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Carson White — A Skier's Skier

Vi White at Donner Ski Ranch in 1947  (click for larger version)

Carson and Vi hit it off immediately and soon they were skiing together every chance they had. But one year later, Pearl Harbor was bombed and the nation was quickly embroiled in the turmoil of World War II. Carson joined the U.S. Navy in 1941; he initially worked in the Oakland recruiting office while Vi taught swimming to nurses for the Red Cross. In 1942, before Carson was reassigned overseas to the Forward Area of the Central Pacific as Admiral Hoover's Yeoman, the couple married.

The following year Charlie was born, but their new child didn't slow the pace of this determined skiing couple. After the war ended and over the next 10 years, the White's made several hundred ski trips to the mountains, until 1952 when they decided to move to Donner Lake. Close to the ski resorts they loved so much, they lived at Donner Lake for the next 42 years. Over the course of his lifetime, Carson White became one of the prime promoters of skiing in California and during his career was probably the state's best-known ski journalist.

Carson White, Echo Summit, Feb. 1952  (click for larger version)

In 1937, Carson collaborated with his friend Wayne Poulsen (future founder of Squaw Valley) to survey and produce a feasibility study for locating and developing one of the West's first major ski areas, Sugar Bowl on Donner Summit. During the winter months there was virtually no way to travel to the summit area other than by railroad, so the first Northern Sierra ski resorts would naturally have to be located near the tracks. Sugar Bowl was opened in 1939 by John Wiley and Hannes Schroll. 

Carson White was what today we call a "hard-core skier." He didn't have much money (his dad died when Carson was only 14 years old), but he more than made up for it with desire. To get his runs, he would sleep in a friend's car, brown bag his lunch, and scrounge for equipment, clothes and transportation. When the price of a lift ticket was beyond reach, he hiked the mountain to the top. A die-hard skier, Carson was undaunted by his lack of money. He often hitchhiked to the races where he sometimes climbed up the ski course to save the expense of the $1.50 ticket.

Vi White ski racing at Donner Ski Ranch in 1947  (click for larger version)

After the war, Carson and Vi White were early members of the Oakland Ski Club (OSC). They spent many weekends and vacation days helping to raise funds and joining other club members in volunteering their time building the club's new ski lodge near Donner Pass. The Oakland Ski Club's original rented "dorm building" in Colfax was too far from the Donner Summit ski resorts.

Carson was elected president of the OSC in 1946. As the club's president and editor of the OSC newsletter "UPSKI," Carson helped stage a California Ski Association Regional race at Donner Ski Ranch, where future ski film producer Warren Miller placed second. Other than the years during WWII when White was serving in the U.S. Navy, Carson raced for the Southern Pacific RR Ski Club and Oakland Ski Club until the early 1950s.

As president of the OSC, Carson organized 24 local ski clubs into the influential Bay Area Ski Federation and served as chairman for three years. He promoted recreational ski races, including the creation of the Dual Slalom head-to-head race, which brought a lot of fun and excitement to the sport and increased media coverage. As the Bay Area Ski Patrol Leader, White introduced a custom-designed, ski -oriented FIRST AID program that was later approved and adopted by Minot Dole, founder of the National Ski Patrol.

Nic Fiore (Badger Pass), Vi & Carson White, Bill Klein (Sugar Bowl). Notable ski industry personalities.  (click for larger version)

As Winter Sports Editor for the San Francisco Examiner from 1955-1965, White personally covered more events than any other ski writer in Northern California. To popularize winter sports, he helped sponsor regional and statewide competitions. He also organized and led several professional journalism groups, including the Northern California and Nevada Winter Sports Writers Association and the U. S. Ski Writers Association. In the early 1960s, White was elected first president of the North American Snowsports Journalists Association (NASJA), a post he served for three consecutive years.

In 1960 White covered the 1960 Winter Olympics at Squaw Valley, and represented the S.F. Examiner at the 1962 World Alpine Championships at Chamonix, France, and the 1964 Innsbruck Olympics. He later became the one-man public relations staff for Squaw Valley from 1965 to 1967. His reputation as a highly principled journalist recommended him to the International Association of Ski Journalists, which elected him vice president and a board director.

Don Thompson & Carson White celebrate skiing record of 25,000 vertical feet in 1984  (click for larger version)

The Whites were not only dedicated and active ski industry boosters; they were also accomplished skiers who over their lifetime ventured to resorts throughout the country and around the world. They were friends with a long list of legendary ski icons, many of whom are now gone. The spotlight shines on Carson, but Vi had her own ski columns for the Walnut Creek Sun and Contra Costa Times during the 1950s. She also held posts with professional organizations like the Winter Sports Writer's Association of Northern California and Nevada. Vi White, now 88 years old, only recently retired her skis.

Carson & Vi White in 1991  (click for larger version)

In 1990, the North American Snowsports Journalists Association nominated White for the U.S. Ski Hall of Fame, and in 1995, the association renamed its most prestigious annual writing award for him. It is now called the "Carson White Golden Quill Award." In 2004, Vi White traveled to the Mammoth Mountain Ski Resort to accept for Carson the International Skiing History Association's prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award.