Abandoned Ski Area Documentary

[Beartown]

Someone just sent me this. From last year, I think, so it may have been mentioned before, but I found it pretty cool:

https://www.outsideonline.com/2252141/abandoned-ski-documentary

 

[agreen]

cool vid. they should make a series featuring a different place each time. maybe that is what they are planning?

 

[surfsnowgirl]

I'm fascinated by abandoned ski areas, going to check that out.

 

[Posaune]

Too bad it's only Colorado. They are all over the western US and Canada.

 

[Johnny V.]

Too bad it's only Colorado. They are all over the western US and Canada.

Plenty in the east also. Visit nelsap.org.

 

[nemesis256]

Cool little video. Amusing how it's still looks like a ski area after 30 years. In the north east trees grow so fast that you can hardly tell there was anything after that amount of time.

 

[Uncle Louie]

Geneva Basin 1984.

On the last day I walked out of the office, shook hands and hugged the others that were also leaving and left for Breckenridge. Never even collected unemployment, and

our final paychecks all had the wrong year printed on them !

 

[Posaune]

Here's a site for the lost ski areas of Washington. There were a lot more than I imagined. 48 by their count; however, the links on the page don't go anywhere. Apparently they have gone the way of the ski areas themselves. It's a great list, though.

http://lostskiareas.wikidot.com/

 

[SkiNurse]

That made me smile.

I have a friend, and her boyfriend, that was tired of the I70 weekend shitshow a couple of years ago and decided to explore Colorado lost ski resorts using Powder Ghost Towns, by Peter Bronski, as their guide. Last I knew, they had probably skied at least a dozen of the resorts.

 

[New2]

Tons of great info at http://www.coloradoskihistory.com/lostresorts.html but it hasn't been maintained in years, so portions are unreadable in a modern browser and the forums seem to be gone. Too bad! Maybe Pugski should have a "Lost Resorts" forum? What do you say, @Philpug @Tricia ?

 

[Jilly]

I can name you about 10 "hills" within 1-1/2 hr of my home that any defunct now. We had some great local skiing in the late 60's early 70's. Winter has changed and the snow isn't as plentiful. Technology took some of them away....people didn't want rope tows etc...groomers instead of "self grooming" became the norm here in Ontario. Investments in snow making were required and in order to compete, year around activities were needed. Many of the family owned areas just couldn't compete. Putting a ski hill on the family farm wasn't doing it! (Dacre Highland or Candiac Skiway's - Dacre Ontario, Ketcheson's Farm and Oak Hills Ski Club - Stirling Ontario)

Fun while it lasted!!

 

[Bad Bob]

That was nicely done.

Worked at several that are no more. One was Piles Peak. It's interesting, you tell another skier you worked at somewhere that is no more and the basic response is, "where". History is long.

 

[Posaune]

I had my first great powder day at Mt. Pilchuck, a now defunct ski area north of Seattle..

In the early 70's we were headed up the road in the morning. The road was steep and windy and a muscle car ended up stuck, but we got around it just before everything jammed up behind it and nobody could get past. There were few cars in the parking lot when we got there. We skied for about 2 hours before any more cars came up the road, then they came in like a parade. Well, we had a light powder sunshine day all to ourselves and I finally figured it out.

 

[Kneale Brownson]

Cool little video. Amusing how it's still looks like a ski area after 30 years. In the north east trees grow so fast that you can hardly tell there was anything after that amount of time.

If you drive south of Breck toward Hoosier Pass, or even look in that direction from parts of the resort, off slightly to the left is a pair of openings through the trees that are starting to fill in with new trees. This was a little rope tow ski area that was operated in the 1930s before volunteers started the rope tow where the sledding area is now at Carter Park.

 

[Jack skis]

Skied Geneva Basin when it first opened. Young couple from back East ran the area, he on the mountain and she the "lodge". The ski school consisted of two instructors from Sun Valley, a couple (man and woman). Don't remember any grooming so lots of powder to ski. Chair from the base and T-bar that ended at the top of the chair, but came up a separate slope that was south of the top of the chair (the chair ran uphill from East to West. I have a poor sense of direction so these compass directions may be wrong, but the T-bar was to the left, and out of site of the base area. During the week the lift operators would start the lift when we showed up at the bottom, and shut it off when we got off at the top. Not many of us showed up. Christy Sports had a kids program on the weekend and ran busses from Denver to the area. That could get a massive crowd of 80 or so at the area. Good times. Think the area operated under the names Geneva Basin and also Indianhead. Different owners.

 

[Don in Morrison]

I skied at Geneva Basin a whole lot during college.(1969-1974) I had a classmate who had a season pass that I often went with. The two of us always scheduled our classes so we could have either Tuesday or Thursday free for skiing. I had my worst crash there, a runaway strap enabled traveling yard sale disaster.

 

[tball]

My dad broke his leg skiing Geneva Basin. His first and last day skiing ever. That's why I didn't start until high school!

 

[Tricia]

Too bad! Maybe Pugski should have a "Lost Resorts" forum? What do you say, @Philpug @Tricia ?

These threads can easily go into the Resort area. Maybe we can create a prefix for "Long Lost"

 

[Ken_R]

I actually wanted to go to Geneva Basin a month ago but there was just little snow in the area. I drove to the winter closure gate and the road had zero snow as far as you could see and there was just little snow to be seen anywhere in the vicinity. I am sure there was probably some snow on the slopes but it has not been a good year for that zone. Hopefully next season it will get much more snow. If anyone here wants to go im game!

 

[jack97]

Over at the NE, we have two area that came back from the "Lost" to "Found", Crotched and Mittersil. For the former, I know family friends that use to ski this place back when they where going to college two - three decades ago and the place opened about 10 years ago. Got to remind myself to visit Cannon/Mitterstill soon.

http://www.nelsap.org/crotched/crotchedrebirth.html


Whaleback is another place, small local area that may have closed for a year two and never had steady management or owners. Been to the place a couple of times, great terrain.