We're hurtling headlong towards winter up here in New Hampshire, and our thoughts turn to winter sports. We went on a nice snowy hike yesterday, and came upon the (abandoned) Weeks State Park ski area. It's totally awesome -- the kind of place you would go for an afternoon of easy skiing without breaking the bank (a near impossibility in this day and age -- even the half-day lift tickets in our area run $30+ per person).
It's a rope tow, as all of the municipal ski hills around here were. There are no municipal ski hills left. The Cochran Ski Area near Burlington, VT is the closest thing, and they had to finangle the IRS into letting them turn into a non-profit ski area to survive.
I don't know about other rope tows (as all the other local ones have been taken down), but this one is a marvel of engineering ingenuity -- the gears are standard truck rims, and everything is mounted on old telephone poles (which also have lights on them -- for night skiing?).
Everything is rusty, but not rusted -- I was able to pull the rope along through its paces for a foot or two. There's still power running to poles, and the slopes themselves are in great condition. There's even a huge parking area right at the base of the short trail up to the hill. This is exactly the kind of area that needs a patron. Or, barring that, a group of steampunk makers who will sneak in at night and fix it up.
Just think of it! All of the wheels could be cleaned up and painted, the bottom of the hill could have a great warming hut with cider and nog and doughnuts, and everyone could warm up in front of a big fire! I would totally figure out how to ski in Victorian garb if it meant that this perfect little hill could be used again.
(As it is, Aaron and I have some kick-ass sledding trips planned. I will hike all the way to the top if need be.)
