WASHINGTON STATE SKI & SNOWBOARD MUSEUM – SNOQUALMIE PASS, WASHINGTON
Visit www.wsssm.org for more info.
John W. Lundin was one of the founders of the Washington State Ski & Snowboard Museum (WSSSM) which opened on Snoqualmie Pass in October 2015, and is a member of its Board of Directors. The museum is located 46 miles east of Seattle off of I-90, next to the Snoqualmie Summit Ski Area (Snoqualmie West). The museum is supported by Washington’s ski industry, ski areas and long time skiers. Its website, WSSSM.org, describes the exhibits in detail. Admission to the museum is free.
WSSSM is a high tech “story-telling” museum with artifact displays supplementing the stories. It has interactive exhibits that utilize advances in electronic technology, which is the trend among modern museums. A number of artifacts relating to the history of snow sports in Washington are on display, including an operating rope tow.
The museum has displays on Washington Snow Sport Venues, Current Washington Manufacturers, Ski Mountaineering, Nordic Traditions (ski jumping and cross-country), Alpine Traditions (history of ski gear, ski tows and evolution of skiing in Washington). There are special exhibits on Otto Lang, the famous Austrian ski instructor who introduced the Arlberg technique of skiing in his ski schools at Mt. Rainier and Baker in 1938, and Bob Cram, whose ski cartoons entertained Northwesterners for decades. There is a large exhibit on the 39 Washington Olympians (15 of them medalists) who participated in 16 Winter Olympic Games since 1936. A secure display cabinet includes one of Phil Mahre’s World Cup trophies (on loan), Debbie Armstrong’s Olympic gold medal (on loan), copies of the Olympic medals won by other Washington skiers, various current items from 2010 and 2014 Olympian, Patrick Deneen, and miscellaneous memorabilia from our 39 Washington Olympians. There are film clips of the modern Olympians winning their events.
