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A photograph of a skier-packed aerial tram ascending a snow-draped alp graces the cover of an advertising pamphlet in a memorabilia collection from the Cortina Olympics 70 years ago.

Aside from its color, the tram in the photograph mimics a Wyoming scene above Teton Village in Jackson Hole. There, the twin cars of Jackson Hole Aerial Tram roll up and down cables carrying skiers to the top of the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort with the Grand Teton serving as the Wyoming background-alp.

The collection of ephemera, discovered among books and magazines donated to a Jackson thrift store, includes 1956 Winter Olympics programs, maps from Kitzbuhel and other famed European resorts, and pamphlets advertising pensions, gasthäuser and lodges.

A name written across the top of a couple of the flyers suggests the former owners — “McCollister.”

As in Paul and Esther McCollister. Paul McCollister was one of three partners who founded the Jackson Hole Ski Corp. in 1963 and built the Jackson Hole Ski Area, the original name of Jackson Hole Mountain Resort.

Paul McCollisterskied in Europe before he and Esther moved to Jackson Hole. He forged his new ski area in the European mold, with the aerial tram as a landmark beacon. Just like the photograph on the flyer for Klosters, the Swiss ski area adjacent to Davos.

The packet of memorabilia includes nine Olympic daily programs from the 1956 Winter Games in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. It’s the same site as many of this year’s Winter Olympics, which begin today.

The McCollister papers include programs for the 1956 Olympic men’s downhill and slalom, and notes of finish times. Austria’s Toni Sailer won the downhill in 2:52.2, along with the slalom and giant slalom. (Angus M. Thuermer Jr./WyoFile)

In the collection, a program for the men’s downhill includes the names and start order for 86 racers, plus a column where an observer could write down their times and final standings. Next to Anton “Toni” Seiler’s name the time 2:52.2 is written in ink, the figure “1” in the column for “posto, rang, place.”

The Austrian won the downhill with a time of 2:52.2, according to official results. Seiler also won gold in the slalom and giant slalom.

McCollister knew the draw of Olympic champions. He hired gold medalist Josef “Pepi” Stiegler, an Austrian, to run his new ski school.

Today, from the mountains where the McCollisters established a world-renowned resort, three women travel back to Cortina and other sites in the Dolomites for the 2026 Winter Games. Breezy Johnson, Jaelin Kauf and Anna Gibson could compete in as many as six separate events.

All three athletes grew up skiing in Teton County. The Wyoming community of 23,000 could be represented six times on the world’s biggest sporting stage.

Angus M. Thuermer Jr. is the natural resources reporter for WyoFile. He is a veteran Wyoming reporter and editor with more than 35 years experience in Wyoming. Contact him at angus@wyofile.com or (307)...

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