I’ve always been a big fan of stockpiling periodicals. In fact, a casual perusal of the files in my basement will reveal a treasure trove of frozen moments spread out over decades; front pages of The Boston Globe celebrating World Series and Super Bowl wins, accompanied by clips of a more random variety, like when Bruce Hurst signed with the Padres or when the Celtics hired Dave Gavitt as team president.
There are a host of Ski and Skiing magazines — mostly from the 90’s — as well, copies so thick with content and ads that it can make one wistful for that sort of reading experience in comparison to our information overload today.
But what’s great about perusing through these issues is the ability to remember, or learn about, skiing history in “real time.” It’s always worthwhile to remember just how different skiing was 30 years ago, or how it hasn’t changed much at all.
Many editions of both Ski and Skiing are available online via a Google Books search, and it makes for a fascinating way to dive down the mountain rabbit hole, if you will. There’s always some interesting nugget that I learn about, a moment in skiing history that never resonated for one reason or another.