OLYMPIC VALLEY, Calif. — In February 1960, the snowy mountains in the Tahoe National Forest filled with spectators. The 8th Olympic Winter Games were underway and a brand-new event was added to the lineup called the Biathlon.
If you are not familiar with the history of the Biathlon or the sport itself, author and historian David Antonucci will gladly explain. He might even invite you to ski the historic Olympic cross-country trail at Sugar Pine Point State Park.
“This trail is the birthplace of Biathlon,” said Antonucci. “It was 20 kilometers [12.4 miles] interspersed with four shooting ranges.”
A biathlon combines cross-country skiing and rifle shooting. Competitors race around a course shooting at a series of targets. Every missed shot adds two minutes to his running time.
“There was lots of media attention to it. People were excited but didn’t know what to expect,” said Antonucci.
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Antonucci wrote the book Snowball’s Chance, a historic chronicle of the 1960 Olympics. He says the biathlon was so new a cross-country trail and shooting range had to be built specifically for it.
“Unfortunately, these ranges were far from the spectator area and the public was not allowed in the firearm area because of the danger,” said Antonucci.
Only a few judges and TV crews witnessed the first Olympic biathlon and when the games were over, much of the cross-country and biathlon course had to be removed.
“All the trails and infrastructure was on private land, so the land owners required the Olympics to remove everything,” said Antonucci.
State Parks eventually bought land where the historic Olympic Biathlon trail used to be and called it Sugar Pine Point but didn’t know where the tail was.
“Yes, it was lost until about 1998 when I quote, unquote re-discovered it,” said Antonucci.
Antonucci was able to track down some historic maps of the biathlon and cross-country course and with the help of the Sierra State Parks foundation, the old trail was restored. Now every year the Olympic trail is groomed for visitors to experience completely free.
ANOTHER SKI ADVENTURE ON THE BACKROADS: Travel through tunnels and over bridges on this iconic Lassen County trail.