HISTORY
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Oh, Snow! Coping with snow in time’s past
With springtime weather just around the corner and the memories of recent snowfall still fresh in everyone’s mind, let us consider how folks in the past dealt with unexpected (and expected) snow. Navigating in the cold world of the 19th century was a test, but adaptable Sierrans always seemed to find a way to get around. For a relative handful, the snow was an intolerable burden, but for many the snow-clad hills and mountains were an avenue to adventure. In fact, quite a few felt that the snow was clearly a positive attribute, providing access into areas that were largely inaccessible during the summer months. A railroad promotional brochure in the early 20th century expressed this attitude well: “The wild, with its brooding silence and mystery, its sadness and laughter; the mountains snow-capped with age-long deposit; the land unequalled in scenic splendor and gorgeous scenery; this will be the supreme treat to those who will visit the Sierra snowfields this winter.” In the 1850s, these adaptable residents adopted Norwegian “snowshoe” techniques. Unlike today’s snowshoes with their webbed platforms, mid-19th century “snowshoes” were precursors of today’s skis. These heavy wooden slats were monstrous compared to current apparatus, however, with lengths often in excess of ten feet. Men, women, and children primarily utilized the snowshoes on flat land for transportation, but occasionally they would fly down the hill. And flying is not an exaggeration. Crouching into aerodynamic positions and not attempting (or unable) to turn, the skiing daredevils would frequently reach speeds estimated to be in excess of eighty miles per hour. The skiers had a single pole, or “stav”, that was thrust in front of them. To stop, the stav was turned, placed between the legs and stuck in the snow. The skiers sat down on the pole, applied pressure and skidded to a stop. Sierra ski competitions are found in the historical record as early as the 1850s. In 1875, a racer was accurately clocked at the breakneck speed of 87.875 mph. Even animals need to traverse the snowpack and devices were developed for them as well. In particular, horses were fitted with iron snowshoes that were strapped to horse hooves with buckles. These heavy shoes were eleven inches square but the animals quickly adapted to them. Snow impacted commerce in the mid –to-late-1800s as well. In Truckee, the snow and ice was not seen as burden, but opportunity. A thriving ice harvesting industry, particularly on Donner Lake, continued for many years. Ice was stored in sawdust –laden icehouses for use in the summertime. Sierra Nevada ice was highly prized for its quality and novelty. One wealthy client ordered ice for delivery to China. Mail had to be delivered as well. After all, the post office slogan included the words “Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.” And two enterprising businessmen found solutions. An expressman for Wells Fargo hitched two Newfoundland/Saint Bernard crossbred dogs to a snow sled that was capable of delivering 250 pounds of cargo. The service was very successful and, as a contemporary observer stated: “Snow was no hindrance to the enterprise” and proved to be “rewarding to himself and very beneficial to the community.” John “Snowshoe” Thompson revolutionized mail delivery in the Sierra. In 1856, Thompson, which may have been a misspelling of his Norwegian name Tostenson, learned that getting a letter through the mountains in wintertime was considered an impossibility. Thompson figured otherwise. He crafted a set of “snowshoes’ that weighed about twenty-five pounds, to do the job. Thompson was laughed at in the beginning, but he was soon admired for his successful efforts through snow drifts dozens of feet high and temperatures that frequently dipped below zero. The trip was ninety miles round trip from Placerville to Nevada’s Carson Valley. It took five days. For many years he was the only mail link between the east coast and this portion of the gold fields. He not only carried letters, but also such items as medicine, food, and even the occasional oddity like crystal balls. Snowshoe Thompson carried little food, drank snow melt, and did not carry blankets. He slept on the open ground using his mail pouch as a pillow and a small fire to keep from being frozen solid. Snowshoe Thompson did this for twenty years. He was one tough son-of-a-gun. And transportation was effected as well. Prior to the building of the railroad in the 1860s, stagecoach traffic crested the summits through the winter. When the drifts were too high for wheeled stages, stage sleighs replaced them. And when conditions were too treacherous for even those contraptions, passengers were holed up in wayside hotels and taverns until the blizzards passed. Commercial wagons also braved the passes, and, sadly, there are too many accounts of horses that died from exposure and the remains of wagonmasters that were not recovered until the thaw. However, despite occasional grumblings over snowy difficulties and the sometimes dreary nature of endless winter, many saw the snow as a delight (or, at least, a short-lived inconvenience) and echoed the 1870 words of poet J.W.Watson: Oh! the snow, the beautiful snow,
Images – file names and captions – Horse snowshoes – des.jpg -- A horse is fitted with snowshoes. Little skiers – des.jpg – Little skiers enjoy the snow. Old skiers – des.jpg. -- Ski racers show the standard 19th century technique. Sierra Dog Express.jpg – A drawing of the Sierra Dog Express, devised by a Wells Fargo expressman during the mid-1800s Snow – Blue Canyon -1870s – 2. jpg – The wagon and stage route over Blue Canyon in the winter of 1875. Snowshoe Thompson.jpg. – A contemporary drawing of Snowshoe Thompson in action. Woman on skis.jpg – Women were frequent users of “snowshoes” in the 19th century. The single pole that was used was called a “stav.” GV 1889 – des.jpg – Main Street in Grass Valley (near Mill Street) during the winter of 1889 |