UUM_P1300 Guide to the Neil Rafferty photograph collection, 1940s-1990s Rafferty (Neil) photograph collection Finding aid created by Ashley Arave Multimedia Division, J. Willard Marriott Library, University of Utah
295 South 1500 East Salt Lake City, Utah 84112-0860 801-581-8864 http://www.lib.utah.edu/collections/multimedia-archives/
© 2006 (last modifided: 2018) Encoded by Ashley Arave 2006 Finding aid encoded in English in Latin script. Finding aid based on DACS (Describing Archives: A Content Standard, 2nd Edition) 2022 Finding aid revised and re-encoded by Sara Davis. J. Willard Marriott Library, University of Utah Photograph Archives
J. Willard Marriott Library Special Collections 295 South 1500 East Salt Lake City, Utah 84112-0860 (801) 581-8864 http://www.lib.utah.edu/collections/multimedia-archives/
P1300 Neil Rafferty photograph collection 1940s-1990s 7 images The Neil Rafferty photograph collection consist of images of Rafferty skiing in Wyoming. Collection materials are in English. Biographical Note

Neil Rafferty (1909 - 1995)

When Neil Rafferty arrived in Jackson Hole, Wyoming in 1930, his financial resources consisted of 10 cents. With an equal amount of technical knowledge and a lot of trial-and-error (“more error than trial,” he often admitted), he founded the Snow King Ski Area on the north side of Snow King Mountain in 1939. His fortitude and foresight in establishing and administering Wyoming’s first ski area served as an early-day guide to developing favorable working relationships between ski areas and the U.S. Forest Service.

His policies and procedures implemented for the development of the Snow King Ski Area helped lay the foundation for other ski developments in the Intermountain area. Neil also was a pioneer in the field of Ski Patrol, and patrolled at Snow King for many years. With Neil’s support, the Jackson Hole Ski Club was able to host numerous important ski races during the 1940’s, 50’s and 60’s. He established Snow King as a reliable venue for ski racing, a tradition that continues to this day.

During the 1950’s and early 60’s Neil also ran early season ski operations on Teton Pass and Togwotee Pass. His continual efforts to promote skiing in the area found Neil being named Citizen of the Year by the Jackson Hole Chamber of Commerce in 1989, the 50th anniversary of Snow King Ski Area, which has a chairlift named in his honor. He was awarded the Pioneer Award from the Intermountain Ski Areas Association in 1988 and also received the University of Utah J. Willard Marriott Library Ski Archives Pioneer of Skiing Award in 1992.

Neil was inducted into the Intermountain Ski Hallof Fame in 2005. The above biograpical note is from that event.

The Neil Rafferty photograph collection consist of images of Rafferty skiing in Wyoming.

Twenty-four hour advanced notice encouraged. Materials must be used on-site. Access to parts of this collection may be restricted under provisions of state or federal law.

The library does not claim to control copyright for all materials in the collection. An individual depicted in a reproduction has privacy rights as outlined in Title 45 CFR, part 46 (Protection of Human Subjects). For further information, please review the J. Willard Marriott Library’s Use Agreement and Reproduction Request forms.

Initial Citation: Neil Rafferty photograph collection, P1300, Box [ ]. Special Collections and Archives. University of Utah, J. Willard Marriott. Salt Lake City, Utah.

Following Citations: P1300.

Processed by Ashley Arave in 2006.

Donated by Fay A. Bisbee.

This collection forms part of the Utah Ski and Snowboard Archive, which is part of the S.J. Quinney Outdoor Recreation Archive

 Rafferty, Neil--Photographs Skis and skiing--United States--History--Photographs Downhill skiing--United States--History--Photographs Sports and Recreations Photographs Digital photographs 1 1 Neil Rafferty

1: Neil Rafferty, circa 1940s 2: Neil Rafferty beside The Ski Jitney that was used to transport skiers from Leens Canyon on the backside of Snow King to the frontside, circa 1960s 3: Neil Rafferty riding Wyoming's first chairlift at Snow King Mountain, Jackson, Wyoming, July 19, 1957 4: Neil Rafferty boating at Grand Teton National Park, 1940s 5: Neil Rafferty at the rope tow - he helped run operations on Togwotee Pass (Jackson to Casper) from the late 1950s to the early 1960s 6: Neil Rafferty in his eighties, circa 1988 7: Neil Rafferty and Bill Briggs ready to ski off the cornice at Snow King, Jackson, Wyoming, 1990