FWSA Awards

Hans Georg came from the St. Moritz Ski School in Switzerland to the US in 1936 to become a pioneer ski tracker, rope tow operator and ski instructor. Hans evidentually made his way to Soda Springs to teach skiing. In 1939, Hans became the head of the Eastern Sierra Ski Club School at the “Ski Ranch” near the McGee Creek Lodge.

In 1940, Lloyd Nicoll built a tow at Observation Point, on the east side of Mammoth along the road to Twin Lakes. The next year, he sold it to Nyle Smith who then sold it to Hans in 1946 after Hans returned from serving in the 10th Mountain Division during WWII as a ski instructor and leader in the Italian campaign.

In 1945, Dave McCoy installed two 600’ tows at McGee Creek that Hans used for his ski school. By 1946, Hans and Dave were the only tow operators in the Mammoth area. In 1948, Hans installed three tows in Mammoth— in the vicinity of where Chair 15 is today. Although the tows remained until 1957, when the lifts begun to experience mechanical problems, Hans abandoned them and taught skiing at Dave’s lifts.

Hans taught thousands to ski, using the best of the Reverse Shoulder, Arlberg and French techniques. In 1940 and 1946, Hans attempted to develop a summer ski school at the 12,500-foot level eastern side of Mt. Whitney. Often, Hans was called to Hollywood to direct ski sequences. He wrote many books on skiing, including “Modern Ski Systems,” “Reverse Shoulder Technique,” and “Simplified Skiing.”