TAHOE • STORIES
Snowshoe Thompson
DEFEATED By Mark McLaughlin, Historian
John “Snow-shoe” Thompson, the noted Sierra skiing mailman, established a remarkable legend that still impresses, more than 140 years after his death in 1876. He not only delivered mail and supplies on his skis, historians credit Snowshoe Thompson as the Pioneer of American Skiing and the Father of Skisport. In the 1860s, miners and mountain residents were sliding over the snowpack with long wooden skis and pushing themselves with a long pole. For most people, skis
were simply the best form of transportation over the snowcovered landscape. Meanwhile Thompson was flying down mountainsides making crisp turns, jumping cliffs and offering to torque 360-degree aerials off of snow buried cabins. Thompson was the first free-style skier who advocated the use of shorter skis for better performance. People who watched Thompson ski with his long pole dipping from side to side across his body said he looked like a soaring eagle. Jon Torsteinson was only 10 years old when he emigrated with his family from Norway in 1837. Like many Norwegians, they settled in the Midwest and became farmers. In 1851, the 24-year-old farm boy was struck with gold fever and he ran off to California. He arrived too late to score much gold, but he settled near Placerville and changed his name to John Thompson. During the long winter months, conversation often focused on the difficulty of getting mail in from the east. Mail sent by ship from the East Coast took months to arrive and the overland routes were shut down by deep snow in the Sierra. Communities in western Nevada were completely cut off from California in winter. To remedy this problem, Thompson stepped into the breach and promised to carry the mail back and forth between Carson City and Placerville. It was a bold decision, but Snowshoe Thompson was continues on page 3
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