Ties That Bind: The Origin Story of Sport Obermeyer
When I saw the photo of Friedl Pfeifer, Walter Paepcke, Herbert Bayer and Gary Cooper in the November-December issue all wearing my Koogie pom-pom ties (“Heavy Lifting: Aspen Under Construction,”) I thought I would tell the story.
As a young boy in Bavaria in the early 20’s, skiing was a formal sport. People wore shirts and ties and wool overcoats. The tie for skiing was called the ‘koogie pom–pom’. Koogie in the Bavarian dialect is the German word for Kugel which means ball. The ties were made of yarn. I remember men would come to our house wearing the Koogie tie on their way to go skiing. I asked my mother to make one for me, which she did. Then my friends wanted one, too. So my mother taught me how to make them.
I arrived in Aspen in 1947 to teach for Friedl Pfeifer. The following spring, as there was no work in Aspen, I bought a Ford car for $350 and headed back to Sun Valley. I bought some yarn in Hailey and made some samples of the koogie pom-pom ties. Pete Lane’s Ski Shop ordered three dozen. The retail price was $1.75 each. I gave him a 10 percent cash discount because I had spent all my money on yarn. He paid me in silver dollars. A few days later he ordered 6 dozen more!
Averell Harriman gave some to the employees.
In Aspen in the fall of 1947, there were just seven instructors. Because the ski business was often slow, I played chess with Walter Paepcke, sometimes all night. Gary Cooper liked coming to Aspen. One day he said to me, “Klaus, I hear you started a business selling pom-pom ties. Maybe it would help your business if I wore one.”
“I would be happy to give you one Gary,” I said.
“No, I will pay retail” he insisted.
That was the first Sport Obermeyer product and the beginning of our company.
Klaus Obermeyer
Aspen, Colorado
Cover Story
The cover of the magazine’s November-December 2020 issue shows my old ski school director Luggi Foeger, who I worked for from 1947-1952 at Badger Pass Ski Area in Yosemite, California. The cover, from a photograph, shows him making a turn at Ostrander, near Badger Pass. It was a favorite place to show students the perfect position while making a turn. You came down a fairly steep hill and near the bottom there was a drop off so the skier had to move his upper half of his body forward to keep proper balance. So it showed him quite forward in his turn. This was vogue at the time. Several ski instructors and me were working on a film in 1950 or 51 and the filmmaker chose that spot.
Jim McConkey
Denman Island, British Columbia
Skiing with Stein
When the November-December 2021 issue arrived, the first thing I saw was the Jantzen ad on the back cover with Stein Eriksen’s photo and the history of Stein and his brother Marius’s sweaters knitted by their mother.
I was reminded of that memorable time in April 1989, when I traveled with Stein to Norway, as a writer for SKI. Other journalists and I skied with Stein in Hemsedal, and it was there that Stein gave me a red, white and blue sweater knitted by his mother. I also met his brother Marius.
I dared not wear the gifted sweater, because it seemed too precious. A couple of years ago, however, I gave it to a relative. An avid skier, she loves it and wears it with pride.
Laurel Lippert
Truckee, California
Legacy of the Kokanee Camps
Regarding the story about the birth of the Canadian National Ski Team (January-February issue): The Canadian Ski Team program at Notre Dame University beginning in 1964 was a success but the academic calendar was a bad fit with the World Cup tour (1967), so the program ended in 1969. It did inspire the creation of high-school level ski academies across North America.
Many of the program’s athletes became successful professionals. We learned resilience and determination by overcoming injuries or defeat. We forged a lifelong bond of friendship. That was a gift over and above all the medals and success stories.
I would like to honor Emily Ringham-Beauchamp, who kept the Nelson group in contact for years by organizing reunions and gatherings. She annually hosted an event to support the Ernie Gare athletic scholarships, named to honor one of program’s founders. For the 50th ski team reunion in 2005, she organized a nostalgic trip up to Kokanee glacier to visit the beautiful new Alpine Club cabin and check out our carved names on the walls of the old Kokanee cabin. Emily passed away in 2018, before our most recent reunion.
Eva Kuchar, PhD
Pointe-Clair, Quebec
Correction
In “Aspen Under Construction” (November-December 2021 issue), an editorial error misstated the name of Greg
Poschman’s Swiss-born grandfather, who designed some of the Lift 1 components. His name was Paul Purchard, and he was an engineer and patent attorney. We regret the error.
ISHA Awards
The best works of skiing history published during 2021.
Awards Banquet March 24, 2022
Lifetime Achievement Award
Jeff Leich, executive director, New England Ski Museum, for Research, Writing and Museum Stewardship
Ullr Book Awards
Celebrate Winter: An Olympian’s Stories of a Life in Nordic Skiing by John Morton (Independently published)
30 Years in a White Haze: Dan Egan’s Story of Worldwide Adventure and the Evolution of Extreme Skiing by Dan Egan & Eric Wilbur (Degan Media)
Skiing: In the Eye of the Artist by E. John B. Allen (Egoth)
To Heaven’s Heights: An Anthology of Skiing in Literature, compiled by Ingrid Christophersen, MBE (Unicorn)
Skade Book Awards
Best Backcountry Skiing in the Northeast: 50 Classic Ski and Snowboard Tours in New England and New York by David Goodman (Appalachian Mountain Club Books).
Ski Jumping in Washington State: A Nordic Tradition by John W. Lundin (Arcadia Publishing)
Written in the Snows: Across Time on Skis in the Pacific Northwest by Lowell Skoog (Mountaineers Books)
Harris Hill Ski Jump: The First 100 Years by Kevin O’Conner and the 100th Anniversary Book Committee (Harris Hill Ski Jump Inc.)
Mount Assiniboine, The Story by Chic Scott (Assiniboine Publishing) – John Fry Award for Excellence
Baldur Book Award
Way Out West: The Skiing Years by Paul G. Ryan (Cape Cod Cinema)
Film Awards
Spider Lives. Executive Producers: Christin Cooper, Mike Hundert, Mark Taché, Edith Thys Morgan, Hayden Scott
120 Years Ski Club Arlberg. Blue Danube Media: Alessandra Ravanelli and Hadmar Charlie Mayer, Markus Knaus
In Pursuit of Soul. A TGR Film. Director: Jeremy Grant. Producer: Drew Holt
Dear Rider: The Jake Burton Story. An HBO Documentary. Director: Fernando Villena. Producer: Ben Bryan. For Burton: Abby Young, Mike Cox.
Honorable Mentions
La Grande Histoire du Ski (film)
Skiing in New Mexico by Daniel Gibson and Jay Blackwood
Three years in the making, museum unveils a dramatic facelift and new exhibits.
This past December, after three years of fundraising and design work, the Alf Engen Ski Museum completed its latest renovation, featuring ten brand-new or redesigned exhibits.
On display are interactive tributes to Utah’s most celebrated Norwegians, Alf Engen and Stein Eriksen. The Engen exhibit includes a vast trophy case containing around 100 of Engen’s trophies and plaques, plus innumerable medals.
A new exhibit about avalanches and the history of avalanche-control work is built around the interior of a ski patrol shack, circa 1940. It includes the story of Monty Atwater’s research center in Alta, and an early M20 recoilless rifle is on display.
A series of display cases highlights the evolution of snowsport equipment, including dedicated installations for snowboards, freestyle skis, cross country skis, and various flavors of Alpine skis, all with their corresponding boots.
The 10th Mountain Division is an important part of this area’s ski history. This exhibit features World War II artifacts, including camouflage jackets, pants and skis, “trigger finger” gloves, snowshoes, a hat and goggles.
Interactive electronics drive two key exhibits. First is the spectacular three-dimensional topo map of the Wasatch Range, showing the locations of each of the Salt Lake area’s ski resorts. The map features an integrated touch screen which allows museum visitors to learn about any topic related to skiing in Utah, from resort statistics to weather conditions and historic events and people. Ski areas and backcountry access points are projection mapped directly onto the scale model’s surface.
The second electronic marvel is the greenscreen photo booth. Visitors pose for a camera and can choose from a variety of projected scenic or action-oriented backgrounds for their souvenir photo, which is then texted to their mobile device to share with family and friends.
Celebrating its twentieth anniversary in May, the museum is located at Utah Olympic Park in Park City, Utah, and educates more than 500,000 visitors annually. The museum’s building began life as the press center for the 2002 Winter Olympics, and today houses not only the Alf Engen Ski Museum, but also includes the Eccles 2002 Olympic Winter Games Museum. Admission to both museums is free.
The 1,800 sq. ft. hall was designed and installed by Ogden-based Unrivaled, Inc., a digital and three-dimensional design agency and exhibit producer.
Connie Nelson has been executive director of the Alf Engen Museum since 2004 and is a former director of ISHA.
“What were you thinking in the starting gate?” If you’re annoyed every time you hear a reporter ask this of a skiing champion, read Lindsey Vonn’s memoir, Rise. It answers the question definitively.
The title has a double meaning. More confessional than autobiography, Rise recounts not only Vonn’s ascent to the top of the ski-racing food chain, but her career-long challenge to surmount depression, social anxiety and six or eight potentially career-ending surgeries. It records her psychological growth from a stubbornly determined nine-year-old to a sobered, self-aware 36-year-old.
Vonn has always been a mystery to her admirers. She appears to possess an obsessive-compulsive work ethic along with incredible physical courage. Rise reveals that the source of the work ethic is an overwhelming impulse to honor the sacrifices her family had made on behalf of her career—and a generalized compulsion to please people. On top of that, she lacks the instinct for self-preservation—a psychological quirk that led to skiing on the edge of the possible, especially when hurt. Time and again Vonn defied injuries to knees and self-esteem, and set a new standard of competition. She often had the support of people who loved her but just as often fell victim to the isolation of clinical depression—an imbalance of brain chemistry that seems to be her only physical flaw.
Rise doesn’t pretend to be a record of 434 starts, 148 podiums and 85 wins in World Cup, World Championship and Olympic events. Vonn recounts only the races she regards as turning points. There’s some nut-and-bolts stuff, too: her choice of men’s skis, finding speed in the fall line and the processes of rehab. Perhaps there’s another book to be written, with gate-by-gate accounts of her greatest races. But this one is a doozy. —Seth Masia
Rise, by Lindsey Vonn. Dey Street Books (2022), hardcover, 336 pages, $28.99 (Kindle edition $14.99)
Skade Award: New England’s Backcountry Trails
In The Best Backcountry Skiing in the Northeast: 50 Classic Ski and Snowboard Tours in New England and New York, David Goodman has created a comprehensive and timely guidebook for the renaissance of backcountry skiing. The book covers the premier ski tours in New Hampshire (detailing 21 of them), Maine (5), Vermont (18), New York (5) and Massachusetts (1). What impressed ISHA—and is key for the preservation of skiing’s roots—is Goodman’s inclusion of each locality’s skiing history.
Each of the 50 numbered tours begins with an overview, followed by trail statistics (elevations, distances, difficulty and how-to-get-there hints). An Appalachian Mountain Club topographical map for each region is included that’s overlaid with the color-coded ski trails, followed by the skiing history of that region. The tours are described in elegant and informative detail, most often accompanied by a beautiful color photograph of a skier or snowboarder enjoying a key feature of the route.
The layout and writing are engaging, and the author’s love for his sport is evident on every page: from the technicalities of Tuckerman’s Ravine to the beauty of Acadia National Park to the preservation challenges and deep powder on Big Jay. Even backcountry skiers who are not from the East will want to ski some of these tours after reading the book, and those who have let their backcountry involvement lapse will likely be enticed back. Backcountry skiing still represents the elemental roots of our sport, with its telemark turns, skins and untracked snow.
Goodman thought his first book, published in 1988, would sell 100 copies (95 of them to his friends). Four iterations later, and as Covid drives skiers away from crowds and into the backcountry, this edition seems to be the right book, at the right time. Goodman knows what he’s doing and he knows how to do it well. —Bob Soden
The Best Backcountry Skiing in the Northeast: 50 Classic Ski and Snowboard Tours in New England and New York, by David Goodman. From the Appalachian Mountain Club publishers (2020), softcover, 312 pages, $21.95
Ullr Award: 36 Artists
Skiing In the Eye of the Artist, the latest book from E. John B. Allen, the author of Skiing History’s Ski Art column (see page 9), is a gem. In a pocket-sized format, it gathers 43 paintings, posters and drawings from 36 19th- and 20th-century artists (plus a bonus cover). The selected images are charming, ranging from nationalistic to satirical, promotional to contemplative. Landscapes, magazine illustrations, cartoons and fine art are represented, from Scandinavia, the Alps, the Balkans and North America. The lively artist biographies facing each color plate constitute a short course in the history of ski art.
Allen is a retired professor of history and a member of the Skiing History editorial board. He has written for this magazine since time immemorial, and this book is his fourth to win an ISHA award. In addition, in 2009 Allen received ISHA’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
I received Eye of the Artist as a Christmas gift and gobbled it right up. It would fit in a stocking. —Seth Masia
Skiing in the Eye of the Artist by E. John B. Allen. Egoth Verlag, hardbound, 86 pages, 8 x 5 inches, $18.41
Skade Award: Harris Hill Jump
Harris Hill Ski Jump: The First 100 Years provides a faithful and detailed account of the origins and history of this iconic ski jump in Brattleboro, Vermont. A storied venue, now an Olympic sized, 90-meter ski jump—and the only one in New England—Harris Hill has hosted 18 U.S. national and regional championships since its inauguration.
The book is the product of a nonprofit group effort, the 100th Anniversary Committee: Mel Martin (creative director), Kevin O’Connor (writer), Dana Sprague (historian), Lynn Barrett, Pat Howell, Sally Seymour, Heidi Humphrey (designer) and Kelly Fletcher (photo editor).
Fred Harris, founder of the Dartmouth Outing Club in 1910, launched the Brattleboro Outing Club in 1922 and immediately led a fund-raising drive to build the jump. With $2,200 and a few helpers, Harris built the initial structure. He also designed the first Winged Ski Trophy, crafted by Cartier. The hill was officially named after its creator in 1951.
Though the jump was upgraded and extended continuously over the years, in 2005 the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association decreed the antiquated wooden tower unsafe for competitions. A new community funding effort was launched to raise the estimated $1 million required to restore it. By 2007 the town had raised only $250,000; then the Morton Foundation of New York sailed in to the rescue with a check for $130,000 and assurances that more would be available when required. The re-engineered jump opened on Valentine’s Day in 2009, at a final cost of $600,000.
Many ski jumping luminaries have taken flight in Brattleboro over the years, including Birger Ruud, Torger and Art Tokle, Art Devlin and Hugh Barber. Harris Hill has been open to women jumpers since 1948; the Olympics would not follow suit until 2014.
This book is lavishly illustrated with archival images and documents (thanks in part to the collaboration of Jeff Leich at the New England Ski Museum) and more current color photographs. It also catalogues the winners over the jump’s 100-year run, the names of those who retired six of the winged trophies and a detailed timeline. —Bob Soden
Harris Hill Ski Jump: The First 100 Years by the 100th Anniversary Committee. Harris Hill Ski Jump, Inc. (2021), softcover, 120 pages, $28.95
A new and improved bidding process might give Utah the edge.
Salt Lake City, which hosted the Winter Olympics in 2002, has begun a bid process to bring back the Games as early as 2030, according to Susanne Lyons, chair of the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC).
“We are already in dialogue with the IOC–not yet for a specific year,” Lyons said at the USOPC’s press conference in Beijing, per Reuters press coverage. “Depending on what the needs of the overall Olympic movement are, that could happen as early as 2030 or it could happen after that.” Park City officials held a public meeting on February 15 to hear proposals from the Utah Olympic Legacy Foundation.
After criticism of its bidding process, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is working to streamline the process. With costs soaring and public support waning, the IOC now prefers previous host cities with venues already in place. This gives Salt Lake an edge, Lyons indicated.
The freestyle venue at Deer Valley.
Vancouver, which hosted the 2010 Winter Games, has also expressed interest, as has 1972 host Sapporo. Public opinion in both cities appears split over proposed budgets around $2.5 billion. The Barcelona-Pyrenees region has also prepared a bid.
Host-city hesitance became evident with the 2024 Summer Games: Of five initial bids, only Paris and Los Angeles stuck it out. With no alternatives, the IOC gave Paris the 2024 event and L.A. got 2028. Only one city bid for the 2032 Summer Games: Brisbane, Australia got the IOC nod by default.
By the numbers, the 2022 Beijing Games hosted 2,900 athletes over 109 competitions. While reusing some venues from the 2008 Summer Games, Beijing still reported costs of $4 billion for Olympic-specific necessities. That doesn’t include new permanent infrastructure, such as the $9 billion high-speed rail line linking Beijing to the two Olympic-venue ski resorts. After the athletes leave, the high-speed train remains. Will tourist traffic make it pay? No one knows.
Approving 10-figure budgets is a tough sell these days for host cities, especially with reports of chronic corruption tainting the awarding process. Oslo, Norway, reported a 55 percent voter opposition to hosting the 2022 Winter Games, and pulled out of the bidding process.
In order to attract more host cities, the IOC no longer requires elaborate bid proposals costing millions of dollars. Instead of holding multiple votes to thin the candidates, the IOC now works to identify a “preferred bidder” and positions itself as a partner in the process.
IOC’s new focus on cities with existing venues appears to be working. The Paris 2024 Summer Olympics, per press reports, will be 95 percent staged in venues that already exist. More than 90 percent of the events for the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Games will be held at venues already in place.
As Lyons noted, the USOPC hopes that gives Salt Lake a leg up—both with the IOC and with the local community. “Salt Lake City has made it very clear to our partners at the IOC that they are ready and able to go as soon as we are needed,” Lyons said. –Greg Ditrinco
Dave Ryding, meet Mouse Cleaver
When, on January 22, Dave Ryding aced the Hahnenkamm slalom to become the first British skier to win a World Cup race, he joined an exclusive club. Ninety-one years ago, another Brit, Gordon “Mouse” Cleaver, won the very first Hahnenkamm combined trophy.
Dave Ryding celebrates his first World
Cup victory, at age 35. ESPN photo
At the time (March, 1931), Austrian skiers were astonished that they’d been bested by an Englishman who wasn’t even a member of the British team (they assumed he hadn’t qualified, and that the “team” skiers must be even better.). That “team” consisted of members of the Kandahar and Downhill-Only Ski Clubs from Mürren and Wengen. Cleaver’s combined victory was based on finishing ninth in the downhill and second on a slalom course set by Bill Bracken, winner of the first-ever Lauberhorn slalom and combined held in February 1930.
No British subject topped a podium again in a premier race until Ryding’s victory. Konrad Bartelski came close, with a second-place finish in the 1981 Val Gardena downhill. The Scot Alain Baxter claimed bronze in slalom at the 2002 Salt Lake Olympics—only to have his medal revoked after a still-controversial drug test.
Mouse Cleaver joined the RAF in 1937 and became an ace, flying Hurricanes in France and in the Battle of Britain. In August 1940, his canopy was shattered by gunfire, sending plastic shards into his face and eyes. Near blind, he bailed out. He never flew again. While Cleaver lost the right eye entirely, and most of the sight in his left, an ophthalmologist noted that the plastic fragments didn’t inflame his eyes. This insight led to the invention of plastic lens implants. –Seth Masia
Snapshots in Time
1952 Heaven on Earth
When warm winds and spring sunshine put an end to skiing in the rest of the U.S., the season is just beginning at New Hampshire’s Tuckerman Ravine. Although there are none of the usual comforts available to skiers, such as warming huts and ski towns, Tuckerman skiers have other compensations. As the sun gets warmer in the valley, it turns the icy crust to crumbly “corn” snow, and skiing on “corn” is considered by fanatics as close to heaven as they will get on earth. — “Spring Skiing,” Life Magazine (March 10, 1952)
1968 Dial a Run
A new 24-hour telephone service for the latest ski reports is in operation. By dialing LY 4-7500 skiers can obtain information on snow conditions in the East, including New York, New Jersey, Vermont, New Hampshire and Massachusetts. The service is supported by the New York-New Jersey American Motors Dealers Association. — “24-Hour Phone Service Offers Latest Ski Reports” (New York Times, December 24, 1968)
1975 Biting Commentary
As a dentist living and practicing in a ski-oriented community, I treat hundreds of adolescents who are ski enthusiasts. For many years I have had SKI and Skiing magazines in my waiting room for my young patients to read. Your February article “The American Pros” is so electrifying with bar-room language, however, that I had to cut out most of the pages. — David R. Williams, Boulder, Colorado, “Take the Teeth Out of It” (Letters, SKI Magazine, September 1975)
1980 Redford’s One Run Too Many
I always make the mistake of skiing past what I should in terms of my fatigue. I’ll take a run right after the run that’s been so perfect, but the legs just won’t hold up and you won’t be quite as quick. Then you get mad so you go back and do it again to prove you can do it and you’re worse yet. —Robert Redford, “Who is that Guy?” (Powder Magazine,
November 1980)
1990 Easiest Way to Improve
Probably the single most common mistake skiers make is believing that their skis don’t need to be waxed. Properly waxing your skis is the easiest way to improve their performance on the slopes. New skis are normally iron waxed at the shop where they were purchased. If not, you can wax them at home. —Jim Deines, “Tuning Tips” (Skiing Magazine, February 1990)
1996 The Revolution Starts Now
Promises are cheap, but are they believable? Well, this time it’s true. The Shaped Ski Revolution is here and it will make skiing more fun. It’s a revolution that will free thousands of skiers from the drudgery of the skidded turn, and thousands more will ski longer, stronger and faster. —Jackson Hogen, “Revolution” (Snow Country, October 1996)
Can Vail Resorts improve employee and customer relations? Efficient operations, and market share, may depend on it.
Overcrowding and staff shortages at ski resorts first attracted the attention of local and online media at the end of 2021, then in January spread to traditional outlets like the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, statewide papers like the Denver Post and Seattle Times, and special interest magazines such as Outside.
To be fair, resorts faced the same issues as businesses in general: namely labor shortages and slow delivery of inventory. When a shortage-afflicted business takes payment up front, fulfillment and customer services deteriorate. Late delivery angers customers.
That’s what happened at ski resorts this winter. Covid accelerated and exposed long-term trends, creating a perfect storm of employee and customer angst. A booming real estate market and an increase in Airbnb-type short-term rentals pushed the housing shortage from chronic to acute, which, combined with decades of static wages, forced employees into onerous commutes. Many employees simply declined to work that way, and when Covid put remaining employees in isolation, there weren’t enough bodies to shovel or make snow, drive groomers, maintain equipment, bump lifts, patrol and teach, flip burgers, make beds, punch cash registers, fit rental boots and provide childcare. At the same time, skiing seemed a Covid-safe outdoor activity, season passes were cheap, and skier visits on peak days soared. Ski retailers sold out early, highways and parking lots jammed up, and skiers stood in 40-minute lift queues. Skiers tolerate the late arrival of natural snow, but when the snow is great and the lifts don’t turn, they fume.
Vail Resorts was a particular target of consumer fury, incurring an organized protest movement and threats of class-action lawsuits, beginning at Stevens Pass, Washington. There, more than 44,000 skiers signed an online petition calling VR responsible for failure to open lifts and terrain, and about 300 complaints went to Washington’s Attorney General Bob Ferguson. By late January a new general manager, Tom Fortune, was turning the corner, solving some of his staff issues and opening popular backside access. The fixes were simple: more efficient use of available employee housing, increased employee shuttle service and new hiring. VR also offered the resort’s passholders deep discounts to sign up for next winter, and promised to extend the season through April. It’s worth noting that Vail very publicly bumped its minimum wage to $15 per hour in the key states of Colorado, Utah, California and Washington—but in the pre-Covid era VR’s average hourly wage for its roughly 47,000 seasonal employees was around $12 per hour. In mid-January VR offered a $2-an-hour bonus for employees who stay on until the end of the season.
In recent years, VR has set itself up for local disaster. The universal Epic Pass was a huge boon to average skiers, and a tonic to investors; it has transformed the resort industry with one simple, game-changing mantra: Skiing will now be purchased in advance. Meanwhile, VR took steps to bolster the bottom line for shareholders, such as slashing middle-management salaries by centralizing most corporate functions at its Broomfield, Colorado headquarters. The unintended consequence is a corporation slow to react to emerging local problems. Off-site marketing and finance personnel are blind to the nuances of local markets, and local issues. But the bridge too far was the cutback in local human-resources personnel, and the consequent loss of on-site expertise in local recruiting tactics, transportation and housing issues. Payroll functions were moved to an app that didn’t work.
As part of VR’s campaign to maximize margin in every segment, it built retail, lodging, food service and transportation enterprises that compete with local businesses. Building employee housing is always difficult, but alienating prominent locals doesn’t help.
VR cut the price by 20 percent and sold more than 2.1 million Epic Passes last summer, up 76 percent from pre-Covid 2019. According to its December 9 quarterly report, the company sailed into the season holding $1.5 billion in cash. It can well afford to spend what’s needed to fix local problems. Those problems now include settling class-action lawsuits by employees, meeting obligations under new collective bargaining agreements—and fixing housing and transportation issues. While they’re at it, they need affordable learn-to-ski packages for first-timers who get the itch in January, and improved access to free or cheap parking.
The original Vail Associates, from opening day in 1962, set the gold standard for American skiing. Vail offered the best slope grooming in the world. It recruited a top-ranked ski school. Vail’s managers, many of them veterans of the 10th Mountain Division, promoted skiing culture, for example by enlisting well-known skiers like Pepi Gramshammer and Dave and Renie Gorsuch to establish businesses in town, and later, under George Gillett, by bringing the World Championships to town. When the private equity firm Apollo Partners took VR public in 1997, they did what Wall Street always does: managed for shareholder value rather than customer and employee morale. To skiers, it now looks like VR has been cannibalizing VA’s good will.
According to annual reports, in fiscal year 2019 (the last pre-Covid year), VR’s mountain-operations revenue was $1.9 billion, and company-wide gross profit margin (EBITDA) was 36 percent. The National Ski Areas Association Economic Analysis shows the average large North American ski resort EBITDA then at about 26 percent. The difference was not only Vail’s success in selling season passes, but in strict cost control. To solve the employee crunch and relieve skier crowding, VR may have to give back some of that margin. With its 25 percent market share (in skier visits), the sport needs VR to succeed.
Will spending that money affect the stock price? Some 95 percent of VR stock is held by institutional investors, who may not care much about employee and skier morale. Closely held resorts have more freedom of action, and they’ve shown it this season to the benefit of their guests, employees and the communities they operate in. The other major resort conglomerate, Alterra of the Ikon Pass, has from day one taken the decentralized path, ceding control to its individual resorts. Aspen in mid-February gave a $3-an-hour raise to every employee in the company.
Rob Katz, the change-agent who created both the Epic Pass and VR’s 44-resort empire, stepped down as CEO in the fall and is now executive chairman of the board. His handpicked successor, veteran Kirsten Lynch, the data-driven marketer who has brainstormed the Epic Pass metrics, is now in the hot seat. “One of the hallmarks of our company is agility and change,” Lynch told the Wall Street Journal in its January 15 story “Steep Slope for a Ski Empire.” By the time you read this, in March, we’ll have seen how agile VR can be.
Image at top of page: Skiers on the hook, by Rudiger Fahrner
In 2021, record donations and a generous bequest put ISHA on solid ground.
For the eighth year in a row, donors to the nonprofit International Skiing History Association (ISHA) set a record for charitable giving in support of our mission. Thanks to the ISHA membership, individual donations in 2021 rose 2 percent over our previous best year (2020).
The 2021 Fundraising Campaign raised a total of $145,245 in gifts from 424 individuals and families. The ISHA Board of Directors thanks Christin Cooper and John McMurtry for leading the annual drive, and all those who participated so enthusiastically..
Sixty-two companies and organizations contributed
$53,350 in corporate sponsorships, up nearly 1 percent over the record year in 2019. Total unrestricted donations and sponsorships rose 15 percent over the Covid year of 2020.
In addition, ISHA received a substantial bequest from the Richard and Georgette Bohr Trust, totaling $292,000.
In 2021, membership dues covered about 18.2 percent of ISHA’s annual costs for publishing the magazine, maintaining the website, producing the annual ISHA Awards program and maintaining communications with the membership. The balance of the budget was met through charitable contributions, corporate sponsorships and bulk sales of the magazine to our museum partners. It was not necessary in 2021 to draw on investment funds.
On the expense side of the ledger, 63 percent of the budget went to support ISHA programs (magazine and website publishing, and the awards program). The remainder went to administration (member service, bookkeeping and audit, fundraising and member recruitment). ISHA incurred unusual, one-time tax-accounting costs due to Covid-related delays by the Internal Revenue Service in finalizing our transition from private to public charity status. On the other hand, for the second year in a row, expenses related to live events were greatly reduced, due to Covid-caused cancellations.
ISHA is a 501(c)(3) public charity, eligible to receive grants from family and community foundations, donor-advised funds and corporate-matching programs, in addition to direct contributions from individuals.
If you’re interested in supporting a specific ISHA program, please contact president Seth Masia at (303) 594-1657. If your firm would like to be a corporate sponsor, contact Peter Kirkpatrick at (541) 488-1933.
Financial Report
Income 2021
Bequest $292,000 (45% of revenue)
Individual donations $145,245 (22%)
Investment Income $105,058 (16%)
Corporate sponsorships $53,350 (8%)
Memberships $46,165 (7%)
Magazine sales (museums, other partners) $7,401 (1%)
Total revenue $649,219
Expenditures 2021
Magazine content/editorial $73,408 (29% of expenses)
Magazine printing & distribution $36,726 (14%)
Events, ISHA Awards program $40,553 (16%)
Website content and management $10,967 (4%)
Administration & bookkeeping $73,305 (29%)
Fundraising, member recruitment $16,566 (7%)
Audit, tax preparation $1,900 (1%)
Totat expenses $253,425
Donor Honor Roll
Listed here are the donors who supported ISHA’s mission with tax-free donations and gift memberships above and beyond their membership dues in 2021.
PINNACLE CLUB $10,000 and up
Nicholas Skinner
Barry & Kristine Stott
CHAIRMAN'S CIRCLE $5,000 to $9,999
Beekley Family Foundation
Jake & Maureen Hoeschler, Horizon Agency
Jean-Claude Killy
Liza-Lee & George Kremer
Jack Nixon, In memory of Gwen James Nixon
SUPER Giver $2,000 to $4,999
June Brusak, Bohr Trust
Mike & Carol Hundert, In memory of Coach Bob Beattie
Stephanie McLennan
Nicholas Paumgarten
Dr. Stephen Storey, In memory of Stefan Seigman
HISTORY LEADER $1,000 to $1,999
Skip Beitzel, Hickory & Tweed Ski Shop
Dr. Gretchen Rous Besser, In memory of Albert G. Besser
Cali Brooks, Adirondack Foundation
Jackie & John Bucksbaum, John & Jacolyn Bucksbaum Family Foundation
Gerald Butters, DBDI, LLC
John J. Byrne, Cirque Property, L.C.
Jim J.C. Clarke
Christin Cooper, In memory of John Fry
Nancy Cushing Evans, Castle Ridge Management
Brian Fairbank, The Fairbank Group
E. Nicholas Giustina
Peter Kellogg, Peter R. & Cynthia K. Kellogg Foundation
Peter Looram
Seth Masia, In memory of Dick Bohr
Juliette McLennan
Marvin & Renee Melville
Metropolitan New York Ski Council
David Moulton
Richard & Deborah Pearce
Charles & Janet Perkins
David Scott
Barbara Alley Simon
Mr. & Mrs. Barry Stone, In memory of Jeff Stone
Otto Tschudi
Lee Turlington, In memory of Marcel Barel
Thomas Wilkins
GOLD MEDALIST $500 to $999
Osvaldo & Eddy Ancinas, In Memory of John Fry
Graham & Christie Anderson, In memory of John Fry
Carol Atha
Brian Balusek
Michael & Diana Brooks
Michael & Jennifer Calderone
Chris & Jessic Davenport
Yves Desgouttes
James Duke
Jack & Kathleen Eck
Sally Faulkner
Peter Fischer
Mitch & Kim Fleischer
Jim & Barbara Gaddis
Hugh Harley, In memory of John Fry
Martha Head
Ron Hoffman
Adolph Imboden
Bill Irwin
Wini Jones
Michael Lafferty
Chris Lizza, In memory of Dave McCoy
Win Lockwood
John Logan
John Lovett
J. Howard Marshall
Debby McClenahan, In memory of John Fry
David Moffett
Bradley Olch
Philip Palmedo
Penny Pitou, Penny Pitou & Milo Pike Charitable Fund of the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation
Peggy Proctor Dean
Ken Read
Charles Sanders, In memory of the 10th Mountain Division KIA
Geoff Smith
Bob Soden, In honor of Kathleen James
Einar Sunde
Karl Wallach
Peter Weaver, In memory of Bill Everett
SILVER MEDALIST $100 to $499
Guy Alexander
Bunch Family, Alpine Ski Shop, In memory of Eddie Bunch
Coralue Anderson
Albert Arnaud, In memory of Marcel Barel
Gordon Arwine
Bob & Tina Ashton
Alan Baker
F. Michael Bannon, In memory of John Howe
Pat Bauman
Phil Bayly
Kevin Beardsley & Cindy Gimble
Stephen & Louise Berry
Michael Bing
Heather Black
Tom Blair
Mickey Blake
Robert & Marilyn Bolduc, Piche’s Ski Shop
Junior & Maxine Bounous, Junior Bounous Ski Inc.
C. Keith Bowen, Dynastar/Lange
Peter Brainard
Sally Brew
Bill Briggs
Michael Briggs
G. Stanley Brown
Jan & Judith Brunvand
Charlie & Mary Seaton Brush
Doug Campbell
Duncan Campbell
Wendy Carey, Seirus Innovation
Frank Carrannante
Rick Carter
Warren & Gretchen Cash
Tracy Clark
Sven & Mary Dominick- Coomer
Jay Cowan
Jim Cox, In memory of Dave & Roma McCoy
Richard Crumb
Andrew & Lucinda Daly, Powderhorn Ski Company
George & Jean Davies
Mike Day
Mike Delich, Fernie Skiing History & Wall of Fame
Peter Dirkes
Dave Donaldson
Randy Draper
Greg DuPratt
Dorothy Dyer
Curtis Emerson
Deb Essex
Gregory Fangel, Woodenskis.com
Thomas Farda
Ingie Franberg
Robert Fries & Deborah Teal
Victor & Karin Frolich
Ken Gallard, In memory of John Fry
Caleb & Sidney Gates
Hans Geier, In memory of John Fry
Kirby Gilbert
Rick Glesner
Robert & Leanore Goode
Peter Graves
James Graves
Vernon Greco
John Greenwood
Larry Gubb
H. Fred Haemisegger
Susie Hagemeister, In honor of Hans Hagemeister
D. Anne Heggtveit Hamilton
David Hanscom, In memory of Dick Bohr
Bettie Hastings
T. Newlin & Liz Hastings
Stefi Hastings, In memory of John Fry
Bob Hatcher
Robert Havard
Cathy Hayward, Alpine Sports Shop
Thomas Hayward
Lisanne & Bill Hegman
Brett Heineman
Tom & Roberta Heinrich
Gary Hohl, Helm of Sun Valley, San Mateo
Ray Hilliard
John Hoagland
Karin Hock - Baker, In memory of Nick Hock
John Hood
Paul & Katherine Hooge
Bill Howell & Jeanne Wadsworth
Joe Irwin
Steve Irwin
Scott Jackson
Greg Jackson
Jeffrey Jacobs, Foot Dynamics
Marilyn Jacobs, The Jacobs Family
Philip & Brigitte Johnson
Terrence & Patricia Johnson
Alison Jones, Ken Jones Ski Mart
Kirk Jordan
Harry & Carolyn Kaiser
David Kaufman
Hank Kaufmann
Stuart Keiller
John & Denise Kelley
Mike & Gail Kendrick
Peter King
Ron Kipp
Peter Kirkpatrick, In memory of Bob Beattie
John Kirschner
Leon Kirschner
Earl Kishida
Bill & Kate Koch
Mike Korologos
Madi Kraus
Erik Kvarsten
William Lash
Charlie Leavitt
Jeffrey & Martha Leich
Walt Levering
John Lewis
Sandy & Colleen Liman
Alan Lizee
Jean Luce
John Lundin
Phil Lutey, Heritage Motors
James & Dianne Mahaffey
Tom Malmgren
James Mangan
Bob & Trudy Matarese
Jeff Mayfield
John McMurtry, In memory of John Fry
Christine McRoy
Paul Mehrtens
Mark A. Miller, Antiqueskis.com
Louisa Moats & Steve Mitchell
Rod Morgan
Halsted Morris
Janet Mosser, In memory of Donn Mosser
Roger Moyer, Aspen Painting
Trygve Myhren, Myhren Media, Inc.
Paul Naeseth
Michael Neal
Connie Nelson, Alf Engen Ski Museum Foundation
Keith Nelson
Robert Nessle, New York Museum of Skiing
Greg Newton, In memory of Stein Eriksen
Gary & JoAnn Olson
George Page
Deanna & Val Painter
Tom Parrott
Ruth Parton
Fred Passmore
Tom & Sally Patterson
Peter Pell
Albert & Carol Pierce
Tom Pierce & Lu Ann Dillon
Donald Pitkin
Michael Prinster
Thomas Quinn
Mr. & Mrs. Christian Raaum, In memory of Gus Raaum
Carey & A. Todd Rash
Haldor Reinholt, Reinholt Real Estate
Byron Rempel
Ken Rendell
Marsha Rich
Rick Richards
Alex Riddell
David Ries
Matt Rittmann
Bill Roberts
Mary Sargent
David Schames
Don Schwamb
Bill Scott
Thomas Shanahan
Tom & Sandy Sharp
John & Judy Sherman
Brad Simmons
Donald Simonds, In memory of Joe Dodge
Andy Simonds
Richard Sippel
Debbie Fallon, Ski Barn, In memory of Carol & Richard Fallon
Lowell Skoog
Preston Smith
Terrell & Tammie Smith
Robert Sorvaag
Rick Stark
Arthur Stegen
Joan Stevens
Scott Stillings
Nancy Stone, Buck Hill, Inc.
John Stout
Sam Stout
William & Carolyn Stutt, The Carwill Foundation
Joannie & Mark Ter Molen
Robert & Sue Thibault
Simeon Thomas
Barbara Thornton
David Thurgood
Charles Todd
Nancy Twitty
Charles H. Upson
Louise Van Winkle
Egils & Patricia Vigants, Parsons Group
James Vipond, In honor of Rick Moulton
Richard & Barbara Wagner
Karl Wallach
Lawrence Walsh. In memory of Walt “”The Wordsmith” Roessing
Annie Ward
Ray Dave Watkins
William Watson
Richard Wein
Loris & Deb Werner
Thomas Wies
Jon Williams, In memory of Ron LeMaster
Heggie & Julie Wilson
Maurice Woehrle
BRONZE MEDALIST Up to $99
Nancy Abens
Brenda Agamie
Bob & Margi Albrecht
Vicki Andersen, NASJA West
Todger Anderson
Larry Asay
Michelle Avery, Steamboat
Springs Real Estate
Suzi Bailey, In memory of Kelly Taylor
Edward Baldwin, Baldwin & Franklin Architects
Deborah Bancroft
Milton Barrett, In memory of Clyde Jacobs
James Schaefer, Berkshire East/Catamount Ski Resorts
James Berry
J. Truman Bidwell, Jr.
Suzanne Hoffman, Blizzard Ski Club, In honor of Chuck & Lydia Roberts
Ashley Blondel
Spencer Bocks
Jim Bogner
Robert Bossange
Richard Boutelle
Robert Boyle, In memory of Gus Gnehm
Robert Boyle & Christana Gnehm-Boyle
Chris Brigham
Frank Brown
Rouene Brown
Nancy Brucken
Robert Campbell
Chris Cannon
Richard Carrick
Joseph Chaisson
Harvy & Reserl Chalker
Ned & Jan Cochran, In memory of Tage Pedersen
Katherine Coppock
Norman Cox
Art & Sharon Currier
Christine Davidson
Chris Dawkins
Michael Dawson & Vicki
Dunaway
Peter Duke, Duke Ventures LLC
Anne Dunigan
Robert Ebling
Kathryn Edwards
John Fallon
John Farley
Keith Fleischman
Susan Fox
Margaret Fuller
Bill Fundy
Bruce Gaisford
Wolf & Nancy Gensch
Wende Gray, Gray Marketing, In memory of Judy Weston
Bill Green
Janet Gregor
Edson Hackett
Ernst Hager
Greg Hall
Katherine Hart
John Hawkins, Otnes USA
Larry Heath & Carrie Damp
Nathan & Monica Hill
John Holland
Bill Humes
Russell Hunter
Kris Husted
Julien & Trudie Hutchinson
Kathleen James, In memory of John Fry
Brad Johnson, Sojourn
Adventures & Marine
Kirk Johnson
Josh Kahn
Jeff Kahn
Paul Kenny, Paul Kenny Real Estate, Inc.
Pete Kolp
William Kravitz
Gilman Lang
John Lippman
Ellen & Brian Longenecker
Karl Lund & Alicia O’Meara
Kevin Lutes
John Lutz
Dick & Joann Malmgren
Dan & Lucie Matthies
Evelyn Pitt McLaughlin
Jim McWethy
Charles Mead
Wayne Metcalf
Donald & Susan Miller
Louis Miller
Michael Moore
Jim Morris
Christopher F. Moulton
Teresa Murtagh
Carolyn Nally
Barbara Nelson
Christopher Newell, In honor of Chris Newell
Ralph Nodine, Mrs. Catherine Nodine
Scott Peacock
Karl Pfeiffer
Roland Puton
Tom Quarles
Charles Quinn, In memory of Ted Johnson
Scott Ransom
Edward Rengers
John Reynolds
Joseph & Cynthia Riggs
Paul Rogers
Jan Rozendaal
Fred Runne
Fred Schaaff
Henry Schwarzberg
Eric Seaborg
Les Seely
Michael Smith
Edward Smith, EFS Appraisal
John & Ann Spencer
Glenn Spiller
Audrey Staniforth
Rick Stoner
Eric Strobel
John & Pat Taylor
Matt Thibodeau
Polly Thompson
Pascal Tone
Brent & Bonnie Tregaskis,
Snow Summit Ski Corp
Edward Trudel
Patrick Walsh
Arthur Watson
Lisa West
Lon Whitman
Murray Wood
Brian Wyckoff
Frederick Yost
ISHA heritage Partners
These museums and organizations actively support ISHA by providing our journal, Skiing History, as a benefit to their members and donors. We’re proud to share our mission of preserving skiing history with these institutions, and we encourage you to support them!
U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame & Museum www.skihall.com
Can Vail Resorts improve employee and customer relations?
By Seth Masia
From the January-February 2022 issue
(Posted February 12, 2022) Overcrowding and staff shortages at ski resorts first attracted the attention of local and online media at the end of 2021, then in January spread to traditional outlets like the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, statewide papers like the Denver Post and Seattle Times, and special interest magazines such as Outside.
To be fair, resorts faced the same issues as businesses in general: namely labor shortages and slow delivery of inventory. When a shortage-afflicted business takes payment up front, fulfillment and customer services deteriorate. Late delivery angers customers.
That’s what happened at ski resorts this winter. Covid accelerated and exposed long-term trends, creating a perfect storm of employee and customer angst. A booming real estate market and an increase in Airbnb-type short-term rentals pushed the housing shortage from chronic to acute, which, combined with decades of static wages, forced employees into onerous commutes. Many employees simply declined to work that way, and when Covid put remaining employees in isolation, there weren’t enough bodies to shovel or make snow, drive groomers, maintain equipment, bump lifts, patrol and teach, flip burgers, make beds, punch cash registers, fit rental boots and provide childcare. At the same time, skiing seemed a Covid-safe outdoor activity, season passes were cheap, and skier visits on peak days soared. Ski retailers sold out early, highways and parking lots jammed up, and skiers stood in 40-minute lift queues. Skiers tolerate the late arrival of natural snow, but when the snow is great and the lifts don’t turn, they fume.
Vail Resorts was a particular target of consumer fury, incurring an organized protest movement and threats of class-action lawsuits, beginning at Stevens Pass, Washington. There, more than 44,000 skiers signed an online petition calling VR responsible for failure to open lifts and terrain, and about 300 complaints went to Washington’s Attorney General Bob Ferguson. By late January a new general manager, Tom Fortune, was turning the corner, solving some of his staff issues and opening popular backside access. The fixes were simple: more efficient use of available employee housing, increased employee shuttle service and new hiring. VR also offered the resort’s passholders deep discounts to sign up for next winter, and promised to extend the season through April. It’s worth noting that Vail very publicly bumped its minimum wage to $15 per hour in the key states of Colorado, Utah, California and Washington—but in the pre-Covid era VR’s average hourly wage for its roughly 47,000 seasonal employees was around $12 per hour. In mid-January VR offered a $2-an-hour bonus for employees who stay on until the end of the season.
In recent years, VR has set itself up for local disaster. The universal Epic Pass was a huge boon to average skiers, and a tonic to investors; it has transformed the resort industry with one simple, game-changing mantra: Skiing will now be purchased in advance. Meanwhile, VR took steps to bolster the bottom line for shareholders, such as slashing middle-management salaries by centralizing most corporate functions at its Broomfield, Colorado headquarters. The unintended consequence is a corporation slow to react to emerging local problems. Off-site marketing and finance personnel are blind to the nuances of local markets, and local issues. But the bridge too far was the cutback in local human-resources personnel, and the consequent loss of on-site expertise in local recruiting tactics, transportation and housing issues. Payroll functions were moved to an app that didn’t work.
As part of VR’s campaign to maximize margin in every segment, it built retail, lodging, food service and transportation enterprises that compete with local businesses. Building employee housing is always difficult, but alienating prominent locals doesn’t help.
VR cut the price by 20 percent and sold more than 2.1 million Epic Passes last summer, up 76 percent from pre-Covid 2019. According to its December 9 quarterly report, the company sailed into the season holding $1.5 billion in cash. It can well afford to spend what’s needed to fix local problems. Those problems now include settling class-action lawsuits by employees, meeting obligations under new collective bargaining agreements—and fixing housing and transportation issues. While they’re at it, they need affordable learn-to-ski packages for first-timers who get the itch in January, and improved access to free or cheap parking.
The original Vail Associates, from opening day in 1962, set the gold standard for American skiing. Vail offered the best slope grooming in the world. It recruited a top-ranked ski school. Vail’s managers, many of them veterans of the 10th Mountain Division, promoted skiing culture, for example by enlisting well-known skiers like Pepi Gramshammer and Dave and Renie Gorsuch to establish businesses in town, and later, under George Gillett, by bringing the World Championships to town. When the private equity firm Apollo Partners took VR public in 1997, they did what Wall Street always does: managed for shareholder value rather than customer and employee morale. To skiers, it now looks like VR has been cannibalizing VA’s good will.
According to annual reports, in fiscal year 2019 (the last pre-Covid year), VR’s mountain-operations revenue was $1.9 billion, and company-wide gross profit margin (EBITDA) was 36 percent. The National Ski Areas Association Economic Analysis shows the average large North American ski resort EBITDA then at about 26 percent. The difference was not only Vail’s success in selling season passes, but in strict cost control. To solve the employee crunch and relieve skier crowding, VR may have to give back some of that margin. With its 25 percent market share (in skier visits), the sport needs VR to succeed.
Will spending that money affect the stock price? Some 95 percent of VR stock is held by institutional investors, who may not care much about employee and skier morale. Closely held resorts have more freedom of action, and they’ve shown it this season to the benefit of their guests, employees and the communities they operate in. The other major resort conglomerate, Alterra of the Ikon Pass, has from day one taken the decentralized path, ceding control to its individual resorts. Aspen in mid-February gave a $3-an-hour raise to every employee in the company.
Rob Katz, the change-agent who created both the Epic Pass and VR’s 44-resort empire, stepped down as CEO in the fall and is now executive chairman of the board. His handpicked successor, veteran Kirsten Lynch, the data-driven marketer who has brainstormed the Epic Pass metrics, is now in the hot seat. “One of the hallmarks of our company is agility and change,” Lynch told the Wall Street Journal in its January 15 story “Steep Slope for a Ski Empire.” By the time you read this, in March, we’ll have seen how agile VR can be.
