Washington

The rise of the crimson and gray.

In 1987, Dennis Erickson arrived in Pullman, Washington to take over the struggling Washington State University football program. Under his leadership, the Cougars ended 1988 with a 9-3 record and a victory in the Aloha Bowl. In just two years, the team had transformed, and Erickson’s lifelong friend, Mike Price, took over in 1989 to build on that legacy. By the end of Price’s tenure, WSU had appeared in five bowl games including two Rose Bowls, eclipsing the four bowl games in the entire program’s history. The coaches also produced a number of high-profile NFL quarterbacks, including Drew Bledsoe and Ryan Leaf.

Join author Ben Donahue as he explores how the Washington State University Cougars went from doormats to perpetual contenders.

Relive the exciting early days of skiing when Snoqualmie Pass was the epicenter of the sport. Ski jumping tournaments attracted world-class competitors to Cle Elum, Beaver Lake on the Summit and the Milwaukee Ski Bowl. The Mountaineers' twenty-mile race from Snoqualmie to Stampede Pass, dubbed "the world's longest and hardest race," was a pinnacle of cross-country skiing. Alpine skiing began in private ski clubs and expanded in 1934 with the country's first municipal ski area, known as the Seattle Municipal Ski Park. And the sport peaked when the Milwaukee Ski Bowl at Hyak opened in 1938. With train access, a modern ski lodge, an overhead cable lift and free ski lessons from the Seattle Times, the Ski Bowl revolutionized local skiing. Lawyer and local ski historian John W. Lundin follows the historic tracks through the genesis of American skiing.

"Wherever two or three Norwegians gathered together, they constructed a jump and held competitions.'? -Harold "Cork'? Anson

Ski jumping, once Washington's most popular winter sport, was introduced by Norwegian immigrants in the early twentieth century. It began at Spokane's Browne's Mountain and Seattle's Queen Anne Hill, then moved to midsummer tournaments on Mount Rainier in 1917 and expanded statewide as new ski clubs formed. Washington tournaments attracted the world's best jumpers--Birger and Sigurd Ruud, Alf Engen, Sigurd Ulland and Reidar Andersen, among others. In 1941, Torger Tokle set two national distance records here in just three weeks. Regional ski areas hosted national and international championships as well as Olympic tryouts, entertaining spectators until Leavenworth's last tournament in 1978.

Lawyer, historian and award-winning author John W. Lundin recreates the excitement of this nearly forgotten ski jumping heritage.