Lost Ski Areas Of Southern California

The snow-laden slopes of the San Bernardino and San Gabriel Mountains have beckoned Southland skiers since the 1930s. Many once-cherished ski areas have disappeared, yet their history remains. A short drive from the sun and sand, places like Rebel Ridge and Kratka Ridge offered snowy escapes. Thrilling races were held at the First International Pine Needle Ski Tournament in North Hollywood, while the San Diego Ski Club boasted Dorothy McClung Wullich, the first female member of the National Ski Patrol. Ingrid Wicken, ski historian and founder of the California Ski Library, chronicles Southern California's lost mountain getaways and the vanished ski areas that introduced everything from rope tows to artificial snow.

Known for its sunshine and sandy beaches filled with bathing beauties and musclemen, Southern California is a Mediterranean-climate haven for winter-weary Americans from Michigan to Maine. But for those with a hankering for winter sports, one could scarcely ignore the snowcapped peaks of Mount Baldy and San Gorgonio shimmering in the bright California sunshine. By the 1930s, skiing was all the rage, with the towns of Big Pines, Lake Arrowhead, and Big Bear Lake evolving into popular snow-sport locales. Southern California was also home to many who made their mark in the world of American skiing: Walter Mosauer, the father of skiing in Southern California; Tyler Van Degrift, owner of Los Angeless first ski shop; Clarita Heath Bright, talented member of the first U.S. Womens Olympic ski team; Dorothy McClung Wullich, first woman member of the National Ski Patrol; and Sepp Benedikter and Tommi Tyndall, both leading the way with ski schools and instruction. These and many others are documented here in this collection of rare and vintage images of Southern California skiing.

At the beginning of the twentieth century, Lake Tahoe and the Donner Summit region became California's first developed winter sports areas. Plentiful snowfall and newly built highways opened up the summer playground for visitors year-round, and skiing flourished. The Sierra Ski Club formed in 1925, attracting members eager to experience everything the mountains had to offer. People flocked to the slopes, visiting places like Clair Tappaan Lodge in Soda Springs, boasting one of the summit's earliest ski tows, and the Yuba Gap Lodge, a pioneer in night skiing. Join Ingrid P. Wicken, award-winning author and ski historian, as she recounts the fascinating beginnings of this celebrated ski hub.

Colorado's central and southern mountains still draw droves of skiers to the slopes. However, many of the historic runs and areas that were popular over the past century--some near the current resorts of Aspen, Breckenridge, Crested Butte, Purgatory, Telluride and Vail--no longer exist. Local hills like Whittaker Ranch near Eagle featured little more than a rope tow and warming hut. Now underneath Lake Dillon, Prestrud Jump hosted tournaments where Olympian Anders Haugen broke ski-jumping world records. From Lands End near Grand Junction to Sugarite near Trinidad, from swanky Hoosier Pass in Summit County to Stoner in Montezuma County, authors Caryn and Peter Boddie take readers on a tour of the lost ski areas of central and southern Colorado.

Descriptions, histories and photographs of the numerous ski areas that have been lost due to financial or other reasons in the White Mountains. (lag).