When Did Skiing Arrive in Park City?, part 2

This is the second article covering Park City’s earliest skiers. The first ran on January 24.

The Park Record often published articles and interest pieces from around the country if they thought the story might be relevant to Parkites, or if they were particularly fascinating or novel. The former is most likely the case when they published a long interest piece on snowshoeing in January 1882.

Early skiing was sometimes referred to as snowshoeing. In context, it is different than using snowshoes to stay on top of the snow. The article mentions taking a snow-shoe ride, going downhill, and coasting. Says the story, “we can have the finest ‘run’ in the country.” They go on to describe the activity – strapping two of the “long nines” to their feet and straddling a single pole for use in slowing down and helping steer their direction.

The Park Record including the article in the paper indicates that Parkites would find a connection to it, meaning that “snowshoeing” or skiing was not an uncommon activity in Park City by 1882.

A few weeks later, in February, the paper gave a local account of a skier: “The best sport to be had in this weather,” they reported, “is to follow Shorty Morris when he goes out to practice on his snowshoes.” They fantasized about watching “him glide up and down Main Street.”

Shorty worked at the Ontario Mill (where he was noted to be an “industrious” worker) until 1892 when he borrowed money from several friends, took all the money he and his family had, stole some of his wife’s jewelry, and disappeared. No one heard from him again. He left his wife and two children behind without any savings.

In the first article on early reports of Park City skiers, Ole and Lars Gunderson figured prominently. One of them might have been the “L Gunderson” mentioned as the challenger for a ski race in Park City. But another possibility has emerged: Louis Gunderson (no known relation to brothers Ole and Lars). Louis was mentioned in a civil suit in December 1882. A Norwegian immigrant, Louis died on March 26, 1886 and is buried in the Park City Cemetery. He was married to Alette (or Aletta) “Caroline” Baltzersen. Louis is a likely candidate as an early skier, with his name a close match to the race challenger and with his Norwegian heritage.

But Ole Gunderson cannot be ruled out. His children’s letter indicates that Ole lived up Ontario or Empire Canyons and would ski down into town. While that information is unavailable, the 1900 census lists an Ole and Jerma (possibly Julia) Gunderson living at Mountain Dell in Parley’s Canyon. The census notes the Norwegian couple had been in the U.S. about 15 years (perhaps a few years off) and that Ole was both a farmer and a shoemaker (listed as his primary job). This would track with the Gunderson children’s letter about their father’s ability to make skis.

In the letter, they say “Our mother told us how he would plane down the rough native lumber and would make the curve in them by planing the end down thinner. Then he would put the ends in hot potato water in a boiler and heat them until they could be bent. He would then put them against the wall with some pressure on the end to get the bend in them. There they would remain until dry, and they would retain that bend. We think he received about $3.00 a pair for the skis.”

While it may never be possible to know exactly who the first skier in Park City was, it is certain that skiing had arrived by the early 1880s. This period of Park City’s history saw an influx of Scandinavian immigrants, who arrived with a pastime of strapping shaped planks to their feet and gliding across the snow.

The Park City Museum is hosting a FREE ADMISSION DAY on Saturday, March 16, made possible by the Summit County Restaurant Tax Grant Program.