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    Lost Ski Areas of the White Mountains
    Lost Ski Areas of the White Mountains
    Lost Ski Areas of the White Mountains
    Ebook188 pages56 minutes

    Lost Ski Areas of the White Mountains

    By Jeremy K. Davis and Glenn Parkinson

    ()

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    About this ebook

    Discover the ghosts of former ski areas that made the White Mountains the destination it is today.


    The White Mountains of New Hampshire are world-renowned for the array of skiing opportunities offered to every skier, from beginner to gold-medal Olympian. Today over a dozen resorts entice tourists and locals each year with their well-manicured trails, high-speed lifts and slope-side lodging. But scattered throughout this region are long-forgotten ski areas that can still be found. In the White Mountains alone, 60 ski areas have closed since the 1930s. Author Jeremy Davis has compiled rare photographs, maps and personal memories to ensure these beloved ski outposts that have been cherished by generations of skiers are given recognition for transforming the White Mountains into a premier ski destination.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherThe History Press
    Release dateJul 15, 2008
    ISBN9781625843999
    Lost Ski Areas of the White Mountains
    Author

    Jeremy K. Davis

    Jeremy Davis is a passionate skier, writer and meteorologist. Originally from Chelmsford, Massachusetts, he graduated from Lyndon State College with a degree in meteorology and has been employed at Weather Routing Incorporated since 2000. He is an operations manager/meteorologist and forecasts for maritime clients worldwide. In 1998, he founded the New England and NorthEast Lost Ski Areas Project (www.nelsap.org), which documents the history of former ski areas throughout the region; the site won a Cyber Award for best ski history website from the International Skiing History Association (ISHA). In 2000, he was elected to the board of directors of the New England Ski Museum and continues to serve today. He is the author of four books: Lost Ski Areas of the White Mountains, Lost Ski Areas of Southern Vermont, Lost Ski Areas of the Southern Adirondacks and Lost Ski Areas of the Northern Adirondacks, with both Adirondacks books winning Skade Awards for outstanding regional ski history from ISHA. He also serves on the editorial review board of ISHA's magazine, Skiing History. The author resides with his husband, Scott, in Saratoga Springs, New York, and is a frequent skier in the Berkshires.

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      Book preview

      Lost Ski Areas of the White Mountains - Jeremy K. Davis

      assisted.

      Introduction

      Skiing has been an integral part of tourism in the White Mountains for over eighty years. Countless skiers have enjoyed the many fine ski areas than have operated in this region. Sadly, due to many factors, sixty ski areas have now become lost, and are no longer operating.

      A lost ski area is defined as having some kind of uphill transportation. Any kind of lift applies, from a rope tow, to a chairlift, to a railroad. While there are numerous abandoned ski trails that were not served by lifts in the White Mountains, they technically do not meet the definition of a lost ski area. As with all things in life, there are a few exceptions to this rule. Peckett’s, an open slope that had the first ski school in the United States, is featured, as is the Nansen Ski Jump, a historical jump in Berlin used for nearly fifty years.

      The development of ski areas and ski resorts rapidly took off once the first rope tow in New England opened in Woodstock, Vermont, in 1934. The following year, New Hampshire saw its first rope tow open, at the now lost Trevena Farm in Lisbon, New Hampshire. Four years later, fifty ski areas would be in operation!

      While some ski areas would cease operation altogether during World War II, many new areas opened shortly afterward. The founders of these ski areas were often young men returning from service in the Tenth Mountain Division during the war. These former soldiers, who had spent time in the Alps, were ready to begin their careers; with the growing popularity of skiing, they were a natural fit to open ski areas.

      During the 1950s and 1960s, the number of resorts in the White Mountains exploded. Chairlifts and gondolas sprouted up at the larger resorts, while T-bars and Poma lifts opened up at some of the former rope tow areas. This was skiing’s heyday in the White Mountains, when countless skiers came from all over to enjoy the many and growing resorts.

      By the 1970s, however, numerous factors began to take their toll on many of the smaller ski areas. A series of gas crises impacted the average family’s ability to make long trips to ski areas. Liability insurance rates rose for many of the small ski areas due to an increased number of lawsuits. Volunteerism began to drop at many of the community ski areas. And several poor snow seasons in the late 1970s and early 1980s made some ski areas impossible to open.

      One by one, the smaller areas began to close, slowly at first, and then rapidly by the early 1980s. Even a few larger ski areas, such as Mittersill and Tyrol, were not immune, closing in the early 1980s. Finally, by 2008, out of the seventy-one ski areas that once existed in the White Mountains, only thirteen were left.

      Will any of these lost areas return? It is known that some ski areas will never return, such as Thorn Mountain, due to the numerous homes now built on the former slopes. Others have completely grown in and would require much work to reopen. A few reopenings are possible, including the rope tow in Lisbon—although operations have been suspended over the last several years, it is still maintained. Also, there are plans by the State of New Hampshire to reopen Mittersill over the coming years, and by the time you read this, it may have

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