Thursday, March 12, 2009

Remembering Mt. Tom Ski Area











After posting pictures and a report of the fire at the Mount Tom ski area last Friday, i've received many e-mails from people who were saddened to hear the news. 

Many recalled the happy times they had spent on the mountain it it's hey-day, one of those e-mails was from CB who was very kind to send me some brochures of the ski area from the 1970s, recalling what a beautiful place we once had atop the mountain (please click on the photo for a larger image).

After looking at these brochures, tell me where in Holyoke can you now have that much fun for those prices?...  No!!!  Mountain Park has been gone for twenty two years!!!

You will also notice the second scan gives a detailed description of the ski area, in the lower left
you can see the former inclined railroad bed that once connected to the Ski Patrol building (14) the sight of Lower Station which was the beginning point of the Mount Tom Railroad.

A couple of questions concerning the last scan, is that Larry Chesky playing the accordion? and who is that pretty girl ?

Thank you CB for giving us a glimpse of what the Ski Area was like once upon a time.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm the girl in the green suit! A couple of your readers who work with me thought they recognized me on your blog today. Those pictures were taken February 17, 1975 when I was 17-years-old. They were taken by Stratton Mountain photographer Hubert Schriebl at Mt. Tom. The other skiers are Adi and Heinz Scheidle, Horst Schluger, John and Carl Bathlet, all instructors at Mt. Tom. That next season, I put my ski suit away and started wearing the red Anba jacket because I became an instructor! Mt. Tom was my "second home" for many years! My three children learned to ski there and I was very sad when the area closed. My maiden name is Olson.

Anonymous said...

That is not Larry Chesky, but Adi Scheidle, playing the accordion. He and his wife Helga ran the Ski School for many years.

Redtelephone66 said...

Hello Cynthia,
Nice to hear from you, thank you very much for your comments.

Cindy said...

Kind of nice to see that brochure after all these years.

Redtelephone66 said...

Hello again Cynthia,
Just wanted to say i visited your blog, your photography is beautiful.

Cindy said...

Thank you!

-C said...

Wow that brings back some memories. Although that brochure is before my time (I started in 81 or 82) I recognize the names, like Heinz and Carl. My father was friends from 'way back' with many of the people who were involved with the mountain. I learned to ski there and spent many a school vacation and weekend going down those trails.

The fire makes me sad, I spent quite a bit of time hanging around as a young boy in the patrol shack and instructor's hut with my dad.

Now that I am older (30) I visit on foot, hiking, and exploring the history both of the ski area and the mountain in general. It's great to see someone is keeping it alive. It's also nice to see pics of someone who PARALLEL skis on non-parabolic skis. I'll tell ya, when I switched that took some getting used to.

If you are willing to share your images, the folks over at http://nelsap.org/ may be interested in your scans. They are keeping the 'lost ski areas' alive in memories.

Someday, after a big snow dump, I hope to hike up the mountain with my boards and take another run down for old time's sake.

-Chris

Redtelephone66 said...

Hello Chris,
Thank you for your comments and i will check nelsap.org.

Peter Scheidle said...

I can confirm that is Adi Scheidle playing the accordian. He is my uncle. My father is Heinz Scheidle, also pictured in the brochure. He ran the ski shop there for many years while Adi ran the ski school. Adi and Helga still do some teaching out at Butternut. Heinz still runs a ski shop down in Enfield.