PHOTO CREDIT: J. Willard Marriott Library Special Collections
Ski jumping medalist Alf Engen, airborne, 1930s. From the Alf K. Engen photograph collection.
The University of Utah’s J. Willard Marriott Library will honor two legacies that helped make Utah a world-class winter sport and recreation destination at the 26th annual Ski Affair, Nov. 1 at 6 p.m. at Little America Hotel.
The Utah Olympic Legacy Foundation will receive the library’s History-Maker Award for maintaining three Olympic legacy venues, Utah Olympic Park in Park City, Utah Olympic Oval in Kearns and Soldier Hollow Nordic Center in Midway.
“Through the strategic direction of the foundation, these unique Olympic venues have become recreational havens for local communities as well as incubators for elite winter athletes,” said Greg Thompson, associate dean for Special Collections. “They also continue to make history by hosting national and international competitions.”
Gary DeSeelhorst will receive the S.J. Quinney Award for his contribution to winter sports in the region. He led Solitude Ski Resort from 1977 until 2015 when he sold it to an affiliate of the Deer Valley Resort Company. Along with his wife Betsy and their sons, he nurtured Solitude through its most formative years and made the European-style ski village a premier destination resort.
DeSeelhorst also spearheaded the effort to build the 17-mile Big Cottonwood Canyon sewer line in 1990, which today serves the Brighton, Solitude and Silver Fork areas.
“We are delighted to be celebrating once again the Utah Ski Archives—the largest archive of it’s type in the United States,” said Barbara Yamada, event chair. “It’s a delight to have both Gary DeSeelhorst and the Legacy Foundation joining us this year.”
The library’s Utah Ski Archives, founded in 1989, house the largest collection of skiing and snow sports history in the country, including the complete records of the 2002 Olympic Winter Games. The archives document the history of ski competition on local, national and international levels, the founding of major resorts, snow safety and avalanche control, ski equipment, ski instruction, freestyle skiing, back-country skiing and virtually every facet of winter sports in Utah and the surrounding region.
Proceeds will further development of the Utah Ski Archives.
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