Page 11 - Winter Park 75 Years

INTRODUCTION
On December
to fame as the “Father of Skiing in Colorado,” had just struck up a lifelong friendship with the man who would go on to become the “Father of Winter Park.”
Previous to the perfect snowstorm that converged on the Mile High City, Karl Howelson had been making headlines promoting his beloved sport of snow-ski.
A stonemason by trade, the immigrant from Norway first caught the attention of the masses when he demonstrated ski jumping when he travelled with
the Barnum and Bailey Circus in 1907, as the “Flying Norwegian.” In 1909, Howelson moved to Denver to ply his trade cutting stone, all the while taking time to travel into the nearby Rockies in search of the perfect snow to ski. He would find what he was looking for in 1911 at Hot Sulphur Springs, Colorado. On December 30, 1911, Howelson staged a ski jump exhibition at the Hot Sulphur Springs Winter Sports Carnival, which was the first of its kind held west of the Mississippi River. The event and Howelson changed Colorado’s high country forever.
4, 1913, dark skies covered Denver, Colorado. Little did the
citizens of the Rocky Mountain Metropolis know that this storm would be recorded in history books. As the snow fell, trains, autos, trolleys, and buggies came to
a standstill. Thirty-six inches blanketed the Queen City of the Plains before the clouds moved on. Citizens of Denver were stranded as transportation was halted, with one lone exception. Karl Howelson, known as the “Flying Norwegian,” easily glided up and down the city streets. Spectators gathered to watch him gracefully slide on top of the deep snow on his skis. Most notable among the awestruck crowd was socialite George Cranmer. Cranmer seized the moment and struck up a conversation with Howelson, asking the accomplished snow rider to teach him to ski. Little could the two men, let alone the surrounding spectators, have realized the history made at that moment in the snowstorm of all snowstorms. Karl Howelson, who was already rising
INTRODUCTION 9