Dave Laster- Skis, Shovels, and Stories

Welcome Dave Laster, skier and mountaineer, to the Readings Gallery for his new book, Skis, Shovels, and Stories: Patrolling Sun Valley in the 1960's!

Skis, Shovels, and Stories is an inside look at the Sun Valley ski patrol of the early 1960s, including its culture and duties and its place in the permissive setting of Sun Valley at the end of the railroad ownership era. Original photos by the author of the patrol at work packing slopes, handling accidents, preparing racecourses, and confronting avalanche threats. And, finally, gripping tales of seemingly bizarre events that actually happened. Dave Laster's book is a collection of well-told stories about a golden era of skiing in sun drenched Sun Valley.

Dave Laster has been skiing and mountaineering in the Northwest for over 70 years. His ski patrol adventures in 1960s Sun Valley preceeded 25 years of teaching high school in Italy and Germany, before his return to Bellingham in 1994. A graduate of Western Washington College, his early skiing adventures were at a much smaller Mount Baker. Since returning, his interests have included singing with the Kulshan Chorus for 23 years, watching racing at the Skagit Speedway, and showing his 1932 hot rod—the car he drove in high school.

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