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Clip #: TFA-62B
Length: 24:52
Year: 1954
Color: Color
Sound: Sound
Library: TFA Network
Decade: 1950s
Region: North America
Country: United States
State: California
Subject: Sports
Original: 16mm
Keywords:
California Sierra Nevada, Route 50 skiing, snow ski, ski resort, chalet young couple with suitcase, double chair lift, rotary snow plow, jeep, bus, austin healey, ski shop shopping, sweater, waxing skis, shop ski poles and boots skis,
motel room, breakfast, kitchen window bacon and eggs cook sledding in dish, instructor ringing bell, rope tow, American River ski lesson, double chair lift, ski patrol, skiing footage, ski team slalom, backpack, cross country tour, lot's o skiing
Notes:
The coach at Edelweiss was Lutz Aynedter who coached U.S.Olympic champions Steve and Spider Sabich. Spider and Steve were altar boys at the Catholic church across the highway from the ski area (Chapel of Our Lady of the Sierras), and would often strap on their skis immediately following Mass. Aynedter was a downhill champion from the 1940s who emigrated from Germany to California after the war. He taught the Sabich boys European-style ski racing, and Spider and Steve became junior stars among the fearless young racers of Edelweiss, who became known as the "Highway 50 Boys." The Edelweiss ski area closed in the early 1960s after a poor snow year; the location is now called Camp Sacramento.
Despite their outdated equipment, Spider and Steve established themselves as top junior ski racers in northern California in the early 1960s. Both were offered skiing scholarships to the University of Colorado, the dominant collegiate program of the era. Head coach Bob Beattie was also the coach of the U.S. Ski Team, and the national team was heavy with CU skiers. While at Colorado, Spider majored in aeronautical engineering and was selected to the national team. Steve's career was ended by a knee injury while at CU.
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