Circa 1960’s – 1980’s

In my early years old skis and worn out wooden barrels found new life on the slopes each year.  This was back before looking good on the slopes was just as important, if not more, as being a good skier.  Back then the local ski companies imposed no rules on the quality or type of equipment it permitted on their slopes.  I have often wondered if snow boards would have had any issues back then and I seriously doubt it.

Aspen Mountain was always the favorite meeting place of the local kids, partly because Snowmass was just getting started and Buttermilk was too easy.  Highlands on the other hand was gaining ground.  But I digress; this memory is more about the equipment than the place.

With wooden skis still commonplace on the slopes in the early 1970’s, their days were numbered.  New skis were made of metal or fiberglass and were thin at their thickest points and could make a bad skier good.  For many of us, new skis every year were not an option and we would keep them as long as we were told we had to.  Eventually, our parents would relent and let us upgrade our skis, boots and bindings at the annual ski swaps.  Sometimes Aspen Sports, Sporthaus Lindner, Sabatini’s and the lot would even sell last year’s unused or barely scratched models at the Ski Swap and they would go fast before the doors even opened to the public.  The luck of having your mom or dad working on the staff, you got to shop early and then hide your treasures until the first register opened that cold Saturday morning.

Even with new skis in hand there were still plenty of uses for the old equipment.  I am not sure who first brought the idea to town but sometime in the late 1960’s the kids of Aspen had a new toy extracted from their old gear.  These new toys were often called “Goonies” and they were made from worn out skis and bindings.  All you had to do was cut your old skis in half or even less, and then attach an old set of bindings somewhere in the middle of the 2-foot long skis.  If the mounting screws went all the way through you could grind down the ends and melt a little P-Tex around them and you were off to the slopes.

Before long, just about all the kids in town had a set of Goonies.  They were even good for “Skitching” or “Hooky-Bobbing” on the bumpers of the cars downtown until being caught by the police or eventually falling and letting go.  Some of us even ended up underneath the backs of cars  when they unknowingly came to an unexpected stop.

Not to be outdone, an earlier version of skis resurrected on the slopes as well.  These were known as Stave Skis and were made from the slates or staves from old oak barrels.  With no edges and curved up on both ends, these were a major challenge to use but we were all willing to try if we could get our hands on a pair.

By the mid-1970’s one of the more progressive or enterprising toy companies might have even been Ron Popeil of Pocket Fisherman fame.  Ron was a part-time resident and famous inventor who came up with “Boot Skis.”  These were made of thick plastic and attached to the bottom of your ski boots with small traps and basically extended just beyond the ends of your boots.  Boot skis did not last on the scene for long since they were difficult to use and eventually were banned by the ski companies since they tore up the lift ramps and queues, making it a fulltime job to smooth them back out.

During those decades ski technology progressed exponentially and yet all we wanted to do was to take the old technology and turn it into something fun.  Time eventually caught up with us about the same time frivolous law suits did and the old Goonies, Staves and Boot Skis were banned from the slopes.

Skis did change over the years.  First, they were known to be 10 plus feet long and made from wood.  Over time their lengths got as short as three feet.  Remember the Graduated Length Method (GLM) that was tried for a few years?  As the lighter materials were being implemented their lengths grew once again culminating on the 125cm+ speed skis.  Then, technology and the law suits forced the industry to go lighter and even shorter once again.  Now days you are lucky if you can find a pair of skis that exceed 185cm in length.  With Snowboards on the scene I can only imagine the changes that are yet to come.  As for me, I would love a pair of 120cm skis in my collection along with a nice pair of Goonies.