Ski-Time in the Desert

Ski-Jine in the Desert

The high mountain ranges of Arizona offer busy winter sports program to visitors to her sun-showered valleys.

Arizona has always proudly worn its sobriquet of "the land where the summer spends the winter." It can amend that now to add "but where you may enjoy winter sports, too."

With such qualification, the popular misconception of Arizona as a vast land of nothing but desert, cactus and cowboys stands corrected. Snow, and in ideal settings for ski enthusiasts, drapes itself gracefully over the lofty precincts of many of the state's rugged mountain ranges.

This added attraction for the countless vacationers who journey to Arizona's sun-showered valleys each winter still is rather new. The same craggy slopes which beckon invitingly to skiers have always been mantled with snow, but only in recent years have they been branded by the exciting pattern formed by waxed hickory staves. Now the possibilities for skiing have been explored on every mountain from north to south, and the sun-worshippers who are lured by "June in January" weather may take their choice of sports designed for either month.

The proximity of the six already developed ski runs to the warm lands of the desert areas provides the most unique appeal to skiing in Arizona. Such geographical advantages enables winter visitors as well as inhabitants of cities within the "sun country" belt to combine a wintersetting in a summer atmosphere-a fact which has transformed many a desert denizen into an ardent ski devotee.

The belated appreciation of natural ski terrain on the powdery mountainsides in several national forest areas accounts for the incongruous presence of a wide assortment of ski equipment and togs now on the shelves of sporting goods stores in both Phoenix and Tucson, radial points for the vacation-bent, sun-seeking set who come to Arizona.

The state's pioneer ski area lies tucked away in the soft snows atop the towering San Francisco peaks near Flagstaff in the northern part of Arizona. while impressive Mt. Lemmon in the Santa Catalina mountains. just 40 miles north of Tucson in the southern part of the state. is one of the newest ski areas being developed. In addition. you'll find that Bill Williams Mountain. just four miles south of Williams: Mingus mountain. eight miles south of Jerome; Indian Creek, five miles south of Prescott; and Upper Mingus Mountain, 10 miles south of Jerome, all lend themselves to skiing, too.

The Since the Arizona Snow Bowl in the broad hollows of the San Francisco Mountains is the largest and longest established ski area in Arizona-the state's first ski run was laid out there in 1939-it claims distinction as the

The Snow Bowl at Flagstaff, a few hours from the warm desert, is one of the state's most popular skiing localities.

The "sitz" capital of Arizona. It is an active winter sports area.

The Snow Bowl hides itself on a small section of mountainside in the Coconino National Forest, 1412 miles northwest of Flagstaff. The mountain itself is an extinct volcano with gentle slopes at the bottom rising sharply at the top. Although the season there doesn't officially open until December 15, six inches of base snow opens the area to skiers. That amount of snow has fallen as early as Armistice Day, and good skiing has been enjoyed until the end of June and sometimes even later. Aspen and fir growths on the picturesque mountainside are splotched generously by lava flow parks which, when carpeted with snow, become natural trails, open slopes and inviting slalom glades. Here, too, the crosscountry skier will be delighted at the amazing terrain he may cover with runs of from two to five miles on the swift journey down. So ideal is the setting for such cavorting in fact, that the U. S. forest service now sponsors an "over the mountain" trip each February. This rugged journey takes skiers three miles up the mountain and eight miles down the other side.

An open slope with grades varying between 15 and 30 degrees ideal for beginners extends from threequarters of a mile above a rustic lodge to nearly three Four ski trails have also been laid out to suit the taste and test the mettle of every type of skier. Two of these, "Flying Dutchman" and "Shoulder Run," follow almost parallel courses from a shoulder of Mt. Humphrey. the loftiest peak in the state, to the open slope near the lodge. For the novice there is "Log Jam" trail, while more experienced skiers may zip down "Tailspin" trail. a three-quarter mile descent with a 900-foot drop and a jumping hill that allows a maximum jump of 70 feet.

If you don't know how to ski but are eager to learn. you may do so here under the tutelage of Kit Wing, a park ranger at the Grand Canyon who conducts weekend classes.

On Sunday mornings the most enthusiastic skiers arrive early and collect impatiently at the bottom of the intermediate tow waiting for it to open at 9 o'clock when Al Grasmoen, operator of the Snow Bowl, starts the motor. As many as 400 persons on a single day spend their entire time being pulled up and zipping down the slope, practicing slaloms and christies. From time to time they unclamp their skis, stand their poles in the snow and go into the lodge to munch a "skiburger" or down a bowl of hot chili.

The attractive peeled-log lodge, measuring 95 by 25 feet, was built by the U. S. Forest Service in 1941 and provides all facilities for a day's skiing. A kitchen, a snack bar and a ski shop occupy one side of the lodge. The other side is given over to a lounge and an observation bay, from which you may look north to catch a distant glimpse of the south rim of the Grand Canyon just 80 air miles away.

Towering San Francisco Peaks, home of the Snow Bowl, wear an ermine coat all winter. Skiing in the desert state has gained in popularity in recent years. Ski runs are being developed on Bill Williams Mountain and on other ranges.

An adjoining building houses the locker room, a first aid room complete with special toboggans outfitted with emergency equipment, and a ski rental and repair shop. The rental prices are extremely reasonable. A pair of skis may be rented for $1.50 for an entire day, boots for $1; and an additional $1.50 for the use of the intermediate tow for as many trips up the mountainside as your en-durance will permit.A cinder-surfaced road to the Snow Bowl threads its way 2,600 feet up the mountainside from the town through an aisle of ponderosa pines and, at the higher elevations, silvery aspen and fir. The road, as well as the ample 500car parking area at the lodge, is rarely blocked.

The temperature at the ski slope averages around 40 degrees, but the clear dry air assures good powder. Clear skies also assure a healthy winter sunburn and make it possible to ski in shirt-sleeves if you like.

Although skiing in Arizona still is less than 10 years old, entire families have adopted the sport and skiers have banded together in many sections of the state to promote interest in their new found love. The Elmer Hubbard family of Flagstaff, however, takes the snow-particled diadem as the skiing-ist family in the state. Even threeyear-old David Hubbard has the bug. Hardly a Sunday passes during the wintertime when your mother Hubbard, her husband and all three sons-including young Davidaren't astride their skis on some part of the Snow Bowl's spacious slopes.

As for ski clubs, there are the Flagstaff Ski club and the Ski-Jacks, an organization of student skiers at Arizona State College at Flagstaff, who regularly hold inter-collegiate meets with other southwestern schools. Prescott has its PreSKImos, while Tucson claims the University of Arizona Ski club and the Sahuaro Ski club. The nucleus of the latter organization consists of a group of Tucsonans with vision who accompanied Lowell Thomas, prominent radio commentator and an ardent ski enthusiast, on a jeep trip up to the present ski area of Bear Wallow atop Mt. Lemmon. That was back in 1943, and the idea of a trek up the mountain materialized after Thomas had flown to Tucson to visit his son, Lowell, jr., then an army air forces lieutenant, in a hospital there. From the air he had noticed the snow-carpeted Mt. Lemmon, which forms a part of the rugged Santa Catalina range, and decided to investigate the possiblities of developing a ski site there.

To its delight, the party discovered ideal terrain for skiing, and that same day the Sahuaro Ski club was born. The organization, which took its name from the fact that a whole forest of those giant sentinels of the desert stand proudly in the foothills just below the ski slope, was formed partly in fun. But when others caught the spirit and sought to join the ranks, it became a flourishing outfit.

At the time of the first party, the trip to the snow area was necessarily a circuitous one around the back of the mountain, and required nearly three hours of tedious driving. Now an excellent highway leads directly from Tucson to the snow country 40 miles away. When the snows make driving difficult, obliging sheriff's deputies patrol the road with a pickup truck to assist stalled motorists. Thus skiers can take off from the Old Pueblo, travel in high gear all the way, and be skiing at an elevation of from 8,000 to 9,000 feet in less than an hour.

When the weather is right, Tucsonans have good ski country on Mt. Lemmon, no far away. This high mountain recreational area, so popular in summer, is now becoming a winter sports center of great activity. Visitors are always welcome.

You'll find the run a short distance along a marked road turning east off the main Mt. Lemmon highway just beyond Palisades. There is a racing trail there one-third mile long with a vertical drop of 400 feet. There's also an intermediate trail and another for beginners, which stretches out between towering Douglas fir trees for nearly a half-mile. A 750-foot rope tow was installed last year to provide uphill transportation to a spot from which skiers can plunge down the mountainside.

When the day's skiing ends, skiers crowd around the hot barrel stove in the tiny log frame and canvas hut atop the mountain to argue about ski waxes and ski technique. Then, when darkness sets in, they hurry down the mountainside again past huge stands of cactus to their homes on quiet palm-lined streets or to the western atmosphere of an Arizona dude ranch or resort.

Giant pines from three to five feet in diameter and from 150 to 200 feet tall dot the summits of the Catalinas in rich profusion. Their deep shade protects the snow, and this, combined with the desert air and the absence of rain, results in powdery snow, ideal for skiing from December to mid-April.

Just four miles south of Williams, the gateway to the Grand Canyon and just a whoop and a holler west of Flagstaff on U. S. Highway 66, rise the rolling slopes of Bill Williams mountain. Wintertime skiing takes place there on the north slopes, approached by a two-mile drive followed by a mile and a half of trail skiing. The area still lacks a shelter, facilities for hot lunches and a tow, but that hasn't hampered one bit the weekly pell mell rush of local ski enthusiasts to don ski boots and take off for the hills.

If anything, it's made the local populace acutely aware that something must be done to assure the comfort of the growing number of skiers visiting that area. And that, incidentally, commands top booking on the list of projects now before the Williams-Grand Canyon Chamber of Commerce.

A service which has helped to accelerate the popularity of this lusty winter sport in all parts of Arizona is the weekly report of conditions at the various ski sites. This report represents the joint effort of two federal agencies, the weather bureau and the forest service. Broadcast over radios and published in newspapers throughout the state during the ski season, the reports serve as happy reminders that facilities for the sport are available from Flagstaff and Williams in the north to Tucson in the south.

Although ski carnivals and other programs strictly local in appeal have been held at the Snow Bowl in pre-vious years, the first gathering of skiers from all over the state took place there last year. The occasion was the Thunderbird ski meet sponsored by the Phoenix Chamber of Commerce. The meet consisted of downhill and slalom races over two courses as tricky and exacting as any pair of plain or fancy skis has ever experienced.

Skiing may not yet be big business in that land of contrast, but it's there for those who seek to flavor their sunshine with snow as well as for those drawn by the love of the sport alone. And winter or spring, as long as the winter's soft snow nestles against Arizona's loftier mountain peaks, every week-end is festival time in those same snowy wonderlands of the Southwest.