First time in human history that athletes and computer geeks were united! In 1958 the computer department at IBM tried to convince their President, Thomas J Watson, to make the Squaw Valley Olympics the first major sporting event to be “computerized”. They speculated that it would decrease the time for results from hours to mere minutes making the games much better for televising and much more exciting for the spectators. Of course it was successful and really changed sports. Fortunately, our Museum has just acquired the 40 page IBM folder that contains the typed letter to the president and all the data to convince him it would work. An incredible find for both the sports world and for those of us geeks who also enjoy the history of computing…. Read more
Archive for 2017
We just received a 1960 “first day cover” from the opening day of the Squaw Valley winter Olympics ~ in perfect condition! Jill Beede, an English professor, collector, and long time Tahoe local wanted to get this out for everyone to share. Once we have it cataloged, it will be placed on displayed in the museum. Come by the second floor of the Gatekeepers Museum in Tahoe City to see Jill’s donation and all the other Sierra ski history items on display! Thanks Jill, and Happy Holidays!… Read more
Retro-love in the snow! Perhaps our favorite pic of the great Walt Disney at Squaw. Many people don’t know that he had a home at Squaw, loved the region, and was the designer/director of the pageantry for the 1960 Olympics. He wanted to make the Olympics a real party, more fun than any before it. Of course, he pulled it off. If you get a chance, come see the Disney display on the 2nd floor of the Gatekeeper’s Museum in Tahoe City!… Read more
Wishing the best to everyone from the Museum of Sierra Ski History and the Gatekeepers Museum! Come visit over the holidays and learn about your ski history before the upcoming 2018 Winter Olympics. The ski collection is located on the second floor of the Gatekeepers Museum in Tahoe City (Thank you NLTHS). Have fun, be safe, and we will see you soon!… Read more
We received some great pictures from Scott Garibaldi in the 80’s. Now I wasn’t even born then so to me it seems like ski history. At the museum we want to chronicle everything so future generations, that will think the 2010’s are historical, can look back and see where we were. If you have anything you want to donate to help tell the story we would love to have it ~ reach out anytime to museum co-founder Stan Batiste at [email protected] to donate. Was the 80’s really that long ago..? Thanks Scott, hope your knees are still rolling!… Read more
Every time we drive into Squaw Valley my father religiously turns the radio down for just a second so we can look at the valley and says thanks Wayne! Similar thing with a different message when we enter Tahoe City. Many know, some don’t, that Wayne Poulsen worked hard on preserving the natural beauty of Squaw Valley. When the 1960 Olympics were coming there were plans to pave the valley to meet the needs of the spectators. Wayne fought hard and, although the story is much more involved, he saved the Valley floor as he accepted the placement of a mixture of snow and sawdust ~ which worked great! Although he is known as the co-founder of Squaw Valley, its original skiing inhabitant (with wife Sandy), ski jumper extraordinaire, Pilot, and family man, perhaps his greatest legacy is as an environmentalist. So, occasionally, turn the radio down for just a sec and thank Wayne!… Read more
Craig Beck (one of the first Tahoe extreme athletes) has just brought his incredible longboard display to the sierra ski collection at the Gatekeepers Museum. Once you see them you will know who the real first extreme skiers were. The skis were upwards of 16 feet long and had wooden and rope bindings that were strapped on and away you go! The prizes were huge at the time with purses up to $1000.00. The great thing was that women were included and many times were the fastest skiers reaching up to 70mph, ~ and of course, took home the prize money! Fun display spanning a large part of the museum ~ Thanks again Craig for all you have done over the years for the community!… Read more
The new Sierra History and 1960 Olympics displays are finally open! With the help of the great Truckee Movers, the Batiste and Antonucci families and JJ Whitney we managed to move all the displays, which includes hundreds of ski artifacts, into the upper floor of the Gatekeepers museum in Tahoe City. Come see your ski history from thousands of years ago through the miners in Plumas to the early regional history and Olympics up to the present time. Of course, none of this would be possible without the help of the North Lake Tahoe Historical Society, their president Jim Phelan, Executive Director Marnie Carr and Pete Billeter directing the process. We are now finally finished! ~ right before the snow falls in another upcoming winter Olympic year! Thanks!… Read more
As of Aug 12th the exhibits of the Museum of Sierra Ski History will be hosted by the North Lake Tahoe Historical Society within the fabulous Gatekeepers Museum. We want to thank the members of the Historical Society for making this happen. This will be the home of the collection for the next few years while we continue to work on our permanent space. Our collection of over 1000 regional ski artifacts will complement the large existing museum collection of Lake Tahoe artifacts and the Steinbach Indian basket Collection. Great News ~Thanks so much!… Read more
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