Lost Ski Areas: Mount Whittier, 1946 - 1985 : West Ossippee, NH

[@sephivedewlap746]

I grew up a few minutes from here, and my family has lived in the area for about 90 years at this point. Really fascinating to see this covered. My dad grew up skiing here, and my uncle actually worked on the alpine slides as a summer job back in the 70s. There's another abandoned ski area a few miles down the road in Moultonborough, which I think was called Ossipee Mountain, as well as a small ski coop which is still in operation (Red Hill Ski Club). Skiing has changed so drastically since the midcentury. These small hills were affordable, local recreation for small communities. It's really sad to see so much of gone.

[@thomasconnors7511]

I used ri go here in the summer with my family when we stayed in Moultonborough. Cool place with Bumper Cars .

[@LB-kc8nc]

Another great video Avery. Thank you. The first T-bar was a Hall lift.

[@averyzucco220]

Thanks for the info. Thought it looked like one.

[@NGRSnow]

The Whittier gondola was indeed detachable, though there were no chains or tires and cabins had to be manually piushed around at each end. The racks that detached the grips are missing from the midstation and summit; perhaps they're intact at the base, though it's not easy to get permission to look around in there. My understanding is that the midstation had a system that allowed the detaching mechanisms and rails to be pulled away from the cable so that in summer sightseeing operations, cabins did not stop and little to no staff was needed there.

[@averyzucco220]

Very cool information! Thank you!

[@IWILSONMCF]

This feels like fallout 4

[@goodtimefolkrock]

Hi Avery glad to see more lost ski area content again....

[@YourLockerzPal]

Wow outstanding work per usual Avery. Thank you for taking the time to document and show its history, this one was a true Time Capsule.

[@averyzucco220]

Thank you!

[@ElmiraMarx]

if you want another Landry's ski area in windham nh you can still see the bottom of the trails

[@alexrad603]

I highly recommend researching the balsams ski area in dixville nh, i learned how to ski there when i was 5 and it closed shortly thereafter. i’m 19 now

[@oldhouseredux7733]

Ossipee = AWE-sip-EE

[@averyzucco220]

Yeah, as has been mentioned to me before. Not from around there!

[@jimr7120]

Awesome Video! I skied that as a kid, sooo...maybe 50 years ago. We went down the Alpine Slide too, that was a blast! I drive by every year or so and have wondered about it. Thanks for posting that. We have stopped at the McDonalds across the street to see the new tree growth where the slopes were. Have you ever posted about Tyrol? That was another good one. Thanks again!

[@averyzucco220]

I did look at visiting Tyrol when I was in the area. Whittier had more of the old ski area still intact so I chose that with the time available. I'll have to check out some more areas next time I'm up that way.

[@yelram4life]

Used to hike up to the cabin on top with kegs and party up there back in HS, Kingswood class of '93. Went to school with some Whittiers, although I don't know if they were related to the ski area in any way.

[@averyzucco220]

Hey, who knows? It would be cool to have a mountain named after your family though!

[@guitarteacherjohn8174]

I remember those partys 👋😎

[@MichaelWood-d7s]

Outstanding!!

[@donhathaway3234]

I remember as a kid stopping here on the way up to our grandfathers camp in Thornton in the early/mid 60s. Our parents used it for a rest stop and lunch. We would watch the gondolas cross the road and drool over the stuff in the gift shop.

[@111day1]

I worked there in 1974-75 grooming and running the lifts. Interestingly, the state wouldn’t allow skiers to utilize the gondola because it crossed NH RTE 16/25. We still ran it for tourists to gain access to the mountaintop view.

[@arcanondrum6543]

It's actually nice to see Nature take over again.

[@drekfletch]

The end of the ski area closed the site completely. In the mid 90s they reopened as a waterpark (no mountain coaster); the snow pond was used for bumper boats, and the slope from the lodge down to rt25 had 4 water slides. That was only open a few years, though. At some point before or during the waterpark, the original regrowth was cleared. You were walking through much of the regrowth after that.

[@drekfletch]

One of my earliest memories was riding the gondolas before they closed, and being terrified going over the road.

[@coeneschamaun1735]

Too bad the water park didn't survive. It sounds like tons of fun!

[@Skibum66]

Would be interested in seeing you do a video on Cove Ski Village, Zion Grove, PA.

[@Pgd10020]

The zucc master. Do you think the layout confused people?

[@averyzucco220]

It was pretty common to have a lift system broken into lower/upper mountain surface lifts for that time period (60s and 70s). The main issue was more that there was essentially only advanced terrain accessible from the gondola and none of that had snowmaking. Put them at a big disadvantage during low snowfall winters.

[@jimcushman5060]

It was always fun mountain. But we usually just drove up to wildcat . Great job with the video.

[@JamesRegister-np7gn]

You should really collaborate with Avery Zucco.

[@averyzucco220]

Yeah?

[@JamesRegister-np7gn]

I meant to say skier 72 and I'll tell him to collaborate for you, you should watch his videos.

[@averyzucco220]

​@@JamesRegister-np7gn I've seen his work. Really enjoy it. Maybe if he ever visits the Ice Coast.

[@Skier72]

@@averyzucco220 Would be fun...

[@ErnieHutchins]

Looks like a "Doppelmayr" T-Bar The reason is the short section hanging from the main lift cable contained a retractable short cable and wood T-Bar Skied on it over 50 years ago but cant remember for sure

[@ErnieHutchins]

Opps I am wrong not a "Doppelmayr" I think.

[@averyzucco220]

Cool info! Thanks. Not sure it was called Doppelmayr back then. I think that name only came later, after merging with several other companies. Not sure of the history but believe they were called Garavanta back then, then Thiokol then CTEC then finally Doppelmayr. Again, not sure on the order of operations on that or who merged/bought who.

[@charlesolson9019]

What is surprising about the Whittier gondola is that the haul rope is still there, under tension and (apparently) still on every tower, almost 40 years after it was abandoned. I'd have thought NHDOT would have required it to be taken down where it crosses NH16. I remember seeing the gondola cars crossing over the highway as a kid once or twice, on the way home after hiking, but we never rode it.

[@NortheastHobbyfarmer]

I rode up the ski trail on a motorcycle in summer, I also rode up the trail a ways in a Tucker Snow Cat when it was open. Of course I skied here too. Lots of memories.

[@davidsmeglap4023]

I skied Whittier in 1970 after an ice storm. They dragged the trails to break up the ice. Quite literally is like skiing on a trail of thousands of one inch ice cubes. It would have been more ski-able if they just left it as hockey rink ice. I have never skied any condition like this before or after. Hockey rink ice with tuned skis is doable. This was impossible.

[@phishENchimps]

Glebe Mountain Farm/Timber Ridge...

[@SsmuelRidgway]

Shows you how the cable were very durable and still in place after many years of neglect.

[@easternyellowjacket276]

One of the old trail maps lists ski lift price: $5.50 a day.

[@timtoms4117]

kind of a strange, dysfunctional main lodge thank you for the tour

[@mikewilliams1482]

Great video. I wanted to get on that property back in February while on my way up skiing. But there were no trespassing signs all over the place. Is it ok to explore the mountain now because you clearly did.

[@ossipee1023]

Great video. We shared excerpts from it. Thanks.

[@coeneschamaun1735]

How do passengers load and unload from a fixed grip gondola? Does the gondola stop/start?

[@averyzucco220]

Someone explained that it was actually manually detachable. Wild stuff.

[@charliebarker5074]

i hiked up the accesses road to get there a few years ago and the guy who owns it drove up in a tracked side by side to yell at me and tell me to leave

[@davidandrewbull]

Ossipee = AUS E pee or AUS O pee or AUS A pee, depending on who you talk to. AUS like Australia. Not the most important thing in the world, grateful for your video, enjoyed it.

[@charliebarker5074]

lake Ossippee owns

[@BobWoodman-y8m]

Great video but you're destroying the pronouncing of Ossipee.

[@111day1]

There were cogs that detached the cars from the cable.

[@miccohioh6462]

It's actually pronounced " aw sip pee"

[@jazoobi]

How valid can this be when Ossippee is mispronounced?

[@andrewcarter6745]

Ossipee*

[@giantrobot9000]

Frustrating since he actually visited the town and everything. You see this all the time with KZbin videos. There’s no first-hand knowledge of the subject, just internet research.