Skiing In Retrospect
by Andrew W. Anderson
SOME YEARS AGO, and not so many at that, practically everything the Mountaineers did on skis was unique in this region and made Pacific Northwest ski history. Mountaineer “firsts” in skiing in this territory are as numerous as the ornaments on the emblem-studded Tyrolean headgear of returned Winter Olympics wayfarers-and equally as impressive. But the old days and the old accomplishments are in the past. Skiing has such a firm grip on the public that we, who broke the trail, view with unbelieving eyes things we dreamed of but hardly hoped to see, until our worn old skis and our moth-eaten Bergans were only objects to gaze at in fond remembrance.
Where once Mountaineers made their weary way into Paradise and Baker, they now can ride on cleared roads to the doors of the lodges. A few years ago we were enthusiastically greeted by the small winter crew guarding the properties. Last season every summer facility was available and a full staff watched the departure of skiing hordes each Sunday night with mixed relief and sorrow. Once the Mountaineer Ski Annual was alone in its field-now we have special twenty-page newspaper supplements, practically daily coverage on the sport page throughout the winter, and several magazines devoted solely to our skiing. Some will remember when we pleaded with sporting goods stores to import just a few of the ski specialties we desired. And now? Well, a large department store uses a two-page spread in the newspaper to picture and describe its foreign and domestic ski goods. Every sports store stocks all types of ski equipment for the ski season just as every store selling apparel devotes a large portion of its display to the latest in ski garbs. In 1928 the club built Meany Ski Hut, the first representative of the ski shelters which have begun to crowd our passes. This year accommodations range from the new shelter hut built by the Forest Service in Stevens Pass to ultra-ultra Sun Valley, tucked away in the Sawtooth Mountains of Idaho rates ten dollars to forty dollars per day.
With all this development club activities have increased in proportion. The regular club races, increased open team competition, ski instruction, ski outings and a depth of snow unrivaled for years combined to provide the busiest ski season ever.
As usual the ski races have been completely covered in the monthly bulletin in the Ski Tips column, so only a brief mention of the club champions and team accomplishments will be made. At Meany Ski Hut, on January 12, the cross country cups, in their eighth year of competition, were won by Doris Edson and Wolf Bauer. Three weeks later, at the same place, two slalom trophies and a downhill trophy were up for the seventh time. Wolf Bauer was crowned a triple champion by taking both the men’s slalom and downhill in addition to his earlier success in the cross country. Jane Stahmer won the women’s slalom. The Ski Patrol Race, also started seven years earlier, and for club members only, was run February 16 from the Lodge to Meany over a perfect trail and in powder snow. Wolf Bauer, Chet Higman and Bill Miller made the
p. 20
eighteen-mile crossing in 4 hours, 27 minutes and 23 seconds, nearly an hour faster than the old record. The most ancient Mountaineer ski trophy, the women’s cross country cup competed for at the Lodge for the past fifteen years, was won by Adelaide Copp. The Harper trophy, only a year younger and for the winner of a cross country race for novices, was not awarded last season because of avalanche conditions on the first scheduled date and lack of entries on the second. The jumping trophy, another seven-year-old cup, went to Scott Osborn for placing third, higher than any other club member, in the Class C Pacific Northwest jumping championship at Beaver Lake, March 22.
During the season the Mountaineers’ application to join the Pacific Northwest Ski Association was accepted. This Association is the governing body in ski competition in this area and through the National Ski Federation, is affiliated with the International Ski Federation, familiarly known as the F. I. S. A club team competed in a number of meets sanctioned by the association as well as several other events.
An informal slalom and cross country meet between the Seattle, Commonwealth, and Washington ski clubs and the Mountaineers at Snoqualmie Pass was won handily by the Mountaineers on a team basis, as they triumphed in the cross-country and were second in the slalom. Osborn, Bauer, Chet and Bob Higman, Tom Hill and Rex Ruston placed 5th, 8th, 10th, 11th, 17th and 19th in the slalom in a field of twenty-three. In the cross country Bauer was only two seconds after the winner, followed by Bob Higman, Osborn and Don Blair in the next three places and with Hill 10th and Ruston 12th.
The second annual dual meet between the University of Washington ski team and the Mountaineers took place January 19 at the Lodge. The University took the slalom race by a slightly greater margin than the Mountaineers won the cross country, so they captured the combined event by a score of 194.4 to 183.8. Bauer, John Berrian and Blair finished one, two and three in the cross country, followed by Osborn and Hill in 7th and 8th places. In the slalom the first five Mountaineers were Bauer, Hill, Osborn, Bill Miller and Art Winder in 4th, 6th, 7th, 9th and 12th places. Scott Edson, Joe Halwax, Ted Lewis and Chet Higman also competed, but did not place within the first five to be counted.
At the Pacific Northwest Downhill and Slalom Championships held at Mt. Hood March 1, the Mountaineer team acquitted itself most creditably. Bauer took 3rd in the downhill and 14th in the slalom to place 7th in the combined, in a field including the best skiers in the Northwest. Osborn placed 6th and 13th to take 8th in the combined, Miller was 18th and 12th to place 14th, Hill was 21st and 16th to take 15th and Halwax was 42nd and 25th to place 28th. Team positions never were calculated but the Mountaineers probably would have placed third.
Osborn and Hill took third and fourth in Class C in the Pacific Northwest Jumping Championships at Beaver Lake, March 22. Their longest jumps were 73 and 63 feet, respectively. The Spring Ski Carnival held April 4th and 5th at Paradise resulted in Hill, Osborn, Miller and Bauer placing 17th, 18th, 20th and 22nd in the combined slalom and downhill, bringing the Mountaineers in fourth in a field of nine teams from various clubs.
In the combined slalom, downhill, cross country and jumping tournament held at Mt. Baker, May 9 and 10, the Mountaineers had the only full four-man team competing in all events. Bauer, Osborn, Hill and Miller placed 5th, 7th, 8th and 9th in the jumping, each having two standing
p. 21
jumps, the longest being 104 feet by Bauer. In the four-way combination of events Osborn was 3rd and Bauer 8th.
The first open Patrol Race scheduled by the Mountaineers was, in many ways, the most important event on the ski calendar. It marked our advent into outside competition with our club as the host. The results of the race so far as the records go are history, hut the results in good will, publicity and other intangible ways are still accumulating. Since 1930, when our first patrol race was run with the teams limited to Mountaineer members, the question of a race open to all Pacific Northwest Clubs often was broached. Finally, last season, it was decided that both for the good of skiing as a sport and for the Mountaineers as a club it would be advisable to schedule such a race. Through the kindness and generosity of Ben Mooers a suitable challenge trophy for the winning team was provided. The race committee was appointed early and, with the marked success of the club race for members only in mid-February, and an abundance of snow, the favorable outcome of the open patrol race, which was run on March 16, was assured.
The daily papers gave wide publicity to the unique event both before and after its running. Patterned after the popular military patrol races in Europe, it is the only event of its kind in this country so far as we have been able to ascertain. Teams of three men race as a unit and must cross the finish line with not more than one minute between the first and last skier. They are compelled, by the rules of the event, to carry packs weighing at least ten pounds each and containing certain specified articles of apparel, first aid, food and spare equipment. Since our first patrol race in 1930 the wisdom of the patrol race rules and the necessity for the specific articles carried has been demonstrated upon more than one occasion. The eighteen-mile course along the crest of the Cascades between Snoqualmie Lodge and Meany Ski Hut is arduous enough in good weather and powder snow. Under adverse conditions the less than five hours required for the fast trip across often has been lengthened to two days and a night-with the latter spent bivouacked in the snow en route in more or less comfort, depending on the contents of the packs.
Five patrols were entered in the open patrol race. The Seattle Ski Club entry, veteran cross-country experts, found the course with its long climbs, wooded and open runs, steep pitches and short schusses much to its liking, winning the event, despite variable snow conditions, in the excellent time of 4 hours, 50 minutes and 39 seconds, only 13 minutes slower than the record time made a month earlier with perfect weather and snow. The next three patrols were disqualified for various reasons. One member of the Washington Ski Club broke a ski and since, unfortunately, did not carry repair equipment, was forced to borrow a spare tip from another patrol and was disqualified as regulations permit members of a patrol to borrow equipment only from each other. The Everett Mountaineers were disqualified because their patrol did not finish with three men, one member turning back shortly after the start due to illness. The Seattle Mountaineers patrol was disqualified also. One member was taken ill and decided to turn back but, after a rest, recovered and set out after his patrol mates. He finished in good shape but not within the prescribed one minute after the first patrol member, thus disqualifying the team. The College of Puget Sound patrol finished so late that even the race officials had left the Hut as they understood the patrol had turned hack. They learned of their error, however, on reaching the highway on the way back to the Lodge and at once went back to the Hut to meet the
p. 22
long overdue racers. This patrol had made a leisurely trip of the race but, by adhering to the regulations, finished together and in second place. The Mountaineers received much favorable comment for the successful manner in which they ran their first open patrol race, so the club and those responsible for the event have every reason to be proud of the results they achieved. The racers praised the course and the management as a whole. The trail was perfectly broken and so adequately marked that no patrols went astray. Transportation, timing and checking were competently handled. The one slip in permitting the College of Puget Sound patrol to continue was a regrettable error which is easy to rectify. In future races a pair of skiers will leave the Lodge with the last patrol and act as rear guard all the way or continue until they contact a post that is going through. And if a patrol has not reached the first checking post in reasonable time it will be turned back as should have been done this year.
At the recent meeting of the Pacific Northwest Ski Association the Mountaineers’ Patrol Race was sanctioned as an official event. Henceforth it will be a Pacific Northwest Championship event and will constitute the meet in which the Mountaineers return the hospitality of the other members of the association for the official meets they conduct.
Certain ski activities of the club have become almost traditional. Of these, special ski outings are among the most enjoyable. In 1936 two such outings were held, both well attended. One was to the Chinook Pass region we first visited some years ago. The second was to the new and promising Stevens Pass country in the neighborhood of Surprise Lake.
The wax guide and equipment list were published in the Bulletin in an early season issue, a much better practice than the separate sheets formerly used. The wax guide is extended from year to year as experience with various waxes is accumulated. It is doubtful, however, if the equipment list in its present form is of much value. It should either be dropped or should make definite recommendations of definite products. The club already has made a reputation for showing ski films. Everything available, which, as usual, included some good and some bad films, was shown to crowded clubrooms, often having two or three showings a night. Not satisfied solely with stimulating ski appetities by vision alone several new skiing books were added to the club library. Accessions, besides the current British Ski Yearbook and Ski Notes and Queries included High Speed Skiing by Peter Lunn and Sixty Centuries of Skiing by Charles M. Dudley. The new ski trail to Olallee Meadows was improved and a new ski trail from the Lodge to the parking space on the highway is being constructed this fall. Rumor has it one will be able to ski from the Lodge to the highway with no more light than a candle bug over its perfectly engineered contours. New and improved ski trails are coming club problems. Our narrow trails should be widened for more enjoyable skiing and more bridges should be constructed for winter use in crossing open creeks. New trails should be sought to make new areas easily accessible.
The Mountaineer Skiers, a group formed last year for all members interested in skiing has made noteworthy progress. The leader of the group is an ex-officio member of the Ski Committee. This group put over 5ki instruction last year in a convincing manner and is continuing its good work this fall. The value of and interest in the group’s work is demonstrated by the crowds attending each ski instruction lesson. The clubrooms are taxed for every class. The results they have achieved are already apparent in the increased ability of our skiers and in the new members their efforts have brought into the club.
p. 23
With our advent into open events and the increasing keenness of the competition in these meets it is necessary that our own club races and especially our open patrol race be run in true championship style. At the recent P. N. S. A. meeting the delegates were apprised of the lack of competent officials and requested to urge their clubs to train officials along with their coming racers. With the probable exception of jumping events which, due to the Norwegian influence, usually are run off in faultless style, most of our Northwest downhill and slalom meets could be considerably improved. A poorly run meet is not only unfair to the participants, but also disappointing to the spectators. Undoubtedly the Olympic Trials of two years ago, sponsored by the Washington Ski Club, was as well managed and well judged a meet as we have had of that type so far just as the preliminary meet two weeks earlier was about the worst. A properly run meet should, first of all, start at the scheduled time.
Nothing is more aggrivatng to skiers or spectators than to have to try to keep warm during avoidable delays. Downhill races are not so much at fault in this particular as their very nature demands punctuality if the timing is to be accurate. With slalom races, however, it seems to have become the custom to set a starting time and then run the race as soon after that hour as convenient either to the officials, the skiers, or both. The remedy here is obvious, simply a little forethought on the part of all concerned. Most of our race courses, both downhill and slalom have, with few exceptions, been well chosen and expertly set. The downhill racer must take the course as he finds it and, outside of setting it so that there a number of possible lines, the course setter can do little to equalize the chances of the first man who traverses unmarked terrain and the last man who must dodge the holes left by his predecessors. In slalom races, however, all our courses have been so soft, despite tramping, that the conditions vary tremendously throughout the event. There is an unfortunate tendency to smooth the course and level the holes if a “star” is making his run while a few sketchy passes with a shovel or a rake must do for the unknown-who just possibly might be the “star” of tomorrow. Similarly, the high numbered slalom racers often receive little consideration, either because it doesn’t seem worth while to repair the course when the race is almost over, or because things must be rushed because of the late start. These difficulties can and must be overcome if all our skiers are to get the even break they deserve.
Timing and the accompanying calculation of race results is an involved subject at best, made even more complicated by the weather conditions under which ski races are held. Fine split-second watches are required, especially since the level of our skiing is advancing and so many of our best differ from each other only by a fraction of a second over the same course. Cheaper watches usually are not accurate over the period of a race, introducing errors for which the timers must compensate in figuring the results. Fortunately, the Pacific Northwest Ski Association has already recognized this need, and are acquiring three high grade watches which will be available for race meets this coming season. However, even the best watches may slow up or freeze in cold weather. Slalom races are relatively easy to time since but one man is on the course at a time. Downhill events bring gray hairs to timers’ heads, however, when from one to half a dozen racers may cross the line in a bunch. With our
p. 24
present methods it is difficult if not impossible to accurately time every skier in such a group. Since timing is so important and will become increasingly so as our skiers improve, it appears that we must adopt or develop for our most important meets, at least, some method of electric timing in which the downhill racer will record his own finishing time possibly by breaking a ray which is focussed on a photoelectric cell on the opposite side of the finish line. With such a device it only would be necessary to record the skier’s numbers as they flashed by and match them with the times later. These criticisms of our race meets are, it is hoped, of a constructive nature and will be of some aid in attaining the peak of perfection we must reach if our skiing and all its adjuncts is to rival that of our European contemporaries.