Skiboard History; Cliff Taylor

There was a pioneer , who really was the first big time skiboard zealot , way before the Bigfoot or modern skiboards were born. Way back in 1961 Clif Taylor wrote this ground breaking book . I recently got a hold of this classic out of print book and it is full of amazing photos from the prehistory of skiboarding that I thought it would be fun to share

Clif designed a 2 1/2 foot ski ( 76cm long ) and became a Johnny Appleseed type character trying to sell the famous folk of his time on his “Shortee” Ski .. He got the famous newscaster Lowell Thomas to try his Shortee and while Lowell never gave up his long skis altogether he became a fan of Clif’s Shortee and even wrote the forward to Clif’s book . Here is Lowell Thomas with his ski . Notice the straight edges and gradual taper to the rear . This short narrow board (at least by modern skiboard standards ) was just a killer board on ice . . “Glare ice (boilerplate) shows the 2 1/2 footers off to sensational advantage . You can really let’em rip and yet have good grip all the way … Such control on bad conditions is possible because all your weight is concentrated over a short runnng surface , as it is on ice skates…”

 

A number of teaching programs started using Clif’s Shortees .. A ski instructor named Ray Hall invented an indoor moving “Ski-Dek” and instructed students using the 76cm skiboards.
Here is a 1961 indoor ski lesson .

Clif touted the ease of skating on the “Shortees” and felt that the next big thing would be “Figure Skiing ” on his boards . Here is Clif making some cool turns …

 

Clif made a variety of length skis ranging from the 2 1/2 footer( 76cm ) to 3 ft ( 90 cm ) and 3 1/2 footers (105 cm ) and a 4 footer . (121cm ) . He also made a 5 ft ski (150cm) but really felt that size was really a bit long . Interesting seeing his comments in light of our own discussions about what differentiates a skiboard from a ski . “Although I feel that true short-short skiing begins on skis 4 feet and under, today’s 5-foot shorty specially designed for a adults- a futher compromise between short-shorts and longs-has qualities of a high -speed ski and yet still can be handled more easily then , say , a 6 1/2 or 7 foot ski .”

Here is Clif getting a bit of air on a pair of his “Shortees” 

Clif’s basic quiver were two “Shortees” His 2 1/2 footer ( 76cm ) skiboard and his 4 Foot (120 cm Skiboard ) .. He was an early believer in short skis in deep powder . He got one of the famous skiers of the time, Alf Engen, to ride one of his 120 cm Shortees in deep powder .. Here are Alf and Clif showing off their 120’s prior to dropping some deep powder . ” Shorties efficiency at planing in powder has been demonstrated by Alf Engen , the world’s No. 1 deep-snow skier , who used 4 footers in knee -deep powder at Portillo , Chile , 11,500 feet up in the Andes in June 1961 “

Sadly , last year saw the passing of a legend with Clif’s death . Truly a man ahead of his time !

 thanks jjue