Europe in 1906, he entered the Imperial military academy in St Petersburg, became a Russian cavalry officer stationed near Kiev, earned a degree in archaeology (a cover for spying in Ottoman lands), taught skiing and fencing, and competed in the first modern pentathlon at the 1912 Olympics. That year he wrote Skis in the Art of War, in Russian, hoping to update Russian Army skiing tactics based on the Finnish model. He barely survived cavalry action in the Great War.

After the Bolshevik Revolution, Finland declared independence, and Eimeleus joined the Finnish army to help win a civil war with the local communists. He joined Finland’s right-wing government as head of the War Office, as adjutant to two presidents, and later, as military attaché in London, Moscow and The Hague. The new Soviet Army took skiing seriously, but not seriously enough: In the Winter War of 1939–1940 the Finnish army, 20,000 strong, inflicted half a million casualties on Soviet troops. In response, the Soviet government organized a massive ski mobilization prior to the German invasion in 1941. The Soviet counteroffensive against Nazi Germany during the winter of 1941–1942 owed much of its success to the ski battalions formed during the ski mobilization, and to Skis in the Art of War.

This new translation by William D. Frank, in collaboration with ISHA’s own E. John B. Allen, includes most of the original illustrations, plus essays on the historical context of European military skiing by the two collaborators. The footnotes contain a wealth of historical detail. Frank, a competitive biathlete in the early 1980s, is now a leading authority on the history of biathlon, especially in Russia. Skiing History published his fine history of Russian biathlon in the June 2009 issue. He expanded that work into a doctoral dissertation in history at the University of Washington, and it became his book Everyone to Skis!, which won the ISHA Ullr Award in 2015. —Seth Masia

Skis in the Art of War by K.B.E.E. Eimeleus. Translation and commentary by William D. Frank, with additional commentary by E. John B. Allen. 288 pages. Northern Illinois University/Cornell University Press, $37.95 hardbound; Kindle edition $9.95. Winner: 2019 ISHA Ullr Award.

Alpine Cooking

This is a lushly photographed cookbook and travelogue showcasing the regional cuisines of the Alps, including 80 recipes for the elegant, rustic dishes served in the chalets and mountain huts situated among the alpine peaks of Italy, Austria, Switzerland, and France.

In Alpine Cooking, food writer Meredith Erickson travels through Europe’s Alps—by car, on foot, and via funicular—collecting the recipes and stories of the legendary stubes, chalets, and refugios. On the menu is an eclectic mix of mountain dishes: radicchio and speck dumplings, fondue brioche, the best schnitzel recipe, Bombardinos, warming soups, wine cave fonduta, a Chartreuse soufflé, and a host of decadent strudels and confections (Salzburger Nockerl, anyone?) served with a bottle of Riesling plucked from the snow bank beside your dining table.

Organized by country and including logistical tips, detailed maps and narrative interludes discussing alpine art and wine, the Tour de France, high-altitude railways, grand European hotels, and other essential topics, this gorgeous and spectacularly photographed cookbook is a romantic ode to life in the mountains for food lovers, travelers, skiers, hikers, and anyone who feels the pull of the peaks.

Erickson has co-authored The Art of Living According to Joe Beef, Le Pigeon, Olympia Provisions, Kristen Kish Cooking, and Claridge’s: The Cookbook. Among other titles, she has written for The New York Times, Saveur and Condé Nast Traveler. 

Alpine Cooking: Recipes and Stories from Europe’s Grand Mountaintops by Meredith Erikson. Published by Ten Speed Press (2019), hardcover, 352 pages; $50 on Amazon. Winner: 2019 ISHA Baldur Award.

Javelin Turn: Still Sharp

At Christin Cooper’s suggestion, I’d like to provide a picture of a modern use of the Javelin Turn, which I wrote about in the January-February 2020 issue of Skiing History (Timeless Tips). In the article, I described how this tip-crossing tip was promoted by Vermont instructor Art Furrer in 1967, and has been in constant use ever since.

In recent exchanges on the Facebook group “Technical Analysis of Alpine Skiing,” a forum where ski instructors and coaches exchange ideas about their work, Javelin Turns have been suggested as a good approach to addressing specific issues in seven different discussion threads just in the last few months. Clearly, it’s alive and well.

Ron LeMaster
Boulder, Colorado

The First U.S. Ski Journalists

A recent article in Skiing History focused on the big guns of ski reporting during the 1950s to 1980s print journalism heyday (“When Print Was King,” January-February 2020).

The profession of “ski journalist” was invented in the 1930s, when U.S. newspapers—especially in Boston and New York—became important sources of ski news. During that decade, ski columnists such as Frank Elkins of the New York Times and Henry Moore of the Boston Herald competed with “Old Man Winter”—Benjamin Bowker—of the rival Boston Evening Transcript.

These pioneers taught novices about the up-and-coming new sport, offering advice on clothing, equipment, technique, snow conditions and weekend snow-train destinations. Race results were a staple and fashion notes added a social touch.

To take one example, Henry Moore’s column of December 2, 1938 covers the Dartmouth College ski team, where the Sunday snow train is going, that ski tows were “rigging up for the weekend crowd,” and that Caroline French looked very cute in her new ski outfit along with “ace racer” Mary McKean. Sometimes artwork would add a visual touch; illustrator Max Barsis was popular.

A few early women columnists made a mark, too: Gwendoline Keen of the Transcript wrote special features, including one about pine-needle skiing. The much-traveled Christine Reid was informative and popular.

For the ski crowd in the Northeastern United States in the decade before World War II, the Friday-night newspapers provided the right combination of enthusiasm, interest, information and pizzazz that heralded a Saturday and Sunday on skis.

John Allen
Rumney, New Hampshire

Who was in the K2 ad?

I loved seeing the K2 “Welfare of the People” ad on the back cover of the January-February issue. In the caption, Seth Masia offered “bonus points” to anyone who could name the city. I can!

My uncle, Russ Butterfield, worked for K2 at the time and his twin daughters are deep in the frame on the right. Sandra is holding the books and purse while Lorna is pushing the stroller. Derek Weigle, the baby in the stroller, recently turned 50.

According to Lorna, the photo shoot was held early in the morning on the main street of Vashon, Washington. The signage was composited (or as we say now, “Photo-shopped in”) later by the advertising agency. Most of the people in the ad were K2 employees, plus their family, friends and significant others. Heckler and Bowker’s ads were creative and cutting edge in the 1970s ski industry. 

David Butterfield
Sun Valley, Idaho

“Think ecology, Mrs. Frobish.”

SKI November 1973

Correcting the Record

Due to an editing error, a caption on page 23 of the January-February 2020 issue was incorrect. In the article “When Print Was King” by ISHA director Jeff Blumenfeld, chronicling some of the sport’s most influential journalists, British writer Arnie Wilson was the ski correspondent for the Financial Times, not the London Times. Sorry, Arnie! —Kathleen James, Editor

It was 1971 and K2 Corp. was just four years old (it was incorporated in 1967). Founder Bill Kirschner and marketing VP Chuck Ferries had just hired a new advertising agency headed by art director Terry Heckler and copywriter Gordon Bowker. No one had seen anything like their K2 ads: no glam skiers, no studio product shots. Instead, to set the brand apart from its European competition, the team went for Americana: barnside advertising, rural filling stations, fast-food franchises and even a goof on Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey. This one, from the September 1971 issue of SKI Magazine, translates a quote from Cicero, Salus populi supremo lex esto. In the United States, during the Depression era, it was widely used as a motto for local governments and state law schools, but it has a subtly subversive subtext: At the time of the English Civil War it was used by some of the Roundheads (militant Protestants) who overthrew Charles I, and for some had “leveller” connotations (levellers advocated redistribution of wealth, even abolition of private fortunes). That same year, Bowker and two partners opened the first Starbucks café. Bowker named the company and designed its logo. Extra points if you can identify the city. It’s not New York. —Seth Masia