1945. But I have a confession to make. Your Stowe Reporter article was on page 13. On page 12 was an article about the Derby on Sunday and it had the date of the original race. Don’t give me credit because I would not have known it without first reading that article.
It was originally called The Mansfield Stowe Derby and was first run Feb 28, 1945. Such an interesting history! A race created as a challenge between Erling Strom and Sepp Ruschp. It started at the Octagon and ended at the Akeley Memorial building. From what I remember reading, it was a challenge between the XC crowd and the Alpine crowd. As the first ski lift in Stowe was opened just a few years earlier, skiing started on its split between those that wanted to just go downhill and those that wanted to continue going up and down! This required a change in binding and skis between the two camps. Am guessing that Strom was the XC side and Ruschp was the alpine. Not sure what equipment each used though…..
January 11, 2019 at 2:24 am
1945. But I have a confession to make. Your Stowe Reporter article was on page 13. On page 12 was an article about the Derby on Sunday and it had the date of the original race. Don’t give me credit because I would not have known it without first reading that article.
January 11, 2019 at 3:05 pm
It was originally called The Mansfield Stowe Derby and was first run Feb 28, 1945. Such an interesting history! A race created as a challenge between Erling Strom and Sepp Ruschp. It started at the Octagon and ended at the Akeley Memorial building. From what I remember reading, it was a challenge between the XC crowd and the Alpine crowd. As the first ski lift in Stowe was opened just a few years earlier, skiing started on its split between those that wanted to just go downhill and those that wanted to continue going up and down! This required a change in binding and skis between the two camps. Am guessing that Strom was the XC side and Ruschp was the alpine. Not sure what equipment each used though…..
January 12, 2019 at 12:29 am
1945
How have you been?