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Mountain & Ski troop equipment


SteveR
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It seems like an appropriate time of the year to show these.

If you want more photo's please ask I'll be happy to provide them.

# 1 - The Ski's

# 2 - The date

# 3 - I think the maker ?

# 4 - I believe the # 185 punched into the wood of the ski's are a regiment number

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Johan Willaert

Here's my Captain on 'Ski Patrol'...

 

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And here's a close-up from the ski binding... The ski is marked 1942 and I believe the binding plate is dated 1943 (I should check...)

Are these markings stamped on the ski itself common?

 

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Contrary to your ski's, mine do not have the little 'tip' up front...

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Johan Willaert

The image's from my site and has the following caption...

 

"The above image shows a Captain about to start out on a patrol in the Appenine Mountains. He's equipped with the standard US Army wooden skis and poles. His Ski Trousers are tucked into Ski Gaiters worn above the Mountain Shoes and he wears a fur trimmed Ski Parka. Headgear is the rather rare WW2 Fur Pile Cap with Rank Insignia on the front flap. Further equipment includes Trigger Finger Mittens, an M1 Carbine in its canvas scabbard and a Lightweight Gas Mask Bag worn as a small haversack."

 

I had most of the set for years and spent a considerable time looking for ski's...

I picked them up on Ebay about 4 years ago... If I recall correctly I paid about 150.00USd for the ski's and poles, which I thought was a very good deal!

I had never seen any skis for sale in Europe except for those 'Golden' ones in Mike Detrez' shop... I think the US is your best bet for skis!

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Steve, your bindings are not complete. There should be a spring type arrangment that fits around the back of the boot [as indicated in johans small pic].

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I do not think the skis with the 'tip' are military skis. I've had several pair of skis and have never seen any with tips. This is a 1920-30's commercial ski thing. Also the ski's are angular on the top, again a commerical thing, as the military ski are just straight boards. Military skis are marked with a date, sometimes the binding is put over the date. 185 is the length of skis. Also WW2 ski poles should be of the wood or 'wood like' and not steel.

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Please forgive this sidetrack but viewing all the skis and winter wear reminded me of this. I took this photo a couple of years ago at a large WWII air show/reenactors weekend. The 10th Mountain Division had a large display (along with many other units). It was held at Reading, PA and I highly reccomend it to anyone who can make the trek. It's an annual event.

 

Greg

 

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Johan Willaert

US Army Ski poles came in both laminated and steel types during WW2.

 

The QM-1 Supply Catalog Edition August 1943 mentions both of them on page 28...

 

*Poles, Ski, Laminated (Type I)

 

*Poles, Ski, STEEL (Type II) Stock N° 74-P-221 thru 74-P-224

 

The poles in my display above are the Steel type!

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185 is the length [in cm] of ski for the indiviual. When I ski I need 205 as I'm a bit tall.

 

I won a set of skis on ebay, they are marked NORTHLAND U.S LACONIA N.H on the skis and NORTHLAND on the bindings as well and both dated 43 [skis are 5-43].

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General Apathy

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Campora, sorry to raise this point, above you say that all military skis are flat boards, if you look at Greg Sebrings post #17 of the mountain troop display at Reading PA, at the front of the photo are a pair of ski's which have raised section to them, judging by the appearance that all the other equipment is WWII then we could assume that they have displayed WWII skis. Johan has also quoted the WWII Quartermaster catalog that there were metal poles Type II in WWII.

 

Regarding my post, here are my ski's they are dated '2-42' on the boards forward of the bindings. Note also my ski pole handles, the customs un-laced the one leather grip to ensure that the poles were solid and nothing hidden inside them ??. They were shipped onto me and left for me to re-lace. Stamped on the skis is the name of ' R.W. Lippman, 1st. Lt. - M.C., however I have no evidence when he served in the services.

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The skis in questiopn with the angular top can be military. I have seen several pair military marked. I am fortunate to live near a 10th Mtn. collector and researcher he has been to the national archives 5 times and can tell you the amount of thread in a particular jacket. He has probably 20 pair of skiis and several are of the raised center. They are of the early type issued with the rattan poles. He is in the process of writing a book about all the equipment.

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you are correct Johan, he has been a longtime friend and about an hour from where i live. He probably has the most extensive mountain collection out there from 20 plus years of mountain collecting. He has many rare and one of a kind proto types he aquired from vets plus living in the NW USA much of this stuff turns up since early training was done at MT. Raineer in Washington state before Camp Hale Colorado.

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  • 2 weeks later...
General Apathy

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Hi Everyone on the Ski troop equipment loop. Most people are familiar with the short ski brush for brushing snow from clothing and equipment, but how many have seen this larger version? Sorry to say however, I have not read any information regarding this size one. Sizes are, short one 5 inches and large one 10 inches.

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General Apathy

The straps are: ' Strap, Ski, Safety' and they are used to connect the ski binding to the boot, to prevent loss of the ski if the skier falls and the binding breaks loose from the boot, it a safety strap to retain the ski and stop it sliding away.

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  • 2 weeks later...

First type Ice pick stampings at the pick head,second type at lower spike section.

 

Total lenght is 39 inches or 99.5 cm.

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One of the finest overall 10th Mtn Division equipment displays open for the public is located in a hardware store on Mainstreet in Leadville, CO. (The store is currently open as an antique, consignment type dealership.)

 

The collection has been put together by a gentleman named Eddie Weise, who is a part time antiques dealer. Unfortunately (for us), none of the collection on display is for sale, but it is pretty extensive and includes many sets of skis and poles, mountain tents, anoraks, mountain hats, rucksacks, ephemera, and on and on.

 

If you pass through the area during the winter, the people in the store can put you in touch with Eddie, and he will personally guide you through the collection. (If you can get him off the ski slopes. During the summer months, he's usually on the road (often in the east) looking for antiques.)

 

If you're ever anywhere even close, I highly encourage you to check it out.

 

BTW: For those that don't know, Leadville is located about 15 miles from the old Camp Hale (now called Eagle Park) and Ski Cooper, the ski slopes where most of the 10th MTN DIV troops learned to ski. Only remnents, such as old foundations, and roads remain of the camp. It's now all part of a National Forest. Ski Cooper, a rather modest resort, is still open for business and lift tickets are some of the most reasonably priced around.

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