'36, Bromley Mt. Gets First Trail and the National Ski Patrol is Born, With a Pittsfield Connection

[Phil]

1936 “The [Bromley] run, which was opened the winter of 1936, ran down the west side of the mountain towards East Dorset and was actually constructed as a WPA project [administered separately from the CCC] on National Forest land under Forester Ralph (Hutch) Hutchinson. It became one of the most popular racing trails in the East for several seasons and the New York City club championships were held on it.”

March 8, 1936 “On the day of the meet, under a cloudless sky, Frank Edson set off down the Ghost Trail [in Pittsfield S.F.], a run he had never seen or skied before. An eyewitness, Dorothy Maynard, recalled forty years afterward: 'Edson gathered speed, lost control, failed to negotiate a curve and smacked into a tree with a sickening crash. My husband George, who headed a ski patrol covering the race, was at his side in a jiffy with a toboggan. The impact broke Edson’s right arm in two places and fractured four ribs. The jagged bone ends were piercing his lungs with every breath.' By the following evening, Frank Edson was dead. Out of this tragic accident, the National Ski Patrol System was born.”

[Phil]

Obviously the Ghost Trail was being used by '36. I couldn't find any place that stated explicitly when it was first cut. Jeremy Clark, of NewEnglandSkiHistory.com had some thoughts on the topic which put the date as early as '33 and certainly as soon as '34. He sent me a newspaper clipping from the Berkshire Evening Eagle of March '34 that included a map that shows the Ghost (though not named as such), but not the Shadow. As an additional piece of info, by the time the Shadow was in use, races on the two trails happened simultaneously during an event called the Quadrangular race. Combined time on both trails determined the winner. I can't remember if that was the race Edson was competing in when he was injured, but I seem to think I saw someplace that it was. The Quadrangular was certainly being run by '36, so the Shadow would have been created by then. 

[Joe Jewett]

I’d like to give a short summary of my trip to Mount Ascutney this morning. It feels like they have a very nice thing going there. They have a t bar on the lower mountain and it It feels like they are doing some minimal grooming as well. The upper mountain is where the action is of course and there is tons of terrain. Alas not quite enough snow but enough to avoid damaging ones skis. When there is a foot or two of brush sticking up even if it is fairly sparse it does make a turning a little bit more challenging. It would be very amazing with a good dump but you could probably say the same thing for Dutch Hill. When I was done for the day there looked to be a couple of dozen cars in the lot

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[Bryan Bobo]

Thanks for the summary. Have been meaning to get out there. How does access work? Do you need to buy a ticket or access during defined hours or are you able to go anytime?

Sent from my iPhone

On Jan 30, 2022, at 4:19 PM, Joe Jewett <fidd...@gmail.com> wrote:



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[William O'Hara]

Hi!

Blue Hills was nice, today.  Instead of crust and scraped off snow, there was powder.  Temps held to 17° mostly during the overnight.  The snow never hardened. 

Very few were courageous and made the trip today.  I didn't see other lines up Buck Hill.  

It's probably a better ski - snow holds better here - than Great Blue.

Bill

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[Joe Jewett]

I think it is free all the time unless you wanna ride the t bar. I did not go over the website with a fine tooth comb but from a fairly careful reading that was my impression at least.

[William O'Hara]

I think that you can buy a season pass for the lift.  Everything at the top is free.  There's a conversation restriction.  So the ski area is never returning and it possibly prohibits maintenance such as trimming. 

The mountain doesn't hold snow well.  If it was a bit different or the price was right then I would buy one of the condos that is above the height of the t bar.

Bill

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[Phil]

Forwarded the following to a new subject line.

See here: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/01/travel/ascutney-cross-country.html