SAXTONS RIVER — During the boom years for downhill skiing in Vermont in the 1950s and 1960s, ski areas big and small popped up on hillsides all across the state.
Today, nearly every one them is gone. But one man is making sure they are not forgotten.
Since 1998, Jeremy Davis has been combing New England in search of defunct ski areas, many that now only exist in memory.
His New England Lost Ski Areas Project website lists the histories of 598 lost ski area in New England and counting.
On Jan 21, Davis spoke to a full house at The Inn At Saxtons River to share some of his stories and photos.
Davis has written three books. Lost Ski Areas of the White Mountains, published in 2008, lists the stories of 60 lost ski areas in the White Mountains. Since then, he has published Lost Ski Areas of the Southern Adirondacks and Lost Ski Areas of Southern Vermont.
What constitutes a lost ski area?
“A lost ski area means it is lost to us as a public area open for us to use. It's no longer an active ride-up, ski-down facility. It has to have been lift accessible with lifts no longer in function, and has no minimum size,” Davis explained.
Davis said the number of fully functioning operating areas in New England peaked in the 1960s. By the early 1990s, the small “mom and pop” areas that were without snowmaking equipment, or did not have deep pockets for liability insurance, were gone.
Davis said closed ski areas are left to fates like vandalism, auctions, and deconstruction, and 10 to 25 years later, it becomes a huge challenge to locate lost ski areas due to overgrowth.
Davis cited a few ski areas that closed but were eventually reopened: the ski tow at Living Memorial Park in Brattleboro, which is now operated by a nonprofit group; Magic Mountain in Londonderry, which reopened a few years ago by selling shares of the resort to skiers; and Round Top in Plymouth, which reopened as Bear Creek Mountain Club, a private ski area.
Many attending Davis's talk shared memories of the lost ski areas they once used and how these areas had been a part of their childhood. They expressed disappointment in the number of areas that hadn't been reclaimed for a new generation of skiers.
Davis's talk was presented by the Saxtons River Historical Society and Main Street Arts.