Ski the Great Potato

In Ski the Great Potato: Idaho Ski Areas, Past and Present, you'll find the histories of the 21 current Idaho ski areas and of 72 of the historical or "lost" areas. Forward by Idaho's own Olympic gold medalist Picabo Street. It was selected as a winner of the International Skiing History Association’s Skade Book Award.

The book gives the basic facts about each area and how it started, and includes stories of the people who skied at each one. There are stories of stolen snow plows, an exploding stove, a moose taking a nap on a ski run, a ski jump from Idaho to Canada, a dog who stole sack lunches, and the fate of a young woman who froze to the seat of a portable toilet.

While researching the microfilms of Idaho newspapers, we found many hidden and forgotten stories of ski area start-ups in the weekly papers. It was almost always a community deal: meet in the basement of the drugstore on Tuesday night; we are forming a ski club, says the paper. A rancher, farmer, or mechanic promises to donate an engine for the rope tow. No rope for the tow? No problem, we'll hold a box lunch social, or sell ski club memberships that include free skiing. No land for a tow? We can apply for a Forest Service permit, or lease land from private owners, have it logged, and pay the lease with the proceeds. If the road is in bad shape, we can make a movie of cars and buses stuck in the mud and show it around town to motivate public officials to pave the road.

Many Idaho ski areas were successful only because of the major support and pure goodwill of community businessmen like Warren Brown and Jack Simplot. Many of Idaho's small community ski areas had the investment of local farmers, ranchers, miners, doctors, lawyers and businessmen who were vital in their development.

Our research uncovered the amazing determination of the few men and women who started Idaho's ski areas, especially the ones in remote areas. A 13-member Lions Club built a ski area from scratch, including buying a used platter lift from a bigger ski area. When cement trucks couldn't drive up its steep hill to pour the foundations for the towers, they used a backhoe bucket and shovels to mix the cement by hand. Then they hauled an old schoolhouse 45 miles on dollies to the base of the lift for a lodge.  We applaud the ingenuity and perseverance of these ski area pioneers who worked so hard to bring the joy of skiing to their communities.

Celebrate the wonder of winter with the skier or snowboarder in your life by giving a copy of “Ski the the Great Potato – Idaho Ski Areas Past and Present".