Skiers Head North Over Vacation

Lack of transportation funds has forced the varsity ski team to cancel a Christmas vacation training trip to Aspen, Colorado, Ski coach Graham Taylor, Jr. '49 will instead take the team to Putney, Vermont, where the squad will train for four days in preparation for its first meet on December 30 and 31.

This meet, the Invitation Intercollegiate at Lydonville, Vermont, is itself primarily a practice meet designed to acquaint the Crimson skiers with the Lydonville course where the Eastern Divisional Championship will be held in February.

Several of the varsity skiers may also enter the slalom and cross country races at Franconia, New Hampshire. This meet was originally scheduled for this past weekend but a lack of snow caused the affair to be postponed until December 22 and 23.

New Hampshire Skiing

The rest of the College's ski enthusiasts are unlikely to become involved in any downhill races or slalom meets over the vacation. But whether the skier prefers a "suicide" trail or just a bulldozed cow pasture, there is something for everybody--snow bunny or schusser.

One of the most accessible areas which usually has a good snow cover is New Hampshire's Slope region, mecca of the Sunday ski train riders. This 20 mile long area on the east side of the White Mountains provides a variety of trails ranging from the wide, sweeping runs on North Conway's Cranmore Mountain to the rugged trails on Mount Washington.

Most of the beginner and intermediate skiers flock to Cranmore, whose trails are served by the Skimobile. The major slopes are on the west side where the sun gets at the snow but this is offset by the fact that its smooth trails are skiable on only four inches of cover. The east side of Cranmore has also been developed to make use of the deep-snow "backside" of the mountain. A mile and a quarter long trail was cut there last summer.

A few miles beyond North Conway lies the Jackson area where trails on Black and Thorn Mountains provide heavy snow covers and a varsity of open and wooded terrain. Black is served by a 3500-foot Alpine lift which brings skiers to trails for the novice as well as the expert. At nearby Thorn there is a 4,000-foot chair lift supplemented by two rope tows. Thorn has been improved with the widening of the practice slope and the addition of a new expert trail.

Some of New Hampshire's finest skiing may also be found on the other side of the White Mountain, in the Franconia region. Here on Cannon Mountain lie numerous intermediate and expert slopes easily reached by the 2,000-foot Aerial Tramway. The lower half mile of the Cannon trail was widened to 125 feet and two new trails added during the summer.

In the lakes region of central New Hampshire a completely new area has been created at Red Hill in Moultonboro. A 1,5000-foot platter-pull cable lift was constructed here on a 2,000-foot slope.

Since skiing brings plenty of dollars to the state, New Hampshire does an excellent job of keeping its main roads clear throughout the winter. Skiers heading to the Eastern Slopes region, in particuar, will find at least a half-hour taken off the travelling time by using the New Hampshire Turnpike, from the Massachusetts line to Portsmouth, N.H., which was opened this summer. Another high-way improvement was made just below Conway, where the winding curves at Chocorua were eliminated.

Snow in the Laurentians

Christmas skiing in New England is strictly a gamble with the weather man. If snow doesn't come to New England during the next two weeks the best bet appears to be Canada's Laurentians, north of Montreal. There is already a cover of about 14 to 18 inches on both Mont Tremblant and St. Donat and the lifts have been running for several weeks.

Trails in the Laurentians are available for the novice as well as the expert and until March, at least, there is no danger of plowing through any juniper bushes on the slopes. The trip to this Canadian ski area can be accomplished by an over-night train trip from Boston or a few hours' plane hop.