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Charles and Percy Olton, ed. - Ski Tracks

A review in the 1936 American Ski Annual calls this the first American ski picture book. The reviewer writes, "Apparently these are all American photos," but I have my doubts.

p. 6: In the Foreward, Charles N. Proctor writes: "Skiing has come of age in America. It is not possible to set the exact date but the sport attained its majority sometime between the Winter Olympic Games at Lake Placid in 1932 and those at Garmisch-Partenkirchen in 1936. The symbol of skiing has changed from the crowd in the grandstand watching a single jumper in his daring flight, to the intricate interlacing of the tracks of thousands of active skiers on snow-covered hillsides from coast to coast."

The book contains several fine images taken in the Cascades by Northwest photographers. The following are by Ray Atkeson:

• p. 35: Ski jumper in flight with Mt Hood in the background.
• p. 83: Ski jumper leaves the takeoff above a Cascade Ski-Club banner.
• p. 121: Skier straight-runs down early season powder at Timberline with Mt Hood in the background.
• p. 130: Slalom skier races at sunset.
• p. 131: Ski hut after dark.

The following are by Orville Borgersen:

• p. 13: Skiers, viewed from the side, run through powder next to snowy trees above Paradise, Mt Rainier.
• p. 17: Grace Carter demonstrates a christiania as several skiers (all men) watch.
• p. 28: Closeup of skier performing a gelandesprung with clear skies above (fine).
• p. 60: Skier performs a gelandesprung at the top of Edith Creek basin with Mt Rainier in the background (fine).

The following are by Ewing Galloway, and at least one of them is from the Northwest:

• p. 15: Skier herringboning up a slope of powder snow (fine).
• p. 59: Skier performs a gelandesprung at the top of Edith Creek basin with Unicorn Peak in the background (fine).
• p. 112: Closeup of skier performing a pole flip.

The following are from the Mt Rainier Park Company and may have been taken by Dwight Watson in 1936:

• p. 30: Skier performs a gelandesprung on a smooth slope with the top of Mt Rainier in the background.
• p. 61: Seven skiers run abreast in powder down a short slope with the Tatoosh Range in the background (fine).
• p. 62: Five skiers run in powder off the roof the the Paradise Lodge, with Pinnacle Peak in the background (fine).
• p. 79: Closeup of Dick Durrance completing a tempo turn, probably in Edith Creek basin.

There are several fine photos by K. Meuser, showing skiers on slopes with glaciers in the background. If these pictures are in America, they must be on Mt Rainier. However, I suspect they were taken in the Alps.

p. 22: Photo from the Lake Placid Club of Erling Strom performing a graceful telemark turn with an erect stance and both hands held high. The caption describes Strom as a master. The photo depicts a style illustrated in Steve Barnett's books and later criticized by writers such as Paul Parker.

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