DARTMOUTH SKIWAY

THE wintry lords of the North Country willing, Dartmouth Skiway, carved out of the northeast slopes of Holt's Ledge in Lyme, N. H., will open for its sixth season sometime this month.

As has been customary in the past, several new features are being introduced this winter to the Skiway program. Balthasar Mayer, an Austrian skier of international repute, has been named director of the Dartmouth Skiway Ski School, and will be assisted by Mrs. Marshall (Lib) Fitzgerald. In addition to his ski school duties, Mayer will serve as instructor for the Ford Sayre Memorial Ski Program for Hanover grade school children and will assist with the alpine program of the Hanover High School.

The Sachem trail at the Skiway has been nearly tripled in width, from the halfway point to the base, to accommodate more skiers and to provide a much wider but no less steep descent.

A third innovation, and very much an experiment, is the offer of a free season ticket to each new, full-time employee of the College who joined the staff on or after June 1, 1961, and who is a newcomer to Hanover. This season ticket entitles the employee and members of his family to use the Skiway, the Oak Hill lift, and Golf Course tow. The program has the frankly avowed "sinister" purpose of introducing newcomers to skiing and skiing facilities at the College so that in future years they will become regular customers.

The Dartmouth Skiway will have an international flavor this winter with the addition of lift and trail signs printed in foreign languages.

Commented one College officer, "All ski operators find that children through the age of 35 can't or won't read signs in English which say,' Please do not get off the lift before the summit,' so we're printing them in French, German and Russian. In view of the increased emphasis on modern languages at the College and even in the local high and grade schools, these signs should help to combine learning with skiing safety."

The Skiway, designed chiefly as a Dartmouth family facility, has five trails - the Worden Schuss, Gauntlet, Sachem, Lyme Drop, and Papoose - plus an open slope area called Green Pastures. A Pomalift with a capacity of 800 skiers per hour services all trails, while a T-Bar lift, with a capacity of 600 skiers per hour, services the Green Pastures area and the lower part of the Worden trail.

If past experience is any criterion the Skiway will see from 85 to 90 days of full operation this winter, closing sometime between the end of March and midApril.

The Skiway opened officially on December 14, 1956 and was formally dedicated a month later (January 19) during a winter meeting of the Dartmouth Alumni Council. That first year saw only 42 days of operation with a March 12 closing.

"That first year was really a rough one," admits Howard Chivers '39, former Dartmouth ski ace and Olympic team member, who has managed the Skiway since its establishment.

In 1957-58 the Skiway opened January 9 and closed on April 14 with 88 operating days recorded. The following year another 88 operating days were chalked up with a December 12 opening and March 31 closing. The 1959-60 season saw 83 days of operation from December 24 to March 30, and last year the total went to 88 days from December 18 through March 25.

But patronage is even more important than operating days for any ski area and the Dartmouth Skiway has seen a steady increase during its five years of operation. "Last year we averaged 400 skiers a day on weekends and holidays," reports Chivers, "and about 100 skiers on each weekday."

The Skiway is used by a variety of groups; the Dartmouth varsity and freshman ski teams work out there, and organized "rec" classes for Dartmouth students, sponsored by the Outing Club, are held four days each week. High school and preparatory school ski teams frequently use the Skiway facilities for practice sessions and ski meets, as do outing club groups from other colleges in New England. Finally, of course, faculty members and townspeople from Hanover and surrounding areas are frequent users, while the area has become increasingly popular with Dartmouth alumni and their families.

Reflecting the increased popularity of the area are the gross revenue figures, which have gone from $8,900 in the first year of operation to $42,300 taken in last year. Operating costs and depreciation of equipment take up most of the revenue, however, so that the highest net annual gain has been $133.

"The Skiway was established and its rates set on a 'break-even' basis," reports Treasurer John F. Meek '33. "Unlike other College operations of this kind, such as the Hanover Country Club, the Skiway is charged depreciation on all equipment and last year this amounted to $7,500." .

In addition to depreciation, the Skiway has used its yearly income to make constant, annual improvements.

The lower stretch of the Lyme Drop trail was considerably widened in 1958. In the summer of 1959 a new novice trail running for one and one-quarter miles - the Papoose - was cut and graded. The summer of 1960 saw the installation of the T-bar lift, an enlargement of the Green Pastures open slope area, and a widening of the lower third of the Worden Schuss. That same year the skiway parking facilities were expanded to provide for 160 cars instead of the eighty cars previously accommodated.

One of the major attractions at the Skiway is the rustic Brundage Lodge, given by Charles E. Brundage '16 and Mrs. Brundage in honor of their son, Robert Peter Brundage '45 who was killed in the Pacific theatre during World War II. In the summer of 1958 an addition was made at the rear of the Lodge to accommodate the remodeled snack bar, and in 1960 the lounge and eating areas were nearly doubled. Centrally located between the parking area and the base station for the Pomalift and T-bar lift, the Brundage Lodge is one of the finest at any area in New England.

In the short span of five years the Dartmouth Skiway has more than fulfilled the hopes of the Trustees Planning Committee, which sought a new area that would keep Dartmouth in a top place in the skiing world, so warranted by tradition and past accomplishments.

The initial financing of the area was made possible through the gifts that alumni, parents and friends made to a special campaign for $125,000 in 1955-1956. The name The Dartmouth Skiway, selected in a contest open to alumni and the public, was proposed by Miss Pauline Case of Hanover, now Mrs. Edward C. Chinlund ('29).

A committee composed of Mr. Meek, Coach Walter Prager, Robert S. Monahan '29, John Rand '38, and Howard Chivers thoroughly investigated all possible sites within a 25-mile radius of Hanover. The Holt's Ledge area offered the best possibilities in terms of proximity to Hanover, terrain, average snowfall, vertical rise, and room for future expansion. Independent consultants, including Sepp Ruschp and Henry Simoneau of Stowe, agreed with the selection and assisted in the planning for the area.

Already the Dartmouth Skiway has been host to major ski meets, headed by the NCAA Championships in 1959. The New England Prep and High School Championships have been held at the Skiway, and for the past three years the Eastern Intercollegiate Class B meets have been run there.

As the area begins its sixth year of operation Manager Howard Chivers envisages a bright future. "Already we are operating close to capacity, particularly on weekends, but we still have space available in the area for some new trails and another lift. However, we do want to keep the Skiway a Dartmouth family area and avoid turning it into just another commercial ski resort."

So alumni readers are urged to keep the Dartmouth Skiway in mind the next time they make a winter visit to Hanover's North Country. Preliminary to an outing on the Skiway slopes, however, it might be a good idea to brush up on Russian, French, or German, in order to know what those signs say.

Balthasar Mayer, Austrian skiing star,who has been appointed director of theSki School at the Dartmouth Skiway.

DARTMOUTH SKIWAY: (1) Green Pastures, novice, intermediate; (2) DanWorden Schuss, expert; (3) Gauntlet Trail, top intermediate, bottom expert; (4)Sachem Trail, top intermediate, bottom expert; (5) Lyme Drop, top novice, bottomintermediate; (6) Papoose Trail, novice; (A) T-Bar lift; (B) Pomalift; (C) BrundageLodge; (D) Parking area; (E) DOC cabin.