Snowshoe Thompson

Snowshoe Thompson, born John Tostensen at Tinn in Telemark, Norway on April 30, 1827, was probably the first skier of the West and for 20 years served as the winter lifeline between the new State of California and the East, keeping a regular mail schedule between Placerville, California, and Genoa, Nevada, and other isolated hamlets of the Mother Lode Country. Mail, news of the world, medicine, supplies, and equipment arrived on his shoulders as he crossed great snowdrifts through raging winter storms with packs of up to 100 pounds. His daring rescues, errands of mercy, and many kindnesses made him a legend in his own time. He died on May 15, 1876, at the age of 49, and rests in the cemetery at Genoa, Nevada, beside his wife and son, with a simple headstone engraved with a pair of skis marking his grave.

California · United States