Old SC Seat!


Historic SMS Films

Mark Goebel



Back in the early 1960's, former SMS member Walt Davie (now on the Baldy Hut Committee) carried a movie camera and filmed SMS ski tours to Pear Lake, San Gorgonio, and the eastern Sierra. That color footage remained in the can for ten years until John Wedberg and Pete White put the pieces together and created a 34 minute silent film, titled White Horizons. It was shown at a few Section meetings, and I last recall seeing it at the SMS/RCS 50th Anniversary celebration at Harwood in 1984. In 1994 I had the idea of transferring the film to video to preserve and make it more available for viewing.

When I received the 16mm film from Walt, also in the box were some small spools of film marked "Walter Mosauer skiing in San Antonio Canyon, 1932." Was I ever surprised and excited! What a find! Dr. Mosauer was considered the father of alpine skiing in Southern California, and also was the Section's founder. With a good deal of professional help and advice from SMS member Pete Matulavich through out this project, both films were first transferred to a master tape by a post production company in Hollywood. In 1997 I asked Walt Davie to narrate White Horizons, and Glen Dawson to narrate the Mosauer film in which he also appears. This was accomplished again with Pete's help, as well as adding background music and opening titles to complete the video project. In 2007 the films are available again, thanks to Dave Sholle who updated the video format to DVD.

Viewers will enjoy seeing the styles and equipment of the 1960s, with a lot of good action scenes in White Horizons, and the only known film of Walter Mosauer (8 minutes) as he demonstrates skiing to his students.

To purchase a DVD copy, send a check for $22 (shipping included), payable to SMS, to Mark Goebel, 9522 Innsbruck Drive, Huntington Beach, CA 92646. For additional information, contact Mark at goebel.mj@verizon.net


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