Photo by Cheryl Soshnik Winter Nominations Banquet and Social January 8, 2011 12
Brighton was named after a family that emigrated from Scotland to Salt Lake City. They homesteaded an 80- acre plot at Brighton in 1871. The family consisted of William Stuart Brighton, his wife, Catherine, and their children, Dan and Will. One of the lakes above Brighton was named after Catherine who enjoyed fishing. She was a great cook and soon travelers discovered that Brighton was a great place to get a meal. Lake Catherine Catherine always had a supply of mutton, beef, and fresh trout that she caught herself, as well as butter, buttermilk and biscuits. The family soon opened a large store and later built and operated the Brighton Hotel. This was a small hotel with seven bedrooms that were used by some of the most prominent people who lived in Salt Lake City. It would later become a popular place to stay in the canyon. The summer after the completion of the Brighton Hotel, Catherine had a sudden heart attack and died on July 19, 1894. William Stuart Brighton carried on with the hotel for the remainder of the season. Brighton had been a popular summer destination when Salt Lake City residents came to get out of the city heat but they usually didn’t stay for the snowy winters. In the late 1800s, Dan and Will Brighton made crude skis so they could move around on the snow. About 40 years later, in the 1920s, the Wasatch Mountain Club began skiing at Brighton because it had a large amount of snow. But there were no lifts in those days. Instead, groups would travel to Park City, climb up over the ridge tops just as the early travelers had done, and ski down into Brighton where they would spend a few days skiing, eating, drinking, dancing, and playing bridge. The shortest route was a one-day trip that went through Brighton. Otherwise, it took about three days to go from Park City down the canyon to Salt Lake City to then up another canyon to Alta. Some of the routes from Park City to Brighton became so popular that the Wasatch Mountain Club marked them with signposts displaying the club’s insignia. In the early years, lifts were all privately owned. In 1936, the club built the first rope tow at Brighton. The Alpine Ski Club built a J-bar, but it was a complicated contraption that didn’t work very well. In 1938, K. Smith, an avid skier with the Wasatch Mountain Club, built a 1,440-foot long T-bar lift that was very successful. Smith then traveled to Sun Valley in Idaho to learn about newly invented chair lifts. This made skiing much more accessible. Several organizations began to promote skiing in the Wasatch Mountains. Ski resort activity didn’t take off until the 1940’s. Resorts in Salt Lake City, Ogden, and Park City soon opened. Downhill, slalom, and combined ski championships were held at these resorts. The Wasatch Mountains became well known for ski racing. (From summitpost.org) 13
- Page 1 and 2: The Rambler March, 2011 The Monthly
- Page 3 and 4: IN THIS ISSUE: President's Message.
- Page 5 and 6: A LITTLE ABOUT US . . . The Wasatch
- Page 7 and 8: GIFTING TO THE WMC FOUNDATION By no
- Page 9 and 10: Boating Message Director: Don Urriz
- Page 11: Knick Knickerbocker's moonlight sno
- Page 15 and 16: If you’re a new member . . . depe
- Page 17 and 18: L-R: Henry, Erin, Carrie, Liz, Tere
- Page 19 and 20: 1/2/11 Shane, Jaq, Deirdra, Mohamed
- Page 21 and 22: vince desimone's January 4, 2011 sn
- Page 23 and 24: Photos by Jay Kirsch The group cons
- Page 25 and 26: This photograph from the early part
- Page 27 and 28: Backcountry Volunteers & Trail Main
- Page 29 and 30: Historical note (from Liz Cordova):
- Page 31 and 32: vince desimone's round valley snows
- Page 33 and 34: Rick coming up to the summit from t
- Page 35 and 36: Nancy, Mike B., Dianne, Mike N., To
- Page 37 and 38: Just a few words about Norm . . . C
- Page 39 and 40: WASATCH MOUNTAIN CLUB ACTIVITIES On
- Page 41 and 42: Mar 3 Thu Mar 3 Thu - Mar 9 Wed Mar
- Page 43 and 44: Mar 6 Sun Mar 6 Sun Mar 6 Sun Snows
- Page 45 and 46: Mar 11 Fri - Mar 14 Mon Mar 11 Fri
- Page 47 and 48: Mar 13 Sun Road Bike: Millcreek To
- Page 49 and 50: Mar 17 Thu Mar 18 Fri - Mar 20 Sun
- Page 51 and 52: Mar 20 Sun Mar 20 Sun Snowshoe Orga
- Page 53 and 54: Mar 25 Fri - Mar 27 Sun Introductio
- Page 55 and 56: Mar 27 Sun Mar 29 Tue Mar 29 Tue Sn
- Page 57 and 58: Apr 7 Thu Apr 7 Thu - Apr 10 Sun Ap
- Page 59 and 60: May 20 Fri Jun 5 Sun - Jun 10 Fri S
- Page 61 and 62: WASATCH MOUNTAIN CLUB (WMC) MEMBERS
- Page 63 and 64:
REI COMMUNITY CALENDAR ANNOUNCEMENT