New Hero of Snowshoeing You Don’t Know—or Why—Yet

In the most unlikely source of vital snowshoeing news, the Wall Street Journal, comes a game changing submission printed in the Letters to the Editor, Saturday-Sunday November 19-20, 2011 edition from whom? Let’s just call him Mr. Graham for the moment.

His is a response to an op-ed piece by Eliot Cohen titled “America’s Distinctive Way of War.” With vivid detection, Mr. Graham points out in the famous painting of Frederic Remington accompanying the article, the Rogers printNortheast Rogers’ Rangers battling while wearing snowshoes. The Rangers, a kind of SEAL Team 6 of the mid-1750s, learned the value of snowshoes, crude by modern times but effective since others didn’t have them, a theme that lives yet to this day in protecting our safety as a country.

I’ll leave it to you to explore deeper into the fascinating history of Major Robert Roger and his band of renowns, not with musical instruments but with clever ingenuity and daring. Graham then details in his letter the Fremont expedition of 1844 and how they employed snowshoes, constructed with methods shared by the Indians, to continue their foray further into the Rockies. They finally arrived at Lake Tahoe as we now know it.

Climbing at the Racing Gnome

They stayed in tents, however, since they didn’t have their reservations at the Montbleu Resort Casino situated on the lake’s shore; nor did they have a credit card to register anyway. Sadly, they were too early by a century or so for Peter Fain’s The Racing Gnome Snowshoe Run now held in the area, missing that particular adventure into climbing misery, misery snowshoers in a flaky, demented way call fun and adventure.
If it doesn’t involve the word “grueling,” can it really be a snowshoe race?

The Air Force, Marine, and Army competitors at the 2011 Championships

Return from the mind’s wandering around the Gnomes of snow; catch up now with Graham who then details in his letter the soldiers of the 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, NY, winning medals at the 2010 USSSA championships near Syracuse. The military personnel at that event were Robert Olsen, Thomas Scott, Miguel Contreras, and Scott Sperling. His letter didn’t have the space to include the 2011 U.S. Military participants at the Cable, WI, USSSA Championships. There the Army’s John Dyck, USAF’s Cheryl Moore, and Marine Lisa Beck wowed everyone with their commitment and fortitude.

Graham concludes, “Snowshoe racing is probably the fastest growing winter sport. Yet, sadly, snowshoe racing is not a winter Olympic sport. Americans should demand that snowshoe racing become a winter sport simply because it is a sport in all countries with snow. As an added incentive, Americans should demand Olympic recognition because it is an All-American sport, and we should memorialize the contribution of ‘the Great Warpath’ to our liberty and national security.”

In his eloquent words, Mr. Seldon B. Graham, Jr., Austin, Texas, where snow there more often resembles silicon hills, a town that celebrates, yes, celebrates the eclectic giving snowshoers as a group that reason right now to move there . . . Graham masterly ties in the history of the U.S. in snowshoeing, a mini-version of USSSA’s Mark Elmore’s new book, “The History of Snowshoe Racing Around the World,” (see bit.ly/scuWeh) and argues effectively for Olympic participation for the sport.

Lambert (r) just after finishing, making 2011 National Team with teammate and pal, Cheryl Paulson, CO

That alone makes Graham a candidate for Snowshoe Person of the Year. Where he really excels, though, is raising a champion snowshoer, a multi-year member of the USSSA National Snowshoe Team, a key in the organization of USSSA National Championship snowshoe racing, a daughter some refer to as the “Miss Texas”  of snowshoeing, Laurie Graham Lambert. She told me, “My father is the most honorable and tenacious person I have ever known.  He doesn’t have a mediocre fiber in his entire being.”

When snowshoeing becomes an Olympic sport, there will be many pieces and steps taken in retrospect over the decades to achieve that recognition and honor. Graham’s letter will be remembered as a fulcrum in the balance tipping to success. In the heart of hearts during this Thanksgiving week, snowshoers can recognize the work taken for us to enjoy the wonderful sport whether racing like a banshee’ or out for a comfortable trek seeking vista views.

At the moment, for raising our collective snowshoeing spirit and visibility with his letter, here is thanks to Mr. Seldon B. Graham, Jr. for the expressive surprise lying ever so gently at the bottom of a page in the weekend Wall Street Journal; turns out to be a perfect beginning to a Happy and Blessed Thanksgiving week in America.

Photo credit: www.SnowshoeRunner.com  featuring all things trail (snow and dirt) in the Lake Tahoe area.

Photo credit: NY State Military Museum: http://dmna.state.ny.us/historic/mil-hist.htm

Photo credits and USSSA Info: www.snowshoeracing.com

Write phillipgary@snowshoemag.com
Visit www.ultrasuperior.com
Phillip’s authors page www.amzn.to/hLfjP9

This entry was posted in Features, Snowshoe Racing by Phillip Gary Smith. Bookmark the permalink.

About Phillip Gary Smith

Phillip Gary Smith, Senior Editor, published "The 300-Mile Man" about Roberto Marron's historic doubling of the Tuscobia 150 mile endurance snow run. He publishes "iHarmonizing Competition" on various forms of competition, including drag racing, his favorite motorsport. Earlier, he wrote "HARMONIZING: Keys to Living in the Song of Life" as a manual for life with chapters such as Winning by Losing, Can God Pay Your Visa Bill?, and a young classic story, The Year I Met a Christmas Angel. His book, "Ultra Superior," is the first written on the Superior Trail ultra-distance events. He mixes writing with his profession--the venture capital world--a dying art. He is a creator of CUBE Speakers, a group espousing themes in "HARMONIZING: Keys" in a unique way. Currently, he has two books in the works. Write to him at Phillip@ultrasuperior.com, or find him on Twitter or Facebook @iHarmonizing.

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