The Harriman Cup was first envisioned by Sun Valley’s founding father, Averell Harriman. Following the success of Sun Valley’s inaugural 1936-37 winter season, Harriman sought to elevate this momentum with the first international ski race held on American soil. Slalom and alpine combined races were scheduled for the developed, lift-served slopes of Dollar and Proctor Mountains, but a serious challenge arose for the downhill event: finding a nearby mountain with the necessary vertical drop to host a European-style downhill race.
To solve this problem, Harriman turned to two of his most renowned instructors, Hans Hauser and Sepp Benediktor, as well as Wasatch Mountain guide Alf Engen. It was also rumored that Sun Valley’s discoverer, Count Felix Schaffgotsch aided in the search as well. At the time, Bald Mountain’s 9,100-foot summit had yet to be developed and was too densely wooded. Looking north, the four experts soon identified a 10,450-foot peak with a 3.5-mile precipitous descent and a 4,000-foot vertical drop—perfectly suited for a European-style downhill race. In 1937, the peak was named Boulder Mountain after the mountain range it occupies. The first Harriman Downhill off Boulder Mountain’s summit took place on March 13, 1937, during a snowy day, with 44 participants racing. Although Austrian and Swiss skiers were heavily favored, American Dick Durrance stunned the field with the fastest time, followed by Swiss ski legend Walter Prager in second place. Prager and American ski icon Charles Proctor proclaimed the downhill one of the longest and most difficult in the world.
During the summer of 1938, Alf Engen—then employed by the U.S. Forest Service—was hired by the Union Pacific Railroad and Harriman to clear obstacles and brush that had hampered the first race. Using a tractor and a crew of 5, he helped build a rudimentary road (still visible today) and removed willows and sagebrush from the lower sections of the course. These improvements allowed racers participating in the 1938 downhill to shave nearly a full minute off their 1937 times. A surveyor was also hired to provide more precise measurements of the mountain’s elevation, skiing distance, and vertical drop, confirming a course distance of 3.5 miles and a vertical drop of 4,000 feet from a top elevation of 10,450 feet.
Engen had previously guided Sun Valley’s discoverer, Count Felix Schaffgotsch, through the Wasatch Mountains of Utah and the Bonneville Mountains of Idaho in 1935. His guiding skills soon caught the attention of Averell Harriman, leading to a close friendship between the two.
It was later noted that another mountain to the immediate north also bore the name Boulder Mountain. At Harriman’s suggestion, the race’s mountain was renamed to honor its first champion: Durrance Mountain. The 1938 Harriman Downhill was held on a snowy March 12, with 37 participants. German ski great Ulli Beutter took first place, followed by Dick Durrance from the USA and Walter Prager from Switzerland. Sepp Benediktor, who placed 7th in the 1937 Harriman Downhill and 13th in the 1938 Harriman Downhill, once remarked, ‘You had to start at the start, and you had to finish at the finish—and what happened in between was your business.”
Durrance Mountain never saw a third Harriman Cup downhill race from its summit. Ski school directors Hans Hauser and Sepp Benediktor were replaced ahead of the 1938-39 season by Fridel Pfeiffer, the assistant director of the Hannes Schneider Ski School in St. Anton, Austria. Pfeiffer became Sun Valley’s second ski school director and was the driving force behind Bald Mountain’s early development. In later years, Pfeifer also became a primary developer of Aspen, Colorado’s ski industry and assumed the directorship of both the Aspen and Sun Valley ski schools. In 1948, he resigned from his responsibilities at the Sun Valley Ski School and was succeeded by Otto Lang, a distinguished alumnus of the Hannes Schneider Ski School as well.
In 1939, the Hannes Schneider Ski School was considered the best and most renowned ski school in the world. However, escalating German Nazi aggression soon led to its closure, forcing many of its top instructors to flee to the friendlier slopes of Sun Valley, Idaho. Pfeiffer pioneered the 1939 Harriman Cup downhill race on the Warm Springs side of Bald Mountain, which featured a 3,100-foot vertical drop and chairlift rides to the race start, eliminating the need for climbing.
The 1939 Harriman Cup downhill field included some of the best skiers in the world, primarily from the Hannes Schneider Ski School in St. Anton. That year’s competitors were the strongest the race had ever hosted. Austria’s Toni Matt took first place, while Dick Durrance from the USA finished a distant sixth. Hannes Schneider instructors dominated the race, claiming six of the top eight finishes. Toni Matt would later become the ski school director of the Sun Valley Ski School.
Subsequent Harriman Cup downhill races were held on Bald Mountain’s River Run side with a 3,400-foot vertical drop.
The Harriman Cup would continue to host the world’s best ski racers until 1977. Some notable Harriman Cup competitors are as follows: Friedl Pfeifer, Sigi Engl, Fred Iselin, John Litchfield, Henry Oreiller, Ingemar Stenmark. Phil and Steve Mahre, Jean-Claude Killy, Karl Schranz, Christian Pravda, Andrea Mead-Lawrence, Gretchen Fraser, Jack Reddish, Stein Eriksen and Toni Sailer to name a few. Link to Sun Valley Ski Hall-of-Fame
Sun Valley’s role in shaping American skiing history is undeniable—hosting America’s first international Alpine event in 1937 really set the stage. It’s fascinating how the Harriman Cup not only brought global talent but also elevated Sun Valley’s reputation as a premier racing destination.
Throughout the 1960s, Durrance Mountain’s terrain remained popular for both beginner and expert backcountry ski training. Its lower slopes provided avalanche-free terrain for intermediate and beginner skiers, while its upper treeless slopes challenged advanced skiers. Today, the original 1937 and 1938 Harriman Cup course is often misidentified with the much lower southern ridgeline-face extending from Durrance Mountain’s distant summit.
This article was written from interviews with: Andy Hennig, Dick Durrance, Alf Engen, Sepp Benediktor, Fridel Pfeiffer and Otto Lang. Link to Sun Valley Ski Hall-of-Fame Link to Sun Valley Ski History
Map Key
Directions to High-Clearance Trailhead
