The Ski Journal - Volume 17, Issue 1
WRITTEN IN THE SNOWS, ACROSS TIME AND SKIS IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST BY LOWELL SKOOG
Words: Manasseh Franklin 2023-09-15 11:29:37
Lowell Skoog admires Glacier Peak, WA, from nearby Image Lake, circa 1989. Photo: Carl Skoog
“It’s often said that knowing the history of a place makes traveling there more interesting,” Lowell Skoog writes early in the pages of Written in the Snows, Across Time on Skis in the Pacific Northwest. It’s in reference to a 2001 solo outing he took to retrace Washington state’s storied Mountaineers Patrol Race, following tin shingles placed high in tree branches to mark the route. His gear is vastly modernized compared to the early days before metal edges, pin bindings, or ultralight mohair skins, but his goal is similar—to experience the beauty of the mountains while gliding on skis.
Few have put as much time into Pacific Northwest skiing as Skoog himself. Over decades, he has pioneered Cascadian routes like the Isolation Traverse and Suiattle High Route and has tracked over 8,500 hours skiing in the region. Written in the Snows is a reflection of that dedication, a thoughtful, thorough journey through the evolution of skiing in the Pacific Northwest. Spanning more than 100 years across the volcanoes and mountain ranges of Washington and Oregon, the book traces skiing’s early pioneers, ski area developments, ski mountaineering conquests, avalanche science and the establishment of ski mountaineering courses, all the way up to the modern backcountry skiing boom. As told by Skoog, the history of skiing in the PNW not only makes modern travel through its landscape more interesting, it contextualizes skiing as intertwined with the cultural, environmental and political histories of the entire United States.
Weaving together interviews, historical accounts and an impressive collection of archival and contemporary photographs, Skoog offers a comprehensive exploration of the past. He begins in Seattle in the late 1800s when hundreds of Norwegians and Scandinavians migrated to the area––an influence that would prove pivotal in growing interest in skiing. The construction of the Northern Pacific Railroad and Great Northern Railways provided early access to Mount Rainier, Snoqualmie Pass and Mount Hood. Clubs like the Mountaineers fostered burgeoning ski communities, as did the construction of ski huts like the Paradise Inn. Ski jumping, brought from Scandinavia, provided a spectacle for city dwellers and an entry point for skiers, with the first competitions taking place on the flanks of Mount Rainier in the early 1900s. A rush of backcountry pursuits followed in the years before World War II, with skiers making impressive first ski ascents of Mount Baker, Shuksan and Hood in leather boots, primitive bindings and straight wooden skis.
Post World War II saw a rush of ski area development. Skoog explores the rise of Crystal and Mount Hood Meadows, but also dives into controversial projects like Aspen Skiing Company’s pre-Sandy Butte project (a project that ultimately pivoted to establishing Whistler-Blackcomb instead).
But perhaps more important than the physical history of skiing in the PNW, Skoog paints a picture of a robust, determined ski community. Skiing knit together early settlements in the region with competitions and brought crowds to witness the spectacle. Later, ski huts like Timberline Lodge offered gathering spots, followed by chairlifts at small mountains across the region. Eventually, connection points moved online to resources like Turns All Year, the PNW-focused backcountry ski forum established in 2002.
Skoog presents himself as a pragmatic and meticulous historian. In addition to interviews and historical accounts, he sprinkles in personal anecdotes that illustrate his reverence for the past. Early in the book, Skoog celebrates the centennial anniversary of Olga Bolstad’s 1917 ski-jumping victory at Alta Vista on Mount Rainier by re-creating her jump, complete with period clothing and nonmetal-edged straight skis (one of many re-creations he pursues throughout the book). His admiration for skiers of the past is evidenced by the care he takes in retelling their stories and the detail by which he relays their feats. And, despite skiing’s male-dominated past, Skoog includes notable women on equal footing with men based on data collected and presented on his website, the Alpenglow Gallery.
With its close attention to detail, balance of history and stunning collection of photographs, Written in the Snows is essential reading for seasoned and novice skiers in the Pacific Northwest and beyond. As Skoog notes early in the book while relaying his own family skiing history, “Those stories have been written in the snows––destined to fade with the passing of seasons and of generations.” With the help of Skoog’s book, however, the rich stories of PNW skiing can live on long after the snow melts.
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