Category Columns

What ski company made the Zebra-Ski? There were many readers who knew that it was Volkl that introduced the Zebra-Ski in 1967. The first person to post the correct answer on my blog was regular RetroSki contributor Gary Tomlinson from… Continue Reading →

Have you ever suffered from chair-anoia? Chair-anoia is the fear of skiing under chairlifts because you think that people are watching you ski – no, make that judging your skiing! If you have ever experienced that fear, you were right:… Continue Reading →

“Vail Lift Lines Visible from Space” was a tongue-in-cheek fake headline put out by Black Diamond Designs that recently spread around the Internet. There was a doctored satellite photo that showed a very long line of people waiting for a… Continue Reading →

On the second day of the 1976 Innsbruck Winter Olympics, Franz Klammer made his memorable downhill run for the gold. But the real surprise that day was the silver medal won in the 30km cross country race by twenty year… Continue Reading →

I have mentioned previously that Colorado became a skier’s mecca in the 1960s. What better way to cement that status than to host a Winter Olympics! Colorado Governor John Love appointed Merrill Hastings to head a committee tasked with securing… Continue Reading →

In March of 1955 the Mount Mansfield Ski Club hosted the second American International Ski Races at Stowe. The event attracted some of the top European racers with 25 of the 100 competitors coming from outside the United States. For… Continue Reading →

We were skiing through the wide-open Tensleep Bowl below Corbet’s. True to its name it was lulling us to sleep with a wide expanse of inviting powder undulating down a moderate slope. We were ecstatic until we reached the end… Continue Reading →

The picture is of a smiling blonde girl with pigtails tied with yellow ribbons. She’s wearing 1940s skiwear unremarkable except for the US Olympic team logo on her tunic. This picture was featured on Sun Valley posters in the late… Continue Reading →

So who won that first official ski race on Mount Mansfield? Bob Stewart was the first to correctly identify Dick Durrance. And Bob knew it right off the top of his head! Tom Hubbs also identified Durrance as the winner… Continue Reading →

“On the eleventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me” a copy of Retro-Ski: A Nostalgic Look Back at Skiing! Actually on Saturday, January 4th , I’m hosting a book signing/celebration at the Vermont Ski and Snowboard Museum… Continue Reading →