In 1852 a miner named William Wier was killed by a winter avalanche near Pilot Peak in the Sierra Buttes near the town of Laporte, California (in Plumas County). Wier had no skis when he died, while he was working on the mountainside.

Wier's and other deaths proved to miners that skis,
originally known as "snowshoes," were needed to survive working in the mountains in winter. The avalanche of 1852 was the turning point.

Skis become popular
Skis were introduced by Norwegian emigrants who moved to San Francisco. Use of the "long boards" spread rapidly until, by the end of the 1850s, a majority of gold seekers had skis. By 1860, skis were playing a role in the early conquest of the American West. And soon use of the long boards spread from purely utilitarian matters to competition. During the heavy Sierra winters when work was limited, gold miners began to race one another on their skis.

Competition slowly became semi-organized, then very organized after the Alturas Snowshoe Club in Plumas County formed in 1866. Asport was beginning. Mountain culture was changing, too, along the shores of the immense alpine lake called Tahoe.

Lake Tahoe
Etched from molten granite into natural ridges and amphitheaters 200 million years ago when a Paleozoic sea covered the area, 6,200-feet high Lake Tahoe always had the makings of a scenic playground.

By 1871 Tahoe City boasted 50 homes, two hotels, and a saloon called the Custom House. Guests from overseas began to visit the area, including the vivacious mistress to British Royalty, Lily Langtry. She proclaimed, "I'll buy a parcel or two of land next year as Tahoe is the beauty spot of the world!"

In those days Lake Tahoe was a summer paradise, but during the winter months the lake and surrounding areas were cut off from the outside. The snowbound population, shrunken to caretaker status, got its fresh vegetables by boat from storage cellars at Glenbrook on the South Shore, and its mail from Truckee via sleigh.

In the late 1890s the South Shore lumber industry (feeding the mines of Nevada) declined. Lumber also declined in importance in Truckee. It was then that Tahoe people started to promote and organize the area for winter recreation. Lake Tahoe then started to attract a new breed of tourists to the mountains.

Truckee Winter Carnival 1909
Truckee's first effort was a winter carnival. The centerpiece was an Ice Palace. It was originally built in the late 1890s east of the RR passenger depot in town, but it was later moved south of the river below Hilltop Lodge. Beside sledding and toboggan attractions, the local newspaper, (Truckee Republican,) noted that half a dozen local men had been "doing their utmost to master the delightful, even if somewhat strenuous art, of manipulating Norwegian skis."

First ski lift
The newpaper's owner, Bert Cassidy, continued leading efforts to make Truckee a winter attraction. Within a year he directed attention to a slope next to the Hilltop Lodge along the first southern ridge above the town. With the help of local citizens, he made Hilltop into a winter sports center. By 1910 the first recorded tow in the Sierra Nevada was built and promoted by Cassidy and Southern Pacific RR. The tow pulled tobogganers and skiers hooked to the moving cable by detachable grips, forerunner of today's detachable lifts.

As reported by newspaperman Bill Berry in his feature, Eyewitness to History, several tows were also built shortly thereafter as replacements for the 1910 tow. Berry describes one built in 1916 as "a continuous chain-link cable running inside a raised U-shaped trestle."

Editor's Note: Part 2 of 2 of this story will run on Tahoetopia soon.