Welcome to the most active outdoor activities club in central Arizona! History of the PSC Forward This account of the history of the Phoenix Ski Club was compiled as a labor of love by long-time member, Anne Horner. It serves not only as a history of the Club, but as an interesting account of the development of skiing in Arizona. Anne's contributions to the Club over the years, as a Board member, Slope Dope coordinator, Officer, Trip Leader, etc. are almost too numerous to mention, and she exemplifies the hard-working volunteer spirit that keeps our Club going. Thanks for everything, Anne!! The Beginning December 1, 1948 was the formal beginning of the Phoenix Ski Club (PSC). The origins, of the club, however go back to the winter of 1940-41 when then U.S. Forest Service Forester, Ed Grosbeck and the original Flagstaff Ski Club members removed the old, very small, rope tow from "Scissor Bill Park", and built a longer and more powerful new one at the "Harts Prairie Area" on the "Aggassiz Ridge" or western side of the San Francisco Peaks. The Harts Prairie rope tow was at the edge of the area now (1990's) served by the "Harts Prairie" chair lift. With the construction of the longer tow and skiable slope, the big log lodge constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps. (CCC), and the construction of a small overnight cabin, a few hardy skiers from Phoenix began to join the local skiers for the weekends. In the Phoenix valley, many of the skiers who first became interested in the sport in those early years were members of the Phoenix "Thunderbirds", a civic group then closely affiliated with the Phoenix Chamber of Commerce. Before the Phoenix Open golf tournament became so large an event, the Thunderbirds sponsored an annual "Thunderbird Ski Meet" at the Snow Bowl. Prominent among the skiing families in the "Thunderbirds" were the Barry Goldwater family, and the Jack Williams family. (Later to be Senator Barry Goldwater and Governor Jack Williams.) | |
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