Who has skied at college ski areas?

mapnut

Or areas very near a college? Rick mentioned Colby (NELSAP), which was one of the two first areas I skied. It had just one main slope with snowmaking and a fast T-bar, and a beginner slope which I never saw open. The slope started off gentle, with pretty pine trees in the midst of it, then got fairly steep. As a beginner, I think I progressed a lot on that slope. Although my confidence was not greatly boosted the time I lost control and skidded right past the crowd at the lift line, into the bushes on the bank of Messalonskee Stream.

I also skied little Yawgoo Valley, still in business, while at the University of Rhode Island. Apparently it wasn't very memorable.

lotsoskiing

Have skied Dartmouth Skiway and Midd Snow Bowl many times. Both fun in their own ways. Midd has a wider variety of trails and exposures. Dartmouth has better donuts, Midd the better burger. Both worth a trip.

Have heard that sledding at the SLU area is pretty fun but have never done it.

Betsy

Middlebury Snow Bowl. Love it. Not too small, not too big. Great area for locals as it is not as pricy as the big resorts. Good ski school.  Has the old school vibe. Good cafeteria food (and not crazy $$$). AND a small library should you wish to do any studying!  OH...and the magic carpet lift is free. Great for little ones (or adults) just starting out.

joshua_segal

lotsoskiing said:

Have skied Dartmouth Skiway and Midd Snow Bowl many times. Both fun in their own ways. Midd has a wider variety of trails and exposures. Dartmouth has better donuts, Midd the better burger. Both worth a trip.

...

Me too; Also Norwich is on my list of areas that I skied.  I opened a new thread to just put together a list of schools that have/had ski areas.

lotsoskiing

Have biked Norwich, never got to ski it. Wish I had- looks like fun terrain.

joshua_segal

lotsoskiing said:

Have biked Norwich, never got to ski it. Wish I had- looks like fun terrain.

I don't remember much about it. I was there once and that was 1978.

riverc0il

I've skied Dartmouth and Middlebury. Holt at Dartmouth is amazing on a powder day. Middlebury has a bit more terrain and way more glade skiing. But the glades just don't feel fleshed out enough... lots of small diameter trees and the glades end just after they get started. Middlebury always leaves me feeling wanting a bit more whereas a Dartmouth powder day is bananas. I suspect that my perception difference has less to do with the terrain vs. driving distance. I can get to Dartmouth in one hour but Middlebury is over 2.5 hours and I pass by Mad River Glen along the way. The effort to reward ratio is definitely skewed towards Dartmouth for me... hard to justify bypassing MRG to ski MSB. Definitely worthwhile for everyone to give both a try, I always keep them in mind for holiday blackout options.

NewEnglandSkier13

I've skied Middlebury once and Dartmouth a good number of times

ski_it

Yes, those two. The only other one currently open in NE, IIRC, is Vermont Tech, but technically private. I've been there 3 or 4 times but it was never running.

Define "very near". For examples, Sunapee, Ragged, Proctor, Storrs & Whaleback are probably within 30 mins of Colby. Likewise, Hard'Ack & Cochrans to UVM. Titcomb is pretty close to UM of Farmington. Quoggy & Big Rock to UM Presque Isle. Burke & Lyndon OC to Lyndon College. Etc....

mapnut

I guess by "very near" it would have to be the closest area to the college, and close enough that students would dominate the clientele. I think you meant Dartmouth, not Colby? The closest area to Colby now must be Lost Valley, since Eaton doesn't have skiing. I'd count Lost Valley as a de facto college ski area for Bates.

Skizix

Skidmore College ski slope in Saratoga Springs, NY sometime around 1972. Listed on NELSAP now. Very small slope with a T-bar. I'm guessing not more than 200' vertical.

joshua_segal

Skizix said:

Skidmore College ski slope in Saratoga Springs, NY sometime around 1972. Listed on NELSAP now. Very small slope with a T-bar. I'm guessing not more than 200' vertical.

According to Lost Ski Areas of the Southern Adirondacks, by Jeremy Davis (aka nelsap), it was operated from the late 60s to early 70s. It had a Handle Tow, then T-Bar, 150' vertical.

ski_it

mapnut said:

I guess by "very near" it would have to be the closest area to the college, and close enough that students would dominate the clientele. I think you meant Dartmouth, not Colby? The closest area to Colby now must be Lost Valley, since Eaton doesn't have skiing. I'd count Lost Valley as a de facto college ski area for Bates.

Dominate? That's easy, which one has the cheaper beer.
No, sorry I meant the other Colby. Colby-Sawyer College, Main Street, New London, NH. And several closer than LV to Colby in Maine. LV 1:10, Camden 1:05, Titcomb 1:00, Hermon 56 mins and the mighty Pinnacle less than 30.

bmwskier

I've skied Middlebury recently and Norwich back when I went there. My work study was patrolling at NU. 

There were a lot of good things about NU-- Lybrand off to skiers right had mounds of dirt that were natural moguls and there were two ways back-- a "chicken trail" 2/3 of the way down and then Lybrand Extension on the bottom. Downhill cut back and forth and almost all trails ended up on what used to be a large field below the headwall. The groomers used to roll down the trails to skiers left, cut across the field and then down Wildcat-- which led to some very interesting trips across that field. We also had two cascade toboggans, two Shure Stops and two Sun Valley sleds. 

Mountain Cold Weather Company used the chair to move into positions without walking up the mountain to maneuver tactically against units that came to train and did glissading on the steep trail immediately above where the Shaw Outdoor Center is now. There was also a ski jump a long time ago on that same trail.