Joseph P. WILSON

Joe Pete Wilson skied for the US in cross-country at the 1960 Winter Olympics, but later became a well-known administrator in the cross-country industry in the United States. He attended St. Lawrence University before spending a post-grad year at Vermont Academy. At the time of the 1960 Winter Olympics Wilson was serving in the US Army. He later took up bobsledding and won a bronze medal at the 1965 World Bobsleigh Championships.

Wilson wrote several books on cross-country skiing, all co-authored by William Lederer. Wilson helped set up the cross-country ski area at the Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe, Vermont – the lodge established by the Trapp family of “Sound of Music” fame. In 1973, Wilson organized a meeting of 25 ski areas and established the National Ski Touring Operators’ Association, naming Joe Pete as its first President from 1973-77, and later changing its name several times, now called the Cross Country Ski Areas Association (CCSAA). Joe Pete is also known for setting up an inn in Keene, New York, the BarkEater Inn, and developing the ski trails around the inn. Wilson is a member of the St. Lawrence Ski Hall of Fame and the Lake Placid Ski Hall of Fame.