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Ads from the Past: Sun Valley, 1952

 

SKIING HISTORY

Editor Seth Masia
Managing Editor Greg Ditrinco
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Seth Masia, Chairman
John Allen, Andy Bigford, John Caldwell, Jeremy Davis, Kirby Gilbert, Paul Hooge, Jeff Leich, Bob Soden, Ingrid Wicken

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To preserve skiing history and to increase awareness of the sport’s heritage

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Bimonthly journal and official publication of the International Skiing History Association (ISHA)

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Alf Engen Ski Museum | North American Snowsports Journalists Association | Swiss Academic Ski Club

 

Skiing History (USPS No. 16-201, ISSN: 23293659) is published bimonthly by the International Skiing History Association, P.O. Box 1064, Manchester Center, VT 05255.
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Ads from the Past: Sun Valley, 1952

By Seth Masia

By 1950, the Union Pacific Railroad wanted Sun Valley, a playground for the rich, to run at a profit. That meant attracting middle-class skiers. The resort slashed prices: In 1952 you got a full week of skiing for $92, including meals and lodging, lifts and ski school lessons. In today’s inflated currency, that would be $1004. Add $73 (from Chicago) for a coach ticket on the Union Pacific, and you couldn’t afford to stay home. The train left Chicago at 5:30 p.m. and after 27 hours, you got off the bus in Sun Valley at 9:40 p.m. local time. Today, that $73 train fare would be $800, but there’s no train. Rooms at the Inn go for $450 a night (you might find a $250 motel room elsewhere), class lessons are a distant memory (private lessons start at about $900 for a half-day), and you’re on your own for meals (let’s say $100 a day). But a full-price Ikon Pass ($1179) puts you on the lift for seven days, and you can fly from Chicago in about six hours, for $500 or some frequent flier miles. If you already have the Ikon Pass and you don’t need lessons, you might get in seven days and nights, plus travel, for around $4,500. Of course, there’s three times more terrain, the lifts are twice as fast (and more numerous), and who ever heard of grooming in 1952? 

Coming Up In Future Issues

Fifty Years of Ski Academies, Part II: The future of American racing: Are academies the solution or part of the problem?

Resorts Then & Now: Grouse Mountain, British Columbia

In Focus A photo retrospective from Hubert Schriebl

PLUS

  • Mountaineering Records
  • Canadian Ski Hall of Fame Inductees
  • Where Are They Now? Nelson and Caroline Lalive Carmichael

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