Personalities Articles

Personalities Articles:

Pauline Styles: GoXski.com for European XC

Brave Enough: Jessie Diggins Autobiography;

Telemarking in the 1970s;

The Daytons of Breckenridge Nordic;

Johannes von Trapp;

Retirements of Two XC Ski Industry Leaders in New Hampshire

Joe Pete Wilson - XC Skiing Pioneer

Glenn Jobe - Tahoe’s XC Pioneer and Coach

Jackson Holes Personal Ski Pro

Tony Wise - Museum of the American Birkebeiner

David Ingemie - Driving Force in the Snowsports Industry

John Frado on the Mount Rushmore of US Cross Country Skiing

Howard Peterson of Solider Hollow Announces Retirement

Dave Carter of Carter’s Cross Country to be Inducted to Maine Ski Hall of Fame

Meet Kikkan Randall- American Woman Cross Country Skiing World Cup Champ

2010 US Nordic Combined Team Winners Talk 

Canadian Olympian Chandra Crawford - Developer of Fast and Female

Retirements of Two XC Ski Industry Leaders in New Hampshire

Two prominent leaders in the cross country ski industry, Howie Wemyss and Al Jenks retired within the last year at Great Glen Trails and Windblown Cross Country in New Hampshire, respectively and they were recognized at the Ski New Hamphire organization’s recent annual meeting.

Howie Wemyss of Great Glen Trails

Ski NH’s Merrill Award was presented in 2021 to Howie Wemyss, who began his long tenure in New Hampshire’s travel and tourism industry when he became the general manager of the Mt. Washington Auto Road in 1988.  However, it wasn’t until 1995 that Wemyss also became a leader in the ski industry as the general manager of the newly developed Great Glen Trails Outdoor Center, which has received recognition as one of the most successful XC ski area operations in North America. 

Great Glen is a ski area that employs snowmaking to help present some innovative programming that has impacted the industry. The ski area has 45 km of trails used year-round with incredible views of the Presidential Mountains. Wemyss also ensured that the 2018-built Glen House Hotel, which sits on the Auto Road/Great Glen Trails property, incorporated technology that makes it nearly energy self-sufficient and carbon neutral.  A host of other efficiency efforts implemented throughout the properties under Wemyss’ direction won them NH Energy Week’s 2021 Small Business Energy Champion of the Year.

According to a recent Tom Eastman story in the Conway Daily Sun, Wemyss has been in the area for nearly 40 years and is a trustee of the Mt. Washington Observatory. As the general manager of the Mt. Washington Auto Road since 1988, Wemyss introduced the track-equipped SnowCoach Tours that bring passengers up the road in the winter. He has been the general manager of the Great Glen Trails Outdoor Center since 1995 where the Nordic Meisters weekly race series was initiated and Bill Koch Ski League events are run for kids. He also served a number of terms as a board member and officer of the Cross Country Ski Areas Association.

The Al Merrill Award was established at SkiNH in memory of Al Merrill to recognize an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to cross country skiing in the state of New Hampshire. Al Merrill was an Olympic and United States Ski Association leader, and in New Hampshire he was Dartmouth College's cross country ski coach and Director of Outdoor Affairs for nearly 30 years. Past recipients of the Merrill Award include Thom Perkins, Chuck Broomhall, Cory Schwartz, Cami Thompson-Cardinelli, Len Johnson, Jim Wellinghurst, and John & Nancy Schlosser.

Al Jenks of Windblown Cross Country Skiing

Also recognized by SkiNH was Al Jenks, who founded and operated Windblown Cross Country Skiing in New Ipswich, NH. He retired and closed the ski area in March of 2020 after 48 years in business.  Jenks, who received Ski NH’s Merrill Award in 2009 was recognized for bringing skiing to thousands of cross country skiers in the Monadnock region nearly five decades and for his diligent work to create an unmatched ski experience for his guests.  Jenks was an early experimenter with snowmaking on cross country ski area trails.

In 1963, while in high school Jenks borrowed money from his grandfather to purchase a 400-acre lot from two neighbors in Ipswich. After attending college and serving in the military, Jenks returned to open Windblown in 1972.

He commented that “his area was one of the last remaining “mom and pop cross country ski areas” due to changing climate and tough economics for running a XC ski area.” The climate change issue is a tough reality for XC ski areas and Jenks referenced having to install more and more culverts on his land to drain the water runoff to protect his trails from being destroyed. The low snow levels and shortened winter season in southern New Hampshire also cut into his operation.

Jenks’ kindness and generosity were among the qualities that set him apart, and he was known in the industry for working with other XC ski centers in the state in a spirit of “friendly competition”.

Telemark Skiing in the 1970s

The modern telemark invasion began in the 1970s. Photo courtesy of telemark-only.com

In the 1970s, telemark skiers were called the free heelers, telemarketers, and the Lunatic Fringe. But these skiers performing the historical telemark turn down the slopes at alpine ski areas were seen as “the vanguard of the slopes” by many of their alpine skiing contemporaries for their ability and skill descending the runs at high speeds, in the moguls, and landing aerials on their cross country skis. But telemarkers were often heard commenting that they were only riding the lifts at alpine ski areas to improve their downhill skills for the backcountry. Some claimed “free the heel, free the mind” but many of them became intoxicated with riding the chairlifts rather than returning to getting their thrills in the backcountry.

Scotty McGee telemark skiing today

These days, as alpine touring and backcountry skiing have become more popular, the telemark subculture may be a declining breed at the alpine ski areas, but there was a time when they were racing down through the gates and partying hard and celebrating their differences based on what was perceived as their retro ski techniques. They were dressed in wool pants or knickers with ear flapped knit hats with elongated tassles (designed by Vermonter Poppy Gall, a women’s entrepreneur, designer and currently a co-director of the Vermont Ski & Snowboard Museum).

Today, telemarkers, or what is left of this group are no longer counter culture, but in their heyday, telemark festivals, traveling clinics and workshops, and more were the brainchild of the North American Telemark Organization created in 1975 by Richard (Dickie) Hall of Waitsfield, Vermont. In 2017, Dickie Hall was inducted in the Vermont Ski Hall of Fame, which is a long way from his first time telemark skiing with a dozen others as a group at Pico Mountain, Vt. in 1974.

According to author David Goodman, who wrote an article about telemarking in Powder Magazine “the telemark turn was invented in 1868 by Sondre Norheim in the Telemark district of Norway. As alpine skiing and the associated techniques took over it was not until Rick Borkovic of Crested Butte, Colorado sparked a telemark revival and a number of Nordic skiers rediscovered the old technique.”

Dickie Hall in some tight places in the 1980s - the Telemark Guru & Evangelist

I found out about telemarking from the 1977 book “Skiing Cross Country” by Canadian Ned Baldwin while I was living in southern Vermont. Most of us regarded Steve Barnetts’s “Cross-Country Downhill” as the bible of telemarking as it covered downhill techniques in depth. As I improved, I got to know many of the telemarkers in the region comprised mostly of men but there were some women, too. We ran a race series, but beside the competition, it was really a clan of telemark skiers who met on scheduled dates at different ski areas. The local telemarker would often show us the hidden gems (now called glade runs) at the ski area. Some of the guys in the series who lived in Vermont included Peter K of Mountain Travelers in Rutland, Telemark Fil Pagano, who owned the Nordic Inn in Londonderry, Jeb Porter the stone wall builder who mastered “telecopters” in the air on telemark skis, and John Tidd, of the Mountain Meadows XC Area, who became a member of the PSIA Telemark Demo Team. These guys always beat me in the races but when Dickie Hall participated, he usually won.

As a racer I felt disadvantaged on my Trucker Light Edge skis, which were narrower and softer compared to the Rossignol Randonee skis, which handled the ruts and hardpack better and were used by most of the other skiers. Always blame the equipment. But Dickie’s motto “Ski Hard. Play Fair. Have Fun” was not so much about winning as it was about living, and spreading the telemark gospel.

Hall developed the North American Telemark Organization (NATO, according to Hall, it’s the peaceful one) to conduct workshops, training courses, expeditions, and festivals. He traveled as a telemark evangelist from his home in Waitsfield, Vt. and visited the states in the northeast, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Colorado, California, and Alaska among others. These NATO telemark events would feature instructional clinics for all ability levels, and equipment suppliers’ gear for demo use. Hall created the telemark ski school at Mad River Glen as one of the first in the US and he helped others to become telemark instructors across the country. Over the years, Hall estimates that he has introduced, instructed, or just shared his love of telemark skiing to about 40,000 people!

The North American Telemark Organization set group telemark turn record in 1980 at Mad River Glen

In 2015, NATO held its 40th and last telemark festival at Mad River Glen, which attracted about 200 participants, a far cry from the 13 attendees at the original Pico event. The races held at the festivals were usually the focus point at these events, but the “group telemark turn” was an activity we all shared together. The telemarkers in Colorado and Alaska would try and top the eastern telemarking crew of deplorables at Mad River Glen but it is believed that 128 eastern telemarkers in a group turn is the standing record.

Three-man telemark turn - Henry, RB Lohr, Tommy

Forty years later, I still have a welt on my thigh from a group telemark turn at Bromley Mountain. It happened with two other telemarking cronies. Our 3-man group held hands and the outside skiers each held three poles (taking the pair from the middle skier). During the descending turns the skiers build speed causing somewhat of a whiplash effect. Before we crashed to the snow, I remember the other outside guy was hanging on for life when he whipped the poles around the front of the group and nailed me on the thigh. Since that day, many a massage therapist has been thwarted by my thigh knot contusion.

At Mad River Glen, Dickie was a task master when it came to the group telemark. In Dickie’s mind, it was paramount that we link two telemark turns for the attempt to count. The photo in the 1984 NATO Eastern Telemark Festival Series poster (and used in many other NATO materials) exemplifies one of those record-breaking group telemark attempts. On the day of that photo (I was there) many of the telemarkers who were near the end of the line got whipped into a gully and it ended in a yard sale of significant proportion. No injuries, lots of laughs – indeed we played hard and had fun.

NATO is now defunct but Dickie Hall’s telemark videos are still available via email request at nato@gmavt.net

Johannes von Trapp, Originator of the Nordic Ski Center

If there was an American Cross Country Ski Hall of Fame, Johannes von Trapp would be one of the surefire inductees. The famous story of the von Trapp family is well known - their escape from Austria in the beginning of World War II and the Broadway and Hollywood songs such as Edelweiss, My Favorite Things, and Do Re Mi. In November of 2014, Johannes von Trapp spoke at a luncheon of Nordic ski area operators and one could tell they looked at him as their living history. He grew up with 9 siblings as the last born in the original von Trapp family and he is also known as the proprietor, who opened Trapp Family Lodge, the first commercial Nordic ski area in 1968.

In 1938 just before World War II, the Baron and Baroness von Trapp left all their possessions and estate near Salzburg, Austria. With nine children and one on the way, they fled Austria and were granted asylum in the US. That child on the way was Johannes, who was born in 1939 and now is the president of the modern day Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe, VT.

Arriving in the US with only four dollars, the family settled in Philadelphia and through their music turned a family hobby into a profession as the Trapp Family Singers. In 1942, they bought a small farmhouse in Stowe, Vermont because the landscape reminded them of home. They rented out rooms at their farmhouse to skiers and ran the Trapp Family Music Camp.

Johannes commented that they were too poor to pay to use the ski lifts in Stowe, so they skied up and down in the woods around the farm. He attended Dartmouth College and upon returning to Stowe, he later operated the lodge. He started the ski area out of his barn, renting cross country skis, and giving ski lessons to become the first commercial cross country ski resort in the world. He had hired his first staff person, Per Sorlie, an ex-navy man from Norway, who had great enthusiasm for cross country skiing and who had a brother who wholesaled cross country ski equipment from Norway.

They would pack the trail in the early morning, rented and sold Nordic skis, and taught ski lessons. Johannes stated that he grossed $8,000 that first year in the cross country ski business and he doubled the revenue in the following year. The original concept was a way to attract guests to fill the rooms at lodge.

He always thought that the business would involve backcountry skiing as the key element and today he still hopes that backcountry will grow and become a more noticeable part of the Nordic ski scene. He commented about the "violent contrast" in product development that has become "plastic, nylon, and form fitting," citing the Americanization of Nordic skiing…but he does admit that the new equipment and clothing have great virtues and he has come full circle embracing the high tech that has been incorporated into the sport and business.

Johannes answered a question about grooming as he reminisced about the first snow machine he bought for $50 to pack the trails. They built many different weighted boxes with skis on the bottom to drag behind he snowmobile and set tracks on the trails.

In the early 1970s, the lodge included a riding stable but the horses impacted the trails too much so horseback riding was discontinued. Johannes cited a recent survey taken by UVM students at Trapp Family Lodge that revealed the skiers mostly cared about the track quality. But he still believes in the psychic benefits of being outdoors and he loves how the sport has taken off.

The lodge occupancy has increased over the years and acquiring the nearby land (Trapp Family owns 90% of the trail property) was important to maintain the trails. The lodge history included the fire in 1980 and rebuilding in 1983. In 2000, Trapp added 24,000 square feet of meeting space and accommodations to the lodge and four years later the first villas adjacent to the lodge were completed and sold.

Johannes' son Sam became vice president of the operation in 2007 adding mountain bike trails in the summer and snowmaking in the winter. In 2008, Trapp Family Lodge celebrated its 40th anniversary and was covered in the NY Times, on ABC World News and created its first television advertisement. In 2010, Trapp Lager beer was introduced on the property and a new facility will be opened in 2015 in Massachusetts to greatly expand the brewery operation.

Johannes von Trapp is one of the American cross country skiing forefathers, who will be recognized for his vision of cross country skiing and his connection to a world famous family story.

Glenn Jobe: Tahoe's XC Pioneer and Coach

Glenn Jobe, pioneer in the Tahoe region

If you have ever XC skied over the past 30 years around Tahoe, CA there is a good chance Glenn Jobe had a hand in your experience. Perhaps his biggest impact was when he started and designed the trail systems for the XC ski areas at Tahoe Donner and Kirkwood. He spent years coaching skiers, and for the last seven years has run the biathlon program at the Auburn Ski Club Training Center on Donner Summit.

Jobe grew up near Alturas working on the family cattle ranch. At University of Nevada, Reno he competed in Nordic and alpine skiing. In 2002, he was inducted into the university’s athletic hall of fame. He did not take up XC skiing until his senior year. “I didn’t know what I wanted to do when I graduated. I was probably going to go back and be a rancher,” says Jobe. Then he went to Kirkwood for a race and discovered that the new resort was keen on getting a Nordic amenity. He started Kirkwood Cross Country that fall.

“While I was at Tahoe Donner from 1973 to 1984, the Nordic industry really changed. We went from snowshoe-packed trails to snowmobiles to snowcats,” says Jobe. They also went from classic only, to both classic and skate skiing. While running the ski area, Jobe also raced and at the National Championships in the spring of 1975, he met the biathlon coach, who invited him to a camp in Jackson Hole, WY. As soon as he tried biathlon, he was hooked.

Growing up on a ranch, Jobe was comfortable with firearms, so the combination of skiing and shooting was right up his alley. Fortunately, by that time he had married his wife, Edith, and she helped run the Nordic center while he was off training. “It only worked because of her support,” says Jobe. He raced in the 1978 and 1979 Biathlon World Championships, as well at the 1980 Olympics. “I did OK. I had a really good year before the Olympics, and I over trained. If I had better coaching, I would have done better but we didn’t really have coaches back then,” says Jobe. After his experience, he would spend much of his life coaching other XC skiers.

After winning the 20km biathlon event at the National Championship he then decided it was time to focus on the business at Kirkwood, remaining there for four more years. In 1984, he started a new XC center at Tahoe Donner. While he loved the beauty of Kirkwood, Truckee certainly had more potential for the growth of a ski area.

Before he would open Tahoe Donner, however, Jobe needed to make sure he could bring Euer Valley into the network of trails. Sitting on private land adjacent to Tahoe Donner, the land was perfect for XC skiing, but the Euer family had no obligation to let the ski area use it. Jobe’s cattle industry background made his conversations with John Euer more comfortable and, on a handshake, the trails in the valley became available to be used by Tahoe Donner.

At Tahoe Donner, Jobe went into partnership with Peter Werbil, who did the marketing, while Jobe designed a new trail system from scratch. To design the trails, he says, “I would go out with a snowcat, then try it skiing to see if it works.” The trails were designed to most efficiently use the snowcats and keep the easier trails near the lodge and the harder trails further out. “I did some trails I had to erase right away because they wouldn’t have worked. It helps if the snowcat drivers are skiers, but it was all new territory.”

Passion for coaching

Jobe, one of the west’s foremost biathlon coaches

Jobe was instrumental in growing the Far West Junior Nordic Program and also coached Truckee youngsters in XC skiing, helping develop the sport in the area to what it has become today. In 1992, Jobe decided that he’d had his fill of running XC centers and he became a real estate appraiser — but he still loved coaching. He coached on and off from the 1970s through 2005 for Far West Nordic, primarily out of the ASC Training Center. He still coaches several clinics every winter, but his real passion is coaching biathlon.

In 2008, Northstar’s Nordic center started a biathlon program and Jobe was hired to run it under the auspices of the ASC Training Center. After two years, the program moved to the ASC Training Center on Donner Summit where it resides today. Jobe now has 40 to 50 students in the program from youth to masters. “We have a really strong group right now. We had a skier in the Biathlon World Cup, and two juniors went to the Norway Youth Competition. It is really exciting, the only year-round biathlon program on the West Coast,” says Jobe.

Jobe lives in Sierraville and there he finds the best of both worlds. He gets to ride horses and do some cattle work on a neighbor’s ranch, and then he jumps in the car and takes the beautiful drive to Donner Summit to show the next generation of biathletes how it is done.

Don’t Go Out Like You’re Killing Snakes

As temperatures fail to climb above freezing and wind whips snow around the shooting range and course at Auburn Ski Club, a group of youngsters look at their coach, eyes and expressions indicating they don’t want to leave the warmth of the clubhouse.

“Well, biathlon’s a winter sport,” the coach says matter-of-factly to the students, and the group, knowing there’s no arguing with the longtime head of biathlon at the club, heads out into the conditions for that day’s practice.

Part of what athletes have come to know Jobe for is his laconic style, which is filled with one-liners that often leave students scratching their heads.

“When we go out to ski in between shooting intervals, he’ll be like, ‘Well, don’t go out like you’re killing snakes,’” said a racer, who sought out Jobe after watching biathlon during the 2014 Winter Olympics. “The first time I heard that I was like, so what does that mean?”

Jobe grew up on a ranch in Northern California, and it’s from that background that most of his sayings like, “ski like a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs” or “all over it like a wild soda,” come from.

“They come out and I don’t even think about it,” said Jobe. “It was real Western where I grew up. It’s just that kind of rural culture. We grew up ranching and riding and moving cattle. Those old timers that I grew up around, they had all these sayings, and some of them stuck.”

The work ethic instilled by growing up on a ranch stuck with Jobe as well. Those at the club would often try to beat him to practice early in the morning, but each time they pulled into the parking lot, Jobe would already be there, often in the dark with snow blowing sideways, shoveling out targets.

One racer commented, “Those winters where it would be dumping and snowing and you’d be looking at your phone to see if practice was canceled … and Glenn would’ve been up there since 5 o’clock in the morning.” He would be up there digging out the targets. They’re metal targets, so if they’re frozen they’re not going to work. He’d chip out each and every single target, so that he could have the range open at 7. He’d get them dug out and get them functioning. That work ethic and that capacity for hard work is phenomenal. It’s inspiring.He pushed us hard. We went up to his Alturas ranch a few times with him and we stayed up there, and he made us shovel ditches and do a lot of country boy style work … he was fun to be around.”

For nearly the past decade, Jobe has been a fixture at Auburn Ski Club, showing the area’s next generation of athletes the ropes.

Saying Goodbye

Following the final biathlon race of this past season at Auburn Ski Club, Jobe stepped down as director and coach, and while he’s officially retired, the longtime coach isn’t about to stop offering his insight and experience to those at the club.

“I’m retiring as the program director and head coach,” said Jobe. “But I’m going to continue on as a volunteer for Auburn Ski Club and the biathlon program.”

Following the season finale on March 24, dozens of the area’s top athletes and coaches turned out at the club to pay tribute to Jobe, capping off the year with a retirement ceremony for a local icon of the sport.

“When you’ve been somebody like Glenn who has influenced and enriched so many generations of athletes who are grown and gone, and now have their kids back in the program because of Glenn, you can’t retire,” said Auburn Ski Club Executive Director Bill Clark during the ceremony.

Clark’s prediction proved true. Just day’s after the ceremony, as new biathlon coach Brian Halligan took a small group of athletes to Vermont to compete in nationals, Jobe could be found at the club, giving instruction to the remaining members of the team. “He opened the range and was the coach at practice on the weekend. It just epitomizes Glenn … you’re coming out of retirement after four days. He’s still such an integral part of the program.”

In a sport where results can vary wildly, Jobe has been the consistent driving force behind the area’s biathletes, and though retired, will likely continue that role in some form or another. Jobe commented, “I just feel fortunate to have the opportunity since the mid-70s to coach and work with a great group of coaches, athletes, and families. It’s just been fun for me to stay involved in a sport that I have a passion for.”

Excerpted from stories in the Sierra Sun (Justin Scacco) and Tahoe Weekly (Tim Hauserman).

Jackson Hole’s Personal Ski Pro

Scot McGee, ski pro posing in the sunshine under the Grand Tetons

One of the best ways to enjoy skiing is to go on a guided outing – no thinking, just following and listening to tips and tales from an experienced professional. And it doesn’t matter if you are alpine skiing or Nordic skiing, a pro is a great way to go!

According to “Basic Illustrated Cross-Country Skiing” author Scott McGee, “The idea of hiring a ski pro is similar to hiring a CPA, stockbroker or hair stylist.” You want a ski pro who can show you the ropes from technique tips to revealing in-bounds or out-of-bounds terrain at ski areas, or experiences in the backcountry tailored for entry-level to advance skier ability.

McGee characterizes his services as the authentic local experience. As an experienced and certified ski pro, he can provide technique lessons at any level for people learning how to skate ski on the groomed ski trails to skills necessary for safe backcountry skiing. He serves skiers through his affiliations in Jackson Hole, Wyoming with Eco Tours and Exum Mountain Guides. He advises skiers ranging from cross country skiers, AT (alpine touring) skiers, alpine and telemark skiers to enjoy the outdoors in and around Jackson Hole and in the Grand Teton National Park.

Telemark guru, Scott McGee on the slopes at Jackson Hole Resort. Jonathan Selkowitz photo

Alpine and telemark skiers can follow McGee on or off trails at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort and while his services don’t include rental equipment and lift passes, he can facilitate whatever is needed. His backcountry ski tours in the national park or surrounding areas are provided via Exum Mountain Guides. McGee says, “The guide can demystify avalanche awareness, snow pack assessment and forecasting, route finding, technique efficiency, best snow and terrain locations and of course, safety.

Avalanche awareness in the backcountry is important

On his Eco Tour Adventures, skiers can learn about natural history, winter ecology, snow science, plant/animal adaptations, and safe interaction with the environment. McGee also offers Jackson Hole trip planning tips at https://tinyurl.com/TripPlanningTips

Taking advice from a ski pro removes all the guesswork in your ski outings, so give it a try. A great example of a ski pro is Scott McGee, who has been a PSIA Nordic Team Coach, Senior Manager for Nordic, Guides and Training at Jackson Hole Mountain Sports School and Ski School Director at Snow King Resort. He's been deeply involved in skiing and outdoor education since his college days, when he first instructed XC skiing and supervised the telemark programs for the Dartmouth Outing Club. He's a PSIA certified Level 3 instructor and taught skiing and guided in the Wasatch and Teton ranges for resorts, colleges, private outfitters, and his own business. For more info or trip planning tips, contact Scott McGee at scottmcgee@wyom.net

Tony Wise Museum of the American Birkebeiner

Tony Wise Museum of the American Birkebeiner

Each February ten thousand or more cross country (XC) skiers gather in Wisconsin to take part in North America’s largest and greatest ski race, the American Birkebeiner. Considered an iconic world-class sporting event, for over 40-years the Birkie has been held and to commemorate the legacy of the race and inspire future generations, the American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation (ABSF) created the Tony Wise Museum of the American Birkebeiner in August 2016 in Hayward, WI.

The American Birkebeiner ski race was the vision of Hayward native Tony Wise, who discovered skiing as a soldier serving in Germany in World War II. After the war, Wise brought his concept home to found Telemark Ski Area, near Cable, WI, and later evolved the concept into a XC ski race through the north woods of Wisconsin. The race was first run in 1973 from Hayward and ended in Cable, WI, but since 1993 the race has traveled north to south from the north woods of Cable to Main Street in Hayward, WI.

The American Birkebeiner was patterned after the Birkebeiner Rennet ski race held each year in the forests of Norway. Wise’s vision shaped a community, a sport and brought the world together with the founding of the Worldloppet, an international sports federation of cross-country skiing marathons.

The Tony Wise Museum of the American Birkebeiner will transport you back to the origins of the American Birkebeiner through lively, state-of-the-art exhibits hands-on activities, a three-dimensional Birkie Trail model, electronic race scrapbook, numerous race artifacts, and memorabilia. Visitors will find a compendium of historic race film, photographs, and view oral history stories as told by founding skiers, longtime volunteers, and past Birkie staff. With something for all ages, youth can reenact the Birkebeiner legend by donning historic replica costumes in front of a diorama of the Norwegian mountains.

The Birkebeiner races are popularly celebrated for having escorted the two-year-old Haakon Haakonsson, an heir to the Norwegian throne, to safety from Østerdalen to Trondheim, a long and perilous journey through the treacherous mountains and forests of Norway. Their determination is commemorated each year at the American Birkebeiner Ski Marathon as skiers recreate their courageous journey.

Many memorabilia items were gifted to the museum from the family of Tony Wise, past Birkie champions, founding skiers, citizen skiers, and from gracious donors far and wide. Without their support the museum would not have been made possible. To make a donation click Tony Wise Museum.

Who Is Tony Wise?

Tony Wise was a visionary and tireless promoter of northern Wisconsin, who upon returning from World War II, started Telemark Ski Resort in 1947 and operated the Cable, WI area lodge through 1984.

In 1973, Wise founded the American Birkebeiner XC ski race from Hayward to Cable, WI. Wise, formed the Worldloppet, an international sports federation of XC skiing marathons. The federation was founded in 1978 in Uppsala, Sweden with a goal of promoting the sport of XC skiing through various ski races around the world. Only one and the best race from a country can be a member of Worldloppet. Today, the Worldloppet unites 20 races from all over the world.

Wise lost the Telemark Ski Resort through bankruptcy in 1984 and when he tried to retain his rights to the American Birkebeiner ski race, the court ruled against him. In 1984, members of the Cable and Hayward communities stepped forward to form the American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation (ABSF) to continue the popular ski race. The ABSF continues its strong governance of the race today. But Wise was instrumental in establishing the legendary Birkebeiner Trail system. Today, the Birkie Trail recreational system spans over 100 kilometers from Bayfield to Sawyer County in northern WI. In 1975, in recognition of founding the American Birkebeiner; spreading Norwegian culture and traditions; and strengthening ties between Norway and the United States, Wise was awarded the St. Olav Medal by King Olav V of Norway. He was honored with an audience with King Olav at the Royal Palace in Oslo in 1977.

In 1988, Wise was inducted into the United States Ski Hall of Fame. Tony Wise passed away on April 6, 1995 in Hayward, WI but his legacy lives on.

Allison Slavick, who is the Museum Planner said “One of our goals is to inspire people, and not just cross country ski racers.” The centerpiece of the museum is a three-dimensional map, about the size of a pool table on which visitors can see the lay of the land and use a push-button system to light up the race courses. The museum is at 10527 Main Street in Hayward, WI and is open from Monday – Saturday.

David Ingemie - Driving Force in the Snowsports Industry

Retiring Snowsports Industries America (SIA) president David Ingemie was presented with the 30th Annual BEWI Award at a luncheon in his honor on Nov. 13 at the Seaport World Trade Center on Boston Harbor as the Boston.com Ski & Snowboard Expo got underway.

Bernie Weichsel, president, BEWI Productions, called Ingemie "an iconic figure in the U.S and international snowsports business," noting that he had headed up SIA for over 30 years (actually 39 years). SIA is the association of snow sport product suppliers that runs the annual member-owned Snow Show in Denver. Annually, ski retailers place orders with product suppliers for 80-90% of the wholesale sales for the year at the Snow Show. The organization also collaborates with all components of the snow sports industry with the goal of promoting the growth and development of snow sports and conducted research for many aspects of the business.

In making the presentation before more than 150 ski industry leaders, Weichsel said, "David has been an innovator in snowsports marketing and market research. He has worked steadfastly to expand participation in and sales throughout all aspects of snowsports. Our industry is that much better thanks to the tremendous contributions David has made to it."

The native New Englander, from Fitchburg, Mass., began his career in his hometown, working at a local ski shop and later at Wachusett in Princeton where he was named marketing director in 1969.

In accepting the award, Ingemie credited his success to his work with a wide variety of snowsports industry people and organizations. "I'm very lucky to be standing here and have the attention, but if it wasn't for all of us in the room and all the people I've worked with, none if this would happen. I'm just kinda the lucky guy at the top that gets the credit for it. I'm fortunate enough to have perspective to see 360 degrees."

Ingemie strongly believed in the value of market research to guide product and program development in the ski industry, demonstrating how such research could guide both the trade association and its members in how best to react to market and demographic changes over the decades. He conceived or conducted various programs to increase snow sports participation with titles such as the "Ski It to Believe It!" Campaign, "Let's Go Skiing, America!" Subaru Deduct-a-Ski, "Inside Skiing" school assembly program, and so on.

He was among the first industry leaders to not only embrace snowboarding but to place it on par with alpine skiing in promoting and growing the snowsports market. He was involved with the early development of snowboarding from "Share a Chair" program to garner snowboard acceptance at ski areas, to the development of the USSA Grand Prix program that still provides the highway for snowboarders to get into the Olympics, and the Mountain Dew Snowboard Festival that introduced snowboarding to thousands at ski areas across the country in the middle 1990s.

Ingemie likewise placed great value on the role of cross-country skiing and snowshoeing developing committees to create marketing programs such as Cross Country Close to Home and Winter Trails. He always included these snow sports segments in the world of snowsports marketing and supported efforts to organize the retailers, product suppliers, and area operators to work together.

Ingemie was also awarded the NSAA Carson White Golden Quill Award at the NSAA Convention in May of 2015 and was nominated for a NASJA Lifetime Achievement Award. Following the 2016 SIA Snow Show in January, he'll work on a legacy project for SIA. The industry will indeed miss Ingemie's positive energy and drive to popularize snow sports. Reposted from SnoCountry.com by Martha Wilson and embellished by XCSkiResorts.com editor Roger Lohr, (former SIA employee hired by David Ingemie in 1986).

John Frado on the Mount Rushmore of U.S. Cross Country Skiing

John Frado, who passed away in June of 2012, contributed to the sport of cross country (XC) skiing as one of the forefathers of commercial XC ski resorts and areas as a planner, consultant, and leader within the industry. He was one of the earliest XC ski area operators at Northfield Mountain in Northfield, MA and he helped develop the Nordic ski patrol and professional instructors on a national stage. And Frado consulted for many of the largest and most successful XC ski areas in the U.S.

Frado founded what was to become the Cross Country Ski Areas Association and gave presentations at most of the association's conferences and meetings between the late 1980's until 2011 to educate other ski area operators about significant facility, trail, program, and business design that led to the development and increase in sophistication of the XC ski area business.

The great value that John Frado has brought to the cross country ski world with regard to the quality and maturation of the industry should be recognized by the snow sports world. He was a leader in the XC ski industry and is an excellent example of a "snow sports builder." The XC ski industry is indebted to his contributions.

Along with 15 other ski area operators, John Frado joined Joe Pete Wilson in 1977 founding what is now the Cross Country Ski Areas Association. He served as vice president for many terms and continued to be elected to the Board even after leaving Northfield Mountain, the ski area he designed and operated for 17 years in Massachusetts to pursue work as an independent consultant and trail designer.

John's talent for trail design was officially recognized when Northfield Mountain's trails were placed into the National Recreation Trail database, a designation reserved for exemplary trails and made by the US Secretary of the Interior.

John put his background in emergency services and firefighting to good use while helping to create the Nordic division of the National Ski Patrol. He authored the "Ski & Toboggan Manual" for the Nordic Division and became a Senior Patroller when all testing was done at alpine ski areas (skiing an alpine slope on skinny wooden skis with 3-pin bindings, wearing a loaded backpack and all the while pulling a toboggan loaded with a "patient"). The ski patrol at Northfield Mountain was the first to be registered at a Touring Center (aka XC ski area or Nordic Ski center).

Johannes Von Trapp of Trapp Family Lodge is credited with putting John on cross country skis in the early 70's. The two shared an educational background in forestry and land management. John was a strong advocate of ski instruction supporting professional certification and empowering his staff and volunteer patrollers at Northfield Mountain to give away passes for group lessons. He laughed about being given "a beginner lesson" from Olympic coach, John Caldwell just months after getting on skis, while they tried to standardize a lesson for Eastern Professional Ski Touring Instructors-EPSTI, the forerunner of PSIA-Nordic. John truly believed lessons were an investment in return customers.

Frado joined forces with Jonathan Wiesel and worked under the name Nordic Group International. He's left his mark on Nordic centers across North America. His clients are a who's who of the industry including: Gatineau Park, Hardwood Hills, Lone Mountain Ranch, Great Glen Trails Outdoor Center, Devil's Thumb Ranch Resort & Spa, Tahoe Cross Country, the Nordic centers in Breckenridge and Frisco, Latigo Ranch, Telluride Nordic Association, and Dartmouth College, among many others.

John's love of humor and his passion for quality were the perfect combination for being a steward of the recreational experience. He advocated for memorable, fun trail names and spoke on the subject at CCSAA conventions.

John was connected for decades with moose and one could say it was his totem. His Nordic Group International office was filled with moose memorabilia, his farm tractor was named Moose, and he used moose for his email and license plate. John was officially given the nickname Crazymoose at Great Glen Trails Outdoor Center after surviving a run-in with a moose, breaking his finger in the process. He designed and supervised construction of the Great Glen trails and lodge and was the assistant director for its initial ski season.

In recognition of John Frado's contributions to the snow sports industry, the association asked ski area members to name or rename a trail Crazy Moose (or some version of Crazymoose Corner, Crazymoose Climb, Crazymoose Crawl, etc.)…trails in his name are a fitting remembrance of John Frado as one of the most significant personalities in the history of the U.S. cross country skiing community. (This article was mostly written by Chris Frado, wife of John Frado and CCSAA president ).