Retro Midwest Skiing

When I was a kid in the 70s I remember seeing ads for Devil's Nest ski area  somewhere near the Nebraska/South Dakota border around Gavenspoint Dam I believe. I have tried to find some info on the place but no luck.  

In the 80s-mid 90s there was a ski area between Omaha and Lincoln right off the interstate called Trailridge -- then later renamed Nebraski.  Now it is long gone but the lodge remains.

in Chicago Metro?

found this link on line:

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-03-11/site/ct-per-flash-readersremember-0311-20120311_1_ski-circus-parades-reader-response

mentions Thunder Mountain  ...

I think my brother in law mentioned skiing Villa Olivia up on US 20 near Hwy 59 ....

http://villaolivia.com/PDF/ski-pamphlet.pdf

http://siouxcityjournal.com/news/article_bd11a9c9-b270-559f-a3a8-e38d98ab90a4.html

http://www.nebraskalife.com/devilsnest.asp

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bergie 

Does anyone remember Lost Valley, Skyline, Snowcrest, and many many more...let's hear your stories.  Does anyone remember the 12 ski areas that were in metro Chicago?

USSA Central Division Freestyle @ Snowcrest circa 1981.  This photo was taken by my dad from the base.  I believe one of the dots is me taking one of my moguls runs.  I think I got 10th place for the under 18 that day, one of my better days.  I never won anything but really enjoyed being on a team, traveling, and skiing with all the different USSA freedogger folks around the MidWest.

good one for ya

North Minnesota

late 60's

anyone been or perhaps saw a hot dogger

Buenavista, Val Chattel, Quadna Mountain, Detroit Mountain

Quote:

Originally Posted by crgildart 

USSA Central Division Freestyle @ Snowcrest circa 1981.  This photo was taken by my dad from the base.  I believe one of the dots is me taking one of my moguls runs.  I think I got 10th place for the under 18 that day, one of my better days.  I never won anything but really enjoyed being on a team, traveling, and skiing with all the different USSA freedogger folks around the MidWest.

 

If I'm not mistaken Snowcrest  was in Wisconsin in or near the St Croix river valley. If its the place I remember, they also had a really nice network of lighted cross country ski trails. I remember skiing the slopes with my cross country gear sometime in the late 1970's.

Yep, Snowcrest wasn't that far away from Birch along the St Croix MN/WI border.

The last I heard the place was targeted (late 70's or early 80's) for some kind of condo development. I'm not sure if skiing was to remain part of the plan. Somerset Wisconsin was the location maybe.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kneale Brownson 

Worst one I ever visited was called Irish Hills. It was near where the Michigan International Speedway race track is. It was a bowl with tow ropes going out of the bottom of it in three directions, so everyone came back into the hole where the lift lines were. It was like watching the Keystone cops.

I skied there a lot!

There was also Mt Grampion (????), Silverbell (Oxford), Teeple Hill, @ Highland recreation area (by Alpine Valley) Kandahar (Fenton) that was private. and the world famous Riverview Highlands better known as Mt. Trashmore (Riverview)

Areas I skied in the Upper Midwest as a kid, all now long gone.  Snowcrest ( now a golf course), Birch Park (just gone), Mt. Frontenac (now a golf course), Quadna Mountain (a deserted park and motocross area), Sugar Hills (just gone), Ski Tonka (we mountain bike there now).  There are at least a couple more that I can't remember.

Is Telemark still operating up by Cable, WI?  Did my first race camp there, and remember it was pretty much big-time for that region.  Have heard about their cross country racing but nothing on the alpine side for years.  

Or Blackhawk Ski Club near Madison? That one is probably long gone to subdivisions.  They had 60 and 90 meter jump hills, and minuscule alpine runs with a rope toe and warming shack, but spent a LOT of days on that speed bump.  Was always amazed to see the jumpers messing around and going off the jumps riding a snow shovel, still that looked like a bad idea.  That was also the first place I ever got busted for poaching (and the last); the landing area was the first really steep thing I ever skied.

Near New Glaris there was another 'ditch based' ski area that had an old barn for a day lodge.  Think it was Norway Basin, but can not find any info on it either.  That was the first actual powder day.  Also first spring crash into the mud; the place was probably a cow pasture in the Summer, so hope it was mud.

There was a lot of heart to some of those areas back there.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stranger 

Is Telemark still operating up by Cable, WI?  Did my first race camp there, and remember it was pretty much big-time for that region.  Have heard about their cross country racing but nothing on the alpine side for years.  

 

Or Blackhawk Ski Club near Madison? That one is probably long gone to subdivisions.  They had 60 and 90 meter jump hills, and minuscule alpine runs with a rope toe and warming shack, but spent a LOT of days on that speed bump.  Was always amazed to see the jumpers messing around and going off the jumps riding a snow shovel, still that looked like a bad idea.  That was also the first place I ever got busted for poaching (and the last); the landing area was the first really steep thing I ever skied.

 

Near New Glaris there was another 'ditch based' ski area that had an old barn for a day lodge.  Think it was Norway Basin, but can not find any info on it either.  That was the first actual powder day.  Also first spring crash into the mud; the place was probably a cow pasture in the Summer, so hope it was mud.

 

There was a lot of heart to some of those areas back there.

Telemark has been in financial trouble for many years now.  Now a fractional ownership resort focused on cross country skiing, snowmobiling and mountain biking.  Downhill skiing is long gone.

You're correct, there was a lot of heart, energy and devotion to the sport in those small, "mom and pop" ski operations.

I'm just lucky that Clinton, Iowa had a ski area at Eagle Point Park at the north end of town, if it wasn't for the dirt cheap lessons there, I wouldn't have ever gotten my start!  Imagine, 4 saturday mornings, lifts, lessons and rentals for $9!  It was natural snow only, a J bar and lights.  The "lodge" was 2 old semi's parked in a T with a potbelly stove in the corner.  If you got there early enough, you might score the "buckle" boots!

Quote:

Originally Posted by skimore1 

There was also Mt Grampion (????), Silverbell (Oxford), Teeple Hill, @ Highland recreation area (by Alpine Valley) Kandahar (Fenton) that was private. and the world famous Riverview Highlands better known as Mt. Trashmore (Riverview)

I lived in the Detroit burbs in the late 80s, Mt. Grampion was gone, so was Kandahar.  My buddy learned at Kandahar.

Don,

So was Clinton where you grew up?  Looking on a top map, it seems Eagle Point may have 100, maybe 150 foot elevation drop ... ?   Goes to show it's not that important where one learns but what one learns!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kneale Brownson 

Lot of folks learned to ski at the Lansing Ski Club in Michigan, now long turned into housing. First PSIA exam I tried was at Timberlee, another closed ski area, and my examiner was the ski school director at Lansing . At one time Michigan had something like 80 ski resorts.
Worst one I ever visited was called Irish Hills. It was near where the Michigan International Speedway race track is. It was a bowl with tow ropes going out of the bottom of it in three directions, so everyone came back into the hole where the lift lines were. It was like watching the Keystone cops.

Timberlee, Sugarloaf, Thunder Mountain, Walloon Hills.... had many many good days at them all growing up around there. Even skied a few days at the Lansing Ski Club hill! Sugarloaf is the heart breaker though. Great hill. Odd thing is both Hickory and 'Mt' Holliday aka Holiday Hills in TC are both still going.

I had a blast on the wicked frigid bitter cold weekend trip my church youth group took to Indianhead MI.  We stayed at an old bunk house that resembled an army barracks with metal bunks, no (little) heat, no hot water, bare bones.  Bored with some time to kill after skiing Saturday, we ventured through town on foot and hung out at a bowling alley.  It was a good thing that someone in our group knew how to manually keep score.  We all learned how to do that as there wasn't the AMF brain there to do it for us. 

There were 3 hills very near me 30 years ago, one remains, another sprung up.  The two victims:

1) General Butler State Park, KY's only ski area, 300' vert, a nice hill but really tiny.  Too small an operation to continue.

2) Ski Starlight, IN, a frightening place with ridgeline-only skiing and thin, half-buried net to keep people from slamming into thick, no-snow-cover trees on a 30+deg slope.  If those treed areas had snowmaking, a fiscal impossibility, they would have made delightful short glades.  I did the latter 2 in a Arroya, a bathtub with aluminum side rails for disabled skiers.

Today Paoli Peaks (300' vert) and bigger, newer Perfect North Slopes (400'vert) are good operations.
 

We were in Lawrence, Kansas yesterday which reminded me there used to be a ski area there called Mt. Bleu. I am guessing it closed sometime in the 80s? I tried to find some photos on the web but nothing.

2A.  KANSAS 
 GREENWOOD HEIGHTS   (Beaumont),  [closed],  Located 1 mile southeast 
   of Beaumont (50 miles due east of Wichita).  Operated from about 
   1968 to 1973. 
      Vertical Drop:  158 ft       Top:  1578     Base:  1420 
      Lifts:  1 chairlift, 2 T-bars 

 MONT BLEU   (Lawrence),  [closed],  Located 4 miles east of Lawrence, 
   off Hiway 10.  Operated from about 1968 to 1983. 
      Vertical Drop:  230 ft       Top:  1230     Base:  1000 
      Lifts:  1 T-bar, 1 rope tow 

   STEVE (city?) says that MONT BLEU had a chairlift in the mid- 
   sixties but sold it to a ski area near St. Louis.  Well, HIDDEN 
   VALLEY, MO opened in 1968, but sans chairlifts, which weren't added 
   until the 70's.  Can we pin those years down, Steve?

2B.  NEBRASKA 
 DEVIL'S NEST   (Crofton),  [obscure],  Located to the north of 
   Crofton, near Lewis & Clark Lake.  Operated in the 1972, 73 time 
   frame. 
      Vertical Drop:  450 ft       Lifts:  1 chairlift, 1 Poma 

 TRAIL RIDGE   (Gretna),  [name change],  Located about 30 miles 
   southwest of Omaha.  Opened in 1980.  Changed name to NEBRASKI 
   (still open) in 1991. 

 NEBRASKI   (Gretna),  [still open] 
   Vertical Drop:  200 ft          Top:  1250     Base:  1050 
   Lifts:  1 doublechair, 1 T-bar, 3 rope tows    night skiing

These are all news to me. I lived in Wichita from 1970 until 1973 and was not aware of any Kansas ski areas other than Mt. Sunflower. A friend living in Topeka reported back from skiing there as pretty much of a joke. He showed me photographs including one of a sign that asked skiers : "Please do not eat the snow". I seem to recall a snowpatch on a tiny hill surrounded by wheatfields.

Taos was 500 miles away, doable for a long weekend, but a strenuous drive back.

Quote:

Originally Posted by oisin 

These are all news to me. I lived in Wichita from 1970 until 1973 and was not aware of any Kansas ski areas other than Mt. Sunflower. A friend living in Topeka reported back from skiing there as pretty much of a joke. He showed me photographs including one of a sign that asked skiers : "Please do not eat the snow". I seem to recall a snowpatch on a tiny hill surrounded by wheatfields.

Taos was 500 miles away, doable for a long weekend, but a strenuous drive back.

I read this weekend that Mt. Sunflower and Mt. Bleu were the same. I'm just curious and would like to see some photos.

I remember when I was 12 or 13 reading about Devil's Nest Ski Area in Nebraska and being intrigued. If you look on Google maps you can see where they built quite a few streets and roads winding through the hills for vacation homes which never materialized. 475 feet for a vertical drop in Nebraska is pretty good. They even had a small airport.

Devil's Nest in Nebraska

above: lift at Devil's Nest

I have been to Trailridge (then name changed to Nebraski) back in the 80s and early 90s. One thing that killed that place was it was right off  I-80 between Omaha and Lincoln, but to actually get to it there was no interchange so you had to backtrack quite a ways on an old gravel road. That and poor snowmaking capabilities helped do it in I believe. The lodge still remains. If you are ever traveling on I-80 just look for the the jet used as a sign for the Strategic Air Command Museum -- it points right at the ski area.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bergie 

Per Guldbrandsgaard was the Ski School director at Snowcrest...always on MInneapolis TV when they aired ski shows, hosted by Barry Zevan.

Check this out for more info... http://hudson-wi.patch.com/articles/snow-memories-shussing-along-the-st-croix-valley-ski-trail

LOL, I totally remember "Barry Zevan The Weather Man"..

From the early 80s -- was doing some cleaning at my parent's house and came across this brochure.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kneale Brownson 


My first tow experience was the Traverse City Ski Bowl that preceded the town's development of Hickory. The town now is trying to find ways other than taxpayer funding to keep Hickory open. My dad was one of the original contributors to opening of Holiday, which closed some when its owner died, but now is taken over by a nonprofit group. Both these little slope areas are important for community kids to have a less expensive introduction to the sport. I skied at Hickory when it first opened but switched to Holiday after it opened because we lived on that side of town. I taught at SugarLoaf for 20 years.
Thunder still "operates" as Challenge Mountain. The Kirchers turned it over to a group that uses it for handicappers. Originally they just bought out all the little sliding hills and closed them to encourage locals' use of Boyne.

Neale,

I missed this post! You'll be interested to know that though it was suggested to pull funding for Hickory, the people of TC to have rallied recognizing both the history and the value that the area adds to the community.There's also a nice book about Hickory that you can find via this site that you'll be interested in:

http://www.preservehickory.com/

http://www.preservehickory.com/shop.php

I've had a look and am going to ask for it for Christmas this year! I'm glad someone's put this together as many of the founders are gone and many of the old GTSC members are certainly not going to be around a whole lot longer sad to say... certainly a number of great people who made a lot of dreams and opportunities for tons of area kids that are still skiing all over the country. 

I grew up skiing most of my elementary school years at HIckory and Holiday and graduated to TImberlee and Sugarloaf. I'm sure we have many common acquaintances though I'm guessing I'm a bit younger and you were one of 'the big kids'. Interesting thing about the whole Boyne vs. Walloon/Thunder, etc... is that these days, John K seems very much to be 'pro' little ski area, though I don't know that he has much to do with MI operations. So did Holiday have the best PA music ever? Who could argue with T-bar laps to Otis Redding on a sunny Saturday afternoon until Mrs. Sutton paged.  

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stranger 

Is Telemark still operating up by Cable, WI?  Did my first race camp there, and remember it was pretty much big-time for that region.  Have heard about their cross country racing but nothing on the alpine side for years.  

 

Or Blackhawk Ski Club near Madison? That one is probably long gone to subdivisions.  They had 60 and 90 meter jump hills, and minuscule alpine runs with a rope toe and warming shack, but spent a LOT of days on that speed bump.  Was always amazed to see the jumpers messing around and going off the jumps riding a snow shovel, still that looked like a bad idea.  That was also the first place I ever got busted for poaching (and the last); the landing area was the first really steep thing I ever skied.

 

Near New Glaris there was another 'ditch based' ski area that had an old barn for a day lodge.  Think it was Norway Basin, but can not find any info on it either.  That was the first actual powder day.  Also first spring crash into the mud; the place was probably a cow pasture in the Summer, so hope it was mud.

 

There was a lot of heart to some of those areas back there.

  Blackhawk is still operating and going strong, very good Jr race program as well as jumping and xc, they also do quite a bit of mountain biking there also.

  Not sure if you mean Tyrol Basin [vs Norway Basin] its near Mt.Horeb, not far from New Glarus. My Home area still going strong, top Nastar area