! ! ' , -;v Q9 I f . i - - , ... - : - ij . ' ( ' " '' - v.""'" '' . . ' ' 4 ; .. . r - . - V ,;yv:. i . ' .-. .. . . ; '.-'.. '" ' f ' - ' . " . y - 0 f i. . ' - - - - - ' ' "" " courtesy Utah Travel Council SHragjs spri? (? grow By Joan Nelson Staff writer spJng is Utah's number one participant 'ihes!p?ainS' Hght Snow and ood int0 a I n reason skiinS has developed ivestate'11'011 dllar industry for the W?2the past ten yrs five new resorts eaUh COmpleted in the state, with Eutthel K ?'anned for the near future. W of tl! 0f skiing dates back to the first Thef century- VTod'o8.1" the West was not as we thai ti n k jumPing was the vogue at I'tah in tu tournament was held in spectators at ii, e were less than 200 Sl0w Basin din eVfnt A,ta Brighton, and rtteTs CXist at that time 88 Hill i event was held at Fort Heirtt Cated in what is today the Axel a 5 area- 0 j C SonOn'rChris'' Christopherson, AS I a few other Norsemen ' 1915 Mai me an annual meet-'tant meet-'tant caiT K.A- Strand, a Norwegian me to Utah and immediately upon his arrival recognized the snow-locked valleys with the powder snow on higher slopes and the mild winters as an unbeatable combination ski-wise. At that point he began what became his life-long job-that of selling j Utah's skiing to the nation, the world and , Utah! Strand was a born organizer and in 1918; he founded the Norwegian-American Athletic Club (NAAC) to promote skiing. The club had few supporters, Strand became the first president of the first ski club west of the Mississippi. Peter Ecker, a Norski photographer from Oslo came to Salt Lake City in "J8- J' 20-year-old man, with a fantast.c wilhngness to work for the sport he loved, stands apart with Strand for shaping the coun o sknng ESS hill thand since, Ecker Hill, was named after him. The two Norwegians were wpojib every major skiing tournament brought to th7Lte.J Through their efforts gone of the favorite sons of Utah swine encouraged to come here. Th Enjen brothers, Alf and Sverre, who have much for the fame of Utah skiing, lived at one time near Drammen, Norway where Mark Strand was born. Ski-jumping remained popular through the twenties. Axel Andreson monopolized He umP title from 1918 to 1922 and 1924-'27 with leaps of 80 feet at best. The first professional jumping tournament held in the state, organized by a handful of California and Utah skiers was he d January 1 c i c 1930 Alf and Sverre bngen, representing Snowflake Ski Club in Westley, Wisconsin first came to Utah to participate SThat tournament. The event was held at Ogden's Becker Hill, then the longest jump inThheWOgden Chamber of Commerce ofSed a cash prize of $2,000 for any jUmAP20 itledog race through Ogden Valley wafheKconjunction with the ski jumpmg. prTgHRie Boom" of skiing began in 1930. ln oneB;eafwemjumPed into nat.onal-no, WOna--aueiHiuii, miu imm - that year. In February, 1930 Alf Engen made himself and Ecker Slide world-famous with his record exhibition leap of 217 feet. Later years brought better performances by the champ, but none was more thrilling to ski fans than the 1930 Ecker Hill jump. Alta and Brighton, the oldest ski resorts in the state today, were pioneered in the early forties. Brighton had been a summer resort area since pioneer days. Majestic and Millicent lifts were constructed in 1910 and '41. Mary's lift was constructed in 1959. Mining Town Alta had been a mining town before the turn of the century. In 1872 it boasted a population of 5,000 and 20 saloons, the most popular being the Gold Miners Daughter. (It survives today as the .,ame of a ski lodge.) A railroad had reached the community just as the supply of gold was depleted and the town died. But the grade (Continued on Page 11) J . ... ,c ? i, :::.? . - .t- - - - . . . " , ... " -:-.-:,...,.;:"- t "s" : . peered in l'0', i lit. re-" 'ea ;V .,: Germania and ! constructed 9 and 1944. In the lrf there was some fear i d Promoters that of Squaw Valley KM would be the !if Construction of and tows had not taken ;ttf i 1944 Wildcat lift was :is'7inl959 and Sugar Loaf -P'etedJ the longest and most Sisin its h season this year, eport in the January 24, ' sue of Time Magazine i Ataasoneof the major n the nation. The 'TSa "At Alta, high m ; J Wasatch Mountains, where : ! starts sooner and stays :ithan almost anywhere in ,Vxi. conditions have been all i plfcity has been skied since !, thirties. The major 4pment of the area was Uleted about five years ago From one rope tow skiing, Utah ,,; nown to include 20 surface :)IS and 22 ski lifts in 13 sk that employ 400 peopl 1 ly. Skiing has come fror gmpiete obscurity to prominenc : iJfivears. Ecker Hill, located up Parleys Canyon, was one of the pioneer ski areas in Utah. It has been the site of national jumping contests.