Plumas Club

By: Nick Greece

By KAVU

April 5^th, 2022

Three times a year, a colorful cast of mountain enthusiasts get together to see who is the fastest on two of the biggest planks you’ll ever see.

Skis must be over Skis must be 9-16' or longer, made of wood, and only authentic "Dope" wax allowed (modern ski wax is banned). Racers must wear 1860's style attire and leather boots and not take themselves too seriously.

With three World Championships each year, there are a lot of World Champions in every race!

These folks, dressed in period garb, exemplify the KAVU spirit of good times, friendly competition, keeping true to mountain tradition, and plenty of beer drinking!

The Plumas Ski Club is what ski clubs should be about. They’re a non-profit that has managed and operated the Plumas Eureka Ski Bowl since the 1950's. Although the area lifts have not been in operation for the past several years, the focus of the ski club is to offer community skiing while maintaining and promoting the historic background of our ski area. Also, they use these races to raise funds for the continued maintenance and eventual re-opening of the Johnsville Historic Ski Bowl.

After attending the race, I had to learn more and their website offers insight in spades.

From the Plumas Ski Club’s page: "Norway skates," or skis, were first introduced to the mining camps in 1853. Due to the remoteness and altitude of the Plumas and Sierra county camps, skis were the perfect vehicle for winter transportation. Sporting fellows soon began racing and the following year Hugh "Buckskin" Porter began turning out a lengthened and improved version at his Saw Pit Flat workshop.

In 1861, the first organized ski club races were held at Onion Valley, between Quincy and La Porte, giving birth to the sport of downhill ski racing in the western hemisphere.

For the next twelve years, races were held between various camps such as Onion Valley, Saw Pit, La Porte, Howland Flat, Port Wine and Gibsonville. In late 1866, the Alturas Snowshoe Club was formed at La Porte to reinvigorate and to bring about a modicum of respectability to the sport. In February, 1867, they held their first formal race and It wasn't until ten years later that a similar ski meet was held in Norway. For the next twenty years or so, organized meets with fifty or more participants, 500 spectators and purses of $500 to $1000 were held. The racers, representing their towns, made the winter circuit from La Porte, Johnsville, Jamison City, Poker Flat, Sierra City, Monte Cristo and smaller camps. Although a strong start is definitely a plus in this style of racing, the wax or "dope" applied to the base is equally or more important. The recipes to create these substances were closely guarded by the dopemaker, and even today, though the recipes have been handed down, the cooking times were not. Materials used in the brewing of a batch of dope included spermaceti, a waxy substance from the brow of the sperm whale, oil of cedar, Venice turpentine, oil of tar, wintergreen, soapstone, balsam of fir, pine pitch, and in one instance, melted Edison cylindrical records! The speeds the dope produced led to slogans such as "Sierra Lightning" and "Dope is King!"

Every year the Plumas Ski Club holds clinics where participants can make their own skis to race on for the upcoming season. I for one am strongly considering making a run for a championship! To learn more about this epic bunch of mountain merry makers or to donate to the cause go to https://plumasskiclub.org/web/index.php/longboard-races.