Colorado ski history – LOST SKI AREAS OF COLORADO BOOKS by Caryn and Peter Boddie

Centennial to Celebrate:

Ski Jump at Dillon

Spectators watch Anders Haugen make a jump at the Prestrud Jump, also called Haugen's Hill, at Dillon in 1919 or 1920.

On the road to the Dillon dam look up near the spillway at the rock cut above from which ‘ski riders’ once launched onto a steep takeoff ramp to fly off a ski jump.

You can’t see where riders landed because that is now under the water of the reservoir. The jump came to be called Prestrud Jump for Peter Prestrud who created the hill in 1919. It was also called Haugen’s Hill for Anders Haugen who set the World Record there twice in 1919 and 1920 at 213 feet and 214 feet, respectively. (To see great photos of the ski riders, including Haugen, courtesy of the Summit County Historical Society, look at Lost Ski Areas of Colorado’s Central and Southern Mountains, our second book for The History Press.) This photo shows the jump with Haugen flying from it and spectators watching. This photo was not of high enough quality to be included in the book, but it is an historic photo created by LC Anderson for the US Forest Service, and it shows Haugen making a jump of 195 feet.

The rest of the story

One hundred years ago come next January, will be the centennial anniversary of when Anders Haugen led a US team to the 1924 Winter Olympics, the first winter games, in Chamonix, France, and he competed in ski jumping. Unfortunately, he did not win a medal because he leaned forward over his skis instead of standing up straight, so he was marked down on style points.

The actual length of the jump wasn’t good enough for a medal either. But hold on a minute, it was longer, by three feet! According to John Hafner, author of Strange But True, “Fifty years later, a Norwegian sports historian stumbled upon an apparent scoring error. To his amazement, the scores didn’t add up. Upon further checking, the Norwegian Olympic Committee confirmed that the American was the rightful owner of the bronze medal.”

More of the rest of the story

The committee invited Haugen to Oslo, Norway, in 1974. The now eighty-six-year-old Haugen received the bronze medal with the blessing of Anne Marie Magnussen, who wanted her father’s medal to be turned over to Haugen. He still stands as the only American to win an Olympic medal in ski jumping.

Summer Trip to Rollins Pass/Corona

*Very long, rough ride to Rollins Pass — where Corona was — from Winter Park, good four-wheel-drive vehicle recommended. A walk on the tundra there, at the Continental Divide, is a real treat.*

Lost Ski Areas of Colorado’s Front Range and Northern Mountains tells the story of Carl Howelsen and Angell Schmidt riding the train on the Moffat Road to Rollins Pass “where Corona was,” getting off the train, and skiing down to Hot Sulphur Springs to crash the town’s first winter carnival in 1911. They showcased ski jumping there.

We drove the very rough Corona jeep road from Colorado Highway 40 this summer to visit the historic spot and to remember the story and the railroad that carried so many to Hot Sulphur Springs. Later with the creation of the Moffat Tunnel it let them off to ski at West Portal Resorts and the Mary Jane Trail.

*Passengers on the Moffat Road take a break at Corona (Rollins Pass). US Forest Service photo.*

*Wild roses, old trestle, hike on the Continental Divide and King Lake were highlights of our summer visit to the point where early Colorado skiers launched into making ski history.*

Weeks after our visit to the pass we made a visit to Central City and the Gilpin History Museum. A display provided us with a little more information about Corona. “This railroad station at the top of Rollins Pass was built around 1904. Snow on the pass drifts to 20 to 30 feet during the winter. A snow shed was built in 1909 to eliminate plowing the drifts. The Central City Weekly Register-Call reported on August 27, 1909 that the shed “. . . will require a million and a quarter feet” of lumber. When the Moffat Tunnel opened in 1928 the twenty-three miles of track over Rollins Pass was abandoned along with the structure.”

*Engine and passengers at the West Portal of the Moffat Tunnel. Caryn Bossie postcard collection.*

Summer Visit to Rilliet Hill

When we wrote Lost Ski Areas of the Front Range and Northern Mountains, we spoke with Woody Smith of the Colorado Mountain Club about Rilliet Hill, but we did not find its exact location on Lookout Mountain. That was way back in 2013 or 2014.

Recently, and out of the blue, we had a call from Michael Young (below), the author of The Swiss Army Knife. He offered to show the hill to us. We were happy and excited to accept the offer. (Mike’s book is available on Amazon and Ebay.)

On June 19, we met Mike on Lookout Mountain, parked and walked down to the site of Rilliet Hill. What a beautiful spot. We could see the actual hill, which was sporting some younger evergreens and lots of wildflowers. Also, Mike pointed out to us landmarks that seem to be the same ones as in a snow-covered photo in our book.

Lost ski area Rilliet Hill was located in Rilliet Park, on Lookout Mountain.

Skiing took place there in the 1920s by Colorado Mountain Club members. They got up to the hill with horses and sleds and then by Model T and Model A autos. At first the members skied down and trekked up, but then they must have rigged up a rope tow, probably powered by the engine of a Model T. (You can see a winter photo of the transportation in our Front Range book.)

CMC members built a warming hut near the hill. Mike introduced us to Keith Davidson, president of the Rilliet Park Association. He showed us the hut, which he and his wife Marta have been caretaking and renovating, even putting on a new roof, just the two of them.

Keith Davidson (R), president of the Rilliet Park Association, with property owner and shareholder Michael Young, who has a family history with Rilliet Park, in front of the warming hut.

The extraordinary thing about this place is that the Colorado Mountain Club bought the land and created the Rilliet Park Association. In 1997, the association donated a 273-acres conservation easement to the Clear Creek Land Conservancy. So, it is protected. For that reason, and because it’s private, we are still not going to tell exactly where it is located.

It’s remarkable how some lost hills were never completely lost at all, thanks to the good people who have been involved with them over the years.

Thank you, Michael Young for contacting us.

Spring is sprung. Skiing is done.

A snowstorm that comes after spring has arrived reminds us of the great things about the last winter, including the beauty of snow falling. Some of the lost areas have hung around to one degree or another for years, also reminding skiers of the joys of winter and past ski seasons.

One example is Arapahoe East, which haunted skiers as they drove through Mount Vernon Canyon going to, or returning from, the mountains. By 1984, only the lift towers remained.

Arapahoe East sat atop a hill on the south side of I-70 (north slope of Mt. Liniger) a couple of miles west of the exit to Golden and Morrison. The idea was that of Larry Jump, who owned Arapahoe Basin early on.

One unique thing about the area, which opened in 1972, was that you paid by the ride with tokens, which were .25 cents each. One token was required for the Poma lift and two for the chairlift.

You can read all about Arapahoe East — kind of a sad story — in Lost Ski Areas of Colorado’s Front Range and Northern Mountains. If you buy through this website, we’ll sign the book and get it out to you right away.

Hat tip to coloradoskihistory.com for letting us use their image of the AE brochure.

2022–2023 Ski Season Opens

Hope it’s a safe and snowy one for all

The Denver Gazette reported in the week before Thanksgiving that seven resorts were opening to skiers, adding to the nine that were already open.

It’s a different world than the one early skiers in Colorado knew, largely because of snowmaking. For many years skiing happened when there was enough snow naturally and when there was no snow, there was no skiing.

The lives of the early skiers were focused on raising families and making a living through the trades, mining, and ranching. They barely had time to think about skiing, but when snow came, they made the time to go out and have a little fun sliding on it. Also, they made skiing happen for the kids, and the sport grew and spread.

You can read all about it in Lost Ski Areas of Colorado’s Front Range and Northern Mountains and Lost Ski Areas of Colorado’s Central and Southern Mountains. If you buy through this website, we’ll sign the books and get them out to you right away. By the way, they make great gifts.

Anyway, here’s to a wonderful ski season! Enjoy!

A New Conversation on “Colorado Matters”

Hot Sulphur skiers at winter carnival. USFS photo.

Listen to a new conversation on early Colorado Skiing, which was broadcast on CPR’s “Colorado Matters” February 1, 2022. Many thanks to CPR!

Come Hear the Authors: Golden History Museum, Wednesday, February 16, 6 PM

One hundred years ago, Municipal Facts Monthly, a Denver magazine, published these images of “The Lariat Trail” on Lookout Mountain in snow.

In our research we learned that Colorado Mountain Club members went up the mountain to Rilliet Hill by horse and sleigh early on, and then by car, to practice telemarking on the ski down, but we never found the exact location of the hill. If you know where it was, please let the authors know. We hope to see you at the Golden History Museum! For tickets go to: Special events and programs at Golden History Museum & Park.

2021–2022 Ski Season Begins

Historic photo showing historic snowfall that got Denver hooked on skiing. — Martha (R), Mary Louise (L) and Sylvia Springsteen in the aftermath of the Big Snow of 1913.

In 1913, Denver received a massive amount of snow, which shut down the city for everyone except for one man: Carl Howelsen. He went skiing around and inspired George Cranmer to ask for lessons in how to ski. That was the beginning of the thirst for skiing in Denver.

Howelsen became the “Johnny Appleseed” of skiing in Colorado and, with friends, ignited the extreme snow sport of the day, ski jumping. You can read all about it in “Lost Ski Areas of Colorado’s Front Range and Northern Mountains.”

The photo above shows the author Caryn’s grandmother Martha and her sisters walking after the storms in northwest Denver, which is now Highlands.

We had a beautiful, but dry, autumn in 2021. However, some of the ski areas have opened with manmade snow and limited runs.

Think snow.

Remembering William ‘Senior’ Mahoney

Remembering Senior Mahoney — Bill ‘Senior’ Mahoney (R) and Stanley Rice ski at 12,000 ft. on Ajax Mountain. *Photo courtesy Senior Mahoney.*

On March 16, 2021, we attended a virtual meeting of the Aspen Historical Society, which featured Western State College University’s Dr. Duane Vandenbusche (Colorado’s new state historian) speaking about ski history. Dr. Vandenbusche had been a great help to us when we wrote our second book on the lost areas in central and southern Colorado. During Q&A we asked him if he knew Senior Mahoney. He replied that yes, he was great friends with Billy Mahoney, and that Billy had died recently. We were shocked and saddened to hear it. We later read obituaries online and learned that he died of complications from COVID19 on Friday, January 15, 2021.

Deepest sympathies to the Mahoney family and to friends like Dr. Vandenbusche. (Here is a memorial of Senior Mahoney that was published in his hometown newspaper: Telluride legend Bill ‘Senior’ Mahoney dies | News | telluridenews.com)

Senior Mahoney had also been a great help to us as we wrote that second book. We were able to meet with him for a few hours and interview him in his garage studio in Montrose, which was chock full of ski memorabilia. He was gracious but real (in overalls), and he warned Caryn right up front that he might swear. He gave us permission to use his images as we liked, including films of skiing in the 1930s that he had acquired.

It was a real pleasure to get to meet and talk with Senior that day, and many quotes and much information from him are featured in our second book, including the photo above where he is full of life and enjoying skiing to the hilt. The photo below of him in the powder is one that we did not include in the book.

Chapter 20 on San Miguel County in Lost Ski Areas of Colorado’s Central and Southern Mountains reads, “Bill ‘Senior’ Mahoney was from a longtime mining family and became a shift boss in the Idarado Mine. He was also from a skiing family. In fact, the skis his granddad made and skied on in the 1890s in Bonanza, Colorado—where Mahoney was born—are on display at the Telluride Historical Museum. His family moved to Telluride in 1931, when he was three, and he and his brothers started skiing then.” The subtitle of the chapter describes their early skiing best: “Skiing Everywhere and a Portable Rope Tow.” With his passion for skiing, and as Telluride mining died, Senior later helped create Telluride Ski Area and became its first mountain manager and vice president. What a skiing legacy he leaves!

Farewell, Senior Mahoney. Thanks for sharing your memories with us and with our readers.

Skiing on Colorado’s Plains?

A funny thing happened this past weekend. With hardly any snow on the ground and only five miles from Greeley, people were having fun, fun, fun, and skiing up a storm.—Greeley Journal, 1971

Hat tip for image to Coloradoskihistory.com

Sometimes politicians do good things for their communities. Yes, really. This was true of Mayor Dick Perchlik, who created a beginner ski hill for the kids of his town, along with his wife Sylvia and others. They made it on a sandstone bluff overlooking the Cache La Poudre River, only minutes from town.

The purpose was to allow the average boy or girl living on the plains, who couldn’t afford to go to a mountain ski area, the opportunity to ski. While constructing the hill, the Mayor and friends found sharks teeth; hence the name.

Hat tip to Coloradoskihistory.com. — Hat tip for image http://www.coloradoskihistory.com

Read more about this ski hill in Lost Ski Areas of Colorado’s Front Range and Northern Mountains.

Another remarkable instance of skiing on the plains, also covered in this book, is the ski jumping exhibition that took place at Inspiration Point in Denver after the Big Snow of 1913. It started the craze of the extreme sport in Colorado, which went on for decades.

Carl Howelsen and friends set up a makeshift jump and demonstrated ski jumping for a crowd of some 20,000 people on January 19, 1914.

The images below are from Municipal Facts Monthly, January 11, 1920, when folks also came to see ski riders go off the jump at Inspiration Point.