Thompson carried no blanket and no gun; he claimed he was never lost even in blizzards. !”Contact Mike on mike@mikefinding.com or see more on His mail sack often weighed up to 100 pounds: carrying medicine, emergency supplies, clothing, books, tools, pots and pans...Thompson would “sail down his four-mile course at great speed, cross the ice frozen river, throw our mail toward the house, and glide out of sight, up and over a hill, by the momentum gathered in the three mile descent.” I just had to research him since I am a nordic skier from West Virginia. The Thompsons' only child, Arthur Thomas, was born on February 11, 1867. Never knew it was a real person until a few months ago. I have added the Genoa statue to my growing list of Scandinavian landmarks in California (ok, I stretched it a little).I was at Squaw Valley and saw the statue of Snowshoe Thompson.
I think every moment of skiing delight is … He rested but briefly, and usually only long enough for a crust to form back over the fresh snow, for easier passage.Dan de Quille of the Virigina City Territorial Enterprise later wrote of Thompson: “He flew down the mountainside. By night, the formation of stars guided him.Snowshoe Thompson often rescued prospectors caught in the snow, and would carry them out on the back of his skis as they held their arms around him. But Snowshoe Thompson was more than just a carrier of letters and packages. Always heard of him but had no information. Very interesting person.My great grandparents were Brynjulv Nilsson Midtgardsdeile, born in 1844 and Agat Gunnulvsdatter Rue, born 1848 on the Rue Farm at Tinn-Austbygd, Telemark, Norway. The indomitable spirit of the man continues to inspire even today. A rescue attributed to him was that of a man trapped in his cabin by unusually deep snow. Clarence M. Wooster wrote in a letter that Thompson would “sail down his four–mile course at great speed, cross the ice frozen river, throw our mail toward the house, and glide out of sight, up and over a hill, by the momentum gathered in the three mile descent.”Wooster further explained in his letter how he and some kids once gave into their temptation of turning Snowshoe’s frozen tracks into a sled run. Snowshoe Thompson was not only one of bravest men in Northern California in the 19th century, he also brought sweeping changes to travel in the Sierra Nevada. I have a picture of my dad’s cousin sitting beside the monument for Jon Torsteinson-Rue (Snowshoe Thompson).
The people of the pioneer settlement knew when to expect his arrival. My family has a copy, but I do not know where more copies could get purchased.My grandmother was Gunda Maria Thompson. Disillusioned with gold prospecting, he responded to an article in the “Sacramento Union”, asking for a mail carrier since “people living east of the Sierra Nevada …
Snowshoe kept his pace, expecting them to attack at any moment, and flew right by them.
The Comstock Lode had now been discovered, signaling an end to the California Gold Rush and the glorious 49er era.
3 min read. Snowshoe Thompson is an "I Can Read" book based on the true story of John Thompson, a Scandinavian immigrant who risked life and limb to deliver bags of mail on skis over the treacherous Sierra Nevada mountains during the years 1856-1876.
“Snowshoe” Thompson, carried mail from Placerville, California, to Genoa, Nevada (Utah Territory) for 20 years, twice a month during the winter. His son, Arthur, died two years later of diphtheria, and was buried next to his father at the cemetery in Genoa. His father could hardly wait to take him snowshoeing, and made him a tiny pair of snowshoes for his first birthday. Everyone ran outdoors looking up to the top of Genoa Peak to watch as the tall blond norseman descended, streaks of snow flying in his wake.Thompson always wore a Mackinaw jacket, a wide rimmed hat, and covered his face in charcoal to prevent snow blindness. For a short time, during the building of the Central Pacific Railroad, he carried the mail from Cisco to Meadow Lake. With the small amount he saved, he bought a small ranch at Putah Creek, in the Sacramento Valley.All attempts by postmen to cross the Sierra on woven Canadian and Native American snowshoes had failed until one day in late 1855, Thompson saw an ad in the Sacramento Union: “People Lost to the World; Uncle Sam Needs a Mail Carrier.” He had had personal experience with mail deprivation, having once received long delayed news of a flu epidemic which claimed his mother’s life, and quickly applied for the job.As a young child in the Telemark region of Norway, ski shaped snow-shoes (called ski–skates) were as common as ordinary shoes. In one of his races, he skied 1600 feet in 21 seconds (55 miles per hour), and his greatest jump was known to be 180 feet, in the early 1870s!From 1868 to 1872 Thompson served on the Board of Supervisors of Alpine County, and was a delegate to the Republican State Convention in Sacramento in 1871. For a short while he mined in Kelsey Diggins, Coon Hollow and Georgetown. He constructed irrigation ditches, from the West Fork of the Carson River to his ranch, that are still in service today. He did not ride astride his pole or drag it to one side as was the practice of other snowshoers, but held it horizontally before him after the manner of a tightrope walker.
Statue of Snowshoe Thompson at Boreal. My family is of his married side, (Singleton). Just as it seemed he was going to run into the onlookers midway down the slope, he would spring up again, flying right over them with a wide smile on his face. Besides, he never thinks of himself, but he’d give his last breath for anyone else – even a total stranger.” The few times Thompson had thought of putting an end to his legendary Snowshoe Express, he continued just for the look on the faces of the people living in isolation. Baking was left in the oven and abandoned meals grew cold. Are there markers to indicate the old trail?