BY KAREN BOSSICK

Part-time Sun Valley resident John Lundin has been honored with the prestigious Skade Award for his recently published book “Early Skiing on Snoqualmie Pass.”

The international Ski History Association (ISHA) honored the book by the Seattle lawyer and historian as the outstanding work of regional ski history for 2017. The award was given to Lundin at the organization’s annual meeting at Squaw Valley, Calif.

Lundin wrote the book in conjunction with the opening of the Washington State Ski & Snowboard Museum, which opened on Snoqualmie Pass in October 2015. Profits from the book support the museum, which has attracted more than 6,000 visitors a year since its opening.

Lundin’s book traces the history of skiing on Snoqualmie Pass, while providing tidbits about skiing in Washington and Sun Valley where many Washington State residents have long come to play.

It looks at the early decades when ski jumping was the most popular form of the sport and features the Mountaineers’ 20-mile race from Snoqualmie to Stampede Pass, which was the pinnacle of cross-country skiing in its day. And, of course, it talks at length about the country’s first municipal ski area, which was opened by the Seattle Park Department at Snoqualmie Summit.

The book also discusses the contributions of Washington State to the Winter Olympics from the tryouts for the 1936 Winter Olympics at Garmisch, Germany, which was held on Mt. Rainier. And the Washington native-turned Sun Valley resident Gretchen Fraser, who became the first U.S. skier to earn an Olympic medal when she struck gold and silver in the 1948 Olympics at St. Moritz, Switzerland.

The ISHA is a nonprofit organization founded to preserve and advance the knowledge of ski history. Since 1993 it has honored creative works of ski history, giving awards to authors, journalists, filmmakers and academicians.