Skis can also be purchased from merchants listed below.
Beautiful hardwood Skis with Poles at a fraction of the cost for your fireplace or display.
And they can be skied on! Also see our 12 -16 ft. Wasatch Lightning Longboards © .
| Below are only a few samples of designs and finishes. The skis are made of select straight grain ash and red oak, pattern from 1924 skis. The lengths are approximately 84". They have a side cut (shovel 4", foot plate 3", tail 3 5/8") and the tops are tapered from the foot plate to the tip and tail (shovel 1/2", foot plate 7/8", tail 1/2" thick). Bottoms are finished and have a groove. Skis come with leather toe straps and a pair of bamboo poles (48"long) with leather straps and rattan / leather baskets. Some skis have edge top side grooves front and back. Others have walnut inlays. | Finishes are natural, golden oak, walnut and honey brown, topped off with polyurethane and or lacquer. The skis would be very handsome above a fireplace and they are ready to ski on. Just wax the bottom and your off. We take orders for custom designs, woods and finishes. Total satisfaction guaranteed with full refund less shipping. Call or e-mail for pricing / discounts. Ohio 330-856-3337 Utah 801-569-3101. utah@raex.com |
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Skis can also be purchased from merchants listed below. |
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Merchant locations for hardwood wooden skis with poles and 12-16 foot Longboards:
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The History Of Longboards
For the brave of heart are these 16 ft. Wasatch Lightning Longboards © (and 12 foot trainers), capable of reaching speeds of 65 mph. Skis are made from straight grain, knot free hardwoods and have a leather lace up binding, leather foot pad and safety strap. Shaped, sanded and finished to perfection with 5 coats of spar polyurethane. The bottoms have a groove almost the length of the ski and have been pine tarred and waxed. Each pair come with a 6 foot pole, made from hickory with a oak donut shape block bolted on near the bottom, that is use for a break. The pole goes between your legs in a crouch position (less wind resistance) and the skier applies breaking by siting on it. We call them Longboard Soprano Sticks ©. The skis are fashioned from a pair used for downhill ski racing by the gold miners in LaPorte, California in 1867. To enhanced speed, they "doped" the bottoms with a composition of tar, bees wax, sperm whale oil, spruce oil and other secret goodies to reach speeds of 80 mph. Newspapers called them "swift but mighty dangerous", "the learning of the art of skeeing is the most exciting, dangerous, exasperating, yet satisfying of experiences". A miner could obtain such a pair of "snowshoes" for a pinch of gold dust, about five dollars. Made to ski on or to display in a lodge, cabin, restaurant or wherever. Be the envy of the area. Longboard Skis come with a Longboard Soprano Stick ©. Prices on request. Gold dust accepted. Got Questions? Drop us a line. I'm trying to get skiers interested in bringing back the tradition of Longboard down hill ski racing in the Wasatch Mountains of Utah and possibility competing with other longboard ski clubs. Notably the Plumas Ski Club of northern California that have held races every 3rd Sunday of January, February and March at Plumas Eureka Ski Bowl This year the races will be held on Sunday, February 16 and the World Championship on Sunday, March 16.at Plumas Eureka State Park near Historic Johnsville, Plumas County, California. Authentic "dope" wax made with sperm whale oil only. No spittin' or cheatin! HISTORIC ATTIRE, LEATHER BOOTS REQUIRED.Skis Must be Carried Up Hill! Their web site can be reached at http://www.plumasskiclub.org/
PLUMAS COUNTY HISTORY
During the later portion of the 19th century, historic towns in Plumas and Sierra counties including LaPorte, Howland, Flat, Port Wine and Johnsville served as popular winter playgrounds for skiers. Only the Johnsville area continues to serve both locals and visitors as a site for the increasingly popular Nordic and telemark style skiing as well as alpine and downhill skiing. In 1863, Gold Mountain, now known as Eureka Peak, above the then thriving mining town of Johnsville had a down-the-hill ski run of 2600 feet. An early day "longboard" ski racer was reported to have reached a speed of 90 mph. According to oral history, the mining ore buckets going up Gold Mountain were used by skiers as possibly the first ski-lift in the world. In 1937, two young Quincy men designed the first real ski lift in Plumas County. Unfortunately, they built the lift on the lower slopes of Mt Washington in an avalanche path. The lift was eventually relocated to the steep slopes behind the Plumas-Eureka StampMill. At one time the present Plumas-Eureka State Park museum served as a ski lodge. In 1950 the Plumas Ski Club was organized as a non-profit organization by skiers from Blairsden, Portola and Quincy. The Ski Club was involved in promoting both downhill and cross country skiing and ran a rope tow near the museum until 1954. In 1955 the Ski Club moved the rope tow to the present site in Eureka Bowl which had historically been used for skiing in the 19th century. Over the years, members of the Ski Club have contributed money and labor to develop the Plumas-Eureka Ski Bowl. As years passed, a warming hut was built and the lifts were expanded to include the present day poma lifts. In 1959, Plumas-Eureka Ski Bowl became part of the state park.
American Ski Manufacturers
Not including the La Porte cabinet shop in California, which manufactured eight to fourteen feet long "Norwegian Snowshoes" for the Sierra snowshoe racers during the mid 1800s, it is generally believed that the first large United States commercial ski factory emerged in St. Paul, Minnesota in 1879. Martin A. Strand, the company's founder, began manufacturing skis believing he could capitalize on the new ski clubs that were beginning to form in Red Wing, Minnesota and Ishpenming, Michigan. He modeled his skis after the popular Norwegian Telemark ski as did most ski manufacturing companies of the period. Strand's skis were carved from a single piece of wood and had wooden edges and bottoms that required wax to prevent snow from sticking. Later models included skis specifically designed for jumping and cross-country racing.The success of the Strand Ski Company established St. Paul as the center for American ski manufacturing, a reputation that was enhanced by the arrival of the Northland Ski Manufacturing Company, Gregg Ski Manufacturing Company, and much later, Hart metal skis. Northland Ski Manufacturing Company, formerly C.A. Lund Company of Hastings, Minnesota .Founded by Norwegian born C.A. Lund, began producing skis, toboggans, snowshoes and hockey sticks shortly after Lund's arrival from Norway. Lund's skis soon gained a widespread reputation for unsurpassed quality making Northland the largest manufacturer of skis in the world. The Strand factory later moved to New Richmond, Wisconsin. Further west, pioneer ski manufacturing companies included Anderson & Thompson Incorporated located in Seattle, Washington and the Groswold Ski Company of Denver, Colorado, founded by the Norwegian born champion ski jumper, Thor Groswold in 1932.
