Month February 2011

8th Annual Antique Ski Race

Red Lussier is an imposing figure with his red hair and full red beard.  But not as imposing as his skis: they are wide planks over seven feet long and no steel edges in sight!  Then there is Suzy “Chapstick”… Continue Reading →

Mitch Cubberley and his Cubco

The Cubco was the creation of Mitch Cubberley, a mechanical engineer from New Jersey.  He started working on ski bindings in the early 1950’s and used his engineering know-how to address many binding-related issues.  His binding was a step-in; the… Continue Reading →

Cubco Bindings

(Following was contributed by Ed Pearson via e-mail.) “All three of our children learned to ski at ages 2 &3 at a small mountain in upstate NY on the same pair of skis passed down from the oldest to the… Continue Reading →

Trivia Week 14

In the late 1950’s and early 1960’s alpine skiing saw an impressive growth in popularity.  What technology improvement in the 1950’s led to skiing’s increase in popularity?

The Tie That Binds

So when was the Look Nevada toepiece created? It surprised me to find out that it was 1950!  The Look Nevada designed by Jean Beyl in Nevers, France, was way ahead of its time. To give some perspective, the first… Continue Reading →

Trivia Week 13

It’s the mid 1960’s and you’re riding a chairlift over an intermediate trail.  You hear a metallic “thwangzzzzzzzz” on the trail below you.  What brand of binding just released?

Sailer Skis

The first successful all-fiberglass ski was the Toni Sailer ski in 1959.  Art Molnar and Fred Langendorf invented and built the ski in nearby Montreal.  There had been other attempts to build all fiberglass (plastic) skis starting as early as… Continue Reading →

Trivia Week 12

Most people consider the Look Nevada toe-piece to be the first modern release binding.  In what year was the Look Nevada created?  And as a bonus: who was the inventor?

Howard Head

Howard Head returned to Baltimore, Maryland, after his 1947 ski vacation in Stowe motivated to design and make a better ski.  He was an aeronautical engineer and knew that metal had replaced wood in airplanes because of its superior strength-to-weight… Continue Reading →

Trivia Week 11

What was the name of the first successful all fiberglass ski?  That’s the brand name of the ski, not who developed it.

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