The Mountaineers
“Friluftsliv” is the Scandinavian word for the joys of open-air living, and few capture the heart of this spirit better than longtime Mountaineer and local alpine ski historian Lowell Skoog.
As a skier, climber, writer, and photographer, Lowell Skoog has been a participant and keen observer of Northwest mountaineering since the 1960s, and a member of The Mountaineers for 35 years.
Lowell Skoog is the creator of the Alpenglow Gallery and founder of the Northwest Mountaineering Journal, websites that celebrate local mountain culture. That’s why we were delighted when we learned he had been working for almost two decades on a book of ski history and culture in the Pacific Northwest.
In Written in the Snows: Across Time on Skis in the Pacific Northwest, to be published by Mountaineers Books in October 2021, author Lowell Skoog traces the development of skiing in Washington from the time of statehood in the late 1800s to the present. While he covers the beginnings of ski resorts and competition, the focus is the exploration of wild places in the Cascade and Olympic mountains.
The grandson of Swedish immigrants and a life-long resident of the Pacific Northwest, Lowell remembers weekends squeezed into the tiny Kongsberger cabin near Snoqualmie Pass, surrounded by the smell of leather and wet wool, listening to ski jumpers tell their stories in Norwegian - or Swedish -accented English. As Lowell wrote in the foreword to Martin Volken's popular guidebook Backcountry Ski & Snowboard Routes: Washington, “Backcountry skiing ignites a passion that is constantly being renewed. Every season, every storm opens a blank page and invites us to trace our storylines anew.”
And that passion is something that has driven Lowell for decades. He was a key member of the team that launched the Washington State Ski and Snowboard Museum in 2015. For over a decade he has been a member and is now chairman of The Mountaineers History and Library committee, a group of volunteers that works to preserve and share living history. Now, through colorful storytelling, his new book shares how the Northwest’s ski culture has been shaped by immigration, war, and wilderness exploration, as well as the evolution of gear and technique.
“In 2000, I began researching the 100-year history of ski culture in Washington with the goal of publishing the definitive book on the subject. This project repays a debt—to my father and to others of his generation—for passing on to me a legacy of wilderness and wonder in one of the most beautiful regions in America.”
Join us for Written in the Snows: An Evening with Lowell Skoog, Nordic Ski Legend | AprIL 1
On April 1st at 7:00 pm, join Lowell Skoog for an intimate conversation with author Malcolm Bates about the rich history of the past century of Northwest ski culture. Aided by personal storytelling and archival photographs, Lowell and Malcolm will discuss the process of writing his book, Written in the Snows: Across Time on Skis in the Pacific Northwest.
Get inspired by our own living legend and learn how you can be a part of the story, and help bring Lowell’s book Written in the Snows: Across Time on Skis in the Northwest, to life.
Get Your Name in Written in the Snows and Help Mountaineers Books Continue to Publish Powerful Stories of the Outdoors
Many books have been written about technical aspects of skiing or particular Northwest skiing destinations, but the full story of skiing as a significant part of regional culture throughout the Northwest has never been told like this before.
As a mission-focused, nonprofit publisher, Mountaineers Books is committed to broadly sharing the transformative power of the outdoors from unique perspectives like Lowell’s. But book sales alone are not enough to achieve this mission. Your support allows us to extend our reach to new communities; support high quality, ambitious books that may otherwise not be published; champion emerging authors; support community events, partnerships, and exhibits; and produce our books in an environmentally sustainable way.
This event is free to attend, and we look forward to sharing more about how your support can make a difference for mission-driven titles like Written in the Snows at the end of the program. Donation levels start at $100, and in return for your support, we will recognize your name in Written in the Snows: Across Time on Skis in the Northwest.
Can’t wait until April 1 to learn more about how you can support authors and stories like Lowell’s? Click the link below to read more.
