Category Columns

I used to hate skiing when it was snowing.  During the 1950s and 1960s I would dread those snowy days even though I knew they usually meant good skiing conditions.  Starting in about 1970 I began to actually enjoy those… Continue Reading →

After World War II, skiing’s popularity in Vermont really began to grow and it brought out the entrepreneurial spirit in Vermonters.  Kermit and Anabel Moriarty lived on the Mountain Road in Stowe with their two sons Marvin and Darwin in… Continue Reading →

The winter of 1949-1950 was a bad snow year and the Tey Manufacturing Company of Milford Connecticut was having a bad year as well.  Tey produced the ALU-60 which was an aluminum ski with a hollow core and arguably ahead… Continue Reading →

Foster Chandler, legendary former Director of Marketing for Killington, provided the correct answer to last week’s trivia question: “Killington opened December 13, 1958 with 2 Pomalifts on Snowdon Mountain, while construction continued on 2 other Pomalifts during the winter. Four… Continue Reading →

Another ski season has begun and I’m back with more skiing memories, history, nostalgia and trivia.  Being of a “certain age” I can remember when the start of a ski season depended entirely on Mother Nature and so was less… Continue Reading →

Another ski season is starting and RetroSki will be back for its second season of skiing memories, history, nostalgia, and trivia.  Regular posts and trivia will begin on Wednesday, November 23rd.

The winter of 1968-69 set a record for snowfall on Mount Washington that still stands today.  Some 566 inches fell that season and much of that snow was deposited in Tuckerman Ravine by the wind.  There was still a reasonable-sized… Continue Reading →

In 1965 Ted Johnson worked at the Alta Lodge overlooking the Alta ski area.  However Johnson had big dreams of starting a new ski area in the Peruvian Gulch and Gad Valley just down Little Cottonwood Canyon from Alta.  He… Continue Reading →

Alta, Utah, began as a silver mining town in 1865.  At its peak in the late 1800’s it had an estimated population of 8000 and about 180 buildings – 26 of which were bars.  Apparently the Utah liquor laws were… Continue Reading →

Last week, I wrote about how stretch pants helped increase skiing’s popularity during the 1950’s and 1960’s.  Indeed in-the-boot stretch pants were an integral part of the skiing “uniform” worn during that era. The upper body portion of the uniform… Continue Reading →