HISTORIC OLYMPIC TRAILS TO REOPEN

The first gold medalist of the 1960 Winter Olympics, Sweden's Sixteen Jernberg, didn't win his event within the confines of host resort Squaw Valley. Of the twenty-seven Olympic events, all but the nordic competitions, took place within the mountain hollow. The Olympic trail system was moved outside the high alpine valley after its original site was encroached upon by other Olympic facilities. The 31-year-old ski salesman Jernberg crossed the finish line of the 30-kilometer cross country competition 17 miles away along Lake Tahoe's West Shore near Chamber's Lodge. There at the finish, an overflowing crowd of spectators filled the three thousand seat Olympic Ski Stadium in McKinney Creek Valley, forcing some fanatical fans to shinny up trees to catch a glimpse of the greatest Nordic skiers in the world.

For ten more days enthusiastic crowds delighted in the drama of Olympic cross country competition. Georg Thoma, a German mailman, captured the Nordic Combined (15-kilometer cross country and jumping). Finland's Kalevi Hamalainen, a border guard who patrolled his post back home on skis, finished first in the grueling 50-kilometer cross country ski marathon. Russian women captured the first four places of the Women¹s 10-km.Ebullient Finns, shouting "Hyva, hyva," meaning "good,good" and "go, go," cheered 35-year-old national hero Viekko Hakulinen to victory during his anchor leg of the Men's 40-km Relay.

"The Nordic venue of the 1960 Squaw Valley Olympics was pivotal in shaping the future of the sport," explains David Antonucci, an environmental engineer and West Shore resident whose home borders some of the original trails. "It was the first actual cross country ski area in the United States. It was the first time ever an area was developed primarily for cross country."

Other Olympic Nordic firsts at those1960 games included the use of electric timing, color coding of race courses, grooming of Nordic trails with the first "tiller", and the first use of photo finishes. The XIII Winter Olympics were also the birthplace for Biathlon ( won by Klaus Lestander of Sweden) and the Ladies 10-km (won by Russia¹s Marija Gusakova). The Squaw Valley Olympics also marked the first time the United States competed with a full contingent of skiers in all events. The 17th place finish by the United States' Andrew Miller remained the best U.S. Olympic finish ever until Bill Koch took a silver medal in the 30-km at the 1976 Innsbruck Winter Games.

After the conclusion of the XIII Winter Games, however, because of a conditional agreement with then private land owners, the Olympic developers were obligated to go back and restore the 12,000-acre site to its natural state. Buildings were dismantled. The four Biathlon ranges were buried and trail berms bulldozed. Now, after 40 years of anonymity, the historic trails are being exhumed and prepared for public recreation.

"History was made here and it was almost lost. Now people will be able to ski the same trails that Olympians raced over," explains Antonucci, who for the last ten years has researched and pursued the restoration project. "There is tremendous skiing with excellent views of the lake and nice trails through the forest."

Antonucci, a 25-year resident of Lake Tahoe, has formed a Trail Restoration Committee to draw a master plan and direct funding, marketing. A non-profit organization will manage the proposed trail system that will include a museum, two trail heads, monument site, signage and hut system, including one overnight trail accommodation.

"There's 65 kilometers of diagonal stride track we hope to eventually open," says Antonucci. "Most of the work deals with simple trail clearing - trimming bushes, raking and leveling, removing downed trees, and compacting the trail. We don't anticipate any earth moving."

Although the master plan is still in need of completion for final approval from the four different government agencies, and the Homewood Mountain Resort, that now all own the property, Antonucci is optimistic about the environmental restoration project. He hopes to open 6 kilometers of demonstration track this winter. He is also in the process of organizing a 1960 U.S. Nordic Team reunion planned for February of 2001.

"We've had tremendous vocal and monetary support from the North Lake Tahoe Resort Association, the West Shore Homeowners' Association and the California Conservation Corps," says Antonucci. "There's no shortage of money to build it. Most problems deal with red tape."