Nature Notes From Crater Lake
Volume 6, No. 1, April 1933
Crater Lake Annual Snow Carnival and
Ski Tournament
By Ernest A. Rostel
The period from February 19 to 26 in
Klamath County was devoted to the various activities of the Seventh
Annual Snow Carnival and Ski Tournament. The contests were held at the
ski jumping grounds which are located just below the south boundary of
Crater Lake National Park and about six miles north of Fort Klamath.
Various service clubs, the Pelicans - a local community group of Klamath
Falls, and other organizations and individuals assisted the Crater Lake
Ski Club with the program.
A feature of this year's carnival was
the presence and active competition of Scotty Allan of Nome and his dog
team of Alaskan huskies. Scotty and his team added a touch of color to
the festivities which smacked of the rigors and romances of the
northland where he has won coveted riches and many honors. In the dog
team race, the first ever to be included in the club's activities,
Scotty Allan won first honors, followed in second place by Virgil Jones,
Pocatello, Idaho, musher. The team of 15 dogs pulled the "Princess of
the Snows", Miss Doris Noah, elected by Klamath County, on the sledge in
a race against the several competitors in the feature event - the long
thirty-two mile gruelling race to Crater Lake Lodge on the rim of Crater
Lake and return. The dog team came in thirty minutes after Pete Hedburg,
a blond Scandinavian from Modoc Point, winner of the race and the
recipient of the large Sterling Silver loving cup named "The Shadow of
the Klamath". He negotiated the distance in four hours and thirty
minutes. To obtain permanent possession of the cup Hedburg must be the
victor a subsequent year.
Other features of the Carnival included
ski jumping, various ski races, novelty contest and dances. The event
which held second interest to the long thirty-two mile feature contest
was the Trail Breakers race of sixteen miles which starts from the rim
of Crater Lake. Out of the field of twelve entrants Delbert Denton of
Fort Klamath took first place, covering the distance in one hour and
forty-two minutes.
To indicate who "ski minded" the youths
of Klamath County are there is one race named "The Future Defenders of
the Klamath". Contestants for this must be less than ten years of age.
Interest for years in the Crater Lake
Ski Club has centered in the community of Fort Klamath, a village
located near the site of the historic old fort and of that name, where
Federal soldiers were stationed during the days of pioneer development
in southern Oregon. It was from Fort Klamath that troops were dispatched
during the time of the spectacular Modoc War.
This year the Annual Snow Carnival and
Ski Tournament attracted so much interest that contestants and visitors
were brought from many sections of the Pacific Northwest. In all over
four thousand people attended the various features of the Carnival. The
festival was probably the most successful ever held since the
inauguration of the Annual Ski Tournament in 1927. The officials and
personnel of Crater Lake National Park congratulate the Ski Club and
assure them it was a pleasure to extend all possible cooperation.