Ski Affair 1991-1999

1999

1999 Ski Archives Historical Achievement Award

• Janet Quinney Lawson

In 1942 Janet Quinney was crowned Snow Queen of the University of Utah's Winter Festival, that included snow sculpture, dances and was highlighted by ski races at Alta. As Queen, Janet led the women's race on Rustler hill, a feat that was probably second nature for a woman who was practically raised at Alta. Janet began skiing when her father, Joe Quinney, became friends with then-renowned ski jumper Alf Engen. In Utah's pre-lift days, Janet would ski with her family in the Brighton area. But when Alta opened for the 1938-39 winter season, the Quinneys skied at the Little Cottonwood Canyon site from then on. Janet and her family have been active Alta skiers and supporters for Alta's entire 60 year existence

When the idea of the Utah Ski Archives was born more than 10 years ago, Janet and the Quinney family immediately provided the initial grant to jumpstart the Ski Archives program. The Quinney family, in fact, has granted on-going support to help fund the ski history preservation mission of the Utah Ski Archives. For many years Janet has provided leadership in matters concerning the preservation of the rich history of skiing in the Intermountain area and currently serves on the board of directors for Alta Ski Lifts Company.

When it comes to achievements as a skier and for contributions to the preservation of skiing history in the Intermountain West, Janet Quinney Lawson is, indeed, still royalty.

1999 S.J. Quinney Award

• Junior Bounous

During a lifetime of immeasurable contribution to skiing, Junior Bounous has earned many titles. This soft-spoken man who is smooth and graceful on skis has nearly done it all in the world of skiing. He has dedicated his life to ski instruction and to helping others enjoy the sport that has shaped his life. In turn he has impacted the sport in a big way. Junior began skiing on the hills of the family farm in Provo, Utah, in the 1930s. After experimenting with barrel staves, he received a pair of skis for Christmas when he was 12 years old adding to his passion for the nearby mountains which he explored as a young man with Reed Bidulph, an instructor in mountain rescue operations and skiing for Provo City. Soon Junior became one of the program's instructors.

Beginning in 1948 he assisted Alf Engen with the ski school at Alta. After many years at Alta, Junior accepted the director's post at the ski school in Sugar Bowl, California, where he introduced the American Ski Technique to California and became one of the first American -born directors of a major western ski school.

In 1966, Junior returned to Utah to direct the ski school at Timphaven. In 1970, Ted Johnson, a friend from Junior's Alta days, asked Junior for help in laying out the runs at Snowbird. Later, Junior directed the ski school at Snowbird and in 1991 he was named as the director of skiing at the Little Cottonwood Canyon resort. As a competitor, Junior's easy going style and gentle manner were contradictory. Junior had no mercy on the competition in the nordic combined events where he dominated regional competition for nearly a decade. He also was a champion of the National Gelande Competition at Alta.

In the early 1960's Junior helped write the book on the American Technique for the Professional Ski Instructors of America (PSIA). He also served on the board of directors and as president of PSIA-Intermountain. In 1991 he was named to the PSIA Hall of Fame and in 1993 to the Alta Hall of Fame.

1999 Sue Raemer Memorial Award

• Jim Gaddis

Each year the Ski Archives honors an individual who demonstrates extraordinary efforts to help make the Ski Archives a success. This year's recipient has shown tremendous volunteerism and excitement toward the Ski Archives and for that reason, this year's recipient is well deserving of the Sue Raemer Memorial Award.

The archives can always use more support and encourages DONATIONS to help process collections from around the region as well as pursue other material. Thank you for your support and hope to see you this coming season.

1998

1998 Ski Archives Historical Achievement Award

• Hilary Lindh, Alpine
• Eric Bergoust, Freestyle
• Sondra Van Ert, Snowboard
• Mike Jacoby, Snowboard
• Lisa Kosglow, Snowboard
• Picabo Street, Alpine
• Nikki Stone, Freestyle
• Shannon Dunn, Snowboard
• Muffy Davis, Disabled Alpine
• Maggie Behle, Disabled Alpine
• Jacob Rife, Disabled Alpine
  

When held under the microscope of history years from now, the winter seasons of 1997 and 1998 will be recorded as monumental. That's because athletes from the Intermountain Area performed masterfully on the world's highest levels-the World Alpine Ski Championships at Sestriere, Italy; the World Freestyle Ski Championships at Nagano, Japan; the FIS World Snowboard Championships at San Candido, Italy; and the Olympic Winter Games at Nagano, Japan

Eleven athletes who hail from Utah, Idaho, and Montana won 14 medals in those competitions, ranking them as significant contributors to the winter sports lore and record books of the region. They chalked up six gold medals, four silvers and four bronze-one in the World Alpine Ski Championships, three in snowboard competition, one in freestyle, four in the Olympic Games and three in the Paralympic Games.

Those feats undoubtedly rank them as history makers, albeit of the contemporary variety. Surely they heaped untold glory and pride on the region as it prepares to stage the 2002 Olympic Winter Games. Instead of honoring them as history-makers of a by-gone era years from now, the Utah Ski Archives will honor them at the 1998 Ski Affair that will feature the athletes as well as exceptional video footage of their historic exploits, thanks to the efforts of the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association.

1998 S.J. Quinney Award

• Earl Miller

Earl Miller is a man to match our mountains...because our mountains are big and his ski exploits are equal to them. On Thursday, Oxt. 22, 1998, those exploits will be duly recognized during the annual Ski Affair of the Utah Ski Archives program of the University of Utah's J. Willard Marriott Library. That's when the lanky, quiet, gentle giant of skiing in the region will receive the 1998 S.J. and J.E. Quinney Award for Outstanding Contributions to Intermountain Skiing. The award is named after the late "Joe" and J.E Quinney, co-founders of the Alta Ski Area and major benefactors of the library's Special Collections department.

Miller's most visual contribution to the sport is in the form of the thousands he taught to ski while he was dirctor of the Snowbasin Ski School from 1950-1985. His wife Gladys was always close at hand, managing the office and administrative matters. In addition, Miller has taught and helped certify numerous ski instructors-based on procedures he helped draft as one of the founders in 1958 of the Professional Ski Instructors of America (PSIA). He also was an influence in formalizing the American Teaching Method in 1962.

A major enjoyment was coaching young racers, including sons Alan, Dale and Ray who dominated the junior racing ciruits of the 1950's and early 1960's. He also coached the Weber State ski team from 1964-1975. His love of the sport runs long and runs deep. As a youngster he spent a $5 birthday gift on a private lesson from the legendary Corey Engen. Soon Earl was teaching for Corey at Snowbasin and in 1950 took the ski school reins when Engen departed Utah for Idaho's ski scene. In those early days Earl was employed by the Union Pacific Railroad at Ogden's Union Station where he worked the night shift, leaving his daylight hours available for skiing.

Earl has served on the board of PSIA-Intermountain and has received numerous awards, including Ski School Director of the Year in 1972; Utah Handicapped Ski Association Certificate of Appreciation in 1981; and the Bonneville International Corporation and KSL-TV Lowell Thomas Award in 1984. No doubt, Earl Miller is a man to match-even surpass-our mountains

 

1998 Sue Raemer Memorial Award

• Myrlene Korologos

Each year the Ski Archives honors an individual who demonstrates extraordinary efforts to help make the Ski Archives a success. This year's recipient has shown tremendous volunteerism and excitement toward the Ski Archives and for that reason, this year's recipient is well deserving of the Sue Raemer Memorial Award.

The archives can always use more support and encourages DONATIONSto help process collections from around the region as well as pursue other material. Thank you for your support and hope to see you this coming season.

1997

1997 Ski Archives Historical Achievement Award

• Deseret News

If you are a "graduate" (or even a dropout) of the Deseret News Ski School any time over the past 49 years, you won't want to miss the 1997 Ski Affair. That is because the Deseret News will be honored by the Ski Archives for its continuing contribution to skiing in the Intermountain Region the same year the school observes its 50th anniversary. An estimated 250,000 students have attended the newpaper's ski school since its inception in 1947.

1997 S.J. Quinney Award

• Wilby Durham

In January, 1962, a group of prominent Salt Lake area business executives met at the Ambassador Athletic Club for the purpose of organizing a club whose goal was to make Salt Lake City the "ski capital of the world" by helping it obtain and then host the Winter Olympic Games, "possibly in 1972 or 1976," according to news reports at the time. Among those at the meeting outlining those lofty goals were Jack Wilson, Bob Allen, Howard Collins, Wilby Durham, John W. Gallivan, Dick Ure, Lee Irvine, Dev Jennings, Art Knudsen, Ed Madsen, Stan Nelson, Lee Swanner, Walker Wallace and Ned Warnock.

While all the players at those Olympic Club and early-day Ski Utah meetings were self-proclaimed "winter sports enthusiasts," one appears to have had more than a casual interest in furthering the cause of skiing in the area. Enter Wilby Durham. An active skier since 1930, his zest for the sport spilled over into promoting the sport any way he could, as noted by his willingness to serve as executive secretary of the then-new Ski Utah organization. His efforts didn't end there. He touted the sport while serving in various positions with the Deseret News, where he was news editor, city editor, managing editor, cirulation director and ultimately assistant to the general manager.

For many years, his old Olympic Club pals served as officials and timers for countless ski races, ranging from peewee competitions, to Snow Cup races, to national championships and NCAA championships. Still feisty (a prerequisite for ski race officials) at 84, Durham keeps an eye on DuMac Inc., the printing and mailing operation he owned and operated for decades, which is under the management of two of his sons. He lives part-time in St. George and part-time in his long-time Salt Lake City residence in Holladay. For his decades of foresight and dedication to the sport of skiing in the region, the University of Utah Marriott Library's Ski Archives Program will present Durham with its prestigious S.J. and J.E. Quinney Award.

1997 Sue Raemer Memorial Award

• Carol Lupus

Each year the Ski Archives honors an individual who demonstrates extraordinary efforts to help make the Ski Archives a success. This year's recipient has shown tremendous volunteerism and excitement toward the Ski Archives and for that reason, this year's recipient is well deserving of the Sue Raemer Memorial Award.

The archives can always use more support and encourages DONATIONS to help process collections from around the region as well as pursue other material. Thank you for your support and hope to see you this coming season.

1996

1996 Ski Archives Historical Achievement Award

• Intermountain Ski Patrollers
  
  

As we concregate to congratulate ski patrollers of the Intermountain area, we contemplate nearly 60 years of the on-mountain heroics of those who were pioneers of the ski patrol movement. Although men and women of today's patrols also perform heroic acts, conditions were different then. Lift-or tow-assisted recreational skiing was new--brand new. There was loads of fun to be had for the skiing public, but along with the fun came mishap and injury. Safety techniques, methods and equipment were yet to be developed. Most of the equipment was of the homemade or self-modified variety. Jim Shane, an early Alta patrolman, helped develop a toboggan requiring a rear brakeman that was well accepted and widely used for evacuating injured skiers from the mountain. Ray Nye, one of only a handful of Utah patrolmen with a National Ski Patrol number lower than 1,000, recalled some pre-Shane sleds. "It was just starting out [in the late '30s]. All of our toboggans were recreational toboggans. We would have two back ropes tied on the back, a lead rope on the front and canvas covering the first aid stuff."

Although many of the duties seemed routine, patrolmembers placed life and limb in jeopardy to help others. Sverre Engen, an early Alta patrolman and the Wasatch Front's first snow ranger, was known for many heroic acts, including the saving of several lives. In 1947, Sverre received the silver merit star for "the high caliber of interest and actions in upholding the highest traditions of the National Ski Patrol System." Whether it's a skier who needs guidance, a word of encouragement, a helping hand, or quick transport off the mountain, the ski patrol is there to oblige. While many of us have been told by the patrol to slow down, few of us have had the misfortune of riding off the mountain in a ski patrol toboggan--but we all benefit from their vigilance each time we ski. They find the lost, bandage the broken, and comfort the injured and frightened. True heroes.

1996 S.J. Quinney Award

• Earl A. Miller

Millions of people have fallen in love with skiing, but none has gone head-over heels for the sport like Earl A. Miller. Founder and president of the Miller Ski Company of Orem, Utah. The inventor/entrepeneur/importer/supersalesman would intentionally catch an edge while schussing Alta's High Rustler or Sun Valley's Exhibition Runs and survive unharmed from spectacular crashes to demonstrate the safety of his Miller ski bindings. His sales demo included an offer to skiers using Miller-less skis: $500 if they survived the same spill he took at 50 mph. "Bring your own crutches," he would taunt.

Gaining his skiing prowess under legends Alf Engen and Dick Durrance, Miller was an Alta ski instructor during the 1950s when he often assisted many skiers suffering ski injuries. While safety bindings were available, few were in use and most had only three angles of release--a shear either right or left and an upward pull out. Miller set out to find a better way. The superiority of Miller bindings, he'd emphatically exclaim, is based on a release against ten angles of stress. "It will release when necessary, at all angles, at both heel and toe," he emphasized. His acrobatic sales approach pre-dated by 15 years the freestyle and aerial skiing so popular today.

1996 Sue Raemer Memorial Award

• Barbara Amidon

Each year the Ski Archives honors an individual who demonstrates extraordinary efforts to help make the Ski Archives a success. This years recipient has shown tremendous volunteerism and excitement toward the Ski Archives and for that reason, this years recipient is well deserving of the Sue Raemer Memorial Award.

The archives can always use more support and encourages DONATIONS to help process collections from around the region as well as pursue other material. Thank you for your support and hope to see you this coming season.

1995

1995 Ski Archives Historical Achievement Award

• 10th Mountain Division
  

They learned winter warfare at Camp Hale in Colorado and Alta in Utah. They fought valiantly in the Mountains of Italy, playing vital roles in the European Theater of WWII, including the taking and defending of Mount Belvedere, a battle that helped drive German forces out of Italy. They returned "stateside" and rekindled their passion for life in the mountains, especially those covered with snow.

They taught skiing, opened ski shops and restaurants, they became the catalyst for the growth that alpine skiing enjoys today. They're known as the Mountain Troops or in true military parlance, as the Tenth Mountain Division. Their legacy is ubiquitous on the Wester skiing scene, the crown jewel of which is Vail, Colorado, a kick turn and short schuss from Camp Hale. Its founder is Pete Seibert whose vision for the resort was born when he trained near-by for his "tour" in Europe. Seibert later put in important stints as majordomo at Utah's Snowbasin and Brian Head resorts.

Their lust for the sport is represented by other Tenth Mountain "alumni" including Jack Wright, 20 year veteran of Park City's Ski Patrol and current president of the Utah Chapter of the Tenth Mountain veterans; Bob Woody, retired business editor for the Salt Lake Tribune, and one time contributor to Ski Magazine; and H. Deveraux "Dev" Jennings, a ski promoter as executive director of Waterville Valley, NH Associates, and former executive director of Ski Utah, a member of the 1948 U.S. Olympic team, a member of the University of Utah's 1947 National Championship ski team, ski coach, and U.S. Ski Association Hall of Fame member. Their contributions to skiing are as storied as their WWII exploits.

1995 S.J. Quinney Award

• Charles "Chic" Morton

Many say that Chic Morton's name is synonymous with Alta. The unique atmosphere that has belonged to Alta from the beginning has come from the people. The personality of its people - and for decades those personalities were guided, directed, and supported by the personality of Charles "Chic" Morton. Chic provided Alta with leadership through many years of growth and change for Alta and Utah's ski industry. Under Chic's people-oriented style, and sound management, Alta became known as one of the best managed ski areas in the country.

In the late seventies, Chic became president of Alta Ski Lifts Corporation. During his many years of service to Alta, Chic also served as president of the Utah Ski Association, the Intermountain Ski Area Association, and on the Board of Directors of the Forest Service Recreation Association. In 1985, for his many years of promoting tourism in the State of Utah, Chic was honored as the first Member of the Tourism Hall of Fame.

1995 Sue Raemer Memorial Award

• John Raemer
• Chris Raemer
• Corey Raemer

This marks the first year for the Sue Raemer Memorial Award. Each year the Ski Archives honors an individual who demonstrates extraordinary efforts to help make the Ski Archives a success. This year's recipient has shown tremendous volunteerism and excitement toward the Ski Archives and for that reason, this year's recipient is well deserving of the Sue Raemer Memorial Award.

The archives can always use more support and encourages DONATIONSto help process collections from around the region as well as pursue other material. Thank you for your support and hope to see you this coming season.

1994

1994 Ski Archives Historical Achievement Award

• Calvin L. Rampton
• John W. (Jack) Gallivan
• James R. (Bud) Jack
• Tom Welch
  

It can come any time from any place - necessity, exhaustive planning and thought, divine intervention, chance, luck, a dream. Salt Lake City's 30-year quest to host the Winter Olympic Games was inspired by Jack Daniels, Black Label. "The Olympic idea came one wintery night in Cal Rampton's basement," recalls John W. (Jack) Gallivan, the-publisher of The Salt Lake Tribune. "Max Rich and I and Cal - and Jack Daniels - were waxing on how we ought to go after the Olympic Games. We weren't all that convinced we could really host them...we were more interested in drawing attention and publicity for our ski industry.

Gov. Calvin L. Rampton , the only Utah chief executive to be elected to three consecutive terms (1964-1976), now with the Salt Lake law firm of Jones Waldo Holbrook and McDonough. "I want to inform the people of Utah that inviting the Olympic Games to Utah is not a state task-it is a community task," he said in February 1965 in announcing the first attempt at hosting the Games. "I assure a close look at the unique juxtaposition of our mountain resorts to our cities will reassure the world that Utah already has a head start on facilities. The enthusiasm and character of the people of Utah will show the world that Utah will show the world that Utah has the spirit necessary to make the Olympic Games feel at home here," he enthused.

John W. (Jack) Gallivan , who was publisher of The Tribune when the first Olympic effort was organized. He used the newspaper to heavily promote the Olympic bid efforts, including touting the zany OUI (Olympics for Utah, Inc.) buttons which sold for $1 and meant "yes" in French. A native of Park City and one-time water boy for miners in Park City's storied silver mines, he and the newspaper were often in the forefront of many pro-development efforts including the building of the Salt Palace, airport expansion, urban renewal and liquor-by-the-drink. The quintessential promoter and dreamer, he says, "Who knows, we might make Salt Lake the permanent site for all Winter Olympic Games."

James R. (Bud) Jack , who was athletic director at the University of Utah from 1958 to 1976 and who served on the U.S. Olympic Committee from 1965 to 1981. His countless duties with the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics, the Western Athletic Conference, the NCAA, and the World University Games brought extensive national and international exposure to Utah. He was Chairman of Transportation for the 1972 and 1976 Winter Olympic Games in Sapporo, Japan, and Innsbruck, Austria, respectively; co-chairman of Games Preparation for the 1980 Winter Games in Lake Placid, N.Y., and Chief of Mission for the 1980 Summer Games in Moscow when President Jimmy Carter withdrew the U.S. teams.

Tom Welch , president of the Salt Lake Olympic Bid Committee in its efforts to host the 1998 and 2002 Winter Olympic Games. His leadership has taken Salt Lake City the furthest on the road to the Olympics primarily by making good on promises to the Olympic family and by showing results not just plans. "Before (in the 1991 pitch for the 1998 Games) we were working with plans," he says. "Now (in the June 1995 presentation for the 2002 Winter Games) we're working with reality. This is the first time ever a city of one million people has presented the Olympic movement with all its infrastructure and investments done in advance. We're 90 percent ready to stage the Games right now," he says. The volunteer Olympic team leader quit his job in 1989 as a corporate counsel for Smith's Food King, the New York Stock Exhange-listed supermarket chain, to take the full-time task of spearheading the city's two latest Olympic efforts. When asked why he's making such a sacrifice, he said, "Because it is a unique opportunity to work on a dream."

1994 S.J. Quinney Award

• Nick Badami

Nick Badami is a pragmatist. "I don't worry about yesterday," he says, "because it's history. I can't do anything about it. I worry about the future...that I can impact." But all his yesterdays were once tomorrows and Nick Badami had a great and positive impact on them - expecially those dealing with skiing in Utah and the West. And he's still at it. One of Badami's current "worries" is U.S. Skiing, the three-year old governing body of the sport in America, which came into being when the U.S. Ski Team Foundation and the U.S. Ski Association merged. As chairman of U.S. Skiing since May 1994, Badami has been labeled the country's "godfather of skiing," highly appropriate since his family's roots are founded in Corleon, Italy, hometown of the Godfather of movie fame.

A native of Manhattan, he grew up in New Jersey and started skiing at age 48. Two years later, in 1970, he purchased his own equipment - the eight lifts and 2,000 skiable acres at Alpine Meadows Ski Area near Lake Tahoe, Nevada. Three years later he bought the Park City Ski Area. he sold controlling interest in the two ski areas in the spring of 1994 but continues as chairman of the board of the parent company of both resorts. Prior to his foray into the ski business, he was president and chairman of BVD, an umbrella for 16 companies that made and/or sold various men's and women's clothing.

Badami is a member of the Salt Lake City Olympic Bid Committee, which has put the Utah capitol in the favored position in the race to host the 2002 Winter Games. Further, he was very instrumental in having the Park City Ski Area and adjacent Deer Valley Resort designated as venues for slalom and giant slalom races and for free-style events should Salt Lake City stage the Games. His most valuable contribution to Utah is still being played out. In the early 1980s (along with his late son Craig), he convinced demanding protour officials that Park City Ski Area could successfully stage professional races. He was right and the pro racing spectaculars led to bringing the prestigious World Cup events to the town.

2006 Sue Raemer Memorial Award

• Pat Miller

Each year the Ski Archives honors an individual who demonstrates extraordinary efforts to help make the Ski Archives a success. This year's recipient has shown tremendous volunteerism and excitement toward the Ski Archives and for that reason, this year's recipient is well deserving of the Sue Raemer Memorial Award.

The archives can always use more support and encourages DONATIONS to help process collections from around the region as well as pursue other material. Thank you for your support and hope to see you this coming season.

1993

1993 Ski Archives Historical Achievement Award

• Alta Ski Area
• Beaver Mountain
• Brighton
• Magic Mountain
• Snowbasin
• Snow King
• Sun Valley
• Sundance
  
  

In the beginning...there was snow in the Rocky Mountains. Then came skiing...and ski area pioneers.

Alta ,one of the nation's first and best ski areas, it is world renowned for its powder snow offerings. Romantic Alta! In 1938 a group of Salt Lake City businessmen formed the Salt Lake City Winter Sports Association to develop Alta and provide a place for the citizens of the Salt Lake Valley to ski. The Collins lift began operation in 1939, thus becoming only the second chair lift in the nation. "Alta is for skiers"-the slogan says it all.

Beaver Mountain began operation in the late 1930s as a collective effort between the Mt. Logan Ski Club and Logan City. In the early 1940s, Harold and Luella Seeholzer purchased the cable tow and entered the ski business. Together with their four children, the Seeholzers built a local area that continues to serve the residents of Cache Valley and the surrounding area. Although Harry Seeholzer died in 1968, the family continues to work together and fulfill Harry's dream-that of making Beaver Mountain a great place to ski.

Brighton was born in 1943 when Zane Doyle borrowed money to purchase a cable tow at Brighton from K. Smith who was serving in the armed forces in Europe. For decades Zane worked other jobs while he and his family labored to make the Big Cottonwood ski area popular among the locals and known as "the place Salt Lake learned to ski." The operation was sold in 1987, but Zane's sons, Mike and Randy Doyle, continue to operate the ski area as an impressively expanded "local's reatreat."

Magic Mountain is located thirty five miles south of Twin Falls, Idaho, Magic Mountain was built and operated by ski pioneer Claude Jones. Over the years Jones constructed a variety of lifts , including rope tows, a jig-back tow, and a jig-back t-bar. Eventually a Constam t-bar was added, as well as a Poma surface lift and a double chair. The day lodge that still warms chilled skiers is the original built by the Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC). Today the Magic Mountain enterprise is owned and operated by Marty and Sheri Jacobs.

Snowbasin was founded by Ogden City as a winter entertainment locale for its citizens, Snowbasin has its roots imbedded in 1939 rope tows on City Hill and Becker Hill. The first chair lift was installed there in 1948. Corey Engen was founding director of the ski school who hired Earl Miller as one of his instructors. Miller served as ski school director for many years until retiring. Snowbasin went into private hands in 1955 when Sam Huntington purchased the area. The area now is owned by the Sun Valley Company and is being touted as an Olympic venue should Utah be named host of the 2002 Winter Games.

Snow King was operated by the local ski club during the mid-1930s. its uphill transportation in those days was the same as down-on skis! In 1939 the Jackson Hole Club asked for bids to construct an uphill facility for the hill, and Neil Rafferty, a member of the ski club, submitted the only plan that included a drawing. That so impressed the members of the Club, that he was selected to build the lift that hauled its first skiers during the winter of 1939-40.

Sun Valley is a world famous, luxurious winter playground is known as America's first destination ski resort. In the mid-1930s, the chairman of Union Pacific Railroad, Averell Harriman, sought a way to boost tourism and passenger travel, so he set out to develop an area on the railroad's western line that would serve up the alluring grandeur and seclusion of a European alpine resort. Sun Valley was born when its Proctor lift began operation in the closing days of the 1936 season. It was the first such chair lift in the country. Seclusion-bent movie stars and author/resident Ernest Hemingway helped make it famous in its early days.

Sundance was known as Timp Haven in its early days. On terrain known as Stewart's Flat, Ray and Ava Stewart purchased a rope tow in 1944 for $125 and launched their foray into the ski business. To help keep the tow operating, Ray worked nights at the newly constructed Geneva Steel plant in nearby Orem. During the day Ray, Ava, and their children worked long, hard hours to provide a place for the residents of Utah Valley to ski. the first year of operation required skiers (and the Stewarts) to hike nearly a mile from parking to the rope tow. The rest, as they say, is history.

1993 University of Utah Acknowledgement Award

• Joe Quinney

Maybe it's their dogged determination or their incredible foresight, or their unbending spirit of adventure...whatever, pioneers seem to perpetuate dreams. Such is the case with the late S.J. Quinney. The prominent Salt Lake attorney was an original incorporator of the Salt Lake Winter Sports Association in 1938, which later became the Alta Ski Lifts Company. He and others set out to develop Alta after the Union Pacific Railroad selected Sun Valley for development instead of Alta, Brighton, or SnowBasin.

"Joe" was secretary-treasurer of the incorporating group from 1939 to 1958 and served as president of Alta Ski Lifts from 1958 to 1980. In 1967, he drafted Utah's Passenger Tramways Safety Bill that became law in 1969 and is regarded as one of the finest tramways laws in the country. A member of the Utah Ski Hall of Fame, Joe was born in Logan in 1892. He was graduated from Utah State University and served in the Army during World War 1. He was graduated in 1919 from Harvard University with a degree in law. While in school, he married Jessie Eccles and in 1919 passed the Utah Bar and opened his law practice in Salt Lake City. He served in the Utah House of Representatives in 1921. In 1967 he was the recipient of the Winter Sports Award of the Salt Lake Area Chamber of Commerce. He died in November 1984 at the age of 92.

That was then, this is now: the S.J. and J.E. Quinney Foundation is the single largest contributor to the University of Utah Marriott Library Ski Archives Program, having given $85,000 since the fall of 1988. Funds from the foundation are providing the financial base necessary for the archives' many endeavors, including the oral history program, general collection development, and preservation of the archives.

The archives can always use more support and encourages DONATIONS to help process collections from around the region as well as pursue other material. Thank you for your support and hope to see you this coming season.

1992

1992 Ski Archives Historical Achievement Award

• Corey Engen
• Sverre Engen
• Suzy Harris Rytting
• Jack Reddish
• Dev Jennings
• Dick Movitz
  

In the annals of Utah skiing, the phrase "Legends of Competition" is synonymous with Corey Engen, Sverre Engen, Suzy Harris Rytting, Jack Reddish, Dev Jennings and Dick Movitz. This sextet forever carved its place in Utah history in the 1940s by recording a composite of ski competition triumphs that has never been equaled. And likely never will be.

Corey Engen directed the launching of ski programs in McCall, Idaho, in 1937 and later was an instructor at Sun Valley under Director Otto Lang. After World War II, he served six years as manager and ski school director at Snowbasin Ski Area, where he also coached the Weber College ski team and the Intermountain Junior ski teams. He returned to McCall in 1951. Ten years later he developed Brundage Mountain.

His trophies are engraved with victories throughout the country - Sun Valley, Arapaho Basin, Mammoth Mountain, Lake Placid, Mt. Alyeska, Whitefish, Crystal Mountain, Copper Mountain and more. He won the Alta Snow Cup three times during the '40s and was captain of the 1948 U.S. Olympic Classic Combined team, placing third in jumping. He won the U.S. National Classic Combined title in 1951 and has 22 gold medals in the U.S. Veterans Nationals, U.S. Senior Nationals, and the U.S. National Masters Competition. In 1973, he was inducted into the U.S. Ski Association Hall of Fame and was named to the Northwest Hall of Fame of Winter Sports at Mt. Hood in 1987.

Sverre Engen brought credit to Utah as a national ski jumping champion, ski resort operator and consultant, student of avalanche control, and as a pioneer of ski patrol work. His exploits include serving as Alta Ski School director and as the first manager of the then-new Rustler Lodge at Alta, after being the first snow ranger at the resort in 1940. He helped build ski jumps named Ecker Hill, Parleys Canyon; Becker Hill, Ogden Canyon; and Landes Hill at Alta.

Sverre was inducted into the U.S. Ski Association Hall of Fame in 1971 for his "tremendous contribution to the growth of the sport of skiing." Among his credits is that of being coach of the University of Utah Ski Team when it won its first national collegiate championship in 1947. His first love, however, was film-making. Using his creativity, humor, skiing prowess, and artful photography, he has thrilled millions of viewers with such films as "Dancing Skis," "Ski Aces," "Champs at Play," "Ski Fever," "Skiing America," "Ski Time USA," and "Ski Spectacular."

Suzy Harris Rytting was the state's and region's most prominent female skier the last half of the 1940s, recording top-3 finishes in the major races of the time - Sun Valley Ski Club Championships, Reno's Silver Dollar Derby, Gold Sun Race (Sun Valley, where she set a record time), Eccles Cup, Rustler Cup, North American Championships, and the National Giant Slalom. But her exploits and trophies continued into the 1950s, even the '60s, winning the Pacific Northwest Ski Association's Championships in downhill and slalom in 1960 and the 1969 Women's Senior A Championships at Snow Basin.

Her contributions to the sport include organizing and coaching the United Alta Skiers Junior Racing Team from 1967 to 1972 and serving as honorary chairman of the Jimmie Heuga Ski Race fundraiser for multiple sclerosis. She was also a 1948 and 1952 U.S. Olympic Games team member and 1950 Women's F.I.S. team member.

Dev Jennings loaded his trophy case with awards from the pre-war era's biggest races: the Harriman Cup, Reno's Silver Belt, and the National Championships between the ages of 13 and 18. After the war, Dev returned to the competitive scene, winning more medals in collegiate and national amateur and open events while representing the Aspen Ski Team, the Colorado State team, and the University of Utah.

In 1948 Dev entered another phase of his colorful career, serving as an entrepeneur, ski coach, ski race official, Olympic official, ski marketer, and promoter. From 1961 to 1970, Dev was executive director of Ski Utah and helped prepare the state's proposal to host the 1972 Winter Olympic Games. In 1970, he was named executive director of the Waterville Valley Associates, the resort association for Waterville Valley, New hampshire. He was also an Olympic team member for the 1948 games.

Dick Movitz always gave every race an all-out, hold-nothing-back effort. That style also earned him second place in the prestigious Harriman Cup in 1948, second in the combined in the North American Ski Championships, second in the U.S. Nationals Ski Championships that same year, and third in the U.S. Ski Championships for the slalom and combined in 1947.

While his competive exploits are numerous, the pinnacle of his accomplishments came in 1948 when he represented his country on the U.S. Olympic team, followed by his competing for the U.S. on the 1950 World (FIS) Team as a slalom and giant slalom specialist. Even off the ski hills, Dick supercharged the sport as a member of the U.S. Ski Association's International Competition Committee in 1956 and, two years later, served as chairman of that organization. In 1960 he was named to the U.S. Olympic Winter Games Committee, staged that year in Squaw Valley, California.

His accomplishments were duly recognized in 1970 when he was inducted into the U.S. Ski Association Hall of Fame. Five years later he was named to the Utah Sports Hall of Fame.

Jack Reddish was destined for greatness from the start - at least from age 14 when he became the youngest competitor to ever jump off storied Ecker Hill where he won the National Ski Association Class "B" title in 1942. In 1940 he was the Intermountain Slalom champion and the Intermountain Class "C" champion jumper from 1940-45. In 1947 he added the prestigious Bradley Plate four-way title to his honors and finished first in the U.S. Olympic downhill tryouts.

His triumphs, enthusiasm, dedication, and sportsmanship on and off the ski hills earned him a coveted spot in the National Ski Hall of Fame in Ishpeming, Michigan, in 1969. After retiring from skiing competition, Jack moved to Hollywood and applied his daring-do to a successful movie production career that finds his name among the credits of such movies as "Bonnie and Clyde," "The Thomas Crown Affair," and "Bullit."

The archives can always use more support and encourages DONATIONS to help process collections from around the region as well as pursue other material. Thank you for your support and hope to see you this coming season.

1991

1991 Ski Archives Historical Achievement Award

• K. Smith
• Earl Miller
• Bill Lash
• Junior Bounous
  
  

K. Smith started skiing in 1924 in Utah. K. Owned the Forest Service permits for the Brighton Lifts and installed the first t-bar in 1936. He was president of the Alpine Ski Club in 1940. K. was a member of the famed 10th Mountain Division and was battalion ski supervisor in the 87th Mountain Infantry. While stationed in Japan, he built the first ski lift in Sapporo in 1945.

After World War II, Kay was the area operator at Brighton and started his own ski school in 1946-47. He was responsible for training many intermountain instructors, many of whom are still active: Keith Lange, Lou Lorenz, Woody Anderson, Bill Lash, and Dean Roberts. K. served on the PSIA-Intermountain Board of Directors and was an examiner. One of K.'s ski programs included free buses and instruction for area school children during the 1950s. He supplied many of his instructors with summer jobs on his dude ranch in Wyoming. K. retired in 1972 and was awarded a lifetime membership in PSIA-Intermountain in 1976.

Earl Miller has been involved with skiing for thirty-five years. He has trained many ski instructors and has taught thousands of students. Earl enjoyed helping junior racers and coached the Weber State Ski Team from 1964 to 1975. PSIA was conceived in 1958 by such skiing notables as Kerr Sparks, Pasul Valar, Jimmy Johnston, Junior Bounous, Ed Health, Dr. Chuck Hibbard, and Earl Miller. Certification procedures, recruiting and training instructors, and related problems of the ski industry were many of the considerations during that meeting. The American Teaching Method was taking shape as PSIA was incorporated in 1962, with Earl's influence.

Bill Lash began skiing at the age of twelve at Magic Mountain, Idaho, and became its ski school director in 1947. He was certified in March 1950 at Alta, the first season the certification program was instituted. In November 1951 at age 23, Bill was elected president of ISIA. He served as chairman of the National Ski Association Certification Committee from 1958 to 1961.

In 1961, PSIA was established, spearheaded by Bill. He was elected the first president and served eight years. During that time, he helped develop the American Teaching Method, sent the first INTERSKI, and staged the first INTERSKI held in North America In 1968. Bill wrote Outline of Ski Teaching Methods and served as editorial coordinator for the first and second editions of PSIA's Official American Ski Technique, the first book for the primary use of ski instructors.

Junior Bounous has left an indelible mark on the history of skiing in the United States through his participation in and contribution to strategic events that have developed and advanced ski technique and instruction. Junior taught his first ski lesson in 1946 for the city of Provo, Utah. He also taught for BYU and Timphaven (now Sundance) Ski Resort. In the spring of 1949, Junior passed his certification exam. He was coached in cross-country skiing and prepared for the certification exam by Alf Engen. In the fall of 1949, he began teaching for Sverre and Alf Engen at Alta, Utah.

1991 University of Utah Acknowledgement Award

• Alf Engen
• Phil Jones

The archives can always use more support and encourages DONATIONS to help process collections from around the region as well as pursue other material. Thank you for your support and hope to see you this coming season.