Badger Pass - Yosemite

1940. Large silver gelatin photograph [33 cm x 24 cm] / [13" x 9.5"] on a tan mount. Titled, signed, and dated in pencil on the mount beneath the image. Minor age toning to mount with a few small bumps and chips. Image has strong contrasts. California Camera Club label on the back of the mount. Nice view of skiers coming down the hill and others milling about at the base at Yosemite National Park's Badger Pass Ski Area. Two years after the completion of the Wawona Tunnel, Badger Pass Ski area opened in 1935. In its inaugural season, nearly 25,000 people skied down its slopes. Before the advent of a chairlift, the ski area hosted a lift called the "Upski." The contraption earned nicknames like the "Queen Mary" or "Big Bertha." This was due to a large sled attached to a cable that slid up and down the mountain carrying six people at a time. The popularity continued to blossom. In 1936, the greatest skiers visited its slopes to practice for the Olympics, and by the 1940's, over 70,000 visitors would come annually.