IT'S ALL DOWNHILL
"Isotropic high-tech aluminum alloys," caruba wood, side cuts, reverse cambers, "KeyHole Technology"... modern-day snow skis have come a long way since 1938, when Arizona Snowbowl opened on the west slope of the San Francisco Peaks. But the most important element of skiing - gravity - remains the same. It''s what takes skiers from the top of the hill to the bottom.
BY: Jeff Kida,Keith Whitney
a portfolio edited by jeff kida and keith whitney
photos: northern arizona university cline library
left: aspen groves provide natural obstacles for snowbowl skiers. this photo was made by robert fronske, a flagstaff native who extensively documented the area from the late 1930s to the early 1980s.
below: skiers check their equipment outside snowbowl lodge in the early 1940s. the lodge was a hub of activity until february 1952, when it was destroyed in a fire; arson was suspected at the time, but historians now believe a burning log rolling out of a fireplace was more likely.
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