The Coolidge examiner., 1938-03-03
Off for Days Skiing.
Thrilling Winter Sport That Is
Popular in Our Mountainous Regions


And when all the pretty girls were
| going on the snow trains, they were
not going alone.
Said an old-timer, Il have no in
tention of ever running the full head
wall in Tuckerman ravine on Mount
Washington. My racing days are
all behind me. The only skiing
championship l hold and cherish
is the neighborhood championship
won for riding down the vertical
pitch from the high tee by the
bridge on the Winchester (MassO
golf course on a single ski without
falling"
To have the worlds most exten-
sive network Of down-mountain
trails. more than 300 miles of them,
as New England has. guarantees its
| popularity as a mountain runners
paradise.
Many Of the existing trails, de-
spite the effort TO classify them as
expert" intermediate, and
novice" vary so much from day
TO day with weather and snow con-
ditions that under certain circum-
stances even some Of the novice
trails will scare the beginner.
New England Trails.
After all. how much multitude ap-
peal is there in mountain trails with
such reassuring names as "Helrs
Highway" Chin Clip" Nose
Dive" Wildcat" and Thunder
bolt?
Those are actually the names Of
five New England trails. They have
spectator appeal People would
want to go and watch others risk
their necks on them. Such names,
however. have not the persuasive
lure that attracts participants rath-
er than spectators.
Obviously, If a steep mountain
trail has plenty of turns, a skier
will automatically slow down when
he makes the turns, or in trying to
turn he will fall harmlessly. In
either case, he has killed the speed
which can be SO dangerous.
A mountain trail with such fire.
quent turns would not be fast
enough for Olympic-caliber racing
runners; most of the New England
down-mountain trails were laid out
according to the preferences of rae
ing men.
Fortunately, New England has not
stopped with its down-mountain net
work. Skiing, like golf. requires
facilities. And communities, sens
ing the winter business possibilities,
have undertaken to provide suitable
open slopes, woods roads, new con-
Meeting trails, slopes which can be
fioodlighted for nighttime skiing.
They have constructed ski tows,
American developments which pull
the skier to the top of the hill and
increase MANIFOLD the amount Of
sliding down which one can do in a
day.
The snow trains. which brought
$4,000 skiers to New England ski
areas during the winter of 1885 have
created an interesting new problem.
1t is difficult for the New York, New
Haven and Hartford railroad, for
example, to locate areas near
enough TO New York for one-day
excursion train trip, where the snow
is sure to be satisfactory and where
the skiing terrain can accommodate
thousands of skiers.
Weekend Snow Trains.
The first regular snow train was
run by the Boston and Maine rail-
road from Boston in 1881. That
winter these trains carried 8,37l
passengers. Last winter they car
ried 24,420 passengers, 80 per cent
Of whom were skiers.
Being nearer the more mountain
Gus section Of New England, the
Boston and Maine has a wider
choice of one-day snow train des-
tinations than the New Haven. How
ever, New York has solved that
problem by introducing the week
end snow train"
Skiing has had a peculiar devel-
opment in America. 1t was intro
duced originally by the Scandinavia
ans, with whom cross-country ski
ing and ski-juInping were the vogue.
Cross-country skiing did not cap
ture popularity in America. Ski
jumping did become sports event.
1t was the development of noun
tain skiing in Switzerland and Aus
tria which suggested to New Eng
landers their own mountain posi-
bilities.
Today, cross-country skiing over
mountainous regions seems to be the
coming thing. A series Of shelter
huts was built in the White Noun.
tain National forest last summer.
supplementing the Appalachian
Mountain club trail cabins. Indi-
vidual skiing trail systems have
been linked together aud mapped
for touring.