A Little Skiing History

For over 130 years  skiing and Colorado have gone hand in hand. From the early trappers and miners of the late 1800’s, to the competitive racers of today, Colorado has constantly made its mark on the skiing world. The State and cities like Steamboat Springs have contributed competitors, world class racers and team coaches to the ranks  of world class skiers. It is home to some of the best skiing and lightest snow in the world. When gold was discovered in the mountains west of Colorado in 1859, the early pioneers soon learned that webbed snowshoes,  popular with the Native Americans and trappers of the old northwest,  were useless in the deep powdery snow of the high mountains. They preferred Norwegian snowshoes or skis.

Miners become mobile...
Early skis were handmade from pine or spruce trees and ranged in length from 8-14 feet in length. They were usually 1/2 inch thick and about 4 inches wide. They weighed as much as 25 lbs. Early skiers used one long pole 8-10 feet long was used to steer and to brake (sometimes by straddling it - ouch!). Turning was practically impossible on the lengthy timbers and one usually had to stop or slow down and step around the pole to change direction.

The first documented use of skis in Colorado, occurred during the winter of 1859-60 in a snow-locked mining camp along the Blue River near present-day Breckenridge. The men remaining in camp made themselves skis and traveled down-valley where they built a cabin and claimed a new town site. You can visit many of these mining claims on snowmobile and jeep tours through out the seasons.

From Transportation to Recreation...
For years the miners, working high on the sides of the peaks that loom over Crested Butte and Irwin, had challenged each other to races down into town. Last one down the mountain buys the cigars and oysters was the usual refrain. Bragging claims reached such a pitch that finally, in 1886, a call went out to the surrounding mining camps that a contest would be held to determine the best skier in the Rocky Mountains. A series of five circuit races were held in 1986. Although Crested Butte and Gunnison staged ski races in 1887, the circuit died out as the surrounding mining camps were being abandoned as the gold and silver ores played out.

Call a Ranger - U.S. Army...
One of the biggest influences on Colorado skiing history was the 10th Mountain Division, U.S. Army men training for high country combat in Europe against Hitler’s Nazi forces. Many of these men, based at the massive Camp Hale, just outside of Leadville, Colorado near Vail, returned from duty in Europe to the surroundings they had come to know and love so well during their training, the Rocky Mountains. These men guided the future of skiing in Colorado by establishing some of the U.S. major ski areas, including Vail, Aspen, and Telluride.

Today the legacy of the miners and U.S. Army 10th Mountain Division lives on in ski resort across the west. Visit the town they built (and some times abandoned) in the Rocky Mountains of the American West.