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It’s 1908, in the heart of the Keweenaw Peninsula’s Copper Country. Imagine a fresh foot—or five—of snow covering a hillside, wrapping around trunks of evergreens and hardwoods like a blanket. In the hushed morning light, a skier breaks the silence. His cheeks are ruddy with cold, breath billowing out, bright eyes looking downhill toward town. Wooden skis slice through the fresh powder. As the man picks up speed, he smiles and whispers a prayer of gratitude: “This is a perfect day.”
It’s a moment that Jeff Thompson often envisions. Jeff and his family own and operate Shaggy’s Copper Country Skis, named after their great-grand-uncle, Sulo “Shaggy” Lehto, who was known for carving skis for family and neighbors on the Keweenaw Peninsula. The lore of Shaggy—his ingenuity, kindness and connection to place—became the through line connecting past to present as the Thompsons turned a teenager’s hobby into a ski-community staple.