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Snow Skiing and the Dartmouth Skiway
The thrill of snow skiing—sliding across the snow on slats attached to your feet—has not changed in hundreds of years. But in the last century just about everything else about snow skiing has changed—the skis, the boots, the bindings, the poles, and because of snowmaking and grooming, even the snow. Lifts make it possible for skiers to spend less time and effort slowly climbing hills and more time effortlessly sliding downhill at great speed.
When I was in high school, skiing was a source of pride. I was proud that my Hanover High School locker was near Olympic Medalist Betsy Snite's locker. We were proud of the many Dartmouth College skiers selected for Olympic ski teams, that the first college ski club in America was established at Dartmouth College in 1910, and that the first slalom race with gates was held at the Dartmouth Winter Carnival in 1923. In January of 1934, the first rope tow in the United States was installed on Gilbert's Hill in Woodstock, Vermont, by Bob and Betty Royce, proprietors of the White Cupboard Inn. The first J-Bar in the country was installed on Oak Hill in Hanover in 1935.
Skiing was a mode of winter transportation. I knew kids who skied to school, adults who skied to town for provisions, and read about Colorado miners who commuted to work on skis.
Now skiing is a major contributor to the economy of northern New England. In New Hampshire, where skiing is the state sport, skiing was responsible for $566 million in visitor spending and $58 million in tax revenues in the year 2000.
In the first half of the twentieth century, Dartmouth had one of the most successful skiing programs in the country. Otto Schniebbs, whom the International Ski History Association considers the most successful college ski coach in history, became Dartmouth's ski coach in 1930. Despite its prominence and success, Dartmouth did not have a good downhill ski mountain. In 1953, John Meck, Vice President of Dartmouth College, resolved to establish "a first-class ski facility."
It was decided that the new ski area should be within 25 miles of Hanover, have a northeast exposure, a base elevation of at least a 1000 feet, a vertical drop of at least 600 feet, and an average gradient of 20 degrees. They also wanted the area accessible by paved road, close to electric power, and available for purchase at a "reasonable price."
In March of 1955, four members of the committee that had been selected to find a location for the new ski area got stuck in the snow at the base of Holt's Ledge. While three committee members shoveled out their Jeep, Walt Prager climbed Holt's Ledge to determine the proximity of their snowbound vehicle to nearby roads and buildings. Prager returned from his climb convinced that Holt's Ledge would be the perfect location for the new ski area. Fate had intervened. Lyme might never have had a first class ski area if a Jeep had not gotten snowbound in 1955.
In June of 1955, the Dartmouth College trustees authorized money for the purchase of land from four private property owners. By October, Dartmouth College owned the 648 acres that would become the Dartmouth Skiway.
During the 1955-56 winter, Walt Prager, who had first envisioned Holt's Ledge as a ski area, designed all the trails. From May through November of 1956, trails were cleared, rocky outcroppings were removed (some by dynamite), sod was put down, and a 3,775 foot Poma lift was installed.
On December 15, 1956, Polly Case, who had won the contest to name the new ski area, rode the Poma lift up Holt's Ledge. Dartmouth Skiway was open.
Shortly after the Skiway opened, Guy and Ester Nichols began selling homemade doughnuts and warm beverages to tired and hungry skiers at the Brundage Lodge. In January of 2001, the old Brundage Lodge was replaced by the new award-winning McLane Family Lodge,
In 1965, the college completed the purchase of 250 acres on the north face of Winslow Mountain, just across the parking area from the original Dartmouth Skiway. In the summer of 1965, new trails, one of which was a slalom trail, were cut on the face of Winslow. In 1985 snow-making was added. Snow-making now covers 70% of the area.
The original Poma lift could move 800 skiers an hour up the mountain. The three lifts which now serve the Skiway can move 3,300 skiers an hour.
Fifty years after the Poma lift carried Polly Case to the top of Holt's Ledge, the Dartmouth Skiway remains a first class ski mountain. The Boston Globe wrote, "Dartmouth's 1,000-foot vertical is a cruiser's delight... above all the price is right." If you get your season pass before October 6, as a part of the 50th anniversary celebration, that price is even better.
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