The "founder" of Southern California backcountry skiing was Dr. Walter Mosauer, an Austrian transplant and professor of zoology at UCLA. The doc was a remarkable skier for the time, and began teaching his techniques to a number of young students in 1931. The gaggle of skiers made numerous ski descents to the local mountains, Old Baldy (Mt. San Antonio), San Gorgonio and San Jacinto. On February 14, 1932 Dr. Mosauer made a ski descent of Old Baldy and was so impressed with the natural bowl and quality snow condiitons, first suggested the erection of a "ski hutte" in Baldy Bowl. After founding the Ski Mountaineers Section (SMS) of the Sierra Club in 1934, the SMS acquired a permit on October 25, 1935 to construct the San Antonio Ski Hut. The Hut was completed in 1936, by the pure sweat and greae of human labor and volunteer work, at an elevation of 8,200' and near a year-round spring. Visitors to the Hut were few, as the Hut was burned to the ground by a fire on September 20, 1936, only a year later. The Hut was immediatley rebuilt and remains near it's original condition today.