Colorado Ski Museum-Ski Hall of Fame - Vail, CO - a collection of skiing history

The Colorado Ski Museum-Ski Hall of Fame is located at 231 South Frontage Road in Vail, Colorado. The museum was established during 1976 with the mission of appreciating and preserving the snowboarding and skiing in Colorado. During 1977 the Ski Hall of Fame was opened in the museum as a Colorado State Centennial project. The goal of the hall of fame is to honor ski sport builders, competitors and pioneers that contributed to Colorado's snowboarding and skiing history. Special events and memberships are the primary funding for the non-profit, private organization.

The collection at the Colorado Ski Museum-Ski Hall of Fame has over fifteen hundred photographs, equipment pieces, artifacts and pieces of clothing that go back over one-hundred and thirty years of skiing history in Colorado. A timeline of skiing in Colorado, memorabilia from the World Cup and Olympics are in the exhibit displays. The Spirit of America's Champions, 10th Mountain Division and Evolution of Snowboarding are also among the displays.

The admission to the Colorado Ski Museum-Hall of Fame is free of charge with ninety minutes of parking provided at no charge. The facilities are open each day from ten in the morning to six in the evening with the exception of April and May when the facility closes at five in the evening. The facility is on the third level of the parking structure for Vail Village and beside the Covered Bridge.

There are weekly programs at the Colorado Ski Museum-Hall of Fame that each have their own suggested donations of $5 to $10 to participate and help ensure the facility can continue to make them available. Guided tours of the Colorado Ski Museum-Hall of Fame are available on Tuesdays, an evening speaker series is held on Wednesdays. On Thursdays the history of Vail on Skis is given, Friday there is a firsthand account given by Sandy Treat a 10th Mountain veteran of Camp Hale life.

The facilities provide students with educational activities that are interactive. A charge of $4.50 a student is required for Science of Snowflakes and $2.50 a student for museum movement on the history of ski poles. There is a maximum of forty-five people in a group each visit.

There are a number of nomination categories for the Colorado Ski Museum-Hall of Fame including Athlete, Ski Sport Builder and Inspirational. Nominations may be given to people at the age of forty or after the completion of achievements. Athletic nominations to the hall of fame are given to those with an outstanding record of athletic accomplishments.

Ski Sport Builder nominations are given to those that have made contributions to promoting, developing and organizing the sports of snowboarding and skiing in the state of Colorado. Inspirational nominations are given to those that have enhanced the pleasure, knowledge or pursuit of the spots and may be given to authors, performs or filmmakers among others.

Anyone with an interest in skiing and its history should make it a point to visit the Colorado Ski Museum-Ski Hall of Fame if they are ever in the area of Vail, Colorado.